Signal transmission method and communication apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a signal transmission method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: a network device sending synchronization signals in a plurality of synchronization signal groups, wherein synchronization signals having the same identifier in the plurality of synchronization signal groups correspond to different random access channel occasions (ROs); and the network device receiving a random access signal on a first RO, wherein the first RO is an RO corresponding to a first synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group. Therefore, resource waste can be reduced, and the system performance can be improved.

Description

Signal transmission method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on November 27, 2023, with application number 202311600040.5 and application name “Signal Transmission Method and Communication Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a signal transmission method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] Compared with terrestrial mobile communication networks, non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) have the characteristics of wide coverage, wide frequency bandwidth and low cost.

[0004] Satellite coverage is far greater than that of ground base stations. Unlike ground base stations, satellite coverage can be significantly more unevenly distributed. For example, a single satellite's coverage area may encompass both heavily trafficked urban areas and less trafficked areas like oceans and forests. When satellites are used as access network devices, due to this uneven satellite communication load, using the same signal synchronization and random access mechanisms designed for terrestrial communication networks can lead to low terminal access efficiency and high latency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a signal transmission method and a communication device, which can reduce resource waste and improve system performance.

[0006] In a first aspect, a signal transmission method is provided, which can be executed by a network device or a module (such as a chip or chip system) configured in (or used for) the network device. The following description takes the network device executing the method as an example.

[0007] The method includes: a network device sending synchronization signals from a plurality of synchronization signal groups, wherein synchronization signals with the same identifier in the plurality of synchronization signal groups correspond to different random access channel opportunities (ROs). The network device receives the random access signal on a first RO, wherein the first RO is an RO corresponding to a first synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group, and the plurality of synchronization signal groups include the first synchronization signal group.

[0008] According to the above scheme, network equipment can send multiple synchronization signal groups, where synchronization signals with the same identifier in different synchronization signal groups can correspond to different ROs, which can achieve non-uniform scanning of synchronization signals in different coverage areas. By increasing the transmission frequency of synchronization signals in areas with heavy loads, the synchronization signal coverage in areas with heavy loads can be enhanced. Network equipment can distinguish different areas covered by the same synchronization signal based on ROs. This can reduce resource waste, reduce the latency of terminals in areas with heavy loads accessing the network, and improve system performance. On the other hand, this scheme increases the number of ROs corresponding to each area with heavy loads, which can reduce the probability of terminals in areas with heavy loads selecting the same RO, reduce the probability of collisions of random access signals, and improve system access capacity.

[0009] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the network device receives a random access signal on a second RO, the second RO is the RO corresponding to the second synchronization signal in the second synchronization signal group, the multiple synchronization signal groups include the second synchronization signal group, the identifier of the second synchronization signal is the same as the identifier of the first synchronization signal, and the first RO is different from the second RO.

[0010] According to the above scheme, synchronization signals with the same identifier in different synchronization signal groups correspond to different ROs, so that the network equipment can distinguish the coverage areas corresponding to the synchronization signals with the same identifier based on the RO, so as to use the corresponding beam to send subsequent signals to the terminal, and realize non-uniform scanning of different load areas of the synchronization signal, thereby improving system performance.

[0011] In the first embodiment, the method further includes: the network device sends first information, the first information is used to indicate a first identifier, the first identifier is the identifier of the first synchronization signal group, or the first identifier is the identifier of the first RO group, the first RO group is the RO group where the first RO group is located.

[0012] According to the above scheme, the terminal can obtain the first identifier from the network device, so that the terminal can determine the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal based on the first identifier, and send a random access signal on the RO corresponding to the received synchronization signal, so that the network device can determine the synchronization signal received by the terminal based on the RO of the received random access signal, thereby determining the corresponding downlink beam.

[0013] In the second embodiment, the method further includes: the network device sending second information, the second information being used to indicate a second identifier, the second identifier being the identifier of the time unit in which the first synchronization signal is located. The network device determining the first identifier based on the second identifier and a corresponding relationship, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first identifier in the corresponding relationship. The corresponding relationship is a correspondence between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the synchronization signal group, the first identifier being the identifier of the first synchronization signal group; or the corresponding relationship is a correspondence between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the RO group, the first identifier being the identifier of a first RO group, the first RO group being the RO group in which the first RO is located.

[0014] According to the above scheme, the terminal can determine the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal based on the identifier of the time unit where the first synchronization signal is located and the correspondence between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the synchronization signal group (or the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the RO group), and send a random access signal on the RO corresponding to the received synchronization signal, so that the network device can determine the synchronization signal received by the terminal based on the RO of the received random access signal, thereby determining the corresponding downlink beam.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the multiple synchronization signal groups, or the corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of RO groups included in the multiple RO groups.

[0016] The number of groups is predefined, or the number of groups is configured by the network device through signaling.

[0017] With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the time unit is the radio frame in which the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier is an identifier of the radio frame. Alternatively, the time unit is a first half-frame in the radio frame in which the first synchronization signal is located, the second identifier includes the identifier of the radio frame and a half-frame identifier, and the half-frame identifier is used to indicate whether the first half-frame is the first half-frame or the second half-frame of the radio frame.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the network device determines the RO corresponding to the synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group based on the number of synchronization signals contained in each synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each synchronization signal.

[0019] With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the number of association periods of the RO is related to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the multiple synchronization signal groups.

[0020] Based on the correspondence between synchronization signals and ROs provided in this application, this application also proposes that the number of RO association periods is related to the number of synchronization signal groups of the network device. This allows the terminal to select a candidate RO value from the candidate association period values ​​corresponding to the PRACH configuration period that can ensure that each SSB corresponds to a corresponding number of RO candidates.

[0021] In a second aspect, a signal transmission method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal or a module (such as a chip) configured in (or used for) a terminal. The following description will be made using a terminal as an example.

[0022] The method includes: a terminal receiving a first synchronization signal, the first synchronization signal being a synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group among multiple synchronization signal groups, synchronization signals with the same identifier in the multiple synchronization signal groups corresponding to different ROs. The terminal sending a random access signal on the first RO, the first RO being an RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group, the multiple synchronization signal groups including the first synchronization signal group.

[0023] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the terminal sends first information, the first information is used to indicate a first identifier, the first identifier is the identifier of the first synchronization signal group, or the first identifier is the identifier of the first RO group, and the first RO group is the RO group where the first RO is located.

[0024] In conjunction with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the terminal sending second information, the second information being used to indicate a second identifier, the second identifier being the identifier of the time unit in which the first synchronization signal is located. The terminal determining the first identifier based on the second identifier and a corresponding relationship, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first identifier in the corresponding relationship. The corresponding relationship is a correspondence between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the synchronization signal group, the first identifier being the identifier of the first synchronization signal group; or the corresponding relationship is a correspondence between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of an RO group, the first identifier being the identifier of a first RO group, the first RO group being the RO group in which the first RO is located.

