Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus. In the method, a network device can perform beam configuration for a terminal device by sending beam indication information, and the terminal device can determine at least one piece of coverage information of a target beam, such as coverage time, frequency domain resources and a coverage geographic range, by means of the beam indication information, so that local operations can be adjusted, and a signal can be transmitted on the basis of the coverage information of the target beam. By means of the method, a network device does not need to configure coverage information of a target beam for a terminal device by means of high layer signaling, but quickly performs beam configuration for the terminal device by means of beam indication information; therefore, this approach can improve the efficiency of beam configuration for the terminal device and meet the needs of high dynamic beam configuration.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on October 23, 2023, with application number 202311382005.0 and application name “A Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0004] Compared to traditional terrestrial networks (such as the 4th Generation (4G) and 5th Generation (5G) mobile communication systems), non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) offer wider coverage, higher speeds, and lower costs. They can complement or extend terrestrial networks, achieving seamless wide-area coverage and effectively addressing internet access challenges in areas lacking communications infrastructure, such as in oceans, deserts, and aerial locations where direct terrestrial network deployment is impractical.

[0005] Satellite communications, a typical example of NTN, boasts long communication distances, wide coverage, and flexible networking. They play an irreplaceable role in space communications, aviation communications, military communications, emergency rescue communications, and high-speed mobility. Satellite communications have been integrated into traditional communications systems, with base stations or portions of base station functions deployed on satellites. This not only provides seamless coverage for terminal devices, but also mitigates the impact of natural disasters and ensures the reliability of communication systems.

[0006] To support wide-area coverage, network equipment (such as satellites) in an NTN typically requires hundreds or even thousands of beams. To alleviate the conflict between network equipment load and coverage, beam-hopping technology has emerged. In an NTN supporting beam-hopping technology, network equipment can be configured with a small number of beams (e.g., dozens), which serve all of the network equipment's coverage areas in a time-sharing manner. This means that network equipment switches beams in a time-sequential manner, allowing it to cover one area with beams during a certain period and another area with beams during another period.

[0007] In an NTN that supports beam hopping, the rules by which network devices schedule beams are called beam scanning patterns. Currently, network devices typically configure these patterns through high-layer signaling to terminal devices within their coverage area, allowing them to adjust local operations and reduce unnecessary power consumption.

[0008] However, due to the complexity and variability of application scenarios, network equipment requires highly dynamic beam scheduling. For example, because service distribution varies significantly within a network device's coverage area, beam scheduling needs to be tailored to specific areas. Network equipment also needs to adjust beams to mitigate sudden interference. And for bursty services, network equipment needs to schedule beams to provide coverage. For these scenarios, the long configuration cycle of high-layer signaling makes it difficult to meet the requirements of highly dynamic beam configuration.

[0009] Summary of the Invention

[0010] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for providing beam configuration for a terminal device to meet the needs of highly dynamic beam configuration.

[0011] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method that can be applied to a terminal device. The terminal device herein may refer to the terminal device itself or to a processor, module, chip, or chip system in the terminal device that implements the method. The method comprises the following steps:

[0012] A terminal device receives beam indication information from a network device, wherein the beam indication information is used to indicate coverage information of a target beam of the network device; the coverage information of the target beam includes at least one of the following: the coverage time of the target beam, the frequency domain resources of the target beam, or the coverage geographical range of the target beam; then, the terminal device transmits a signal according to the coverage information of the target beam of the network device.

[0013] In this method, a network device can configure a beam for a terminal device by sending beam indication information. The terminal device can use this information to determine at least one item of coverage information for the target beam, such as its coverage time, frequency domain resources, and geographical coverage range. This information can then be used to adjust local operations and transmit signals based on the coverage information of the target beam. This method eliminates the need for the network device to configure the coverage information of the target beam for the terminal device via higher-layer signaling. Instead, the network device can quickly configure the beam for the terminal device using the beam indication information. This method improves the efficiency of beam configuration for terminal devices and meets the needs of highly dynamic beam configuration.

[0014] In one possible design, the terminal device can also receive a synchronization signal block from the network device, and determine the time-frequency resource position of the beam indication information based on the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and a first offset; wherein the first offset is the offset between the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and the time-frequency resource position of the beam indication information.

[0015] This design establishes a correlation between the time-frequency resources of the beam indication information and the time-frequency resources of the synchronization signal block. This allows the terminal device to determine the time-frequency resources of the beam indication information based on the time-frequency resources of the synchronization signal block, thereby improving the efficiency of receiving the beam indication information.

[0016] In one possible design, the first offset is preset; or the first offset is carried in the synchronization signal block or system message.

[0017] In one possible design, the target beam includes at least one of the following: a service beam, a synchronization signal block beam, and a random access channel opportunity RO beam.

[0018] This design can improve the flexibility of network equipment in configuring beam types for terminal devices in highly dynamic beams.

[0019] In one possible design, the beam indication information includes at least one indication information; when the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage time of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate a second offset, and the second offset includes the offset between the coverage start time of the target beam and the first reference time; or when the coverage information of the target beam includes the frequency domain resources of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate a third offset, and the third offset includes the offset between the starting position of the frequency domain resources of the target beam and the starting position of the first reference frequency domain resources; or when the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage geographical range of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the coverage geographical range.

[0020] Through this design, the beam indication information can indicate the specific content of the coverage information of the target beam through at least one indication information.

[0021] In one possible design, the first reference time is: the start time of the time domain resources of the synchronization signal block, or the start time of the time domain resources of the beam indication information; the first reference frequency domain resources are: the frequency domain resources of the synchronization signal block, or the frequency domain resources of the beam indication information.

[0022] In one possible design, when the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage time of the target beam, the at least one indication information also includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate the duration of the coverage of the target beam; or when the coverage information of the target beam includes the frequency domain resources of the target beam, the at least one indication information also includes fifth indication information, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate the frequency domain resource width of the target beam.

[0023] Through this design, the beam indication information can also indicate the coverage duration of the target beam or the frequency domain resource width of the target beam, so as to more completely and accurately indicate the coverage time or frequency domain resources of the target beam.

[0024] In one possible design, the beam indication information also includes an indication of a first terminal device group; wherein, the indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the beam indication information is configured for a terminal device in the first terminal device group; the terminal device belongs to the first terminal device group; or the beam indication information also includes an identification of the terminal device.

[0025] Through this design, the network device can also indicate the receiving object of the beam indication information by carrying an indication of the first terminal device group or an identifier of the terminal device in the beam indication information.

[0026] In one possible design, the at least one indication information is at least one indication sequence; or the beam indication information is carried in the downlink control information DCI, and the at least one indication information is at least one indication field in the DCI.

[0027] This design allows network devices to notify terminal devices of target beam coverage information via an indicator sequence or DCI during dynamic beam scheduling. Terminal devices can quickly determine the target beam coverage information by detecting the indicator sequence or DCI. Because network devices can quickly configure target beam coverage information for terminal devices without having to use higher-layer signaling, this design meets the needs of highly dynamic beam configuration.

[0028] In one possible design, the time-frequency resource location of the DCI is located in the common search space.

[0029] In one possible design, the offset between the common search space and the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block is a fourth offset; or the period of the common search space is the same as the revisit period of the synchronization signal block beam.

[0030] In one possible design, the fourth offset is preset; or the fourth offset is carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message.

[0031] In one possible design, the DCI is encrypted by the radio network temporary identifier RNTI of the first terminal device group, to which the terminal device belongs; or the DCI is encrypted by the cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI of the terminal device; or the DCI is encrypted by a public RNTI.

[0032] Through this design, the network device can scramble the DCI carrying beam indication information so that a specific terminal device can parse the DCI and thus configure the beam for the specific terminal device.

[0033] In one possible design, the DCI further includes a control field, wherein the control field is used to indicate control information for resource scheduling. For example, the control field of the DCI may indicate control information for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0034] In a possible design, when there are multiple at least one indicator sequences, the at least one indicator sequence are orthogonal to each other.

[0035] This design can reduce the possibility of interference when the network device transmits the at least one indication sequence.

[0036] In one possible design, when the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage time of the target beam, the terminal device can enter a low power consumption state before the coverage time of the target beam arrives, thereby saving power consumption.

[0037] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method that can be applied to a network device. The network device herein may refer to the network device itself or to a processor, module, chip, or chip system in the network device that implements the method. The method includes the following steps:

[0038] The network device determines beam indication information; then the network device sends the beam indication information, wherein the beam indication information is used to indicate coverage information of the target beam of the network device; the coverage information of the target beam includes at least one of the following: the coverage time of the target beam, the frequency domain resources of the target beam, or the coverage geographical range of the target beam.

[0039] In one possible design, the network device may also send a synchronization signal block, wherein the offset between the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and the time-frequency resource position of the beam indication information is a first offset.

[0040] In one possible design, the first offset is preset; or the first offset is carried in the synchronization signal block or system message.

[0041] In one possible design, the target beam includes at least one of the following: a service beam, a synchronization signal block beam, and a random access channel opportunity RO beam.

[0042] In one possible design, the beam indication information includes at least one indication information; when the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage time of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate a second offset, and the second offset includes the offset between the coverage start time of the target beam and the first reference time; or when the coverage information of the target beam includes the frequency domain resources of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate a third offset, and the third offset includes the offset between the starting position of the frequency domain resources of the target beam and the starting position of the first reference frequency domain resources; or when the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage geographical range of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the coverage geographical range.

[0043] In one possible design, the first reference time is: the start time of the time domain resources of the synchronization signal block, or the start time of the time domain resources of the beam indication information; the first reference frequency domain resources are: the frequency domain resources of the synchronization signal block, or the frequency domain resources of the beam indication information.

[0044] In one possible design, when the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage time of the target beam, the at least one indication information also includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate the duration of the coverage of the target beam; or when the coverage information of the target beam includes the frequency domain resources of the target beam, the at least one indication information also includes fifth indication information, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate the frequency domain resource width of the target beam.

[0045] In one possible design, the beam indication information also includes an indication of a first terminal device group; wherein, the indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the beam indication information is configured for the terminal devices in the first terminal device group; or the beam indication information also includes an identification of a target terminal device.

[0046] In one possible design, the at least one indication information is at least one indication sequence; or the beam indication information is carried in the downlink control information DCI, and the at least one indication information is at least one indication field in the DCI.

[0047] In one possible design, the time-frequency resource location of the DCI is located in a common search space.

[0048] In one possible design, the offset between the common search space and the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block is a fourth offset; or the period of the common search space is the same as the revisit period of the synchronization signal block beam.

[0049] In one possible design, the fourth offset is preset; or the fourth offset is carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message.

[0050] In one possible design, the DCI is scrambled by the radio network temporary identifier RNTI of the first terminal device group; or the DCI is scrambled by the cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI of the target terminal device; or the DCI is scrambled by the public RNTI.

[0051] In one possible design, the DCI also includes a control field; the control field is used to indicate control information of the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH.

[0052] In a possible design, when there are multiple at least one indicator sequences, the at least one indicator sequence are orthogonal to each other.

[0053] The technical effects that can be achieved in the second aspect can refer to the description of the technical effects that can be achieved in the first aspect mentioned above.

[0054] In a third aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method that can be applied to a terminal device. The terminal device herein may refer to the terminal device itself or to a processor, module, chip, or chip system in the terminal device that implements the method. The method includes the following steps:

[0055] A terminal device receives first information from a network device, wherein the first information is used to indicate multiple candidate beam scanning patterns of a target beam of the network device; then the terminal device receives second information from the network device, wherein the second information is used to indicate a first beam scanning pattern; the first beam scanning pattern is one of the multiple candidate beam scanning patterns; finally, the terminal device transmits a signal according to the first beam scanning pattern.

[0056] In this method, the network device can first configure multiple candidate beam scanning modes of the target beam for the terminal device through the first information, and then notify the terminal device to use the candidate beam scanning mode through the second information when a certain candidate beam scanning mode needs to be used. In this way, the network device can quickly and flexibly instruct the terminal device to use the beam scanning mode when there is a switch or a certain beam scanning mode needs to be used. In addition, the network device does not need to instruct the terminal device to use the beam scanning mode of the target beam through high-layer signaling, but instead quickly configures the beam for the terminal device through the second information. Therefore, this method can improve the efficiency of beam configuration for the terminal device and meet the needs of high-dynamic beam configuration.

[0057] In one possible design, the terminal device can also receive a synchronization signal block from the network device; and determine the time-frequency resource position of the second information based on the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and the first offset; wherein the first offset is the offset between the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and the time-frequency resource position of the second information.

[0058] Through this design, there is an association between the time-frequency resources of the second information and the time-frequency resources of the synchronization signal block. In this way, the terminal device can determine the time-frequency resources of the second information based on the time-frequency resources of the synchronization signal block, thereby improving the efficiency of receiving the second information.

[0059] In one possible design, the first offset is preset; or the first offset is carried in the synchronization signal block or system message.

[0060] In one possible design, the target beam includes at least one of the following: a service beam, a synchronization signal block beam, and a random access channel opportunity RO beam.

[0061] In one possible design, the second information includes at least one indication information; wherein, the at least one indication information includes first indication information; the first indication information includes: an index of the first beam scanning mode, or a mode indication sequence; the mode indication sequence is used to indicate the coverage order and / or coverage time of the target beam indicated by the first beam scanning mode for multiple wave positions; or the first indication information is used to indicate a first search space, and the first search space corresponds to the first beam scanning mode.

[0062] With this design, the network device can indicate the first beam scanning pattern to be used through an index, a pattern indication sequence, or a first search space.

[0063] In one possible design, the at least one indication information also includes second indication information or third indication information; the second indication information is used to indicate a second offset, and the second offset includes the offset between the start time of the beam scanning period and the first reference time; the third indication information is used to indicate the effective duration of the first beam scanning mode; wherein the effective duration is greater than or equal to the beam scanning period.

