Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, which can be applied to an NTN communication scenario and ensure the decoding performance of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The method comprises: a first network device sends first information to a terminal device, the first information indicating the quantity of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources respectively corresponding to at least one parameter. The first network device and the terminal device acquire a first parameter value, and determine the quantity of first frequency domain resources and / or the quantity of first time domain resources on the basis of the first parameter value. Then, the first network device sends a PDCCH on the basis of the quantity of the first frequency domain resources and / or the quantity of the first time domain resources, and the terminal device receives the PDCCH on the basis of the quantity of the first frequency domain resources and / or the quantity of the first time domain resources. When the at least one parameter is a numerical value, the at least one parameter comprises the first parameter value, or when the at least one parameter is a numerical range, the first parameter value is one parameter among the at least one parameter.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on October 27, 2023, with application number 202311421445.2 and application name “Communication Method and Device,” the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] Currently, the fifth-generation (5G) New Radio (NR) technology was originally designed for terrestrial cellular network scenarios, providing users with ultra-low latency, ultra-reliability, ultra-high speeds, and an overwhelming number of connections. However, cellular networks cannot achieve seamless global coverage. For example, terrestrial base stations may not be deployed in areas such as oceans, polar regions, and rainforests, making voice and data services unavailable in these areas.

[0004] Compared with terrestrial communications, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) communications have the characteristics of large coverage area and flexible networking, and can achieve seamless global network coverage. NTN can serve as a supplement to the current terrestrial network or as an independent communication system to provide users with global high-speed network access.

[0005] A significant difference between NTN and terrestrial communications is that the distance between base stations and terminal devices is greater, resulting in greater signal transmission loss and a lower received signal-to-noise ratio. However, the future trend in NTN communications is the inevitable development of small-diameter, low-power antennas. This will lead to a decrease in antenna gain, further reducing the received signal-to-noise ratio of terminal devices and affecting decoding performance.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus that can ensure the decoding performance of PDCCH.

[0008] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a terminal device, or by a component of the terminal device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the terminal device, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device. The method includes: receiving first information from a first network device, the first information indicating the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to at least one parameter, the frequency domain resources and time domain resources being the frequency domain resources and time domain resources occupied by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), respectively. Obtaining a first parameter value, when at least one parameter is a numerical value, the at least one parameter includes the first parameter value, or when at least one parameter is a numerical range, the first parameter value belongs to one of the at least one parameter. Determining the first frequency domain resource quantity and / or the first time domain resource quantity based on the first parameter value. Receive a PDCCH based on the first frequency domain resource quantity and / or the first time domain resource quantity.

[0009] Based on this solution, the network device can configure the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to multiple parameters for the terminal device, so that the subsequent network device and the terminal device can determine the first parameter value based on the actual situation, and send or receive the PDCCH according to the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to the first parameter value. That is, the network device and the terminal device can flexibly and adaptively adjust the number of frequency domain and / or time domain resources occupied by the PDCCH according to the actual situation, thereby ensuring the decoding performance of the PDCCH. In addition, compared to always using a fixed and large number of time-frequency resources, such as occupying more than 3 OFDM symbols and more than 16 CCEs, resource waste can be avoided. Moreover, since the terminal device can know the number of frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH, the terminal device does not need to traverse multiple aggregation levels to determine the PDCCH resource set to be detected, thereby reducing the complexity of blind detection.

[0010] In one possible design, the amount of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources is related to a link budget between the terminal device and the first network device.

[0011] Based on this possible design, the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources is related to the link budget, so that the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to the parameters can meet the link budget, thereby ensuring decoding performance.

[0012] In one possible design, a link budget between the terminal device and the first network device is related to at least one of the following: a projection area of ​​a beam of the first network device, a coverage area of ​​the first network device, a channel state between the terminal device and the first network device, a correspondence between parameters configured on the second network device and the amount of frequency-domain resources and / or time-domain resources, or a channel quality between the second network device and the terminal device during a period when the second network device serves the terminal device. The second network device is a network device that served the terminal device before the first network device.

[0013] Based on this possible design, when the link budget corresponds to the configuration of the second network device and the channel state between the second network device and the terminal device is related, this information can be used as prior information, so that the first network device can reasonably configure the PDCCH resources based on the prior information, thereby improving the effectiveness of the PDCCH resource configuration.

[0014] In one possible design, the above parameters include at least one of the following: angle, angle range, time, time range, or quantity index.

[0015] Based on this possible design, the first network device and the terminal device can adaptively and flexibly adjust the amount of frequency domain and / or time domain resources occupied by the PDCCH based on angle, time, etc., thereby ensuring PDCCH decoding performance. In addition, when the parameter includes time or time range, the terminal device and the first network device can obtain the time without performing additional calculations, which can reduce the implementation complexity of the terminal device and the first network device.

[0016] Furthermore, when the parameter includes a quantity index, the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponds to the index, allowing the network device to flexibly select the frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources to be used based on actual conditions and indicate the corresponding index to the terminal device. Since the index does not need to be bound to the angle range or time range, for the same angle range or time range, the frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources used in different scenarios or situations may be different, thereby increasing the flexibility of PDCCH configuration.

[0017] In one possible design, the angle includes at least one of the following: an elevation angle between the terminal device and the first network device, an elevation angle between the reference position and the first network device, or an angle between a position line and a reference line in the track plane of the first network device, where the position line is a line between the first network device and the center point of the track plane, and the reference line is a line between the angle reference point and the center point of the track plane.

[0018] In one possible design, the angle reference point is the intersection of the ascending orbit of the first network device and the orbital plane, or the intersection of the ascending orbit of the first network device and the ecliptic plane.

[0019] In one possible design, the above time is the service time of the first network device; the time includes absolute time or a time offset relative to a reference time, and the representation of the absolute time or the time offset includes at least one of the following: international coordinated time, frame number, subframe number, time slot number, or orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM symbol number.

[0020] In one possible design, obtaining the first parameter value includes: receiving second information from the first network device, where the second information indicates the first parameter value.

[0021] In one possible design, the parameter is an angle or a range of angles; obtaining the first parameter value includes: determining the first parameter value based on the ephemeris information of the first network device.

[0022] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a network device, or by a component of the network device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the network device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the network device's functions. The method includes: sending first information to a terminal device, the first information indicating the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to at least one parameter, the frequency domain resources and time domain resources respectively being the frequency domain resources and time domain resources occupied by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). Obtaining a first parameter value, where the at least one parameter is a numerical value, the at least one parameter includes the first parameter value, or, when the at least one parameter is a numerical range, the first parameter value belongs to one of the at least one parameter. Determining a first frequency domain resource quantity and / or a first time domain resource quantity based on the first parameter value. Sending a PDCCH based on the first frequency domain resource quantity and / or the first time domain resource quantity. The technical effects of the second aspect can be referenced to the technical effects of the first aspect, and are not further elaborated here.

[0023] In one possible design, the amount of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources is related to a link budget between the terminal device and the first network device.

[0024] In one possible design, the link budget between the terminal device and the first network device is related to at least one of the following: the projection area of ​​the beam of the first network device, the coverage area of ​​the first network device, the channel state between the terminal device and the first network device, the correspondence between the parameters configured by the second network device and the amount of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources, or the channel quality between the second network device and the terminal device during the period when the second network device serves the terminal device. The second network device is the network device that served the terminal device before the first network device.

[0025] In one possible design, the method also includes: receiving third information from the second network device, the third information indicating at least one of the following: a correspondence between parameters configured by the second network device and the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources, or a channel quality between the second network device and the terminal device during the period when the second network device serves the terminal device.

[0026] In one possible design, the above parameters include at least one of the following: angle, angle range, time, time range, or quantity index.

[0027] In one possible design, the angle includes at least one of the following: an elevation angle between the terminal device and the first network device, an elevation angle between the reference position and the first network device, or an angle between a position line and a reference line in the track plane of the first network device, where the position line is a line between the first network device and the center point of the track plane, and the reference line is a line between the angle reference point and the center point of the track plane.

[0028] In one possible design, the angle reference point is the intersection of the ascending orbit of the first network device and the orbital plane, or the intersection of the ascending orbit of the first network device and the ecliptic plane.

[0029] In one possible design, the above time is the service time of the first network device; the time includes absolute time or a time offset relative to a reference time, and the representation of the absolute time or the time offset includes at least one of the following: international coordinated time, frame number, subframe number, time slot number, or orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM symbol number.

[0030] In one possible design, the parameter is an angle or a range of angles; obtaining the first parameter value includes: determining the first parameter value based on the ephemeris information of the first network device.

[0031] In one possible design, the method further includes: sending second information to the terminal device, where the second information indicates the first parameter value.

[0032] In combination with the first aspect or the second aspect, in one possible design, the frequency domain resources are control channel elements CCE or resource blocks RB; and / or, the time domain resources are OFDM symbols.

[0033] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design of the second aspect can refer to the technical effects brought about by the corresponding design in the above-mentioned first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0034] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing various methods. The communication device may be the terminal device in the first aspect, or a device included in the terminal device, such as a chip or a chip system; or the communication device may be the network device in the second aspect, or a device included in the network device, such as a chip or a chip system. The communication device includes a module, unit, or means corresponding to the implementation method, and the module, unit, or means may be implemented by hardware, software, or by executing the corresponding software implementation by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions.