[0025] In conjunction with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the corresponding relationship is determined based on the number of synchronization signal groups included in the multiple synchronization signal groups, or the corresponding relationship is determined based on the number of RO groups included in the multiple RO groups. The number of groups is predefined or configured by the network device through signaling.

[0026] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the time unit is the wireless frame in which the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier is the identifier of the wireless frame; or, the time unit is the first half frame in the wireless frame in which the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier includes the identifier of the wireless frame and the half-frame identifier, and the half-frame identifier is used to indicate that the first half frame is the first half frame or the second half frame of the wireless frame.

[0027] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the terminal determining the first RO according to the first identifier and an identifier of the first synchronization signal.

[0028] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the terminal determines the RO corresponding to the synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group based on the number of synchronization signals included in each synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each synchronization signal.

[0029] With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the number of association periods of the RO is related to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the multiple synchronization signal groups.

[0030] According to a third aspect, a communication device is provided. In one design, the device may include a module corresponding to the method / operation / step / action described in the first aspect or any embodiment of the first aspect. The module may be implemented as a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software. In one design, the device includes: a transceiver unit configured to transmit synchronization signals from multiple synchronization signal groups, wherein synchronization signals with the same identifier in the multiple synchronization signal groups correspond to different random access channel opportunities (ROs);

[0031] The transceiver unit is further configured to receive a random access signal on the first RO. The processing unit is configured to determine that the first RO is an RO corresponding to a first synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group, wherein the plurality of synchronization signal groups include the first synchronization signal group.

[0032] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to receive a random access signal on a second RO, where the second RO is the RO corresponding to the second synchronization signal in the second synchronization signal group, the multiple synchronization signal groups include the second synchronization signal group, the identifier of the second synchronization signal is the same as the identifier of the first synchronization signal, and the first RO is different from the second RO.

[0033] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to send first information, where the first information is used to indicate a first identifier, where the first identifier is the identifier of the first synchronization signal group, or the first identifier is the identifier of the first RO group, where the first RO group is the RO group to which the first RO group is located.

[0034] In conjunction with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to send second information, the second information being configured to indicate a second identifier, the second identifier being the identifier of the time unit in which the first synchronization signal is located. The processing unit is further configured to determine a first identifier based on the second identifier and a corresponding relationship, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first identifier in the corresponding relationship. The corresponding relationship is a relationship between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the synchronization signal group, the first identifier being the identifier of the first synchronization signal group; or the corresponding relationship is a relationship between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of an RO group, the first identifier being the identifier of a first RO group, the first RO group being the RO group in which the first RO is located.

[0035] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the processing unit is further used to determine the RO corresponding to the synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group based on the number of synchronization signals included in each synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each synchronization signal.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided. In one design, the device may include a module corresponding to the method, operation, step, or action described in the second aspect or any embodiment of the second aspect. The module may be implemented as a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software. In one design, the device includes:

[0037] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to send first information, where the first information is used to indicate a first identifier, where the first identifier is the identifier of the first synchronization signal group, or the first identifier is the identifier of the first RO group, where the first RO group is the RO group to which the first RO is located.

[0038] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to send second information, the second information being configured to indicate a second identifier, the second identifier being the identifier of the time unit in which the first synchronization signal is located. The processing unit is further configured to determine a first identifier based on the second identifier and a corresponding relationship, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first identifier in the corresponding relationship. The corresponding relationship is a correspondence between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the synchronization signal group, the first identifier being the identifier of the first synchronization signal group; or the corresponding relationship is a correspondence between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of an RO group, the first identifier being the identifier of a first RO group, the first RO group being the RO group in which the first RO is located.

[0039] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the processing unit is further configured to determine the first RO according to the first identifier and an identifier of the first synchronization signal.

[0040] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the processing unit is further used to determine the RO corresponding to the synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group based on the number of synchronization signals included in each synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each synchronization signal.

[0041] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor. The processor can implement the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect to the second aspect and the first aspect to the second aspect. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory, and the processor is coupled to the memory, and can be used to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect to the second aspect and the first aspect to the second aspect. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication interface can be a transceiver, a pin, a circuit, a bus, a module, or other types of communication interfaces, without limitation.

[0042] In one implementation, the communication apparatus is a communication device (such as a terminal or an access network device). When the communication apparatus is a communication device, the communication interface may be a transceiver or an input / output interface.

[0043] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a communication device. When the communication device is a chip configured in a communication device, the communication interface may be an input / output interface.

[0044] Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0045] In a sixth aspect, a processor is provided, comprising: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that the processor executes the method described in any possible implementation of the first and second aspects above.

[0046] In a specific implementation, the processor may be one or more chips, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, or various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, received and input by a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, output to and transmitted by a transmitter. The input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit, which functions as an input circuit and an output circuit at different times. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

[0047] In the seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes: a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions), which, when executed, enables a computer to execute the method in the above-mentioned first aspect to the second aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0048] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions). When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a computer, the computer executes the method in the above-mentioned first aspect to the second aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0049] In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising the aforementioned at least one network device and the aforementioned at least one terminal.

[0050] It should be understood that the beneficial effects of the features corresponding to the first aspect in the second to ninth aspects can be referred to the relevant description of the first aspect above and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] Figures 1 to 3 are schematic diagrams of different communication systems applicable to the present application;

[0052] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of beam coverage provided by the present application;

[0053] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the corresponding relationship between the synchronization signal and the RO provided in this application;

[0054] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of non-uniform scanning of a synchronization signal provided by the present application;

[0055] FIG7 is a schematic flow chart of a signal transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG8 is another schematic diagram of the corresponding relationship between the synchronization signal and the RO provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the corresponding relationship between the synchronization signal, RO and wave position provided by the present application;

[0058] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG11 is another schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0061] In the embodiments of this application, " / " can indicate that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" can be used to describe the existence of three relationships between the associated objects. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: A exists alone, A and B exists simultaneously, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural. To facilitate the description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the words "first" and "second" can be used to distinguish them in the embodiments of this application. The words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or order of execution, and the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different. In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. The use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete way to facilitate understanding. In the embodiments of the present application, at least one (kind) can also be described as one (kind) or multiple (kinds), and multiple (kinds) can be two (kinds), three (kinds), four (kinds) or more (kinds), and this application does not limit it.

[0062] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as long-term evolution (LTE) systems, fifth-generation (5G) communication systems, and wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems. The communication methods provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems or other communication systems. This application is not limited to this.

[0063] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 100 applicable to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG1 , the communication system 100 may include at least one access network device (such as 110a, 110b, and 110c in FIG1 ) and may also include at least one terminal (such as 120a-120j in FIG1 ). Access network devices may be connected to each other via wired or wireless means. FIG1 is merely a schematic diagram, and the communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices.