[0064] Through this design, the second information can also indicate other relevant content of the first beam scanning mode through other indication information.

[0065] In one possible design, the first reference time is: the time domain resource start time of the synchronization signal block, or the time domain resource start time of the second information.

[0066] In one possible design, the at least one indication information also includes fourth indication information; the fourth indication information is used to indicate the duration of the beam scanning period.

[0067] In one possible design, the correspondence between the first search space and the first beam scanning mode is preset; or the correspondence between the first search space and the first beam scanning mode is carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message.

[0068] In one possible design, the first indication information includes an index of the first search space.

[0069] In one possible design, the first search space is a public search space or a dedicated search space.

[0070] In one possible design, the second information also includes an indication of a first terminal device group; wherein the indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the second information is configured for a terminal device in the first terminal device group; the terminal device belongs to the first terminal device group; or the second information also includes an identification of the terminal device.

[0071] Through this design, the network device can also indicate the receiving object of the second information (i.e., the terminal device that needs to use the first beam scanning mode) by carrying an indication of the first terminal device group or an identifier of the terminal device in the second information.

[0072] In one possible design, the at least one indication information is at least one indication sequence; or the second information is carried in downlink control information DCI, and the at least one indication information is at least one indication field in the DCI.

[0073] With this design, when a network device needs to use the first beam scanning mode of a target beam, it can notify the terminal device to use the first beam scanning mode of the target beam through an indication sequence or DCI. The terminal device can quickly determine the first beam scanning mode of the target beam to be used through indication sequence or DCI detection. Since the network device can quickly configure the beam scanning mode for the terminal device without configuring the required beam scanning mode for the terminal device through high-layer signaling, this method can meet the needs of highly dynamic beam configuration.

[0074] In one possible design, the DCI is encrypted by the radio network temporary identifier RNTI of the first terminal device group, and the terminal device belongs to the first terminal device group; or the DCI is encrypted by the cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI of the terminal device; or the DCI is encrypted by a public RNTI.

[0075] Through this design, the network device can scramble the DCI carrying the second information so that a specific terminal device can parse the DCI, thereby configuring the beam scanning mode for the specific terminal device.

[0076] In one possible design, the DCI also includes a control field; the control field is used to indicate control information for resource scheduling, such as control information for PDSCH.

[0077] In a possible design, when there are multiple at least one indicator sequences, the at least one indicator sequence are orthogonal to each other.

[0078] This design can reduce the possibility of interference when the network device transmits the at least one indication sequence.

[0079] Fourthly, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method that can be applied to a network device. The network device herein may refer to the network device itself or to a processor, module, chip, or chip system in the network device that implements the method. The method includes the following steps:

[0080] A network device sends first information, where the first information is used to indicate multiple candidate beam scanning patterns of a target beam of the network device; then the network device sends second information, where the second information is used to indicate a first beam scanning pattern; the first beam scanning pattern is one of the multiple candidate beam scanning patterns; and the network device transmits a signal according to the first beam scanning pattern.

[0081] In one possible design, the network device may also send a synchronization signal block, wherein the offset between the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and the time-frequency resource position of the second information is a first offset.

[0082] In one possible design, the first offset is preset; or the first offset is carried in the synchronization signal block or system message.

[0083] In one possible design, the target beam includes at least one of the following: a service beam, a synchronization signal block beam, and a random access channel opportunity RO beam.

[0084] In one possible design, the second information includes at least one indication information; wherein, the at least one indication information includes first indication information; the first indication information includes: an index of the first beam scanning mode, or a mode indication sequence; the mode indication sequence is used to indicate the coverage order and / or coverage time of the target beam indicated by the first beam scanning mode for multiple wave positions; or the first indication information is used to indicate a first search space, and the first search space corresponds to the first beam scanning mode.

[0085] In one possible design, the at least one indication information also includes second indication information or third indication information; the second indication information is used to indicate a second offset, and the second offset includes the offset between the start time of the beam scanning period and the first reference time; the third indication information is used to indicate the effective duration of the first beam scanning mode; wherein the effective duration is greater than or equal to the beam scanning period.

[0086] In one possible design, the first reference time is: the time domain resource start time of the synchronization signal block, or the time domain resource start time of the second information.

[0087] In one possible design, the at least one indication information also includes fourth indication information; the fourth indication information is used to indicate the duration of the beam scanning period.

[0088] In one possible design, the correspondence between the first search space and the first beam scanning mode is preset; or the correspondence between the first search space and the first beam scanning mode is carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message.

[0089] In one possible design, the first indication information includes an index of the first search space.

[0090] In one possible design, the first search space is a public search space or a dedicated search space.

[0091] In one possible design, the second information also includes an indication of the first terminal device group; wherein the indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the second information is configured for the terminal device in the first terminal device group; or the second information also includes an identification of the target terminal device.

[0092] In one possible design, the at least one indication information is at least one indication sequence; or the second information is carried in downlink control information DCI, and the at least one indication information is at least one indication field in the DCI.

[0093] In one possible design, the DCI is scrambled by the radio network temporary identifier RNTI of the first terminal device group; or the DCI is scrambled by the cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI of the target terminal device; or the DCI is scrambled by the public RNTI.

[0094] In one possible design, the DCI also includes a control field; the control field is used to indicate control information for resource scheduling.

[0095] In a possible design, when there are multiple at least one indicator sequences, the at least one indicator sequence are orthogonal to each other.

[0096] The technical effects that can be achieved in the fourth aspect can refer to the description of the technical effects that can be achieved in the third aspect mentioned above.

[0097] In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method that can be applied to a terminal device. The terminal device herein may refer to the terminal device itself or to a processor, module, chip, or chip system in the terminal device that implements the method. The method may include the following steps:

[0098] The terminal device receives indication information from the network device, wherein the indication information is used to indicate a first beam; the first beam is a beam of one beam position among multiple beam positions indicated by a first beam scanning mode; the terminal device determines the time-frequency resource position of the first beam based on the time-frequency resource position and the first offset of the indication information; the terminal device transmits a signal based on the time-frequency resource position of the first beam.

[0099] In this method, the network device can notify the terminal device through indication information before the first beam covers / revisits its beam position. In this way, the terminal device can accurately determine the time-frequency resource location of the first beam based on the time-frequency resource location of the indication information, and can then adjust local operations to transmit signals based on the time-frequency resource location of the first beam. This method eliminates the need for the network device to configure the beam for the terminal device through higher-layer signaling. Instead, the network device can quickly configure the beam for the terminal device through indication information. Therefore, this approach can improve the efficiency of beam configuration for the terminal device and meet the needs of highly dynamic beam configuration.

[0100] In one possible design, the first offset is preset, or the first offset is carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message.

[0101] In one possible design, the indication information includes first information of the first beam, where the first information is used to indicate the geographical coverage range of the first beam or the index of the first beam.

[0102] In one possible design, in order to clearly indicate the receiving object of the indication information, the indication information may also include an indication of a first terminal device group; wherein, the indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the indication information is configured for a terminal device in the first terminal device group; the terminal device belongs to the first terminal device group; or the indication information may also include an identification of the terminal device.

[0103] In one possible design, the first information is an indication sequence; or the indication information is carried in downlink control information DCI, and the first information is an indication field in the DCI.

[0104] With this design, the network device can notify the terminal device of the time-frequency resource location of the first beam through an indicator sequence or DCI, allowing the terminal device to quickly learn the coverage information of the first beam and adjust the local configuration to transmit signals based on the time-frequency resource location of the first beam. Because the network device does not need to notify the terminal device of the time-frequency resource location of the first beam through high-layer signaling, these two methods can meet the needs of highly dynamic beam configuration.

[0105] In one possible design, the DCI is encrypted by the radio network temporary identifier RNTI of the first terminal device group, and the terminal device belongs to the first terminal device group; or the DCI is encrypted by the cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI of the terminal device; or the DCI is encrypted by a public RNTI.

[0106] Through this design, the network device can scramble the DCI that carries the indication information so that a specific terminal device can parse the DCI and thus perform beam configuration for the specific terminal device.

[0107] In one possible design, the DCI also includes a control field; the control field is used to indicate control information for resource scheduling.

[0108] In one possible design, the terminal device may also receive configuration information from the network device, where the configuration information is used to indicate a first beam scanning mode.

[0109] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method that can be applied to a network device. The network device herein may refer to the network device itself or to a processor, module, chip, or chip system in the network device that implements the method. The method includes:

[0110] The network device sends indication information, wherein the indication information is used to indicate a first beam; the first beam is a beam of one beam position among multiple beam positions indicated by a first beam scanning mode; the network device uses the first beam to transmit a signal; and the offset between the time-frequency resource position of the first beam and the time-frequency resource position of the indication information is a first offset.

[0111] In one possible design, the first offset is preset, or the first offset is carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message.

[0112] In one possible design, the indication information includes first information of the first beam, where the first information is used to indicate the geographical coverage range of the first beam or the index of the first beam.

[0113] In one possible design, the indication information also includes an indication of a first terminal device group; wherein, the indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the indication information is configured for the terminal devices in the first terminal device group; or the indication information also includes an identification of the target terminal device.

[0114] In one possible design, the first information is an indication sequence; or the indication information is carried in downlink control information DCI, and the first information is an indication field in the DCI.

[0115] In one possible design, the DCI is scrambled by the radio network temporary identifier RNTI of the first terminal device group; or the DCI is scrambled by the cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI of the target terminal device; or the DCI is scrambled by the public RNTI.

[0116] In one possible design, the DCI also includes a control field; the control field is used to indicate control information of the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH.

[0117] In one possible design, the network device may also send configuration information, where the configuration information is used to indicate the first beam scanning mode.

[0118] The technical effects that can be achieved in the sixth aspect can refer to the description of the technical effects that can be achieved in the fifth aspect mentioned above.

[0119] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a unit for performing each step of any one of aspects 1 to 6 above. Optionally, the communication device may include a communication unit and a processing unit; the communication unit is used to receive and send data, and the processing unit is used to perform the method provided in any one of the above aspects.

[0120] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communications device comprising a transceiver and a processor; wherein the transceiver is configured to receive and transmit signals; and the processor is configured to execute program instructions, causing the communications device to perform the method provided in any of the above aspects. Optionally, the communications device further comprises a memory. The memory is configured to store program instructions; the processor can read the program instructions in the memory, causing the communications device to perform the method provided in any of the above aspects.

[0121] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device comprising at least one processing element and at least one storage element, wherein the at least one storage element is used to store programs and data, and the at least one processing element is used to execute the method provided in any one of the above aspects of the present application.

[0122] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, comprising: a terminal device for executing the first aspect and a network device for executing the second aspect; or a terminal device for executing the third aspect and a network device for executing the fourth aspect; or a terminal device for executing the fifth aspect and a network device for executing the sixth aspect.

[0123] In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method provided in any of the above aspects. Optionally, the computer may be a communication device such as a terminal device or a network device.

[0124] In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored therein. When the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer executes the method provided in any of the above aspects. Optionally, the computer may be a communication device such as a terminal device or a network device.

[0125] In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which is used to read a computer program stored in a memory and execute the method provided in any of the above aspects. Optionally, the chip may include a processor, which is coupled to the memory and is used to read the computer program stored in the memory to implement the method provided in the above embodiment. Optionally, the chip may also include components such as a memory, a communication interface, and a power supply module. The memory is used to store computer programs; the communication interface is used to receive and send data; and the power supply unit is used to power the processor.

[0126] In a fourteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a chip system, comprising a processor configured to support a computer device in implementing the method provided in any of the above aspects. In one possible design, the chip system further comprises a memory configured to store programs and data necessary for the computer device. The chip system may be composed of a chip alone, or may include a chip and other discrete components. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0127] FIG1A is a schematic diagram of a beam provided in this application;

[0128] FIG1B is a schematic diagram of a beam hopping technology provided by the present application;

[0129] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a typical application scenario of a satellite-ground fusion network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0130] FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0131] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of beam indication information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0132] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the relative relationship between the coverage start time of a target beam and a first reference time provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0133] FIG6 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0134] FIG7 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0135] FIG8 is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0136] FIG9 is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0137] This application provides a communication method and apparatus for providing beam configuration for a terminal device to meet the needs of highly dynamic beam configuration. The method and apparatus are based on the same technical concept. Since the method and apparatus solve similar problems, the implementation of the apparatus and method can refer to each other, and any repetitions will not be repeated.

[0138] Some of the terms used in this application are explained below to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0139] 1) NTN, proposed in contrast to traditional terrestrial networks, refers to networks established using non-terrestrial communication technologies. It can include, but is not limited to, networks that use spectrum resources on communication platforms such as satellite platforms, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or high altitude platform stations (HAPS) to provide communication services.

[0140] For example, NTN may include, but is not limited to, satellite systems, UAV communication systems, and HAPS systems. Satellite systems can be categorized into geostationary orbit (GEO) satellite systems, medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite systems, and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems, depending on the altitude of the satellites above the Earth's surface (i.e., satellite orbit altitude).

[0141] Compared to terrestrial communication networks, NTN offers wider coverage, lower path loss, greater latency, higher speed, and lower cost. With increasing interest in NTN research, the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has also conducted standardization research on NTN, committed to supplementing or enhancing the communication performance of mobile communication systems through NTN construction. For example, 3GPP began researching satellite-ground integration and related solutions in Release 14 (R14).

[0142] 2) Terminal equipment: A device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users and can access network devices through a wireless interface. Terminal equipment can also be referred to as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), or mobile terminal (MT). In this application, terminal equipment can be fixed or mobile, and this application does not limit this.

