Communication method and corresponding apparatus

Abstract

The present application discloses a communication method, capable of being applied to satellite communications or high-altitude platform station communications. The method comprises: an access network apparatus determines at least two cells in a coverage region, wherein the at least two cells comprise a first cell and a second cell, the first cell and the second cell respectively correspond to different user access requirements or different areas, and the user access requirement is the number of accessed users per unit time; and on the basis of the user access requirements or areas of the first cell and the second cell, the access network apparatus can determine configuration parameters of SSB beams respectively used for scanning the first cell and the second cell. In the present application, because the configuration parameters of the SSB beams configured for the cells having different user access requirements or different areas are different, it is possible to configure parameters of SSB beams on the basis of the requirements of cells, reducing the waste of radio frequency resources of an access network apparatus, increasing the utilization rate of radio frequency resources.

Description

A communication method and corresponding device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on August 21, 2023, with application number 202311056533.7 and invention name “A communication method and corresponding device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] High-altitude mobile communications (such as satellite communications) have the characteristics of long communication distance, large coverage area, and flexible networking. They can provide services not only for fixed terminals but also for various mobile terminals.

[0004] Because traditional terrestrial networks cannot provide seamless coverage for terminals, especially in places where base stations cannot be deployed, such as the ocean, desert, and air, non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) have been introduced into the fifth-generation mobile networks (5G) system. They provide seamless coverage for terminals by deploying base stations or some base station functions on high-altitude platforms or satellites. High-altitude platforms or satellites are less affected by natural disasters, which can improve the reliability of 5G systems.

[0005] Base stations in high-altitude mobile communication systems use fixed-configuration synchronized signal block (SSB) beams to scan the covered area without considering the actual needs of the covered area, which usually wastes radio frequency resources used for SSB beam scanning.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a communication method for improving the utilization of radio frequency resources, a corresponding device, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product.

[0008] A first aspect of the present application provides a communication method, including: an access network device determines at least two cells in a coverage area, the at least two cells include a first cell and a second cell, the first cell and the second cell respectively correspond to different user access requirements or different areas, and the user access requirement is the number of access users per unit time; the access network device determines a first synchronization signal block (SSB) beam for scanning the first cell and a second SSB beam for scanning the second cell according to the user access requirements or areas respectively corresponding to the first cell and the second cell, the configuration parameters of the first SSB beam and the configuration parameters of the second SSB beam are different, the first SSB beam is a beam for carrying the SSB corresponding to the first cell, and the second SSB beam is a beam for carrying the SSB corresponding to the second cell.

[0009] In this application, the access network device can be a base station or a chip system in the base station. The base station can be a ground base station or a base station mounted on a satellite or a high-altitude platform. The high-altitude platform can be an unmanned aerial vehicle or a hot air balloon, etc.

[0010] In this application, the coverage area refers to the area covered by the communication capabilities of the access network device. The coverage area can be divided into two cells or three or more cells. If three or more cells are divided, some of these cells may have the same area or the same user access requirements, but at least two cells have different user access requirements or areas.

[0011] In this application, the configuration parameters of the SSB beam configured for different user access requirements or cells of different areas are different, so that the parameters of the SSB beam can be configured according to the needs of the cell, thereby reducing the waste of radio frequency resources of the access network device and improving the utilization rate of radio frequency resources.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the configuration parameters of the first SSB beam include the width of the first SSB beam and the scanning period of the first SSB beam, and the configuration parameters of the second SSB beam include the width of the second SSB beam and the scanning period of the second SSB beam; the configuration parameters of the first SSB beam and the configuration parameters of the second SSB beam are different in that at least one of the width of the first SSB beam and the width of the second SSB beam, and the scanning period of the first SSB beam and the scanning period of the second SSB beam is different.

[0013] In this application, beamwidth is divided into horizontal beamwidth and vertical beamwidth. The horizontal beamwidth is defined as the angle between the two directions in the horizontal direction where the radiation power drops by 3dB on either side of the direction of maximum radiation. The vertical beamwidth is defined as the angle between the two directions in the vertical direction where the radiation power drops by 3dB on either side of the direction of maximum radiation. In this application, the width of an SSB beam refers to the horizontal beamwidth and / or vertical beamwidth. The beamwidth affects the coverage area of ​​the beam; for example, a wide beam has a large coverage area, while a narrow beam has a small coverage area.

[0014] In this application, the scanning period refers to the time it takes for an SSB beam to complete scanning of the corresponding cell. The length of the scanning period affects the access time of the terminal device. A shorter scanning period results in faster terminal device access, while a longer scanning period results in slower terminal device access. Thus, a shorter scanning period can be configured for cells with high user access demand, allowing terminal devices to quickly access the access network device.

[0015] In this possible implementation, by configuring at least one different SSB beam width and SSB beam scanning period of each of the first cell and the second cell, different cells can be configured on demand according to corresponding user access requirements or areas, thereby improving the utilization of radio frequency resources.

[0016] In one possible implementation, when the area of ​​the first cell meets the first condition, the width of the first SSB beam is configured as the first parameter.

[0017] In this possible implementation, there may be one or more first conditions, and the first parameter is a positive number. By comparing the area of ​​the first cell with the first condition, determining how to configure the width of the first SSB beam is beneficial for improving the accuracy of the width configuration of the first SSB beam.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the first condition is: the area of ​​the first cell is greater than the first threshold, or the area of ​​the first cell is less than the first threshold; when the area of ​​the first cell is greater than the first threshold, the first parameter is greater than the first width value, and the first width value is the beam width value corresponding to the first threshold; when the area of ​​the first cell is less than the first threshold, the first parameter is less than the first width value.

[0019] In this possible implementation, the first threshold and the first width value can be a pair of preconfigured parameters. When the area of ​​the cell is equal to the first threshold, the width value of the SSB beam is equal to the first width value, thereby achieving better adaptation between the cell area and the width value of the SSB beam. By comparing the first area with the first threshold, it is determined whether to use a value greater than or less than the first width value as the first parameter. In this way, an appropriate width can be configured for the first SSB beam of the first cell, thereby improving the accuracy of the width configuration. In other words, a wide beam can be configured for a large cell area, and a narrow beam can be configured for a small cell area. In this way, for large cells, a wide beam can improve coverage and reduce the number of SSB beams, thereby reducing the use of radio frequency channels that generate SSB beams and reducing waste of radio frequency resources. For small cells, only a narrow beam scanning is required to cover the corresponding area, thereby improving the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of data transmission in smaller cells.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the first condition is: the area of ​​the first cell is larger than the area of ​​the second cell, or the area of ​​the first cell is smaller than the area of ​​the second cell; when the area of ​​the first cell is larger than the area of ​​the second cell, the first parameter is greater than the width value of the second SSB beam; when the area of ​​the first cell is smaller than the area of ​​the second cell, the first parameter is smaller than the width value of the second SSB beam.

[0021] In this possible implementation, the first cell can configure the width of the first SSB beam with reference to the second cell. By comparing the areas of the first cell and the second cell, a more appropriate width of the first SSB beam can be configured for the first cell, thereby improving the accuracy of the width configuration of the first SSB beam.