[0064] In the NTN network, satellites can realize transparent payload transmission or regenerative payload transmission.

[0065] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an NTN network architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG2 , user equipment (UE) communicates with a ground base station via a user-universal terrestrial radio access network (Uu) interface. Satellites enable transparent payload transmission between users and ground base stations. Satellites and NTN gateways can be considered remote radio units of ground base stations, enabling transparent signal forwarding. Specifically, satellites only support functions such as RF filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification, and the signal waveform remains unchanged. Satellite forwarding is transparent to the terminal. Furthermore, the ground base station and the core network (CN) can communicate via a next-generation network (NG) interface, exchanging core network non-access stratum (NAS) signaling and UE service data via the NG interface.

[0066] FIG3 is another schematic diagram of the NTN network architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG3 , a satellite has some or all of the functions of an access network device and can be referred to as a satellite base station. It can provide wireless access services and schedule wireless resources for terminals accessing the network through the satellite base station. The satellite base station communicates with the UE via the Uu interface. The satellite base station and the CN can communicate via the NG interface, and the satellite base station and the core network can exchange NAS signaling and UE service data via the NG interface. The satellite radio interface (SRI) is the feeder link between the NTN gateway and the satellite. In FIG3 , the SRI interface can be used as part of the NG interface to implement communication between the satellite and the core network.

[0067] The network device provided in the embodiments of the present application may be an access network device, such as a base station, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation Node B (gNB) in a fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, an access network device in an open radio access network (O-RAN or open RAN), a next generation base station in a sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. Alternatively, the network device may be a module or unit that performs part of the functions of a base station, for example, a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) module, or a centralized unit user plane (CU-UP) module. The network device may be a satellite (such as 110a in FIG1 or a satellite base station in FIG2 ) or a macro base station (such as 110b in FIG1 ). The access network device may also be a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110c in FIG1 ), or a relay node or a donor node. This application does not limit the specific technology and device form used by the access network device.

[0068] In the embodiment of the present application, some or all functions of the network device may be on a non-terrestrial network (NTN) platform (NTN platforms include but are not limited to satellites, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), high altitude platform stations (HAPS), etc.), or some or all functions of the network device may be on the ground, and the NTN platform is responsible for forwarding signals between the UE and the access network device.

[0069] The terminal provided in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as a terminal device, including but not limited to user equipment (UE), a mobile station, or a mobile terminal. The terminal can be widely used in various communication scenarios. The scenarios include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), massive machine-type communications (mMTC), device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, or smart city. The terminal may be a mobile phone (such as mobile phones 120a, 120d, and 120f in FIG1 ), a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver capabilities (such as computer 120g in FIG1 ), a wearable device, a vehicle (such as 120b in FIG1 ), a drone, a helicopter, an airplane (such as 120c in FIG1 ), a ship, a robot, a robotic arm, or a smart home device (such as printer 120e in FIG1 ). This application does not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the terminal.

[0070] The access network equipment and / or terminal can be fixed or movable. The access network equipment and / or terminal can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; or can be deployed on the water surface; or can be deployed on aircraft, balloons and artificial satellites in the air. This application does not limit the environment / scenario in which the access network equipment and terminals are located. The access network equipment and the terminal can be deployed in the same or different environments / scenarios, for example, the access network equipment and the terminal are deployed on land at the same time; or, the access network equipment is deployed on land and the terminal is deployed on water surface, etc., and no further examples are given.

[0071] In a mobile communication system, a terminal and a network device can establish a communication connection through a random access process. The network device broadcasts the configuration information of the physical random access channel (PRACH) of a cell through a system message of the cell. The configuration information includes a PRACH configuration index value, such as a prachConfigurationIndex parameter. Based on the index value and a predefined random access configuration table, the terminal can determine the time domain position of the PRACH resource of the cell. Specifically, by retrieving the random access configuration table through the index value, the subframe number (subframe number), starting symbol (starting symbol) sequence number, the number of PRACH time slots contained in a subframe, the number of PRACH occasions (RO) contained in a PRACH time slot and the PRACH duration of the PRACH resource corresponding to the index value in the configuration table can be obtained, so that the terminal can determine the time domain position of the RO in the PRACH resource of the cell. The random access channel configuration information also includes the frequency domain starting position information of the PRACH resource (such as the msg1-FrequencyStart parameter) and the number of ROs used in the frequency domain (such as the msg1-FDM parameter), so that the terminal can determine the frequency domain position of the RO in the PRACH resource, thereby obtaining the time-frequency position and number of ROs in the PRACH resource of the cell. RO is a resource used to carry random access signals (also called random access preambles).

[0072] In the current NR system, in a cell, the network device can use multiple beams to send synchronization signal blocks (synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block, SSB) with different identifiers to cover different areas. As shown in Figure 4, the network device can use 8 beams in different directions to send 8 SSBs identified from 0 to 7 respectively to cover different areas of the cell. This allows terminals located in different areas to achieve downlink synchronization with the network device by detecting the synchronization signal covering the corresponding area, thereby accessing the network through a random access process. If the terminal receives SSB n sent from the network device in its area, it can determine the RO corresponding to the SSB n based on the identifier of the SSB n and the correspondence between the SSB and the RO configured by the PRACH configuration information, and send a random access preamble on the RO. Accordingly, if the network device receives the random access preamble from the terminal on the RO corresponding to SSB n, it can determine that the terminal is within the coverage of the beam from which the network device sends SSB n, and the network device can use the beam to send a random access response message to the terminal.

[0073] Currently, PRACH configuration information notifies the terminal of the correspondence between SSBs and ROs by indicating the number of SSBs corresponding to one RO. The range of possible values ​​for the number of SSBs corresponding to one RO is {1 / 8, 1 / 4, 1 / 2, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16}, where 1 / 8 indicates that one SSB corresponds to eight ROs, 1 / 4 indicates that one SSB corresponds to four ROs, and so on, up to 16 indicating that 16 SSBs correspond to one RO. The terminal determines the number of SSBs corresponding to one RO based on a value within the range indicated by the PRACH configuration information, thereby determining the RO corresponding to each SSB.

[0074] For example, if the PRACH configuration information indicates that the PRACH resource lasts for 10 time slots and the number of ROs multiplexed in the frequency domain is 2, the terminal can determine that the PRACH resource includes 20 ROs and can determine the time-frequency position of each RO. In addition, if the PRACH configuration information indicates that the number of SSBs corresponding to one RO is 1 / 2, then each SSB corresponds to 2 ROs. If the number of SSBs of the network device is 8, the correspondence between ROs and SSBs is shown in Table 1. In order of increasing identifiers, each SSB corresponds to 2 ROs, such as SSB0 corresponds to RO 0 and RO 1, SSB1 corresponds to RO 2 and RO 3, and so on. SSB7 corresponds to RO 14 and RO 15, of which RO 16 to RO 19 are unused.