[0143] For example, the terminal device can be a handheld device with wireless connection function, various vehicle-mounted devices, roadside units, Internet of Things terminals, access terminals, terminals in V2X communication, user units, user stations, mobile stations, mobile stations, remote stations, remote terminals, mobile devices, user terminals, terminals, wireless communication equipment, user agents or user devices, etc. At present, some examples of terminal devices are: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), smart point of sale (POS), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in future 5G networks or terminal devices in future evolved public land mobile networks (PLMNs), wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, and wireless terminals in smart cities. The following are examples of wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, various smart meters (smart water meters, smart electricity meters, smart gas meters), vehicle-mounted electronic control units (ECUs), vehicle-mounted computers, vehicle-mounted cruise control systems, telematics boxes (T-BOXs), UE units, UE stations, mobile stations, remote stations, remote terminal devices, mobile devices, wireless communication devices, UE agents, UE devices, etc.

[0144] Terminal devices can communicate with network devices directly or through relay stations. Terminal devices can communicate with multiple network devices equipped with different communication technologies. For example, terminal devices can communicate with base stations equipped with LTE networks and base stations equipped with 5G networks. They can also support dual connections with base stations equipped with LTE networks and base stations equipped with 5G networks.

[0145] 3) Network equipment, which is an entity with wireless transceiver capabilities on the network side of a communication system. In the embodiments of the present application, network equipment may include, but is not limited to: a base station carried on a satellite (referred to as a satellite base station), a transmission receiving point (TRP) or distributed unit (DU) carried on a satellite, a satellite ground station (referred to as a ground station) in a satellite system, a balloon station, an unmanned aerial vehicle station, etc.

[0146] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the standard of the network device. For example, the network device may be a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), a next-generation Node B (gNB), or a network device of other standards that continues to evolve based on the above network devices.

[0147] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of network device. For example, the network device can be an access point (AP), a wireless-fidelity (WiFi) AP, a home base station (for example, a home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a macro base station, a micro base station, a pico base station, a small station, or a relay station, etc.

[0148] The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the network device. The network device may correspond to an eNB in ​​a 4G system and to a gNB in ​​a 5G system.

[0149] In one network architecture, the network device may include centralized unit (CU) nodes and distributed unit (DU) nodes. This architecture allows the protocol layers of the network device to be split, with some protocol layer functions centrally controlled by the CU and some or all of the remaining protocol layer functions distributed across the DUs, which are then centrally controlled by the CU.

[0150] For example, the functions of the PDCP layer and above protocol layers can be set in the CU, and the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP (such as the RLC layer and the MAC layer, etc.) can be set in the DU. It should be noted that this division of the protocol layers is only an example, and it can also be divided in other protocol layers. The radio frequency device can be remote and not placed in the DU, or it can be integrated in the DU, or partly remote and partly integrated in the DU. The embodiments of the present application do not impose any restrictions. In addition, in some embodiments, the control plane (CP) and user plane (UP) of the CU can also be separated and divided into different entities for implementation, namely the control plane CU entity (CU-CP entity) and the user plane CU entity (CU-UP entity).

[0151] In this network architecture, the signaling generated by the CU can be sent to the terminal device through the DU, or the signaling generated by the terminal device can be sent to the CU through the DU. The DU can directly encapsulate the signaling through the protocol layer and transparently transmit it to the terminal device or CU without parsing it. In this network architecture, the CU is divided into a network device on the radio access network (RAN) side. In addition, the CU can also be divided as a network device on the core network (CN) side. This application does not limit this.

[0152] 4) Search space (SS): The search space is a time-frequency resource configured by the network device for the terminal device to receive information (such as downlink control information (DCI) or other types of control signals).

[0153] In a communication system, the time-frequency resources of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) are shared. Therefore, the time-frequency resources of the PDCCH may be greater than the time-frequency resource requirements of a single terminal device. If the terminal device cannot determine information such as the DCI format, resource aggregation level, and the radio network temporary identity (RNTI) that the terminal device should use, the terminal device needs to try multiple combinations to receive the DCI, which will reduce the efficiency of the terminal device in receiving the DCI and also result in wasted power consumption. Based on this, the role of the communication system configuration search space is to provide the terminal device with a search configuration so as to narrow the search range of the terminal device and improve the search efficiency of the terminal device.

[0154] Depending on the recipients of the information transmitted in the search space (or the type of information transmitted), the search space can be divided into two types: common search space (CSS) and dedicated search space. The dedicated search space can also be called UE-specific search space (USS), and USS will be used to represent the dedicated search space.

[0155] 5) The geographical coverage of the beam can be represented by the beam position or by the physical location information of the beam coverage area (such as coordinates, longitude and latitude, area identification, etc.).

[0156] In the embodiment of the present application, the geographical coverage range of the beam, the wave position of the beam, and the physical location information of the beam can be interchangeable.

[0157] 6) Synchronization signal block, which is sent periodically by network equipment and used by terminal equipment to achieve time and frequency synchronization with network equipment during cell search.

[0158] In a first embodiment, the synchronization signal block includes a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS). In this case, the synchronization signal block can be referred to as a synchronization signal block, or SSB for short.

[0159] In the second implementation, the synchronization signal block includes not only the PSS and SSS but also the physical broadcast channel (PBCH), such as the synchronization signal block defined in the 5G mobile communication system (i.e., the new radio (NR) system). In this case, the synchronization signal block can be referred to as a synchronization signal broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH block, or SS / PBCH block).

[0160] Third implementation: Based on the structures of the synchronization signal blocks provided in the two preceding embodiments, in this implementation, synchronization signal blocks can be divided into two categories: By default, the synchronization signal block includes the PSS, SSS, and PBCH. In special cases, the synchronization signal block includes the PSS and SSS but does not include the PBCH. In this case, the synchronization signal block can also be referred to as the default synchronization signal block.

[0161] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific structure of the synchronization signal block, that is, in the description of the embodiments, the synchronization signal block, SSB, and SS / PBCH block represent the same concept and can be replaced with each other.

[0162] 7) The time involved in the embodiments of this application can be counted using traditional time units such as seconds, milliseconds, and microseconds, and can also be counted using time units defined for time domain resources in the communications field. For example, time units in the communications field can include, but are not limited to, subframes, slots, and symbols, and this application does not limit this.

[0163] 8) RRC connection state. In a communication system, the RRC connection state of a terminal device includes three types: RRC connected state (RRC_connected, referred to as connected state), RRC idle state (RRC_idle, referred to as idle state), and RRC inactive state (RRC_inactive, referred to as inactive state). Among them, the RRC idle state and the RRC inactive state can be collectively referred to as the RRC inactive state.

[0164] When the terminal device is in the idle state, the RRC connection between the terminal device and the network device is released, the network device and the terminal device no longer store the terminal device context information, and the terminal device can receive broadcast information (such as system information) and paging messages sent by the network device.

[0165] When a terminal device is in an inactive state, the RRC connection between the terminal device and the network device is suspended, but the terminal device and the terminal device continue to store the terminal device's context information. When the terminal device enters a connected state from an inactive state, the network device and the terminal device can quickly restore the RRC connection between the terminal device and the network device based on the stored terminal device context information, allowing the terminal device to quickly return to the connected state.

[0166] When the terminal device is in a connected state, there is an RRC connection between the terminal device and the network device, and the two can communicate based on the RRC connection.

[0167] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b and c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0168] In the embodiments of the present application, descriptions such as "when...", "in the case of...", "if" and "if" all mean that the device will perform corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. It does not limit the time, nor does it require the device to perform judgment actions when implemented, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0169] It should be noted that in this application, "used for indication" can include being used for direct indication and being used for indirect indication. When describing that a certain information is used to indicate A, it can include that the information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, but it does not mean that the information must carry A. Taking the first information used to indicate the first content as an example, the first information can include the first content, and can also include a part of the first content or an identifier or index of the first content, etc., and can also include an algorithm or calculation parameters for determining the first content. This application does not limit the method of "indication".

[0170] In this application, “include / comprising / carry A” may be equivalent to “include / comprising / carry A information”. A information is used to indicate A.

[0171] In addition, it should be understood that in the description of the embodiments of the present application, words such as "first" and "second" are only used for the purpose of distinguishing the description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor can they be understood as indicating or implying order.

[0172] The following is an introduction to several beam-related technologies.

[0173] 1. Beam forming

[0174] With the development of massive antenna technology, beamforming has been introduced to meet user demands for higher transmission rates and system capacity in mobile communication systems. Beamforming is a signal preprocessing technique based on antenna arrays. By adjusting the weighting system of each source in the antenna array, it produces a directional beam, as shown in Figure 1A, resulting in significant transmission gain.

[0175] In order to distinguish the direction / coverage of a beam, the concept of wave position is introduced in the field of communications. Continuing with Figure 1A, beams of different wave positions point in different directions and have different corresponding coverage areas. It should be noted that when the communication device managing the beam is mobile, the coverage area of ​​the beam of the same wave position may also change over time and as the communication device moves. In the embodiments of the present application, beams can be identified by wave position.

[0176] Beamforming is a signal processing technology that uses a sensor array (i.e., an antenna array) to transmit and receive signals in a directional manner. Beamforming adjusts the parameters of the basic elements of a phased array so that signals at certain angles interfere constructively and signals at other angles interfere destructively, thereby enhancing signals at certain angles and directions.

[0177] The ultimate goal of beamforming is to establish and maintain appropriate beam pairs between network devices and end devices through beam management to ensure signal transmission gain between them. Typically, the optimal beam pair for downlink is also the optimal beam pair for uplink, a phenomenon known as beam correspondence.

[0178] On the network device side, managed beams can be classified into the following types based on the content transmitted by the network device through the beam, but are not limited to:

[0179] Synchronization signal block beam: used by network devices to send synchronization signal blocks.

[0180] Service beam: used by network devices to send service data. Based on the uplink and downlink directions, service beams can be divided into uplink service beams and downlink service beams.

[0181] Random access channel (RACH) occasion (RO) beam: A beam used by a terminal device to perform random access. The time-frequency resources of the RO beam include RACH resources (e.g., RO).

[0182] During beam management and service implementation, network devices can transmit signals using beams at different wavelengths. This process is called beam scanning. For example, during beam management, network devices can send corresponding reference signals using different beams. For another example, network devices can transmit service data using different service beams to facilitate service communications with multiple terminal devices within the coverage area. For another example, network devices can evenly transmit synchronization signal blocks across the coverage area using different synchronization signal block beams.

[0183] 2. Beam Hopping Technology

[0184] To achieve wide-area coverage in some scenarios, network equipment in mobile communication systems often needs to be equipped with hundreds or thousands of beams. This requires robust antenna arrays and computational efficiency, increasing the load on network equipment. However, in some scenarios, reducing load and improving coverage are two conflicting research directions for network equipment.

[0185] Beam hopping technology has emerged to alleviate the conflict between network device load and coverage. Based on beam hopping, network devices can be configured with a small number of beams (e.g., dozens of beams) and then use a time-sharing approach to serve all of their coverage areas. This means that the network device switches beams sequentially, allowing it to cover one area with a beam during a certain period and another area with a beam during another period. When a network device uses a beam to cover a certain area or angle again, this phenomenon is called beam revisiting.

[0186] For example, Figure 1B illustrates the following: from time 1 to time 4, the network device's beam coverage order is: beam 1, beam 2, beam 3, beam 4, beam 5, beam 6, beam 7, beam 8. The beam coverage time for each beam can be the same or different. Note that a network device can configure beams for one or more beams at the same time; Figure 1B is an example and does not constitute a limitation.

[0187] During the beam scanning period, the coverage order and / or coverage time of beams of different wave positions scheduled by the network device (i.e., the beam scanning rule of the network device) can be called a beam scanning pattern. That is, the beam scanning pattern can indicate the coverage order and / or coverage time of the beam for different wave positions. In a mobile communication system, the beam scanning pattern used by the network device can be configured to the terminal device through high-layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling) so that the terminal device can configure the antenna parameters by adjusting local operations, thereby using the beam corresponding to the current beam of the network device for transmission. This can save power consumption of the terminal device and ensure the communication efficiency of the terminal device.

[0188] However, due to the complexity and variability of application scenarios, network equipment requires highly dynamic beam scheduling. For example, because service distribution varies significantly within a network device's coverage area, beam scheduling needs to be tailored to specific areas. Network equipment also needs to adjust beams to mitigate sudden interference. And for bursty services, network equipment needs to schedule beams to provide coverage. For these scenarios, the long configuration cycle of high-layer signaling makes it difficult to meet the requirements of highly dynamic beam configuration.

[0189] In order to provide beam configuration for terminal devices to meet the needs of highly dynamic beam configuration, the present application provides several embodiments. The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0190] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to any communication system that supports beam hopping technology. Since network devices in NTN scenarios generally support beam hopping technology, this application uses the satellite system in NTN as an example to illustrate the communication system to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable.

[0191] In a satellite system, ground-based devices access the network through the air interface. Base stations can be deployed on satellites or on the ground (in which case the satellite acts as a relay). Alternatively, a base station can have some functions deployed on the satellite and others on the ground. Satellites can communicate with ground stations via wireless links, and in turn, with base stations and the core network on the ground.

[0192] The functions of each network element in the satellite system are described below.

[0193] Terminal device: can access the satellite system through the air interface and initiate calls, access the Internet, and other services. For detailed descriptions and examples, please refer to the explanation of terms in point 2) above.

[0194] Base Station: Provides wireless access services to terminal devices, dispatches wireless resources to connected terminal devices, and provides reliable wireless transmission protocols and data encryption protocols. For detailed descriptions and examples, please refer to the explanation of network equipment terms in point 3) above.

[0195] Core network: It is used to implement services such as user access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, and billing. The core network consists of multiple functional units, which can be divided into control plane and data plane functional units.

[0196] Exemplarily, the functional units of the control plane may include: a session management function (SMF) network element, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a unified data management (UDM) entity, a policy control function (PCF) entity, etc. The AMF network element is responsible for user access management, security authentication, and mobility management. The SMF network element is responsible for session management.

[0197] The functional units of the data plane may include user plane function (UPF) network elements. The UPF network element is mainly responsible for managing the transmission of user plane data, traffic statistics, secure eavesdropping and other functions.