[0022] In one possible implementation, when the user access requirement corresponding to the first cell meets the second condition, the scanning period of the first SSB beam is configured as the second parameter.

[0023] In this application, the scanning period of the first SSB beam can generally be configured to 5 milliseconds (ms), 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, 80ms and 160ms. Of course, the scanning period can also be configured to other values. This application does not limit the value of the second parameter.

[0024] In this possible implementation, the second condition is a condition related to user access requirements, may be one or more, and the second parameter is a positive number. By comparing the user access requirements of the first cell with the second condition, determining how to configure the scanning period of the first SSB beam is beneficial for improving the accuracy of the scanning period configuration of the first SSB beam.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the second condition is: the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the second threshold, or the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the second threshold; when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the second threshold, the second parameter is less than the first time value, and the first time value is the scanning period corresponding to the second threshold; when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the second threshold, the second parameter is greater than the first time value.

[0026] In this possible implementation, the first time value may be a parameter configured together with the second threshold. When the user access demand of the cell is equal to the second threshold, the scanning period of the SSB beam is equal to the first time value, thereby achieving better adaptation between the user access demand and the scanning period of the SSB beam. By comparing the user access demand corresponding to the first cell with the second threshold, a more appropriate scanning period can be configured for the first SSB beam of the first cell, thereby improving the accuracy of the configuration of the first SSB beam.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the second condition is: the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the user access demand of the second cell, or the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the user access demand of the second cell; when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the user access demand of the second cell, the second parameter is less than the scanning period of the second SSB beam; when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the user access demand of the second cell, the second parameter is greater than the scanning period of the second SSB beam.

[0028] In this possible implementation, the first cell may configure the scanning period of the first SSB beam with reference to the second cell. By comparing the user access requirements of the first cell and the second cell, a more appropriate scanning period of the first SSB beam may be configured for the first cell, thereby improving the accuracy of the scanning period configuration of the first SSB beam.

[0029] In one possible implementation, when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the second threshold, the width of the first SSB beam is greater than the second width value, and the second width value is the beam width value corresponding to the second threshold; when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the second threshold, the width of the first SSB beam is less than the second width value.

[0030] In this possible implementation, the second threshold, the first time value, and the second width value can be a set of pre-configured parameters. When the user access demand of the cell is equal to the second threshold, the scanning period of the SSB beam is the first time value, and the width value of the SSB beam is equal to the second width value, which can achieve better adaptation of the user access demand, the scanning period, and the width value of the SSB beam. By comparing the user access demand of the first cell with the second threshold, it is determined whether to use a value greater than the second width value or a value less than the second width value as the width of the first SSB beam. In this way, a suitable width can be configured for the first SSB beam of the first cell, thereby improving the accuracy of the width configuration. In other words, a wide beam can be configured when the user access demand is large and the scanning period is short, and a narrow beam can be configured when the user access demand is small and the scanning period is long. In this way, for cells with large user access demand, a wide beam can improve the coverage range, and the wide beam can achieve rapid scanning of the cell, so that the terminal device can quickly access the access network device. For cells with low user access demand, fewer terminal devices need to access the access network device, and narrow beam scanning is enough to basically meet the access needs of these terminal devices. Moreover, the use of narrower beams can also improve the SNR of data transmission in cells with low user access demand.

[0031] In one possible implementation, when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the user access demand of the second cell, the width of the first SSB beam is greater than the width of the second SSB beam; when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the user access demand of the second cell, the width of the first SSB beam is less than the width of the second SSB beam.

[0032] In this possible implementation, the first cell can configure the width of the first SSB beam with reference to the second cell. By comparing the user access requirements of the first cell and the second cell, a more appropriate width of the first SSB beam can be configured for the first cell, thereby improving the accuracy of the width configuration of the first SSB beam.

[0033] In one possible implementation, when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the second threshold, the number of radio frequency channels corresponding to the first cell is greater than a first value, the first value is the number of radio frequency channels corresponding to the second threshold, and the radio frequency channels of the first cell are used to generate the first SSB beam.

[0034] In this possible implementation, a radio frequency channel can be understood as an antenna or antenna array, and the radio frequency channel is used to generate an SSB beam. The first value can be the number of radio frequency channels configured corresponding to the second threshold. When the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the second threshold, more radio frequency channels can be used to generate the first SSB beam. In this way, the beam coverage range of the first cell with greater user access demand can be improved, thereby improving the access efficiency of terminal devices.

[0035] In one possible implementation, when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the user access demand of the second cell, the number of radio frequency channels corresponding to the first cell is greater than the number of radio frequency channels of the second cell, and the radio frequency channel of the first cell is used to generate a first SSB beam, and the radio frequency channel of the second cell is used to generate a second SSB beam.

[0036] In this possible implementation, the first cell can configure the number of RF channels corresponding to the first cell with reference to the second cell. By comparing the user access requirements of the first cell and the second cell, a more appropriate number of RF channels can be configured for the first cell, thereby improving the accuracy of the configuration of the number of RF channels in the first cell.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the access network device determines at least two cells in the coverage area, including: the access network device determines at least two cells in the coverage area according to stored historical access quantities at different locations in the coverage area.

[0038] In this possible implementation method, the cells within the coverage area can be divided according to the historical access numbers of different locations within the coverage area stored by the access network device. In this way, the accuracy of the parameter configuration of the SSB beam in each subsequent cell can be improved.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the method also includes: receiving the historical access number of different locations within the coverage area from the control center device; the access network device determines at least two cells in the coverage area, including: the access network device determines at least two cells in the coverage area based on the historical access number of different locations within the coverage area.

[0040] In this possible implementation, the cells within the coverage area can be divided according to the number of historical accesses at different locations within the coverage area notified by the control center device. In this way, the accuracy of the parameter configuration of the SSB beam in each subsequent cell can be improved.

[0041] A second aspect of the present application provides a communication device, the communication device comprising: a transceiver module and a processing module;

[0042] The processing module is used to determine at least two cells in the coverage area, where the at least two cells include a first cell and a second cell. The first cell and the second cell each correspond to different user access requirements or different areas. The user access requirement is the number of access users per unit time.

[0043] The processing module is also used to determine the first synchronization signal block SSB beam for scanning the first cell and the second SSB beam for scanning the second cell according to the user access requirements or areas corresponding to the first cell and the second cell respectively. The configuration parameters of the first SSB beam are different from the configuration parameters of the second SSB beam. The first SSB beam is a beam used to carry the SSB corresponding to the first cell, and the second SSB beam is a beam used to carry the SSB corresponding to the second cell.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the configuration parameters of the first SSB beam include the width of the first SSB beam and the scanning period of the first SSB beam, and the configuration parameters of the second SSB beam include the width of the second SSB beam and the scanning period of the second SSB beam; the configuration parameters of the first SSB beam and the configuration parameters of the second SSB beam are different in that at least one of the width of the first SSB beam and the width of the second SSB beam, and the scanning period of the first SSB beam and the scanning period of the second SSB beam is different.