[0075] Table 1

[0076] After the terminal finds the correspondence between the RO and the SSB, it can determine the two ROs corresponding to the SSB according to the detected SSB identifier. The terminal can select one of the two ROs to send a random access preamble to initiate a random access process.

[0077] Currently, network equipment in a cell periodically and cyclically transmits an SSB group (also known as an SSB burst set) of the cell. Different SSBs in the SSB group cover different areas, so that terminals within the coverage area of ​​the cell can receive at least one SSB within an SSB group transmission period to access the network. The transmission period of the SSB group can be 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, 80ms, or 160ms. In the example shown in Figure 5, an SSB group includes 8 SSBs, namely SSB0 to SSB7, and the transmission period of the SSB group is 20ms. The network device can scan different coverage areas of a cell using the 8 SSBs in the SSB group transmitted by 8 beams. The 8 SSBs can cover 8 wave bits, such as wave bit 0 to wave bit 7 as shown in Figure 5. One wave bit refers to the coverage area of ​​one beam. The network device can retransmit the SSB group in the next transmission period at an interval of 20ms. The network device can determine the transmission period of the SSB group based on the resource overhead and load of the broadcast signal.

[0078] Because the coverage of satellites in the NTN is much larger than the signal coverage of ground access network equipment, the communication load within the satellite coverage area is severely uneven. If the current method of periodically and evenly scanning the coverage area with SSB groups is still used, resources will be wasted in areas with low load (such as oceans and forests), and the access latency of terminals in areas with high load will be increased. Therefore, it is proposed to use a non-uniform scanning method to reduce the scanning frequency of SSBs in areas with low load and increase the scanning frequency of SSBs in areas with high load. This can improve the overall performance of the system and reduce the latency of terminal access to the network.

[0079] In one implementation, the current periodic transmission of SSB groups can be reused to achieve non-uniform scanning. For example, the SSBs in one cycle can cover the entire cell, while the SSBs in the next cycle can only cover the heavily loaded areas. In other words, the SSBs in the heavily loaded areas are enhanced for scanning in one cycle to increase the probability of terminals in the heavily loaded areas accessing the network. As shown in Figure 6, the network device covers wave positions 0 to 7 in sequence through SSB0 to SSB7 in cycle n. For wave positions 0 to 2 with heavy loads, the network device enhances coverage in cycle n+1, using SSB0 to SSB7 in cycle n+1 to cyclically cover wave positions 0 to 2. However, if the current SSB and RO mapping method is still used, that is, the RO corresponding to the SSB with the same identifier in different cycles remains unchanged, the network device will be unable to correctly determine the wave position where the terminal is located. As shown in Figure 6, the wave positions covered by SSB3 in cycle n and cycle n+1 are wave position 3 and wave position 0 respectively. If the RO corresponding to SSB3 in different cycles is the same, in the correspondence between SSB and RO shown in Figure 5, the RO corresponding to SSB3 in different cycles are RO6 and RO7, then the network device receives a random access signal on the RO corresponding to SSB3. The network device cannot determine whether the random access signal is sent by the terminal in wave position 3 or wave position 0, and therefore cannot determine whether to use the beam that sends SSB3 in cycle n or cycle n+1 (that is, it cannot be determined whether to use the beam covering wave position 3 or the beam covering wave position 0) to send subsequent downlink signals to the terminal.

[0080] To address this issue, the embodiments of the present application propose that network devices can send multiple synchronization signal groups. Synchronization signals with the same identifier in different synchronization signal groups can correspond to different ROs, enabling non-uniform scanning of synchronization signals. By increasing the transmission frequency of synchronization signals in heavily loaded areas, synchronization signal coverage in heavily loaded areas is enhanced, and the SSB coverage interval in heavily loaded areas is shortened to that in lightly loaded areas. Network devices can distinguish different areas covered by synchronization signals with the same identifier based on the RO. This can reduce resource waste, reduce the latency of terminals in heavily loaded areas accessing the network, and improve system performance.

[0081] FIG7 is a schematic flow chart of a signal transmission method 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method 700 may include but is not limited to the following S701 to S703.

[0082] S701: A network device sends synchronization signals in a plurality of synchronization signal groups. Synchronization signals with the same identifier in the plurality of synchronization signal groups correspond to different ROs.

[0083] Different synchronization signal groups in the multiple synchronization signal groups include synchronization signals with the same identifier. The number of synchronization signals included in different synchronization signal groups can be the same. The corresponding relationship between the synchronization signals and ROs in different synchronization signal groups in the multiple synchronization signal groups is different, that is, the synchronization signals with the same identifier in the multiple synchronization signal groups correspond to different ROs.

[0084] Exemplarily, the synchronization signal may be an SSB, and the synchronization signal group may be an SSB group (or referred to as an SSB burst group). As shown in FIG8 , taking one SSB corresponding to one RO as an example, the multiple synchronization signal groups sent by the network device may include an SSB group in cycle n and an SSB group in cycle n+1. Both SSB groups include SSB0 to SSB7, but the correspondence between the SSBs and ROs in the two SSB groups is different. SSB0 to SSB7 in the SSB group in cycle n correspond to RO0 to RO7 respectively, and SSB0 to SSB7 in the SSB group in cycle n+1 correspond to RO8 to RO15 respectively. That is, compared to the current situation in which the SSBs with the same identifier in each cycle correspond to the same RO, the corresponding method proposed in this application in which the SSBs with the same identifier in different cycles correspond to different ROs, the network device can distinguish the SSBs with the same identifier and in different SSB groups according to the RO carrying the random access signal, thereby determining the corresponding beam (i.e., the beam that sends the SSB corresponding to the RO) so as to use the beam to send subsequent downlink signals. This allows the network device to use SSBs with the same identifier in different SSB groups to cover different coverage areas, thereby achieving non-uniform scanning of synchronization signals in cells with uneven loads. For example, if the network device can use the non-uniform scanning method described in Figure 6 above, the correspondence between SSB, RO, and wave position can be shown in Figure 9. If the network device receives a random access signal on RO3, the network device can determine that the RO3 corresponds to SSB3 in period n, and the transmission beam of the SSB3 is a beam covering wave position 3. The network device can use this beam to send subsequent downlink signals to the terminal. If the network device receives a random access signal on RO11, the network device can determine that the RO11 corresponds to SSB3 in period n+1, and the transmission beam of the SSB3 is a beam covering wave position 3. The network device can use this beam to send subsequent downlink signals.

