Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal device acquires ephemeris information, and the terminal device adjusts the orientation of a transceiving beam on the basis of the ephemeris information. According to the present application, the orientation of a transceiving beam can be adjusted on the basis of ephemeris information, so that frequent indication of the orientation of beams by means of TCI can be avoided, thereby reducing the signaling overhead.

Description

Communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on January 10, 2024, with application number 202410041765.3, and priority to the Chinese patent application with the invention name “Communication Method and Communication Device”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] Currently, the fifth-generation (5G) New Radio (NR) is designed specifically for terrestrial communications, providing high-speed, highly reliable, and low-latency communications for user terminals. Compared to terrestrial communications, non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) offer advantages such as wide coverage and flexible networking.

[0004] Beam management can manage the scanning, reporting, and maintenance of static beams, select appropriate static beams for each channel, thereby improving cell coverage and saving system overhead. Among them, for the NR system, beam indication can be based on the transmission configuration indicator (TCI). Specifically, when the network device performs beam indication, it can configure the TCI state (TCI state) to indicate the quasi co-location (QCL) relationship with the reference signal, and the terminal device receives the beam pointing based on the measurement of the reference signal and trains the receiving beam of the reference signal. In this way, when the terminal device receives the data of the target reference signal / channel, it can adjust the direction of the receiving beam according to the QCL relationship with the reference signal.

[0005] In NTN communications, due to the dynamic motion of satellites, frequently using TCI to indicate beam pointing results in high signaling overhead. Therefore, reducing the overhead of beam pointing in NTN communication systems is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0006] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method and a communication device. The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application can adjust the direction of the transceiver beam according to the ephemeris information of the network device, and the network device can adjust the direction of the transceiver beam according to the location information of the terminal device, which can avoid frequently indicating the beam direction through TCI, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0007] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method. This method can be executed by a terminal device, or by a module (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system) applied to the terminal device. It can also be implemented by a logical node, logic module, or software that implements all or part of the terminal device's functions. The method can include: obtaining ephemeris information; and adjusting the direction of a transmit and receive beam based on the ephemeris information.

[0008] In the solution provided in this application, a minimalist NTN beam management is provided, which reconstructs the NTN beam management by using location auxiliary information such as ephemeris information. That is, this embodiment adopts beam management based on location auxiliary information, which can avoid frequently indicating beam direction through TCI, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the method may further include: obtaining a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold; and performing receive beam measurement when the RSRP of the terminal device is lower than the RSRP threshold. By implementing this possible implementation, beam measurement is performed with the terminal device as the primary driver. Specifically, the terminal device may not perform periodic beam measurement reporting, but only request beam training when channel conditions are poor or when the terminal device determines that receive beam training is required, thereby reducing beam measurement and reporting overhead.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the method may further include: obtaining a preset duration; and performing receive beam measurement when the RSRP of the terminal device is below an RSRP threshold for a predetermined duration. By implementing this possible implementation, beam measurement is performed with the terminal device in the driver's seat. Specifically, the terminal device may not perform periodic beam measurement reporting, but only request beam training when channel conditions are poor or when the terminal device determines that receive beam training is required, thereby reducing beam measurement and reporting overhead.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the method may further include: sending a request message for receiving beam training, the request message including a requested training time period; receiving reference signal resources configured from a network device; and performing beam training based on the reference signal resources. By implementing this possible implementation, the terminal device can control the timing of beam training, so that the network device configures reference signal resources for the terminal device based on the terminal device's request message, and the terminal device performs beam training based on the reference signal resources, thereby reducing beam measurement and reporting overhead.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the request information also includes the requested number of beams to be trained. By implementing this possible implementation, the terminal device can determine the number of beams to be trained. This allows the network device to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device based on the request information. The terminal device then performs beam training based on the reference signal resources, thereby reducing beam measurement and reporting overhead.

[0013] In one possible implementation, obtaining ephemeris information includes obtaining transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state information, where the TCI state information includes ephemeris information. By implementing this possible implementation, ephemeris information is added to the TCI state information, thereby instructing a terminal device to perform intra-satellite beam switching and pre-acquire beams during inter-satellite handoffs, thereby resolving the issue of high signaling overhead associated with frequent TCI updates.

[0014] In one possible implementation, if the TCI status information includes ephemeris information and quasi-co-located QCL type D is not configured, the direction of the receive beam is determined by the ephemeris information. By implementing this possible implementation, in one possible implementation, if ephemeris information is added to the TCI status information, the network device may also configure QCL type D in the TCI status information. Upon receiving this TCI status information, the terminal device may be unable to determine which instruction to follow for receiving beam adjustment. This embodiment resolves the conflict between QCL type D and ephemeris.

[0015] In one possible implementation, if the TCI status information includes ephemeris information and quasi-co-located QCL type D is configured, the direction of the receive beam is determined by the indication of the QCL type D. By implementing this possible implementation, in one possible implementation, if ephemeris information is added to the TCI status information, the network device may also configure QCL type D in the TCI status information. Upon receiving this TCI status information, the terminal device may be unable to determine which indication to use for receive beam adjustment. This embodiment can resolve the conflict between QCL type D and ephemeris.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the TCI status information is carried in a radio resource control (RRC), a medium access control control element (MAC CE), or downlink control information (DCI).

[0017] In a possible implementation, the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the method may further include: sending location information of the terminal device, where the location information is used by the network device to adjust the direction of the beam, and the location information includes global navigation satellite system (GNSS) or beam position information.

[0019] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a terminal device, or by a module (such as a processor, chip, or chip system) applied to the terminal device, or by a logical node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device functions. The method may include: receiving a first QCL type, the first QCL type meeting at least one of the following conditions: no source reference signal; indicating that the beams used for downlink and uplink transmissions of the terminal device are the same; indicating that the receiving and transmitting beam directions of the terminal device are adjusted according to the ephemeris information; and adjusting the direction of the receiving beam according to the first QCL type.

[0020] In the solution provided in this application, a new QCL type (the first QCL type in the embodiment of this application) is defined. The terminal device can adjust the receiving beam direction according to the first QCL type and ephemeris information, which can avoid frequently indicating the beam direction through TCI, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the method may further include: acquiring ephemeris information, where the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell.

[0022] In a possible implementation manner, receiving the first QCL type includes: receiving TCI status information, where the TCI status information includes the first QCL type.

[0023] In a possible implementation manner, the TCI status information further includes ephemeris information.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the TCI status information is carried in RRC, MAC CE or DCI.

[0025] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method that can be executed by a network device, or by a module (such as a processor, chip, or chip system) applied to the network device, or by a logical node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the network device's functions. The method may include: obtaining location information of a terminal device, the location information including GNSS information or beam position information; and adjusting the direction of a transmit and receive beam based on the location information.

