Satellite communication method, apparatus and system

Abstract

A satellite communication method, apparatus and system, which relate to the field of communications. The method comprises: receiving first control information, which comprises first position information and first time information, wherein the first position information is used for indicating the position of a first area to be covered by a beam of a first network device, and the first time information is used for indicating a first time period; determining a first beam direction on the basis of the first position information and second position information, wherein the second position information is used for indicating the position of the first network device; and transmitting data in the first beam direction within the first time period. On the basis of the method, information carried by control signaling can be simplified, and on the basis of the information, a satellite station can be controlled to realize a beam dwelling function for beam positions within multiple time periods, so that signaling overhead caused by sending the control signaling by means of a network side is reduced, which is beneficial to relieving the transmission load of signaling interaction of a communication system.

Description

Satellite communication method, device and system

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on December 12, 2023, with application number 202311703597.1 and invention name “Methods, devices and systems for satellite communication”, 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 in particular to methods, devices, and systems for satellite communications. Background Art

[0003] Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) are a key technology in the communications field, offering wide coverage and flexible networking. Satellite communication systems are a crucial component of NTNs. Satellite stations in these systems act as network-controlled repeaters (NCRs), forwarding data from ground base stations to user devices.

[0004] During satellite station movement, to provide continuous and stable service to a fixed ground position, the satellite station needs to continuously adjust its beam direction to ensure it remains pointed at that fixed position. This process is also known as beam staring. Since the satellite station is in constant motion during operation, its beam pointing direction must constantly change. These changes in the satellite station's beam pointing direction require control signaling from the ground base station. Consequently, the ground base station needs to continuously send a large amount of control signaling to the satellite station to ensure that the satellite station can accurately point its beam at the fixed ground position during its movement. This process results in significant signaling overhead. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a method, device and system for satellite communication, which can streamline the information carried by control signaling and, based on the information, control the satellite station to implement the beam-gazing function for the wave position in multiple time periods, thereby reducing the signaling overhead caused by sending control signaling on the network side, and helping to alleviate the transmission pressure of signaling interaction in the communication system.

[0006] In a first aspect, a satellite communication method is provided, the method comprising: receiving first control information, the first control information comprising first position information and first time information, wherein the first position information is used to indicate the position of a first area to be covered by a beam of a first network device, and the first time information is used to indicate a first time period; determining a first beam direction based on the first position information and the second position information, the second position information being used to indicate the position of the first network device; and transmitting data along the first beam direction within the first time period.

[0007] For example, the first control information may be a satellite station of the relay communication system serving as an NCR node.

[0008] For example, the first area may be a wavelength in a service area managed by the first network device.

[0009] For example, the above-mentioned first time information is also called the first time resource, including the starting time of the first time period and the duration of the first time period; or, the above-mentioned first time information may also include the starting time and end time of the first time period; or, the above-mentioned first time information may also include the duration and end time of the first time period.

[0010] For example, the first location information and the first time information may also be sent separately via two control signalings.

[0011] For example, the second location information may be used to indicate the location of the first network device at a first moment before the first time period. Furthermore, the time difference between the first moment and the start time of the first time period needs to be within a preset range.

[0012] For example, the above-mentioned data transmission along the first beam direction may be the first network device forwarding data from the core network to the terminal device or network device in the first area indicated by the first beam direction. The data may be amplified and forwarded by the first network device; or the data may be forwarded after corresponding data processing by the first network device, which is also called decoding and forwarding; or the data may be stored by the first network device and then forwarded, which is also called storage and forwarding.

[0013] For example, the above-mentioned transmission data includes sending data and receiving data. The sending data corresponds to a downlink communication scenario, and the first network device sends data to a terminal device or network device in the first area along the first beam direction. The receiving data corresponds to an uplink communication scenario, and the first network device can also receive data from a terminal device or network device in the first area along the first beam direction. Therefore, it can be seen that the first beam direction does not only represent a single direction. The first beam direction can represent the directions corresponding to both ends of the first beam, that is, it can represent two directions.

[0014] Based on the above technical solution, the information carried by control signaling can be simplified. For dynamic configuration, the control signaling only needs to carry a single piece of information indicating the location of a beam position to control the first network device to implement the beam gaze function on that beam position for multiple time periods. For static and semi-static configuration, the control signaling only needs to configure a set of multiple beam position location information and corresponding multiple time information within a single configuration cycle to control the first network device to implement the beam gaze function on multiple beam positions continuously for multiple configuration cycles. This reduces the signaling overhead caused by sending control signaling on the network side, helping to alleviate the transmission pressure of signaling interaction in the communication system.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the above-mentioned first position information is a first coordinate point, which belongs to the first area, or the above-mentioned first position information is a reference beam direction, which is used to indicate the direction from the first network device to the first area within a reference time period before the first time period; the above-mentioned second position information is a second coordinate point, which is the spatial coordinate of the position of the first network device.

[0016] Based on the above technical solution, by indicating the coordinate points corresponding to the beam position or directly indicating the reference beam direction to the first network device, the first network device can independently determine the corresponding beam direction of the first network device within multiple time periods. This also simplifies the information carried in the control signaling configured on the network side, thereby reducing the transmission pressure of signaling exchanges in the communication system.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, when the first position information is a reference beam direction, a fourth coordinate point is determined based on the reference beam direction and a third coordinate point, wherein the third coordinate point is the spatial coordinate of the first network device within the reference time period; and the first beam direction is determined based on the second coordinate point and the fourth coordinate point.

[0018] Based on the above technical solution, the first network device calculates the reference position of the reference beam direction by referring to the beam direction, and then in the subsequent corresponding time period, it can combine its own position information and the reference position to determine the direction of the beam in the corresponding time period, thereby helping to streamline the information carried by the control signaling, thereby reducing the signaling overhead caused by sending control signaling on the network side, and helping to alleviate the transmission pressure of signaling interaction in the communication system.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the above-mentioned first control information also includes first cycle information, which is used to indicate multiple first cycles. When the above-mentioned first position information is a reference beam direction, the first first cycle includes the above-mentioned reference time period, and the Nth first cycle includes the above-mentioned first time period. The beam direction corresponding to the first time period included in the Nth first cycle is determined based on the reference beam direction corresponding to the reference time period included in the first first cycle, and N is an integer greater than 1.

[0020] Based on the above technical solution, for static and semi-static configuration, the first control information only needs to configure a set of multiple beam position location information and corresponding multiple time information within a single cycle to control the first network device to continuously monitor multiple beam positions within multiple configuration cycles. This reduces the signaling overhead caused by sending control signaling on the network side, helping to alleviate the transmission pressure of signaling interactions on the network side.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first control information further includes a first flag, and the first flag is used to trigger the first network device to determine the first beam direction according to the first position information and the second position information.

[0022] Based on the above technical solution, the corresponding operation of this solution is triggered by the first mark, thereby increasing the flexibility of this solution in application.

[0023] With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first control information is downlink control information (DCI) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0024] For example, when the first position information includes a reference beam direction, the reference beam direction may reuse the current DCI or RRC signaling method for indicating the beam direction, for example, using a beam index to indicate the beam direction.

[0025] Based on the above technical solution, the existing data format of the control signaling is directly reused, and there is no need to reconstruct the data format of the control signaling, thereby reducing the implementation difficulty of this solution.

[0026] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, first capability information is sent, where the first capability information is used to indicate whether a beam of the first network device can point to any direction.

[0027] Based on the above technical solution, the network side can accurately know the beamforming capability of the first network device through the first network device reporting information on whether it has the gaze function, so that the network side can effectively control the first network device.

[0028] In a second aspect, a satellite communication method is provided, which is applied to a second network device, the method comprising: determining first control information, the first control information comprising first position information and first time information, wherein the first position information is used to indicate the position of a first area to be covered by a beam of the first network device, the first time information is used to indicate a first time period, and the first control information is used to instruct the first network device to determine a first beam direction based on the first position information and transmit data along the first beam direction within the first time period; and sending the first control information.

[0029] For example, the second network device may be a ground station, or gateway station, in a satellite-based relay communication system, which integrates all or part of the functions of a base station. Alternatively, the second network device may be a network entity in a core network.

[0030] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the first location information is a first coordinate point, which belongs to the first area; or, the first location information is a reference beam direction, which is used to indicate the direction from the first network device to the first area within a reference time period before the above-mentioned first time period.

[0031] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the first control information also includes first cycle information, which is used to indicate multiple first cycles. When the first position information is a reference beam direction, the first cycle includes the above-mentioned reference time period, and the Nth first cycle includes the above-mentioned first time period. The beam direction corresponding to the first time period included in the Nth first cycle is determined based on the reference beam direction corresponding to the reference time period included in the first cycle, and N is an integer greater than 1.

[0032] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the first control information also includes a first mark, which is used to trigger the first network device to determine the first beam direction based on the first position information and the second position information, and the second position information is used to indicate the position of the first network device.

[0033] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first control information is DCI or RRC signaling.

[0034] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, first capability information is received, and the first capability information is used to indicate whether the beam of the first network device can point to any direction; when the first capability information is used to indicate that the beam of the first network device can point to any direction, the above-mentioned first control information is determined.