[0085] According to the correspondence between synchronization signals and ROs as shown in Figure 9, network equipment can increase the scanning frequency for heavily loaded wavebands 0, 1, and 2, thereby enhancing coverage. In the example shown in Figure 9, each waveband with light load corresponds to one RO, while each waveband with heavy load corresponds to multiple ROs. For example, the ROs corresponding to waveband 0 are RO0, RO8, RO11, and RO14; the ROs corresponding to waveband 1 are RO1, RO9, RO12, and RO15; and the ROs corresponding to waveband 2 are RO2, RO10, and RO13. This approach not only enables network equipment to implement non-uniform scanning, distinguishing the corresponding SSB transmit beams based on ROs, but also increases the number of ROs corresponding to each heavily loaded waveband. This reduces the probability of terminals in heavily loaded areas selecting the same RO, reduces the probability of random access signal collisions, and improves system access capacity.

[0086] S702: The terminal receives a first synchronization signal, where the first synchronization signal is a synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group among multiple synchronization signal groups.

[0087] Regarding the correspondence between the synchronization signal and the RO, synchronization signals with the same identifier in different synchronization signal groups correspond to different ROs. After receiving a synchronization signal (such as a first synchronization signal), the terminal determines the specific implementation of the RO corresponding to the synchronization signal, which may include but is not limited to the following implementations 1 and 2.

[0088] In the first embodiment, a network device transmits first information indicating a first identifier, where the first identifier is an identifier of a first synchronization signal group or an identifier of a first RO group, and a first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal belongs to the first RO group. Accordingly, a terminal receives the first information from the network device and, based on the first identifier, determines the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal.

[0089] Exemplarily, the first information may be carried in system information, such as a master information block (MIB), a system information block (SIB) 1, or SIB9.

[0090] In one example, the first identifier is an identifier of a synchronization signal group.

[0091] After the terminal receives the first synchronization signal, it can achieve downlink synchronization according to the first synchronization signal, so that it can receive the first information and PRACH configuration information from the network device. The terminal can determine the identifier of the synchronization signal group to which the first synchronization signal is located based on the first information, that is, the first identifier. The terminal can determine the time-frequency position of the RO in the PRACH resource of the cell and the number of ROs corresponding to each SSB based on the PRACH configuration information. For example, it can be defaulted to start from the synchronization signal with the smallest identifier in the synchronization signal group with the smallest identifier and correspond to the RO in sequence according to the number of ROs corresponding to each SSB. Then the terminal can determine the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal based on the first identifier and the identifier of the first synchronization signal.

[0092] For example, the minimum identifier of the synchronization signal group and the synchronization signal are both 0. For example, each synchronization signal group includes 8 synchronization signals, each synchronization signal corresponds to 1 RO, the first information indicates that the identifier of the first synchronization signal group (i.e., the first identifier) ​​in which the first synchronization signal is located is 1, and the identifier of the first synchronization signal is 3. The terminal can then determine that the identifier of the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal is 11. Specifically, the 8 synchronization signals in the synchronization signal group identified as 0 correspond one-to-one to the ROs identified as 0 to 7, and the synchronization signals identified as 0 to 2 in the synchronization signal group identified as 1 (i.e., the first synchronization signal group) correspond to the ROs identified as 8 to 10. The identifier of the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal identified as 3 is 11, that is, the first RO is RO11. As shown in Figure 9, the synchronization signal group in cycle n is the synchronization signal group identified as 0, the synchronization signal group in cycle n+1 is the synchronization signal group identified as 1, and the first synchronization signal received by the terminal is SSB3. The terminal can then determine that the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal is RO11.

[0093] For another example, the identifier of the first synchronization signal group (i.e., the first identifier) ​​is 1, and the identifier of the first synchronization signal is 3. If each synchronization signal group includes 4 synchronization signals and each synchronization signal corresponds to 2 ROs, the first information indicates that the identifier of the first synchronization signal group where the first synchronization signal is located (i.e., the first identifier) ​​is 1, and the identifier of the first synchronization signal is 3, then the terminal can determine that the 4 synchronization signals in the synchronization signal group identified as 0 correspond to ROs identified from 0 to 7, and the synchronization signals identified from 0 to 2 in the first synchronization signal group identified as 1 correspond to ROs identified from 8 to 13, then the identifiers of the 2 ROs corresponding to the first synchronization signal identified as 3 are 14 and 15.

[0094] In another example, the first identifier is an identifier of a first RO group. The first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal belongs to the first RO group.

[0095] The terminal can determine the ROs contained in each RO group based on the number of synchronization signals contained in the synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each synchronization signal. For example, the terminal determines the time-frequency position of the RO in the PRACH resource of the cell and the number of ROs corresponding to each SSB based on the PRACH configuration information. The terminal can determine the number of ROs contained in each RO group based on the number of synchronization signals contained in each synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each SSB. After obtaining the first identifier based on the first information, the terminal can determine the RO group corresponding to the first synchronization signal, and then determine the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal based on the identifier of the first synchronization signal.

[0096] For example, each synchronization signal group includes 8 synchronization signals, and each synchronization signal corresponds to 1 RO. The terminal can determine that each RO group includes 8 ROs. If the first information indicates that the first identifier is 1, the terminal can determine that the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal is in the second RO group. The 8 ROs included in the first RO group are RO0 to RO7, and the 8 ROs included in the second RO group are RO8 to RO15. If the identifier of the first synchronization signal is 3, the terminal can determine that the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal is RO11. As shown in Figure 9, based on the fact that each synchronization signal group includes 8 synchronization signals and each synchronization signal corresponds to 1 RO, the terminal can determine that RO0 to RO7 are the first RO group, the identifier of this RO group is 0, and RO8 to RO15 are the second RO group, the identifier of this RO group is 1.

[0097] In this example, it can be considered that the synchronization signal groups correspond to the RO groups one by one, and an RO group includes the ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals in the corresponding synchronization signal group. As shown in the example of Figure 9, the synchronization signal group in cycle n corresponds to the RO group identified as 0, and the synchronization signal group in cycle n+1 corresponds to the RO group identified as 1.

[0098] For another example, each synchronization signal group includes 8 synchronization signals, and each synchronization signal corresponds to 2 ROs. The terminal can determine that each RO group includes 8 ROs. The first information indicates that the first identifier is 1, then the terminal can determine that the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal is located in the second RO group. The first RO group includes 16 ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals in the synchronization signal group identified as 0, that is, ROs are RO0 to RO15, and the second RO group includes 16 ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals in the synchronization signal group identified as 1, that is, RO16 to RO31. If the identifier of the first synchronization signal is 3, the terminal can determine that the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal is RO22 or RO23.

[0099] In a second embodiment, the network device sends second information indicating a second identifier, which is the identifier of the time unit in which the first synchronization signal occurs. Accordingly, the terminal receives the second information and determines the first identifier based on the second identifier and a corresponding relationship, where the second identifier corresponds to the first identifier. The terminal can determine the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal based on the first identifier.