[0035] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module may be configured to implement the processing functionality of any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module may include a receiving module and a transmitting module, respectively configured to implement the receiving functionality and the transmitting functionality of any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0036] In some possible designs, the transceiver module may be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver or a communication interface.

[0037] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the communication device performs the method described in any aspect. The communication device may be the terminal device described in the first aspect, or a device included in the terminal device, such as a chip or a chip system; or the communication device may be the network device described in the second aspect, or a device included in the network device, such as a chip or a chip system.

[0038] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface is configured to communicate with a module external to the communication device; and the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction to cause the communication device to perform the method described in any aspect. The communication device may be the terminal device described in the first aspect, or a device included in the terminal device, such as a chip or chip system; or the communication device may be the network device described in the second aspect, or a device included in the network device, such as a chip or chip system.

[0039] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: at least one processor; the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in a memory, so that the communication device performs the method described in any aspect. The memory may be coupled to the processor, or may be independent of the processor. The communication device may be the terminal device described in the first aspect, or a device included in the terminal device, such as a chip or chip system; or the communication device may be the network device described in the second aspect, or a device included in the network device, such as a chip or chip system.

[0040] In the seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be a terminal device, or a module or unit (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit) in the terminal device that corresponds one-to-one to the method / operation / step / action described in the first aspect, or a module or unit that can be used in combination with the terminal device; or, the communication device may be a network device, or a module or unit (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit) in the network device that corresponds one-to-one to the method / operation / step / action described in the second aspect, or a module or unit that can be used in combination with the network device.

[0041] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a communication device, the communication device can execute the method described in either the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0042] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the method described in any one of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0043] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided (for example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system), which includes a processor for implementing the functions involved in any one of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0044] In some possible designs, the communication device includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data.

[0045] In some possible designs, when the device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0046] In an eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising a terminal device and a network device. The terminal device is configured to execute the method described in the first aspect and any possible design thereof, and the network device is configured to execute the method described in the second aspect and any possible design thereof.

[0047] It can be understood that when the communication device provided in any one of the third to tenth aspects is a chip, the sending action / function of the communication device can be understood as output information, and the receiving action / function of the communication device can be understood as input information.

[0048] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design method in the third to tenth aspects can refer to the technical effects brought about by different design methods in the first or second aspects, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0049] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of determining a candidate PDCCH set based on a control resource set and a search space provided by the present application;

[0050] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a PDCCH search space blind detection set provided by the present application;

[0051] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the relationship between block error rate and SNR provided by the present application;

[0052] Figures 4 to 9 are schematic diagrams of the structure of the communication system provided by this application;

[0053] FIG10 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0054] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of coverage areas of a first network device and a second network device provided by the present application;

[0055] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of an angle provided by the present application;

[0056] Figures 13-16 are flowcharts of the communication method provided by this application;

[0057] FIG17 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by the present application;

[0058] FIG18 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by the present application;

[0059] FIG19 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in this application is merely a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural.

[0061] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or plural.

[0062] In addition, to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that the words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different.

[0063] In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner to facilitate understanding.

[0064] It will be understood that the “embodiment” mentioned throughout the specification means that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It will be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application.

[0065] It can be understood that in this application, "when" and "if" both mean that corresponding processing will be taken under certain objective circumstances, and do not limit the time, nor do they require any judgment action when implementing, nor do they mean that there are other limitations.

[0066] It is understood that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application may, in certain scenarios, be implemented independently of other features, such as the solution on which they are currently based, to solve corresponding technical problems and achieve corresponding effects. They may also be combined with other features in certain scenarios as needed. Accordingly, the devices provided in the embodiments of the present application may also implement these features or functions accordingly, which will not be described in detail here.

[0067] In this application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can refer to each other. In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified and there is no logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments or implementations based on their inherent logical relationships. The implementation methods of this application described below do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0068] In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, a brief introduction to the relevant technologies of the present application is first given as follows.

[0069] 1. Physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) detection:

[0070] As shown in Figure 1, in the new radio (NR) system, the base station can configure the control resource set (CORESET) and search space (SS) corresponding to the bandwidth part (BWP) through radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0071] Typically, each BWP is configured with a maximum of 3 CORESETs (if CORESET0 exists, CORESET0 is also counted), and a maximum of 10 search spaces (if SearchSpace0 exists, SearchSpace0 is also counted). Since each terminal device in each cell is configured with a maximum of 4 BWPs, each terminal device in each cell is configured with a maximum of 12 CORESETs (identified by CORESET ID, with a value of 0 to 11) and 40 search spaces (identified by SearchSpace ID, with a value of 0 to 39).

[0072] The CORESET is used to encapsulate the frequency band occupied by the PDCCH in the frequency domain and the number of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols occupied in the time domain. The search space is used to encapsulate information such as the starting OFDM symbol of the PDCCH and the PDCCH monitoring period.

[0073] The frequency band occupied by PDCCH in the frequency domain and the number of OFDM symbols occupied in the time domain can also be understood as the frequency band and number of OFDM symbols occupied by CORESET; the starting OFDM symbol of PDCCH can also be understood as the starting OFDM symbol of CORESET, and the monitoring period of PDCCH can be understood as the period of CORESET.

[0074] CORESET occupies the frequency domain The frequencyDomainResources parameter is used to configure the occupied PRBs. It consists of 45 bits, each corresponding to six consecutive resource blocks (RBs) (or a PRB group). The most significant bit corresponds to the lowest-frequency PRB group in the BWP. A bit set to 1 indicates that the corresponding PRB group is within the CORESET; a bit set to 0 indicates that the corresponding PRB group is not within the CORESET.

[0075] CORESET occupies time domain consecutive OFDM symbols, The value of can be 1, 2 or 3. The starting OFDM symbol of CORESET in the time slot can be determined by the search space.

[0076] The PDCCH is composed of one or more control channel elements (CCEs), and the number of CCEs (i.e., the PDCCH aggregation level) can be one of {1, 2, 4, 8, 16}. A CCE consists of six resource element groups (REGs), and a REG occupies one RB in the frequency domain and one OFDM symbol in the time domain.

[0077] When detecting PDCCH, the terminal device does not know the aggregation level value used by the base station, so it may need to perform blind detection on the candidate PDCCH sets at each possible aggregation level. After the terminal device obtains the CORESET and search space, it can determine the candidate PDCCH sets to be detected corresponding to each aggregation level based on the CORESET and search space.

[0078] Exemplarily, as shown in Figure 2, taking aggregation levels 4, 8, and 16 as examples, the terminal device determines the candidate PDCCH sets corresponding to different set levels based on the configuration information of CORESET and search space. These candidate PDCCH sets constitute the PDCCH search space blind detection set. In addition, in the example shown in Figure 2, the PDCCH monitoring period is 2 time slots, the period offset is 1 time slot, there are three PDCCH positions in each time slot, each PDCCH occupies 2 OFDM symbols, and the index of the starting OFDM symbol of the PDCCH is {0, 4, 8}.

[0079] 2. Non-terrestrial networks (NTN):

[0080] Currently, fifth-generation (5G) NR technology has moved from standardization to commercial deployment. The original purpose of NR standard protocol research was to design wireless communication technology for terrestrial cellular network scenarios, providing users with wireless communication services with ultra-low latency, ultra-reliability, ultra-high speeds, and a large number of connections. However, cellular networks cannot provide seamless global coverage. For example, in areas without terrestrial base stations, such as ocean surfaces, polar regions, and rainforests, voice and data services cannot be provided in these areas without cellular network coverage.

[0081] Compared to terrestrial communications, NTN communications offer a wide coverage area and flexible networking, enabling seamless global network coverage. Currently, research institutes, communications organizations, and communications companies around the world are participating in the research and development of NTN communication technologies and standards, striving to build a unified communications network across space, ground, and space.

[0082] In NTN communications, aerial platforms (such as drones, high-altitude platforms, and satellites) are used to form a network, providing data transmission, voice communication, and other services to terminals. Based on the altitude of the aerial platforms above the ground, the NTN can include a low-altitude platform (LAP) subnetwork, a high-altitude platform (HAP) subnetwork, and a satellite communication subnetwork (SATCOM) subnetwork (also known as a satellite communication system).

[0083] For example, in the LAP subnetwork, base stations or base station functions are deployed on low-altitude platforms (such as drones) at 0.1 km to 1 km above the ground to provide coverage for terminals. In the HAP subnetwork, base stations or base station functions are deployed on high-altitude platforms (such as aircraft) at 8 km to 50 km above the ground to provide coverage for terminals. In the SATCOM subnetwork, base stations or base station functions are deployed on satellites at an altitude of more than 50 km to provide coverage for terminals. Satellite communications offer significant advantages, including global coverage, long-distance transmission, flexible networking, easy deployment, and independence from geographic location. They have been widely used in a variety of fields, including maritime communications, positioning and navigation, disaster relief, scientific experiments, video broadcasting, and Earth observation.

