Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of wireless communications. Provided are a communication method and apparatus. In the method, a network device can indicate to a terminal the position of each region among a plurality of regions, a communication resource corresponding to each region, and a random access resource corresponding to each region; after acquiring such information, the terminal can send to the network device a random access resource corresponding to the region where the terminal is located, such that the network device determines, on the basis of the random access resource, a communication resource for the region where the terminal is located; and subsequently, the terminal can communicate with the network device by means of the communication resource for the region where the terminal is located. By means of the method, a network device can determine a communication resource, such as a beam, for communication with a terminal, thereby improving the communication quality.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on September 28, 2023, with application number 202311295572.2 and invention name “Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of wireless communications, and in particular to communication methods and devices. Background Art

[0003] Non-terrestrial network (NTN) technology can utilize communication devices located at a certain height above the ground, such as satellites and high-altitude platforms (HPA), to participate in network deployment. Therefore, it can provide wider coverage than terrestrial network (TN) communication networks, is less susceptible to damage from external forces and natural disasters, and can provide more communication resources and increase network speeds. Furthermore, NTN technology can enhance communication reliability, for example, providing better communication services for users in a fast-moving state (such as those traveling by airplanes, trains, or high-speed trains). In summary, NTN can make up for the shortcomings of TN and meet the needs of terminals to communicate at any time and any place. Therefore, it is an inevitable trend in the development of communication technology for terminals to support both TN and NTN.

[0004] In NTN, satellites cover a wide area, requiring multiple satellite beams to scan the coverage area and communicate with terminals. However, the satellites are far away from the terminals, and from the satellite's perspective, the characteristics (such as angles) between the multiple satellite beams are not clearly different. Therefore, the satellite cannot distinguish the satellite beam where the terminal is located, affecting communication quality.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus that can enable a network device to determine communication resources for communicating with a terminal to improve communication quality.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0008] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a network device; the network device here can refer to the network device itself, or it can refer to a processor, module, chip, or chip system in the network device that implements the method.

[0009] The method includes: transmitting location information of multiple areas, random access resource information indicating random access resources corresponding to each area, and communication resource information corresponding to each area; receiving a first random access resource from a terminal, and communicating with the terminal via the first communication resource. The first random access resource is a random access resource corresponding to the area where the terminal is located; and the first communication resource is a communication resource corresponding to the area corresponding to the first random access resource.

[0010] Based on the method provided in the first aspect above, the network device can indicate to the terminal the location of each of the multiple areas, the communication resources corresponding to each area, and the random access resources corresponding to each area. The terminal can then combine the above information and send a first random access resource to the network device based on the area in which it is located, so that the network device can determine a first communication resource for communicating with the terminal based on the first random access resource. In this way, the network device can determine which communication resource (e.g., which beam) to use to communicate with the terminal, thereby improving communication quality.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: at a first moment, sending m first synchronization signal blocks respectively through the second communication resources of m areas among the multiple areas, the m first synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, m is an integer greater than 1, and m is less than the total number of the multiple areas.

[0012] Based on the above possible implementation, when planning a cell, multiple areas of the network device can be merged to reduce the number of cells included in the network device, and different communication resources can be used to send the first synchronization signal block to different areas within the same cell (such as each area in the above m areas) to achieve SSB scanning of the wave position corresponding to the communication resource. Based on this logic, the network device can subsequently use a similar method to scan other wave positions to complete the synchronization signal block scanning of the entire coverage area of ​​the network device within a period of time. In addition, in this possible implementation, there is no need to expand the synchronization signal block, and in a mobile beam scenario, the terminal in the connected state can avoid frequent cell switching, thereby saving signaling overhead or switching overhead, and can also reduce physical cell identification (PCI) conflicts.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the first synchronization signal block further includes: an identifier of the first synchronization signal block, a primary synchronization signal, a secondary synchronization signal, and a physical broadcast channel, and the m first synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

[0014] Based on the above possible implementation methods, the first synchronization signal block can include the above information. Among them, the identifier of the first synchronization signal block can enable the terminal receiving the first synchronization signal block to determine the identifier of the first synchronization signal block; the primary synchronization signal and the secondary synchronization signal can enable the terminal receiving the first synchronization signal block to perform downlink synchronization; the physical broadcast channel can enable the terminal receiving the first synchronization signal block to determine timing-related information and obtain system information block type one. In addition, since the m areas belong to the same cell, the m first synchronization signal blocks include the same content, that is, the identifier of the first synchronization signal block, the primary synchronization signal, the secondary synchronization signal, and the physical broadcast channel included in the m first synchronization signal blocks are all the same.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending m second synchronization signal blocks respectively through the third communication resources of the m areas at a second moment, the m second synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, and the second synchronization signal block and the first synchronization signal block include the same cell identifier.

[0016] Based on the above possible implementation methods, the network device can scan the wave positions in the m areas except the wave positions scanned at the first moment at the second moment to realize the synchronization signal block scanning of the m areas.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the random access resource information indicates the preamble code corresponding to each area; or, the random access resource information indicates the random access opportunity corresponding to each area; or, the random access resource information indicates the format of the preamble code corresponding to each area.

[0018] Based on the possible implementations described above, the network device can allocate corresponding random access resources to each area in a variety of ways to accommodate different communication scenarios. For example, if the random access resource information indicates the preamble corresponding to each area, the network device can allocate the preamble in the random access opportunity to each of the multiple areas, so that the terminal selects the preamble according to its location to access the network device, and the network device determines the communication resources for communicating with the terminal based on the preamble. If the random access resource information indicates the random access opportunity corresponding to each area, the network device can allocate a different random access opportunity to each of the multiple areas, so that the terminal determines the corresponding random access opportunity according to its location, selects the preamble in the random access opportunity to access the network device, and the network device determines the communication resources for communicating with the terminal based on the preamble. If the random access resource information indicates the format of the preamble corresponding to each area, the network device can allocate a different preamble format to each of the multiple areas, so that the terminal determines the corresponding preamble format according to its location, selects the preamble from the preambles that match the preamble format to access the network device, and the network device determines the communication resources for communicating with the terminal based on the preamble.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: sending area switching information, where the area switching information indicates areas to which the terminal sequentially switches within the first cell, and condition information for triggering each area switching.

[0020] Based on the above possible implementation, the network device can configure the area switching information for the terminal so that the terminal can quickly switch areas according to the area switching information, which can reduce the measurement overhead of the network device and the terminal and reduce the power consumption of the terminal.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the condition information for triggering area switching is used to indicate the time for triggering area switching, or the boundary of the corresponding area.

[0022] Based on the above possible implementation methods, the network device can configure the time to trigger area switching for the terminal, so that the terminal determines whether to switch areas according to the time to trigger area switching; or the network device can indicate the boundaries of each area to the terminal, so that the terminal can determine the area it is located in and then determine whether to switch areas.

[0023] In a possible implementation manner, the first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver.

[0024] Based on the above possible implementation methods, the network device can determine the beam for communicating with the terminal, and / or the antenna port for communicating with the terminal, and / or the transceiver point for communicating with the terminal, and / or the transceiver for communicating with the terminal.

[0025] In a possible implementation manner, the random access resource information, the location information, and the communication resource information are included in a system information block message.

[0026] Based on the above possible implementation, the network device can send random access resource information, location information and communication resource information through the system information block message. In other words, the network device can implement this solution through existing messages, making the solution easier to implement.

[0027] On the second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal; the terminal here can refer to the terminal itself, or it can refer to a processor, module, chip, or chip system in the terminal that implements the method.

[0028] The method includes: obtaining location information of multiple areas, random access resource information indicating a random access resource corresponding to each area, and communication resource information corresponding to each area; sending a first random access resource to a network device, and communicating with the network device via the first communication resource. The first random access resource is a random access resource corresponding to an area where a terminal is located, the area where the terminal is located being determined based on a location of the terminal and the location information, and the first communication resource is a communication resource corresponding to the area where the terminal is located.

[0029] Based on the method provided in the second aspect, the terminal can obtain the location of each of the multiple areas, the communication resources corresponding to each area, and the random access resources corresponding to each area. The terminal can then combine this information and send a first random access resource to a network device based on the area in which the terminal is located. The network device can then determine a first communication resource for communicating with the terminal based on the first random access resource. In this way, the network device can determine which communication resource (e.g., which beam) to use to communicate with the terminal, thereby improving communication quality.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the random access resource information indicates the preamble code corresponding to each area; or, the random access resource information indicates the random access opportunity corresponding to each area; or, the random access resource information indicates the format of the preamble code corresponding to each area.

[0031] Based on the possible implementations described above, the network device can allocate corresponding random access resources to each area in a variety of ways to accommodate different communication scenarios. For example, if the random access resource information indicates the preamble corresponding to each area, the network device can allocate the preamble in the random access opportunity to each of the multiple areas, so that the terminal selects the preamble according to its location to access the network device, and the network device determines the communication resources for communicating with the terminal based on the preamble. If the random access resource information indicates the random access opportunity corresponding to each area, the network device can allocate a different random access opportunity to each of the multiple areas, so that the terminal determines the corresponding random access opportunity according to its location, selects the preamble in the random access opportunity to access the network device, and the network device determines the communication resources for communicating with the terminal based on the preamble. If the random access resource information indicates the format of the preamble corresponding to each area, the network device can allocate a different preamble format to each of the multiple areas, so that the terminal determines the corresponding preamble format according to its location, selects the preamble from the preambles that match the preamble format to access the network device, and the network device determines the communication resources for communicating with the terminal based on the preamble.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving area switching information, where the area switching information indicates areas to which the terminal sequentially switches within the first cell, and condition information for triggering each area switching.

[0033] Based on the above possible implementation manner, the terminal can quickly switch areas according to the area switching information, thereby reducing the measurement overhead of the network equipment and the terminal, and also reducing the power consumption of the terminal.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the condition information for triggering area switching is used to indicate the time for triggering area switching, or the boundary of the corresponding area.

[0035] Based on the above possible implementations, the terminal may determine whether to switch regions according to the time when region switching is triggered; or the terminal may determine the region where it is located and then determine whether to switch regions.

[0036] In one possible implementation, obtaining information about random access resources, location information of multiple areas, and information about communication resources corresponding to each area includes: receiving a system information block message from the network device, the system information block message including information about the random access resources, the location information, and information about the communication resources.

[0037] Based on the above possible implementation, the terminal can receive random access resource information, location information and communication resource information through the system information block message. In other words, the terminal can implement this solution through existing messages, making the solution easier to implement.

[0038] In a possible implementation manner, the first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver.

[0039] Based on the above possible implementation methods, the terminal can determine the beam for communicating with the network device, and / or the antenna port for communicating with the terminal, and / or the transceiver point for communicating with the terminal, and / or the transceiver for communicating with the terminal.

[0040] On the third aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a network device; the network device here can refer to the network device itself, or it can refer to a processor, module, chip, or chip system in the network device that implements the method.

[0041] The method includes: at a first moment, sending n first synchronization signal blocks respectively through first communication resources of n areas among p areas, wherein the n first synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, n is an integer greater than 1, and n is less than p.

[0042] Based on the method provided in the third aspect above, when planning a cell, the p areas of the network device can be merged to reduce the number of cells included in the network device, and different communication resources can be used to send the first synchronization signal block to different areas within the same cell (such as each area in the above n areas) to achieve synchronization signal block scanning of the wave position corresponding to the communication resource. Based on this logic, the network device can subsequently use a similar method to scan other wave positions to complete the synchronization signal block scanning of the entire coverage area of ​​the network device within a period of time. In addition, in the third aspect, there is no need to expand the synchronization signal block, and in the mobile beam scenario, the terminal in the connected state can be avoided from frequently switching cells, thereby saving signaling overhead or switching overhead, and can also reduce PCI conflicts.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the first synchronization signal block further includes: an identifier of the first synchronization signal block, a primary synchronization signal, a secondary synchronization signal, and a physical broadcast channel, and the n first synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

[0044] Based on the above possible implementation methods, the first synchronization signal block can include the above information. Among them, the identifier of the first synchronization signal block can enable the terminal receiving the first synchronization signal block to determine the identifier of the first synchronization signal block; the primary synchronization signal and the secondary synchronization signal can enable the terminal receiving the first synchronization signal block to perform downlink synchronization; the physical broadcast channel can enable the terminal receiving the first synchronization signal block to determine timing-related information and obtain system information block type one. In addition, since the n areas belong to the same cell, the n first synchronization signal blocks include the same content, that is, the identifier of the first synchronization signal block, the primary synchronization signal, the secondary synchronization signal, and the physical broadcast channel included in the n first synchronization signal blocks are all the same.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending n second synchronization signal blocks respectively through the second communication resources of the n areas at a second moment, the n second synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, and the second synchronization signal block and the first synchronization signal block include the same cell identifier.

