Communication method and device

Abstract

A communication method and a device. The method comprises: a first device receives first information and second information from a second device, wherein the first information may indicate A SSBs, A represents the number of areas in a coverage range L of the second device, A is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, the second information may indicate B SSBs which are not transmitted in the coverage range L among the A SSBs, and B is a positive integer; and then, on the basis of the first information and the second information, the first device determines SSBs corresponding to a plurality of first areas in the coverage range L, and detects the SSBs corresponding to some or all of the plurality of first areas. By means of the method, when areas in which no SSB is sent are present in the coverage range L, the first device may accurately determine the correspondence between the areas in the coverage range of the second device and SSBs on the basis of the first information and the second information.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on February 6, 2024, with application number 202410173478.8 and application name “A Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0004] In a wireless communication system, an access network device can send measurement configuration information to a terminal. Based on the measurement configuration information, the terminal can measure the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) to implement mobility management. Because the SSB is not continuous in the time domain, the terminal does not need to continuously search for and measure the SSB in the time domain. Instead, it can measure the SSB within a measurement time window that can lock onto the SSB. Therefore, an SSB-based measurement timing configuration (SMTC) is currently introduced into the SSB measurement configuration information. SMTC can be used to configure a measurement time window. Furthermore, the terminal can measure the SSB within the measurement time window configured by the SMTC.

[0005] Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) provide seamless coverage for terminals by deploying access network equipment, or some of its functionality, on non-terrestrial devices such as high-altitude platforms or satellites. However, satellites, for example, offer a wider coverage area and a greater number of beams—for example, hundreds or even thousands. Determining the correspondence between regions and SSBs in communication systems like NTNs requires further research.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for determining a correspondence between areas and SSBs in a communication system such as an NTN.

[0008] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method that can be applied to a first device. The first device can be a terminal or a module in the terminal (such as a circuit, chip, chip system, or processor), or a logical node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the terminal functions. The method can include: the first device can receive first information and second information from a second device. The first information is used to indicate A SSBs, where A can be the number of areas within the coverage range L of the second device, and A can be an integer greater than or equal to 2; the second information can be used to indicate B SSBs of the A SSBs that are not transmitted within the coverage range L, where B is a positive integer. Then, the first device can determine the SSBs corresponding to multiple first areas within the coverage range L based on the first information and the second information, and detect the SSBs corresponding to some or all of the multiple first areas. The second information can also be expressed as indicating AB SSBs of the A SSBs that are transmitted within the coverage range L, thereby determining the B SSBs that are not transmitted.

[0009] Through this method, when there is an area within the coverage range L where SSB is not sent, the first device can accurately determine the correspondence between each area within the coverage range of the second device and SSB based on the first information and the second information, thereby determining the area where it is located and the coverage information around the area, thereby improving mobility management performance, achieving accurate SSB measurement, and reducing measurement overhead.

[0010] In one possible design, the first information may be used to indicate multiple bits corresponding to multiple SSBs, where the multiple SSBs may include the A SSBs, and bit states of the A bits in the multiple bits may be used to indicate the A SSBs. With this design, the first information may accurately indicate the A SSBs.

[0011] In one possible design, the second information may be used to indicate at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB. The at least one SSB may include B SSBs, and bit states of the B bits in the at least one bit may be used to indicate the B SSBs. With this design, the second information can accurately indicate the B SSBs.

[0012] In one possible design, when the correspondence between the A areas and the A SSBs within the coverage of the second device is variable, the method may further include: the first device may receive third information from the second device. This third information may be used to indicate the correspondence between M groups of bits and M indication information. Here, M may be the number of areas within the coverage range L along a first direction, and the first direction may be the direction of movement of the second device; the i-th indication information among the M indication information may be used to indicate the correspondence between A areas i and A SSBs, and A areas i may be the A areas within the coverage of the second device within a time period i, and the value of i is any integer from 1 to M. In this case, the second information may be one of the M indication information, and the at least one bit may be a group of bits in the M groups of bits corresponding to the second information. With this design, the second information may be one of the M indication information, used to indicate the correspondence between A areas i and A SSBs, and may also implicitly indicate the at least one bit, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0013] In one possible design, if the correspondence between A areas and A SSBs within the coverage area of ​​the second device remains unchanged, the second information can be used to indicate M groups of bits. M can be the number of areas within the coverage area L along a first direction, where the first direction is the direction of motion of the second device. The M groups of bits can correspond to M time periods in chronological order. The at least one bit can be the group of bits in the M groups of bits that corresponds to the earliest time period among the M time periods. With this design, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the at least one bit based on the second information.