[0084] Furthermore, according to the orbital altitude of the satellite, the satellite communication system can be divided into geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite communication system, medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite communication system and low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication system.

[0085] The GEO satellite communication system is also known as the geostationary orbit satellite system. GEO satellites orbit at an altitude of 35,786 km and move at the same speed as the Earth's rotation, meaning they can remain stationary relative to the Earth. GEO satellite communication systems can provide large cell coverage, typically with a cell diameter of 500 km. However, GEO satellite communication also has significant disadvantages: 1) GEO satellite orbits are far from the Earth, resulting in high free-space propagation losses, which limits communication link budgets. To increase transmit / receive gain, satellites must be equipped with larger antennas; 2) Communication transmission latency is significant, with a round-trip delay of around 500 milliseconds, which cannot meet the needs of real-time services; 3) GEO orbital resources are relatively limited, launch costs are high, and coverage of the Earth's polar regions is inadequate.

[0086] MEO satellites orbit at altitudes between 2,000 and 35,786 km, enabling global coverage with a relatively small number of satellites. However, MEO satellites orbit at higher altitudes than LEO satellites, resulting in higher transmission latency compared to LEO satellite communications. Therefore, considering the advantages and disadvantages of MEO satellite communications, MEO satellites are primarily used for positioning and navigation.

[0087] LEO satellites orbit at altitudes between 300 and 2000 km, lower than those of MEO satellites. They offer advantages such as low transmission latency, minimal transmission loss, and relatively low launch costs. Consequently, LEO satellite communications have garnered increasing attention in recent years.

[0088] A significant difference between NTN and terrestrial communications is that the distance between base stations and terminal devices is greater, resulting in greater signal transmission loss and a lower signal-to-noise ratio. However, the future trend in NTN communications is the inevitable development of small-diameter, low-power antennas, which will lead to a decrease in antenna gain, further reducing the signal-to-noise ratio of terminal devices.

[0089] For example, the decoding performance of PDCCH when the bandwidth is 50M is shown in FIG3. As shown in FIG3, the block error rate (BLER) is equal to 0.01 (10 -2 ), the decoding threshold is -1dB, that is, the signal-to-interference-noise ratio (SINR) or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) needs to be greater than -1dB for correct decoding.

[0090] Taking a terminal device using a 4096-element phased array antenna as an example, in a LEO satellite communication system with an orbital altitude of 495km, when the communication elevation angle is small (such as 30°), the link budget SINR of the terminal device as the receiving end is 0.1dB, which is greater than the decoding threshold of -1dB when the BLER is 0.01, meeting the low-elevation-angle communication link SINR requirement. However, when the terminal device uses a miniaturized antenna, such as a 1024-element phased array antenna, in a LEO satellite communication system with an orbital altitude of 495km, when the communication elevation angle is 30°, the link budget SINR of the terminal device as the receiving end is -5.68dB, which is less than the decoding threshold of -1dB when the BLER is 0.01. Therefore, PDCCH decoding performance cannot be met.

[0091] Furthermore, based on the current CORESET and search space configurations, the PDCCH occupies a maximum of three OFDM symbols in the time domain and a maximum of 16 CCEs in the frequency domain. Under this configuration, PDCCH decoding performance may not meet the decoding requirements of small-aperture antennas.

[0092] That is to say, as small-aperture, low-power antennas become an inevitable development trend, the receiving signal-to-noise ratio of terminal equipment will be further reduced, and the PDCCH decoding performance may not be guaranteed.

[0093] Based on this, the present application provides a communication method in which a terminal device and a network device can adaptively adjust the number of time-frequency resources occupied by the PDCCH based on parameters such as the angle or time during communication, thereby ensuring the decoding performance of the control channel. In addition, compared to using a fixed and large number of time-frequency resources throughout the entire communication process, this method can avoid resource waste and reduce the complexity of blind detection.

[0094] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be used in various communication systems, which may be third generation partnership project (3GPP) communication systems, such as long term evolution (LTE) systems, 5G systems such as NR systems, vehicle to everything (V2X) systems, or systems with hybrid networking of LTE and 5G, or device to device (D2D) communication systems, machine to machine (M2M) communication systems, Internet of Things (IoT), NTN, and other next generation communication systems. The communication system may also be a non-3GPP communication system without limitation.

[0095] Among them, the above-mentioned communication system applicable to this application is only an example, and the communication system and communication scenarios applicable to this application are not limited to this. The communication system and communication scenarios provided in this application do not impose any limitations on the solution of this application. They are uniformly explained here and will not be repeated below.

[0096] In one possible implementation, a communication system applicable to the solution of the present application may include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. Terminal devices may communicate with each other, with each other, and with each other via wired or wireless means.

[0097] Optionally, the terminal device may be a user-side device with wireless transceiver functions, or may be a chip or chip system provided in the device. The terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), terminal, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote terminal, mobile terminal (MT), user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device, etc. The terminal device may be, for example, a terminal device in IoT, V2X, D2D, M2M, 5G network, or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN). The terminal device may be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it may also be deployed on water (such as ships, etc.); it may also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons and satellites, etc.).

[0098] Exemplarily, the terminal device may be a drone, an IoT device (e.g., a sensor, an electricity meter, a water meter, etc.), a V2X device, a station (ST) in a wireless local area network (WLAN), a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device (also referred to as a wearable smart device), a tablet computer or a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a smart home, or a similar device. The terminal device can be a mobile or fixed device, which is not specifically limited in this application.

[0099] Optionally, the network device may be a network-side device with wireless transceiver functions, or may be a chip or chip system or module provided in the device. The network device is located in the radio access network (RAN) of the mobile communication system and is used to provide access services for terminal devices.

[0100] As a possible implementation, the network device can be a wireless relay node or a wireless backhaul node. For example, the network device can function as a layer 1 relay device to regenerate physical layer signals (i.e., wireless frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification) without any higher protocol layers.

[0101] As another possible implementation, the network device may implement some or all of the functions of a base station. For example, the network device may be an evolutionary Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE or evolved LTE system (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A), such as a traditional macro eNB and a micro eNB in ​​a heterogeneous network scenario; or a next-generation node B (gNodeB or gNB) in a 5G system; or a transmission reception point (TRP); or a base station in a future evolved PLMN; or a device that implements base station functions in IoT, V2X, D2D, or M2M.

[0102] Alternatively, the network device may be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU and a DU, a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU may be configured separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0103] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, the network device may be a network device or a module of a network device in an open radio access network (open RAN, ORAN) system. In the ORAN system, CU may also be referred to as open (open, O)-CU, DU may also be referred to as O-DU, CU-CP may also be referred to as O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be referred to as O-CU-UP, and RU may also be referred to as O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0104] Exemplarily, the base stations in the embodiments of the present application may include various forms of base stations, such as: macro base stations, micro base stations (also called small stations), relay stations, access points, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0105] In one possible implementation, the network devices in the embodiments of the present application can be deployed on non-terrestrial platforms, such as low-altitude platforms (such as drones), high-altitude platforms (such as airplanes), or satellites. Therefore, the network devices in the embodiments of the present application can also be referred to as non-terrestrial network devices.

[0106] For example, in the case where the network equipment is deployed on a satellite, or the network equipment is a satellite, the communication system may further include an NTN gateway (also known as a gateway station or a signal gateway station). Typically, the NTN gateway is deployed on the ground. The NTN gateway can communicate with the satellite, and the link between the satellite and the NTN gateway can be called a feeder link.

[0107] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, when a satellite serves as a wireless relay node, or in other words, when a satellite has relay forwarding capabilities, the NTN gateway has base station functions or partial base station functions, and in this case, the NTN gateway can function as a base station. Alternatively, the NTN gateway can be deployed separately from the base station. In other words, in addition to the NTN gateway, the communication system also includes a base station (or ground base station, such as a gNB). In this case, the feeder link latency includes both the satellite-to-NTN gateway and the NTN gateway-to-base station latency. Figures 4 and 5 illustrate this using the example of separate deployment of the NTN gateway and base station.

[0108] As shown in Figure 6, when a satellite can perform some or all of the functions of a base station, the satellite has data processing capabilities and can be used as a base station. In this case, the NTN gateway and the satellite can transmit user-plane data of the terminal device through the satellite radio interface (SRI).

[0109] In addition, satellites can perform some or all of the functions of a base station. As shown in Figure 7, inter-satellite links (ISLs) exist between different satellites, allowing satellites to communicate via ISLs. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 8, a satellite can have the DU processing capabilities of a base station, or in other words, the satellite can act as a DU. In this scenario, the CU processing capabilities of the base station can be deployed on the ground, and the CU and DU communicate using the F1 interface through the NTN gateway.

[0110] In the architectures shown in Figures 5 to 8, NG refers to the interface between the base station and the core network. Uu refers to the interface between the base station and the terminal device. Xn refers to the interface between base stations. It is understood that as communication systems evolve, the names of the interfaces between the base station and the core network, between the base station and the terminal device, and between base stations may also change, and this application does not specifically limit this.