[0046] Based on the above possible implementation methods, the network device can scan the wave positions in the n areas except the wave positions scanned at the first moment at the second moment to realize the synchronization signal block scanning of the n areas.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending r third synchronization signal blocks respectively through the third communication resources of r areas among the p areas at a third moment, the r third synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, and the third synchronization signal block and the first synchronization signal block include different cell identifiers, the r areas are the areas other than the n areas in the p areas, r is an integer greater than 1, and r is less than p.

[0048] Based on the above possible implementation manner, the network device may scan r areas excluding n areas among the p areas at the third moment to implement synchronization signal block scanning of the coverage area of ​​the network device.

[0049] In a possible implementation manner, the first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver.

[0050] Based on the above possible implementation methods, the beams, and / or antenna ports, and / or transceiver points, and / or transceivers corresponding to each area may be different.

[0051] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the above-mentioned method. The communication device may be the network device described in the first aspect; or the communication device may be the terminal described in the second aspect; or the communication device may be the network device described in the third aspect. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the above-mentioned method. The modules, units, or means may be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0052] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation, the communication device may include an interface module. The interface module, also referred to as an interface unit, is configured to implement the sending and / or receiving functions described in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The interface module may be comprised of an interface circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0053] In combination with the fourth aspect above, in a possible implementation, the interface module includes a sending module and a receiving module, which are respectively used to implement the sending and receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0054] In conjunction with the fourth aspect above, in one possible implementation, the communication device may further include a processing module. The processing module may be configured to implement the processing functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The processing module may be, for example, a processor.

[0055] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor; the processor is coupled to a memory, and after reading instructions from the memory, executes the method described in any of the above aspects according to the instructions. The communication device may be the network device described in the first aspect; or the communication device may be the terminal described in the second aspect; or the communication device may be the network device described in the third aspect.

[0056] In conjunction with the fifth aspect above, in one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory for storing program instructions and data. Optionally, the memory is integrated with the processor; or the memory is independent of the processor.

[0057] In conjunction with the fifth aspect above, in one possible implementation, the communication device is a chip or a chip system. Optionally, when the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0058] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and an interface circuit; the interface circuit being configured to receive a computer program or instruction and transmit it to the processor; and the processor being configured to execute the computer program or instruction, thereby causing the communication device to perform the method described in any of the above aspects. The communication device may be the network device described in the first aspect; or the terminal described in the second aspect; or the network device described in the third aspect.

[0059] In conjunction with the sixth aspect above, in one possible implementation, the communication device is a chip or a chip system. Optionally, when the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0060] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer-readable storage medium is run on the computer, the computer can execute the method described in any one of the above aspects.

[0061] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in any one of the above aspects.

[0062] In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a network device for executing the method described in the first aspect, and a terminal for executing the method described in the second aspect.

[0063] In a possible implementation, the communication system further includes a network device for executing the method described in the third aspect above.

[0064] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any possible implementation method in the fourth to ninth aspects can be referred to the technical effects brought about by any aspect in the first to second aspects or different possible implementation methods in any aspect, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0065] FIG1A is a schematic diagram of a staring beam;

[0066] FIG1B is a schematic diagram of a moving beam;

[0067] FIG1C is a satellite antenna pattern for a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite;

[0068] FIG1D is a schematic diagram of a synchronization signal block (SSB) scanning mode provided by the present application;

[0069] FIG1E is a first schematic diagram of beam scanning provided by the present application;

[0070] FIG1F is a second schematic diagram of beam scanning provided by this application;

[0071] FIG1G is a schematic diagram of a PCI conflict provided by this application;

[0072] FIG1H is a schematic diagram of the motion trajectory of a satellite provided by this application;

[0073] FIG1I is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between PCI conflicts and the number of cells within a single satellite coverage area when the NTN constellation is networked as provided in this application;

[0074] FIG1J is a schematic diagram of a process of switching a transmission receiving point (TRP) of a terminal;

[0075] FIG1K is a schematic diagram of communication between a terminal and a TRP;

[0076] FIG2A is a schematic diagram of the communication system architecture provided by this application;

[0077] FIG2B is a schematic diagram of a communication scenario provided by this application;

[0078] FIG2C is a second schematic diagram of a communication scenario provided by this application;

[0079] FIG2D is a third schematic diagram of a communication scenario provided by this application;

[0080] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the communication device provided in this application;

[0081] FIG4 is a flow chart of the communication method provided in this application;

[0082] FIG5 is a second flow chart of the communication method provided by this application;

[0083] FIG6 is a third flow chart of the communication method provided by this application;

[0084] FIG7 is a fourth flow chart of the communication method provided by this application;

[0085] FIG8 is a fifth flow chart of the communication method provided by this application;

[0086] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided in this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0087] Before introducing the technical solution of this application, the relevant technical terms involved in this application are explained. It is understood that these explanations are intended to make this application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0088] 1. Network equipment

[0089] In this application, a network device refers to a network device in an NTN that is used to provide wireless access services to terminals. Specifically, each network device corresponds to a service coverage area. Terminals entering this area can communicate with the network device through an air interface to receive the wireless access services provided by the network device. Terminals and network devices can communicate through air interface links. Air interface links can be divided into uplinks (UL) and downlinks (DL) based on the direction of the data transmitted on them. UL can transmit uplink data sent from the terminal to the network device, and DL can transmit downlink data transmitted from the network device to the terminal.

[0090] Exemplarily, the network device can implement all or part of the functions of a radio access network (RAN) node. For example, the network device includes, but is not limited to: an evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutionary Node B) in long term evolution (LTE), an evolved base station (next generation eNB, ng-eNB) in next generation LTE, a base station (gNodeB or gNB) in new radio (NR), a transmitting point (TP) or a transmission receiving point (TRP), a base station of subsequent evolution of 3GPP, a next generation base station (next generation NodeB, gNB), a next generation base station in a sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, a satellite, an access node in a WiFi system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node or a high altitude platform, etc. The base station can be: a macro base station, a micro base station, a pico base station, a small station, a relay station, or a balloon station, etc. Multiple base stations can support the network of the same technology mentioned above, or can support the network of different technologies mentioned above. The base station can include one or more co-sited or non-co-sited TRPs. The network device can also be a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. The network device can also be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), a radio unit (RU), a wired access gateway or a core network element, etc.

[0091] In this application, the CU and DU may be separately configured or may be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). It is understood that the CU may be classified as a network device in an access network, or as a network device in a core network, without limitation herein.

[0092] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (ORAN) system, CU may also be called O-CU (open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application takes CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0093] Optionally, the network device in this application can be deployed on a non-ground platform, such as a low-altitude platform (such as a drone), a high-altitude platform (such as an airplane), or a satellite. Therefore, the network device in this application can also be referred to as a non-ground network device.

[0094] In this application, the form of the network device is not limited. The device used to implement the function of the network device can be a network device; it can also be a device that can support the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the network device or used in conjunction with the network device.

[0095] 2. Terminal

[0096] In this application, a terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities. The terminal can be deployed on land, including indoors, outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons and satellites, etc.). The terminal can also be called a terminal device, and the terminal device can be a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), etc., or a device used to provide voice or data connectivity to users. Among them, UE includes handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, vehicle-mounted devices (such as cars, bicycles, electric vehicles, airplanes, ships, trains, high-speed railways, etc.), wearable devices (such as smart watches, smart bracelets, pedometers, etc.) or computing devices. Exemplarily, UE can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a PDA, a mobile internet device (MID), a satellite terminal or a computer with wireless transceiver capabilities. A UE may also be a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless modem, a smart point of sale (POS) machine, customer-premises equipment (CPE), an intelligent robot, a robotic arm, workshop equipment, smart home devices (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, electric meters, etc.), a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, an in-vehicle terminal, a roadside unit (RSU) with terminal functions, or an aerial device (e.g., an intelligent robot, a hot air balloon, a drone, an airplane), etc. A terminal may also be other devices with terminal functions, for example, a terminal may also be a device that functions as a terminal in device-to-device (D2D) communication.

[0097] As an example and not a limitation, in this application, the terminal may be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be referred to as wearable smart devices, which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. For example, a wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also a device that achieves powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include devices that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as devices that focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0098] In the present application, the terminal may be a terminal in an Internet of Things (IoT) system. IoT is an important component of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, thereby realizing an intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and object-to-object interconnection. The terminal in the present application may be a terminal in machine type communication (MTC). The terminal of the present application may be an on-board module, on-board module, on-board component, on-board chip or on-board unit built into a vehicle as one or more components or units. The vehicle may implement the method of the present application through the built-in on-board module, on-board module, on-board component, on-board chip or on-board unit. The terminal of the present application may be a vehicle, such as a car. Therefore, the present application may be applied to Internet of Vehicles, such as vehicle to everything (V2X), long term evolution vehicle (LTE-V), vehicle to vehicle (V2V), etc.

[0099] It is understandable that in some scenarios, the roles of RAN nodes and terminals are relative. For example, a helicopter or drone, which is usually configured as a terminal, can also be configured as a mobile base station, and the device that accesses the RAN via the helicopter or drone is configured as a terminal.

[0100] 3. Beam

[0101] In this application, a beam is a communication resource. Beam formation can be achieved through beamforming or other techniques. Specifically, beamforming techniques can include digital beamforming, analog beamforming, or hybrid digital / analog beamforming. Different beams can be considered different resources. Different beams can transmit the same or different information.

[0102] In NTN, beams can be categorized as either staring beams or mobile beams, depending on their operating mode. A staring beam is one in which network devices adjust the beam angle using beamforming technology, allowing the beam to remain fixed at a fixed position on the ground for a period of time. A mobile beam, on the other hand, is one in which the beam's transmission angle remains constant over time. Therefore, the projected topology of the beam on the ground moves with the movement of the network device.

[0103] For example, using a satellite as a network device, a staring beam can be depicted as shown in Figure 1A, while a moving beam can be depicted as shown in Figure 1B. In Figure 1A, the satellite can dynamically adjust its beam direction so that it covers approximately the same ground area from time 0 to time 2. In Figure 1B, the satellite beam's launch angle at time 0, time 1, and time 2 is the same, so the coverage area of ​​the satellite beam moves with the satellite.

[0104] 4. SSB

[0105] In this application, SSB can provide the terminal with cell downlink synchronization and basic configuration information of the cell. For example, SSB contains PCI. SSB also includes: SSB identifier (SSB index), primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS) and physical broadcast channel (PBCH). Among them, PSS and SSS are used for downlink synchronization of the terminal, PBCH can carry master information block (MIB), and MIB can indicate whether system information block type 1 (SIB1) exists.

[0106] 5. SSB burst

[0107] In this application, an SSB burst contains the SSBs required to complete a beam scan. Each SSB in an SSB burst is sent in different directions at different times, thereby achieving the purpose of covering the cell. All SSBs in an SSB burst must be sent within a certain time (such as half a frame, i.e., 5ms). In other words, the network device must complete a cell scan within this time. The SSB burst period can be configured as needed, for example, through SIB1. The period can be 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, 80ms, or 160ms, etc.

[0108] 6. PCI

[0109] In this application, PCI is used to identify the cell of a network device. PCI is related to the m-sequence used by the PSS of SSB (3 sequences of length 127) and the gold sequence used by the SSS of SSB (336 sequences of length 127 corresponding to each primary synchronization sequence).