[0045] In one possible implementation, when the area of ​​the first cell meets the first condition, the width of the first SSB beam is configured as the first parameter.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the first condition is: the area of ​​the first cell is greater than the first threshold, or the area of ​​the first cell is less than the first threshold; when the area of ​​the first cell is greater than the first threshold, the first parameter is greater than the first width value, and the first width value is the beam width value corresponding to the first threshold; when the area of ​​the first cell is less than the first threshold, the first parameter is less than the first width value.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the first condition is: the area of ​​the first cell is larger than the area of ​​the second cell, or the area of ​​the first cell is smaller than the area of ​​the second cell; when the area of ​​the first cell is larger than the area of ​​the second cell, the first parameter is greater than the width value of the second SSB beam; when the area of ​​the first cell is smaller than the area of ​​the second cell, the first parameter is smaller than the width value of the second SSB beam.

[0048] In one possible implementation, when the user access requirement corresponding to the first cell meets the second condition, the scanning period of the first SSB beam is configured as the second parameter.

[0049] In one possible implementation, the second condition is: the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the second threshold, or the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the second threshold; when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the second threshold, the second parameter is less than the first time value, and the first time value is the scanning period corresponding to the second threshold; when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the second threshold, the second parameter is greater than the first time value.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the second condition is: the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the user access demand of the second cell, or the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the user access demand of the second cell; when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the user access demand of the second cell, the second parameter is less than the scanning period of the second SSB beam; when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the user access demand of the second cell, the second parameter is greater than the scanning period of the second SSB beam.

[0051] In one possible implementation, when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the second threshold, the width of the first SSB beam is greater than the second width value, and the second width value is the beam width value corresponding to the second threshold; when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the second threshold, the width of the first SSB beam is less than the second width value.

[0052] In one possible implementation, when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the user access demand of the second cell, the width of the first SSB beam is greater than the width of the second SSB beam; when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the user access demand of the second cell, the width of the first SSB beam is less than the width of the second SSB beam.

[0053] In one possible implementation, when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the second threshold, the number of radio frequency channels corresponding to the first cell is greater than a first value, the first value is the number of radio frequency channels corresponding to the second threshold, and the radio frequency channels of the first cell are used to generate the first SSB beam.

[0054] In one possible implementation, when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the user access demand of the second cell, the number of radio frequency channels corresponding to the first cell is greater than the number of radio frequency channels of the second cell, and the radio frequency channel of the first cell is used to generate a first SSB beam, and the radio frequency channel of the second cell is used to generate a second SSB beam.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the processing module is specifically configured to determine at least two cells in the coverage area according to stored historical access quantities at different locations in the coverage area.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module is configured to receive historical access counts at different locations within a coverage area of ​​the control center device.

[0057] The processing module is specifically configured to determine at least two cells in the coverage area according to the number of historical accesses at different locations in the coverage area.

[0058] A third aspect of the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. The memory stores a computer program or computer instructions, the processor is configured to call and execute the computer program or computer instructions stored in the memory, so that the processor implements the processing operations described in the first aspect and any one of the implementations of the first aspect, and the transceiver is configured to transmit and receive signals, such as implementing the receiving and transmitting operations described in the first aspect and any one of the implementations of the first aspect.

[0059] A fourth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor, and the processor is used to execute the first aspect and any one of the implementation methods of the first aspect.

[0060] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising computer instructions. When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes the first aspect and any one of the implementations in the first aspect.

[0061] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the first aspect and any one of the implementations of the first aspect.

[0062] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a chip device, comprising a processor for calling a computer program or computer instruction in the memory so that the processor executes the first aspect and any one of the implementation methods in the first aspect.

[0063] Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory via an interface.

[0064] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, comprising: an access network device and a terminal device, wherein the access network device communicates with the terminal device, and the access network device is used to execute the method of the above-mentioned first aspect and any one of the implementation methods of the first aspect.

[0065] As described above, the technical effects of the second to eighth aspects of this application, and any possible implementation thereof, can be understood in conjunction with the technical effects of the first aspect and any implementation of the first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0066] FIG1A is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG1B is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a satellite communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG1C is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of satellite coverage provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of an example of a communication scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG4A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between beam width and radio frequency channel according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG4B is another exemplary schematic diagram of the relationship between beam width and radio frequency channel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between beam width and user access requirements provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between a beam scanning period and a radio frequency channel according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG10 is another schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG11 is another schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0080] The following describes the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that with the development of technology and the emergence of new scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0081] The terms "first," "second," and the like in the specification and claims of this application and in the accompanying drawings are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a particular order or precedence. It should be understood that the terms used in this manner are interchangeable where appropriate so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having," as well as any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, e.g., a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not explicitly listed or that are inherent to these processes, methods, products, or apparatus.

[0082] The present application provides a communication method for improving the utilization of radio frequency resources. The present application also provides a corresponding apparatus, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product. Detailed descriptions are given below.

[0083] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: satellite communication, fifth generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), mobile communication systems after 5G networks (for example, 6G mobile communication systems), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication systems, etc.

[0084] FIG1A is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0085] As shown in Figure 1A, the communication system applicable to the present application includes a terminal device 101 that can access a network device 102. One access network device 102 can communicate with multiple terminal devices 101, and one terminal device can also communicate with different access network devices 102. Figure 1A only illustrates one terminal device 101 and one access network device 102. It should be noted that the present application does not limit the number of terminal devices and access network devices.

[0086] In the embodiment of the present application, the aforementioned terminal device 101 includes a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, for example, it may include a handheld device with a wireless connection function, or a processing device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal device 101 can communicate with the core network via a radio access network (RAN) and exchange voice and / or data with the RAN. The terminal device 101 may include user equipment (UE), wireless terminal equipment, mobile terminal equipment, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile, remote station, access point (AP), remote terminal equipment, access terminal equipment, user terminal equipment, user agent, or user equipment, etc. For example, personal communication service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Currently, some examples of terminal devices include: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in the Internet of Vehicles (IoV), wireless terminals in self-driving cars, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, or wireless terminals in smart homes. For example, wireless terminals in the IoV can be vehicle-mounted devices, complete vehicle equipment, vehicle-mounted modules, vehicles, etc. Wireless terminals in industrial control can be cameras, robots, etc.Wireless terminals in a smart home can be TVs, air conditioners, sweepers, speakers, set-top boxes, etc.

[0087] In the IoV scenario, the terminal device 101 can be an IoV terminal device, also known as a V2X terminal device. Specifically, during V2V communication, the terminal device 101 can be a vehicle-mounted terminal; during V2I communication, the terminal device 101 can be a vehicle-mounted terminal or infrastructure with mobile communication capabilities. In other V2X scenarios, the terminal device 101 can also be other V2X devices, although this is not specifically limited here. The terminal device 101 can also be a wearable device, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, shoes, or other portable devices that can be worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories.

[0088] In the Internet of Things scenario, the terminal device 101 may be a restricted device, for example, a low-power terminal device, or a terminal device with limited storage capacity, or a terminal device with limited computing capacity, which is not specifically limited here.