[0111] Optionally, when a satellite functions as a wireless relay node and has relay forwarding capabilities, it can be considered to be operating in transparent mode. When a satellite has data processing capabilities and can perform some or all of the functions of a base station, it can be considered to be operating in regenerative mode. A satellite may support only transparent mode, only regenerative mode, or both, and be able to switch between these two modes.

[0112] It is understandable that the satellites in the architectures described in Figures 4 to 8 can be replaced by non-ground payloads on other flying platforms such as drones and airplanes.

[0113] In another possible implementation, as shown in FIG9 , the network device in the embodiments of the present application can be deployed on the ground and have all or part of the base station functionality. The terminal device can be a user-side device that moves in the air, such as a high-altitude aircraft or an onboard handheld terminal. In other words, the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to air-to-ground (ATG) communication scenarios.

[0114] It should be noted that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present application is intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0115] The following describes the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application by taking the interaction between a terminal device and a network device as an example in combination with the communication system shown in Figures 4 to 8.

[0116] It should be noted that in the following embodiments of the present application, the message names, parameter names, or information names between devices are only examples. In other embodiments, they may also be other names, and the method provided in this application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0117] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device or network device may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present application may also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, the various steps may be performed in a different order than those presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all of the operations in the embodiments of the present application need to be performed.

[0118] As an example, the following embodiments assume that the aforementioned flight platform is a satellite, that is, satellite communications in an NTN are used as an example. Of course, the method can also be applied to other scenarios in the NTN, such as LAP subnetworks or HAP subnetworks, without specific limitation.

[0119] In addition, the present application can also be applied to other possible communication scenarios or communication systems, such as long-distance communication scenarios involving a long distance between a terminal device and a network device, or a relatively high moving speed, and PDCCH reception can be performed through the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0120] The following describes the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG10 , which is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, the method can be applied to the interaction between a terminal device and a network device in the communication system shown in FIG4 to FIG8 . As shown in FIG10 , the communication method may include the following steps:

[0121] S1001: A first network device sends first information to a terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the first network device.

[0122] The first information indicates the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to the at least one parameter. The frequency domain resources are the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH, and the time domain resources are the time domain resources occupied by the PDCCH. Exemplarily, the frequency domain resources may be CCEs or RBs. The time domain resources may be OFDM symbols.

[0123] In one possible implementation, the above-mentioned parameters include at least one of an angle, an angle range, a time, a time range, or a quantity index, which will be described in detail in subsequent embodiments and are not further described here. For example, taking the parameters as an angle range, a time range, or a quantity index, the first information may indicate the corresponding relationships shown in Tables 1 to 3 below.

[0124] Table 1

[0125] Table 2

[0126] Table 3

[0127] Optionally, the first information may indicate the above-mentioned corresponding relationship in a variety of ways. For example, the first information may indicate the corresponding relationship in the form of a key-value pair, such as the first information including {parameter: number of frequency domain resources, number of time domain resources}; or the first information may include a parameter set, a set of number of frequency domain resources, and a set of number of time domain resources, wherein the i-th parameter in the parameter set corresponds to the i-th number of frequency domain resources in the set of number of frequency domain resources and the i-th number of time domain resources in the set of number of time domain resources.

[0128] In a possible implementation, the amount of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources is related to a link budget between the terminal device and the first network device. Exemplarily, the link budget between the terminal device and the first network device may be an SNR or a SINR.

[0129] Exemplarily, the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources is related to the link budget, which may include: the number of frequency domain resources is positively or negatively correlated with the link budget, and / or the number of time domain resources is positively or negatively correlated with the link budget. For example, the number of frequency domain resources is positively correlated with the link budget, e.g., when the link budget is small, the number of corresponding frequency domain resources is also small; the number of time domain resources is negatively correlated with the link budget, e.g., when the link budget is small, the number of corresponding time domain resources is large.

[0130] Exemplarily, the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to a certain parameter is related to the link budget between the terminal device and the first network device when the parameter is used (or effective). For example, the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to the angle range [angle 1, angle 2) can be understood as: the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources when the angle is within the angle range [angle 1, angle 2).

[0131] In one possible implementation, the link budget between the terminal device and the first network device is related to at least one of the following: the projection area of ​​the beam of the first network device, the coverage area of ​​the first network device, the channel state between the terminal device and the first network device, the correspondence between the above parameters configured by the second network device and the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources, or the channel quality between the second network device and the terminal device during the period when the second network device serves the terminal device.

[0132] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG11 , the coverage area of ​​the first network device includes the projection area of ​​multiple beams of the first network device. The channel state between the terminal device and the first network device can be determined by the first network device based on the channel state information (CSI) reported by the terminal device. The second network device is a network device that serves the terminal device before the first network device, or the second network device can be considered as the source network device of the terminal device, and the first network device can be considered as the target network device of the terminal device. Due to the movement of the first network device and the second network device, the terminal device can switch from the second network device to the first network device. The second network device can cover the above-mentioned coverage area before the first network device, that is, as shown in FIG11 , the second network device and the first network device can serve / cover the same area successively. Exemplarily, the second network device can be an adjacent network device of the first network device, for example, the second network device and the first network device are co-orbit satellites, or the orbits of the second network device and the first network device are the same or similar.

[0133] Exemplarily, the correspondence between the parameters configured by the second network device and the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources, and the channel quality between the second network device and the terminal device during the period when the second network device serves the terminal device, can be indicated by the second network device to the first network device.

[0134] In one possible implementation, the first information may be carried in a broadcast message, such as at least one broadcast message such as system information block (SIB) 1, other system information (OSI), or master system information block (MIB). The first network device indicates the correspondence between the parameter and the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources by broadcasting, thereby avoiding separately indicating the correspondence for scheduling different resources for different terminal devices, saving signaling overhead for scheduling resources, and reducing scheduling complexity.

[0135] In another possible implementation, the first information may be carried in at least one of RRC signaling, downlink control information (DCI), group DCI, and a media access control (MAC) control element (CE), or the first information may be carried in data or carried in a dedicated physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and sent by the first network device to the terminal device via unicast or multicast. Exemplarily, the RRC signaling may include at least one of an RRC setup message, an RRC reconfiguration message, or an RRC resume message.

[0136] When the first network device indicates the above-mentioned correspondence to the terminal device through unicast or multicast, the correspondence adapted to different terminal devices / terminal device groups can be flexibly controlled. For example, according to the geographical location of the terminal device / terminal device group, the SNR change rate or law caused by the movement of the first network device is determined, so that different frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources are configured for terminal devices at different geographical locations for the same parameters, so as to optimize the PDCCH resource occupancy corresponding to each terminal device, avoid unnecessary spectrum efficiency loss and excessive detection complexity, and improve the communication performance of the terminal device and the entire system.

[0137] S1002. The first network device obtains a first parameter value.

[0138] In one possible implementation, when the at least one parameter indicated by the first information is a numerical value, for example, the parameter is an angle, a time, or a quantity index, the at least one parameter includes a first parameter value. For example, taking the parameter as a quantity index, if the first information indicates the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to quantity indexes 0, 1, 2, and 3, respectively, the first parameter value is one of 0, 1, 2, or 3.

[0139] In another possible implementation, when at least one parameter indicated by the first information is a numerical range, for example, the parameter is an angle range or a time range, the first parameter value belongs to one of the at least one parameter. Exemplarily, taking the parameter as an angle range as an example, if the first information indicates the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to [angle 1, angle 2), [angle 2, angle 3), [angle 3, angle 4), respectively, and the first parameter value is a certain angle value, the first parameter value belongs to [angle 1, angle 2), or the first parameter value belongs to [angle 2, angle 3), or the first parameter value belongs to [angle 3, angle 4).

[0140] S1003: The terminal device obtains a first parameter value. For an explanation of the first parameter value, refer to the relevant description in the above step S1002, which will not be repeated here.

[0141] As a possible implementation, the terminal device may independently calculate or determine the first parameter value. Alternatively, the terminal device may obtain the first parameter value based on an instruction from the first network device. For example, the first network device may send second information to the terminal device, where the second information indicates the first parameter value. In response, the terminal device receives the second information and determines the first parameter value based on the second information.

[0142] It should be noted that there is no strict order between steps S1002 and S1003. Step S1002 may be executed first, and then step S1003; or, step S1003 may be executed first, and then step S1002; or, steps S1002 and S1003 may be executed simultaneously. This application does not make any specific restrictions on this.

[0143] S1004. The first network device determines a first number of frequency domain resources and / or a first number of time domain resources according to a first parameter value.

[0144] The first number of frequency domain resources is the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to the first parameter value, and the first number of time domain resources is the number of time domain resources corresponding to the first parameter value.

[0145] Exemplarily, the first network device may use the first parameter value to search for the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to the first parameter value in the corresponding relationship indicated by the first information, thereby obtaining the first number of frequency domain resources and / or the first number of time domain resources.

[0146] S1005: The terminal device determines the first frequency domain resource quantity and / or the first time domain resource quantity according to the first parameter value. Please refer to the relevant description in the above step S1004, which will not be repeated here.

[0147] It should be noted that there is no strict order between step S1004 and step S1005. Step S1004 can be executed first, and then step S1005; or, step S1005 can be executed first and then step S1004; or, steps S1004 and S1005 can be executed at the same time. This application does not make any specific restrictions on this.