[0110] Exemplarily, PCI satisfies the following formula: in, For PCI, The value range is 0, 1 or 2, which can be determined according to the m sequence. The value range of PCI is 0 to 335 and can be determined based on the gold sequence. Therefore, the value range of PCI is 0 to 1007, supporting a maximum of 1008 cells without duplicate PCI names.

[0111] Optionally, in a staring beam scenario, the PCI can be managed and allocated by the ground station and is not bound to the satellite. In a moving beam scenario, the PCI is managed and allocated by the satellite.

[0112] The background technology describes the use of communication devices at a certain height above the ground in NTN network deployment. Therefore, NTN offers several advantages over TN. For example, NTN can provide wider coverage, covering areas not covered by TN (such as oceans, forests, and deserts), provide more communication resources, and thus increase network speeds. It can also enhance communication reliability and reduce susceptibility to external forces and natural disasters. Therefore, the development of communication technology is bound to see terminals supporting both TN and NTN. However, NTN also has its drawbacks, which can introduce new problems when terminals communicate with network devices in the NTN. This is explained below using satellites as an example.

[0113] Satellites can be divided into the following four categories based on their orbital altitude: LEO satellites, with an orbital altitude of 500km to 2000km; medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites, with an orbital altitude of 2000km to 20,000km; high earth orbit (HEO) satellites, with an elliptical orbit with an altitude greater than 20,000km; and geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellites, with an orbital altitude of 35,800km. Among them, LEO satellites have the lowest orbital altitude, relatively low round-trip delay (RTD), and relatively less path loss, so LEO satellites have more important research significance. Therefore, this application uses LEO satellites as an example for explanation.

[0114] Currently, LEO satellites orbiting at an altitude of 600 km support terminal elevation angles as low as 10 or 30 degrees, resulting in a large coverage area (or coverage range) for a single LEO satellite. For example, if the minimum supported terminal elevation angle is 30 degrees, the radius of its coverage area typically reaches 853.6 km. However, the projected radius of the beam emitted by a LEO satellite (also known as a satellite beam) on the ground is much smaller than 853.6 km. Therefore, achieving full (or seamless) coverage of the LEO satellite's coverage area through satellite beams requires a large number of beams. A beam is a pre-planned area on the ground with equal or varying sizes and shapes. For example, a beam is relatively small at the center of a satellite's coverage area, while it is larger at the edge. When a satellite transmits a beam to a beam, the center of the beam is positioned at the center of that beam, and a beamforming algorithm is used to align the beam's topology with that of the beam.

[0115] For example, the projection radius of the satellite beam on the ground (which can be regarded as the radius of the wave position in this example) can be determined based on the antenna parameters of the LEO satellite. Among them, the antenna parameters may include the angle θ between the line between the LEO satellite and the center of the earth and the main lobe of the LEO satellite's antenna, the diameter of the LEO satellite's antenna panel and the half-power beam width (HPBW), etc. When the diameter of the antenna panel of the LEO satellite is 2m, the radiation intensity (or relative gain) of the antenna panel in all directions can be shown in Figure 1C. It can be seen from Figure 1C that when θ is 0 degrees (degress), the relative gain of the antenna panel is the largest, and when θ gradually moves away from 0 degrees, the relative gain of the antenna panel gradually decreases. If the projection radius of the satellite beam on the ground is calculated based on θ equal to 0 degrees, the diameter of the antenna panel is 2m, and the HPBW is 4.4 degrees, the projection radius can be obtained to be 23.1km. Taking the radius of the LEO satellite coverage area as 853.6 km as an example, when the projection radius of the satellite beam on the ground is 23.1 km, if the reflector antenna wants to achieve seamless coverage of the LEO satellite coverage area, 1372 wave positions are required, as shown in Table 1.

[0116] Table 1

[0117] In NTN, the coverage area of ​​network equipment is relatively wide, so these network devices all need a large number of wave bits to achieve seamless coverage of their coverage areas. When a terminal enters the coverage area of ​​a certain network device, initial access is required. For example, the network device can send SSBs in all directions of its coverage area in the form of burst sets within a continuous period of time (such as within 5ms). After the terminal enters the coverage area of ​​the network device, it can receive the SSB, obtain access resources based on the SSB, and access the network device. At present, the maximum number of SSBs supported by a cell is 64. For cells with a frequency band less than 3GHz in frequency range 1 (FR1), the maximum number of SSBs supported is 4. It can be seen that the number of SSBs supported by a cell is much smaller than the number of wave bits required for the coverage area of ​​the network device. In other words, the number of SSBs supported by a cell does not match the number of wave bits required for the coverage area of ​​the network device, and cannot cover the entire coverage area of ​​the network device. In order to solve this problem, the present application provides the following four methods:

[0118] Method 1: Divide the entire coverage area of ​​the network device into a cell, and use a wide SSB scanning beam. Specifically, the network device can reduce the number of antennas used on the antenna panel or design antenna weights to produce a beam pattern with a wide main lobe width of 3dB. For example, for cells in the FR1 frequency band below 3GHz, four wide SSB beams can be used to cover the entire coverage area.

[0119] It can be understood that method 1 can widen the SSB beam (i.e., increase the coverage range of each SSB beam) so that the SSB beam can cover the entire coverage area of ​​the network device.

[0120] Method 2: Divide the entire coverage area of ​​the network device into a cell and expand the SSB transmission pattern so that the SSB scan of the entire cell can be completed within the SSB scan cycle. Specifically, you can increase the number of SSBs supported by a cell, increase the duration of the SSB burst, or increase the SSB scan cycle.

[0121] It can be understood that method 2 can expand the SSB pattern so that the SSB beam can cover the entire coverage area of ​​the network device.

[0122] Method 3: Divide the entire coverage area of ​​the network device into p areas, each area is a cell, and the network device uses time division to let multiple beams scan these cells separately within a certain period, where p is an integer greater than 1.

[0123] For example, the entire coverage area of ​​the network device is divided into p cells, each cell includes 4 SSB directions corresponding to 4 beam positions, and the network device can simultaneously transmit 8 beams (such as beams 1 to beam 8), and uses the SSB scanning mode shown in Figure 1D to send SSB as an example for specific explanation. Referring to Figure 1E, starting from time t0, the network device simultaneously uses beams 1 to beam 8 to send SSB bursts to 8 cells (such as cell 1 to cell 8) in its coverage area. The SSB burst includes 4 SSBs (such as SSB0 to SSB3), each corresponding to an SSB direction of a cell. Specifically, in the first T1 period (e.g., 5ms) shown in FIG1D , the network device uses beam 1 to send four SSBs at different times to scan beam positions 1 to 4 in cell 1, and uses beam 2 to send four SSBs at different times to scan beam positions 1 to 4 in cell 2, and uses beam 3 to send four SSBs at different times to scan beam positions 1 to 4 in cell 3, and so on. At the same time, beam 8 is used to send four SSBs at different times to scan beam positions 1 to 4 in cell 8. In a subsequent period of time, such as after the end of the first T1 period and before time t1, the network device uses beams 1 to 8 to send system information (SI) associated with each of the above SSBs to the eight cells. After the first T2 period (also known as the time division multiplexing (TDM) gap) ends, the network device adjusts the directions of the eight beams through analog, digital, or hybrid beamforming, so that they point to eight cells other than cells 1 to 8, such as cells 9 to 16, and sends SSB bursts to these cells. For example, as shown in Figure 1F, starting at time t1, the network device simultaneously uses beams 1 to 8 to send SSB bursts to cells 9 to 16. Similarly, starting at time tn, the network device simultaneously uses beams 1 to 8 to send SSB bursts to cells p-7 to cell p. Using this method, the network device can scan all beam positions in its coverage area within the T3 period (e.g., 160ms).

[0124] It can be understood that method 3 can adopt a multi-beam multi-cell time-division SSB scanning method, so that the SSB beam scans different cells at different times to complete the SSB scanning of the entire coverage area of ​​the network device within a period of time.

[0125] Method 4: Divide the entire coverage area of ​​the network device into p areas, and divide the p areas into q cells. The network device uses time division to allow multiple beams to scan these cells separately within a certain period, where q is an integer greater than 1 and q is less than p.

[0126] It can be understood that method 4 does not require expansion of the SSB (such as widening the SSB beam or expanding the SSB transmission mode). Instead, when planning cells, multiple areas are merged to reduce the number of cells included in a network device, and a multi-beam multi-cell time-division SSB scanning method is adopted, so that the SSB beam scans different cells at different times, so as to complete the SSB scan of the entire coverage area of ​​the network device within a period of time.

[0127] Furthermore, reducing the number of cells included in a network device can also prevent connected terminals from frequently switching cells in mobile beam scenarios, thereby saving signaling overhead and reducing PCI conflicts. This is explained in detail below.

[0128] As previously mentioned, in mobile beam scenarios, the angle of the network device's transmitted beam remains constant over time, while the beam's projection on the ground moves with the device's movement. Furthermore, in NTNs, network devices typically move rapidly, so even if a terminal remains stationary, its serving cell constantly changes, leading to frequent cell handoffs and high signaling overhead. Therefore, reducing the number of cells included in a network device can prevent frequent cell handoffs for connected terminals in mobile beam scenarios, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0129] In this application, PCI conflict refers to different cells using the same PCI. For example, in Figure 1G, the PCI of cell 1 of network device 101 is 1, and the PCI of cell 2 of network device 102 is also 1, so the PCIs of cell 1 and cell 2 conflict. As mentioned above, the value range of PCI is 0 to 1007, and the PCI of a maximum of 1008 cells is supported without duplication. Therefore, a PCI conflict will occur when the number of cells is greater than 1008. In TN, the ground base station is stationary relative to the ground, and the PCI of the cell can be considered to be bound to the geographical location. By reasonably planning and allocating PCIs, adjacent cells (i.e., first-order neighboring cells) or spaced cells (i.e., second-order neighboring cells) can be prevented from using the same PCI, thereby avoiding PCI conflicts. However, in NTN, the same location may be covered by different network devices in succession, so the PCI of the location will change. This PCI allocation method will cause the same PCI to appear in first-order neighboring cells or second-order neighboring cells as the constellation size increases.

[0130] For example, FIG1H shows a schematic diagram of satellite motion trajectories. At time 1, satellite 1 covers area 103 and is continuously moving. At time 2, satellite 1's coverage changes to area 104, and the satellite covering area 103 becomes satellite 2. When satellites 1 and 2 plan cells within their own coverage areas, they are unaware of the cell allocations within the coverage areas of other satellites. Therefore, PCI conflicts may occur between cells 1031, 1032, 1041, and 1042.

[0131] Furthermore, if the network equipment is a satellite, since multiple cells are allocated under a single satellite, the topology of cells between different satellites will change over time due to satellite motion during constellation networking, exacerbating PCI conflicts across the entire constellation. Figure 1I shows the relationship between PCI conflicts and the number of cells within a single satellite's coverage area in an NTN constellation. As shown in Figure 1I, PCI conflicts increase as the number of cells within a single satellite's coverage area increases.

[0132] It is understandable that PCI conflicts may cause cell handover failures. Continuing with reference to Figure 1G, if the terminal resides in cell 2 and is to perform cell handover, the terminal will measure the signal quality of cell 1 and report the PCI of cell 1 and the measurement results corresponding to the PCI to cell 2. However, because the PCIs of cell 1 and cell 2 are the same, cell 2 cannot determine which cell the terminal is measuring based on the PCI, causing cell 2 to send a handover request to the wrong network device, resulting in a handover failure. Therefore, PCI conflicts should be avoided in NTNs. Method 4 can reduce the number of cells included in the network device, thereby reducing the probability of PCI conflicts. The specific process of Method 4 will be specifically described in the methods shown in Figures 4 to 6 below and will not be repeated here.

[0133] It is understandable that, in addition to the conflicts caused by the same PCI mentioned above, in order to avoid interference with the reference signals (such as the demodulation reference signal (DMRS)) of the cell's uplink data channel (such as the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH)), affecting channel estimation, demodulation performance, and improving call drop rates, it is possible to consider avoiding neighboring cells using the same PCI mod 30 (mod 30) in the NTN. In addition, to avoid affecting PBCH DMRS demodulation and affecting downlink synchronization, it is possible to consider avoiding neighboring cells using the same PCI mod 3 (mod 3) in the NTN.