[0035] According to a third aspect, a satellite communication device is provided, which is applied to a first network device. The device includes: a receiving unit for receiving first control information, the first control information including first position information and first time information, the first position information being used to indicate the position of a first area to be covered by a beam of the first network device, and the first time information being used to indicate a first time period; a determining unit for determining a first beam direction based on the first position information and the second position information, the second position information being used to indicate the position of the first network device; and an operating unit 830 for transmitting data along the first beam direction within the first time period.

[0036] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the above-mentioned first position information is a first coordinate point, which belongs to the first area, or the above-mentioned first position information is a reference beam direction, which is used to indicate the direction from the first network device to the first area within a reference time period before the first time period; the above-mentioned second position information is a second coordinate point, which is the spatial coordinate of the position of the first network device.

[0037] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, when the first position information is a reference beam direction, the above-mentioned determination unit is specifically used to: determine the fourth coordinate point based on the reference beam direction and the third coordinate point, where the third coordinate point is the spatial coordinate of the first network device within the reference time period; determine the first beam direction based on the second coordinate point and the fourth coordinate point.

[0038] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the above-mentioned first control information also includes first cycle information, which is used to indicate multiple first cycles. When the first position information is a reference beam direction, the first cycle includes the above-mentioned reference time period, and the Nth first cycle includes the above-mentioned first time period. The beam direction corresponding to the first time period included in the Nth first cycle is determined based on the reference beam direction corresponding to the reference time period included in the first first cycle, and N is an integer greater than 1.

[0039] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the first control information further includes a first flag, which is used to trigger the above-mentioned determination unit to determine the first beam direction according to the first position information and the second position information.

[0040] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the first control information is DCI or RRC signaling.

[0041] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the apparatus further includes a sending unit configured to send first capability information, where the first capability information is used to indicate whether a beam of the first network device can be directed in any direction.

[0042] In a fourth aspect, a satellite communication device is provided, which is applied to a second network device, and the device includes: a determination unit, used to determine first control information, the first control information including first position information and first time information, wherein the first position information is used to indicate the position of a first area to be covered by the beam of the first network device, the first time information is used to indicate a first time period, and the first control information is used to instruct the first network device to determine a first beam direction based on the first position information, and transmit data along the first beam direction within the first time period; a sending unit, used to send the first control information.

[0043] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the first location information is a first coordinate point, which belongs to the first area; or, the first location information is a reference beam direction, which is used to indicate the direction from the first network device to the first area within a reference time period before the above-mentioned first time period.

[0044] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the first control information also includes first cycle information, which is used to indicate multiple first cycles. When the first position information is a reference beam direction, the first first cycle includes the above-mentioned reference time period, and the Nth first cycle includes the above-mentioned first time period. The beam direction corresponding to the first time period included in the Nth first cycle is determined based on the reference beam direction corresponding to the reference time period included in the first first cycle, and N is an integer greater than 1.

[0045] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the first control information also includes a first mark, which is used to trigger the first network device to determine the first beam direction based on the first position information and the second position information, and the second position information is used to indicate the position of the first network device.

[0046] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the first control information is DCI or RRC signaling.

[0047] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the device also includes a receiving device for receiving first capability information, where the first capability information is used to indicate whether the beam of the first network device can point to any direction; the above-mentioned determination unit is specifically used to determine the above-mentioned first control information when the first capability information is used to indicate that the beam of the first network device can point to any direction.

[0048] In a fifth aspect, a satellite communication device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor and the memory are connected, wherein the memory is used to store program code, and the processor is used to call the program code to execute a method in any possible implementation of the method design of the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0049] In a sixth aspect, a network device is provided, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute program code to execute a method in any possible implementation of the method design of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0050] In the seventh aspect, a network device is provided, comprising a processor, a memory, and a transceiver, wherein the memory is used to store computer instructions, the transceiver is used to receive a signal from the memory and send a signal to the processor, the signal including the computer instructions, and the processor is used to execute the computer instructions to execute the method in any possible implementation of the method design of the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0051] In an eighth aspect, a network device is provided, comprising an interface circuit and a processor, wherein the interface circuit and the processor are interconnected via a line; the interface circuit is used to receive a signal and send a signal to the processor, wherein the signal includes a computer instruction, and the processor is used to execute the computer instruction to execute the method in any possible implementation manner in the method design of the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0052] In the ninth aspect, a network device is provided, comprising an interface circuit and a logic circuit, wherein the interface circuit and the logic circuit are interconnected through a line; the interface circuit is used to receive a signal and send a signal to the logic circuit, wherein the signal includes a computer instruction, and the logic circuit is used to execute the computer instruction to execute the method in any possible implementation mode of the method design of the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0053] In the tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising a first network device and a second network device, wherein the first network device is used to execute a method in any possible implementation manner in the method design of the first aspect, and the second network device is used to execute a method in any possible implementation manner in the method design of the second aspect.

[0054] In the eleventh aspect, a chip system is provided, which is applied to an electronic device; the chip system includes one or more interface circuits and one or more processors; the interface circuit and the processor are interconnected through lines; the interface circuit is used to receive signals from the memory of the electronic device and send signals to the processor, and the signals include computer instructions stored in the memory; when the processor executes the computer instructions, the electronic device executes the method in any possible implementation of the method design of the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0055] In the twelfth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, storing a computer program or instruction, which is used to implement the method in any possible implementation manner in the method design of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0056] In the thirteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided. When the computer program code or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes a method in any possible implementation of the method design of the first aspect or the second aspect mentioned above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0057] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a relay solution;

[0058] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a satellite communication system 200 applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an NCR node;

[0060] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a satellite network 400 applicable to the technical solution of the present application;

[0061] FIG5 is a schematic flow chart of a satellite communication method 500 proposed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of an execution process of the method 500 proposed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of another execution process of the method 500 proposed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a reference beam direction proposed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG9 is a schematic block diagram of a satellite communication device 900 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG10 is a schematic block diagram of a satellite communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0067] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0068] To expand the ground coverage of base station signals, it is often considered to deploy multiple relay nodes on the ground to relay data sent by the base station, thereby achieving the effect of expanding the ground coverage of the base station signal. However, traditional relay nodes generally only have amplification and forwarding functions and poor controllability. To enhance the functionality of relay nodes, the solution of using NCR as relay nodes has been proposed. The network side sends corresponding control signaling to the NCR node to instruct the NCR node to forward data. Compared with traditional relay nodes that only perform amplification and forwarding functions, NCR nodes allow network-side control and have stronger spatial directionality, which helps to improve the quality of service of data forwarding.

[0069] However, the following problems still exist for the terrestrial relay solution.

[0070] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a relay solution.

[0071] As shown in Figure 1, a source base station can establish a direct communication link with a terminal device. If the source base station and the terminal device are far apart, a terrestrial relay solution can be employed. This involves the source base station and multiple ground-based relay nodes establishing a communication link from the source base station to the terminal device. If high obstacles or other obstructions exist between the source base station and the terminal device, between multiple relay nodes, between the source base station and the relay node, or between the relay node and the terminal device, the communication link from the source base station to the terminal device may be blocked. To address these issues with terrestrial relay solutions, a NTN-based relay solution has been proposed, which uses satellite stations as relay nodes for data forwarding. Given the wide coverage area and flexible networking characteristics of NTN communication, satellite stations can bypass obstacles or obstructions between the base station and the destination beam, transmitting signal beams to the destination beam, allowing communication data to be forwarded to the terminal device in the destination beam. Obstacles can be objects such as tall buildings and trees, and obstructions can be expansive ocean areas. The destination beam indicates the area to be covered by the beam signal.

[0072] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, a satellite communication system will be introduced below.

[0073] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a satellite communication system 200 applicable to an embodiment of the present application.

[0074] The technical solution of the present application can be applied to a satellite communication system. Referring to FIG2 , a satellite communication system 200 generally consists of three parts: a space segment, a ground segment, and a user segment.

[0075] For example, satellite communication systems can be divided into the following three types based on the orbital altitude of satellite 201: geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite communication systems, also known as synchronous orbit satellite communication systems; medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite communication systems; and low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems. Among them, the GEO satellite orbit altitude is 35,786 km. Its main advantage is that it can remain stationary relative to the ground and provide a large coverage area. However, GEO satellite communication also has obvious disadvantages: GEO satellite orbits are far away from the earth, and free space propagation losses are large, resulting in a tight communication link budget. In addition, in order to increase transmission or reception gain, the satellite needs to be equipped with a larger diameter antenna. GEO communication transmission delay is large, reaching a round-trip delay of about 500ms, which cannot meet the needs of low-latency services. GEO orbital resources are also relatively scarce, launch costs are high, and coverage of the earth's polar regions cannot be provided. MEO satellites orbit at altitudes between 2000 and 35,786 km. Their advantage is that they can achieve global coverage with a relatively small number of satellites. However, their orbital altitude is higher than that of LEO satellites, and communication transmission latency is still higher than that of LEO satellites. LEO satellites, on the other hand, orbit at altitudes between 300 and 2000 km. LEO satellites are lower than MEO and GEO orbits, offering advantages such as lower data propagation latency, reduced transmission loss, and lower launch costs. Therefore, LEO satellites can be used to construct the space segment shown in Figure 2. Of course, in some specific application scenarios, LEO satellites can be replaced with GEO or MEO satellites, or even a combination of multiple satellite types.