[0148] S1006: The first network device sends a PDCCH according to the first number of frequency domain resources and / or the first number of time domain resources. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives a PDCCH according to the first number of frequency domain resources and / or the first number of time domain resources.

[0149] In a possible implementation, the first network device sends the PDCCH according to the first frequency domain resource quantity and / or the first time domain resource quantity, which may include: the first network device sends the PDCCH, the frequency domain resource quantity occupied by the PDCCH is the first frequency domain resource quantity, and / or the time domain resource quantity occupied by the PDCCH is the first time domain resource quantity.

[0150] In one possible implementation, the terminal device receives PDCCH based on the first frequency domain resource quantity and / or the first time domain resource quantity, including: the terminal device determines a set of candidate PDCCH (resources) to be detected based on the first frequency domain resource quantity and / or the first time domain resource quantity, and performs PDCCH blind detection in the candidate PDCCH (resource) set to receive PDCCH.

[0151] Optionally, the terminal device may determine a set of candidate PDCCHs (resources) to be detected based on the first number of frequency domain resources and / or the first number of time domain resources in combination with CORESET and the search space.

[0152] Based on the above scheme, the network device can configure the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to multiple parameters for the terminal device, so that the subsequent network device and the terminal device can determine the first parameter value based on the actual situation, and send or receive the PDCCH according to the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to the first parameter value. That is, the network device and the terminal device can flexibly and adaptively adjust the number of frequency domain and / or time domain resources occupied by the PDCCH according to the actual situation, thereby ensuring the decoding performance of the PDCCH. In addition, compared to always using a fixed and large number of time-frequency resources, such as occupying more than 3 OFDM symbols and more than 16 CCEs, resource waste can be avoided. Moreover, since the terminal device can know the number of frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH, the terminal device does not need to traverse multiple aggregation levels to determine the PDCCH resource set to be detected, thereby reducing the complexity of blind detection.

[0153] The above describes the overall process of the communication method provided by this application. The following describes the above parameters in detail.

[0154] Case 1: The parameter includes an angle or a range of angles. For example, the angle may have at least one of the following possibilities:

[0155] a) The angle is the elevation angle between the terminal device and the first network device.

[0156] For example, for a location on Earth, when the line of sight is above the horizon, the angle between the line of sight and the horizon within the vertical plane can be understood as the elevation angle. In this scenario (a), the elevation angle between the terminal device and the first network device can be understood as the angle between the line connecting the terminal device's geographic location and the location of the first network device, and the horizon at the terminal device's geographic location. The elevation angle between the terminal device and the first network device can be used to describe the position of the first network device passing above the terminal device. For example, an elevation angle of 90° indicates that the first network device is directly above the reference location.

[0157] As shown in (a) of FIG12 , the elevation angle when the terminal device is located at point P is shown; as shown in (b) of FIG12 , the elevation angle when the terminal device is located at point Q is shown.

[0158] b) The angle is the elevation angle between the reference position and the first network device.

[0159] The reference location is a certain geographical location. Exemplarily, the distance between the reference location and the location of the terminal device is less than or equal to a certain threshold, or the reference location can be the center location of the current coverage range of the first network device, without limitation.

[0160] The terminal device and the first network device may pre-agree on a reference location, that is, the terminal device and the first network device have the same understanding of the reference location.

[0161] Among them, the description of the elevation angle between the reference position and the first network device can refer to the relevant description of the elevation angle between the above-mentioned terminal device and the first network device, which will not be repeated here.

[0162] c) The angle is the angle between the position line of the first network device in the track plane and the reference line.

[0163] As shown in (c) in FIG12 , the position line is the line between the first network device (or the position of the first network device) and the center point of the track surface, and the reference line is the line between the angle reference point and the center point of the track surface.

[0164] Illustratively, the angle reference point may be the intersection of the ascending orbit of the first network device and the orbital plane, or the angle reference point may be the intersection of the ascending orbit of the first network device and the ecliptic plane, where the ecliptic plane refers to the orbital plane of the Earth's revolution around the Sun.

[0165] Exemplarily, when the parameter includes an angle range, the number of frequency domain resources and / or the number of time domain resources corresponding to different angle ranges may be as shown in Table 4.

[0166] Table 4

[0167] It should be noted that the correspondence between the angle ranges and the number of resources shown in Table 4 is only exemplary and may have other correspondences in actual applications. For example, the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to the angle range [25°, 40°) may be greater than 1 CCE, and the number of time domain resources corresponding to it may be less than 12 OFDM symbols, without limitation.

[0168] It can be understood that the number of frequency domain resources and / or the number of time domain resources corresponding to the angle range in the embodiment of the present application can also be indicated or equivalent to the number of frequency domain resources and / or the number of time domain resources corresponding to the angle. For example, the number of frequency domain resources and time domain resources corresponding to the angle range [25°, 40°) are 1 CCE and 12 OFDM symbols, respectively. It can also be indicated that when the angle is 25°, 26°, 27°, ..., 39°, 39.5°, the corresponding number of frequency domain resources and time domain resources are 1 CCE and 12 OFDM symbols, respectively.

[0169] In a possible implementation, when the parameter includes an angle or a range of angles, the present application provides a communication method, which can be understood as a specific implementation of the communication method shown in Figure 10. As shown in Figure 13, the communication method includes the following steps:

[0170] S1301. A first network device determines a number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to at least one angle or angle range.

[0171] Exemplarily, the first network device can determine the link budget corresponding to different angles based on at least one of the projection area of ​​the beam of the first network device, the coverage area of ​​the first network device, or the channel state between the terminal device and the first network device, and then determine the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to each angle or angle range based on the link budget corresponding to the different angles.

[0172] S1302: The first network device sends first information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the first network device.

[0173] Among them, the first information indicates the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to at least one angle or angle range. Please refer to the relevant instructions in the above step S1001 and will not be repeated here.

[0174] S1303: The first network device obtains a first parameter value. For example, the first parameter value may be an angle value at a current moment.

[0175] As a possible implementation, when the angle is the elevation angle between the terminal device and the first network device, the first parameter value may be the angle value corresponding to the communication between the first network device and the terminal device at the current moment.

[0176] For example, the first network device can determine the elevation angle between the terminal device and the first network device based on the terminal device's geographic location and the first network device's ephemeris information. The ephemeris information of the first network device describes an expression of the first network device's position and velocity over time. Of course, ephemeris information can also be referred to by other names, such as trajectory information, velocity trajectory information, etc., which are not specifically limited in this application.

[0177] As another possible implementation, when the angle is the elevation angle between the reference position and the first network device, the first network device may determine the elevation angle between the reference position and the first network device based on the reference position and the ephemeris information of the first network device.

[0178] As another possible implementation, when the angle is the angle between a position line and a reference line in the track surface of the first network device, the position line is a line connecting the current position of the first network device and the center point of the track surface. The first network device can determine the angle between the position line and the reference line in the track surface based on the current position of the first network device.

[0179] Optionally, after obtaining the first parameter value, the first network device may send second information to the terminal device, where the second information indicates the first parameter value.

[0180] S1304: The terminal device obtains a first parameter value. For an explanation of the first parameter value, refer to the relevant description in the above step S1303, which will not be repeated here.

[0181] As a possible implementation, the terminal device obtains the first parameter value based on the ephemeris information of the first network device. The acquisition method is similar to the acquisition method of the first network device obtaining the first parameter value. Please refer to the relevant description in the above step S1303 and will not be repeated here.

[0182] As another possible implementation, the terminal device may receive second information from the first network device, and obtain the first parameter value according to an instruction of the second information.

[0183] S1305. The first network device determines a first number of frequency domain resources and / or a first number of time domain resources according to the first parameter value.

[0184] Exemplarily, taking the first parameter value as 30° as an example, the first network device may determine that the number of first frequency domain resources is 1 CCE and / or the number of first time domain resources is 12 OFDM symbols according to the corresponding relationship determined in step S1301.

[0185] S1306. The terminal device determines the first frequency domain resource quantity and / or the first time domain resource quantity according to the first parameter value. Please refer to the relevant description in the above step S1305 and will not be repeated here.

[0186] S1307: The first network device sends a PDCCH based on the first number of frequency domain resources and / or the first number of time domain resources. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the PDCCH based on the first number of frequency domain resources and / or the first number of time domain resources. For details, refer to the relevant description in step S1006 above and will not be repeated here.

[0187] Based on the above situation one, the first network device and the terminal device can flexibly and adaptively adjust the amount of frequency domain and / or time domain resources occupied by the PDCCH based on the angle, thereby ensuring the decoding performance of the PDCCH.

[0188] Case 2: The parameter includes time or time range.

[0189] The time is the service time of the first network device, such as the service time within the track plane of the first network device, or the time when the first network device serves the terminal device, or the time when the first network device communicates with the terminal device. For example, if the first network device communicates with the terminal device between time A and time B, then the time or time range is between time A and time B (including time A and / or time B).