[0198] Ground station: Used to connect satellites to the terrestrial network and forward signaling and service data between the satellite and the base station or core network in the terrestrial network. A ground station can also be called a gateway, satellite ground station, or earth station.

[0199] Based on the satellite's communication mode, satellite systems can be divided into two types: Bentpipe mode and Regenerative mode. The following describes several typical application scenarios of satellite-ground converged networks, as shown in Figure 2.

[0200] In transparent transmission mode, the satellite has the function of signal frequency conversion and forwarding. As shown in (a) in Figure 2, the terminal device and the satellite, and the satellite and the ground station are connected through an air interface (such as the Uu interface). The satellite is equivalent to a repeater, which is used to forward signals between the satellite and the ground station. There is a communication connection between the ground station and the base station in the ground network. The base station and the core network (CN) can communicate through the NG interface (such as the N2 interface, N3 interface, etc.), and the core network and the data network (DN) communicate through the N6 interface.

[0201] In a satellite system operating in regenerative mode, as shown in Figure 2 (b)-(d), a base station or a DU within a base station can be carried onboard the satellite. The satellite can interpret and process the signals received from the ground station and transmit the processed signals to the terminal device, achieving signal regeneration.

[0202] As shown in Figure 2(b), a satellite is equipped with a base station, and in this case, the satellite can be called a satellite base station. Terminal devices can establish a communication connection with the satellite via the air interface, while the satellite can establish a communication connection with the core network via the ground station via the NG interface. Alternatively, in another scenario, the satellite can establish a communication connection with a base station in the terrestrial network via the Xn interface, while the base station in the terrestrial network can establish a communication connection with the core network via the NG interface. Communication between the core network and the DN occurs via the N6 interface.

[0203] As shown in Figure 2(c), the satellite carries the DU from the base station, while the ground station connects to the CU in the base station deployed on the terrestrial network. Terminal devices can establish a communication connection with the satellite over the air interface, while the satellite establishes a communication connection with the CU via the ground station over the F1 interface. The interfaces between the CU, core network, and DN are similar to those in Figure 2(b) and are not further described here.

[0204] Compared to the scenario shown in Figure 2 (b), the application scenario shown in Figure 2 (d) adds satellite (base station) to satellite (or between satellites) communication. This means that a terminal device can access the network through one satellite (base station) or multiple satellite base stations. As shown in the figure, satellites (base stations) can communicate with each other via the Xn interface.

[0205] In the various application scenarios shown in Figure 2, a base station (or the CU and DU within a base station) (e.g., a satellite carrying a base station, a base station located in a terrestrial network, or a satellite carrying a DU and a DU located in a terrestrial network) can use beamforming technology to provide services to terminal devices within its coverage area. Because base stations in satellite systems have a large coverage area, they can use beam hopping technology to balance the trade-off between payload and coverage.

[0206] The interfaces between network elements in each application scenario shown in FIG2 are described below.

[0207] Air interface: This refers to the wireless link between a terminal device and a base station. For example, the air interface can be a Uu interface.

[0208] Xn interface: represents the interface between base stations, mainly used for signaling interaction such as handover.

[0209] NG interface: refers to the interface between the base station and the core network, which mainly exchanges signaling such as the core network's non-access stratum (NAS) and user service data. Exemplarily, the NG interface may include the N2 interface, the N3 interface, etc.

[0210] It should be noted that some application scenarios shown in Figure 2 illustrate a single satellite or a single ground station. In actual scenarios, a multiple satellite and / or multiple ground station architecture may be employed as needed. Each satellite may provide communication services to one or more terminal devices, each ground station may correspond to one or more satellites, and each satellite may correspond to one or more ground stations, although this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0211] It should be noted that the satellite system shown in FIG2 does not constitute a limitation on the communication system to which the embodiments of the present application can be applied. Therefore, the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to various communication systems. In addition, the embodiments of the present application do not limit the mobile communication system format of the ground network in the satellite system. For example, the ground network can be: Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication system, The 5th Generation (5G) communication system (also known as 5G New Radio (NR) system), and future communication systems.

[0212] From the above description, it can be seen that in the communication system supporting beam hopping as shown in Figure 2, the network device generally configures the beam scanning mode to the terminal device through high-layer signaling. However, there is a high dynamic demand for the beam scheduling of the network device, but the configuration cycle of the high-layer signaling is long and cannot meet the demand. Based on this, the present application provides the following embodiments to provide beam configuration for the terminal device to meet the needs of high dynamic beam configuration. The following embodiments or examples can be applied to any communication system that supports beam hopping technology, such as a satellite system in an NTN scenario. Based on this, the network devices involved in each embodiment or example are devices that provide access services to the terminal device on the network side, such as base stations, satellites, DUs, etc.

[0213] Example 1: This embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG3 .

[0214] S301: A network device determines and transmits beam indication information. A terminal device receives the beam indication information from the network device. The beam indication information indicates coverage information for a target beam of the network device. The coverage information for the target beam includes at least one of the following: the coverage time of the target beam, the frequency domain resources of the target beam, or the geographical coverage range of the target beam.

[0215] In one embodiment, there is an association between the time-frequency resources of the beam indication information and the time-frequency resources of the synchronization signal block. In this way, the terminal device can determine the time-frequency resources of the beam indication information based on the time-frequency resources of the synchronization signal block, thereby improving the efficiency of receiving the beam indication information.

[0216] In this embodiment, the network device may also send a synchronization signal block through S300. The offset between the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and the time-frequency resource position of the beam indication information is the first offset. After the terminal device receives the synchronization signal block from the network device through S300, it can determine the time-frequency resource position of the beam indication information based on the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and the first offset. For example, as shown in Figure 4, the offset between the time domain resource starting position of the synchronization signal and the time domain resource starting position of the beam indication information is the first offset.

[0217] Optionally, the first offset may be preset, such as specified in a communication protocol. Optionally, the first offset may also be obtained by the network device notifying the terminal device via a message, for example, the first offset is carried in the synchronization signal block or system message (e.g., system information block (SIB) or master information block (MIB)), so that the network device can notify the terminal device within the coverage area.

[0218] It should also be noted that when the first offset is equal to the width of the time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources of the synchronization signal block, that is, the end position of the time-frequency resources of the synchronization signal block is the same as the starting position of the time-frequency resources of the beam indication information. In other words, the beam indication information and the synchronization signal block can form a new signal. The new signal includes both the traditional synchronization signal block and the beam indication information. The new signal can be called an enhanced synchronization signal block, for example, enhanced SSB (enhance-SSB, E-SSB).

[0219] In one embodiment, the beam indication information includes at least one indication information, each indicating different coverage information of the target beam. Optionally, based on the difference in the content indicated by the indication information in the beam indication information, the beam indication information is implemented as follows:

[0220] Implementation method 1: When the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage time of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes first indication information, and the first indication information can directly or indirectly indicate the coverage start time of the target beam. For example, the first indication information is used to indicate a second offset, and the second offset includes the offset between the coverage start time of the target beam and the first reference time. Exemplarily, the first reference time can be the time domain resource start time of the synchronization signal block, as shown in (a) of Figure 5; or the first reference time can be the time domain resource start time of the beam indication information, as shown in (b) of Figure 5.

[0221] Implementation method 2: When the coverage information of the target beam includes the frequency domain resources of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes second indication information, and the second indication information can directly or indirectly indicate the starting position of the frequency domain resources of the target beam. For example, the second indication information is used to indicate a third offset, and the third offset includes the offset between the starting position of the frequency domain resources of the target beam and the starting position of the first reference frequency domain resources. Exemplarily, the first reference frequency domain resources can be, but are not limited to, the frequency domain resources of the synchronization signal block, or the frequency domain resources of the beam indication information.

[0222] Implementation Method 3: When the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage geographic range of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate the coverage geographic range. Exemplarily, the coverage geographic range of the target beam can be the wave position of the target beam, or physical location information of the beam coverage area of ​​the target beam.

[0223] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, according to the content indicated by the beam indication information, the beam indication information can be implemented using at least one of the above-mentioned implementation methods, and the present application does not limit this.

[0224] Optionally, in the first implementation, when the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage duration of the target beam, the at least one indication information may further include fourth indication information. The fourth indication information is used to indicate the coverage duration of the target beam. In this way, the terminal device can more accurately determine the coverage duration of the target beam using the beam indication information.

[0225] Similarly, in the second implementation, when the coverage information of the target beam includes the frequency domain resources of the target beam, the at least one indication information may further include fifth indication information. The fifth indication information is used to indicate the frequency domain resource width of the target beam. In this way, the terminal device can more accurately determine the frequency domain resource location of the target beam using the beam indication information.

[0226] In the embodiment of the present application, in order to clearly indicate the recipient of the beam indication information, the beam indication information, in addition to including the indication information in each of the above implementations, may also indicate the recipient in the following manner:

[0227] Method A1: The beam indication information also includes an indication of the first terminal device group. The indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the beam indication information is configured for terminal devices in the first terminal device group. Based on this, in this embodiment, the terminal device that receives the beam indication information and performs subsequent S302 belongs to the first terminal device group.

[0228] Exemplarily, the indication of the first terminal device group may be a group identifier of the first terminal device group.

[0229] Mode A2: The beam indication information also includes the identifier of the target terminal device. In this case, the beam indication information is configured for the target terminal device. Based on this, in this embodiment of the present application, the terminal device that receives the beam indication information and executes the subsequent S302 is the target terminal device.

[0230] Based on the description of the beam indication information in this embodiment, the beam indication information can be implemented in, but is not limited to, the following two ways:

[0231] Mode B1: the at least one indication information included in the beam indication information is at least one indication sequence.

[0232] Optionally, in mode B1, the network device and the terminal device may maintain a correspondence between multiple indication sequences and indication contents. In this way, the network device may send an indication sequence according to specific indication contents, and the terminal device may determine specific indication contents based on the received indication sequence.

[0233] For example, the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage time of the target beam, and the beam indication information includes first indication information for indicating the second offset (i.e., the offset between the coverage start time of the target beam and the first reference time). The correspondence between the indication sequence maintained by the network device and the terminal device and the time offset can be shown in Table 1 below.

[0234] Table 1

[0235] Among them, the correspondence between the multiple indication sequences and the indication content can be preset, such as specified by the communication protocol; or configured by the network device to the terminal device through a message, which is not limited in this application.

[0236] It should also be noted that to avoid interference between multiple indicator sequences when the beam indication information includes multiple indicator sequences, in this correspondence, the different indicator sequences used to indicate different indication contents are mutually orthogonal. Based on this, when the beam indication information includes multiple at least one indicator sequence, the at least one indicator sequence is mutually orthogonal.

[0237] Furthermore, multiple indication sequences used to indicate the same indication content in the above correspondence may also be orthogonal to each other. For example, assuming that eight mutually orthogonal sequences are defined, sequences 1-4 are used to indicate the second offset (i.e., the time offset), and sequences 5-8 are used to indicate the third offset (i.e., the frequency domain offset).

[0238] With method B1, network devices can notify terminal devices of target beam coverage information via an indicator sequence during dynamic beam scheduling. Terminal devices can quickly determine the target beam coverage information by detecting the indicator sequence. Because network devices can quickly configure target beam coverage information for terminal devices without requiring higher-layer signaling, this method can meet the needs of highly dynamic beam configuration.

[0239] Mode B2: The beam indication information is carried in the DCI, and the at least one indication information included in the beam indication information is at least one indication field in the DCI.

[0240] Optionally, in mode B2, the network device and the terminal device may also maintain multiple predefined indication contents (for example, a list of indication content values). In this way, the network device can determine the indication field in the DCI based on the specific indication content, and then generate the DCI; the terminal device may also determine the specific indication content based on the indication field in the received DCI. Optionally, the indication field may indicate the value of the corresponding indication content, or may indicate the index of the indication content in the list of indication content values, etc.; or the network device and the terminal device may maintain a correspondence between multiple predefined indication fields and indication contents.

[0241] Among them, the multiple predefined indication contents can be preset, such as specified by the communication protocol; or configured by the network device to the terminal device through a message, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0242] Exemplarily, assuming that the coverage information of the target beam indicated by the beam indication information includes the coverage time of the target beam and the frequency domain resources of the target beam, the DCI may include the following fields:

[0243] (1) The Time_Offset field is used to indicate the offset between the coverage start time of the target beam and the first reference time (i.e., the second offset). The Time_Offset field is the first indication information in the beam indication information. The length of the Time_Offset field can be X bits.

[0244] (2) The Frequency_Offset field is used to indicate the offset between the starting position of the target beam's frequency domain resources and the starting position of the first reference frequency domain resources (i.e., the third offset). The Frequency_Offset field is the second indication information in the beam indication information. The length of the Frequency_Offset field can be Y bits.

[0245] (3) The Duration field is used to indicate the coverage duration of the target beam. This field is the fourth indication information in the beam indication information. The Duration field can be recorded as Z bits.

[0246] Optionally, in mode B2, the time-frequency resource location of the DCI may be located in a common search space, that is, the network device may send the DCI in the common search space, so that the terminal device may search for the DCI in the common search space.

[0247] In some scenarios, the configuration information of the public search space may be configured by the network device to the terminal device through high-layer signaling.

[0248] In other scenarios, the configuration of the common search space may be predefined, such as specified by a communication protocol, or the common search space may be associated with a synchronization signal block. In the case where the common search space is associated with a synchronization signal block, the terminal device may determine the common search space upon receiving the synchronization signal block, and may then search for the DCI carrying beam indication information within the common search space. Exemplarily, the synchronization signal block and the common search space may be associated with at least one of the following:

[0249] (I) The offset between the common search space and the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block is the fourth offset.

[0250] Optionally, the fourth offset may be preset, such as specified in a communication protocol. Optionally, the fourth offset may be carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message, so that the network device may notify the terminal device within the coverage area thereof.