[0026] In the solution provided in this application, a minimalist NTN beam management is provided, which reconstructs the NTN beam management by using location auxiliary information such as GNSS or wave position information. That is, this embodiment adopts beam management based on location auxiliary information, which can avoid frequently indicating beam direction through TCI, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0027] It should be understood that the executor of the third aspect can be a network device, and the specific content of the third aspect corresponds to the content of the first aspect. The corresponding features of the third aspect and the beneficial effects achieved can refer to the description of the first aspect. To avoid repetition, the detailed description is appropriately omitted here.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the method may further include: sending an RSRP threshold, where the RSRP threshold is used by the terminal device to determine whether to perform measurement of the receiving beam.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the method may further include: sending a preset duration, where the preset duration is used by the terminal device to determine to perform measurement of the receiving beam.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the method may further include: receiving request information, the request information being used to request receive beam training, the request information including a requested training time period; and configuring reference signal resources to the terminal device according to the request information.

[0031] In a possible implementation manner, the request information further includes the number of beams requested for training.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the method may further include: sending ephemeris information, where the ephemeris information is used by the terminal device to adjust the direction of the transceiver beam.

[0033] In a possible implementation, sending the ephemeris information includes sending TCI status information, where the TCI status information includes ephemeris information.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the reference signal resource is carried in RRC, MAC CE or DCI; and / or the TCI status information is carried in RRC, MAC CE or DCI.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a network device, or by a module (such as a processor, chip, or chip system) applied to the network device, or by a logical node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions. The method may include: sending a first QCL type, where the first QCL type satisfies at least one of the following conditions: no source reference signal; indicating that the beams used for downlink and uplink transmissions of the terminal device are the same; and instructing the terminal device to adjust the transceiver beam pointing according to the ephemeris information.

[0037] In the solution provided in this application, a new QCL type (the first QCL type in the embodiment of this application) is defined. The terminal device can adjust the receiving beam direction according to the first QCL type and ephemeris information, which can avoid frequently indicating the beam direction through TCI, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0038] It should be understood that the executor of the fourth aspect can be a network device, and the specific content of the fourth aspect corresponds to the content of the second aspect. The corresponding features of the fourth aspect and the beneficial effects achieved can refer to the description of the second aspect. To avoid repetition, the detailed description is appropriately omitted here.

[0039] In a possible implementation, the method may further include: sending ephemeris information, where the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell.

[0040] In a possible implementation manner, sending the first QCL type includes: sending TCI status information, where the TCI status information includes the first QCL type.

[0041] In a possible implementation manner, the TCI status information further includes ephemeris information.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the TCI status information is carried in RRC, MAC CE or DCI.

[0043] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a module / unit for performing any of the methods described in the first aspect and its possible implementations, and the second aspect and its possible implementations. The device may be a terminal device, or a module (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to a terminal device, or a logical node, logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0044] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a module / unit for performing any of the methods described in the third aspect and its possible implementations, and the fourth aspect and its possible implementations. The device may be a network device, or a module (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to a network device, or a logical node, logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of a network device.

[0045] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal device, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the terminal device to implement the above-mentioned method, or a logical node, a logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device. Among them, the communication device may also be a chip system. The communication device can execute the methods described in the first and second aspects. The functions of the communication device can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above-mentioned functions. The unit may be software and / or hardware. The operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device can refer to the methods and beneficial effects described in the first and second aspects above, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0046] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a network device, or a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the network device to implement the above-mentioned method, or a logical node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions. Among them, the communication device may also be a chip system. The communication device may execute the methods described in the third and fourth aspects. The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above-mentioned functions. The unit may be software and / or hardware. The operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device may refer to the methods and beneficial effects described in the third and fourth aspects above, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0047] In the ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is used to store computer execution instructions. When the computer execution instructions are executed, the method executed by the terminal device in the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect is implemented; or, the method executed by the network device in the method described in the third aspect or the fourth aspect is implemented.

[0048] In the tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising a computer program, which, when executed, enables the method executed by the terminal device in the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect to be implemented; or, enables the method executed by the network device in the method described in the third aspect or the fourth aspect to be implemented.

[0049] In the eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which includes a communication device (such as a terminal device) for executing the methods described in the first and second aspects above and a communication device (such as a network device) for executing the methods described in the third and fourth aspects above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0050] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a non-terrestrial communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a 5G satellite communication system architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a downlink transmitting end beam adjustment provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a downlink receiving end beam adjustment provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG5 is an interactive diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG6 is an interactive diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] 7 and 8 are schematic structural diagrams of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0057] The specific embodiments of the present application are further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0058] The terms "first" and "second" and the like in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish between different objects, not to describe a particular order. Furthermore, the terms "including" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or elements is not limited to the listed steps or elements, but may optionally include steps or elements not listed, or may optionally include other steps or elements inherent to the process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0059] References herein to "embodiments" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it constitute an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive of other embodiments. It is understood, both explicitly and implicitly, by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0060] In this application, "at least one (item)" refers to one or more, "more than one" refers to two or more, "at least two (items)" refers to two or three and more than three, and "and / or" is used to describe the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0061] In this application, "sending information" can be understood as one device sending information to another device, or as one logic module within a device sending information to another logic module. For example, "a network device sending information" can be understood as the network device sending information to another device (such as a terminal device), or as logic module 1 within the network device sending information to logic module 2 within the network device.

[0062] In this application, "receiving information" can be understood as one device receiving information from another device, or it can also be understood as a logic module within a device receiving information from another logic module. For example, "a network device receiving information" can be understood as the network device receiving information from another device (such as a terminal device), or it can be understood as logic module 1 in the network device receiving information from logic module 2 in the network device.

[0063] In this application, "sending information to... (e.g., a terminal device)" can be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal device. This can include sending information to the terminal device directly or indirectly. "Receiving information from... (e.g., a terminal device)" or "receiving information from... (e.g., a terminal device)" can be understood as the source of the information being the terminal device, which can include receiving information from the terminal device directly or indirectly. The information may be processed as necessary between the source and destination of the information, such as format changes, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be elaborated on here.

[0064] To better understand the embodiments of the present application, the following first introduces the system architecture involved in the embodiments of the present application:

[0065] Embodiments of the present application can be applied to communication systems such as satellite communications, including satellite base stations, ground stations, and terminal device-type network elements. The satellite base station provides communication services to the terminal device. The satellite base station transmits downlink data to the terminal device, where the data is encoded using channel coding, and the channel-coded data is then constellation-modulated and transmitted to the terminal device. The terminal device transmits uplink data to the satellite base station, where the uplink data can also be encoded using channel coding, and the encoded data is then constellation-modulated and transmitted to the satellite base station. A wireless communication system can include one or more network devices and one or more terminal devices.

[0066] The following is an exemplary explanation of the system architecture shown in Figure 1. The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the NTN communication system. As shown in Figure 1, the NTN communication system includes a network device 101 and a terminal device 102.