[0134] In addition to the mismatch between the number of SSBs supported by a cell and the number of wavelengths required by the coverage area of ​​the network equipment, NTN has other unresolved issues.

[0135] In TN, a hypercell architecture can be used to implement continuous networking scenarios, such as on high-speed railways, to merge multiple cells into a larger logical cell to reduce the number of cell switching performed by the terminal. For example, as shown in Figure 1J, the cell of the source TRP and the cell of the destination TRP can be merged into one logical cell, so the source TRP and the destination TRP can be regarded as belonging to the same cell, and there is no need for a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message to configure the relevant information for cell switching. In Figure 1J, the source TRP can send a medium access control control element (MAC-CE) to the terminal to trigger the terminal to report the measurement of the tracking reference signal (TRS). The destination TRP can send TRS to the terminal so that the terminal measures the channel quality according to the TRS and switches the TRP. Since the source TRP and the destination TRP belong to the same cell, the switching between TRPs does not involve L3 signaling, and there is no need to execute the relevant processes for cell switching.

[0136] In a super-cell architecture, the TRPs are located at a relatively low altitude. When a terminal sends an uplink signal, the angles of arrival of the uplink signal at different TRPs vary significantly. A TRP can use its receiver to determine which TRP's coverage area the terminal is in by judging the signal strength. For example, in Figure 1K , the angles of arrival of the uplink signal sent by the terminal at TRPs 1, 2, and 3 vary significantly. TRP 2 can easily determine that the terminal is in its coverage area, while TRPs 1 and 3 can easily determine that the terminal is not in their coverage areas.

[0137] In NTN, however, network equipment is far from the ground and the distance between cells is close. From the perspective of network equipment, the characteristics (such as angle) between beams are not significantly different. It is difficult to distinguish the beam where the terminal is located by the signal arrival angle, which affects communication quality.

[0138] In order to solve the above technical problems, this application also provides method 5.

[0139] Method 5: The network device may indicate to the terminal the location of each of the multiple areas, the communication resources corresponding to each area, and the random access resources corresponding to each area. After obtaining this information, the terminal may send the random access resource corresponding to the area where it is located (such as the first random access resource in the following embodiment) to the network device, so that the network device can determine the communication resource (such as the first communication resource in the following embodiment) in the area where the terminal is located based on the random access resource. Subsequently, the terminal and the network device may communicate through the communication resources in the area where the terminal is located.

[0140] It can be understood that in method 5, the network device can indicate to the terminal the location of each area in multiple areas, the communication resources corresponding to each area, and the random access resources corresponding to each area, so that the terminal can determine the first communication resource and the first random access resource to be used according to the area where it is located, and send the first random access resource to the network device so that the network device determines the first communication resource for communicating with the terminal based on the first random access resource. In this way, the network device can determine which communication resource (such as which beam) to use to communicate with the terminal, thereby improving the communication quality. The specific process of method 5 will be specifically described in the methods shown in Figures 7 and 8 below, and will not be repeated here.

[0141] The implementation of the above-mentioned method 4 and method 5 will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0142] The method provided in this application can be used in various communication systems. For example, the communication system can be an LTE system, a fifth generation (5G) communication system, a communication system related to the third generation partnership project (3GPP), a future evolved communication system (such as a sixth generation (6G) communication system, etc.), or a system integrating multiple systems, etc., without limitation. Among them, 5G can also be referred to as NR. The method provided in this application is described below using the communication system 20 shown in Figure 2A as an example. Figure 2A is only a schematic diagram and does not constitute a limitation on the applicable scenarios of the technical solution provided in this application.

[0143] FIG2A is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 20 provided by the present application. In FIG2A , the communication system 20 may include one or more network devices 201 (only one is shown) and terminals 202 to 204 that can communicate with the network device 201.

[0144] In Figure 2A , a network device can provide wireless access services to a terminal. For example, in Figure 2A , terminal 203 is located within the coverage area of ​​network device 201. Network device 201 can send downlink data to terminal 203 via the DL, and terminal 203 can send uplink data to network device 201 via the UL. For a detailed description of network devices and terminals, please refer to the previous explanations of network devices and terminals.

[0145] It is understandable that the communication system 20 can be applied in NTN. For example, the communication system 20 can be applied to the communication scenarios shown in FIG2B to FIG2D .

[0146] The communication scenario shown in Figure 2B includes a terminal, a satellite communicating with the terminal via an air interface, a ground station communicating with the satellite via an air interface, a base station communicating with the ground station, a core network communicating with the base station via a next generation (NG) interface, and a data network communicating with the core network. Network device 201 in communication system 20 corresponds to the ground station in Figure 2B and can have the functions of a ground station. Any of terminals 202 through 204 can correspond to the terminal in Figure 2B and can have the functions of that terminal.

[0147] The communication scenario shown in Figure 2C includes a terminal, a satellite communicating with the terminal via an air interface (the satellite functions as a base station), a ground station communicating with the satellite via an NG interface, a core network communicating with the ground station via an NG interface, and a data network communicating with the core network. Network device 201 in communication system 20 corresponds to the satellite in Figure 2C and can function as a satellite. Any of terminals 202 through 204 can correspond to the terminal in Figure 2C and can function as the terminal.

[0148] The communication scenario shown in Figure 2D includes terminal 207, satellite 205 (satellite 205 functions as a base station) communicating with terminal 207 via an air interface, a ground station communicating with satellite 205 via an NG interface, a core network communicating with the ground station via the NG interface, and a data network communicating with the core network. This communication scenario also includes satellite 206 (satellite 206 functions as a base station) communicating with satellite 205 via an Xn interface, and terminal 208 communicating with satellite 206 via an air interface. Network device 201 in communication system 20 corresponds to satellite 205 in Figure 2D and can function as satellite 205. Any of terminals 202 through 204 can correspond to terminal 207 in Figure 2D and can function as terminal 207. Alternatively, network device 201 in communication system 20 corresponds to satellite 206 in Figure 2D and can function as satellite 206. Any of terminals 202 through 204 can correspond to terminal 208 in Figure 2D and can function as terminal 208.

[0149] The following introduces the devices or network elements in the communication scenarios shown in Figures 2B to 2D.

[0150] The base station can provide wireless access services, schedule wireless resources to terminals, and provide reliable wireless transmission protocols and data encryption protocols.

[0151] The core network can provide at least one of the following services: user access control, mobility management, session management, user authentication, or billing. The core network can include multiple functional entities, for example, control plane entities and data plane entities. The control plane entities can include access and mobility management function (AMF) entities, which are responsible for user access management, authentication, and mobility management. The data plane entities can include user plane function (UPF) entities, which are responsible for managing user plane data transmission, traffic statistics, and other functions.

[0152] The ground station can be responsible for forwarding signaling and business data between the satellite base station and the core network.

[0153] The data network may be responsible for providing data services to users, such as an application server (AS), which may be deployed in an operator's network or a third-party content provider's (context provider) network.

[0154] The air interface is the wireless link between the terminal and the base station. The air interface in this application can refer to various types of air interfaces. For example, for a 5G network, the air interface refers to a 5G air interface.

[0155] The Xn interface is an interface between base stations and is mainly used for signaling interaction such as switching.

[0156] The NG interface is the interface between the base station and the core network, mainly used to exchange signaling such as the non-access stratum (NAS) of the core network and user service data.

[0157] The communication scenarios shown in Figures 2B to 2D above are based on a 5G network. If the 5G network is replaced with a 4G network, the Xn interface in the figure can be replaced with an X2 interface, and the NG interface can be replaced with an S1 interface.

[0158] It is understood that the communication system 20 shown in FIG2A is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the technical solutions of the present application. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in a specific implementation, the communication system 20 may further include other devices, and the number of network devices and terminals may be determined based on specific needs without limitation.

[0159] Optionally, each device in FIG. 2A of the present application (eg, a network device or a terminal) may also be referred to as a communication device, which may be a general device or a dedicated device, and the present application does not impose any specific limitation on this.

[0160] Optionally, the relevant functions of each device (e.g., a network device or a terminal) in FIG. 2A of the present application may be implemented by a single device, or may be implemented by multiple devices together, or may be implemented by one or more functional modules within a single device, and this application does not impose any specific limitations on this. It is understood that the above functions may be network elements in a hardware device, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or a combination of hardware and software, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0161] In a specific implementation, each device (e.g., a network device or terminal) in FIG. 2A of the present application may adopt the structure shown in FIG. 3 or include the components shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device applicable to the present application. The communication device 30 includes at least one processor 301 and at least one communication interface 304 for implementing the method provided in the present application. The communication device 30 may also include a communication circuit 302 and a memory 303.

[0162] The processor 301 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the present application.

[0163] The communication link 302 may include a path for transmitting information between the above components, such as a bus.

[0164] Communication interface 304 is used to communicate with other devices or communication networks. Communication interface 304 can be any transceiver-like device, such as an Ethernet interface, a radio access network (RAN) interface, a wireless local area network (WLAN) interface, a transceiver, a pin, a bus, an interface circuit, or a transceiver circuit.

[0165] The memory 303 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to this. The memory can be independent and coupled to the processor 301 via a communication line 302. The memory 303 can also be integrated with the processor 301. The memory provided in this application can generally be non-volatile.

[0166] Memory 303 is used to store computer-executable instructions for executing the solutions provided herein, and is controlled by processor 301. Processor 301 is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions stored in memory 303, thereby implementing the methods provided herein. Alternatively, in the present application, processor 301 may also perform processing-related functions in the methods provided below, while communication interface 304 is responsible for communicating with other devices or communication networks, although this application does not specifically limit this.

[0167] Optionally, the computer-executable instructions in this application may also be referred to as application code, which is not specifically limited in this application.

[0168] The coupling in this application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units or modules.

[0169] As an embodiment, the processor 301 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG. 3 .

[0170] As an embodiment, the communication device 30 may include multiple processors, such as processor 301 and processor 307 in FIG3 . Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. The processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0171] As an embodiment, the communication device 30 may further include an output device 305 and / or an input device 306. The output device 305 is coupled to the processor 301 and can display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 305 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector. The input device 306 is coupled to the processor 301 and can receive user input in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 306 can be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, or a sensor device.

[0172] It is understandable that the composition structure shown in Figure 3 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device. In addition to the components shown in Figure 3, the communication device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0173] The method provided by the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Each network element in the following embodiment may include the components shown in FIG3 , which will not be described in detail.

[0174] It can be understood that the message names between network elements or the names of parameters in the messages in the following embodiments of the present application are only examples, and other names may be used in specific implementations, and the present application does not make any specific limitations on this.

[0175] It is understandable that in this application, "sending information to... (terminal)" can be understood as the destination end of the information being the terminal. It can include sending information to the terminal directly or indirectly. "Receiving information from (terminal)" can be understood as the source end of the information being the terminal, which can include receiving information from the terminal directly or indirectly. The information may undergo necessary processing between the source end and the destination end of the information transmission, such as format changes, etc., but the destination end can understand the valid information from the source end. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0176] It is understood that in this application, " / " can indicate that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can mean A or B; "and / or" can be used to describe that there are three relationships between the associated objects, for example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, expressions similar to "at least one of A, B and C" or "at least one of A, B or C" are usually used to indicate any of the following: A exists alone; B exists alone; C exists alone; A and B exist at the same time; A and C exist at the same time; B and C exist at the same time; A, B and C exist at the same time. The above uses A, B and C as an example to illustrate the optional items of the item. When there are more elements in the expression, the meaning of the expression can be obtained according to the above rules.

[0177] In order to facilitate the description of the technical solutions of the present application, in the present application, words such as "first" and "second" may be used to distinguish between technical features with the same or similar functions. The words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and the words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit them to be different. In the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design. The use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete way for easy understanding.

[0178] It is understood that the "embodiment" mentioned throughout the specification means that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments in the entire specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It is understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the present application.