[0076] The ground segment generally includes a satellite tracking and control center 202, a network control center (NCC) 203, and various gateways 204, also known as ground stations. The network control center is also known as the system control center (SCC). The user segment consists of various terminal devices. Terminal devices can be various mobile terminals 206, such as mobile satellite phones, or various fixed terminals 207, such as communication ground stations. In Figure 2, dotted lines represent communication signals between satellites and terminals. Solid lines represent communication signals between satellites and ground segment devices. Bidirectional arrows represent communication signals between network elements in the ground segment. In satellite communication systems, satellites can also be referred to as satellite stations or satellite base stations. As shown in Figure 2, satellite stations can transmit downlink data to terminal devices. This downlink data can undergo channel coding, modulation, and mapping before being transmitted to the terminal devices. Terminal devices can also transmit uplink data to satellite stations. This uplink data can also undergo channel coding, modulation, and mapping before being transmitted to the satellite stations.

[0077] The satellite tracking and control center 202 in the ground segment maintains, monitors, and controls the satellite's orbital position and attitude, and manages the satellite's ephemeris. The network control center 203 handles user registration, identity verification, billing, and other network management functions. In some satellite mobile communication systems, the network control center 203 and satellite tracking and control center 202 are integrated into one. The gateway station 204 performs call processing, switching, and interfacing with the terrestrial communication network. The terrestrial communication network 205, a component of the ground segment of the satellite network, is used to switch satellite data packets to the core network and transmit them to the final terminal device. The terrestrial communication network can be the public switched telephone network (PSTN), the public land mobile network (PLMN), or other specialized networks. Different terrestrial communication networks require gateway stations with different gateway functions.

[0078] In some satellite communication systems, the space segment of the satellite communication system may be a multi-layer structure consisting of a management satellite and one or more service satellites. In a multi-layer satellite communication system network, the space segment may include one or more management satellites and the service satellites managed by these management satellites. The satellites or satellite stations mentioned in this application are not limited to management satellites or service satellites.

[0079] Gateway stations, satellite stations, and terminal devices include but are not limited to communicating using the following communication systems: 5th generation (5G) mobile communication systems, such as new radio (NR) systems, and future communication systems.

[0080] In some possible scenarios, the gateway stations and satellite stations may be collectively referred to as radio access network (RAN) nodes, or may be referred to as access network devices, RAN entities, or access nodes.

[0081] In other possible scenarios, multiple RAN nodes can collaborate to assist terminals in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes implementing portions of the functions of gateways and satellite stations. For example, RAN nodes can be centralized units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), CU-control plane (CP), CU-user plane (UP), or radio units (RUs). The CU and DU can be separate or included in the same network element, such as the baseband unit (BBU). The CU and DU nodes separate the protocol layers of the gNB, centrally controlling some protocol layer functions within the CU and distributing some or all of the remaining protocol layer functions within the DUs, which are then centrally controlled by the CU. As an implementation method, the CU is deployed with the RRC layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, and the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer in the protocol stack; the DU is deployed with the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and the physical layer (PHY) in the protocol stack. Thus, the CU has the processing capabilities of RRC, PDCP, and SDAP. The DU has the processing capabilities of RLC, MAC, and PHY. It will be understood that the above functional division is only an example and does not constitute a limitation on the CU and DU. The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, for example, in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0082] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application takes CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0083] The terminal equipment in the embodiment of the present application needs to access the mobile satellite communication network through the ground segment of the satellite communication system for mobile communication. The terminal equipment can refer to user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal equipment can also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network or a future communication network, or a terminal device in a public land mobile communication network (PLMN) to be evolved in the future. Terminal equipment represented by satellite phones and vehicle-mounted satellite communication systems can communicate directly with satellites. Fixed terminals represented by ground communication stations need to be relayed by a ground station before they can communicate with satellites. The terminal device is equipped with a wireless transceiver antenna to set and obtain the communication status and complete the communication.

[0084] The satellite communication system is an important part of NTN. The satellite stations in the satellite communication system can serve as NCR nodes to forward data from ground base stations to UEs.

[0085] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an NCR node.

[0086] As shown in Figure 3, the NCR node can include two modules: NCR-mobile termination (NCR-MT) and NCR-forwarding (NCR-Fwd). The NCR-MT establishes a connection with a ground base station, such as a 5G next generation NodeB (gNB), via a control link; the NCR-Fwd connects to the ground base station via a backhaul link to forward data from the ground base station and forward the data to the UE via an access link.

[0087] For example, the NCR node shown in FIG3 may be a satellite station in a satellite communication system, and the ground base station shown in FIG3 may be a gateway station. The gateway station may send control signaling to the satellite station to control the satellite station to adjust the beam direction.

[0088] Currently, there are three configuration methods for indicating NCR node beam information: static configuration, semi-static configuration, and dynamic configuration.

[0089] Among them, static configuration is configured by the base station through RRC signaling sent to the NCR node. Each RRC signaling sent can configure a certain number of forwarding resources at one time. Each forwarding resource can be defined as {beam index, time resource}, where the beam index is used to indicate the beam of the NCR node pointing to a specific direction; the time resource is used to indicate a period of time, which can include the starting time and duration. By combining these two information, the NCR can determine the starting time and duration of the external radiation of a specific beam.

[0090] In addition, a time period is configured in the RRC signaling. This time period should be greater than or equal to the sum of the durations of all time resources in the certain number of forwarding resources. After each time period, if the NCR node can still cover the target beam position, the NCR node will repeat the above-mentioned action of transmitting the corresponding beam in the next time period.

[0091] For example, the base station is a gateway station, and the NCR is a satellite station. RRC signaling configures three forwarding resources and a time period T at one time. Each forwarding resource is defined as {beam1, ΔT1}, {beam2, ΔT2}, and {beam3, ΔT3}, where ΔT1 can also indicate the starting time t1, ΔT2 can also indicate the starting time t2, and ΔT3 can also indicate the starting time t3, where T ≥ ΔT1 + ΔT2 + ΔT3. Then, at time t1, the satellite station transmits beam1 according to the established beam direction. At time t2, the satellite station transmits beam2 according to the established beam direction. At time t3, the satellite station transmits beam3 according to the established beam direction. After a time period, the satellite station repeats the aforementioned transmission of the corresponding beam.

[0092] Semi-static configuration is also configured by the base station through RRC signaling sent to the NCR node. Each RRC signaling sent can configure a certain number of forwarding resources at one time. Each forwarding resource can be defined as {beam index, time resource}. However, in semi-static configuration, the base station needs to activate a subset of all forwarding resources configured by the above RRC signaling through the control element (CE) of the medium access control (MAC).

[0093] In addition, in the semi-static configuration, a time period will also be configured in the RRC signaling. After each time period, if the MAC CE does not change the subset of activated forwarding resources or the NCR node can still cover the destination beam position, the NCR node will repeat the action of transmitting the corresponding beam according to the RRC signaling within the next time period.

[0094] Dynamic configuration can be carried in DCI format 5_0, also known as DCI 5_0, to carry control information. This control information includes beam index information, which occupies 6 bits and can indicate up to 64 beam directions. Furthermore, the base station can indicate up to Lmax beam directions in each DCI transmission, with each beam direction corresponding to a time resource. The value of Lmax can be configured through RRC signaling.

[0095] When satellite stations serve as NCR nodes, their beam pointing needs to constantly change because they are constantly in motion. Therefore, ground base stations must continuously send a large amount of control signaling to the satellite stations via RRC signaling or DCI to ensure they can accurately point their beams to a fixed position on the ground during movement, effectively achieving beam-gazing. This process incurs significant signaling overhead.

[0096] For dynamic configuration, the current DCI 5_0 can only support the indication of 64 beam directions at most, and cannot control the satellite to achieve all-round beam staring. Moreover, since the length of DCI is limited, for example, the maximum length is 140 bits, then the indication of a beam usually requires information length greater than 20 bits, such as a 6-bit beam index and several bits of time resource indication information. Therefore, the beam directions that can be indicated by only one DCI are even more limited.

[0097] For static configuration and semi-static configuration, especially when the service cell adopts multiple synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel blocks (SSB) configurations, the terminal equipment is provided with beam scanning to access and switch networks, and beam scanning is a commonly used communication technology at this stage. Among them, beam scanning refers to a technology used to improve signal coverage and capacity in wireless communication systems, that is, the base station can send a beam direction at a certain moment, and then send beams in different directions at multiple moments, so that multiple beams can cover the entire cell, thereby realizing beamforming and improving coverage efficiency. Based on this scenario, it is necessary to configure multiple beams with different directions within an RRC configuration cycle, and in order to realize the beam staring function of the satellite station, multiple beams with different directions need to be reconfigured for each RRC configuration cycle. It can be seen that in the static configuration and semi-static configuration scenarios, the signaling overhead of the beam direction indication in the RRC signaling is still huge.

[0098] In view of this, the embodiments of the present application propose a method, device and system for satellite communication, which sends reference position information corresponding to a beam to a satellite station, so that the satellite station can calculate the beam direction corresponding to the beam based on its own position information and the reference position information, thereby realizing the beam staring function of the satellite station on the ground wave position through simplified signaling instructions.