[0100] Exemplarily, the time unit may be a radio frame, and the second identifier is an identifier of the radio frame in which the first synchronization signal is located. Alternatively, the time unit may be a half-frame of a radio frame, and the second identifier includes an identifier of the radio frame in which the first synchronization signal is located and a half-frame identifier, where the half-frame identifier is used to indicate whether the first synchronization signal is located in the first half-frame or the second half-frame of the radio frame.

[0101] The second information may be system information, such as the second information may be MIB or SIB, but the present application is not limited thereto, and the second information may also be other broadcast messages.

[0102] In one example, the corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the synchronization signal group, and the first identifier is the identifier of the first synchronization signal group.

[0103] Optionally, the corresponding relationship may be determined based on the number of synchronization signal groups of the network device. The number of groups may be predefined, or the number of groups may be configured by the network device through signaling.

[0104] For example, the time unit is a radio frame, and each radio frame carries a synchronization signal group as an example. That is, in this example, the transmission period of the synchronization signal group is the duration of a radio frame. If the number of synchronization signal groups of the network device is M, it can be predefined that the group identifier of the synchronization signal group corresponds to the identifier of the radio frame from small to large in the corresponding relationship. The corresponding relationship can be as shown in Table 2. The terminal receives the second information, and the identifier of the radio frame where the first synchronization signal is located is indicated as the second identifier according to the second information. If the second identifier is 2M-1, the terminal can determine the identifier of the first synchronization signal group (i.e., the first identifier) ​​as M-1 according to the corresponding relationship. The terminal can determine the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal based on the first identifier being M-1 and the identifier of the first synchronization signal. The specific implementation method of determining the first RO based on the first identifier and the identifier of the first synchronization signal can refer to the introduction in the above implementation method one, and will not be repeated here.

[0105] Table 2

[0106] Specifically, the number of synchronization signal groups of the network device can be predefined, and the terminal determines the corresponding relationship based on the number of groups, or the corresponding relationship shown in Table 2 can be predefined. Alternatively, the network device can indicate the number M of synchronization signal groups, such as the number M can be indicated by the second information or indicated by other broadcast messages. For example, the network device can determine the number M of synchronization signal groups according to the requirements of non-uniform scanning, such as M can be 2, and the identifiers of the two synchronization signal groups are 0 and 1 respectively. In the example shown in Figure 9, the identifier of the synchronization signal group in cycle n is 0, and the identifier of the synchronization signal group in cycle n+1 is 1. In the next cycle (i.e., cycle n+2), the network device can send the synchronization signal group identified as 0 again, and so on.

[0107] For another example, the time unit is a half-frame, and each half-frame carries a synchronization signal group. In this example, the transmission period of the synchronization signal group is the half-frame duration of the radio frame. For example, if the number of synchronization signal groups of the network device is M=4, the group identifiers of the synchronization signal groups can be predefined to correspond to the half-frame identifiers in the radio frame in sequence. The corresponding relationship can be as shown in Table 3, where a half-frame identifier of 0 represents the first half-frame, and a half-frame identifier of 1 represents the second half-frame. The terminal receives the second information, and based on the second information indicating that the identifier of the radio frame in which the first synchronization signal is located is 3 and the identifier of the half-frame in which the first synchronization signal is located is 1, the terminal can determine the identifier of the first synchronization signal group (i.e., the first identifier) ​​as M-1 based on the corresponding relationship shown in Table 3. The terminal can determine the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal based on the first identifier M-1 and the identifier of the first synchronization signal. The specific implementation method of determining the first RO based on the first identifier and the identifier of the first synchronization signal can be referred to the description of the first embodiment above and will not be repeated here.

[0108] Table 3

[0109] In another example, the corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the RO group, and the first identifier is the identifier of the first RO group.

[0110] For example, the time unit is a wireless frame, and the group identifier shown in Table 2 can be the identifier of the RO group. The terminal determines the identifier of the RO group where the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal is located based on the identifier of the wireless frame where the acquired first synchronization signal is located and the corresponding relationship. The terminal can determine the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal in the RO group based on the identifier of the first synchronization signal.

[0111] For another example, the time unit is half a frame, and the group identifier shown in Table 3 may be the identifier of the RO group. The terminal may obtain the second identifier and, based on the second identifier and the corresponding relationship, determine the identifier of the RO group in which the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal is located, and then determine the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal in the RO group based on the identifier of the first synchronization signal.

[0112] S703: The terminal sends a random access signal on a first RO, where the first RO is an RO corresponding to a first synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group.

[0113] Correspondingly, the network device receives a random access signal on the first RO. Based on the first RO, the network device can determine that the synchronization signal received by the terminal is the first synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group, thereby determining the beam for sending the first synchronization signal so as to send subsequent downlink signals to the terminal through the beam.

[0114] The network device may also receive a random access signal from another terminal on a second RO. This second RO is the RO corresponding to the second synchronization signal in the second synchronization signal group. The identifier of the second synchronization signal is the same as the identifier of the first synchronization signal, and the first RO is different from the second RO. For example, in the example shown in Figure 9, the network device receives a random access signal from terminal 1 on RO3. Based on the correspondence between ROs and SSBs, the network device can determine that the terminal received SSB3 in the SSB group identified as 0. The network device determines the beam to send SSB3 and uses this beam to send subsequent downlink signals to terminal 1. The network device also receives a random access signal from terminal 2 on RO11. Based on the correspondence between ROs and SSBs, the network device can determine that the terminal received SSB3 in the SSB group identified as 1. The network device determines the beam to send SSB3 and uses this beam to send subsequent downlink signals to terminal 1.

[0115] According to the above scheme, the network equipment can realize non-uniform scanning of the synchronization signal within the coverage area of ​​a cell, realize enhanced coverage of the synchronization signal in the area with heavy load, and increase the number of ROs corresponding to each wave position with heavy load, which can reduce the probability of collision of random access signals caused by terminals in the area with heavy load selecting the same RO, and improve the access capacity of the system.

[0116] In view of the above solution provided by the present application, the present application further proposes that the number of association periods of the RO is related to the number of synchronization signal groups of the network device.

[0117] Currently, the terminal can determine the PRACH configuration period based on the PRACH configuration information. In order to ensure that each SSB can correspond to a corresponding number of ROs, a table as shown in Table 4 is predefined. The terminal can select the minimum value that can ensure that each SSB corresponds to a corresponding number of ROs among the candidate values ​​of the associated period corresponding to the PRACH configuration period.