[0179] It can be understood that in the present application, "used to indicate" can include direct indication and indirect indication, and can also include explicit indication and implicit indication. When describing that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can include that the indication information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, but it does not mean that the indication information must carry A. The information indicated by a certain information (such as the information of random access resources, the location information of multiple areas, or the information of communication resources as described below) is called information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where there is an association between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can also be achieved by using the pre-agreed (for example, protocol-specified) order of arrangement of each information, thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent.

[0180] It can be understood that in this application, "when...", "in the case of...", "if" and "if" all mean that corresponding processing will be taken under certain objective circumstances, and do not limit the time, nor do they require judgment actions when implementing them, nor do they mean that there are other limitations.

[0181] The term "simultaneously" in this application may be understood as at the same time point, within a period of time, or within the same cycle.

[0182] In this application, unless otherwise specified, "a plurality of" can be understood as two or more than two. For example, a plurality of regions can be understood as two or more than two regions.

[0183] In this application, unless otherwise specified, "greater than or equal to" can be replaced by "greater than" or "equal to"; "less than or equal to" can be replaced by "less than" or "equal to". For example, "A is greater than or equal to B" can be replaced by "A is greater than B" or "A is equal to B"; "A is less than or equal to B" can be replaced by "A is less than B" or "A is equal to B".

[0184] It is understood that in the present application, the network device and / or terminal may perform some or all of the steps in the present application. These steps are merely examples, and the present application may also perform other steps or variations of various steps. In addition, the steps may be performed in a different order than presented in the present application, and it is possible that not all of the steps in the present application need to be performed.

[0185] It is understandable that the method provided below in this application uses a network device and a terminal as an example of the execution subject of the interaction diagram to illustrate the method, but this application does not limit the execution subject of the interaction diagram. For example, the network device in the method provided in the following embodiment of this application can also be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the server to implement the method, or a logical node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions; the terminal in the method provided below in this application can also be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the terminal to implement the method, or a logical node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the terminal functions.

[0186] As shown in FIG4 , a communication method provided by the present application is used to solve the problem that the number of SSBs supported by a cell does not match the number of wave bits required by the coverage area of ​​the network device. The communication method may include the following steps:

[0187] S401: The network device sends n first SSBs respectively through first communication resources of n areas among p areas at a first moment.

[0188] In the present application, the network device may be the network device 201 in the communication system 20 shown in FIG2A . The coverage area of ​​the network device may be divided into p areas, each of the p areas including multiple beam positions. Some of the p areas may be merged into a cell, resulting in q cells. For example, every n areas of the p areas may be merged into a cell, where n is an integer greater than 1 and n is less than p. It is understood that a terminal in the area corresponding to the first communication resource may receive the corresponding first SSB.

[0189] In one possible design, the first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver (transmitter & receiver, TRX).

[0190] In one possible design, the first SSB includes a cell identifier, such as a PCI. Optionally, the cell identifier also includes a cell global identity (CGI). In this way, a terminal receiving the first SSB can determine the cell in which it is located.

[0191] Optionally, the first SSB also includes: an identifier of the first SSB, PSS, SSS, and PBCH. It can be understood that the identifier of the first SSB (such as SSB index) can enable the terminal receiving the first SSB to determine the identifier of the first SSB; PSS and SSS can enable the terminal receiving the first synchronization signal block to perform downlink synchronization; PBCH can enable the terminal receiving the first SSB to determine timing-related information and obtain SIB1.

[0192] In one possible implementation, the network device sends a first SSB at a first moment using the first communication resource corresponding to each of the n areas. In other words, the network device sends n first SSBs at the first moment. Since the n areas belong to the same cell, the n first SSBs include the same content. Specifically, the cell identifier, PSS, SSS, and PBCH included in the n first SSBs are all the same.

[0193] For example, taking the first communication resource as a beam and n equal to 3 as an example, at the first moment, the network device sends the first SSB through beam 1 corresponding to area 1, sends the first SSB through beam 2 corresponding to area 2, and sends the first SSB through beam 3 corresponding to area 3.

[0194] Based on the method shown in Figure 4, when planning a cell, the p areas of the network device can be merged to reduce the number of cells included in the network device, and different communication resources can be used to send the first SSB to different areas within the same cell (such as each area in the above n areas) to achieve SSB scanning of the wave position corresponding to the communication resource. Based on this logic, the network device can subsequently use a similar method to scan other wave positions to complete the SSB scan of the entire coverage area of ​​the network device within a period of time. In addition, compared with the above methods 1 and 2, the method shown in Figure 4 does not require expansion of the SSB. Compared with the above method 3, the method shown in Figure 4 can avoid frequent cell switching of terminals in a connected state in a mobile beam scenario, thereby saving signaling overhead or switching overhead, and can also reduce PCI conflicts.

[0195] Optionally, in a possible implementation of the method shown in FIG4 , the network device may scan the wave positions in n areas other than the wave positions scanned at the first moment at the second moment, so as to implement SSB scanning of n areas. Specifically, as shown in FIG5 , the method shown in FIG4 further includes the following steps:

[0196] S402: The network device sends n second SSBs respectively through the second communication resources of n areas at the second moment.

[0197] In one possible implementation, the network device sends the second SSB via the second communication resource corresponding to each of the n areas at the second moment. Accordingly, a terminal in the area corresponding to the second communication resource can receive the corresponding second SSB.

[0198] The second communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point or a transceiver.

[0199] Optionally, for the same area, the second communication resource is different from the first communication resource, so that the second SSB and the first SSB have different corresponding beam positions. Taking n equal to 3 as an example, the network device sends the first SSB through beam 1 corresponding to area 1 at the first moment, sends the first SSB through beam 2 corresponding to area 2, and sends the first SSB through beam 3 corresponding to area 3. Subsequently, the network device adjusts the direction of beam 1 to beam 3 to obtain beam 4 to beam 6, and at the second moment sends the second SSB through beam 4 corresponding to area 1, sends the second SSB through beam 5 corresponding to area 2, and sends the second SSB through beam 6 corresponding to area 3.

[0200] In one possible design, the second SSB includes a cell identifier, such as a PCI. Optionally, the cell identifier also includes a CGI. Optionally, the second SSB also includes: a second SSB identifier, a PSS, an SSS, and a PBCH.

[0201] It can be understood that since the n areas belong to the same cell, the n second SSBs include the same content, and the identifier of the cell included in the second SSB is the same as the identifier of the cell included in the first SSB.

[0202] Optionally, the content included in the second SSB is not identical to the content included in the first SSB. For example, the SSB identifier included in the second SSB is different from the SSB identifier included in the first SSB. The PBCH included in the second SSB may be the same as or different from the PBCH included in the first SSB. The PSS included in the second SSB may be the same as or different from the PSS included in the first SSB. The SSS included in the second SSB may be the same as or different from the SSS included in the first SSB.

[0203] It can be understood that when the number of wave positions included in each of the n areas is greater than 2, the network device can also send n fourth SSBs respectively through the fourth communication resources of the n areas, and so on, until the SSB scan of all wave positions in the n areas is completed.

[0204] Optionally, in a possible implementation of the method shown in FIG4 , the network device may scan areas other than n areas in the p areas at a third moment to implement SSB scanning of the coverage area of ​​the network device. Specifically, as shown in FIG6 , the method shown in FIG5 further includes the following steps:

[0205] S403: The network device sends r third SSBs respectively through the third communication resources of r areas among the p areas at a third moment.

[0206] In one possible implementation, the network device sends a third SSB at a third moment using a third communication resource corresponding to each of the r areas. Accordingly, a terminal in the area corresponding to the third communication resource can receive the corresponding third SSB.

[0207] Among them, the r areas are the areas other than the n areas in the p areas, r is an integer greater than 1, and r is less than p, and r+n is less than or equal to p. The r areas belong to the same cell. Optionally, the cell to which the r areas belong is different from the cell to which the n areas belong. It can be understood that r may be equal to n or not. For example, if p is equal to 15 and n is equal to 3, then r is equal to 3, indicating that the 15 areas are divided into 5 cells, each of which includes 3 areas. For another example, if p is equal to 17 and n is equal to 3, then r is equal to 3 or 2, indicating that the 15 areas are divided into 6 cells, of which 5 cells include the same number of areas, both 3, and the remaining cell includes 2 areas. If the r areas belong to one of the 5 cells, then r is equal to 3, and if the r areas belong to the remaining cell, then r is equal to 2.

[0208] In one possible design, the third communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver.

[0209] In one possible design, the third SSB includes a cell identifier, such as a PCI. Optionally, the cell identifier also includes a CGI. Optionally, the third SSB also includes: a third SSB identifier, a PSS, an SSS, and a PBCH.

[0210] It can be understood that since the r areas belong to the same cell, the r third SSBs include the same content.

[0211] Optionally, the content included in the third SSB is not identical or completely different from the content included in the first SSB. For example, the cell identifier included in the third SSB is different from the cell identifier included in the first SSB. The SSB identifier included in the third SSB is the same as or different from the SSB identifier included in the first SSB. The PBCH included in the third SSB is different from the PBCH included in the first SSB. The PSS included in the third SSB is different from the PSS included in the first SSB. The SSS included in the third SSB is different from the SSS included in the first SSB. Similarly, the content included in the third SSB is not identical or completely different from the content included in the second SSB.

[0212] It can be understood that when the p areas also include other areas in addition to the n areas and the r areas, the network device can continue to send SSB to other areas until the SSB scan of all wave positions in the p areas is completed.

[0213] It is understandable that the actions of the network device in the above S401-S403 can be executed by the processor 301 in the communication device 30 shown in Figure 3 calling the application code stored in the memory 303, and this application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0214] As shown in FIG. 7 , another communication method provided by the present application is used to solve the problem that a network device has difficulty determining the beam in which a terminal is located. The communication method may include the following steps:

[0215] S701: The network device sends random access resource information, location information of multiple areas, and information about communication resources corresponding to each area to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the random access resource information, location information of multiple areas, and information about communication resources corresponding to each area from the network device.

[0216] In the present application, the network device may be the network device 201 in the communication system 20 shown in FIG2A . A terminal is located within the coverage area of ​​the network device, for example, the terminal is the terminal 202, the terminal 203, or the terminal 204 in the communication system 20 . The coverage area of ​​the network device may be divided into a plurality of areas, each area including a plurality of wavelengths. Some of the areas may be merged into a cell to reduce the number of cells within the coverage area. For example, within the plurality of areas, every n areas may be merged into a cell, where n is an integer greater than 1 and n is less than the total number of the plurality of areas.

[0217] The multiple areas in S701 are the multiple areas, or the multiple areas are areas included in any one of the multiple cells into which the coverage area is divided. The location information of the multiple areas can be used to indicate the location of each area in the multiple areas. For example, the location information of the multiple areas includes the coordinates of the center point of each area. Alternatively, the location information of the multiple areas includes the coordinates of the center point of any one area in the multiple areas, and the offset (or differential value) of each area other than the any one area in the multiple areas relative to the coordinates of the center point.

[0218] Optionally, the location information of the multiple areas further includes at least one of the radius of each area or the boundary information of each area.

[0219] In this application, each area corresponds to a communication resource. The information of the communication resources corresponding to each area is used to indicate the communication resources corresponding to the area. The communication resources corresponding to any area include at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver. It can be understood that the communication resources corresponding to an area include a beam, which can be understood as the beam can be used to scan the area; the communication resources corresponding to an area include an antenna port, which can be understood as the antenna port can be used for communication of terminals in the area; the communication resources corresponding to an area include a transceiver point, which can be understood as the transceiver point can be used to send information to terminals in the area or receive information sent by terminals in the area; the communication resources corresponding to an area include a transceiver, which can be understood as the transceiver can be used to send information to terminals in the area or receive information sent by terminals in the area.