[0089] It should be understood that the terminal device 101 in the embodiment of the present application can be a device in any of the above scenarios or a chip in the device, and the specific details are not limited here. Whether as a device or as a chip, the terminal device 101 can be manufactured, sold or used as an independent product.

[0090] Furthermore, the access network device 102 communicating with the aforementioned terminal device 101 may be a device or chip system in a wireless network. For example, the access network device is a device deployed in a radio access network to provide wireless communication capabilities for the terminal device. For example, the access network device may be a radio access network (RAN) node that connects the terminal device to the wireless network.

[0091] Access network devices include, but are not limited to, evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (for example, home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), baseband unit (BBU), access point (AP) in wireless fidelity (WIFI) system, wireless relay node, wireless backhaul node, transmission point (TP) or transmission and reception point (TRP), etc., and can also be access network devices in 5G mobile communication system. For example, a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), or a transmission point (TP) in a new radio (NR) system; or one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G mobile communication system; or an access network device can also be a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU) or a distributed unit (DU).

[0092] In some deployments, under the Open RAN architecture, the gNB may include a centralized unit (CU) and a DU. The gNB may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some gNB functions, while the DU implements some gNB functions. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, implementing the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layers. The DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services, implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC), media access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layers. The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, RF processing, and active antenna-related functions. RRC layer information ultimately becomes PHY layer information, or is converted from PHY layer information. Therefore, in this architecture, higher-layer signaling (such as RRC layer signaling) can be considered to be sent by the DU, or by both the DU and the AAU. It is understood that the network device may include one or more devices including a CU node, a DU node, and an AAU node. In addition, the CU may be classified as a network device in an access network (RAN) or a network device in a core network (CN), which is not limited in this application.

[0093] It should be understood that the access network device 102 in the embodiment of the present application can be any of the above-mentioned devices or a chip in the device, and the specific details are not limited here. Whether as a device or as a chip, the access network device 102 can be manufactured, sold or used as an independent product.

[0094] The access network device in the embodiment of the present application can be an access network device on the ground, or an access network device carried on a satellite or a high-altitude platform. The high-altitude platform can be an unmanned aerial vehicle or a hot air balloon, etc.

[0095] As shown in FIG1B , the access network device 102 is carried on a satellite 103 and performs long-distance satellite communication with the terminal device 101 .

[0096] Taking satellite communications as an example, as shown in Figure 1C, satellite coverage is relatively large and may include cities, villages, deserts, oceans, and mountains. Cellular network coverage in cities is relatively good, and urban users' terminal devices generally prioritize access to urban cellular networks, with a lower demand for satellite base station access. Village users' terminal devices will also prioritize access to cellular networks when available, and only access satellite base stations when cellular network coverage is lacking. Compared to cities, villages have a higher demand for satellite base station access. Deserts, oceans, and mountainous areas have little cellular network coverage, and these areas have a high demand for satellite base station access.

[0097] The satellite communication scenario of the embodiment of the present application can be a transparent forwarding scenario or a regeneration mode scenario of satellite communication, and of course, it can also be other satellite communication scenarios.

[0098] Whether it is an access network device on a satellite or on the ground, when a terminal device accesses the access network device, the access network device will scan the terminal device through a synchronized signal block (SSB) beam, thereby completing the access process of the terminal device.

[0099] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following first briefly introduces the terms involved in the present application.

[0100] 1. Beam: A beam is a communication resource. It can be wide, narrow, or any other type of beam. Beam formation can be achieved through beamforming or other techniques. Beamforming techniques include digital beamforming, analog beamforming, and hybrid digital / analog beamforming. Different beams can be considered different resources.

[0101] In the NR protocol, beam can be called spatial domain filter, spatial filter, spatial domain parameter, spatial parameter, spatial parameter, spatial domain setting, spatial setting, quasi-colocation (QCL) information, QCL assumption, or QCL indication, etc. The beam can be indicated by the transmission configuration indicator state (TCI-state) TCI-state parameter, or by the spatial relation parameter. Therefore, in this application, beam can be replaced by spatial domain filter, spatial filter, spatial domain parameter, spatial parameter, spatial setting, spatial setting, QCL information, QCL assumption, QCL indication, TCI-state (including uplink TCI-state, downlink TCI-state), or spatial relationship, etc. The above terms are also equivalent to each other. Beam can also be replaced by other terms representing beams, which are not limited in this application.

[0102] A beam used to transmit a signal may be referred to as a transmission beam (Tx beam), a spatial domain transmission filter, a spatial transmission filter, a spatial domain transmission parameter, a spatial transmission parameter, a spatial domain transmission setting, or a spatial transmission setting. The downlink transmit beam may be indicated by a TCI-state.

[0103] 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 or a spatial reception parameter, a spatial domain reception setting, or a spatial reception setting. The uplink transmit beam can be indicated by any of a spatial relationship, an uplink TCI-state, and a channel sounding reference signal (SRS) resource (indicating a transmit beam using the SRS). Therefore, the uplink beam can also be replaced by an SRS resource.

[0104] The transmit beam may refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space after the signal is transmitted by the antenna, and the receive beam may refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space of the wireless signal received from the antenna.

[0105] 2. SSB beam: refers to the beam used to carry the synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0106] 3. SSB beamwidth: This may include horizontal beamwidth and vertical beamwidth. The horizontal beamwidth is defined as the angle between two directions in the horizontal direction where the radiated power drops by 3dB on either side of the direction of maximum radiation. The vertical beamwidth is defined as the angle between two directions in the vertical direction where the radiated power drops by 3dB on either side of the direction of maximum radiation. In this application, the SSB beamwidth refers to the horizontal beamwidth and / or the vertical beamwidth.

[0107] 4. SSB beam scanning period: refers to the time it takes for the SSB beam to complete scanning of the corresponding cell.

[0108] 5. Coverage area: refers to the area covered by the communication capability of the access network device, that is, the area covered by the communication capability of the access network device in all directions.

[0109] 6. Cell: Refers to different areas within a coverage area. Different areas have different physical cell identifiers (PCIs). For example, the urban area in Figure 1C can be a cell, the village area can be a cell, and the desert / ocean / mountain area can be a cell.

[0110] 7. RF channel: A channel used to generate a beam. This can be an antenna or antenna array. For example, a row of antenna arrays is a RF channel. When a beam is used to carry SSB, this RF channel is used to generate the SSB beam.

[0111] The communication system provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced above. The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0112] As shown in FIG2 , an embodiment of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application includes:

[0113] 201. An access network device determines at least two cells in a coverage area, where the at least two cells include a first cell and a second cell.

[0114] The first cell and the second cell each correspond to different user access requirements or different areas. The user access requirement is the number of access users per unit time.

[0115] Optionally, the access network device may determine at least two cells in the coverage area according to user access requirements. The specific process may be: the access network device determines at least two cells in the coverage area according to the stored historical access quantity at different locations in the coverage area.

[0116] Alternatively, the access network device receives the historical access counts at different locations within the coverage area from the control center device, and then determines at least two cells in the coverage area based on the historical access counts at different locations within the coverage area.