[0190] Exemplarily, the time may be an absolute time or a time offset relative to a reference time. The absolute time or the time offset may be expressed in at least one of the following forms: universal coordinated time, frame number, subframe number, OFDM symbol number, etc.

[0191] Exemplarily, when the parameter includes a time range, the number of frequency domain resources and / or the number of time domain resources corresponding to different time ranges may be as shown in Table 5.

[0192] Table 5

[0193] It should be noted that the correspondence between the time range and the resource quantity shown in Table 5 is only for illustrative purposes, and there can be other correspondences in actual applications. For example, the number of frequency-domain resources corresponding to T1≤t<T2 can be greater than 1 CCE, and the number of time-domain resources corresponding to it can be less than 12 OFDM symbols, without limitation.

[0194] It can be understood that the number of frequency-domain resources and / or time-domain resources corresponding to the time range in the embodiments of the present application can also indicate or be equivalent to the number of frequency-domain resources and / or time-domain resources corresponding to time. For example, if the number of frequency-domain resources and time-domain resources corresponding to T1≤t<T2 are 1 CCE and 12 OFDM symbols respectively, it can also indicate that the number of frequency-domain resources and time-domain resources corresponding to all time points between T1 and T2 are 1 CCE and 12 OFDM symbols respectively.

[0195] Optionally, due to the movement of the first network device, the angle values in the above-mentioned situation 1 may also be different at different times. Therefore, the time or time range in situation 2 can correspond to the angle or angle range in situation 1. For example, the time range T1≤t<T2 corresponds to the angle range 25°≤angle α<40°. For example, 25° can be understood as the angle at time T1, and 40° can be understood as the angle at time T2 or at a time adjacent to T2. Of course, the time range may not correspond to the angle range, and the present application does not make specific limitations in this regard.

[0196] In a possible implementation manner, when the parameter includes time or a time range, the present application provides a communication method, which can be understood as a specific implementation of the communication method shown in FIG. 10 above. As shown in FIG. 14, the communication method includes the following steps:

[0197] S1401. The first network device determines the number of frequency-domain resources and / or time-domain resources corresponding to at least one time or time range respectively.

[0198] Exemplarily, the first network device can determine the link budget corresponding to different times according to at least one of the projection area of the beam of the first network device, the coverage area of the first network device, or the channel state between the terminal device and the first network device, and then determine the number of frequency-domain resources and / or time-domain resources corresponding to each time or time range according to the link budget corresponding to different times.

[0199] S1402. The first network device sends the first information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the first network device.

[0200] Among them, the first information indicates the number of frequency-domain resources and / or time-domain resources corresponding to at least one time or time range respectively. For the relevant description, reference can be made to the relevant description in step S1001 above, and details will not be elaborated here.

[0201] S1403: The first network device obtains a first parameter value. For example, the first parameter value may be the current time, which is during the communication process between the first network device and the terminal device.

[0202] Optionally, after obtaining the first parameter value, the first network device may send second information to the terminal device, where the second information indicates the first parameter value.

[0203] S1404: The terminal device obtains a first parameter value. For an explanation of the first parameter value, refer to the relevant description in the above step S1403, which will not be repeated here.

[0204] As a possible implementation, the terminal device may determine the first parameter value by itself.

[0205] As another possible implementation, the terminal device may receive second information from the first network device, and obtain the first parameter value according to an instruction of the second information.

[0206] S1405. The first network device determines a first number of frequency domain resources and / or a first number of time domain resources according to the first parameter value.

[0207] Exemplarily, taking the first parameter value as time t1, and time t1 being between T1 and T2 as an example, the first network device can determine that the number of first frequency domain resources is 1 CCE, and / or the number of first time domain resources is 12 OFDM symbols according to the corresponding relationship determined in step S1401.

[0208] S1406. The terminal device determines the first frequency domain resource quantity and / or the first time domain resource quantity according to the first parameter value. Please refer to the relevant description in the above step S1405 and will not be repeated here.

[0209] S1407: The first network device sends a PDCCH based on the first number of frequency domain resources and / or the first number of time domain resources. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the PDCCH based on the first number of frequency domain resources and / or the first number of time domain resources. For details, refer to the relevant description in step S1006 above and will not be repeated here.

[0210] Based on the above second scenario, the first network device and the terminal device can flexibly and adaptively adjust the amount of frequency domain and / or time domain resources occupied by the PDCCH based on time, thereby ensuring PDCCH decoding performance. In addition, the terminal device and the first network device can obtain the time without performing additional calculations, which can reduce the implementation complexity of the terminal device and the first network device.

[0211] Case 3: The parameter is a quantity index.

[0212] In a possible implementation, the quantity index in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as an index, a number, an index number, etc., and they can be replaced with each other.

[0213] Exemplarily, when the parameter includes a quantity index, the quantity of frequency-domain resources and / or time-domain resources corresponding to different quantity indexes may be as shown in Table 6.

[0214] Table 6

[0215] It should be noted that the correspondence between the quantity index and the resource quantity shown in Table 6 is only for exemplary illustration, and there may be other correspondences in actual applications. For example, the quantity of frequency-domain resources corresponding to index 0 may be greater than 1 CCE, and the quantity of time-domain resources corresponding to it may be less than 12 OFDM symbols, without limitation.

[0216] Optionally, each quantity index may correspond to or indicate an angular range or a time range. For example, the correspondence in each row of Table 6 may be converted into the correspondence in the same row of Table 4 or Table 5. For example, quantity index 0 corresponds to the angular range 25° ≤ angle α < 40°, or corresponds to the time range T1 ≤ t < T2; quantity index 1 corresponds to the angular range 40° ≤ angle α < 70°, or corresponds to the time range T2 ≤ t < T3; quantity index 2 corresponds to the angular range 70° ≤ angle α < 90°, or corresponds to the time range T3 ≤ t < T4.

[0217] Alternatively, the quantity index may not correspond to an angular range or a time range; or, the quantity index may correspond to other parameters, or may not correspond to any parameter, such as a quantity index only indicating the quantity of frequency-domain resources and / or time-domain resources.

[0218] In a possible implementation, when the parameter includes a quantity index, the present application provides a communication method, which can be understood as a specific implementation of the communication method shown in FIG. 10 above. As shown in FIG. 15, the communication method includes the following steps:

[0219] S1501. The first network device determines the quantity of frequency-domain resources and / or time-domain resources corresponding to at least one quantity index respectively.

[0220] Exemplarily, the quantity of frequency-domain resources and / or time-domain resources corresponding to at least one quantity index respectively may be as shown in Table 6 above. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific manner for the first network device to determine this correspondence.

[0221] S1502. The first network device sends the first information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the first network device.

[0222] Among them, the first information indicates the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to at least one quantity index. Please refer to the relevant instructions in the above step S1001 and will not be repeated here.

[0223] S1503: The first network device obtains a first parameter value. Exemplarily, the first parameter value is a quantity index.

[0224] As a possible implementation, the first network device can determine the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources based on at least one of the beam projection area, the coverage area, or the channel state between the terminal device and the first network device, and then determine the quantity index corresponding to the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources based on the correspondence determined in step S1501, and use the quantity index as the first parameter value.

[0225] S1504: The first network device sends the second information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second information from the first network device.

[0226] The second information indicates the first parameter value. For example, the second information may be carried in a MAC CE or a DCI, which is not specifically limited in this application. Step S1504 may be understood as an implementation of the terminal device obtaining the first parameter value.

[0227] S1505. The first network device determines a first number of frequency domain resources and / or a first number of time domain resources according to the first parameter value.

[0228] Exemplarily, taking the first parameter value as quantity index 0 as an example, the first network device can determine that the first frequency domain resource quantity is 1 CCE and / or the first time domain resource quantity is 12 OFDM symbols according to the corresponding relationship determined in step S1501.

[0229] S1506. The terminal device determines the first frequency domain resource quantity and / or the first time domain resource quantity according to the first parameter value. Please refer to the relevant description in the above step S1505 and will not be repeated here.

[0230] S1507: The first network device sends a PDCCH based on the first number of frequency domain resources and / or the first number of time domain resources. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the PDCCH based on the first number of frequency domain resources and / or the first number of time domain resources. Please refer to the relevant description in step S1006 above and will not be repeated here.

[0231] Based on the above situation three, the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponds to the index, so that the network device can flexibly select the frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources to be used according to the actual situation and indicate the corresponding index to the terminal device. Since the index does not need to be bound to the angle range or time range, for the same angle range or time range, the frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources used in different scenarios or situations may be different, which improves the flexibility of PDCCH configuration.

[0232] In the above embodiment, the first network device determines the corresponding relationship based on its own relevant parameters (such as coverage area, channel status between the first network device and the terminal device, etc.) as an example. In addition, the first network device may also determine the corresponding relationship based on the corresponding relationship between the above parameters configured by the second network device and the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources, or the channel quality between the second network device and the terminal device during the period when the second network device serves the terminal device.

[0233] In this scenario, the present application provides a communication method, which can be understood as a specific implementation of the communication method shown in Figure 10. As shown in Figure 16, the communication method includes the following steps:

[0234] S1601. The second network device sends third information to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the third information from the second network device.