[0067] The terminal device 102 may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc., or a device used to provide voice or data connectivity to users, or an IoT device. For example, the terminal device includes a handheld device with wireless connection capabilities, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. Currently, terminal devices can be: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices (such as smart watches, smart bracelets, pedometers, etc.), vehicle-mounted equipment (such as cars, bicycles, electric vehicles, airplanes, ships, trains, high-speed trains, etc.), satellite terminals, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, smart point of sale (POS) machines, customer-premises equipment (CPE), wireless terminal devices in industrial control, smart home devices (such as refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, electricity meters, etc.), intelligent robots, robotic arms, workshop equipment, wireless terminal devices in unmanned driving, wireless terminal devices in telemedicine, wireless terminal devices in smart grids, wireless terminal devices in transportation safety, wireless terminal devices in smart cities, or wireless terminal devices in smart homes, flying equipment (such as intelligent robots, hot air balloons, drones, airplanes), etc. The terminal device may also be other devices having terminal device functions. For example, the terminal device may also be a device serving as a terminal device in D2D communication.

[0068] The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form factor of the terminal device. The device used to implement the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device; it can also be a device that supports the terminal device to implement the functions, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal device or used in conjunction with the terminal device. In the embodiments of this application, the chip system can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete components.

[0069] Network device 101 may also be referred to as a satellite, high-altitude platform, high-altitude aircraft, or satellite base station. Network device 101 provides communication services to terminal device 102 and may also be connected to core network equipment. Network devices are used to help terminal devices achieve wireless access.

[0070] In one possible scenario, a network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmitting and receiving point (TRP), a transmitting point (TP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a base station in future mobile communication systems, a satellite, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a mobile switching center, or a network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication system, i.e., it can be deployed on a high-altitude platform or satellite. A network device can be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, a relay node, a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. A network device can also function as a base station in device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, drone communication, or machine communication. Optionally, a network device can be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an onboard device. For example, a network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0071] All or part of the functions of the network device in this application may also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform). The network device in this application may also be a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions.

[0072] In another possible scenario, multiple network devices collaborate to assist the terminal device in achieving wireless access, and different network devices respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the network device can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be set separately, or they can also be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). It can be understood that the network device can be a CU node, a DU node, or a device including a CU node and a DU node. In addition, the CU can be divided into a network device in the access network RAN, or the CU can be divided into a network device in the core network CN, which is not limited here.

[0073] 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 uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0074] Taking 5G as an example, a 5G satellite communication system architecture is shown in Figure 2. Ground-based terminal devices access the network via the 5G new air interface. 5G base stations are deployed on satellites and connected to the ground core network via wireless links. Furthermore, wireless links exist between satellites, enabling signaling exchanges and user data transmission between base stations. The devices and interfaces in Figure 2 are described below:

[0075] 5G Core Network: Provides services such as user access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, and billing. It consists of multiple functional units, which can be divided into control plane and data plane functional entities. The Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) is responsible for user access management, security authentication, and mobility management. The User Plane Function (UPF) manages user plane data transmission, traffic statistics, and other functions. The Session Management Function (SMF) is primarily responsible for session management in mobile networks, such as session establishment, modification, and release.

[0076] Ground station: responsible for forwarding signaling and service data between satellite base stations and 5G core network.

[0077] 5G New Radio: The wireless link between terminal devices and base stations.

[0078] Xn interface: The interface between 5G base stations, mainly used for signaling interactions such as switching.

[0079] NG interface: The interface between the 5G base station and the 5G core network, which mainly interacts with the core network's non-access stratum (NAS) signaling and user service data.

[0080] In the embodiments of the present application, the form of the network device is not limited. The device used to implement the function of the network device can be a network device; it can also be a device that can support the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the network device or used in conjunction with the network device.

[0081] The following description of the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application uses the example of a satellite as an example device for implementing the functions of a network device. It is understood that when the solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are applied to a terrestrial communication system, the actions performed by the satellite can be applied to a base station or network device for execution. Furthermore, the aforementioned satellites can be geostationary satellites, non-geostationary satellites, artificial satellites, low-orbit satellites, medium-orbit satellites, high-orbit satellites, etc., and are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0082] In order to facilitate understanding of the contents of this solution, some of the terms involved in the embodiments of this application are explained below to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art. This part is only for ease of understanding and cannot be regarded as a specific limitation of this application.

[0083] 1. Quasi-co-location

[0084] The large-scale properties of the channel experienced by symbols on one antenna port can be inferred from the signal experienced by symbols on another antenna port. In other words, quasi-co-location means that the large-scale properties of the two antenna ports are the same.

[0085] 2. Beam management

[0086] The core of beam management is to manage the scanning, reporting, and maintenance of static beams, and select appropriate static beams for each channel, thereby improving cell coverage and saving system overhead.

[0087] For NR systems, beam management can include:

[0088] (1) Beam scanning: A beam of reference signal is sent and spatially scanned at predefined time intervals;

[0089] (2) Beam measurement / decision: The terminal device measures the reference signal and selects the best beam;

[0090] (3) Beam reporting: For terminal devices, reporting the results of beam measurements;

[0091] (4) Beam indication: The network device instructs the terminal device to select a specified beam;

[0092] (5) Beam failure recovery: includes beam failure detection, new beam discovery, and beam recovery processes.

[0093] 3. Beam adjustment

[0094] Once an initial beam pair is established, the selection of transmitter-side and receiver-side beam directions needs to be periodically re-evaluated due to movement and rotation of the mobile device. Furthermore, even for stationary devices, movement of other objects in the environment may block or unblock different beam pairs, meaning that the selected beam directions may need to be re-evaluated. This beam adjustment can also include refining the beam shape, such as making the beam narrower compared to the relatively wide beam used for initial beam establishment. In general, beamforming is about a beam pair consisting of a transmit-side beamforming and a receive-side beamforming. Therefore, beam adjustment can be divided into two separate processes: re-evaluating and possibly adjusting the transmitter-side beam direction given the current receiver-side beam direction; and re-evaluating and possibly adjusting the receiver-side beam direction given the current transmitter-side beam direction.

[0095] As mentioned above, in the general case, beamforming including beam steering is required for both downlink and uplink transmission directions. However, if it can be assumed that the downlink / uplink beams correspond, explicit beam steering only needs to be performed in one direction, for example, the downlink direction. It can then be assumed that the adjusted downlink beam pair is also applicable to the opposite transmission direction.

[0096] Beam adjustment may include downlink transmitting end beam adjustment, downlink receiving end beam adjustment and uplink beam adjustment.