[0117] In the embodiment of the present application, the cells within the coverage area are divided by the number of historical accesses at different locations within the coverage area of ​​the access network device, which can improve the accuracy of parameter configuration of the SSB beam in each subsequent cell.

[0118] 202. The access network device determines a first SSB beam for scanning the first cell and a second SSB beam for scanning the second cell based on the user access requirements or areas corresponding to the first cell and the second cell respectively.

[0119] The configuration parameters of the first SSB beam are different from the configuration parameters of the second SSB beam. The first SSB beam is a beam used to carry the SSB corresponding to the first cell, and the second SSB beam is a beam used to carry the SSB corresponding to the second cell.

[0120] The solution provided in the embodiment of the present application has different configuration parameters for the SSB beam configured for different user access requirements or cells of different areas. In this way, the parameters of the SSB beam can be configured according to the needs of the cell, thereby reducing the waste of radio frequency resources of the access network device and improving the utilization rate of radio frequency resources.

[0121] In the above embodiment, the configuration parameters of the first SSB beam include the width of the first SSB beam and the scanning period of the first SSB beam, and the configuration parameters of the second SSB beam include the width of the second SSB beam and the scanning period of the second SSB beam; the difference between the configuration parameters of the first SSB beam and the configuration parameters of the second SSB beam is that at least one of the width of the first SSB beam and the width of the second SSB beam, and the scanning period of the first SSB beam and the scanning period of the second SSB beam is different.

[0122] In the embodiment of the present application, the width of the beam will affect the coverage area of ​​the beam for the cell, such as: the coverage area of ​​a wide beam is large, and the coverage area of ​​a narrow beam is small. As shown in Figure 3, the area of ​​cell 1 is smaller than that of cell 2. Two narrower SSB beams can cover cell 1, but cannot cover cell 2. Therefore, a wider SSB beam can be configured for cell 2. In this way, two wider SSB beams can be used to cover cell 2. In this way, by configuring a wider SSB beam for a cell with a larger area, the number of RF channels used to generate the SSB beam can be reduced. This process can also be understood by referring to the comparison between Figures 4A and 4B.

[0123] As shown in FIG4A , for area 400, if an SSB beam with a width of 410 is used for scanning, three RF channels (RF channel 1, RF channel 2, and RF channel 3) need to be used, and each RF channel needs to generate 8 SSB beams with a width of 410 at different times according to the SSB pattern to complete the scanning of area 400. In the embodiment of the present application, after the area 400 in FIG4A is divided into cells 401 and 402, an SSB beam with a width of 420 can be used to scan cell 401. RF channel 1 only needs to generate 8 SSB beams with a width of 420 at different times according to the SSB pattern to complete the scanning of cell 401. An SSB beam with a width of 430 can be used to scan cell 402. RF channel 2 only needs to generate 8 SSB beams with a width of 430 at different times according to the SSB pattern to complete the scanning of cell 402. From the comparison between FIG4A and FIG4B , it can be seen that, for area 400 , configuring the width of the SSB beam in the manner shown in FIG4B can reduce the occupancy of one RF channel compared to FIG4A , thereby improving the utilization rate of the RF channel.

[0124] In the embodiments of the present application, the scanning period of an SSB beam refers to the time it takes to scan the corresponding cell using the SSB beam. The time it takes for each radio frequency channel to generate an SSB beam is fixed. For example, if more radio frequency channels are used to simultaneously generate SSB beams for scanning cells, the corresponding cell can be scanned in a shorter time. If fewer radio frequency channels are used to simultaneously generate SSB beams for scanning cells, the corresponding cell can be scanned in a longer time. Therefore, the number of radio frequency channels used can be controlled by configuring the scanning period.

[0125] In the present application, by configuring at least one different SSB beam width and SSB beam scanning period of each of the first cell and the second cell, different cells can be configured on demand according to corresponding user access requirements or areas, thereby improving the utilization of radio frequency resources.

[0126] In an embodiment of the present application, the area covered by the access network device can be divided into multiple cells. Taking the first SSB beam corresponding to the first cell as an example, the configuration idea of ​​the width of the first SSB beam and the scanning period of the first SSB beam is introduced.

[0127] The width and scanning period of the first SSB beam can be configured in the following ways, which are introduced below:

[0128] Regarding the configuration of the width of the first SSB beam: when the area of ​​the first cell meets the first condition, the width of the first SSB beam is configured as the first parameter. This process can be understood by referring to Figure 5.

[0129] As shown in Figure 5, the configuration process includes:

[0130] 501. The access network device obtains the area of ​​the first cell.

[0131] 502. The access network device compares the area of ​​the first cell with the first threshold. When the area of ​​the first cell is greater than the first threshold, step 503 is executed; when the area of ​​the first cell is less than the first threshold, step 504 is executed.

[0132] 503. When the area of ​​the first cell is greater than the first threshold, the access network device configures the width of the first SSB beam as a first parameter, the first parameter is greater than the first width value, and the first width value is the beam width value corresponding to the first threshold.

[0133] In this case, the first condition is that the area of ​​the first cell is greater than the first threshold.

[0134] The first threshold and the first width value can be a pair of pre-configured parameters. When the area of ​​the cell is equal to the first threshold, the width value of the SSB beam is equal to the first width value, which can achieve better adaptation between the area of ​​the cell and the width value of the SSB beam.

[0135] 504. When the area of ​​the first cell is smaller than the first threshold, the access network device configures the width of the first SSB beam as a first parameter, and the first parameter is smaller than the first width value.

[0136] In this case, the first condition is that the area of ​​the first cell is smaller than the first threshold.

[0137] In an embodiment of the present application, by comparing the first area with the first threshold, it is determined whether to use a value greater than the first width value or a value less than the first width value as the first parameter. In this way, a suitable width can be configured for the first SSB beam of the first cell, thereby improving the accuracy of the width configuration. In other words, a wide beam can be configured for a large cell area, and a narrow beam can be configured for a small cell area. In this way, for cells with large areas, wide beams can increase the coverage range and reduce the number of SSB beams, thereby reducing the use of radio frequency channels that generate SSB beams and reducing the waste of radio frequency resources. For cells with small areas, only narrow beam scanning is needed to cover the corresponding range, which can improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of data transmission in cells with smaller areas.

[0138] 505. The access network device compares the area of ​​the first cell with the area of ​​the second cell. When the area of ​​the first cell is larger than the area of ​​the second cell, step 506 is executed. When the area of ​​the first cell is smaller than the area of ​​the second cell, step 507 is executed.

[0139] 506. When the area of ​​the first cell is larger than the area of ​​the second cell, the access network device configures the width of the first SSB beam as a first parameter, and the first parameter is larger than the width value of the second SSB beam.

[0140] In this case, the first condition is that the area of ​​the first cell is larger than the area of ​​the second cell.

[0141] 507. When the area of ​​the first cell is smaller than the area of ​​the second cell, the access network device configures the width of the first SSB beam as a first parameter, and the first parameter is smaller than the width value of the second SSB beam.