[0235] The third information indicates at least one of the following: a correspondence between parameters configured by the second network device and the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources, or a channel quality between the second network device and the terminal device during the period when the second network device serves the terminal device.

[0236] Exemplarily, the second network device serves the terminal device before the first network device. The second network device can serve as the source network device for the terminal device, and the first network device can serve as the target network device for the terminal device. The relationship between the second network device and the first network device can be referred to the relevant description in step S1001 above and will not be repeated here.

[0237] S1602. The first network device determines a correspondence between a parameter and the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources according to the third information.

[0238] As a possible implementation, the first network device can adjust the correspondence between the parameters configured by the second network device and the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources as a new correspondence based on the channel quality between the second network device and the terminal device during the period when the second network device serves the terminal device.

[0239] As another possible implementation, the first network device may also adjust the correspondence between the parameters configured in the second network device and the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources as a new correspondence based on at least one of the channel quality between the second network device and the terminal device, the projection area of ​​the beam of the first network device, the coverage area of ​​the first network device, or the channel status between the terminal device and the first network device.

[0240] S1603 to S1608 are the same as the above steps S1001 to S1006. Please refer to the relevant descriptions in steps S1001 to S1006 and will not be repeated here.

[0241] Based on this solution, the corresponding relationship of the second network device configuration and the channel status between the second network device and the terminal device can be used as prior information, so that the first network device can reasonably configure PDCCH resources based on the prior information, thereby improving the effectiveness of PDCCH resource configuration.

[0242] The above describes the configuration of PDCCH resources. Furthermore, the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application can be modified appropriately to apply to the configuration of other resources. For example, they can be used to configure reference signal resources, such as configuring different reference signal quantities or reference signal densities for different angle ranges and / or time ranges. For angles, please refer to the relevant descriptions of the methods shown in Figures 10 and 11 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0243] Exemplarily, the number of reference signals or the reference signal density can be expressed in the form of N / M, where N / M means that N frequency domain resource units in every M frequency domain resource units (such as RBs) are used to carry reference signals, that is, as reference signal resources.

[0244] As a possible implementation, when the angle is small, the channel quality may be poor, so a higher density or a larger number of reference signals can be configured to improve communication performance. When the angle is large, the channel quality may be better, so a lower density or a smaller number of reference signals can be configured to save resource overhead. For example, the correspondence between angle range and reference signal density can be shown in Table 7.

[0245] Table 7

[0246] As another possible implementation, different reference signal densities can be configured according to channel conditions corresponding to different times. For example, the corresponding relationship between time ranges and reference signal densities can be shown in Table 8.

[0247] Table 8

[0248] This solution allows for flexible configuration of different reference signal densities based on the angle or time of communication, thereby increasing the flexibility of reference signal configuration and avoiding resource waste compared to always using a fixed, high reference signal density.

[0249] In one possible implementation, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be appropriately modified to be applicable to the communication system shown in FIG9 . For example, the ephemeris information of the first network device can be replaced with the flight trajectory of the terminal device, the orbital plane of the first network device can be replaced with the flight plane of the terminal device, and the projection area of ​​the beam of the first network device and the coverage range of the first network device can be understood as the projection area or coverage range in the air.

[0250] It is understood that in each of the above embodiments, the methods and / or steps implemented by the terminal device may also be implemented by components applicable to the terminal device (e.g., processor, chip, chip system, circuit, logic module, or software); the methods and / or steps implemented by the network device may also be implemented by components applicable to the network device (e.g., processor, chip, chip system, circuit, logic module, or software). The chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete components.

[0251] It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be easily appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0252] The embodiment of the present application can divide the functional modules of the communication device according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0253] Communication Device Figure 17 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 170. The communication device 170 includes a processing module 1701 and a transceiver module 1702. The communication device 170 can be used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned terminal device or network device.

[0254] In some embodiments, the communication device 170 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 17 ) for storing program instructions and data.

[0255] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1702, which may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement a transmitting and / or receiving function. The transceiver module 1702 may be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0256] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1702 may include a receiving module and a sending module, which are respectively used to execute the receiving and sending steps performed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments, and / or used to support other processes of the technology described herein; the processing module 1701 may be used to execute the processing steps (such as determination, etc.) performed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments, and / or used to support other processes of the technology described herein.

[0257] When the communication device 170 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device:

[0258] The transceiver module 1702 is used to receive first information from a first network device, where the first information indicates the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to at least one parameter, respectively. The frequency domain resources and time domain resources are the frequency domain resources and time domain resources occupied by the physical downlink control channel PDCCH, respectively. The processing module 1701 is used to obtain a first parameter value. When at least one parameter is a numerical value, the at least one parameter includes the first parameter value, or when at least one parameter is a numerical range, the first parameter value belongs to one of the at least one parameter. The processing module 1701 is also used to determine the first number of frequency domain resources and / or the first number of time domain resources based on the first parameter value. The processing module 1701 is also used to receive the PDCCH based on the first number of frequency domain resources and / or the first number of time domain resources.

[0259] Optionally, the processing module 1701 is configured to obtain the first parameter value, including: the processing module 1701 is configured to receive second information from the first network device through the transceiver module 1702, where the second information indicates the first parameter value.

[0260] Optionally, when the parameter is an angle or an angle range, the processing module 1701 is used to obtain the first parameter value, including: the processing module 1701 is used to determine the first parameter value according to the ephemeris information of the first network device.

[0261] When the communication device 170 is used to implement the functions of the network device:

[0262] The transceiver module 1702 is used to send a first information to the terminal device, where the first information indicates the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to at least one parameter, respectively. The frequency domain resources and time domain resources are the frequency domain resources and time domain resources occupied by the physical downlink control channel PDCCH, respectively. The processing module 1701 is used to obtain a first parameter value. When the at least one parameter is a numerical value, the at least one parameter includes the first parameter value, or when the at least one parameter is a numerical range, the first parameter value belongs to one of the at least one parameter. The processing module 1701 is also used to determine the first frequency domain resource quantity and / or the first time domain resource quantity based on the first parameter value. The processing module 1701 is also used to send PDCCH based on the first frequency domain resource quantity and / or the first time domain resource quantity.

[0263] Optionally, transceiver module 1702 is further configured to receive third information from a second network device, where the third information indicates at least one of the following: a correspondence between parameters configured on the second network device and the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources, or a channel quality between the second network device and the terminal device during a period when the second network device was serving the terminal device. The second network device is the network device that served the terminal device before the first network device.

[0264] Optionally, the transceiver module 1702 is further configured to send second information to the terminal device, where the second information indicates the first parameter value.

[0265] Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module and will not be repeated here.

[0266] In the present application, the communication device 170 may be presented in the form of various functional modules divided in an integrated manner. The "module" here may refer to a specific application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions.

[0267] In some embodiments, when the communication device 170 in Figure 17 is a chip or a chip system, the function / implementation process of the transceiver module 1702 can be implemented through the input and output interface (or communication interface) of the chip or chip system, and the function / implementation process of the processing module 1701 can be implemented through the processor (or processing circuit) of the chip or chip system.

[0268] Since the communication device 170 provided in this embodiment can execute the above method, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0269] As a possible product form, the terminal device or network device described in the embodiments of the present application can also be implemented using the following: one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuits, or any combination of circuits that can perform the various functions described throughout this application.

[0270] As another possible product form, the terminal device or network device described in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by a general bus architecture. For ease of explanation, refer to Figure 18, which is a structural diagram of a communication device 1800 provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1800 includes a processor 1801 and a transceiver 1802. The communication device 1800 can be a terminal device, or a chip or chip system therein; or, the communication device 1800 can be a network device, or a chip or module therein. Figure 18 only shows the main components of the communication device 1800. In addition to the processor 1801 and the transceiver 1802, the communication device may further include a memory 1803, and an input and output device (not shown in the figure).

[0271] Optionally, the processor 1801 is mainly used to process the communication protocol and communication data, as well as to control the entire communication device, execute the software program, and process the data of the software program, thereby implementing the method provided in the above method embodiment. The memory 1803 is mainly used to store software programs and data. The transceiver 1802 may include a radio frequency circuit and an antenna. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used to convert baseband signals into radio frequency signals and process radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as a touch screen, display screen, keyboard, etc., are mainly used to receive data input by the user and output data to the user.

[0272] Optionally, the processor 1801 , the transceiver 1802 , and the memory 1803 may be connected via a communication bus.

[0273] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 1801 can read the software program in the memory 1803, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent wirelessly, the processor 1801 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves via the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal via the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1801. The processor 1801 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0274] In another implementation, the RF circuit and antenna may be provided independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the RF circuit and antenna may be remotely arranged independent of the communication device.

[0275] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may conceive that the above-mentioned communication device 170 may take the form of a communication device 1800 shown in FIG. 18 .

[0276] As an example, the functions / implementation process of the processing module 1701 in FIG17 can be implemented by the processor 1801 in the communication device 1800 shown in FIG18 calling the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1803. The functions / implementation process of the transceiver module 1702 in FIG17 can be implemented by the transceiver 1802 in the communication device 1800 shown in FIG18.