[0118] Table 4

[0119] For the solution provided in the embodiment of FIG. 7 , the network device will send multiple synchronization signal groups. The correspondence between synchronization signals and ROs in different synchronization signal groups is different. Therefore, the candidate values ​​of the association period need to increase exponentially with the number of synchronization signal groups. For the solution provided in the embodiment of FIG. 7 , the correspondence between the PRACH configuration period and the candidate values ​​of the association period can be shown in Table 5.

[0120] Table 5

[0121] It is understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the base station and the terminal include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that, in conjunction with the units and method steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or in a computer software-driven hardware manner depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0122] Figures 10 and 11 are schematic diagrams of the structures of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal or network device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be one of the terminals 120a-120j as shown in Figure 1, or it can be the network device 110a or 110b as shown in Figure 1, or it can be a module (such as a chip or chip system) applied to a terminal or network device.

[0123] The communication device 1000 includes a transceiver unit 1020, which can be used to receive or send information. The communication device 1000 can also include a processing unit 1010, which can be used to process instructions or data to implement corresponding operations.

[0124] It should be understood that when the communication device 1000 is a chip configured in (or used in) a communication device, the transceiver unit 1020 in the communication device 1000 can be the input / output interface or circuit of the chip, and the processing unit 1010 in the communication device 1000 can be the processor in the chip.

[0125] Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include a storage unit, which may be used to store instructions or data, and the processing unit 1010 may execute the instructions or data stored in the storage unit to enable the communication device to implement corresponding operations.

[0126] The communication device 1000 can be used to implement the functions of the first communication device or the second communication device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 7 .

[0127] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 7: the transceiver unit 1020 is used to send synchronization signals in multiple synchronization signal groups, and the random access channel opportunities RO corresponding to the synchronization signals with the same identification in the multiple synchronization signal groups are different; the transceiver unit 1020 is also used to receive the random access signal on the first RO; the processing unit 1010 is used to determine that the first RO is the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group, and the multiple synchronization signal groups include the first synchronization signal group.

[0128] When communication device 1000 is used to implement the functions of the second communication device in the method embodiment shown in FIG7 : transceiver unit 1020 is configured to receive a first synchronization signal, where the first synchronization signal is a synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group among multiple synchronization signal groups, where synchronization signals with the same identifier in the multiple synchronization signal groups correspond to different ROs. Processing unit 1010 is configured to determine a first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal. Transceiver unit 1020 is further configured to send a random access signal on the first RO.

[0129] For a more detailed description of the processing unit 1010 and the transceiver unit 1020 , reference may be made to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 7 .

[0130] It should be understood that the transceiver unit 1020 in the communication device 1000 can be implemented through a communication interface (such as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, an input / output interface, or a pin, etc.). When the communication interface is a transceiver, the transceiver can be composed of a receiver and / or a transmitter. The processing unit 1010 in the communication device 1000 can be implemented by at least one processor. The processing unit 1010 in the communication device 1000 can also be implemented by at least one logic circuit. Optionally, the communication device 1000 also includes a storage unit, which can be implemented by a memory.

[0131] As shown in Figure 11, communication device 1100 includes a processor 1110 and an interface circuit 1120. Processor 1110 and interface circuit 1120 are coupled to each other. It will be appreciated that interface circuit 1120 may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, communication device 1100 may further include a memory 1130 for storing instructions executed by processor 1110, input data required by processor 1110 to execute instructions, or data generated by processor 1110 after executing instructions.

[0132] In one implementation, the memory 1130 may also be integrated into the processor 1110 or independent of the processor 1110 .

[0133] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 8 , the processor 1110 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 1010 , and the interface circuit 1120 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 1020 .

[0134] When the communication device is a chip used in a terminal device, the terminal device chip can implement the terminal functions in the above method embodiments. The terminal device chip receives information from other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the network device to the terminal device; or the terminal device chip sends information to other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the network device.

[0135] When the above-mentioned communication device is a module applied to a network device, the network device module can implement the network device function in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The network device module receives information from other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the network device; or the network device module sends information to other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the network device to the terminal device. The network device module here can be a baseband chip of the network device, or it can be a DU or other module. The DU here can be a DU under the open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture.

[0136] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0137] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in an access network device or a terminal device. The processor and storage medium can also exist in the access network device or the terminal device as discrete components.

[0138] According to the method provided in the embodiment of the application, the embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, when the computer program code is executed by one or more processors, it enables the device including the processor to execute the method shown in Figure 7.

[0139] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, 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 programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function of the embodiment of the present application is executed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device.

[0140] According to the method provided in an embodiment of the present application, an embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores the above-mentioned computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed by one or more processors, the device including the processor executes the method shown in Figure 7.

[0141] As described above, the computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile types of storage media.

[0142] According to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including one or more network devices as described above. The system may further include one or more terminals as described above.

[0143] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the devices described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0144] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this solution based on actual needs.

[0145] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0146] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A signal transmission method, characterized in that: include: Sending synchronization signals in a plurality of synchronization signal groups, wherein synchronization signals with the same identifier in the plurality of synchronization signal groups correspond to different random access channel opportunities RO; A random access signal is received on a first RO, where the first RO is an RO corresponding to a first synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group, and the multiple synchronization signal groups include the first synchronization signal group.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A random access signal is received on a second RO, where the second RO is an RO corresponding to a second synchronization signal in a second synchronization signal group, the multiple synchronization signal groups include the second synchronization signal group, an identifier of the second synchronization signal is the same as an identifier of the first synchronization signal, and the first RO is different from the second RO.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Sending first information, where the first information is used to indicate a first identifier, where the first identifier is an identifier of the first synchronization signal group, or the first identifier is an identifier of a first RO group, where the first RO group is located.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate a second identifier, where the second identifier is an identifier of a time unit where the first synchronization signal is located; determining the first identifier according to the second identifier and a corresponding relationship, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first identifier in the corresponding relationship, The corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between an identifier of a time unit and an identifier of a synchronization signal group, and the first identifier is an identifier of the first synchronization signal group; or, The corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between an identifier of a time unit and an identifier of an RO group, the first identifier is an identifier of a first RO group, and the first RO group is an RO group to which the first RO belongs.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the multiple synchronization signal groups, or the corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of RO groups included in the multiple RO groups, The number of groups is predefined, or the number of groups is configured by the network device through signaling.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The time unit is a radio frame in which the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier is an identifier of the radio frame; or The time unit is the first half frame in the wireless frame where the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier includes the identifier of the wireless frame and the half frame identifier, and the half frame identifier is used to indicate that the first half frame is the first half frame or the second half frame of the wireless frame.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: The ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals in the first synchronization signal group are determined according to the number of synchronization signals included in each synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each synchronization signal.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The number of association periods of the RO is related to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the plurality of synchronization signal groups.