[0220] Exemplarily, the information of the communication resources corresponding to each area includes the identifier of the communication resource. Taking the communication resources including beams as an example, the location information of multiple areas and the information of the communication resources corresponding to each area may include the contents shown in Table 1-1 or Table 2. In Table 1-1, the location information of multiple areas includes the earth centered inertial (ECI) coordinates of the center point of area 1, the ECI coordinates of the center point of area 2, the ECI coordinates of the center point of area 3... The information of the communication resources includes beam 1 (i.e., the identifier of the beam corresponding to area 1), beam 2 (i.e., the identifier of the beam corresponding to area 2), beam 3 (i.e., the identifier of the beam corresponding to area 3)...

[0221] Table 1-1

[0222] In Table 2, the location information for multiple areas includes the ECI coordinates of the center point of area 1, the first differential value (i.e., the difference between the ECI coordinates of the center points of area 2 and area 1), the second differential value (i.e., the difference between the ECI coordinates of the center points of area 3 and area 1, or the difference between the ECI coordinates of the center points of area 3 and area 2), etc. Communication resource information includes beam 1 (i.e., the identifier of the beam corresponding to area 1), beam 2 (i.e., the identifier of the beam corresponding to area 2), beam 3 (i.e., the identifier of the beam corresponding to area 3), etc.

[0223] Table 2

[0224] Optionally, the communication resources indicated by the communication resource information are communication resources that can be used simultaneously by the network device. Taking the communication resource information shown in Table 1-1 and Table 2 as an example, the network device can simultaneously use beam 1, beam 2, beam 3, etc. to send signals.

[0225] In this application, the random access resource information is used to indicate the random access resource corresponding to each area. In this application, the random access resource includes a preamble. It is understood that each area corresponds to at least one preamble. For example, the random access resource information includes an identifier of the preamble corresponding to each area.

[0226] In one possible design, when indicating the random access resources corresponding to each area, the random access resource information may directly indicate the random access resources corresponding to each area, or indirectly indicate the random access resources corresponding to each area. For example, the content indicated by the random access resource information may be as shown in Table 3 or Table 4.

[0227] In Table 3, the random access resource information directly indicates the random access resource corresponding to each region. Specifically, region 1 corresponds to preambles 1 to 20, region 2 corresponds to preambles 21 to 40, and region 3 corresponds to preambles 41 to 60, etc. In other words, terminals located in region 1 can use preambles from 1 to 20 for random access, terminals located in region 2 can use preambles from 21 to 40 for random access, and terminals located in region 3 can use preambles from 41 to 60 for random access.

[0228] Table 3

[0229] In Table 4, the information on random access resources indirectly indicates the random access resources corresponding to each area. Specifically, the information on random access resources indicates the random access resources corresponding to the communication resources. Since communication resources correspond to multiple areas, the random access resources corresponding to each area can be determined based on the information on random access resources. For example, Table 4 shows that beam 1 corresponds to preambles 1 to 20. According to Table 1-1 or Table 2, it is determined that beam 1 corresponds to area 1, so preambles 1 to 20 are determined to correspond to area 1. Table 4 shows that beam 2 corresponds to preambles 21 to 40. According to Table 1-1 or Table 2, it is determined that beam 2 corresponds to area 2, so preambles 21 to 40 are determined to correspond to area 2. Table 4 shows that beam 3 corresponds to preambles 41 to 60. According to Table 1-1 or Table 2, it is determined that beam 3 corresponds to area 3, so preambles 41 to 60 are determined to correspond to area 3.

[0230] Table 4

[0231] In one possible design, the information on random access resources, the location information on multiple areas, and the information on communication resources corresponding to each area are included in a system information (SI), such as a system information block (SIB) message (such as an SIB1 message). Alternatively, the information on random access resources, the location information on multiple areas, and the information on communication resources corresponding to each area are included in different messages. For example, the information on random access resources is included in one message, and the location information on multiple areas and the information on communication resources corresponding to each area are included in another message.

[0232] S702: The terminal sends a first random access resource to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first random access resource from the terminal.

[0233] In the present application, the first random access resource is included in the random access resources indicated by the random access resource information, and is a random access resource corresponding to the area where the terminal is located. The area where the terminal is located is determined based on the location of the terminal and location information of multiple areas.

[0234] It can be understood that the terminal receives information about random access resources, location information of multiple areas, and information about communication resources corresponding to each area, that is, obtains this information. Subsequently, the terminal can determine the area where the terminal is located based on the location of the terminal, and then determine the communication resources and random access resources corresponding to the area based on the area where the terminal is located. Among them, the communication resources corresponding to the area where the terminal is located (hereinafter referred to as the first communication resources) are the communication resources used by the terminal to communicate with the network device. The random access resources corresponding to the area where the terminal is located (i.e., the first random access resources) are resources that the terminal can use for random access.

[0235] Specifically, the positioning module of the terminal (such as the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) installed in the terminal) obtains the position of the terminal. The terminal determines the area where the terminal is located based on the position of the terminal and the position information of multiple areas. For example, the terminal determines the area where the coordinates of the center point closest to its own position are located as the area where the terminal is located; or, the terminal determines the range of each area based on the position information of multiple areas, and determines the area where the terminal is located based on its own position. Subsequently, the terminal can determine the first communication resource based on the area where the terminal is located and the communication resources corresponding to each area. In addition, if the information on random access resources directly indicates the random access resources corresponding to each area, the terminal can determine the first random access resource based on the area where the terminal is located and the random access resources corresponding to each area. Alternatively, if the information on random access resources directly indicates the random access resources corresponding to each communication resource, the terminal can determine the random access resource corresponding to the first communication resource, that is, the first random access resource, based on the first communication resource and the random access resource corresponding to each communication resource.

[0236] It should be understood that if there are multiple random access resources corresponding to the area where the terminal is located, the terminal can determine one random access resource from the multiple random resources as the first random access resource. Similarly, if there are multiple random access resources corresponding to the first communication resource, the terminal can determine one random access resource from the multiple random resources as the first random access resource.

[0237] It can be understood that after determining the first random access resource, the terminal can send the first random access resource to the network device, so that the network device determines the first communication resource according to the first random access resource, and then communicates with the terminal according to the first communication resource.

[0238] In a possible implementation, the terminal reports the first random access resource to the network device through a random access process. For example, the terminal sends a first message (Msg1) to the network device, where the first message includes the first random access resource.

[0239] S703: The network device and the terminal communicate through the first communication resource.

[0240] It can be understood that after the network device receives the first random access resource, it can determine the first communication resource corresponding to the first random access resource in combination with the information of the random access resource and the information of the communication resource corresponding to each area, and then communicate with the terminal through the first communication resource, or determine the first communication resource corresponding to the first random access resource in combination with the information of the random access resource, and then communicate with the terminal through the first communication resource.

[0241] For example, if the information of the random access resource directly indicates the random access resource corresponding to each area, after the network device receives the first random access resource, it can determine the area corresponding to the first random access resource based on the first random access resource and the information of the random access resource, and determine the communication resource (i.e., the first communication resource) corresponding to the area corresponding to the first random access resource in combination with the information of the communication resource corresponding to each area. Alternatively, if the information of the random access resource directly indicates the random access resource corresponding to each communication resource, after the network device receives the first random access resource, it can determine the first communication resource based on the first random access resource and the information of the random access resource. At this point, the network device and the terminal both determine that they can communicate with each other through the first communication resource. Subsequently, the network device and the terminal can communicate through the first communication resource. For example, the network device sends a random access response (RAR) or a second message (Msg2) to the terminal through the first communication resource.

[0242] Among them, the actions of the network device or terminal in the above S701-S703 can be executed by the processor 301 in the communication device 30 shown in Figure 3 calling the application code stored in the memory 303, and this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0243] Based on the method shown in Figure 7, the network device can indicate to the terminal the location of each of the multiple areas, the communication resources corresponding to each area, and the random access resources corresponding to each area, so that the terminal can determine the first communication resource and first random access resource to be used based on the area in which it is located, and send the first random access resource to the network device so that the network device can determine the first communication resource for communicating with the terminal based on the first random access resource. In this way, the network device can determine which communication resource (such as which beam) to use to communicate with the terminal, thereby improving communication quality.

[0244] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the method shown in FIG. 7 , the random access resource information indicates a preamble corresponding to each zone, so that the terminal selects a preamble based on its location to access the network device, and the network device determines a communication resource for communicating with the terminal based on the preamble. Specifically, a preamble in a random access channel occasion (RO) can be assigned to each of the multiple zones.

[0245] In a possible design, the network device configures grouping information of random access resources in the SIB message, each grouping information corresponds to one area among multiple areas, and the preamble codes corresponding to the multiple areas are included in one RO.

[0246] For example, the network device can configure the random access resource information to indicate the preamble code corresponding to each area through the content shown in Table 5. In Table 5, the value of "NTNcellCombining-r19" is "true", indicating that the random access resource information is configured to indicate the preamble code corresponding to each area. It should be understood that if the value of "NTNcellCombining-r19" is "false", it may indicate that the network device has not enabled or configured this function.

[0247] Table 5

[0248] Exemplarily, the network device can configure the grouping information of the random access resources corresponding to an area through the content shown in Table 6. In Table 6, the information element (IE) "FeatureCombinationPreambles" is used to configure the grouping information of the random access resources corresponding to an area, and the parameter "startPreambleForThisPartition" is of integer value type, which may include N values, indicating that the preambles in an RO are divided into N groups. For example, the number of communication resources is N or the number of multiple areas is N, so the preambles in an RO can be divided into N groups. Each value may represent the index (index) of the starting preamble in each group of preambles. The parameter "numberOfPreamblesPerSSB-ForThisPartition" indicates the number of preambles included in each group of preambles. Taking an RO including 64 preambles as an example, if the value of "startPreambleForThisPartition" is {1,33},

[0249] The value of "numberOfPreamblesPerSSB-ForThisPartition" is {32,32}, indicating that the RO is divided into two groups (each group can correspond to an area or communication resource), the index of the starting preamble in the first group of preambles is 1, and the index of the starting preamble in the second group of preambles is 33. Both the first and second groups of preambles include 32 preambles, that is, the indexes of the preambles included in the first group of preambles are 1 to 32, and the indexes of the preambles included in the second group of preambles are 33 to 64.

[0250] Table 6

[0251] Optionally, in a possible implementation of the method shown in Figure 7, the information of the random access resource indicates the RO corresponding to each area, so that the terminal determines the corresponding RO according to its own location, selects a preamble code in the RO to access the network device, so that the network device determines the communication resources for communicating with the terminal based on the preamble code.

[0252] In a possible design, the network device configures grouping information of random access resources in the SIB message, each grouping information corresponds to one area among multiple areas, and the preamble codes corresponding to different areas belong to different ROs.

[0253] For example, a network device can configure the grouping information of random access resources corresponding to a region using the content shown in Table 7. In Table 7, the introduction to the information element "FeatureCombinationPreambles" can refer to the description above. The parameter "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19" can indicate at least one RO, indicating the RO corresponding to the region. For example, the parameter "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19" can indicate a row index, and the RO corresponding to the row index can be determined by looking up the table.

[0254] Table 7

[0255] Optionally, the parameter "maskIndex" can be configured in the parameter "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19" to indicate at least one row index. For example, when an area corresponds to two or more row indexes, this parameter can be configured. Taking the value of the parameter "maskIndex" as {1,3} as an example, the parameter "maskIndex" indicates two groups of ROs, namely the ROs corresponding to row index 1 and row index 3. In this example, the type of "maskIndex" is SEQUENCE. It should be understood that in specific applications, the type of "maskIndex" can also be "INTEGER". When an area corresponds to ROs of multiple row indexes, each row index can be configured through multiple information elements "FeatureCombinationPreambles".

[0256] It can be understood that the information element "FeatureCombinationPreambles" can also configure the parameter "startPreambleForThisPartition" and the parameter "numberOfPreamblesPerSSB-ForThisPartition". For example, the network device can configure the grouping information of the random access resources corresponding to an area through the content shown in Table 8. If "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19" is configured in the information element "FeatureCombinationPreambles", it means that the parameter "startPreambleForThisPartition" and the parameter "numberOfPreamblesPerSSB-ForThisPartition" can group the RO indicated by the parameter "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19". If "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19" is not configured in the information element "FeatureCombinationPreambles", it means that the parameter "startPreambleForThisPartition" and the parameter "numberOfPreamblesPerSSB-ForThisPartition" can group all ROs. For example, if "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19" is configured in the information element "FeatureCombinationPreambles", and "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19" indicates row index 1, indicating an RO with an odd index, the parameter "startPreambleForThisPartition" and the parameter "numberOfPreamblesPerSSB-ForThisPartition" can group ROs with odd indexes and not group ROs with even indexes.