[0099] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a satellite network 400 applicable to the technical solution of the present application. This schematic diagram takes a 5G scenario as an example. Of course, the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to scenarios of future communication networks.

[0100] The satellite network 300 includes: terminal equipment, satellite stations, 5G core network, ground stations, 5G new air interface, Xn interface, and NG interface.

[0101] The terminal device can be a mobile device that supports the 5G new air interface, such as a mobile phone, tablet device, smart car, etc. The terminal device can access the satellite network through the 5G new air interface and initiate services such as calls and Internet access.

[0102] Satellite stations can be 5G base stations, primarily used to provide wireless access services, schedule wireless resources for connected devices, and offer reliable wireless transmission protocols and data encryption. Furthermore, satellite stations can connect to the terrestrial core network via wireless links. A satellite network can include multiple satellite stations, each with its own wireless link, enabling signaling and data transmission between multiple base stations.

[0103] The 5G core network is used to implement functions such as user access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, and billing management. For these functions, the 5G core network implements them through corresponding functional units, and these functional units can be divided into control plane functional entities and user plane functional entities. For example, the access and mobility management function (AMF) unit is responsible for user intervention management, security authentication, mobility management and other functions belonging to the control plane. The session management function (SMF) unit is used to support customized mobility management solutions together with the AMF unit. The user plane function (UPF) unit is responsible for managing user plane data transmission, traffic statistics and other functions. Among them, the functional entity can also be called a functional network element.

[0104] The ground station is responsible for forwarding signaling and service data between the satellite station and the 5G core network. The ground station can also function as a 5G base station.

[0105] The 5G new air interface is used to connect the wireless link between terminal devices and 5G base stations.

[0106] The Xn interface is the interface between the satellite station and the ground station, and is mainly used for signaling interaction such as switching.

[0107] The NG interface is the interface between the ground station and the 5G core network, and is mainly used for the interaction of signaling such as the core network's non-access stratum (NAS) and user business data.

[0108] Based on the above-mentioned satellite network 400, the satellite communication method proposed in the embodiment of the present application can be executed, and the method is as follows.

[0109] FIG5 is a flow chart of a satellite communication method 500 according to an embodiment of the present application. The method 500 can be applied to a first network device, which can be a satellite station serving as an NCR node. The first network device can also include network devices in an ORAN system, such as a CU-UP, CU-CP, DU, and RU.

[0110] S510: Receive first control information, where the first control information includes first location information and first time information, wherein the first location information is used to indicate the location of a first area to be covered by a beam of a first network device, and the first time information is used to indicate a first time period.

[0111] In some possible embodiments, the first area may be a wavelength in a service area under the jurisdiction of the first network device.

[0112] In some possible embodiments, the above-mentioned first time information is also called the first time resource, including the starting time of the first time period and the duration of the first time period; or, the above-mentioned first time information may also include the starting time and end time of the first time period; or, the above-mentioned first time information may also include the duration and end time of the first time period.

[0113] In some possible embodiments, the first control information is determined and sent by a second network device. The second network device may be a network entity or a network element device in a core network. The first control information may be sent directly by the network entity to the first network device or forwarded to the first network device via a relay node. The second network device may also include a network device in an ORAN system. For example, the first control information is determined and sent by a CU-CP of the second network device.

[0114] Taking the first network device as a satellite station as an example, the first control information can be first sent by the core network's network entity to a ground station corresponding to the satellite station, which then forwards the first control information to the first network device. Alternatively, the ground station determines the first control information based on relevant control signaling from the core network's network entity and the current communication scenario, and then sends the first control information to the satellite station.

[0115] In some possible embodiments, in dynamic configuration, the first control information may be DCI; in static configuration or semi-static configuration, the first control information may be RRC signaling.

[0116] In some possible embodiments, the first location information and the first time information may also be sent separately via two signalings, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0117] S520: Determine a first beam direction according to the first position information and the second position information, wherein the second position information is used to indicate the position of the first network device.

[0118] In some possible embodiments, the second location information may be used to indicate the location of the first network device at a first moment before the first time period. Furthermore, the time difference between the first moment and the start time of the first time period needs to be within a preset range.

[0119] In some possible embodiments, the first network device may determine the second location information via a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). It should be understood that the second location information may be a spatial coordinate point obtained by processing the location information about the first network device acquired by the GNSS. The spatial coordinate point may be located in a geodetic coordinate system or a satellite coordinate system.

[0120] It should be understood that the first area indicated by the first location information and the location of the first network device indicated by the second location information can both be abstracted as a point. In the spatial coordinate system, based on the two determined points, a direction vector can be determined, and the direction vector can be used to represent the above-mentioned first beam direction.

[0121] S530: Transmit data along a first beam direction within a first time period.

[0122] It should be understood that the above-mentioned data transmission along the first beam direction may be the first network device forwarding data from the core network to the terminal device or network device in the first area indicated by the first beam direction. The data may be amplified and forwarded by the first network device; or the data may be forwarded after corresponding data processing by the first network device, which is also called decoding and forwarding; or the data may be stored by the first network device and then forwarded, which is also called storage and forwarding.

[0123] It should be understood that the first network device transmits data along the first beam direction, and can provide corresponding communication services for the terminal devices in the first area, thereby opening up the communication link from the core network to the terminal devices to realize data interaction between the core network and the terminal devices.

[0124] In some possible embodiments, the above-mentioned transmission data includes sending data and receiving data, wherein the sending data corresponds to a downlink communication scenario, and the first network device sends data to the terminal device or network device in the first area along the first beam direction; the receiving data corresponds to an uplink communication scenario, and the first network device can also receive data from the terminal device or network device in the first area along the first beam direction.

[0125] In some possible embodiments, when the first network device is in an ORAN form, the above-mentioned S510 and S520 can be executed by the CU-CP of the first network device, and the above-mentioned S530 can be executed by the DU of the first network device. Of course, with the functional iteration of the ORAN system, the above-mentioned S510 and / or S520 can be handed over to other ORAN devices for execution, such as the CU-UP, and the above-mentioned S530 can be executed by the RU of the first network device. Before executing the above-mentioned S530, the CU-UP of the first network device can control the first network device to transmit data along the first beam direction within the first time period through control signaling.

[0126] In addition, the first network device will also receive second time information, third time information, etc. Among them, the second time information is used to indicate the second time period, and the third time information is used to indicate the third time period, and in terms of timing, the second time period is after the first time period, the third time period is after the second time period, and so on. There is usually a time interval between these time periods in terms of timing. Taking dynamic configuration as an example, after the first time period, the first network device will re-acquire its own position to determine the third position information, and then determine the second beam direction based on the third position information and the first position information. All actions before this can be performed within the time interval between the first time period and the second time period. In the second time period, the first network device transmits data along the second beam direction. The operation after the second time period is similar. The first network device will update its own position information, and then update the beam direction in combination with the first position information received previously, and then adjust its own beam pointing.

[0127] Alternatively, if the first network device only receives the first time information, the first time information is used to indicate multiple first time periods. Based on this, before the first first time period, the first network device will obtain its own position to determine the second position information, and then determine the first beam direction based on the second position information and the first position information; in the time interval between the first first time period and the second first time period, the first network device will re-acquire its own position to determine the third position information, and then determine the second beam direction based on the third position information and the first position information; the operation in the time interval between the second first time period and the third first time period is similar and will not be repeated here.

[0128] Based on the above embodiments, it can be seen that at this stage, the network side directly indicates the beam direction to the NCR node. Taking the example of a fixed transmission direction of each antenna in the antenna array of the NCR node, the beam direction of each antenna in the antenna array is different. In the application scenario where the network side dynamically configures the beam information of the satellite NCR node, because the satellite NCR node, hereinafter referred to as the satellite station, is in continuous motion, for one wave position, the network side needs to configure multiple beam directions for the satellite station, and each beam direction corresponds to a time period, so that the beam can continue to point to the same wave position during the movement of the satellite station. The network side can send a DCI including the information shown in Table 1 below to the satellite station to dynamically configure the satellite station to transmit beams that meet the corresponding beam directions in multiple time periods.

[0129] Table 1

[0130] Among them, index number 000 is used to indicate the first beam direction, index number 001 is used to indicate the second beam direction, and index number 010 is used to indicate the third beam direction.

[0131] As shown in Table 1, the DCI may instruct the satellite station to select beam 1 pointing in the first beam direction during a first time period and then transmit data along the first beam direction via beam 1; select beam 2 pointing in the second beam direction for transmission during a second time period and then transmit data along the second beam direction via beam 2; and select beam 3 pointing in the third beam direction for transmission during a third time period and then transmit data along the third beam direction via beam 3. It should be understood that the satellite station knows the beam pointing direction corresponding to each antenna in the antenna array, and so on. Alternatively, if the satellite station is able to independently adjust the direction of the antenna's transmit beam, the DCI may also instruct the satellite station to set the beam pointing direction to the first beam direction during the first time period, adjust the beam pointing direction to the second beam direction during the second time period, and adjust the beam pointing direction to the third beam direction during the third time period, and then transmit data along the corresponding beam direction in each time period, and so on.