[0142] In this case, the first condition is that the area of ​​the first cell is smaller than the area of ​​the second cell.

[0143] In an embodiment of the present application, the first cell may configure the width of the first SSB beam with reference to the second cell. By comparing the areas of the first cell and the second cell, a more appropriate width of the first SSB beam may be configured for the first cell, thereby improving the accuracy of the width configuration of the first SSB beam.

[0144] Regarding the configuration of the width of the first SSB beam: when the user access requirements corresponding to the first cell meet the second condition, the scanning period of the first SSB beam is configured as the second parameter. This process can be understood by referring to Figure 6.

[0145] As shown in Figure 6, the configuration process includes:

[0146] 601. The access network device obtains the user access demand of the first cell.

[0147] 602. The access network device compares the user access demand of the first cell with the second threshold. If the user access demand of the first cell is greater than the second threshold, step 603 is executed; if the user access demand of the first cell is less than the second threshold, step 604 is executed.

[0148] 603. When the user access demand of the first cell is greater than the second threshold, the access network device configures the scanning period of the first SSB beam to a second parameter, the second parameter is less than the first time value, and the first time value is the scanning period corresponding to the second threshold.

[0149] In this application, the scanning period of the first SSB beam can generally be configured to 5 milliseconds (ms), 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, 80ms and 160ms. Of course, the scanning period can also be configured to other values. This application does not limit the value of the second parameter.

[0150] In this case, the second condition is: the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the second threshold.

[0151] In an embodiment of the present application, the first time value can be a parameter configured together with the second threshold. When the user access demand of the cell is equal to the second threshold, the scanning period of the SSB beam is equal to the first time value, which can achieve better adaptation between the user access demand and the scanning period of the SSB beam.

[0152] 604. When the user access demand of the first cell is less than the second threshold, the access network device configures the scanning period of the first SSB beam to a second parameter, and the second parameter is greater than the first time value.

[0153] In this case, the second condition is: the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the second threshold.

[0154] In an embodiment of the present application, by comparing the user access demand corresponding to the first cell with the second threshold, a more appropriate scanning period can be configured for the first SSB beam of the first cell, thereby improving the accuracy of the first SSB beam configuration.

[0155] 605. The access network device compares the user access demand of the first cell with the user access demand of the second cell. If the user access demand of the first cell is greater than the user access demand of the second cell, step 606 is executed; if the user access demand of the first cell is less than the user access demand of the second cell, step 607 is executed.

[0156] 606. The user access demand of the first cell is greater than the user access demand of the second cell, and the access network device configures the scanning period of the first SSB beam to a second parameter, which is smaller than the scanning period of the second SSB beam.

[0157] 607. The user access demand of the first cell is less than the user access demand of the second cell, and the access network device configures the scanning period of the first SSB beam to a second parameter, and the second parameter is greater than the scanning period of the second SSB beam.

[0158] In an embodiment of the present application, the first cell may configure the scanning period of the first SSB beam with reference to the second cell. By comparing the user access requirements of the first cell and the second cell, a more appropriate scanning period of the first SSB beam may be configured for the first cell, thereby improving the accuracy of the scanning period configuration of the first SSB beam.

[0159] In an embodiment of the present application, the configuration of the scanning period is related to the width of the beam, or the configuration of the scanning period is related to the number of RF channels used to generate the SSB beam, which are introduced below respectively.

[0160] 1. Configuration of scanning period and beam width;

[0161] 1.1: Comparison of user access requirements with the second threshold;

[0162] When the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the second threshold, the width of the first SSB beam is greater than the second width value, and the second width value is the beam width value corresponding to the second threshold.

[0163] When the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the second threshold, the width of the first SSB beam is less than the second width value.

[0164] In an embodiment of the present application, the second threshold, the first time value, and the second width value can be a set of pre-configured parameters. When the user access demand of the cell is equal to the second threshold, the scanning period of the SSB beam is the first time value, and the width value of the SSB beam is equal to the second width value, which can achieve better adaptation of the user access demand, the scanning period, and the width value of the SSB beam. By comparing the user access demand of the first cell with the second threshold, it is determined whether to use a value greater than the second width value or a value less than the second width value as the width of the first SSB beam. In this way, a suitable width can be configured for the first SSB beam of the first cell, thereby improving the accuracy of the width configuration.

[0165] 1.2: Comparison of user access requirements of the first cell and the second cell;

[0166] When the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the user access demand of the second cell, the width of the first SSB beam is greater than the width value of the second SSB beam.

[0167] When the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is smaller than the user access demand of the second cell, the width of the first SSB beam is smaller than the width value of the second SSB beam.

[0168] In an embodiment of the present application, the first cell may configure the width of the first SSB beam with reference to the second cell. By comparing the user access requirements of the first cell and the second cell, a more appropriate width of the first SSB beam may be configured for the first cell, thereby improving the accuracy of the width configuration of the first SSB beam.

[0169] The relationship between user access demand, scanning cycle length, and SSB beam width can be understood by referring to Figure 7. As shown in Figure 7, cell 1 has high user access demand and a short SSB beam scanning cycle, so a wide beam can be configured for cell 1. Cell 2 has low user access demand and a long SSB beam scanning cycle, so a narrow beam can be configured for cell 2. Thus, for cell 1, where user access demand is high, a wide beam can improve coverage. This wide beam enables rapid scanning of cell 1, allowing terminal devices to quickly access the access network. For cell 2, where user access demand is low, fewer terminal devices need to access the access network, so narrow beam scanning is sufficient to essentially meet the access needs of these terminal devices. Furthermore, using a narrower beam can improve the SNR of data transmission in cells with low user access demand.

[0170] 2. The configuration of the scanning period is related to the number of RF channels used to generate the SSB beam;

[0171] In addition, in an embodiment of the present application, when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the second threshold, the number of radio frequency channels corresponding to the first cell is greater than a first value, the first value is the number of radio frequency channels corresponding to the second threshold, and the radio frequency channels of the first cell are used to generate a first SSB beam.

[0172] It can also be that when the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the user access demand of the second cell, the number of radio frequency channels corresponding to the first cell is greater than the number of radio frequency channels of the second cell, the radio frequency channels of the first cell are used to generate the first SSB beam, and the radio frequency channels of the second cell are used to generate the second SSB beam.

[0173] In the embodiment of the present application, the first cell can refer to the second cell to configure the number of radio frequency channels corresponding to the first cell. By comparing the user access requirements of the first cell and the second cell, a more appropriate number of radio frequency channels can be configured for the first cell, thereby improving the accuracy of the configuration of the number of radio frequency channels of the first cell.

[0174] The relationship between the user access requirements of a cell and the number of RF channels used to generate an SSB beam, as well as the scanning period of the SSB beam can be understood by referring to the example of FIG8 .