[0097] For downlink transmit beam adjustment, the goal of downlink transmitter-side beam adjustment is to improve the network transmit beam, taking into account the receiver beam currently used on the device. To this end, the device can measure a set of reference signals corresponding to different downlink beams. Refer to Figure 3, which is a schematic diagram of a downlink transmit beam adjustment provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 3, assuming analog beamforming, transmissions within different downlink beams must be performed sequentially, i.e., through beam scanning. The measurement results are then reported to the network, which can then decide to adjust the current beam based on the report. It should be noted that this adjustment does not necessarily mean selecting one of the beams measured by the device. For example, the network may decide to transmit using a beam direction between the two reported beams. In addition, during the measurement for transmitter-side beam adjustment, the device receiver beam should remain fixed to measure the quality of capturing different transmitter beams given the current receive beam. To implement the measurement and reporting of a set of beams, as outlined in Figure 3, a reporting framework based on reporting configurations can be used. More specifically, the measurement / reporting should be described by a reporting configuration with L1-RSRP as the quantity to be reported. The set of reference signals to be measured corresponding to the beam set shall be included in the NZP-CSI-RS resource set associated with the reporting configuration. Such a resource set may include a set of configured CSI-RS or a set of SS blocks. Thus, beam management measurements may be performed on CSI-RS or SS blocks. In the case of CSI-RS based L1-RSRP measurements, the CSI-RS shall be limited to single-port or dual-port CSI-RS. In the latter case, the reported L1-RSRP shall be the linear average of the L1-RSRP measured on each port. The device may report measurement results corresponding to up to four reference signals (CSI-RS or SS blocks), in practice up to four beams, in a single reporting instance. Each such report may include: an indication of up to four reference signals, in practice beams, associated with that particular report; the measured L1-RSRP of the strongest beam; and for the remaining up to three beams: the difference between the measured L1-RSRP and the measured L1-RSRP of the best beam.

[0098] For downlink receiver beam adjustment, the purpose of receiver-side beam adjustment is to find the best receive beam given the current transmit beam. To achieve this, the device should again configure a set of downlink reference signals, in this case, these reference signals are transmitted within the same network-side beam (current serving beam). Refer to Figure 4, which is a schematic diagram of a downlink receiver beam adjustment provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4, the device can then perform receiver-side beam scanning to measure the configured reference signals in sequence on a set of receiver beams. Based on these measurements, the device can adjust its current receiver beam. Downlink receiver-side beam adjustment can be based on a reporting configuration similar to transmitter-side beam adjustment. However, since receiver-side beam adjustment is done inside the device, there is no reporting quantity associated with receiver-side beam adjustment. In order to allow analog beamforming at the receiver, different reference signals in the resource set should be transmitted with different symbols, allowing the beam at the receiver to sweep across the reference signal set. At the same time, the device should be allowed to assume that different reference signals in the resource set are transmitted using the same spatial filter and are actually the same transmit beam. Typically, a configured resource set includes a "repeat" flag that indicates whether the device can assume that all reference signals in the resource set are transmitted using the same spatial filter. The repeat flag should be set for resource sets used for downlink receiver-side beam steering.

[0099] For uplink beam adjustment, the purpose of uplink beam adjustment is the same as that of downlink beam adjustment, that is, to maintain a suitable beam pair, which in the case of uplink beam adjustment means a suitable transmit beam on the device side and a corresponding suitable receive beam on the network side. As mentioned above, if it can be assumed that the beams correspond and a suitable downlink beam pair has been established and retained, then there is no need for explicit uplink beam management. Conversely, it can be assumed that a suitable beam pair for the downlink transmission direction also applies to the uplink direction. It should be noted that the reverse is also true, that is, if a suitable beam pair is established and retained for the uplink direction, the same beam pair can also be used in the downlink direction without the need for explicit downlink beam management. If explicit uplink beam adjustment is required, it can be performed in essentially the same way as for downlink beam adjustment, the main difference being that the network performs measurements based on the configured SRS rather than the CSI-RS or SS blocks.

[0100] 4. Beam Direction and TCI

[0101] Downlink beamforming can be done transparently to the device, that is, the device does not need to know what beam the transmitter uses. However, NR also supports beam indication. In practice, this means informing the device that a certain PDSCH and / or PDCCH transmission uses the same transmit beam as the configured reference signal (CSI-RS or SS block). More formally, it means informing the device that a certain PDSCH and / or PDCCH is transmitted using the same spatial filter as the configured reference signal.

[0102] Specifically, beam indication is based on the configuration of the Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state and downlink signaling. Each TCI state includes information about the reference signal (CSI-RS or SS block), etc. By associating a downlink transmission (PDCCH or PDSCH) with a certain TCI, the network informs the device that it can assume that the downlink transmission is performed using the same spatial filter as the reference signal associated with the TCI. A device can configure up to 64 candidate TCI states. For PDCCH beam indication, a subset of M configured candidate states is allocated to each configured CORESET via RRC signaling. Through MAC signaling, the network can more dynamically indicate that a specific TCI state in the subset configured for each CORESET is valid. When monitoring the PDCCH in a certain CORESET, the device can assume that the PDCCH transmission uses the same spatial filter as the reference signal associated with the MAC-indicated TCI. In other words, if the device has earlier determined the appropriate receiver-side beam direction for receiving the reference signal, the device can assume that the same beam direction is suitable for receiving the PDCCH. For PDSCH beam indication, there are two options based on the scheduling offset, i.e., based on the timing of the PDSCH transmission relative to the corresponding PDCCH carrying the scheduling information for the PDSCH. If this scheduling offset is greater than N symbols, the DCI assigned by the scheduler can explicitly indicate the TCI state for the PDSCH transmission. To achieve this, the device first configures a set of candidate TCI states of up to eight TCI states (from the initially configured states). A three-bit indicator in the DCI then indicates the exact TCI state that is valid for the scheduled PDSCH transmission. If the scheduling offset is less than or equal to N symbols, the device should instead assume that the PDSCH transmission is a QCL with the corresponding PDCCH transmission. In other words, the TCI state for the PDCCH state indicated by MAC signaling should be assumed to be valid for the corresponding scheduled PDSCH transmission. The reason for limiting fully dynamic TCI selection based on DCI signaling to the case where the scheduling offset is greater than a certain value is simple: for shorter scheduling offsets, the device will not have enough time to decode the TCI information DCI within the scheduling offset and adjust the receiver beam accordingly before receiving the PDSCH.

[0103] Currently, for NR systems, beam indication can be based on TCI. Specifically, the high and low frequencies each have a set of QCL configurations, where the source reference signal is SSB or CSI-RS, and the target reference signal / channel is CSI-RS, PDCCH DMRS, and PDSCH DMRS. There are four QCL types: type A, type B, type C, and type D. The specific channel characteristics they represent are shown in Table 1.

[0104] Table 1 QCL relationships in NR systems

[0105] When performing beam pointing, network devices can configure the TCI state to indicate the QCL relationship with the reference signal and use a type D indicator spatial filter. The terminal device performs receive beam pointing based on the reference signal measurement and training of the receive (Rx) beam for the reference signal. This allows the terminal device to adjust the receive beam direction based on the QCL relationship with the reference signal when receiving data from the target reference signal / channel.