[0251] (II) The period of the common search space is the same as the revisit period of the synchronization signal block beam.

[0252] In mode B2, the DCI carrying the beam indication information may be scrambled in the following manner (eg, cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambling) so that a specific terminal device can parse the DCI.

[0253] Method C1: The DCI is scrambled using the radio network temporary indentifier (RNTI) of the first terminal device group. In this case, the DCI is sent to the first terminal device group. Based on this, in this embodiment, the terminal device that receives the beam indication information and performs subsequent S302 belongs to the first terminal device group.

[0254] In method C1, the DCI is scrambled using the RNTI of the first terminal device group, indicating that the DCI is configured for the terminal devices in the first terminal device group. Only the terminal devices in the first terminal device group can accurately parse the DCI. Therefore, the DCI sent by the network device in method C1 can be terminal device group-level, that is, the network device can configure the coverage information of the target beam for the terminal device at the group granularity.

[0255] Method C2: The DCI is scrambled using the cell-radio network temporary indentifier (C-RNTI) of the target terminal device. In this case, the DCI is sent to the target terminal device. Based on this, in this embodiment of the present application, the terminal device that receives the beam indication information and executes the subsequent S302 is the target terminal device.

[0256] In method C2, the DCI is scrambled using the C-RNTI of the target terminal device, indicating that the DCI is configured for the target terminal device. Only the target terminal device in a connected state can accurately interpret the DCI. Therefore, in method C2, the DCI sent by the network device can be terminal-level, that is, the network device can configure the coverage information of the target beam for the terminal device at the granularity of a single terminal device.

[0257] Method C3: DCI is scrambled using a public RNTI.

[0258] Through method C3, all terminal devices with a public RNTI can parse the DCI.

[0259] It should be noted that mode B2 does not limit the type and format of DCI. Optionally, the DCI may be different from the traditional DCI and is a dedicated small-size DCI for configuring the coverage information of the target beam. In some scenarios, the DCI may be a traditional DCI, and the network device may send the DCI using a service beam. At this time, the DCI may also include a control field, which may indicate control information for resource scheduling. For example, the control field in the DCI may indicate control information for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), that is, the control field may schedule PDSCH for the terminal device so that the terminal device can transmit service data through the PDSCH.

[0260] With method B2, when performing dynamic beam scheduling, the network device can notify the terminal device of the target beam's coverage information via DCI. The terminal device can quickly determine the target beam's coverage information by detecting the DCI. Because the network device can quickly configure the target beam's coverage information for the terminal device without having to use higher-layer signaling, this method can meet the needs of highly dynamic beam configuration.

[0261] It should also be noted that in S301, the network device can determine the coverage information of the target beam based on highly dynamic business needs such as business distribution, sudden interference, and sudden business within the coverage area of ​​the network device, and can also combine factors such as the current beam scanning mode of the network device, so as to determine and generate beam indication information, and then indicate the coverage information of the target beam to the terminal devices within the coverage area by sending the beam indication information.

[0262] S302: The terminal device transmits a signal according to the coverage information of the target beam of the network device.

[0263] When the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage time of the target beam, the terminal device can transmit signals within the coverage time of the target beam. Optionally, before the coverage time of the target beam expires, the terminal device can enter a low-power state, for example, by turning off the RF module or switching to a sleep state.

[0264] When the coverage information of the target beam includes the frequency domain resources of the target beam, the terminal device can transmit signals through the frequency domain resources of the target beam.

[0265] When the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage geographical range of the target beam, the terminal devices within the coverage geographical range can transmit signals based on the coverage time and / or frequency domain resources of the target beam.

[0266] It should also be noted that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of target beam. The target beam may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a service beam, a synchronization signal block beam, and an RO beam. Among them, the service beam may include an uplink service beam and / or a downlink service beam, so that the network device can perform beam configuration for the service beams in the uplink and downlink directions respectively. Depending on the type of the target beam, the terminal device transmits different signals when executing S302. For example, when the target beam is an uplink service beam, the terminal device can send uplink service data in S302; when the target beam is a downlink service beam, the terminal device can receive downlink service data in S302. Optionally, the terminal device can also receive DCI within the coverage time of the target beam, and send the uplink service data or receive downlink service data according to the authorized resources indicated by the DCI. When the target beam is a synchronization signal block beam, the terminal device can receive the synchronization signal block in S302; when the target beam is an RO beam, the terminal device can initiate a random access process in S302 to send and receive random access-related messages.

[0267] In summary, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. In this method, a network device can perform beam configuration for a terminal device by sending beam indication information. The terminal device can determine at least one coverage information of the target beam, such as coverage time, frequency domain resources, and coverage geographical range, through the beam indication information, so that local operations can be adjusted, and signals can be transmitted according to the coverage information of the target beam. Through this method, the network device does not need to configure the coverage information of the target beam for the terminal device through high-level signaling, but instead quickly configures the beam for the terminal device through the beam indication information. Therefore, this method can improve the efficiency of beam configuration for the terminal device and meet the needs of high-dynamic beam configuration.

[0268] Example 2: This embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG6 .

[0269] S601: A network device sends first information. A terminal device receives the first information from the network device. The first information is used to indicate multiple candidate beam scanning modes of a target beam of the network device.

[0270] Among them, any candidate beam scanning mode of the target beam specifies scanning rules such as the coverage order and / or coverage time of the target beams at different beam positions within the beam scanning period.

[0271] Optionally, the network device may send the first information via high-layer signaling (eg, RRC signaling).

[0272] S602: The network device sends second information. The terminal device receives the second information from the network device. The second information is used to indicate a first beam scanning mode; the first beam scanning mode is one of multiple candidate beam scanning modes.

[0273] In one embodiment, there is an association between the time-frequency resources of the second information and the time-frequency resources of the synchronization signal block. In this way, the terminal device can determine the time-frequency resources of the second information based on the time-frequency resources of the synchronization signal block, thereby improving the efficiency of receiving the second information.

[0274] In this embodiment, the network device may further send a synchronization signal block through S602a. The offset between the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and the time-frequency resource position of the second information is the first offset. For example, the offset between the time-frequency resource start position of the synchronization signal block and the time-frequency resource start position of the second information is the first offset. After the terminal device receives the synchronization signal block from the network device through S602a, it may determine the time-frequency resource position of the second information based on the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and the first offset.

[0275] Optionally, the first offset may be preset, such as specified by a communication protocol. Optionally, the first offset may be configured by the network device to the terminal device via a message. For example, the first offset may be carried in the synchronization signal block or system message, so that the network device can notify the terminal device within the coverage area.

[0276] In one embodiment, the second information may include at least one indication information. The first indication information included in the at least one indication information may directly or indirectly indicate the first beam scanning mode. Optionally, when the second information also includes other indication information, the other indication information may indicate other related content of the first beam scanning mode.

[0277] Based on the specific form of the first beam scanning mode indicated by the first indication information in the second information, this application provides the following two implementation methods:

[0278] In a first implementation manner, the first indication information may directly indicate the first beam scanning mode in, but is not limited to, at least one of the following ways:

[0279] Mode D1: The first indication information may include an index of the first beam scanning pattern.

[0280] Mode D2: The first indication information may include a mode indication sequence, wherein the mode indication sequence is used to indicate the coverage order and / or coverage time of different beam positions of the target beam indicated by the first beam scanning mode.

[0281] For example, assuming that the target beam of the network device includes 6 wave bits, the pattern indication sequence is 00 01 11 10 00 10; in the pattern indication sequence, every two adjacent bits can indicate a wave bit of the target beam, and whether the value of each two bits is 0 can indicate whether the wave bit is covered by the target beam, and the specific value of each two bits can indicate the coverage time of the target beam of the wave bit. Based on this, the meaning of the pattern indication sequence is that the coverage order of the target beam is: wave bit 2 -> wave bit 3 -> wave bit 4 -> wave bit 6, and the coverage time of the beams of these wave bits are coverage time 1, coverage time 3, coverage time 2, and coverage time 2, respectively. Optionally, the specific value of each coverage time can be predefined, and the correspondence between the value of the consecutive bits used to indicate a wave bit in the pattern indication sequence and the coverage time can also be predefined.

[0282] Optionally, in this implementation, the at least one indication information may further include second indication information or third indication information.

[0283] The second indication information may directly or indirectly indicate the start time of the beam scanning period of the target beam. For example, the second indication information is used to indicate a second offset, where the second offset includes the offset between the start time of the beam scanning period and the first reference time. Exemplarily, the first reference time may be, but is not limited to, the time domain resource start time of the synchronization signal block or the time domain resource start time of the second information.

[0284] The third indication information may indicate the effective duration (i.e., execution length) of the first beam scanning mode, wherein the effective duration is generally greater than or equal to the duration of a beam scanning cycle. In this way, the terminal device can transmit signals according to the first beam scanning mode within the effective duration.

[0285] Optionally, in this embodiment, the at least one indication information may further include fourth indication information. The fourth indication information is used to indicate the duration of the beam scanning period.

[0286] In a second implementation, the first indication information is used to indicate a first search space, which corresponds to the first beam scanning mode. In this way, the first indication information can indirectly indicate the first beam scanning mode. Based on this, the terminal device can determine and use the first search space based on the first indication information while also determining and using the first beam scanning mode. With this implementation, the network device can implicitly instruct the terminal device to determine and use the first beam scanning mode of the target beam by instructing the terminal device to use the first search space.

[0287] Optionally, the correspondence between the first search space and the first beam scanning mode can be preset, for example, specified by the communication protocol; or the correspondence between the first search space and the first beam scanning mode is configured by the network device to the terminal device, for example, the network device can carry configuration information of the correspondence in the synchronization signal block or system message.

[0288] Exemplarily, the first indication information may be an index of the first search space.

[0289] In addition, in this implementation, the first search space may be a public search space or a dedicated search space, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0290] Optionally, in this implementation, the at least one indication information may also include at least one of the second indication information, the third indication information, or the fourth indication information. For details, please refer to the description in the first implementation, which will not be repeated here.

[0291] In the embodiment of the present application, in order to clearly indicate the recipient of the second information, in addition to including the indication information in the above-mentioned implementations, the second information may also indicate the recipient in the following manner:

[0292] Mode E1: The second information also includes an indication of the first terminal device group. The indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the second information is configured for terminal devices in the first terminal device group. Therefore, in this embodiment, terminal devices that receive the second information and use the first beam scanning mode belong to the first terminal device group.

[0293] Exemplarily, the indication of the first terminal device group may be a group identifier of the first terminal device group.

[0294] Mode E2: The second information also includes the identifier of the target terminal device. In this case, the second information is configured for the target terminal device. Based on this, in this embodiment of the present application, the terminal device that receives the second information and uses the first beam scanning mode is the target terminal device.

[0295] Based on the description of the second information in this embodiment, similar to the beam indication information in the first embodiment, the second information can also be implemented in but not limited to the following two ways:

[0296] Mode F1: the at least one indication information included in the second information is at least one indication sequence.

[0297] Optionally, in order to avoid interference among the multiple indicator sequences when the second information includes multiple at least one indicator sequences, the at least one indicator sequence is orthogonal to each other.

[0298] Optionally, in approach F1, the network device and the terminal device may maintain a correspondence between multiple indication sequences and indication contents. In this way, the network device may send an indication sequence based on the specific indication contents, and the terminal device may determine the specific indication contents based on the received indication sequence. Optionally, the above correspondence may be preset, such as specified by a communication protocol, or may be configured by the network device to the terminal device via a message, which is not limited in this application.

[0299] For example, the indication sequence in the second information may include: an indication sequence indicating the first beam scanning mode (for example, the index of the first beam scanning mode, or an indication sequence used to determine the index of the first beam scanning mode), an indication sequence indicating the scanning rule of the first beam scanning mode (for example, the pattern indication sequence in the first implementation method mentioned above, or an indication sequence used to determine the pattern indication sequence); an indication sequence indicating the offset between the start time of the beam scanning period of the first beam scanning mode and the first reference time (i.e., the second offset); an indication sequence indicating the effective duration of the first beam scanning mode, etc.

[0300] For another example, in the second implementation manner described above, the indicator sequence in the second information is an indicator sequence indicating the first search space. For example, the indicator sequence in the second information is an index of the first search space, or an indicator sequence used to determine the index of the first search space.

[0301] Using method F1, when a network device needs to use the first beam scanning mode of a target beam, it can notify the terminal device via an indication sequence to determine and use the first beam scanning mode of the target beam. The terminal device can then quickly determine the first beam scanning mode of the target beam to use by detecting the indication sequence. Because the network device can quickly configure the beam scanning mode for the terminal device without having to use higher-layer signaling, this method can meet the needs of highly dynamic beam configuration.

[0302] Mode F2: the second information is carried in the DCI, and the at least one indication information included in the second information is at least one indication field in the DCI.

[0303] Taking the method D2 in the first implementation manner above (i.e., the second information includes a mode indication sequence) as an example, the DCI carrying the second information may include the following indication field:

[0304] (1) The Time_Offset field of the beam scanning period is used to indicate the offset between the start time of the beam scanning period of the first beam scanning mode and the first reference time (i.e., the second offset). The length of the Time_Offset field of the beam scanning period can be recorded as P bits.

[0305] (2) A Pattern field, whose value is the pattern indication sequence of the first beam scanning mode, used to indicate the scanning rule of the first beam scanning mode. For example, the value of the Pattern field can be 00 01 11 10 00 10. The specific content indicated can refer to the description of the pattern indication sequence example in the above method D2, which is not repeated here. The length of the Pattern field can be recorded as Q bits.

[0306] (3) The validity period (Period) field is used for the validity period of the first beam scanning mode. The length of the validity period (Period) field can be K bits.