[0175] As shown in Figure 8, the coverage area of ​​the access network device is divided into cell 1 and cell 2 according to user access requirements, wherein cell 1 corresponds to 16 radio frequency channels and cell 2 corresponds to 16 radio frequency channels. The user access demand of cell 1 is higher, and the user access demand of cell 2 is lower. For example, the ratio of the user access demand of cell 1 to the user access demand of cell 2 is 8:1. When configuring the scanning period of the SSB beam for cell 1 and cell 2, a scanning period of 20ms can be configured for cell 1 and a scanning period of 160ms can be configured for cell 2. Among them, cell 1 can use 16 radio frequency channels at the same time to generate an SSB beam and perform a scanning with a scanning period of 20ms. Cell 2 can use 2 radio frequency channels at the same time to generate an SSB beam and perform a scanning with a scanning period of 160ms. The other 14 radio frequency channels are used for data transmission and are not used for SSB beam scanning. Therefore, this application can improve the utilization rate of the radio frequency channels by differentially configuring the scanning period of the SSB beam and the number of radio frequency channels used to generate the SSB beam according to the user access requirements corresponding to each cell.

[0176] It should be noted that, in the embodiments corresponding to FIG. 6 , FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 , the areas of the first cell and the second cell, and cell 1 and cell 2 may be the same or different.

[0177] Having described the communication methods and systems provided in the embodiments of the present application above, the following describes the communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application. Please refer to Figure 9, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device in the embodiments of the present application. Communication device 900 can be used to execute the steps performed by the access network device in the embodiments shown in Figures 2 to 8. For details, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0178] The communication device 900 includes a transceiver module 901 and a processing module 902. The transceiver module 901 can implement corresponding communication functions, and the processing module 902 is used to process data. The transceiver module 901 can also be called a communication interface or a communication unit.

[0179] Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include a storage unit, which may be used to store instructions and / or data. The processing module 902 may read the instructions and / or data in the storage unit so that the communication device implements the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0180] The communication device 900 can be used to perform the actions performed by the access network device in the above method embodiments. The communication device 900 can be a component of the access network device, a host, or a component that can be configured with a host. The transceiver module 901 is used to perform the reception-related operations on the access network device side of the above method embodiments, and the processing module 902 is used to perform the processing-related operations on the access network device side of the above method embodiments.

[0181] Optionally, the transceiver module 901 may include a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module is used to perform the sending operation in the above method embodiment. The receiving module is used to perform the receiving operation in the above method embodiment.

[0182] As an example, the communication device 900 is used to execute the actions executed by the access network device in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 above.

[0183] The processing module 902 is used to determine at least two cells in the coverage area, where the at least two cells include a first cell and a second cell. The first cell and the second cell each correspond to different user access requirements or different areas. The user access requirement is the number of access users per unit time.

[0184] The processing module 902 is also used to determine the first synchronization signal block SSB beam for scanning the first cell and the second SSB beam for scanning the second cell according to the user access requirements or areas corresponding to the first cell and the second cell respectively. The configuration parameters of the first SSB beam are different from the configuration parameters of the second SSB beam. The first SSB beam is a beam used to carry the SSB corresponding to the first cell, and the second SSB beam is a beam used to carry the SSB corresponding to the second cell.

[0185] As an example, the transceiver module 901 is configured to receive historical access counts at different locations within a coverage area of ​​the control center device;

[0186] The processing module 902 is specifically configured to determine at least two cells in the coverage area according to the number of historical accesses at different locations in the coverage area.

[0187] As an example, the communication device 900 is used to execute the actions executed by the access network device in the embodiment shown in Figure 5. The processing module 902 is used to execute steps 501 to 507 in the embodiment shown in Figure 5.

[0188] As an example, the communication device 900 is used to execute the actions executed by the access network device in the embodiment shown in Figure 6. The processing module 902 is used to execute steps 601 to 607 in the embodiment shown in Figure 6.

[0189] It should be understood that the specific process of each module executing the above corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiment, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0190] The processing module 902 in the above embodiment can be implemented by at least one processor or processor-related circuits. The transceiver module 901 can be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuits. The transceiver module 901 can also be referred to as a communication unit or communication interface. The storage unit can be implemented by at least one memory.

[0191] As shown in Figure 10, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 1000. The communication device 1000 includes a processor 1010, which is coupled to a memory 1020. The memory 1020 is used to store computer programs or instructions and / or data. The processor 1010 is used to execute the computer programs or instructions and / or data stored in the memory 1020, so that the method in the above method embodiment is executed.

[0192] Optionally, the communication device 1000 includes one or more processors 1010.

[0193] Optionally, as shown in FIG10 , the communication device 1000 may further include a memory 1020 .

[0194] Optionally, the communication device 1000 may include one or more memories 1020 .

[0195] Optionally, the memory 1020 may be integrated with the processor 1010 or provided separately.

[0196] 10 , the communication device 1000 may further include a transceiver 1030 , which is configured to receive and / or transmit signals. For example, the processor 1010 is configured to control the transceiver 1030 to receive and / or transmit signals.

[0197] As a solution, the communication device 1000 is used to implement the operations performed by the access network device in the above method embodiment.

[0198] For example, the processor 1010 is used to implement the processing-related operations performed by the access network device in the above method embodiment, and the transceiver 1030 is used to implement the sending and receiving-related operations performed by the access network device in the above method embodiment.

[0199] The embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 1100, which can be an access network device or a chip. The communication device 1100 can be used to perform the operations performed by the access network device in the above method embodiment.

[0200] When the communication device 1100 is an access network device, Figure 11 shows a simplified schematic diagram of the access network device structure. As shown in Figure 11, the access network device includes a processor, memory, and a transceiver. The memory can store computer program code, and the transceiver includes a transmitter 1131, a receiver 1132, a radio frequency circuit (not shown), an antenna 1133, and input / output devices (not shown). The processor is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the access network device, execute software programs, and process software program data. The memory is primarily used to store software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is primarily used to convert baseband signals into radio frequency signals and process radio frequency signals. The antenna is primarily used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices, such as a touch screen, display, and keyboard, are primarily used to receive user input and output data to the user. It should be noted that some types of access network devices may not have input / output devices.

[0201] When data needs to be sent, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and outputs the baseband signal to the RF circuit. The RF circuit performs RF processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the RF signal to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the access network device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data. For ease of explanation, Figure 11 shows only one memory, processor, and transceiver. In an actual access network device product, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device. The memory may be set independently of the processor or integrated with the processor. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0202] In the embodiment of the present application, the antenna and radio frequency circuit with transceiver functions may be regarded as the transceiver unit of the access network device, and the processor with processing function may be regarded as the processing unit of the access network device.

[0203] As shown in Figure 11, the access network device includes a processor 1110, a memory 1120, and a transceiver 1130. The processor 1110 may also be referred to as a processing unit, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, etc., and the transceiver 1130 may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver device, etc.

[0204] Alternatively, the device implementing the receiving function in transceiver 1130 may be considered a receiving unit, and the device implementing the transmitting function in transceiver 1130 may be considered a transmitting unit. That is, transceiver 1130 includes a receiver and a transmitter. A transceiver may also be sometimes referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver unit, or a transceiver circuit. A receiver may also be sometimes referred to as a receiver, a receiving unit, or a receiving circuit. A transmitter may also be sometimes referred to as a transmitter, a transmitting unit, or a transmitting circuit.