[0132] As can be seen, DCI carries a lot of information, requiring the corresponding configuration of multiple time information and multiple beam directions, resulting in a lot of information overhead. In addition, the length of DCI is limited, and a single DCI is usually unable to carry all the information shown in Table 1.

[0133] However, based on the method 500 proposed in the embodiment of the present application, a more streamlined control information can be used to indicate the beam direction of the satellite station in each time period, and this control information can also be carried in the DCI. The network side can then send a DCI including the information shown in Table 2 below to the satellite station to dynamically configure the satellite station's corresponding beam direction in multiple time periods.

[0134] Table 2

[0135] The first location information is used to indicate the location of the first area to be covered by the beam of the NCR node, also known as beam position 1. The time information such as the first time period includes the start time and duration of the corresponding time period, or includes the duration and end time of the corresponding time period, or includes the start time and end time of the corresponding time period. The first location information may also be referred to as first reference information or first reference location information, which is not limited in this application.

[0136] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of an execution process of the method 500 proposed in an embodiment of the present application.

[0137] Combining Table 1 and the contents shown in Figure 6, it can be seen that after the satellite station receives the DCI from the ground station, it combines its own position information and the first position information to solve the first beam direction, and then selects beam 1 pointing to the first beam direction during the first time period, or adjusts the beam pointing of a certain antenna so that the beam points to the first beam direction, and then transmits data along the first beam direction through the beam; after the first time period ends, the satellite station combines its current own position information and the first position information to solve the second beam direction, and then selects beam 2 pointing to the second beam direction during the second time period, or adjusts the beam pointing of a certain antenna so that the beam points to the second beam direction, and then transmits data along the second beam direction through the beam; after the second time period ends, the satellite station combines its current own position information and the first position information to solve the third beam direction, and then selects beam 3 pointing to the third beam direction during the third time period, or adjusts the beam pointing of a certain antenna so that the beam points to the third beam direction, and then transmits data along the third beam direction through the beam, and so on.

[0138] Comparing Table 1 and Table 2, it can be seen that in method 500 proposed in this embodiment of the present application, the DCI only needs to carry the first location information, eliminating the need to assign a beam index to each time period to indicate the beam direction. Furthermore, the number of bits occupied by all beam indices in Table 1 is significantly greater than the number of bits occupied by the first location information in Table 2.

[0139] In static and semi-static configuration scenarios, SSB scanning is typically used. This involves configuring time information for multiple beam positions within an RRC configuration cycle, and then repeating this process for multiple RRC configuration cycles. This is for the following reasons:

[0140] In an SSB scanning scenario, the satellite station needs to transmit beams in different directions during multiple time periods within an RRC configuration cycle to achieve SSB scanning of a certain area. During RRC configuration cycle 1, the satellite station transmits beams pointing to different directions during the first, second, and third time periods. Since the satellite station is constantly moving, during RRC configuration cycle 2, to achieve the beam staring function for a specified area, the directions of the beams emitted by the satellite station during the first, second, and third time periods cannot directly reuse the beam directions corresponding to the three time periods in RRC configuration cycle 1. Therefore, all beam directions and time information configured in the previous RRC configuration cycle may become invalid. Therefore, based on the current static configuration and semi-static configuration schemes, for each RRC configuration cycle, a separate set of RRC signaling needs to be configured to instruct the satellite station: the beam directions corresponding to multiple beams in the current configuration cycle, and the time information corresponding to each beam.

[0141] Currently, the network can send RRC signaling including the information shown in Table 3 below to the satellite station to statically or semi-statically configure the satellite station to transmit beams that meet the corresponding beam direction within each RRC configuration period (hereinafter referred to as a period). The RRC configuration period is typically 20ms, and the duration of the period can also be adaptively adjusted.

[0142] Table 3

[0143] Among them, the index number 0000 is used to indicate the first beam direction, the index number 0001 is used to indicate the second beam direction, the index number 0010 is used to indicate the third beam direction, and so on.

[0144] As shown in Table 3, the RRC signaling can instruct the satellite station to select beam 1 pointing in the first beam direction during a first time period 1 and then transmit data along the first beam direction via beam 1; select beam 2 pointing in the second beam direction during a second time period 1 and then transmit data along the second beam direction via beam 2; select beam 3 pointing in the third beam direction during a third time period 1 and then transmit data along the third beam direction via beam 3; and so on. Alternatively, if the satellite station is able to automatically adjust the direction of the antenna transmit beam, the RRC signaling can also instruct the satellite station to set the beam direction to the first beam direction during the first time period 1 and then transmit data along the first beam direction via the beam; adjust the beam direction to the second beam direction during the second time period 1 and then transmit data along the second beam direction via the beam; and adjust the beam direction to the third beam direction during the third time period 1 and then transmit data along the third beam direction via the beam. Repeat the actions corresponding to period 1 during period 2, and so on.

[0145] It can be seen that in each RRC configuration cycle, RRC signaling needs to carry a set of beam direction indication information, which brings greater transmission pressure to the interaction of communication system control signaling and generates more information overhead.

[0146] However, based on the method 500 proposed in the embodiment of the present application, a more simplified control information can be used to indicate the beam direction of the satellite station in each time period of each RRC configuration cycle, and this control information can also be carried by RRC signaling. Then, the network side can send RRC signaling including the information shown in Table 4 below to the satellite station to statically or semi-statically configure the beam direction corresponding to each of the multiple time periods of each RRC configuration cycle of the satellite station.

[0147] Table 4

[0148] The first location information 1 is used to indicate the location of the first area to be covered by the NCR node's beam, also known as beam position 1; the first location information 2 is used to indicate the location of the second area to be covered by the NCR node's beam, also known as beam position 2; and the first location information 3 is used to indicate the location of the third area to be covered by the NCR node's beam, also known as beam position 3. Based on this RRC signaling, it can be seen that the satellite station needs to maintain SSB scanning in multiple beam positions within N RRC configuration cycles.

[0149] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of another execution process of the method 500 proposed in an embodiment of the present application.

[0150] Combining Table 4 and the contents shown in Figure 7, it can be seen that the satellite station receives RRC signaling from the ground station and, before the first time period of RRC configuration cycle 1, combines its own position information and the first position information 1 to solve the first beam direction; during the first time period of RRC configuration cycle 1, the satellite station points beam 1 to beam 1 in the first beam direction, or adjusts the beam pointing of an antenna so that the beam points to the first beam direction, and then transmits data along the first beam direction, where beam 1 points to beam position 1.

[0151] Before the second time period of RRC configuration cycle 1, the satellite station combines its own position information and the first position information 2 to calculate the second beam direction; during the second time period of RRC configuration cycle 1, the satellite station points beam 2 to the second beam direction, or adjusts the beam pointing direction of an antenna so that the beam points to the second beam direction, and then transmits data along the second beam direction, where beam 2 points to beam position 2.

[0152] Before the third time period of RRC configuration cycle 1, the satellite station combines its own position information and the first position information 3 to calculate the third beam direction; during the third time period of RRC configuration cycle 1, the satellite station points beam 3 to the third beam direction, or adjusts the beam pointing of an antenna so that the beam points to the third beam direction, and then transmits data along the third beam direction, where beam 3 points to beam position 3.

[0153] It should be understood that in the above process, the satellite station has acquired the position information corresponding to wave position 1, wave position 2 and wave position 3 respectively.

[0154] After experiencing each time period of RRC configuration cycle 1, the satellite station combines its own position information with the position information corresponding to multiple beam positions to recalculate the beam direction corresponding to each time period of RRC configuration cycle 2. During each time period, it transmits data along the beam direction corresponding to each time period to achieve the staring function on beam position 1, beam position 2, and beam position 3. After experiencing each time period of RRC configuration cycle 2, the corresponding actions in RRC configuration cycle 2 are repeated until N RRC configuration cycles have passed, thus achieving the staring function of the satellite station on multiple beam positions within N RRC configuration cycles.

[0155] By comparing Table 3 and Table 4, it can be seen that the control information corresponding to Table 3 requires separate configuration of the beam direction corresponding to each time period in each RRC configuration cycle. However, the control information of the present method 500 corresponding to Table 4 only requires configuration of one set of beam pointing information. It is not necessary to configure a set of beam pointing information for each RRC configuration cycle to indicate the beam direction corresponding to each time period in each RRC configuration cycle.

[0156] Based on the control information shown in Table 4, it can be seen that a set of location information corresponding to each time period can be used to configure the location information corresponding to each time period within multiple RRC configuration cycles. The control information shown in Table 4 will not be reconfigured until the first network device cannot cover the area indicated by the first location information, or reconfigures the forwarding resources through RRC signaling, or activates other forwarding resources configured by RRC through MAC CE signaling.

[0157] Based on the above technical solution, the information carried by control signaling can be simplified. For dynamic configuration, the DCI only needs to carry a single location information indicating a beam position to control the satellite station to implement the beam gaze function on that beam position over multiple time periods. For static and semi-static configuration, RRC signaling only needs to configure a set of multiple beam position location information and corresponding multiple time information within a single RRC configuration cycle to control the satellite station to implement continuous SSB scanning of multiple beam positions over multiple RRC configuration cycles, that is, the beam gaze function on multiple beam positions. This reduces the signaling overhead caused by sending control signaling on the network side and helps alleviate the transmission pressure of signaling interaction in the communication system.