[0106] However, the application of QCL type D for beam pointing in NTN communication systems may have the following problems:

[0107] 1. If the QCL source signal is periodic, it has a long period (SSB: 5ms-160ms; CSI-RS: 4-640 slots). The satellite moves at high speed, and the receiving beam based on the source signal may become outdated. This is especially true for very small aperture terminals (VSATs) with extremely narrow beams, which may have a half-power beamwidth (HPBW) of around 1 degree.

[0108] 2. The satellite moves dynamically and frequently indicates beam pointing through TCI. Frequent TCI updates are required (especially in earth-moving scenarios), which will result in high signaling overhead.

[0109] Therefore, how to reduce the overhead of beam pointing in NTN communication systems is an urgent problem to be solved.

[0110] The embodiments of the present application propose a communication method that can achieve extremely simplified NTN beam management. It uses ephemeris information and location assistance information such as GNSS to reconstruct NTN beam management, avoids frequently indicating beam pointing through TCI, and thus reduces signaling overhead. The following embodiments will be described separately. In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0111] The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described below. It is understandable that the present application uses network equipment and terminal equipment as examples of the execution subjects of the interactive illustration, but the present application does not limit the execution subjects of the interactive illustration. For example, the method performed by the network equipment in the present application may also be performed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the network equipment, or may be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the network equipment function; the method performed by the terminal equipment in the present application may also be performed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the terminal equipment, or may be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the terminal equipment function. Wherein, the network equipment may be a satellite, and the satellite may be a geostationary satellite, a non-geostationary satellite, an artificial satellite, a low-orbit satellite, a medium-orbit satellite, and a high-orbit satellite, etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0112] Please refer to Figure 5, which is an interactive diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 5, the communication method may include at least the following steps.

[0113] S501. The terminal device obtains ephemeris information from the network device.

[0114] Ephemeris information can be understood as the precise orbital data of the network device (satellite) itself.

[0115] One possible implementation method is to obtain ephemeris information through TCI status information. Specifically, the network device can send TCI status information to the terminal device, and the TCI status information includes the above-mentioned ephemeris information. The ephemeris information can be the ephemeris information of the cell (service cell) where the terminal device is currently located or the service transmit and receive point (transmit receive point, TRP), or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell. It can be understood that if the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, the terminal device can perform intra-satellite beam switching according to the ephemeris information; if the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell, the terminal device can perform inter-satellite beam switching according to the ephemeris information. When used for inter-satellite beam switching, the terminal device can obtain the direction of the receiving beam in advance.

[0116] TCI status information can be carried in RRC, MAC CE or DCI.

[0117] S502: The terminal device adjusts the direction of the transmit and receive beams according to the ephemeris information.

[0118] After the terminal device obtains the ephemeris information from the network device, it can adjust the direction of the transmit and receive beams according to the ephemeris information.

[0119] In one possible implementation, if ephemeris information is added to the TCI status information, the network device may also configure QCL type D in the TCI status information. When the terminal device receives this TCI status information, it may not be able to determine which instruction to follow to adjust the receive beam. Based on the conflict between QCL type D and ephemeris, the following methods can be used to handle it:

[0120] If the TCI status information includes ephemeris information and QCL type D is not configured, the direction of the receive beam is determined by the ephemeris information;

[0121] If the TCI status information includes ephemeris information and QCL type D is configured, the direction of the receive beam is determined by the indication of QCL type D.

[0122] Adding ephemeris information to the TCI status information can instruct the terminal device to switch beams within the satellite and acquire beams in advance during inter-satellite switching, solving the problem of high signaling overhead caused by frequent TCI updates.

[0123] S503: The network device obtains the location information of the terminal device from the terminal device.

[0124] The network device may send the location information of the terminal device to the terminal device, where the location information includes GNSS information or wave position information.

[0125] S504: The network device adjusts the direction of the transceiver beam according to the location information of the terminal device.

[0126] After the network device obtains the location information of the terminal device from the terminal device, it can adjust the direction of the transceiver beam according to the location information of the terminal device.

[0127] A default beam pair can be maintained between the network device and the terminal device, that is, the network device can determine the direction of the transmit / receive beam based on the location information of the terminal device, and the terminal device can adjust the direction of the receive / transmit beam based on the obtained ephemeris information.

[0128] Furthermore, terminal devices can lead the beam measurement mechanism. Beam misalignment can occur on the terminal side, especially for VSAT terminals, requiring a beam correction mechanism. In NTN systems, network equipment moves at high speeds, requiring terminal devices to complete beam training within a certain timeframe. Furthermore, the number of beams required for training and the time required to complete training vary depending on the beam width of the terminal devices.

[0129] The beam measurement of the terminal device can be triggered in the following two ways:

[0130] In one possible implementation, the terminal device may obtain an RSRP threshold, and perform a measurement of the receiving beam when the RSRP of the terminal device is lower than the RSRP threshold.

[0131] In one possible implementation, the terminal device may obtain the RSRP threshold and a preset duration (for example, the terminal device maintains a timer), and perform receiving beam measurement when the RSRP of the terminal device is lower than the RSRP threshold for a preset duration.

[0132] Furthermore, the terminal device can also dominate the number and time of beam training. Specifically, the terminal device can send a request message to the network device, and the request message is used to request to receive beam training. The request message includes a requested training time period, or the request message includes a requested training time period and the number of beams requested for training. After receiving the request message, the network device can refer to the requested training time period in the request message, or refer to the requested training time period and the number of beams requested for training in the request message, to configure reference signal resources to the terminal device, and the terminal device performs beam training according to the reference signal resources. Among them, the reference signal can be a CSR-RS signal. The reference signal resource can be notified to the terminal device by the network device through signaling such as RRC, MAC CE or DCI.

[0133] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of the present application are merely for the purpose of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily indicate the order in which they are executed. For example, the order in which steps S501 and S503 are executed is not limited; step S503 may be executed before step S501, or step S503 may be executed simultaneously with step S501. The order in which the processes are executed should be determined by their functions and internal logic.

[0134] Usually the system needs to configure periodic signals to measure, report and adjust the beam. The embodiment of the present application provides a minimalist NTN beam management, which uses ephemeris information and location auxiliary information such as GNSS or wave position information to reconstruct the NTN beam management. That is, this embodiment adopts beam management based on location auxiliary information, which can avoid frequently indicating beam pointing through TCI, thereby reducing signaling overhead. In addition, a simplified beam measurement triggering and request method is also provided, which is a beam measurement mechanism dominated by the terminal device. Specifically, the terminal device may not perform periodic beam measurement reporting, and only requests beam training when the channel conditions are not good or the terminal device determines that it needs to receive beam training, thereby reducing beam measurement and reporting overhead.

[0135] That is to say, the network device and the terminal device use the default beam communication. When certain conditions are met (that is, the RSRP of the terminal device is lower than the RSRP threshold or the RSRP of the terminal device is lower than the RSRP threshold for a preset period of time), the terminal device triggers a beam training request. The network device configures the reference signal resources according to the training time and number of beams requested by the terminal device, thereby reducing the beam measurement and reporting overhead.