[0257] Table 8

[0258] In summary, the function of the parameter "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19" may be as shown in Table 9. The information element "RACH-ConfigCommon" or the information element "RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA" may include one or more information elements "FeatureCombinationPreambles".

[0259] Table 9

[0260] Optionally, in a possible implementation of the method shown in Figure 7, the information of the random access resource indicates the format of the preamble code corresponding to each area, so that the terminal determines the format of the corresponding preamble code according to its own position, and selects the preamble code access network device from the preamble codes that conform to the format of the preamble code, so that the network device determines the communication resources for communicating with the terminal based on the preamble code.

[0261] For example, the network device can configure an additional physical random access channel (PRACH) resource group (additionalRACH-ConfigList) for the cell in "BWP-UplinkCommon". The corresponding preamble format can be configured in "additionalRACH-ConfigList". For example, "prach-ConfigurationIndex" can configure the preamble format. The preamble format is, for example, Format0, 1, 2, 3, A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, B4, C0, C2. The contents of "BWP-UplinkCommon" can be shown in Table 10.

[0262] Table 10

[0263] It is understandable that the "additionalRACH-ConfigList" may be associated with one of the multiple areas, or may correspond to one of the communication resources corresponding to the multiple areas. For example, the random access resource information may include an additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to each area, or an additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to the communication resource.

[0264] For example, taking the random access resource information including the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to each area as an example, the random access resource information may include the content shown in Table 11. In Table 11, the area 1 corresponding to

[0265] The additionalRACH-ConfigList index is index 1, the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to region 2 is index 2, and the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to region 3 is index 3. Therefore, the terminal can determine the corresponding additionalRACH-ConfigList index based on the region where the terminal is located, determine the format of the preamble for random access based on the additionalRACH-ConfigList index, and then initiate random access using the preamble that conforms to the format. Accordingly, upon receiving the preamble, the network device can determine the region where the terminal is located based on the format of the preamble and determine the first communication resource based on the region where the terminal is located.

[0266] Table 11

[0267] For example, taking the case where the random access resource information includes the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to the communication resource, and the communication resource is a beam, the content of the random access resource information may be as shown in Table 12. In Table 12, the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to beam 1 is index 1, the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to beam 2 is index 2, and the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to beam 3 is index 3. Therefore, the terminal can determine the corresponding communication resource based on the area where the terminal is located, determine the corresponding additionalRACH-ConfigList index based on the communication resource, determine the format of the preamble for random access based on the additionalRACH-ConfigList index, and then initiate random access using the preamble that conforms to the format. Accordingly, upon receiving the preamble, the network device can determine the first communication resource based on the format of the preamble.

[0268] Table 12

[0269] It can be understood that compared with the scheme in which the information of the random access resource indicates the preamble code corresponding to each area, or compared with the scheme in which the information of the random access resource indicates the RO corresponding to each area, the scheme in which the information of the random access resource indicates the format of the preamble code corresponding to each area does not require the network side to group the random access resources indicated by the same RACH configuration index, that is, there is no need to extend the function of the information element "FeatureCombinationPreambles", which is easier to implement.

[0270] Optionally, in a possible implementation of the method shown in FIG7 , the network device may use different communication resources to perform SSB scanning in m areas of multiple areas at the first moment, so that the terminals in the m areas receive the first SSB, receive the SIB according to the time-frequency resources of the SIB indicated by the first SSB, and then obtain information on random access resources, location information of multiple areas, and information on communication resources corresponding to each area. Wherein, m is an integer greater than 1, and m is less than the total number of multiple areas. Optionally, the m areas belong to the same cell. In this way, multiple areas can be merged to reduce the number of cells included in the network device, reduce PCI conflicts, and avoid frequent cell switching of terminals in a connected state in a mobile beam scenario. Therefore, signaling overhead or switching overhead can be saved. Specifically, as shown in FIG8 , the method shown in FIG7 may further include the following steps:

[0271] S700A: The network device sends m first SSBs respectively through the second communication resources of m areas among the multiple areas at the first moment.

[0272] The first SSB includes a cell identifier, and the cell identifiers included in the m first SSBs are the same.

[0273] Optionally, the first SSB further includes: an identifier of the first SSB, a PSS, an SSS, and a PBCH. The m first synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

[0274] It can be understood that the specific process of S700A is similar to the process of S401 above, so you can refer to the corresponding description in S401 above, and no further details will be given here.

[0275] Optionally, in a possible implementation of the method shown in FIG7 , the network device may scan the wave positions in the m areas except the wave positions scanned at the first moment at the second moment, so as to implement SSB scanning of the m areas. Specifically, as shown in FIG8 , the method shown in FIG7 may further include the following steps:

[0276] S700B: The network device sends m second SSBs respectively through the third communication resources of the m areas at the second moment.

[0277] The second SSB includes a cell identifier. The cell identifiers included in the m second SSBs are the same, and the cell identifiers included in the second SSB and the first SSB are the same.

[0278] Optionally, the second SSB further includes: an identifier of the second SSB, a PSS, an SSS, and a PBCH. The m second synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

[0279] It can be understood that the specific process of S700B is similar to the process of S402 above, so you can refer to the corresponding description in S402 above, and no further details will be given here.

[0280] Optionally, in a possible implementation of the method shown in FIG7 , the network device may scan areas other than the m areas in the plurality of areas at a third moment to implement SSB scanning of the coverage area of ​​the network device. Specifically, as shown in FIG8 , the method shown in FIG7 further includes the following steps:

[0281] S700C: The network device sends s third SSBs respectively through the fourth communication resources of s areas among the multiple areas at the third moment.

[0282] The s areas belong to the same cell. The third SSB includes a cell identifier. The cell identifiers included in the s third SSBs are the same, and the cell identifiers included in the third SSB and the first SSB are different.

[0283] Optionally, the third SSB further includes: an identifier of the third SSB, a PSS, an SSS, and a PBCH. The m third synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

[0284] It can be understood that the specific process of S700C is similar to the process of S403 above, so you can refer to the corresponding description in S403 above, and will not repeat it here.

[0285] Optionally, in a possible implementation of the method shown in FIG7, the network device may configure area switching information for the terminal so that the terminal quickly switches areas according to the area switching information, which can reduce the measurement overhead of the network device and the terminal, and can also reduce the power consumption of the terminal. Specifically, as shown in FIG8, the method shown in FIG7 further includes the following steps:

[0286] S704: The network device sends the area switching information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the area switching information from the network device.

[0287] In this application, the area switching information may indicate the areas to which the terminal sequentially switches within the first cell, as well as the conditions for triggering each area switching. Thus, when the terminal detects that the conditions are met, it can perform area switching, thereby avoiding measurement overhead and signaling interaction overhead between the network device and the terminal during area switching and reducing terminal power consumption.

[0288] In one possible design, the conditional information for triggering any area switch is used to indicate the time when the area switch is triggered, or the boundary of the corresponding area. The conditional information for triggering the area switch can indicate the time when the area switch is triggered by a first duration, where the first duration is the length of time that the terminal can reside in the corresponding area. The conditional information for triggering the area switch can indicate the boundary of the corresponding area by the boundary coordinates of the corresponding area.

[0289] As an example, the area switching information may include the content shown in Table 13. After receiving the area switching information shown in Table 13, the terminal may start timer 1, the duration of which is duration 1. When timer 1 times out, the terminal switches from area 1 to area 2, and start timer 2, the duration of which is duration 2. When timer 2 times out, the terminal switches from area 2 to the next area, and so on, until the terminal switches to area W. It should be understood that the area switching information may not include the area switching order, and the terminal can switch areas in the order indicated in Table 13.

[0290] Table 13

[0291] As another example, the region switching information may include the content shown in Table 14. After receiving the region switching information shown in Table 14, the terminal may determine whether it is still in region 1 based on the boundary coordinates of region 1. If the terminal is not in region 1, the terminal switches from region 1 to region 2. Subsequently, the terminal determines whether it is still in region 2 based on the boundary coordinates of region 2. If the terminal is not in region 2, the terminal switches from region 2 to the next region, and so on, until the terminal switches to region W. It should be understood that the region switching information may not include the region switching order; the terminal may switch regions in the order indicated in Table 14.

[0292] Table 14

[0293] In one possible implementation, the network device sends terminal-level signaling, such as RRC signaling, MAC-CE, or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), to the terminal. This terminal-level signaling carries the area switching information. Alternatively, the network device broadcasts the area switching information to the area where the terminal is located, so that the terminals in the area can perform area switching according to the area switching information.

[0294] It is understandable that the actions of the network devices or terminals in the above S700A-S700C and S704 can be executed by the processor 301 in the communication device 30 shown in Figure 3 calling the application code stored in the memory 303, and this application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0295] The various embodiments mentioned above in this application can be combined without limitation if there is no contradiction between the solutions.

[0296] The above primarily describes the solutions provided by this application from the perspective of interaction between various network elements. Accordingly, this application also provides a communications device, which may be a terminal in the above-described method embodiments, or a device including such a terminal, or a component usable in a terminal; or, alternatively, the communications device may be a network device in the above-described method embodiments, or a device including such a network device, or a component usable in a network device. It will be understood that, in order to implement the aforementioned functions, the aforementioned terminal or network device, etc., includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the respective functions. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that, in conjunction with the various exemplary units and algorithmic operations described in the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0297] It should be understood that the above description uses only a terminal and a network device as an example to describe the interactions between various network elements. In practice, the processing performed by the terminal is not limited to being performed by a single network element, and the processing performed by the network device is not limited to being performed by a single network element. For example, the processing performed by the network device can be performed by at least one of the CU, DU, and remote unit (RU).

[0298] This application can divide the network device or terminal into functional modules based on the above method examples. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into a processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules. It is understood that the division of modules in this application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used.

[0299] For example, FIG9 illustrates a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 90, where the functional modules are divided in an integrated manner. Communication device 90 includes an interface module 901. Optionally, communication device 90 also includes a processing module 902. Interface module 901, also known as an interface unit, is used to perform transceiver operations and may be, for example, an interface circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface. Processing module 902, also known as a processing unit, is used to perform operations other than transceiver operations and may be, for example, a processing circuit or a processor.

[0300] In some embodiments, the communication device 90 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 9 ) for storing program instructions and data.

[0301] Exemplarily, the communication device 90 is used to implement the functions of a network device. The communication device 90 is, for example, the network device described in the embodiment shown in FIG7 or the embodiment shown in FIG8 .

[0302] The interface module 901 is configured to send information about random access resources, location information of multiple areas, and information about communication resources corresponding to each area. The random access resource information indicates the random access resources corresponding to each area. For example, the interface module 901 may be configured to execute S701.

[0303] The interface module 901 is further configured to receive a first random access resource from the terminal. The first random access resource is a random access resource corresponding to the area where the terminal is located. For example, the interface module 901 can also be configured to execute S702.

[0304] The interface module 901 is further configured to communicate with the terminal via a first communication resource, wherein the first communication resource is a communication resource corresponding to the area corresponding to the first random access resource. For example, the interface module 901 may also be configured to execute S703.

[0305] In one possible implementation, the interface module 901 is also used to send m first synchronization signal blocks respectively through the second communication resources of m areas among multiple areas at a first moment, the m first synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, m is an integer greater than 1, and m is less than the total number of multiple areas.

[0306] In a possible implementation, the first synchronization signal block further includes: an identifier of the first synchronization signal block, a primary synchronization signal, a secondary synchronization signal, and a physical broadcast channel, and the m first synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

[0307] In one possible implementation, the interface module 901 is also used to send m second synchronization signal blocks respectively through the third communication resources of m areas at the second moment, the m second synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, and the second synchronization signal block and the first synchronization signal block include the same cell identifier.