[0158] In some possible embodiments, the first location information described in S510 is a first coordinate point, which belongs to the first area, and the second location information in S520 includes a second coordinate point, which is the spatial coordinate of the first network device.

[0159] Then, in a dynamic configuration scenario, the above S530 can be executed in the following manner:

[0160] A first beam direction is determined according to the first coordinate point and the second coordinate point.

[0161] In a static configuration or semi-static configuration scenario, the first control information further includes first cycle information, which is used to indicate multiple first cycles. The first cycle may be the RRC configuration cycle described in the above embodiment. Taking the example of the first cycle including the first time period and the second time period, the first position information includes the first coordinate point 1 and the first coordinate point 2, wherein the first coordinate point 1 corresponds to the first time period of the first cycle, and the first coordinate point 2 corresponds to the second time period of the first cycle. The above S530 may be performed as follows:

[0162] After the forwarding resources indicated by the RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling take effect, before the first time period of the first cycle, the first beam direction 1 is determined based on the first coordinate point 1 and the second coordinate point 1 corresponding to the current position of the first network device.

[0163] Based on this, in the first time period of the first cycle, the first network device transmits data along the first beam direction 1.

[0164] Before the second time period of the first cycle, a second beam direction 1 is determined according to the first coordinate point 2 and a second coordinate point 2 corresponding to the current position of the first network device.

[0165] Based on this, in the second time period of the first first cycle, the first network device transmits data along the first beam direction 2.

[0166] Before the first time period of the second first cycle, a first beam direction 2 is determined according to the first coordinate point 1 and a second coordinate point 3 corresponding to the current position of the first network device.

[0167] It should be understood that, assuming the duration of the first cycle is 20ms, in terms of timing, if the start time of the first period of the first first cycle is 5ms, then the start time of the first period of the second first cycle is 25ms. The start time of the other periods of the second first cycle and the start time of each period of other first cycles are calculated in the same way.

[0168] Based on this, in the first time period of the second first cycle, the first network device transmits data along the first beam direction 3 .

[0169] Before the second time period of the second first cycle, a second beam direction 2 is determined according to the first coordinate point 2 and a second coordinate point 4 corresponding to the current position of the first network device.

[0170] Based on this, in the second time period of the first first cycle, the first network device transmits data along the first beam direction 2.

[0171] For subsequent first cycles, the operations corresponding to the second first cycle are repeated until the first network device cannot cover any one of the first coordinate point 1, the first coordinate point 2, and the first coordinate point 3, or the second network device reconfigures the forwarding resources through RRC signaling, or the second network device activates other forwarding resources configured by RRC through MAC CE signaling.

[0172] It should be understood that the first coordinate point and the second coordinate point are located in the same coordinate system. The coordinate system may be a geodetic coordinate system, a satellite coordinate system, or a world coordinate system, which is not limited in the present embodiment. Alternatively, the first coordinate point and the second coordinate point may be located in different coordinate systems, but in S530, a coordinate conversion operation is required to convert the first coordinate point and the second coordinate point to the same coordinate system.

[0173] In some possible embodiments, the first coordinate point may be any point sampled within the first region, which can be understood as a reference point for representing the beam position. For example, taking the first network device as a satellite station, once the satellite station determines the reference point corresponding to the beam position, even if the satellite station is in motion, as long as the satellite station obtains its own position information, it can calculate the direction from the satellite station to the reference point at the current moment, thereby enabling the satellite station to beam-gaze the reference point.

[0174] In some possible embodiments, taking into account the limited performance of the satellite station, the beam of the satellite station may not be able to cover any direction. When the satellite station determines the beam direction pointing to the reference point position and determines that any antenna in the satellite station's antenna array cannot point to the beam direction, the satellite station can select the antenna whose transmitting beam direction is closest to the beam direction, and transmit data along the beam direction corresponding to the antenna within the corresponding time period.

[0175] For example, assume that the beam direction of the satellite station pointing to the reference point is recorded as reference vector 1, and the antenna array of the satellite station includes M antennas with different beam directions, or the antenna of the satellite station can point to M directions, where M is a positive integer. Then the direction of the antenna transmitting the beam is recorded as beam vector 1 to space vector M. Then, beam vectors 1 to beam vector M are respectively operated with reference vector 1 to solve the spatial angles between beam vectors 1 to beam vector M and reference vector 1. The beam vector n with the smallest spatial angle with reference vector 1 is selected as the output result. The beam vector n can represent an antenna with a fixed direction or a beam direction, which is used to instruct the satellite station to transmit the beam corresponding to the beam vector n.

[0176] It should be understood that the method described in the above embodiment is applicable to any beam configuration scheme.

[0177] Based on this technical solution, by indicating the coordinates of the corresponding beam positions to the satellite station, the auxiliary satellite station can independently determine the corresponding beam direction of the satellite station within multiple time periods. This also simplifies the information carried by the control signaling configured on the network side, thereby reducing the transmission pressure of signaling exchanges in the communication system.

[0178] In some possible embodiments, the first location information is a reference beam direction, which is used to indicate the direction from the first network device to the first area in a reference time period before the first time period, wherein the reference time period before the first time period can be called the 0th time period.

[0179] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a reference beam direction proposed in an embodiment of the present application.

[0180] As shown in FIG8 , the reference beam direction is used to indicate the direction from the first network device to the first area within a reference time period. For example, the reference direction may be from a first reference point of the first network device to a second reference point of the first area. The first reference point may be any point on the first network device, typically a point on the antenna panel of the first network device, and the second reference point may be any point in the first area, typically the center point of the first area.

[0181] In addition, the second location information in S520 includes a second coordinate point, which is the spatial coordinate of the first network device.

[0182] Then, in a dynamic configuration scenario, the above S530 can be executed in the following manner:

[0183] The fourth coordinate point is determined according to the reference beam direction and the third coordinate point, where the third coordinate point is the spatial coordinate of the first network device in the reference time period; the first beam direction is determined according to the second coordinate point and the fourth coordinate point.

[0184] It should be understood that the second coordinate point, the third coordinate point, and the fourth coordinate point should be located in the same coordinate system, or the three coordinate points can be transformed into the same coordinate system through a coordinate transformation operation.

[0185] As can be seen from the above steps S510 to S540, the first time period indicated by the first time information may not be the first time period during which the first network device performs the beam-gazing function. That is, a reference time period exists before the first time period. In the case of dynamic configuration, the reference time period, the first time information, and the first location information can all be carried in a DCI including the content shown in Table 5 below.

[0186] Table 5

[0187] For example, the reference time period shown in Table 5 can be carried by reference time information, which includes the starting time and duration of the reference time period, or includes the duration and end time of the reference time period, or includes the starting time and end time of the reference time period.

[0188] Taking the first network device as a satellite station as an example, after the satellite station receives the DCI, since the first position information directly indicates the beam direction, the satellite station determines beam 1 pointing to the reference beam direction in the reference time period, or adjusts the beam pointing of a certain antenna so that the beam points to the reference beam direction, and then transmits data along the reference beam direction.

[0189] However, the satellite station is in motion, so after the reference period, the previously selected beam may not be able to cover the wave position indicated by the reference beam direction within the reference period. Considering that the reference beam direction corresponding to the reference period actually implies the position information of the first area, in other words, the position information of the first area can be determined based on the reference beam direction corresponding to the reference period. Therefore, combined with the above-mentioned embodiment, it can be seen that the satellite station can obtain its own spatial position coordinates within the reference period, that is, the aforementioned third coordinate point; then, based on the reference beam direction, it can deduce the spatial position coordinates of the first area, that is, the aforementioned fourth coordinate point. The reference beam direction can be abstracted as a spatial vector in a coordinate system.

[0190] Before the first time period, the satellite station can obtain the spatial coordinates of its current position and, in combination with the fourth coordinate point determined through the above operation, determine the corresponding beam direction of the satellite station during the first time period. The operation for subsequent time periods is similar and will not be repeated here. In this way, the satellite station implements a beam gaze function for the first area indicated by the first position information.

[0191] In some possible embodiments, the first location information may be represented by a beamindex in the current DCI.

[0192] In a static configuration or semi-static configuration scenario, the first control information also includes first cycle information, which is used to indicate multiple first cycles, the first first cycle includes the above-mentioned reference time period, the Nth first cycle includes the above-mentioned first time period, and the beam direction corresponding to the first time period included in the Nth first cycle is determined based on the reference beam direction corresponding to the reference time period included in the first first cycle, and N is an integer greater than 1.

[0193] In some possible embodiments, the starting time of the above-mentioned reference period within the first cycle may be the same as or different from the starting time of the above-mentioned first period within the first cycle, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. Taking the starting time of these two periods as the same, the length of the first cycle is 20ms, then in terms of timing, if the starting time of the reference period of the first first cycle is 5ms, the starting time of the first period of the second first cycle is 25ms. In addition, the length of the above-mentioned reference period and the first period may be the same or different, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0194] The first location information may be indicated by the beamindex in the current RRC signaling. The above S530 may be executed as follows:

[0195] After the forwarding resources indicated by the RRC signaling or the MAC CE signaling take effect, the first network device transmits data along the reference beam direction 1 within the reference time period 1 of the first cycle.