[0136] An embodiment of the present application proposes a communication method that can achieve extremely simplified NTN beam management, define a new QCL type (the first QCL type in the embodiment of the present application), and apply it to all signals / channels. The first QCL type indicates that the terminal device receives the beam pointing according to the ephemeris information and reconstructs the NTN beam management, which can avoid frequently indicating the beam pointing through TCI, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0137] Please refer to Figure 6, which is an interactive diagram of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 6, the communication method may include at least the following steps.

[0138] S601: A network device sends a first QCL type to a terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first QCL type from the network device.

[0139] In the embodiments of the present application, a new QCL type may be defined, namely, a first QCL type, also referred to as QCL type E. This QCL type may satisfy at least one of the following conditions:

[0140] There is no source reference signal;

[0141] With the common TCI configuration, once the first QCL type is configured, it implicitly indicates that the terminal device uses the same beam for downlink transmission (receiving downlink signals / channels) and uplink transmission (transmitting uplink signals / channels).

[0142] Instructs the terminal device to adjust the transmit and receive beam pointing according to the ephemeris information.

[0143] S602: The terminal device adjusts the direction of the receiving beam according to the first QCL type.

[0144] After receiving the first QCL type from the network device, the terminal device can adjust the direction of the receiving beam according to the first QCL type.

[0145] Regarding the use of the first QCL type, there are two methods: intra-satellite beam switching and inter-satellite beam switching. Specifically:

[0146] For intra-satellite beam switching: the network device sends the first QCL type, and the terminal device adjusts the direction of the receiving beam according to the ephemeris information of the current cell (serving cell) or serving TRP.

[0147] For inter-satellite beam switching: the network device sends the first QCL type and sends the ephemeris information of the target satellite to the terminal device. The terminal device can adjust the direction of the receiving beam according to the ephemeris information of the target cell or target TRP.

[0148] In an embodiment of the present application, a new QCL type (the first QCL type in the embodiment of the present application) is defined. The terminal device can adjust the receiving beam direction according to the first QCL type and ephemeris information, which can avoid frequently indicating the beam direction through TCI, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0149] It is understood that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal devices and network devices include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or in a manner driven by computer software depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0150] Figures 7 and 8 are schematic diagrams of the structures of possible communication devices provided by the embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and therefore can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above-mentioned method embodiments. The communication device can be a terminal device or a network device. The communication device includes a module or unit corresponding to the method / operation / step / action performed by the terminal device or network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and the unit can be a hardware circuit, or software, or a hardware circuit combined with software. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be one of the terminal devices 102 as shown in Figure 1, or it can be the network device 101 as shown in Figure 1, or it can be a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal device or a network device.

[0151] As shown in Figure 7, a communication device 700 may include a processing unit 701 and a transceiver unit 702. The communication device 700 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device or network device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 5 and 6 above.

[0152] When the communication device 700 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG5 :

[0153] Processing unit 701, used to obtain ephemeris information;

[0154] The processing unit 701 is further configured to adjust the direction of the transmit and receive beams according to the ephemeris information.

[0155] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 701 is further configured to obtain an RSRP threshold; and when the RSRP of the terminal device is lower than the RSRP threshold, the receiving beam is measured.

[0156] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 701 is further configured to obtain a preset duration; and perform receive beam measurement when the duration during which the RSRP of the terminal device is lower than the RSRP threshold reaches the preset duration.

[0157] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is configured to send a request message, where the request message is used to request receive beam training, and the request message includes a requested training time period;

[0158] The transceiver unit 702 is further configured to receive reference signal resources configured from a network device and perform beam training according to the reference signal resources.

[0159] In a possible implementation, the request information further includes the number of beams requested for training.

[0160] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 701 obtains ephemeris information, specifically for obtaining TCI status information, where the TCI status information includes ephemeris information.

[0161] In one possible implementation, if the TCI status information includes ephemeris information and quasi-co-located QCL type D is not configured, the direction of the receive beam is determined by the ephemeris information.

[0162] In one possible implementation, if the TCI status information includes ephemeris information and quasi-co-located QCL type D is configured, the direction of the receive beam is determined by the indication of the QCL type D.

[0163] In one possible implementation, the TCI status information is carried in RRC, MAC CE or DCI.

[0164] In a possible implementation manner, the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell.

[0165] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is further configured to send location information of the terminal device, where the location information is used by the network device to adjust the direction of the beam, and the location information includes GNSS or wave position information.

[0166] When the communication device 700 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG6 :

[0167] The transceiver unit 702 is configured to receive a first QCL type, where the first QCL type satisfies at least one of the following conditions: the absence of a source reference signal; an instruction to the terminal device to use the same beam for downlink and uplink transmission; and an instruction to the terminal device to adjust the transceiver beam pointing according to the ephemeris information.

[0168] The processing unit 701 is configured to adjust the direction of a receiving beam according to a first QCL type.

[0169] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 701 is further configured to obtain ephemeris information, where the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell.

[0170] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 702 receives the first QCL type, specifically for receiving TCI status information, where the TCI status information includes the first QCL type.

[0171] In a possible implementation, the TCI status information also includes ephemeris information.

[0172] In one possible implementation, the TCI status information is carried in RRC, MAC CE or DCI.

[0173] When the communication device 700 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG5 :

[0174] The processing unit 701 is configured to obtain location information of a terminal device, where the location information includes GNSS information or wave position information.

[0175] The processing unit 701 is further configured to adjust the direction of the transmitting and receiving beams according to the position information.

[0176] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is configured to send an RSRP threshold, where the RSRP threshold is used by the terminal device to determine whether to perform measurement of a receiving beam.

[0177] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is further configured to send a preset duration, which is used by the terminal device to determine whether to perform measurement of the receiving beam.

[0178] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is further configured to receive request information, where the request information is used to request receive beam training, and the request information includes a requested training time period.

[0179] The transceiver unit 702 is further configured to configure reference signal resources to the terminal device according to the request information.

[0180] In a possible implementation, the request information further includes the number of beams requested for training.

[0181] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is further configured to send ephemeris information, which is used by the terminal device to adjust the direction of the transceiver beam.

[0182] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is further configured to send TCI status information, where the TCI status information includes ephemeris information.

[0183] In one possible implementation, the reference signal resource is carried in RRC, MAC CE or DCI; and / or the TCI status information is carried in RRC, MAC CE or DCI.

[0184] In a possible implementation manner, the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell.

[0185] When the communication device 700 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG6 :

[0186] The transceiver unit 702 is used to send a first QCL type, which satisfies at least one of the following conditions: no source reference signal; indicates that the beam used for downlink and uplink transmission of the terminal device is the same; and indicates that the transceiver beam pointing of the terminal device is adjusted according to the ephemeris information.

[0187] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is further configured to send ephemeris information, where the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell.