[0277] As another possible product form, the terminal device or network device in this application may adopt the structure shown in Figure 19, or include the components shown in Figure 19. Figure 19 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 1900 provided in this application. The communication device 1900 may be a terminal device or a chip or system-on-chip in a terminal device; or it may be a network device or a module, chip, or system-on-chip in a network device.

[0278] As shown in FIG19 , the communication device 1900 includes at least one processor 1901 and at least one communication interface ( FIG19 is merely an example of one communication interface 1904 and one processor 1901). Optionally, the communication device 1900 may further include a communication bus 1902 and a memory 1903.

[0279] Processor 1901 can be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a programmable logic device (PLD), or any combination thereof. Processor 1901 can also be other devices with processing capabilities, such as circuits, devices, or software modules, without limitation.

[0280] Communication bus 1902 is used to connect the various components in communication device 1900, enabling communication between them. Communication bus 1902 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, for example. This bus can be categorized as an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and so on. For ease of illustration, FIG19 shows a single bold line, but this does not imply that there is only one bus or type of bus.

[0281] Communication interface 1904 is used to communicate with other devices or communication networks. Exemplarily, communication interface 1904 can be a module, circuit, transceiver, or any other device capable of communication. Optionally, communication interface 1904 can also be an input / output interface within processor 1901, used to implement signal input and output to the processor.

[0282] The memory 1903 may be a device with a storage function, used to store instructions and / or data, wherein the instructions may be computer programs.

[0283] Exemplarily, the memory 1903 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and / or instructions, or a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and / or instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, etc., without limitation.

[0284] It should be noted that the memory 1903 can exist independently of the processor 1901 or can be integrated with the processor 1901. The memory 1903 can be located within the communication device 1900 or outside the communication device 1900, without limitation. The processor 1901 can be used to execute instructions stored in the memory 1903 to implement the methods provided in the following embodiments of the present application.

[0285] As an optional implementation, the communication device 1900 may further include an output device 1905 and an input device 1906. The output device 1905 communicates with the processor 1901 and can display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 1905 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector. The input device 1906 communicates with the processor 1901 and can receive user input in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 1906 can be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, or a sensor device.

[0286] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may conceive that the communication device 170 shown in FIG. 17 may take the form of the communication device 1900 shown in FIG. 19 .

[0287] As an example, the functions / implementation process of the processing module 1701 in FIG17 can be implemented by the processor 1901 in the communication device 1900 shown in FIG19 calling the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1903. The functions / implementation process of the transceiver module 1702 in FIG17 can be implemented by the communication interface 1904 in the communication device 1900 shown in FIG19.

[0288] It should be noted that the structure shown in FIG19 does not constitute a specific limitation on the terminal device or network device. For example, in other embodiments of the present application, the terminal device or network device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine or split some components, or arrange the components differently. The components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0289] In some embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, which includes a processor for implementing the method in any of the above method embodiments.

[0290] As a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory. The memory is used to store necessary computer programs and data. The computer program may include instructions, and the processor may invoke the instructions in the computer program stored in the memory to instruct the communication device to execute any of the above-described method embodiments. Of course, the memory may not be located in the communication device.

[0291] As another possible implementation, the communication device also includes an interface circuit, which is a code / data read / write interface circuit, and the interface circuit is used to receive computer execution instructions (computer execution instructions are stored in a memory, may be read directly from the memory, or may pass through other devices) and transmit them to the processor.

[0292] As another possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface, where the communication interface is used to communicate with a module outside the communication device.

[0293] It can be understood that the communication device can be a chip or a chip system. When the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or include chips and other discrete devices. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0294] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instruction stored thereon, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0295] The present application also provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0296] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, for the sake of convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, devices, and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0297] It is understood that the systems, devices, and methods described in this application may also be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interface, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0298] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, i.e., they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Components shown as units may or may not be physical units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the objectives of this embodiment as needed.

[0299] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0300] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state drive (SSD)). In the embodiment of the present application, the computer may include the aforementioned device.

[0301] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art can understand and implement other changes to the disclosed embodiments by reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0302] Although the present application has been described with reference to specific features and embodiments thereof, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are merely illustrative of the present application as defined by the appended claims and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, the present application is intended to encompass such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receiving first information from a first network device, the first information indicating the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources respectively corresponding to at least one parameter, the frequency domain resources and the time domain resources are respectively frequency domain resources and time domain resources occupied by a physical downlink control channel PDCCH; acquiring a first parameter value; when the at least one parameter is a numerical value, the at least one parameter includes the first parameter value, or when the at least one parameter is a numerical range, the first parameter value belongs to one of the at least one parameter; Determine a first frequency domain resource quantity and / or a first time domain resource quantity according to the first parameter value; The PDCCH is received according to the first frequency domain resource quantity and / or the first time domain resource quantity.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The quantity of the frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources is related to the link budget between the terminal device and the first network device.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The link budget between the terminal device and the first network device is related to at least one of the following: the projection area of ​​the beam of the first network device, the coverage area of ​​the first network device, the channel state between the terminal device and the first network device, the correspondence between the parameters configured by the second network device and the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources, or the channel quality between the second network device and the terminal device during the period when the second network device serves the terminal device, the second network device is a network device that serves the terminal device before the first network device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The parameter includes at least one of the following: an angle, an angle range, a time, a time range, or a quantity index.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The angle includes at least one of the following: an elevation angle between a terminal device and the first network device, an elevation angle between a reference position and the first network device, or an angle between a position line and a reference line in a track plane of the first network device, wherein the position line is a line between the first network device and a center point of the track plane, and the reference line is a line between an angle reference point and a center point of the track plane.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The angle reference point is the intersection of the ascending orbit of the first network device and the orbital plane, or the intersection of the ascending orbit of the first network device and the ecliptic plane.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that: The time is the service time of the first network device; the time includes absolute time or a time offset relative to a reference time, and the representation of the absolute time or the time offset includes at least one of the following: international coordinated time, frame number, subframe number, time slot number, or orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM symbol number.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The obtaining of the first parameter value includes: receiving second information from the first network device, where the second information indicates the first parameter value.

9. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that: The parameter is an angle or a range of angles; and obtaining the first parameter value includes: The first parameter value is determined according to the ephemeris information of the first network device.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The frequency domain resource is a control channel element CCE or a resource block RB; and / or the time domain resource is an OFDM symbol.

11. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending first information to a terminal device, where the first information indicates the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources corresponding to at least one parameter, where the frequency domain resources and the time domain resources are frequency domain resources and time domain resources occupied by a physical downlink control channel PDCCH, respectively; Obtaining a first parameter value; when the at least one parameter is a numerical value, the at least one parameter includes the first parameter value, or when the at least one parameter is a numerical range, the first parameter value belongs to one of the at least one parameter; Determine a first frequency domain resource quantity and / or a first time domain resource quantity according to the first parameter value; The PDCCH is sent according to the first frequency domain resource quantity and / or the first time domain resource quantity.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The quantity of the frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources is related to the link budget between the terminal device and the first network device.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The link budget between the terminal device and the first network device is related to at least one of the following: the projection area of ​​the beam of the first network device, the coverage area of ​​the first network device, the channel state between the terminal device and the first network device, the correspondence between the parameters configured by the second network device and the number of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources, or the channel quality between the second network device and the terminal device during the period when the second network device serves the terminal device, the second network device is a network device that serves the terminal device before the first network device.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The method further includes: receiving third information from the second network device, the third information indicating at least one of the following: The correspondence between the parameters configured by the second network device and the quantity of frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources, or the channel quality between the second network device and the terminal device during the period when the second network device serves the terminal device.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that: The parameter includes at least one of the following: an angle, an angle range, a time, a time range, or a quantity index.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The angle includes at least one of the following: an elevation angle between the terminal device and the first network device, an elevation angle between a reference position and the first network device, or an angle between a position line and a reference line in a track plane of the first network device, wherein the position line is a line between the first network device and a center point of the track plane, and the reference line is a line between an angle reference point and a center point of the track plane.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The angle reference point is the intersection of the ascending orbit of the first network device and the orbital plane, or the intersection of the ascending orbit of the first network device and the ecliptic plane.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that: The time is the service time of the first network device; the time includes absolute time or a time offset relative to a reference time, and the representation of the absolute time or the time offset includes at least one of the following: international coordinated time, frame number, subframe number, time slot number, or orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM symbol number.

19. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that: The parameter is an angle or a range of angles; and obtaining the first parameter value includes: determining the first parameter value according to the ephemeris information of the first network device.

20. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 19, characterized in that: The method further includes: sending second information to the terminal device, where the second information indicates the first parameter value.

21. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 20, characterized in that: The frequency domain resource is a control channel element CCE or a resource block RB; and / or the time domain resource is an OFDM symbol.

22. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system includes a terminal device and a first network device; The terminal device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-10, and the first network device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 11-21.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or comprises a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 11 to 21.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises a processor; the processor is used to run a computer program or instruction so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1-10, or so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 11-21.

25. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions or programs. When the computer instructions or programs are executed on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 21 is executed.

26. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises computer instructions; when part or all of the computer instructions are run on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 21 is executed.

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