[0196] In a reference time period 2 of the first first cycle, the first network device transmits data along a reference beam direction 2 .

[0197] Before the first time period of the second first cycle, the fourth coordinate point 1 is determined based on the reference beam direction 1 and the third coordinate point 1 of the first network device in the reference time period 1; the first beam direction 1 is determined based on the second coordinate point 1 and the fourth coordinate point 1 corresponding to the current position of the first network device.

[0198] Based on this, in the first time period of the second first cycle, the first network device transmits data along the first beam direction 1.

[0199] It should be understood that, assuming the duration of the first cycle is 20ms, in terms of timing, if the start time of the first period of the first first cycle is 5ms, then the start time of the first period of the second first cycle is 25ms. The start time of the other periods of the second first cycle and the start time of each period of other first cycles are calculated in the same way.

[0200] Before the second time period of the second first cycle, the fourth coordinate point 2 is determined based on the reference beam direction 2 and the third coordinate point 2 of the first network device in the reference time period 2; the second beam direction 1 is determined based on the second coordinate point 2 and the fourth coordinate point 2 corresponding to the current position of the first network device.

[0201] Based on this, in the second time period of the second first cycle, the first network device transmits data along the second beam direction 1.

[0202] Before the first time period of the third first cycle, the first beam direction 2 is determined according to the second coordinate point 3 and the fourth coordinate point 1 corresponding to the current position of the first network device.

[0203] Based on this, in the first time period of the third first cycle, the first network device transmits data along the first beam direction 2 .

[0204] Before the second time period of the third first cycle, the first beam direction 2 is determined according to the second coordinate point 4 and the fourth coordinate point 2 corresponding to the current position of the first network device.

[0205] Based on this, in the second time period of the third first cycle, the first network device transmits data along the second beam direction 2.

[0206] For subsequent first cycles, the operations corresponding to the second first cycle are repeated until the first network device is unable to point the beam to reference beam direction 1 or reference beam direction 2, or the second network device reconfigures the forwarding resources through RRC signaling, or the second network device activates other forwarding resources configured by RRC through MAC CE signaling.

[0207] It should be understood that the above-mentioned reference beam direction 1, the first beam direction 1 and the first beam direction 2 refer to the same wave position, and the above-mentioned reference beam direction 2, the second beam direction 1 and the second beam direction 2 refer to the same wave position, thereby realizing the satellite station's wave position staring function for multiple wave positions within multiple RRC configuration cycles.

[0208] In the case of static configuration or semi-static configuration, the reference period, the first time information, the first location information, etc. can all be carried by RRC signaling including the content shown in Table 6 below.

[0209] Table 6

[0210] It should be understood that in the DCI or RRC signaling of the first RRC configuration cycle currently determined by the network side to indicate the satellite station beam direction, the beam index corresponding to the first time period in the DCI or the beam index corresponding to multiple time periods within the first RRC configuration cycle in the RRC signaling is used to indicate the beam direction of the satellite station's transmitted beam. In view of this, the reference beam direction included in the first position information in the aforementioned embodiments of the present application can use the beam index corresponding to the first time period currently defined. Within the reference time period, the satellite station can calculate the position information to which the beam is to be directed using this beam index and the satellite station's current position information.

[0211] Based on the above technical solution, for dynamic configuration, some information formats in the current DCI can be reused and the content of the current DCI can be directly simplified to indicate the beam directions corresponding to multiple time periods. For static and semi-static configuration, some information formats in the current RRC signaling can be reused and the content of the connecting segment RRC signaling can be directly simplified to indicate the beam directions corresponding to multiple time periods within multiple RRC configuration cycles. While saving control signaling overhead, the existing control signaling data format can be directly reused, eliminating the need to reconstruct the control signaling data format, thereby reducing the implementation difficulty of this solution.

[0212] In some possible embodiments, the first control information mentioned in the embodiment corresponding to the above method 500 may further include a first flag. The first flag may be a trigger flag. The trigger flag may be assigned a value of 1 or 0. When the trigger flag is assigned a value of 1, it indicates that the first network device is triggered to perform the operation of the above method 500, and when the trigger flag is assigned a value of 0, it indicates that the first network device is not triggered to perform the operation of the above method 500. Alternatively, when the trigger flag is assigned a value of 0, it indicates that the first network device is triggered to perform the operation of the above method 500, and when the trigger flag is assigned a value of 1, it indicates that the first network device is not triggered to perform the operation of the above method 500. The first network device may perform subsequent beam transmission actions according to the current beam configuration method. When the trigger flag is assigned a value of 1, it indicates that the first network device is triggered to perform the operation of the above method 500, i.e., it instructs the first network device to determine the first beam direction based on the first position information included in the first control information, and then perform the beam staring function.

[0213] It can be seen from this that when the trigger Flag is 0, the first control information can carry the configuration information shown in Table 1 or Table 3 above; it can be seen from this that when the trigger Flag is 1, the first control information can carry the configuration information shown in Table 2, Table 4, Table 5 or Table 6 above.

[0214] Of course, the operation of triggering the first network device to execute the above-mentioned method 500 can also be triggered in an implicit manner. Taking the first control information as DCI or RRC signaling as an example, since the signaling format and signaling length of the DCI or RRC signaling described in this application are different from the signaling format and signaling length of the current DCI or RRC signaling, it is possible to determine whether the DCI or RRC signaling instructs the first network device to trigger the execution of the above-mentioned method 500 based on the signaling format and signaling length of the DCI or RRC signaling.

[0215] In some possible embodiments, the first network device may further determine first capability information, where the first capability information is used to indicate whether the beam of the first network device can point to any direction; and then send the first capability information.

[0216] It should be understood that whether the beam of the first network device can point to any direction is essentially a description of the beamforming capability of the first network device. If the beam of the first network device can point to any direction, it means that the first network device has the beamforming capability; if the beam of the first network device cannot point to any direction, it means that the first network device does not have the beamforming capability.

[0217] Correspondingly, the second network device receives the first capability information from the first network device. When the first capability information is used to indicate that the beam of the first network device can point to any direction, the second network device then determines and sends the first control information mentioned in the above method 500.

[0218] In some possible embodiments, the first capability information may also be represented by an enable flag. When the enable flag is assigned a value of 0, it indicates that the first network device does not have the beamforming capability and therefore does not support the beam staring function. When the enable flag is assigned a value of 1, it indicates that the first network device has the beamforming capability and therefore supports the beam staring function. Alternatively, when the enable flag is assigned a value of 1, it indicates that the first network device does not have the beamforming capability and therefore does not support the beam staring function. When the enable flag is assigned a value of 0, it indicates that the first network device has the beamforming capability and therefore supports the beam staring function.

[0219] Based on the above technical solution, the network side can accurately know the beamforming capability of the first network device through the first network device reporting information on whether it has the gaze function, so that the network side can effectively control the first network device.

[0220] It should be understood that since the beam configuration schemes proposed at this stage only include dynamic configuration, static configuration and semi-static configuration, other possible configuration schemes in the future can also be applied to the satellite communication method proposed in the embodiment of this application.

[0221] In addition, an embodiment of the present application also provides an apparatus for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus for satellite communication is provided, which includes a unit (or means) for implementing any of the above satellite communication methods.

[0222] FIG9 is a schematic block diagram of a satellite communication device 900 provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG9 , the device 900 is applied to the first network device described above, and the device 900 includes:

[0223] A receiving unit 910 is configured to receive first control information, where the first control information includes first location information and first time information, wherein the first location information is used to indicate a location of a first area to be covered by a beam of a first network device, and the first time information is used to indicate a first time period;

[0224] a determining unit 920, configured to determine a first beam direction based on the first location information and the second location information, wherein the second location information is used to indicate a location of the first network device;

[0225] The operating unit 930 is configured to transmit data along a first beam direction within a first time period.

[0226] In some possible embodiments, the above-mentioned first position information is a first coordinate point, which belongs to the first area, or the above-mentioned first position information is a reference beam direction, which is used to indicate the direction from the first network device to the first area within a reference time period before the first time period; the above-mentioned second position information is a second coordinate point, which is the spatial coordinate of the position of the first network device.

[0227] In some possible embodiments, when the first position information is a reference beam direction, the above-mentioned determination unit 920 is specifically used to: determine the fourth coordinate point based on the reference beam direction and the third coordinate point, wherein the third coordinate point is the spatial coordinate of the first network device within the reference time period; determine the first beam direction based on the second coordinate point and the fourth coordinate point.

[0228] In some possible embodiments, in some possible embodiments, the first control information also includes first period information, which is used to indicate multiple first periods. When the first position information is a reference beam direction, the reference time period belongs to the 1st first period, the first time period belongs to the Nth first period, the 1st first period includes the reference time period, the Nth first period includes the first time period, and the beam direction corresponding to the first time period included in the Nth first period is determined based on the reference beam direction corresponding to the reference time period included in the 1st first period, and N is an integer greater than 1.

[0229] In some possible embodiments, the first control information further includes a first flag, and the first flag is used to trigger the above-mentioned determination unit 920 to determine the first beam direction according to the first position information and the second position information.