[0188] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is further configured to send TCI status information, where the TCI status information includes the first QCL type.

[0189] In a possible implementation, the TCI status information also includes ephemeris information.

[0190] In one possible implementation, the TCI status information is carried in RRC, MAC CE or DCI.

[0191] For more detailed descriptions of the processing unit 701 and the transceiver unit 702 , reference may be made to the relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 .

[0192] As shown in FIG8 , a communication device 800 is provided for implementing the functions of the aforementioned terminal device or network device. The device can be a communication device or a device used in a communication device, and the communication device can be a terminal device or a network device. The device used in the communication device can be a chip system or chip within the communication device. The chip system can be composed of a chip alone or can include a chip and other discrete components.

[0193] The communication device 800 includes at least one processor 810 for implementing the processing function of the device (such as a network device or a terminal device) in the method provided in the embodiment of the present application. The communication device 800 may also include a communication interface 820 for implementing the transceiver operation of the device (such as a network device or a terminal device) in the method provided in the embodiment of the present application. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication interface can be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module or other type of communication interface for communicating with other devices via a transmission medium. For example, the communication interface 820 is used for the device in the communication device 800 to communicate with other devices. The processor 810 uses the communication interface 820 to send and receive data, and is used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment.

[0194] The communication device 800 may also include at least one memory 830 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memory 830 is coupled to the processor 810. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, and is used for information exchange between the devices, units, or modules. The processor 810 may operate in conjunction with the memory 830. The processor 810 may execute program instructions stored in the memory 830. At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

[0195] The specific connection medium between the communication interface 820, processor 810, and memory 830 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In Figure 8, the embodiment of the present application shows that the memory 830, processor 810, and communication interface 820 are connected via a bus. The bus is represented by a bold line in Figure 8. The connection method between other components is only for schematic illustration and is not limiting. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one bold line is used in Figure 8, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0196] When the communication device 800 is specifically a device for a device (such as a network device or a terminal device), for example, when the communication device 800 is specifically a chip or a chip system, the communication interface 820 may output or receive a baseband signal. When the communication device 800 is specifically a device (such as a network device or a terminal device), the communication interface 820 may output or receive a radio frequency signal. In an embodiment of the present application, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application may be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or may be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0197] It should be noted that the communication interface 820 may be used to execute the functions of the transceiver unit 702 , and the processor 810 may be used to execute the functions of the processing unit 701 , which will not be described in detail here.

[0198] When the above-mentioned communication device is a chip applied to a terminal device, the terminal device chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the above-mentioned method embodiment, and the terminal device chip receives information from other network elements; or, the terminal device chip sends information to other network elements.

[0199] When the communication device is a chip used in a network device, the network device chip implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiment. The network device chip receives information from other network elements; or the network device chip sends information to other network elements.

[0200] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0201] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, mobile hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a network device or a terminal device. Of course, the processor and storage medium can also exist as discrete components in a terminal device or a network device.

[0202] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instruction is loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is executed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program or instruction may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted via the computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a tape; it may also be an optical medium, such as a DVD; it may also be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid state disk (SSD).

[0203] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0204] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

[0205] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer-executable instructions are stored. When the computer-executable instructions are executed, the method executed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiment is implemented.

[0206] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program. When the computer program is executed, the method executed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiment is implemented.

[0207] The present application also provides a communication system including a terminal device or a network device. The terminal device is configured to execute the method executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment. The network device is configured to execute the method executed by the network device in the above method embodiment.

[0208] It should be noted that for the aforementioned method embodiments, for the sake of simplicity, they are all expressed as a series of action combinations, but those skilled in the art should be aware that this application is not limited by the order of the actions described, because according to this application, certain steps can be performed in other orders or simultaneously. Secondly, those skilled in the art should also be aware that the embodiments described in the specification are all preferred embodiments, and the actions and modules involved are not necessarily required by this application.

[0209] The descriptions of the various embodiments provided in this application can refer to each other. The descriptions of each embodiment have their own focus. For parts not described in detail in a particular embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments. For the convenience and brevity of description, for example, the functions and execution steps of the various devices and equipment provided in the embodiments of this application can refer to the relevant descriptions of the method embodiments of this application. The various method embodiments and the various device embodiments can also refer to, be combined with, or quote each other.

[0210] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some or all of the technical features therein. These modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: Obtain ephemeris information; Adjust the pointing of the transceiver beam according to the ephemeris information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtain the reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold; Measure the receive beam when the RSRP of the terminal device is lower than the RSRP threshold.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The method further includes: Obtain a preset duration; Measure the receive beam when the duration for which the RSRP of the terminal device is lower than the RSRP threshold reaches the preset duration.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a request message for requesting receive beam training, where the request message includes a requested training time period; Receive the reference signal resources configured by the network device; Perform beam training according to the reference signal resources.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The request message further includes the number of beams requested for training.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The obtaining of the ephemeris information includes: Obtain transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state information, where the TCI state information includes the ephemeris information.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein If the ephemeris information is included in the TCI state information and quasi-co-location (QCL) type D is not configured, the pointing of the receive beam is determined by the ephemeris information.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein If the ephemeris information is included in the TCI state information and QCL type D is configured, the pointing of the receive beam is determined by the indication of QCL type D.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 - 8, characterized in that, The TCI state information is carried in radio resource control (RRC), medium access control control element (MAC CE), or downlink control information (DCI).

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send the location information of the terminal device, where the location information is used for the network device to adjust the pointing of the beam, and the location information includes global navigation satellite system (GNSS) information or beam position information.

12. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: Obtain the location information of the terminal device, where the location information includes GNSS information or beam position information; Adjust the pointing of the transceiver beam according to the location information.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein The method further includes: Send the RSRP threshold, which is used for the terminal device to determine to perform receive beam measurement.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The method further includes: Send the preset duration, which is used for the terminal device to determine to perform receive beam measurement.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 - 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a request message for requesting receive beam training, where the request message includes a requested training time period; Configure the reference signal resources for the terminal device according to the request message.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein The request message further includes the number of beams requested for training.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12-16, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send the ephemeris information, which is used for the terminal device to adjust the pointing of the transceiver beam.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The sending of the ephemeris information includes: Send the TCI state information, where the TCI state information includes the ephemeris information.

19. The method according to claim 15 or 18, characterized in that The reference signal resources are carried in RRC, MAC CE, or DCI; and / or The TCI state information is carried in RRC, MAC CE, or DCI.

20. The method according to any one of claims 11-19, characterized in that The ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell.

21. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: Receiving a first quasi - co - located (QCL) type, where the first QCL type satisfies at least one of the following conditions: there is no source reference signal; Indicating that the beams used for the downlink transmission and the uplink transmission of the terminal device are the same; indicating that the pointing of the receiving and transmitting beams of the terminal device is adjusted according to the ephemeris information. Adjusting the pointing of the receiving beam according to the first QCL type.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein The method further includes: Obtaining ephemeris information, where the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that, The receiving the first QCL type includes: Receiving transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state information, where the TCI state information includes the first QCL type.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein The TCI state information further includes ephemeris information.