[0307] Taking the second implementation as an example, in some implementation scenarios, the DCI carrying the second information may include the following indication field: a search space configuration index (SS_config_index) field, used to indicate the search space to be used (i.e., the first search space corresponding to the first beam scanning mode). In other implementation scenarios, the DCI carrying the second information may include the following indication field:

[0308] (1) Common search space configuration index (CSS_config_index) field: When the value of this field is not 0, the value of the bit sequence in this field (i.e., the index of the CSS) is used to indicate the common search space to be used (i.e., the first search space corresponding to the first beam scanning mode is the common search space).

[0309] (2) Dedicated search space configuration index (USS_config_index) field: When the value of this field is not 0, the value of the bit sequence in this field (i.e., the index of the USS) is used to indicate the dedicated search space to be used (i.e., the first search space corresponding to the first beam scanning mode is the dedicated search space).

[0310] Optionally, in method F2, the DCI carrying the second information may be scrambled in the following manner (eg, CRC scrambling) so that a specific terminal device can parse the DCI.

[0311] Mode G1: The DCI is scrambled using the RNTI of the first terminal device group. In this case, the DCI is sent to the first terminal device group. Based on this, in this embodiment, the terminal devices that receive the second information and use the first beam scanning mode belong to the first terminal device group.

[0312] In mode G1, the DCI is scrambled using the RNTI of the first terminal device group, indicating that the DCI is configured for the terminal devices in the first terminal device group. Only the terminal devices in the first terminal device group can accurately parse the DCI. Therefore, the DCI sent by the network device in mode G1 can be terminal device group-level, that is, the network device can configure the beam scanning mode of the target beam to be used for the terminal device at the group granularity.

[0313] Mode G2: The DCI is scrambled by the C-RNTI of the target terminal device. In this case, the DCI is sent to the target terminal device. Based on this, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device that receives the second information and uses the first beam scanning mode is the target terminal device.

[0314] In mode G2, the DCI is scrambled using the C-RNTI of the target terminal device, indicating that the DCI is configured for the target terminal device. Only the target terminal device in a connected state can accurately parse the DCI. Therefore, in mode G2, the DCI sent by the network device can be terminal-level, that is, the network device can configure the beam scanning mode of the target beam to be used by the terminal device at the granularity of a single terminal device.

[0315] Mode G3: DCI is scrambled using a public RNTI.

[0316] Through method G3, all terminal devices with a public RNTI can parse the DCI.

[0317] It should be noted that mode F2 does not limit the type and format of DCI. Optionally, this DCI can be different from traditional DCI and be a small-size DCI dedicated to the beam scanning mode using the target beam. In some scenarios, this DCI can be traditional DCI, and the network device can send this DCI using a service beam. In this case, the DCI can also include a control field, which can indicate resource scheduling control information. For example, the control field in the DCI can indicate PDSCH control information.

[0318] Through method F2, when the network device needs to use the first beam scanning mode of the target beam, it can notify the terminal device through DCI to determine and use the first beam scanning mode of the target beam. The terminal device can quickly determine the first beam scanning mode of the target beam to be used by detecting the DCI. Since the network device does not need to configure the beam scanning mode to be used for the terminal device through high-layer signaling, it can quickly configure the beam scanning mode for the terminal device. Therefore, this method can meet the needs of highly dynamic beam configuration.

[0319] It should also be noted that in S602, the network device can determine the need to use or switch to the first beam scanning mode of the target beam based on high-dynamic business needs such as business distribution, burst interference, burst business within the coverage area of ​​the network device, and factors such as air interface signal quality, thereby generating second information, and then indicating to the terminal devices within the coverage area that the first beam scanning mode of the target beam needs to be used by sending the second information.

[0320] S603: The network device and the terminal device transmit signals according to the first beam scanning mode.

[0321] In S603, the terminal device may determine a first beam scanning pattern of the target beam based on the received second information, and then determine the coverage time (revisit time) of the target beam for the wavelength in which the terminal device is located according to the first beam scanning pattern, and then transmit the corresponding signal within the coverage time. In S603, the network device may use the target beam to cover multiple wavelengths according to the first beam scanning pattern, and transmit the corresponding signal within the coverage time of each wavelength.

[0322] Similar to the first embodiment, the embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of target beam. The target beam may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a service beam, a synchronization signal block beam, and an RO beam. Among them, the service beam may include an uplink service beam and / or a downlink service beam, so that the network device can configure the beam scanning mode for the service beams in the uplink and downlink directions respectively. Depending on the type of the target beam, the signal transmitted by the terminal device within the coverage time of the target beam is also different. For example, when the target beam is an uplink service beam, the terminal device can send uplink service data within the coverage time of the target beam; when the target beam is a downlink service beam, the terminal device can receive downlink service data within the coverage time of the target beam. Optionally, the terminal device can also receive DCI within the coverage time of the target beam, and send the uplink service data or receive downlink service data according to the authorized resources indicated by the DCI. When the target beam is a synchronization signal block beam, the terminal device can receive the synchronization signal block within the coverage time of the target beam. When the target beam is an RO beam, the terminal device can initiate a random access process within the coverage time of the target beam and send and receive random access-related messages.

[0323] In summary, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. In this method, the network device can first configure multiple candidate beam scanning modes of the target beam for the terminal device through the first information, and then notify the terminal device through the second information to determine and use a certain candidate beam scanning mode when a candidate beam scanning mode needs to be used. In this way, the network device can quickly and flexibly instruct the terminal device to use the beam scanning mode when there is a switch or a certain beam scanning mode needs to be used. In addition, the network device does not need to instruct the terminal device to use the beam scanning mode of the target beam through high-layer signaling, but quickly configures the beam for the terminal device through the second information (such as an indication sequence or DCI). Therefore, this method can improve the efficiency of beam configuration for the terminal device and meet the needs of high-dynamic beam configuration.

[0324] Example 3: This embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG7 .

[0325] S701: The network device sends instruction information. The terminal device receives the instruction information from the network device. The instruction information is used to indicate a first beam, which is a beam of one of the multiple beams indicated by the first beam scanning pattern.

[0326] Optionally, before S701, the network device may further send configuration information through S700, where the configuration information is used to indicate a first beam scanning mode, thereby configuring the first beam scanning mode for the terminal device. The first beam scanning mode is a beam scanning rule of the network device, i.e., the first beam scanning mode may indicate information such as the order and / or coverage time of the beam covering multiple wave positions. The terminal device receives the configuration information from the network device through S700, thereby determining the first beam scanning mode. Optionally, the configuration information may be high-layer signaling, such as RRC signaling.

[0327] In one embodiment, the indication information includes first information of the first beam. The first information is used to indicate the geographical coverage range of the first beam or the index of the first beam. Exemplarily, the geographical coverage range of the first beam can be the beam position of the first beam, or physical location information of the beam coverage area of ​​the first beam.

[0328] In the embodiment of the present application, in order to clearly indicate the recipient of the indication information, the indication information, in addition to including the first information of the first beam, may also indicate the recipient in the following manner:

[0329] Method J1: The indication information also includes an indication of the first terminal device group. The indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the beam indication information is configured for terminal devices in the first terminal device group. Based on this, in this embodiment, the terminal device that receives the indication information and performs subsequent steps belongs to the first terminal device group.

[0330] Exemplarily, the indication of the first terminal device group may be a group identifier of the first terminal device group.

[0331] Mode J2: The indication information also includes the identifier of the target terminal device. In this case, the indication information is configured for the target terminal device. Based on this, in this embodiment, the terminal device that receives the indication information and executes the subsequent steps is the target terminal device.

[0332] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the indication may be implemented in, but not limited to, the following two ways:

[0333] Mode H1: the first information included in the indication information is an indication sequence.

[0334] Optionally, in this method, the network device and the terminal device may maintain a correspondence between multiple indicator sequences and the geographic coverage ranges / beam indices of beams. In this way, the network device may send an indicator sequence based on the geographic coverage range / index of the first beam, and the terminal device may determine the geographic coverage range / index of the first beam based on the received indicator sequence, thereby determining the first beam.

[0335] Among them, the corresponding relationship can be preset, such as stipulated by the communication protocol; or it can be configured by the network device to the terminal device through a message, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0336] Mode H2: The indication information is carried in the DCI, and the first information is the indication field in the DCI.

[0337] Optionally, in this approach, the network device and the terminal device may also maintain the coverage geographic ranges / indexes of multiple predefined beams. In this way, the network device may determine the indication field in the DCI based on the coverage geographic range / index of the first beam and thereby generate the DCI. The terminal device may also determine the coverage geographic range / index of the first beam based on the indication field in the received DCI and thereby determine the first beam.

[0338] Among them, the coverage geographical range / index of the multiple predefined beams can be preset, such as specified by the communication protocol; or configured by the network device to the terminal device through a message, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0339] In mode H2, the DCI carrying the indication may be scrambled (eg, CRC scrambling) in the following manner so that a specific terminal device can parse the DCI.

[0340] Mode I1: The DCI is scrambled using the RNTI of the first terminal device group. In this case, the DCI is sent to the first terminal device group. Based on this, in this embodiment, the terminal device that receives the indication information and performs subsequent steps belongs to the first terminal device group.

[0341] In method I1, the DCI is scrambled using the RNTI of the first terminal device group, indicating that the DCI is configured for the terminal devices in the first terminal device group. Only the terminal devices in the first terminal device group can accurately parse the DCI. Therefore, the DCI sent by the network device can be at the terminal device group level, that is, the network device can configure beams for terminal devices at the group granularity.

[0342] Mode I2: DCI is scrambled by the C-RNTI of the target terminal device. In this case, the DCI is sent to the target terminal device. Based on this, in this embodiment, the terminal device that receives the indication information and executes the subsequent steps is the target terminal device.

[0343] In method I2, the DCI is scrambled with the target terminal's C-RNTI, indicating that the DCI is configured for the target terminal. Only the target terminal in a connected state can accurately interpret the DCI. Therefore, the DCI sent by the network device can be terminal-level, that is, the network device can configure beams for terminal devices at the granularity of a single terminal device.

[0344] Method I3: DCI is scrambled using a public RNTI. With this method I3, all terminal devices with a public RNTI can parse the DCI.

[0345] It should also be noted that mode H2 does not limit the type and format of DCI. Optionally, the DCI may be different from the traditional DCI and is a dedicated small-size DCI for configuring the coverage information of the target beam. In some scenarios, the DCI may be a traditional DCI, and the network device may send the DCI using a service beam. At this time, the DCI may also include a control field, which may indicate control information for resource scheduling. For example, the control field in the DCI may indicate control information for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), that is, the control field may schedule PDSCH for the terminal device so that the terminal device can transmit service data through the PDSCH.

[0346] Through method H1 or method H2, the network device can notify the terminal device of the time-frequency resource location of the first beam through an indicator sequence or DCI, so that the terminal device can quickly obtain the coverage information of the first beam and adjust the local configuration to transmit signals based on the time-frequency resource location of the first beam. Because the network device does not need to notify the terminal device of the time-frequency resource location of the first beam through high-layer signaling, these two methods can meet the needs of highly dynamic beam configuration.

[0347] S702: The terminal device determines the time-frequency resource position of the first beam according to the time-frequency resource position of the indication information and a first offset, wherein the first offset is the offset between the time-frequency resource position of the indication information and the time-frequency resource position of the first beam.

[0348] In other words, the offset between the time-frequency resource position of the first beam and the time-frequency resource position of the indication information is the first offset. That is, after determining the time-frequency resource position of the first beam, the network device can determine the time-frequency resource position of the indication information based on the time-frequency resource position of the first beam, and then send the indication information at the time-frequency resource position of the indication information, so that the terminal device can determine the time-frequency resource position of the first beam through S702. In this way, the network device can indirectly notify the terminal device of the time-frequency resource position of the first beam by sending the indication information.

[0349] For example, the first offset is the offset between the starting position of the time-frequency resource of the indication information and the starting position of the time-frequency resource of the first beam.

[0350] Optionally, the first offset may be preset, such as specified in a communication protocol; or the first offset may be configured by the network device to the terminal device through a message, such as the first offset may be carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message.

[0351] S703: The network device transmits a signal using the first beam, and the terminal device may transmit a signal according to the time-frequency resource position of the first beam.

[0352] For example, the terminal device can transmit signals through the frequency domain resources of the first beam within the coverage time of the first beam.

[0353] It should also be noted that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of the first beam. The first beam may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a service beam, a synchronization signal block beam, and an RO beam. Depending on the type of the first beam, the signal transmitted by the terminal device in S703 may also vary. For details, please refer to the description in Example 1 and will not be repeated here.

[0354] In summary, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. In this method, the network device can notify the terminal device through indication information before the first beam covers / revisits its beam position. In this way, the terminal device can accurately determine the time-frequency resource position of the first beam based on the time-frequency resource position of the indication information, and then adjust the local operation to transmit the signal based on the time-frequency resource position of the first beam. Through this method, the network device does not need to configure the beam for the terminal device through high-layer signaling, but can quickly configure the beam for the terminal device through indication information. Therefore, this method can improve the efficiency of beam configuration for the terminal device and meet the needs of high-dynamic beam configuration.

[0355] It should also be noted that each step involved in the above embodiments or examples can be performed by a corresponding device, or by a module, chip, processor, or chip system within the device, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. The above embodiments are only described as being performed by a corresponding device. In addition, the specific implementation methods or examples in the above embodiments do not limit the solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0356] It should be noted that in each of the above embodiments, some steps may be selected for implementation, and the order of the steps in the diagrams may be adjusted for implementation, and this application does not limit this. It should be understood that executing some of the steps in the diagrams, adjusting the order of the steps, or combining them for specific implementation all fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0357] It is understandable that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the various devices involved in the above embodiments include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and method steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0358] It can be understood that the above-mentioned network architecture and application scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present invention. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new services, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present invention are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0359] It should be noted that the "steps" in the embodiments of this application are merely illustrative and serve as a method of expression for a better understanding of the embodiments. They do not constitute a substantial limitation on the execution of the solutions of this application. For example, the "steps" can also be understood as "features." Furthermore, the steps do not constitute any limitation on the execution order of the solutions of this application. Any changes to the order of steps, or any operations such as step merging or splitting that do not affect the implementation of the overall solution, resulting in new technical solutions, are also within the scope of this application.