[0308] In a possible implementation, the random access resource information indicates a preamble code corresponding to each area; or, the random access resource information indicates a random access opportunity corresponding to each area; or, the random access resource information indicates a format of a preamble code corresponding to each area.

[0309] In a possible implementation, the interface module 901 is further configured to send area switching information, where the area switching information indicates areas to which the terminal sequentially switches within the first cell, and condition information for triggering each area switching.

[0310] In a possible implementation, the condition information for triggering area switching is used to indicate the time for triggering area switching, or the boundary of the corresponding area.

[0311] In a possible implementation manner, the first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver.

[0312] In a possible implementation manner, the random access resource information, the location information, and the communication resource information are included in a system information block message.

[0313] When used to implement the functions of a network device, for other functions that the communication device 90 can implement, reference can be made to the relevant introduction of the embodiment shown in FIG7 or the embodiment shown in FIG8 , and no further details will be given.

[0314] Alternatively, illustratively, the communication device 90 is used to implement the functions of a terminal. The communication device 90 is, for example, the terminal described in the embodiment shown in FIG7 or the embodiment shown in FIG8 .

[0315] The processing module 902 is configured to obtain information about random access resources, location information of multiple areas, and information about communication resources corresponding to each area. The information about random access resources indicates the random access resources corresponding to each area. For example, the processing module 902 may be configured to execute S701.

[0316] The interface module 901 is configured to send a first random access resource to a network device. The first random access resource is a random access resource corresponding to an area where the terminal is located, and the area where the terminal is located is determined based on the location and location information of the terminal. For example, the interface module 901 may be configured to execute S702.

[0317] The interface module 901 is further configured to communicate with the network device via a first communication resource, wherein the first communication resource is a communication resource corresponding to the area where the terminal is located. For example, the interface module 901 can also be configured to execute S703.

[0318] In a possible implementation, the random access resource information indicates a preamble code corresponding to each area; or, the random access resource information indicates a random access opportunity corresponding to each area; or, the random access resource information indicates a format of a preamble code corresponding to each area.

[0319] In a possible implementation, the interface module 901 is further configured to receive area switching information, where the area switching information indicates areas to which the terminal sequentially switches within the first cell, and condition information for triggering each area switching.

[0320] In a possible implementation, the condition information for triggering area switching is used to indicate the time for triggering area switching, or the boundary of the corresponding area.

[0321] In a possible implementation, the processing module 902 is specifically configured to receive a system information block message from a network device through the interface module 901 , where the system information block message includes random access resource information, location information, and communication resource information.

[0322] In a possible implementation manner, the first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver.

[0323] When used to implement the functions of the terminal, for other functions that the communication device 90 can implement, reference can be made to the relevant introduction of the embodiment shown in FIG7 or the embodiment shown in FIG8 , and no further details will be given.

[0324] Alternatively, illustratively, the communication device 90 is used to implement the functions of a network device. The communication device 90 is, for example, the network device described in the embodiment shown in FIG4 , the embodiment shown in FIG5 , or the embodiment shown in FIG6 .

[0325] The interface module 901 is configured to transmit, at a first moment, n first synchronization signal blocks using first communication resources in n of the p areas. The n first synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, where n is an integer greater than 1 and less than p. For example, the interface module 901 may be configured to execute S401.

[0326] In a possible implementation, the first synchronization signal block further includes: an identifier of the first synchronization signal block, a primary synchronization signal, a secondary synchronization signal, and a physical broadcast channel, and the n first synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

[0327] In one possible implementation, the interface module 901 is also used to send n second synchronization signal blocks respectively through the second communication resources of n areas at the second moment, the n second synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, and the second synchronization signal block and the first synchronization signal block include the same cell identifier.

[0328] In one possible implementation, the interface module 901 is configured to send, at a third moment, r third synchronization signal blocks using third communication resources in r of the p regions, respectively. The r third synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, and the third synchronization signal block and the first synchronization signal block include different cell identifiers. The r regions are regions other than the n regions among the p regions, and r is an integer greater than 1, and r is less than p.

[0329] In a possible implementation manner, the first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver.

[0330] When used to implement the functions of a RAN node, for other functions that the communication device 90 can implement, reference can be made to the relevant introductions of the embodiment shown in FIG4 , the embodiment shown in FIG5 , or the embodiment shown in FIG6 , and no further details will be given.

[0331] In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art may imagine that the communication device 90 may be in the form shown in Figure 3. For example, the processor 301 in Figure 3 may call the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 303 to enable the communication device 90 to execute the method described in the above embodiment.

[0332] Exemplarily, the functions / implementation processes of the interface module 901 and the processing module 902 in FIG9 can be implemented by the processor 301 in FIG3 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 303. Alternatively, the functions / implementation processes of the processing module 902 in FIG9 can be implemented by the processor 301 in FIG3 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 303, and the functions / implementation processes of the interface module 901 in FIG9 can be implemented by the communication interface 304 in FIG3.

[0333] It is understandable that one or more of the above modules or units can be implemented by software, hardware or a combination of the two. When any of the above modules or units is implemented by software, the software exists in the form of computer program instructions and is stored in a memory, and a processor can be used to execute the program instructions and implement the above method flow. The processor can be built into an SoC (system on chip) or an ASIC, or it can be an independent semiconductor chip. In addition to the core used to execute software instructions to perform calculations or processing within the processor, it can further include necessary hardware accelerators, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), PLDs (programmable logic devices), or logic circuits that implement dedicated logic operations.

[0334] When the above modules or units are implemented in hardware, the hardware can be any one or any combination of a CPU, a microprocessor, a digital signal processing (DSP) chip, a microcontroller unit (MCU), an artificial intelligence processor, an ASIC, a SoC, an FPGA, a PLD, a dedicated digital circuit, a hardware accelerator or a non-integrated discrete device, which can run the necessary software or not rely on the software to execute the above method flow.

[0335] Optionally, the present application also provides a chip system, comprising: at least one processor and an interface, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to a memory via the interface, and when the at least one processor executes a computer program or instruction in the memory, the method in any of the above method embodiments is executed. In one possible implementation, the chip system also includes a memory. Optionally, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices, which is not specifically limited in this application.

[0336] Optionally, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium. All or part of the processes in the above-mentioned method embodiments can be completed by a computer program to instruct the relevant hardware. The program can be stored in the above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it can include the processes of the above-mentioned method embodiments. The computer-readable storage medium can be an internal storage unit of the communication device of any of the above-mentioned embodiments, such as a hard disk or memory of the communication device. The above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium can also be an external storage device of the above-mentioned communication device, such as a plug-in hard disk, a smart memory card (smart media card, SMC), a secure digital (secure digital, SD) card, a flash card (flash card), etc. equipped on the above-mentioned communication device. Furthermore, the above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium can also include both the internal storage unit of the above-mentioned communication device and an external storage device. The above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium is used to store the above-mentioned computer program and other programs and data required by the above-mentioned communication device. The above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium can also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or is to be output.

[0337] Optionally, the present application also provides a computer program product. All or part of the processes in the above method embodiments may be completed by a computer program instructing related hardware. The program may be stored in the above computer program product, and when executed, the program may include the processes in the above method embodiments.

[0338] Optionally, the present application also provides a computer instruction. All or part of the process in the above method embodiment can be completed by the computer instruction to instruct the relevant hardware (such as a computer, processor, terminal or network device, etc.). The program can be stored in the above computer-readable storage medium or in the above computer program product.

[0339] Optionally, the present application also provides a communication system, including: the network device and terminal in the above embodiments.

[0340] Through the description of the above implementation methods, technical personnel in the relevant field can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above-mentioned functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0341] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed 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 modules or 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 device, 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 through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0342] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may be one physical unit or multiple physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed in multiple places. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0343] 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.

[0344] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited to this. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending random access resource information, location information of multiple areas, and information about communication resources corresponding to each area, wherein the random access resource information is used to indicate the random access resource corresponding to each area; receiving a first random access resource from a terminal, where the first random access resource is a random access resource corresponding to an area where the terminal is located; Communicate with the terminal through a first communication resource, where the first communication resource is a communication resource corresponding to the area corresponding to the first random access resource.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: At a first moment, m first synchronization signal blocks are respectively sent through the second communication resources of m areas among the multiple areas, the m first synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, m is an integer greater than 1, and m is less than the total number of the multiple areas.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first synchronization signal block also includes: an identifier of the first synchronization signal block, a primary synchronization signal, a secondary synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel, and the m first synchronization signal blocks include the same contents.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: At the second moment, m second synchronization signal blocks are respectively sent through the third communication resources of the m areas, the m second synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, and the second synchronization signal block and the first synchronization signal block include the same cell identifier.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The random access resource information indicates a preamble code corresponding to each area; or, The information of the random access resource indicates a random access opportunity corresponding to each area; or, The information of the random access resource indicates a format of a preamble code corresponding to each area.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending area switching information, where the area switching information indicates areas that the terminal switches to in sequence within the first cell, and condition information for triggering area switching each time.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The condition information for triggering area switching is used to indicate the time for triggering area switching, or the boundary of the corresponding area.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point or a transceiver.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The information of the random access resource, the location information and the information of the communication resource are included in a system information block message.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Acquire information about random access resources, location information of multiple areas, and information about communication resources corresponding to each area, wherein the information about random access resources is used to indicate the random access resources corresponding to each area; Sending a first random access resource to a network device, where the first random access resource is a random access resource corresponding to an area where a terminal is located, where the area where the terminal is located is determined according to a location of the terminal and the location information; Communicate with the network device through a first communication resource, where the first communication resource is a communication resource corresponding to the area where the terminal is located.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The random access resource information indicates a preamble code corresponding to each area; or, The information of the random access resource indicates a random access opportunity corresponding to each area; or, The information of the random access resource indicates a format of a preamble code corresponding to each area.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Area switching information is received, where the area switching information indicates areas to which the terminal sequentially switches within the first cell, and condition information for triggering area switching each time.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The condition information for triggering area switching is used to indicate the time for triggering area switching, or the boundary of the corresponding area.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that: The acquiring of information on random access resources, location information on multiple areas, and information on communication resources corresponding to each area includes: A system information block message is received from the network device, where the system information block message includes information about the random access resource, the location information, and information about the communication resource.

15. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that The first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point or a transceiver.

16. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: At a first moment, n first synchronization signal blocks are respectively sent through first communication resources of n areas among p areas, and the n first synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, n is an integer greater than 1, and n is less than p.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The first synchronization signal block also includes: an identifier of the first synchronization signal block, a primary synchronization signal, a secondary synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel, and the n first synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: At a second moment, n second synchronization signal blocks are respectively sent through the second communication resources of the n areas, the cell identifiers included in the n second synchronization signal blocks are the same, and the cell identifiers included in the second synchronization signal block and the first synchronization signal block are the same.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that: The method further comprises: At a third moment, r third synchronization signal blocks are respectively sent through the third communication resources of r areas among the p areas, the r third synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, and the third synchronization signal block and the first synchronization signal block include different cell identifiers, the r areas are the p areas excluding the n areas, r is an integer greater than 1, and r is less than p.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that The first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point or a transceiver.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a unit or module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or comprises a unit or module for executing the method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, or comprises a unit or module for executing the method according to any one of claims 16 to 20.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory is used to store programs or instructions, when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the device performs the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, or performs the method as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 15, or performs the method as claimed in any one of claims 16 to 20.

23. A chip, characterized in that: include: A processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory is used to store programs or instructions, when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the chip executes the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, or the method as described in any one of claims 10 to 15, or the method as described in any one of claims 16 to 20.

24. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instruction stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program or instructions are executed, the computer performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, or the method according to any one of claims 16 to 20.

25. A computer program product, comprising computer program code, characterized in that: When the computer program code runs on a computer, the computer is enabled to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 9, or the method of any one of claims 10 to 15, or the method of any one of claims 16 to 20.

26. A communication system, characterized in that: include: An apparatus for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, and an apparatus for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 15.

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