9. A signal transmission method, characterized in that: include: receiving a first synchronization signal, where the first synchronization signal is a synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group among multiple synchronization signal groups, and synchronization signals with the same identifier in the multiple synchronization signal groups correspond to different ROs; A random access signal is sent on a first RO, where the first RO is an RO corresponding to a first synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group, and the multiple synchronization signal groups include the first synchronization signal group.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending first information, where the first information is used to indicate a first identifier, where the first identifier is an identifier of the first synchronization signal group, or the first identifier is an identifier of a first RO group, where the first RO group is the RO group where the first RO is located.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate a second identifier, where the second identifier is an identifier of a time unit where the first synchronization signal is located; determining the first identifier according to the second identifier and a corresponding relationship, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first identifier in the corresponding relationship, The corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between an identifier of a time unit and an identifier of a synchronization signal group, and the first identifier is an identifier of the first synchronization signal group; or, The corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between an identifier of a time unit and an identifier of an RO group, the first identifier is an identifier of a first RO group, and the first RO group is an RO group to which the first RO belongs.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the multiple synchronization signal groups, or the corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of RO groups included in the multiple RO groups, The number of groups is predefined, or the number of groups is configured by the network device through signaling.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The time unit is a radio frame in which the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier is an identifier of the radio frame; or The time unit is the first half frame in the wireless frame where the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier includes the identifier of the wireless frame and the half frame identifier, and the half frame identifier is used to indicate that the first half frame is the first half frame or the second half frame of the wireless frame.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first RO is determined according to the first identifier and an identifier of the first synchronization signal.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that The method further comprises: The ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals in the first synchronization signal group are determined according to the number of synchronization signals included in each synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each synchronization signal.

16. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that The number of association periods of the RO is related to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the plurality of synchronization signal groups.

17. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A transceiver unit, configured to send synchronization signals in a plurality of synchronization signal groups, wherein synchronization signals with the same identifier in the plurality of synchronization signal groups correspond to different random access channel opportunities RO; The transceiver unit is also used to receive a random access signal on the first RO; The processing unit is configured to determine that the first RO is an RO corresponding to a first synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group, and the plurality of synchronization signal groups include the first synchronization signal group.

18. The device according to claim 17, characterized in that The transceiver unit is further used to receive a random access signal on a second RO, where the second RO is an RO corresponding to a second synchronization signal in a second synchronization signal group, the multiple synchronization signal groups include the second synchronization signal group, the identifier of the second synchronization signal is the same as the identifier of the first synchronization signal, and the first RO is different from the second RO.

19. The device according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The transceiver unit is further used to send first information, where the first information is used to indicate a first identifier, where the first identifier is an identifier of the first synchronization signal group, or the first identifier is an identifier of a first RO group, where the first RO group is located.

20. The device according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The transceiver unit is also used for Sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate a second identifier, where the second identifier is an identifier of a time unit where the first synchronization signal is located; The processing unit is further configured to determine the first identifier according to the second identifier and a corresponding relationship, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first identifier in the corresponding relationship. The corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between an identifier of a time unit and an identifier of a synchronization signal group, and the first identifier is an identifier of the first synchronization signal group; or, The corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between an identifier of a time unit and an identifier of an RO group, the first identifier is an identifier of a first RO group, and the first RO group is an RO group to which the first RO belongs.

21. The device according to claim 20, characterized in that The corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the multiple synchronization signal groups, or the corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of RO groups included in the multiple RO groups, The number of groups is predefined, or the number of groups is configured by the network device through signaling.

22. The device according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The time unit is a radio frame in which the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier is an identifier of the radio frame; or The time unit is the first half frame in the wireless frame where the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier includes the identifier of the wireless frame and the half frame identifier, and the half frame identifier is used to indicate that the first half frame is the first half frame or the second half frame of the wireless frame.

23. The device according to any one of claims 17 to 22, characterized in that The processing unit is further configured to determine the ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals in the first synchronization signal group according to the number of synchronization signals included in each synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each synchronization signal.

24. The device according to any one of claims 17 to 23, characterized in that The number of association periods of the RO is related to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the plurality of synchronization signal groups.

25. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A transceiver unit, configured to receive a first synchronization signal, where the first synchronization signal is a synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group in a plurality of synchronization signal groups, and synchronization signals with the same identifier in the plurality of synchronization signal groups correspond to different ROs; A processing unit, determining a first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal; The transceiver unit is further configured to send a random access signal on the first RO.

26. The device according to claim 25, characterized in that The transceiver unit is further used to send first information, where the first information is used to indicate a first identifier, where the first identifier is an identifier of the first synchronization signal group, or the first identifier is an identifier of a first RO group, where the first RO group is located.

27. The device according to claim 25, characterized in that The transceiver unit is further used to send second information, where the second information is used to indicate a second identifier, and the second identifier is an identifier of a time unit where the first synchronization signal is located; The processing unit is further configured to determine the first identifier according to the second identifier and a corresponding relationship, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first identifier in the corresponding relationship. The corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between an identifier of a time unit and an identifier of a synchronization signal group, and the first identifier is an identifier of the first synchronization signal group; or, The corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between an identifier of a time unit and an identifier of an RO group, the first identifier is an identifier of a first RO group, and the first RO group is an RO group to which the first RO belongs.

28. The device according to claim 27, characterized in that The corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the multiple synchronization signal groups, or the corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of RO groups included in the multiple RO groups, The number of groups is predefined, or the number of groups is configured by the network device through signaling.

29. The device according to claim 27 or 28, characterized in that The time unit is a radio frame in which the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier is an identifier of the radio frame; or The time unit is the first half frame in the wireless frame where the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier includes the identifier of the wireless frame and the half frame identifier, and the half frame identifier is used to indicate that the first half frame is the first half frame or the second half frame of the wireless frame.

30. The device according to any one of claims 26 to 29, characterized in that The processing unit is further configured to determine the first RO according to the first identifier and an identifier of the first synchronization signal.

31. The device according to any one of claims 25 to 30, characterized in that The device also includes: The ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals in the first synchronization signal group are determined according to the number of synchronization signals included in each synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each synchronization signal.

32. The device according to any one of claims 25 to 31, characterized in that The number of association periods of the RO is related to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the plurality of synchronization signal groups.

33. A communication device, characterized in that: comprising at least one processor coupled to a memory; The memory is used to store programs or instructions; The at least one processor is configured to execute the program or instruction so that the apparatus implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or so that the apparatus implements the method according to any one of claims 9 to 16.

34. A computer-readable storage medium comprising a computer program, which, when executed by one or more processors, causes a device comprising the processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or to perform the method according to any one of claims 9 to 16.

35. A communication system, characterized in that: The method comprises a first communication device and a second communication device, wherein the first communication device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, and the second communication device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 9 to 16.

36. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises: a computer program, and when the computer program is executed, a computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or execute the method according to any one of claims 9 to 16.

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