[0360] Based on the same technical concept, this application also provides a communication device that can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 2. The communication device is used to implement the methods provided in the above embodiments and can be applied to the terminal devices or network devices involved in the above embodiments. Referring to Figure 8, the communication device 800 includes a communication unit 801 and a processing unit 802.

[0361] The communication unit 801 is used to receive and send data, and supports the communication device 800 to communicate with other devices.

[0362] The processing unit 802 is used to control and manage the actions of the communication device 800 and execute the steps performed by the network device or terminal device in the communication methods provided in the above embodiments or examples.

[0363] Optionally, the communication device 800 further includes a storage unit for storing program code and / or data of the communication device 800 .

[0364] The communication unit 801 may be referred to as an input / output unit, a transceiver unit, etc., and may be a transceiver or a communication interface; the processing unit 802 may be a processor. When the communication device 800 is a module (e.g., a chip) in a communication device, the communication unit 801 may be an input / output interface, an input / output circuit, or an input / output pin, etc., and may also be referred to as an interface, a communication interface, or an interface circuit; the processing unit 802 may be a processor, a processing circuit, or a logic circuit, etc.

[0365] In one embodiment, the communication device 800 may be applied to the terminal device in the first embodiment shown in FIG3 . The processing unit 802 is configured to:

[0366] Receiving beam indication information from a network device through the communication unit 801, wherein the beam indication information is used to indicate coverage information of a target beam of the network device; the coverage information of the target beam includes at least one of the following: a coverage time of the target beam, a frequency domain resource of the target beam, or a coverage geographical range of the target beam;

[0367] A signal is transmitted through the communication unit 801 according to coverage information of the target beam of the network device.

[0368] Optionally, the processing unit 802 is further configured to:

[0369] Receiving a synchronization signal block from the network device through the communication unit 801;

[0370] The time-frequency resource position of the beam indication information is determined based on the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and a first offset; wherein the first offset is the offset between the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and the time-frequency resource position of the beam indication information.

[0371] Optionally, the first offset is preset; or the first offset is carried in the synchronization signal block or system message.

[0372] Optionally, the target beam includes at least one of the following: a service beam, a synchronization signal block beam, and a random access channel opportunity RO beam.

[0373] Optionally, the beam indication information includes at least one indication information; when the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage time of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate a second offset, and the second offset includes the offset between the coverage start time of the target beam and the first reference time; or when the coverage information of the target beam includes the frequency domain resources of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate a third offset, and the third offset includes the offset between the starting position of the frequency domain resources of the target beam and the starting position of the first reference frequency domain resources; or when the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage geographical range of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the coverage geographical range.

[0374] Optionally, the first reference time is: the start time of the time domain resource of the synchronization signal block, or the start time of the time domain resource of the beam indication information; the first reference frequency domain resource is: the frequency domain resource of the synchronization signal block, or the frequency domain resource of the beam indication information.

[0375] Optionally, when the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage time of the target beam, the at least one indication information also includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate the duration of the coverage of the target beam; or when the coverage information of the target beam includes the frequency domain resources of the target beam, the at least one indication information also includes fifth indication information, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate the frequency domain resource width of the target beam.

[0376] Optionally, the beam indication information also includes an indication of a first terminal device group; wherein, the indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the beam indication information is configured for a terminal device in the first terminal device group; the terminal device belongs to the first terminal device group; or the beam indication information also includes an identification of the terminal device.

[0377] Optionally, the at least one indication information is at least one indication sequence; or the beam indication information is carried in downlink control information DCI, and the at least one indication information is at least one indication field in the DCI.

[0378] Optionally, the time-frequency resource location of the DCI is located in a common search space.

[0379] Optionally, the offset between the common search space and the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block is a fourth offset; or the period of the common search space is the same as the revisit period of the synchronization signal block beam.

[0380] Optionally, the fourth offset is preset; or the fourth offset is carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message.

[0381] Optionally, the DCI is encrypted by the radio network temporary identifier RNTI of the first terminal device group, to which the terminal device belongs; or the DCI is encrypted by the cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI of the terminal device; or the DCI is encrypted by a public RNTI.

[0382] Optionally, the DCI also includes a control field; the control field is used to indicate control information for resource scheduling.

[0383] Optionally, when there are multiple at least one indicator sequences, the at least one indicator sequence are orthogonal to each other.

[0384] Optionally, when the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage time of the target beam, the processing unit 802 is further configured to:

[0385] Before the coverage time of the target beam arrives, the terminal device is controlled to enter a low power consumption state.

[0386] In one embodiment, the communication device 800 may be applied to the network device in the first embodiment shown in FIG3 . The processing unit 802 is configured to:

[0387] determining beam indication information;

[0388] The beam indication information is sent through the communication unit 801, wherein the beam indication information is used to indicate the coverage information of the target beam of the network device; the coverage information of the target beam includes at least one of the following: the coverage time of the target beam, the frequency domain resources of the target beam, or the coverage geographical range of the target beam.

[0389] Optionally, the processing unit 802 is further configured to:

[0390] A synchronization signal block is sent through the communication unit 801, wherein an offset between a time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and a time-frequency resource position of the beam indication information is a first offset.

[0391] Optionally, the first offset is preset; or the first offset is carried in the synchronization signal block or system message.

[0392] Optionally, the target beam includes at least one of the following: a service beam, a synchronization signal block beam, and a random access channel opportunity RO beam.

[0393] Optionally, the beam indication information includes at least one indication information; when the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage time of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate a second offset, and the second offset includes the offset between the coverage start time of the target beam and the first reference time; or when the coverage information of the target beam includes the frequency domain resources of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate a third offset, and the third offset includes the offset between the starting position of the frequency domain resources of the target beam and the starting position of the first reference frequency domain resources; or when the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage geographical range of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the coverage geographical range.

[0394] Optionally, the first reference time is: the start time of the time domain resource of the synchronization signal block, or the start time of the time domain resource of the beam indication information; the first reference frequency domain resource is: the frequency domain resource of the synchronization signal block, or the frequency domain resource of the beam indication information.

[0395] Optionally, when the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage time of the target beam, the at least one indication information also includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate the duration of the coverage of the target beam; or when the coverage information of the target beam includes the frequency domain resources of the target beam, the at least one indication information also includes fifth indication information, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate the frequency domain resource width of the target beam.

[0396] Optionally, the beam indication information also includes an indication of a first terminal device group; wherein, the indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the beam indication information is configured for the terminal devices in the first terminal device group; or the beam indication information also includes an identification of a target terminal device.

[0397] Optionally, the at least one indication information is at least one indication sequence; or the beam indication information is carried in downlink control information DCI, and the at least one indication information is at least one indication field in the DCI.

[0398] Optionally, the time-frequency resource location of the DCI is located in a common search space.

[0399] Optionally, the offset between the common search space and the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block is a fourth offset; or the period of the common search space is the same as the revisit period of the synchronization signal block beam.

[0400] Optionally, the fourth offset is preset; or the fourth offset is carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message.

[0401] Optionally, the DCI is scrambled by the radio network temporary identifier RNTI of the first terminal device group; or the DCI is scrambled by the cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI of the target terminal device; or the DCI is scrambled by a public RNTI.

[0402] Optionally, the DCI also includes a control field; the control field is used to indicate control information for resource scheduling.

[0403] Optionally, when there are multiple at least one indicator sequences, the at least one indicator sequence are orthogonal to each other.

[0404] In one embodiment, the communication device 800 may be applied to the terminal device in the second embodiment shown in FIG6 . The processing unit 802 is configured to:

[0405] The communication unit 801 receives first information from the network device, wherein the first information is used to indicate multiple candidate beam scanning modes of the target beam of the network device; the communication unit 801 receives second information from the network device, wherein the second information is used to indicate a first beam scanning mode; the first beam scanning mode is one of the multiple candidate beam scanning modes; and a signal is transmitted through the communication unit 801 according to the first beam scanning mode.

[0406] Optionally, the processing unit 802 is further configured to:

[0407] Receiving a synchronization signal block from the network device through the communication unit 801;

[0408] Determine the time-frequency resource position of the second information based on the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and the first offset; wherein the first offset is the offset between the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and the time-frequency resource position of the second information.

[0409] Optionally, the first offset is preset; or the first offset is carried in the synchronization signal block or system message.

[0410] Optionally, the target beam includes at least one of the following: a service beam, a synchronization signal block beam, and a random access channel opportunity RO beam.

[0411] Optionally, the second information includes at least one indication information; wherein, the at least one indication information includes first indication information; the first indication information includes: an index of the first beam scanning mode, or a mode indication sequence; the mode indication sequence is used to indicate the coverage order and / or coverage time of the target beam indicated by the first beam scanning mode for multiple wave positions; or the first indication information is used to indicate a first search space, and the first search space corresponds to the first beam scanning mode.

[0412] Optionally, the at least one indication information also includes second indication information or third indication information; the second indication information is used to indicate a second offset, and the second offset includes the offset between the start time of the beam scanning period and the first reference time; the third indication information is used to indicate the effective duration of the first beam scanning mode; wherein, the effective duration is greater than or equal to the beam scanning period.

[0413] Optionally, the first reference time is: the time domain resource start time of the synchronization signal block, or the time domain resource start time of the second information.

[0414] Optionally, the at least one indication information also includes fourth indication information; the fourth indication information is used to indicate the duration of the beam scanning period.

[0415] Optionally, the correspondence between the first search space and the first beam scanning mode is preset; or the correspondence between the first search space and the first beam scanning mode is carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message.

[0416] Optionally, the first indication information includes an index of the first search space.

[0417] Optionally, the first search space is a public search space or a dedicated search space.

[0418] Optionally, the second information also includes an indication of the first terminal device group; wherein, the indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the second information is configured for a terminal device in the first terminal device group; the terminal device belongs to the first terminal device group; or the second information also includes an identification of the terminal device.

[0419] Optionally, the at least one indication information is at least one indication sequence; or the second information is carried in downlink control information DCI, and the at least one indication information is at least one indication field in the DCI.

[0420] Optionally, the DCI is encrypted by the radio network temporary identifier RNTI of the first terminal device group, to which the terminal device belongs; or the DCI is encrypted by the cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI of the terminal device; or the DCI is encrypted by a public RNTI.

[0421] Optionally, the DCI also includes a control field; the control field is used to indicate control information for resource scheduling.

[0422] Optionally, when there are multiple at least one indicator sequences, the at least one indicator sequence are orthogonal to each other.

[0423] In one embodiment, the communication device 800 may be applied to the network device in the second embodiment shown in FIG6 . The processing unit 802 is configured to:

[0424] sending, through the communication unit 801, first information indicating a plurality of candidate beam scanning patterns of a target beam of the network device;

[0425] Second information is sent through the communication unit 801, wherein the second information is used to indicate a first beam scanning mode; the first beam scanning mode is one of the multiple candidate beam scanning modes; and a signal is transmitted through the communication unit 801 according to the first beam scanning mode.

[0426] Optionally, the processing unit 802 is further configured to:

[0427] A synchronization signal block is sent through the communication unit 801, wherein an offset between a time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and a time-frequency resource position of the second information is a first offset.

[0428] Optionally, the first offset is preset; or the first offset is carried in the synchronization signal block or system message.

[0429] Optionally, the target beam includes at least one of the following: a service beam, a synchronization signal block beam, and a random access channel opportunity RO beam.

[0430] Optionally, the second information includes at least one indication information; wherein, the at least one indication information includes first indication information; the first indication information includes: an index of the first beam scanning mode, or a mode indication sequence; the mode indication sequence is used to indicate the coverage order and / or coverage time of the target beam indicated by the first beam scanning mode for multiple wave positions; or the first indication information is used to indicate a first search space, and the first search space corresponds to the first beam scanning mode.

[0431] Optionally, the at least one indication information also includes second indication information or third indication information; the second indication information is used to indicate a second offset, and the second offset includes the offset between the start time of the beam scanning period and the first reference time; the third indication information is used to indicate the effective duration of the first beam scanning mode; wherein, the effective duration is greater than or equal to the beam scanning period.

[0432] Optionally, the first reference time is: the time domain resource start time of the synchronization signal block, or the time domain resource start time of the second information.

[0433] Optionally, the at least one indication information also includes fourth indication information; the fourth indication information is used to indicate the duration of the beam scanning period.

[0434] Optionally, the correspondence between the first search space and the first beam scanning mode is preset; or the correspondence between the first search space and the first beam scanning mode is carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message.

[0435] Optionally, the first indication information includes an index of the first search space.

[0436] Optionally, the first search space is a public search space or a dedicated search space.

[0437] Optionally, the second information further includes an indication of the first terminal device group; wherein the indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the second information is configured for the terminal devices in the first terminal device group; or the second information further includes an identification of the target terminal device.

[0438] Optionally, the at least one indication information included in the second information is at least one indication sequence; or the second information is carried in downlink control information DCI, and the at least one indication information included in the second information is at least one indication field in the DCI.

[0439] Optionally, the DCI is scrambled by the radio network temporary identifier RNTI of the first terminal device group; or the DCI is scrambled by the cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI of the target terminal device; or the DCI is scrambled by a public RNTI.

[0440] Optionally, the DCI also includes a control field; the control field is used to indicate control information for resource scheduling.

[0441] Optionally, when there are multiple at least one indicator sequences, the at least one indicator sequence are orthogonal to each other.