[0205] For example, in one implementation, the processor 1110 is configured to perform processing actions on the access network device side in the embodiment shown in Figure 2, and the transceiver 1130 is configured to perform transceiver actions on the access network device side in Figure 2. For example, the processor 1110 is configured to perform the processing operations of steps 201 and 202 in the embodiment shown in Figure 2.

[0206] For example, in one implementation, the processor 1110 is configured to execute the processing actions on the access network device side in the embodiment shown in Figure 5. The processor 1110 is configured to execute the processing operations of steps 501 to 507 in the embodiment shown in Figure 5.

[0207] For example, in one implementation, the processor 1110 is configured to execute the processing actions on the access network device side in the embodiment shown in Figure 6. The processor 1110 is configured to execute the processing operations of steps 601 to 607 in the embodiment shown in Figure 6.

[0208] It should be understood that FIG11 is merely an example and not a limitation, and the access network device including the transceiver unit and the processing unit may not rely on the structure shown in FIG11 .

[0209] When the communication device 1100 is a chip, the chip includes a processor, memory, and a transceiver. The transceiver can be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processor can be a processing unit, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. The sending operation of the access network device in the above method embodiment can be understood as the chip's output, and the receiving operation of the access network device in the above method embodiment can be understood as the chip's input.

[0210] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions for implementing the method executed by the access network device in the above method embodiment.

[0211] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement the method performed by the access network device in the above method embodiment.

[0212] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to implement the method performed by the access network device in the above method embodiment.

[0213] An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip device, including a processor, configured to call a computer program or computer instruction stored in the memory so that the processor executes the communication method of the embodiments shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 8 .

[0214] In a possible implementation, the input of the chip device corresponds to the receiving operation in the embodiments shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 8 , and the output of the chip device corresponds to the sending operation in the embodiments shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 8 .

[0215] Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory via an interface.

[0216] Optionally, the chip device further includes a memory, in which computer programs or computer instructions are stored.

[0217] The processor mentioned in any of the above may be a general-purpose central processing unit, a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the communication method of the embodiments shown in Figures 2 to 8. The memory mentioned in any of the above may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0218] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity of description, the explanation and beneficial effects of the relevant contents in any of the communication devices provided above can refer to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0219] In an embodiment of the present application, the access network device may include a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer may include hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and memory (also known as main memory). The operating system of the operating system layer may be any one or more computer operating systems that implement service processing through processes, such as a Linux operating system, a Unix operating system, an Android operating system, an iOS operating system, or a Windows operating system. The application layer may include applications such as browsers, address books, word processing software, and instant messaging software.

[0220] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0221] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0222] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0223] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0224] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional 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, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The access network device determines at least two cells in a coverage area, the at least two cells include a first cell and a second cell, the first cell and the second cell respectively correspond to different user access demands or different areas, and the user access demand is the number of access users per unit time; The access network device determines a first synchronization signal block SSB beam for scanning the first cell and a second SSB beam for scanning the second cell according to user access requirements or areas corresponding to the first cell and the second cell respectively, and configuration parameters of the first SSB beam and the second SSB beam are different. The first SSB beam is a beam used to carry the SSB corresponding to the first cell, and the second SSB beam is a beam used to carry the SSB corresponding to the second cell.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the first SSB beam include a width of the first SSB beam and a scanning period of the first SSB beam, and the configuration parameters of the second SSB beam include a width of the second SSB beam and a scanning period of the second SSB beam; The configuration parameters of the first SSB beam and the configuration parameters of the second SSB beam are different in that at least one of the width of the first SSB beam and the width of the second SSB beam, and the scanning period of the first SSB beam and the scanning period of the second SSB beam is different.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that When the area of ​​the first cell satisfies a first condition, the width of the first SSB beam is configured as a first parameter.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The first condition is: the area of ​​the first cell is greater than a first threshold, or the area of ​​the first cell is less than the first threshold; When the area of ​​the first cell is greater than the first threshold, the first parameter is greater than a first width value, and the first width value is a beam width value corresponding to the first threshold; When the area of ​​the first cell is smaller than the first threshold, the first parameter is smaller than the first width value.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first condition is: the area of ​​the first cell is larger than the area of ​​the second cell, or the area of ​​the first cell is smaller than the area of ​​the second cell; When the area of ​​the first cell is larger than the area of ​​the second cell, the first parameter is larger than the width value of the second SSB beam; When the area of ​​the first cell is smaller than the area of ​​the second cell, the first parameter is smaller than the width value of the second SSB beam.

6. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that When the user access demand corresponding to the first cell meets the second condition, the scanning period of the first SSB beam is configured as a second parameter.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The second condition is: the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than a second threshold, or the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the second threshold; When the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than a second threshold, the second parameter is less than a first time value, and the first time value is a scanning period corresponding to the second threshold; When the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than a second threshold, the second parameter is greater than the first time value.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The second condition is: the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the user access demand of the second cell, or the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the user access demand of the second cell; When the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the user access demand of the second cell, the second parameter is less than the scanning period of the second SSB beam; When the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than the user access demand of the second cell, the second parameter is greater than the scanning period of the second SSB beam.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that: When the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than a second threshold, the width of the first SSB beam is greater than a second width value, and the second width value is a beam width value corresponding to the second threshold; When the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is less than a second threshold, the width of the first SSB beam is less than the second width value.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that When the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the user access demand of the second cell, the width of the first SSB beam is greater than the width value of the second SSB beam; When the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is smaller than the user access demand of the second cell, the width of the first SSB beam is smaller than the width of the second SSB beam.

11. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that When the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the second threshold, the number of radio frequency channels corresponding to the first cell is greater than a first value, the first value is the number of radio frequency channels corresponding to the second threshold, and the radio frequency channels of the first cell are used to generate the first SSB beam.

12. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that When the user access demand corresponding to the first cell is greater than the user access demand of the second cell, the number of radio frequency channels corresponding to the first cell is greater than the number of radio frequency channels of the second cell, the radio frequency channels of the first cell are used to generate the first SSB beam, and the radio frequency channels of the second cell are used to generate the second SSB beam.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that: The access network device determines at least two cells in a coverage area, including: The access network device determines at least two cells in the coverage area according to the stored historical access quantities at different locations in the coverage area.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receiving historical access counts at different locations within the coverage area from a control center device; The access network device determines at least two cells in a coverage area, including: The access network device determines at least two cells in the coverage area according to the historical access quantities at different locations in the coverage area.

15. A communication device, characterized in that: include: Transceiver module and processing module, The transceiver module is used to perform the transceiver operation of the method described in any one of claims 1 to 14, and the processing module is used to perform the processing operation of the method described in any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises: Memory, for storing computer instructions; A processor, configured to execute a computer program or computer instruction stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

17. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: A computer program is stored thereon, and when the computer program is executed by a communication device, the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

18. A communication system, characterized in that: include: An access network device and a terminal device, the access network device communicates with the terminal device, and the access network device is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 14.

19. A computer program product comprising instructions, characterized in that When the method is executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

Images