25. The method according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that The TCI state information is carried in radio resource control (RRC), medium access control control element (MAC CE), or downlink control information (DCI).

26. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: Sending a first quasi - co - located (QCL) type, where the first QCL type satisfies at least one of the following conditions: there is no source reference signal; Indicating that the beams used for the downlink transmission and the uplink transmission of the terminal device are the same; indicating that the pointing of the receiving and transmitting beams of the terminal device is adjusted according to the ephemeris information.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein The method further includes: Sending ephemeris information, where the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell.

28. The method according to claim 26 or 27, characterized in that, The sending the first QCL type includes: Sending transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state information, where the TCI state information includes the first QCL type.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein The TCI state information further includes ephemeris information.

30. The method according to claim 28 or 29, characterized in that, The TCI state information is carried in radio resource control (RRC), medium access control control element (MAC CE), or downlink control information (DCI).

31. A communication device, characterized in that, Including: A processing unit for obtaining ephemeris information; The processing unit is further used for adjusting the pointing of the receiving and transmitting beams according to the ephemeris information.

32. The device according to claim 31, characterized in that, The processing unit is further used for: Obtaining a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold; Performing measurement of the receiving beam when the RSRP of the terminal device is lower than the RSRP threshold.

33. The device according to claim 32, characterized in that, The processing unit is further used for: Obtaining a preset duration; Performing receiving beam measurement when the duration for which the RSRP of the terminal device is lower than the RSRP threshold reaches the preset duration.

34. The device according to any one of claims 31 to 33, characterized in that The device further includes: A transceiver unit for sending a request message, where the request message is used to request receiving beam training, and the request message includes a requested training time period; The transceiver unit is further used for receiving a reference signal resource configured by a network device; The processing unit is further used for performing beam training according to the reference signal resource.

35. The device according to claim 34, characterized in that, The request message further includes the number of beams requested for training.

36. The device according to any one of claims 31-35, characterized in that The processing unit obtains ephemeris information, specifically by: Obtaining transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state information, where the TCI state information includes the ephemeris information.

37. The device according to claim 36, characterized in that, If the ephemeris information is included in the TCI status information and quasi - co - location QCL typeD is not configured, the pointing of the receiving beam is determined by the ephemeris information.

38. The device according to claim 36, characterized in that, If the ephemeris information is included in the TCI status information and quasi - co - location QCL typeD is configured, the pointing of the receiving beam is determined according to the indication of the QCL typeD.

39. The device according to any one of claims 36 - 38, characterized in that, The TCI status information is carried in Radio Resource Control (RRC), Medium Access Control Control Element (MAC CE), or Downlink Control Information (DCI).

40. The device according to any one of claims 31-39, characterized in that, The ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell.

41. The device according to any one of claims 31 to 40, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is further configured to send the location information of the terminal device, where the location information is used for the network device to adjust the pointing of the beam, and the location information includes Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) information or beam position information.

42. A communication device, characterized in that, Including: A processing unit, configured to obtain the location information of the terminal device, where the location information includes GNSS information or beam position information; The processing unit is further configured to adjust the pointing of the transceiver beam according to the location information.

43. The device according to claim 42, wherein, The apparatus further includes: A transceiver unit, configured to send a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) threshold, where the RSRP threshold is used for the terminal device to determine to perform measurement of the receiving beam.

44. The device according to claim 43, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is further configured to send a preset duration, where the preset duration is used for the terminal device to determine to perform measurement of the receiving beam.

45. The device according to any one of claims 42-44, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is further configured to receive a request message, where the request message is used to request receiving beam training, and the request message includes a requested training time period; The processing unit is further configured to configure a reference signal resource for the terminal device according to the request message.

46. The device according to claim 45, characterized in that, The request message further includes the number of beams requested for training.

47. The device according to any one of claims 42-46, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is further configured to send ephemeris information, where the ephemeris information is used for the terminal device to adjust the pointing of the transceiver beam.

48. The device according to claim 47, characterized in that, The transceiver unit sending ephemeris information is specifically configured to: Send a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) status information, where the TCI status information includes the ephemeris information.

49. The device according to claim 45 or 48, characterized in that, The reference signal resource is carried in RRC, MAC CE, or DCI; and / or The TCI status information is carried in RRC, MAC CE, or DCI.

50. The device according to any one of claims 41 to 49, characterized in that, The ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell.

51. A communication device, characterized in that, Including: A transceiver unit, configured to receive a first quasi - co - location QCL type, where the first QCL type satisfies at least one of the following conditions: there is no source reference signal; Indicating that the beams used for the downlink transmission and the uplink transmission of the terminal device are the same; indicating that the pointing of the transceiver beam of the terminal device is adjusted according to the ephemeris information; A processing unit, configured to adjust the pointing of the receiving beam according to the first QCL type.

52. The device according to claim 51, characterized in that, The processing unit is further configured to obtain ephemeris information, where the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell.

53. The device according to claim 51 or 52, characterized in that, The transceiver unit receiving the first QCL type is specifically configured to: Receive transmission configuration indicator (TCI) status information, where the TCI status information includes the first QCL type.

54. The device according to claim 53, characterized in that, The TCI status information further includes ephemeris information.

55. The device according to claim 53 or 54, characterized in that, The TCI status information is carried in radio resource control (RRC), media access control control element (MAC CE), or downlink control information (DCI).

56. A communication device, characterized in that, Comprising: A transceiver unit for sending a first quasi - co - located (QCL) type, where the first QCL type satisfies at least one of the following conditions: there is no source reference signal; Indicating that the beams used for downlink transmission and uplink transmission of the terminal device are the same; indicating that the transmit - receive beam directions of the terminal device are adjusted according to the ephemeris information.

57. The device according to claim 56, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is further used for sending ephemeris information, where the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the cell where the terminal device is currently located, or the ephemeris information is the ephemeris information of the target cell.

58. The device according to claim 56 or 57, characterized in that The transceiver unit sends the first QCL type, specifically: Sending transmission configuration indicator (TCI) status information, where the TCI status information includes the first QCL type.

59. The device according to claim 58, characterized in that, The TCI status information further includes ephemeris information.

60. The device according to claim 58 or 59, characterized in that, The TCI status information is carried in radio resource control (RRC), media access control control element (MAC CE), or downlink control information (DCI).

61. A communication device, characterized in that, Comprising: A processor, the processor is coupled with a memory, and the memory is used to store programs or instructions. When the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the device executes the method described in any one of claims 1 - 30.

62. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer program or instruction is stored in the storage medium. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the method described in any one of claims 1 - 30 is implemented.

63. A computer program product, characterized in that, Comprising computer program code. When the computer program code is run, the method described in any one of claims 1 - 30 is implemented.

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