[0442] In one embodiment, the communication device 800 may be applied to the terminal device in the third embodiment shown in FIG7 . The processing unit 802 is configured to:

[0443] Receiving, through the communication unit 801, indication information from a network device, wherein the indication information is used to indicate a first beam; the first beam is a beam of one beam position among the beams of multiple beam positions indicated by the first beam scanning pattern;

[0444] Determining the time-frequency resource position of the first beam according to the time-frequency resource position and the first offset of the indication information;

[0445] A signal is transmitted according to the time-frequency resource position of the first beam.

[0446] Optionally, the first offset is preset, or the first offset is carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message.

[0447] Optionally, the indication information includes first information of the first beam, where the first information is used to indicate the geographical coverage range of the first beam or the index of the first beam.

[0448] Optionally, the indication information also includes an indication of a first terminal device group; wherein, the indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the indication information is configured for a terminal device in the first terminal device group; the terminal device belongs to the first terminal device group; or the indication information also includes an identification of the terminal device.

[0449] Optionally, the first information is an indication sequence; or the indication information is carried in downlink control information DCI, and the first information is an indication field in the DCI.

[0450] Optionally, the DCI is encrypted by the radio network temporary identifier RNTI of the first terminal device group, to which the terminal device belongs; or the DCI is encrypted by the cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI of the terminal device; or the DCI is encrypted by a public RNTI.

[0451] Optionally, the DCI also includes a control field; the control field is used to indicate control information for resource scheduling.

[0452] Optionally, the processing unit 802 is further configured to:

[0453] Configuration information is received from the network device through the communication unit 801, where the configuration information is used to indicate a first beam scanning mode.

[0454] In one embodiment, the communication device 800 may be applied to the network device in the third embodiment shown in FIG7 . The processing unit 802 is configured to:

[0455] Sending indication information through the communication unit 801, wherein the indication information is used to indicate a first beam; the first beam is a beam of one beam position among the beams of multiple beam positions indicated by the first beam scanning pattern;

[0456] A signal is transmitted using a first beam through the communication unit 801; an offset between a time-frequency resource position of the first beam and a time-frequency resource position of the indication information is a first offset.

[0457] Optionally, the first offset is preset, or the first offset is carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message.

[0458] Optionally, the indication information includes first information of the first beam, where the first information is used to indicate the geographical coverage range of the first beam or the index of the first beam.

[0459] Optionally, the indication information further includes an indication of a first terminal device group; wherein the indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the indication information is configured for terminal devices in the first terminal device group; or

[0460] The indication information also includes the identification of the target terminal device.

[0461] Optionally, the first information is an indication sequence; or the indication information is carried in downlink control information DCI, and the first information is an indication field in the DCI.

[0462] Optionally, the DCI is scrambled by the radio network temporary identifier RNTI of the first terminal device group; or the DCI is scrambled by the cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI of the target terminal device; or the DCI is scrambled by a public RNTI.

[0463] Optionally, the DCI also includes a control field; the control field is used to indicate control information for resource scheduling.

[0464] Optionally, the processing unit 802 is further configured to:

[0465] Configuration information is sent through the communication unit 801, where the configuration information is used to indicate a first beam scanning mode.

[0466] It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, or 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.

[0467] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0468] Based on the above embodiments, embodiments of the present application further provide a communication device, which may be a terminal device or a network device in the communication system shown in FIG2 . The communication device can implement the methods in the above embodiments and has the functionality of the communication device 800 . Referring to FIG9 , the communication device 900 includes a transceiver 901 , a processor 902 , and a memory 903 . The transceiver 901 , the processor 902 , and the memory 903 are interconnected.

[0469] Optionally, the transceiver 901, the processor 902, and the memory 903 are interconnected via a bus 904. The bus 904 may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus. The bus may be classified as an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, FIG9 shows only one thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0470] The transceiver 901 is used to receive and send signals to achieve communication with other devices.

[0471] The functions of the processor 902 may refer to the description in the above embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0472] The processor 902 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), or a combination of a CPU and an NP. The processor 902 may further include a hardware chip. The hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The PLD may be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof. When implementing the above functions, the processor 902 may be implemented through hardware, or may also execute corresponding software implementations through hardware. The steps of the method disclosed in the above embodiments of the present application may be directly executed by the processor 902, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor 902.

[0473] The memory 903 is used to store program instructions, data, etc. Specifically, the program instructions may include program code, which includes computer operation instructions. The memory 903 may include volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM); it may also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk memory, hard disk drive (HDD), or solid state drive (SSD). The memory 903 can also be any other medium that can be used to carry or store program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, and this application does not limit this. The processor 902 executes the program instructions stored in the memory 903 to implement the above functions, thereby realizing the method provided in the above embodiment.

[0474] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, which includes a terminal device and a network device, wherein the terminal device is used to implement the steps performed by the terminal device in the method provided in the above embodiments, and the network device is used to implement the steps performed by the network device in the method provided in the above embodiments.

[0475] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, which includes a computer program; when the computer program runs on a computer, the computer executes the method provided in the above embodiments.

[0476] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer executes the method provided in the above embodiments.

[0477] Optionally, the above-mentioned computer may include, but is not limited to, communication devices such as terminal devices and network devices.

[0478] The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, 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.

[0479] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application further provide a chip, which is used to read a computer program stored in a memory to implement the method provided in the above embodiments. Optionally, the chip may include a processor, which is coupled to the memory and is used to read the computer program stored in the memory to implement the method provided in the above embodiments. Optionally, the chip may also include components such as a memory, a communication interface, and a power supply module. The memory is used to store computer programs; the communication interface is used to receive and send data; and the power supply unit is used to power the processor.

[0480] Based on the above embodiments, embodiments of the present application provide a chip system that includes a processor for supporting a computer device in implementing the functions of the terminal device described in the above embodiments. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory for storing the necessary programs and data for the computer device. The chip system can be composed of a chip or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0481] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application can adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application can adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0482] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the flow chart and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more flow charts and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0483] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0484] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0485] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, applied to a terminal device, characterized in that: include: Receiving beam indication information from a network device, wherein the beam indication information is used to indicate coverage information of a target beam of the network device; the coverage information of the target beam includes at least one of the following: coverage time of the target beam, frequency domain resources of the target beam, or coverage geographical range of the target beam; A signal is transmitted according to coverage information of a target beam of the network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving a synchronization signal block from the network device; The time-frequency resource position of the beam indication information is determined according to the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and a first offset; wherein the first offset is the offset between the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and the time-frequency resource position of the beam indication information.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that When the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage time of the target beam, the method further includes: Before the coverage time of the target beam arrives, enter a low power consumption state.

4. A communication method, applied to a network device, characterized in that: include: determining beam indication information; Send the beam indication information, wherein the beam indication information is used to indicate the coverage information of the target beam of the network device; the coverage information of the target beam includes at least one of the following: the coverage time of the target beam, the frequency domain resources of the target beam, or the coverage geographical range of the target beam.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: A synchronization signal block is sent, wherein an offset between a time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and a time-frequency resource position of the beam indication information is a first offset.

6. The method according to claim 2 or 5, characterized in that The first offset is preset; or the first offset is carried in the synchronization signal block or system message.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The beam indication information includes at least one indication information; When the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage time of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate a second offset, where the second offset includes an offset between the coverage start time of the target beam and a first reference time; or When the coverage information of the target beam includes the frequency domain resources of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate a third offset, and the third offset includes an offset between a starting position of the frequency domain resources of the target beam and a starting position of a first reference frequency domain resource; or When the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage geographical range of the target beam, the at least one indication information includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the coverage geographical range.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first reference time is: the time domain resource start time of the synchronization signal block, or the time domain resource start time of the beam indication information; The first reference frequency domain resource is: the frequency domain resource of the synchronization signal block, or the frequency domain resource of the beam indication information.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that When the coverage information of the target beam includes the coverage time of the target beam, the at least one indication information further includes fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate the coverage duration of the target beam; or When the coverage information of the target beam includes the frequency domain resources of the target beam, the at least one indication information also includes fifth indication information, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate the frequency domain resource width of the target beam.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that: The beam indication information further includes an indication of a first terminal device group; wherein the indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the beam indication information is configured for terminal devices in the first terminal device group; or The beam indication information also includes an identifier of the target terminal device.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that: The at least one indication information is at least one indication sequence; or The beam indication information is carried in downlink control information DCI, and the at least one indication information is at least one in the DCI Indicates the field.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The time-frequency resource position of the DCI is located in the public search space.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The offset between the common search space and the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block is a fourth offset; or the period of the common search space is the same as the revisit period of the synchronization signal block beam.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The fourth offset is preset; or the fourth offset is carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that: The DCI is scrambled by a radio network temporary identifier RNTI of the first terminal device group; or The DCI is scrambled by the cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI of the target terminal device.

16. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that When the number of the at least one indicator sequence is plural, the at least one indicator sequence is orthogonal to each other.

17. A communication method, applied to a terminal device, characterized in that: include: receiving first information from a network device, wherein the first information is used to indicate a plurality of candidate beam scanning patterns of a target beam of the network device; receiving second information from the network device, wherein the second information is used to indicate a first beam scanning mode; the first beam scanning mode is a candidate beam scanning mode among the multiple candidate beam scanning modes; A signal is transmitted according to the first beam scanning pattern.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving a synchronization signal block from the network device; The time-frequency resource position of the second information is determined according to the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and a first offset; wherein the first offset is the offset between the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and the time-frequency resource position of the second information.

19. A communication method, applied to a network device, characterized in that: include: Sending first information, where the first information is used to indicate multiple candidate beam scanning patterns of a target beam of the network device; Sending second information, wherein the second information is used to indicate a first beam scanning mode; the first beam scanning mode is a candidate beam scanning mode among the multiple candidate beam scanning modes; A signal is transmitted according to the first beam scanning pattern.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein: The method further comprises: Send a synchronization signal block, wherein the offset between the time-frequency resource position of the synchronization signal block and the time-frequency resource position of the second information is a first offset.

21. The method according to claim 18 or 20, characterized in that The first offset is preset; or the first offset is carried in the synchronization signal block or system message.

22. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 21, characterized in that: The second information includes at least one indication information; Wherein, the at least one indication information includes first indication information; The first indication information includes: an index of the first beam scanning mode, or a mode indication sequence; the mode indication sequence is used to indicate the coverage order and / or coverage time of the target beam indicated by the first beam scanning mode to multiple beam positions; or The first indication information is used to indicate a first search space, and the first search space corresponds to the first beam scanning mode.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein: The at least one indication information also includes second indication information or third indication information; The second indication information is used to indicate a second offset, where the second offset includes an offset between a start time of a beam scanning period and a first reference time; The third indication information is used to indicate the effective duration of the first beam scanning mode; wherein the effective duration is greater than or equal to the beam scanning period.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein: The first reference time is: the start time of the time domain resources of the synchronization signal block, or the start time of the time domain resources of the second information.

25. The method according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that The at least one indication information also includes fourth indication information; the fourth indication information is used to indicate the duration of the beam scanning cycle.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein: The correspondence between the first search space and the first beam scanning mode is preset; or the correspondence between the first search space and the first beam scanning mode is carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message.

27. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 26, characterized in that The second information further includes an indication of a first terminal device group; wherein the indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the second information is configured for a terminal device in the first terminal device group; or The second information also includes an identifier of the target terminal device.

28. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 27, characterized in that The at least one indication information is at least one indication sequence; or The second information is carried in downlink control information DCI, and the at least one indication information is at least one indication field in the DCI.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein: The DCI is scrambled by a radio network temporary identifier RNTI of the first terminal device group; or The DCI is scrambled by the cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI of the target terminal device.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein: When the number of the at least one indicator sequence is plural, the at least one indicator sequence is orthogonal to each other.

31. A communication method, applied to a terminal device, characterized in that: include: Receiving indication information from a network device, wherein the indication information is used to indicate a first beam; the first beam is a beam of one beam position among a plurality of beam positions indicated by a first beam scanning mode; Determine the time-frequency resource position of the first beam according to the time-frequency resource position of the indication information and the first offset; A signal is transmitted according to the time-frequency resource position of the first beam.

32. A communication method, applied to a network device, characterized in that: include: Sending indication information, wherein the indication information is used to indicate a first beam; the first beam is a beam of one beam position among a plurality of beam positions indicated by a first beam scanning mode; A first beam is used to transmit a signal; an offset between a time-frequency resource position of the first beam and a time-frequency resource position of the indication information is a first offset.

33. The method according to claim 31 or 32, characterized in that The first offset is preset, or the first offset is carried in a synchronization signal block or a system message.

34. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 33, characterized in that The indication information includes first information of the first beam, where the first information is used to indicate the coverage geographical range of the first beam or the index of the first beam.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein: The indication information further includes an indication of a first terminal device group; wherein the indication of the first terminal device group is used to identify that the indication information is configured for terminal devices in the first terminal device group; or The indication information also includes the identification of the target terminal device.

36. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A communication unit for receiving and sending data; A processing unit, configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 35.

37. A communication device, characterized in that: include: transceiver, used to receive and send signals; A processor, configured to execute program instructions so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 35.

38. A communication system, characterized in that: include: A terminal device for executing any one of claims 1 to 3 or 6 to 16, and a network device for executing any one of claims 4 to 16; or A terminal device for executing any one of claims 17, 18 or 21-30, and a network device for executing any one of claims 19-30; or A terminal device for executing any one of claims 31 or 33-35, and a network device for executing any one of claims 32-35.

39. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 35.

40. A chip, characterized in that: The chip includes a processor; the processor is coupled to a memory, and the processor is used to read a computer program stored in the memory, so that the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 35.

41. A communication device, characterized in that: include: at least one processing element and at least one storage element; The at least one storage element is used to store a computer program; The at least one processing element is used to read the computer program in the at least one storage element and execute the method according to any one of claims 1-35.

42. A computer program product, characterized in that When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 35.

43. A chip system, characterized in that: The chip system includes a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store a computer program; the processor is coupled to the processor to read the computer program stored in the memory and execute the method described in any one of claims 1-35.

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