[0230] In some possible embodiments, the first control information is DCI or RRC signaling.

[0231] In some possible embodiments, the apparatus 900 further includes a sending unit 940 configured to send first capability information, where the first capability information is used to indicate whether a beam of the first network device can be directed in any direction.

[0232] FIG10 is a schematic block diagram of a satellite communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG10 , the device 1000 is applied to the second network device described above, and the device 1000 includes:

[0233] A determining unit 1010 is configured to determine first control information, where the first control information includes first location information and first time information, wherein the first location information is used to indicate a location of a first area to be covered by a beam of the first network device, the first time information is used to indicate a first time period, and the first control information is used to instruct the first network device to determine a first beam direction based on the first location information and to transmit data along the first beam direction within the first time period.

[0234] The sending unit 1020 is configured to send first control information.

[0235] In some possible embodiments, the first location information is a first coordinate point, which belongs to the first area; or, the first location information is a reference beam direction, which is used to indicate the direction from the first network device to the first area within a reference time period before the above-mentioned first time period.

[0236] In some possible embodiments, the first control information also includes first cycle information, which is used to indicate multiple first cycles. When the first position information is a reference beam direction, the first cycle includes the above-mentioned reference time period, and the Nth first cycle includes the above-mentioned first time period. The beam direction corresponding to the first time period included in the Nth first cycle is determined based on the reference beam direction corresponding to the reference time period included in the first first cycle, and N is an integer greater than 1.

[0237] In some possible embodiments, the first control information further includes a first flag, which is used to trigger the first network device to determine the first beam direction based on the first position information and the second position information, and the second position information is used to indicate the position of the first network device.

[0238] In some possible embodiments, the first control information is DCI or RRC signaling.

[0239] In some possible embodiments, the device 1000 also includes a receiving device 1030 for receiving first capability information, which is used to indicate whether the beam of the first network device can point to any direction; the above-mentioned determination unit 1010 is specifically used to determine the above-mentioned first control information when the first capability information is used to indicate that the beam of the first network device can point to any direction.

[0240] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0241] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0242] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0243] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0244] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0245] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0246] 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 this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A satellite communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a first network device, the method comprises: Receive first control information, where the first control information includes first location information and first time information, where the first location information is used to indicate a location of a first area to be covered by a beam of the first network device, and the first time information is used to indicate a first time period; Determine a first beam direction according to the first location information and the second location information, where the second location information is used to indicate the location of the first network device; During the first time period, data is transmitted along the first beam direction.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first location information is a first coordinate point, and the first coordinate point belongs to the first area, or the first location information is a reference beam direction, and the reference beam direction is used to indicate the direction from the first network device to the first area within a reference time period before the first time period; the second location information is a second coordinate point, and the second coordinate point is the spatial coordinate of the position of the first network device.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that In a case where the first position information is the reference beam direction, determining the first beam direction according to the first position information and the second position information includes: Determine a fourth coordinate point according to the reference beam direction and a third coordinate point, wherein the third coordinate point is a spatial coordinate of the first network device within the reference time period; The first beam direction is determined according to the second coordinate point and the fourth coordinate point.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The first control information also includes first cycle information, and the first cycle information is used to indicate multiple first cycles. When the first position information is the reference beam direction, the first cycle includes the reference time period, the Nth first cycle includes the first time period, and the beam direction corresponding to the first time period included in the Nth first cycle is determined based on the reference beam direction corresponding to the reference time period included in the first cycle, and N is an integer greater than 1.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The first control information also includes a first mark, and the first mark is used to trigger the first network device to determine a first beam direction according to the first position information and the second position information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first control information is downlink control information DCI or radio resource control RRC signaling.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send first capability information, where the first capability information is used to indicate whether a beam of the first network device can point to any direction.

8. A satellite communication method, characterized in that: Applied to the second network device, the method comprises: Determine first control information, where the first control information includes first location information and first time information, where the first location information is used to indicate a location of a first area to be covered by a beam of a first network device, and the first time information is used to indicate a first time period, and the first control information is used to instruct the first network device to determine a first beam direction according to the first location information, and transmit data along the first beam direction during the first time period; The first control information is sent.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The first location information is a first coordinate point, and the first coordinate point belongs to the first area; or, the first location information is a reference beam direction, and the reference beam direction is used to indicate the direction from the first network device to the first area in a reference time period before the first time period.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The first control information also includes first cycle information, and the first cycle information is used to indicate multiple first cycles. When the first position information is the reference beam direction, the first cycle includes the reference time period, the Nth first cycle includes the first time period, and the beam direction corresponding to the first time period included in the Nth first cycle is determined based on the reference beam direction corresponding to the reference time period included in the first cycle, and N is an integer greater than 1.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that The first control information also includes a first mark, where the first mark is used to trigger the first network device to determine a first beam direction according to the first position information and second position information, and the second position information is used to indicate the position of the first network device.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that The first control information is downlink control information DCI or radio resource control RRC signaling.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving first capability information, where the first capability information is used to indicate whether a beam of the first network device can be pointed in any direction; The determining the first control information comprises: In case that the first capability information is used to indicate that a beam of the first network device can point to any direction, the first control information is determined.

14. A satellite communication device, characterized in that: Applied to a first network device, the apparatus comprises: a receiving unit, configured to receive first control information, the first control information comprising first location information and first time information, the first location information being used to indicate a location of a first area to be covered by a beam of the first network device, and the first time information being used to indicate a first time period; a determining unit, configured to determine a first beam direction according to the first location information and second location information, wherein the second location information is used to indicate a location of the first network device; An operating unit is used to transmit data along the first beam direction within the first time period.

15. The device according to claim 14, characterized in that The first location information is a first coordinate point, and the first coordinate point belongs to the first area, or the first location information is a reference beam direction, and the reference beam direction is used to indicate the direction from the first network device to the first area within a reference time period before the first time period; the second location information is a second coordinate point, and the second coordinate point is the spatial coordinate of the position of the first network device.

16. The device according to claim 15, characterized in that In a case where the first position information is the reference beam direction, the determining unit is specifically configured to: Determine a fourth coordinate point according to the reference beam direction and a third coordinate point, wherein the third coordinate point is a spatial coordinate of the first network device within the reference time period; The first beam direction is determined according to the second coordinate point and the fourth coordinate point.

17. The device according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that The first control information also includes first cycle information, and the first cycle information is used to indicate multiple first cycles. When the first position information is the reference beam direction, the first cycle includes the reference time period, the Nth first cycle includes the first time period, and the beam direction corresponding to the first time period included in the Nth first cycle is determined based on the reference beam direction corresponding to the reference time period included in the first cycle, and N is an integer greater than 1.

18. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that The first control information also includes a first mark, and the first mark is used to trigger the determination unit to determine a first beam direction according to the first position information and the second position information.

19. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 18, characterized in that The first control information is downlink control information DCI or radio resource control RRC signaling.

20. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 19, characterized in that The device also includes: A sending unit is used to send first capability information, where the first capability information is used to indicate whether the beam of the first network device can point to any direction.

21. A satellite communication device, characterized in that: Applied to a second network device, the apparatus comprises: a determining unit, configured to determine first control information, the first control information comprising first location information and first time information, the first location information being used to indicate a location of a first area to be covered by a beam of a first network device, the first time information being used to indicate a first time period, the first control information being used to instruct the first network device to determine a first beam direction according to the first location information, and to transmit data along the first beam direction within the first time period; A sending unit, configured to send the first control information.

22. The device according to claim 21, characterized in that The first location information is a first coordinate point, and the first coordinate point belongs to the first area; or, the first location information is a reference beam direction, and the reference beam direction is used to indicate the direction from the first network device to the first area in a reference time period before the first time period.

23. The device according to claim 22, characterized in that The first control information also includes first cycle information, and the first cycle information is used to indicate multiple first cycles. When the first position information is the reference beam direction, the first cycle includes the reference time period, the Nth first cycle includes the first time period, and the beam direction corresponding to the first time period included in the Nth first cycle is determined based on the reference beam direction corresponding to the reference time period included in the first cycle, and N is an integer greater than 1.

24. The device according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that The first control information also includes a first mark, where the first mark is used to trigger the first network device to determine a first beam direction according to the first position information and second position information, and the second position information is used to indicate the position of the first network device.

25. The device according to any one of claims 21 to 24, characterized in that The first control information is downlink control information DCI or radio resource control RRC signaling.

26. The device according to any one of claims 21 to 25, characterized in that The device also includes: A receiving device, used to receive first capability information, where the first capability information is used to indicate whether a beam of the first network device can be pointed in any direction; The determining unit is specifically configured to determine the first control information when the first capability information is used to indicate that a beam of the first network device can point to any direction.

27. A satellite communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the processor and the memory are connected, wherein the memory is used to store program codes, and the processor is used to call the program codes to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

28. A chip system, characterized in that: The chip system is applied to an electronic device; the chip system includes one or more interface circuits and one or more processors; the interface circuit and the processor are interconnected through lines; the interface circuit is used to receive a signal from a memory of the electronic device and send the signal to the processor, the signal including a computer instruction stored in the memory; when the processor executes the computer instruction, the electronic device executes the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

30. A computer program product, characterized in that When the computer program code or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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