[0014] In one possible design, the method may further include: the first device may determine fourth information based on the second information. The fourth information may be used to indicate a group of bits among M groups of bits. The group of bits indicated by the fourth information is used to indicate D SSBs among A SSBs that are not transmitted within the coverage range P of the second device, where D is a positive integer. The second time period in which the second device covers the coverage range P may be after the first time period in which the second device covers the coverage range L. A is the number of areas within the coverage range P. The first device may then determine SSBs corresponding to multiple second areas within the coverage range P based on the first information and the fourth information, and detect SSBs corresponding to some or all of the multiple second areas. With this design, if the coverage range of the second device changes over time, the first device may obtain M groups of bits, each of which may indicate the SSBs that are not transmitted within the coverage range of the second device during different time periods. In this way, the second device may not need to send multiple updated sets of SSB bitmaps, thereby reducing signaling overhead and reducing the receiving power of the first device.

[0015] In one possible design, the first device may determine the fourth information based on the second information and K. K may be determined based on the number of zones the second device spanned from the first time period to the second time period. With this design, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the fourth information.

[0016] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a second device. The second device can be an access network device or a module in the access network device (such as a circuit, chip, chip system or processor), and can also be a logical node, logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device. The method may include: the second device can send first information and second information to the first device. The first information can be used to indicate A SSBs, A can be the number of areas within the coverage range L of the second device, and A can be an integer greater than or equal to 2; the second information can be used to indicate B SSBs in the A SSBs that are not transmitted within the coverage range L, and B is a positive integer. The first information and the second information can be used to determine the SSBs corresponding to multiple first areas within the coverage range L. The second information can also be expressed as indicating AB SSBs transmitted within the coverage range L among the A SSBs, thereby determining the B SSBs that are not transmitted.

[0017] In one possible design, the first information may be used to indicate multiple bits corresponding to multiple SSBs, where the multiple SSBs may include A SSBs, and the bit states of A bits in the multiple bits may be used to indicate the A SSBs.

[0018] In one possible design, the second information may be used to indicate at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB, where the at least one SSB may include B SSBs, and the bit states of the B bits in the at least one bit may be used to indicate the B SSBs.

[0019] In one possible design, when the correspondence between A areas and A SSBs within the coverage range of the second device is variable, the method may further include: the second device may send third information to the first device. The third information may be used to indicate the correspondence between M groups of bits and M indication information. M may be the number of areas within the coverage range L along a first direction, where the first direction is the direction of movement of the second device. The i-th indication information among the M indication information may be used to indicate the correspondence between A areas i and A SSBs, where A areas i may be A areas within the coverage range of the second device within a time period i, and the value of i is any integer from 1 to M. The second information may be one of the M indication information, and at least one bit is a group of bits in the M groups of bits corresponding to the second information.

[0020] In one possible design, if the correspondence between A areas and A SSBs within the coverage area of ​​the second device remains unchanged, the second information may be used to indicate M groups of bits. M may be the number of areas within the coverage area L along a first direction, where the first direction is the direction of movement of the second device. The M groups of bits may correspond to M time periods in chronological order. At least one bit may be a group of bits in the M groups of bits that corresponds to the earliest time period among the M time periods.

[0021] In one possible design, the second information may be used to determine fourth information. The fourth information may be used to indicate a group of bits among the M groups of bits, and the group of bits indicated by the fourth information may be used to indicate D SSBs among the A SSBs that are not transmitted within the coverage range P of the second device, where D is a positive integer. The second time period during which the second device covers the coverage range P may be after the first time period during which the second device covers the coverage range L, and A may be the number of areas within the coverage range P. The first information and the fourth information may be used to determine SSBs corresponding to multiple second areas within the coverage range P.

[0022] In one possible design, the second information and K may be used to determine the fourth information, where K may be determined based on the number of areas spanned by the second device from the first time period to the second time period.

[0023] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method that can be applied to a first device. The first device can be a terminal or a module in the terminal (such as a circuit, chip, chip system, or processor), or a logical node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the terminal functions. The method can include: the first device receives fifth and sixth information from a second device. The fifth information can be used to indicate A SSBs, where A can be the number of areas within the coverage range L of the second device, and A can be an integer greater than or equal to 2; the sixth information can be used to indicate C SSBs of the A SSBs that are transmitted within the coverage range L, where C is a positive integer. Then, the first device can determine the SSBs corresponding to multiple first areas within the coverage range L based on the fifth and sixth information, and detect the SSBs corresponding to some or all of the multiple first areas. The sixth information can also be expressed as indicating AC SSBs of the A SSBs that are not transmitted within the coverage range L, thereby determining the C SSBs that are transmitted.

[0024] Through this method, when there are areas within the coverage range L where SSB is not sent, the first device can accurately determine the correspondence between each area within the coverage range of the second device and SSB based on the fifth information and the sixth information, thereby determining the area where it is located and the coverage information around the area, thereby improving mobility management performance, achieving accurate SSB measurement, and reducing measurement overhead.

[0025] In one possible design, the fifth information may be used to indicate multiple bits corresponding to multiple SSBs, where the multiple SSBs may include A SSBs, and the bit states of A bits in the multiple bits may be used to indicate the A SSBs. With this design, the fifth information may accurately indicate the A SSBs.

[0026] In one possible design, the sixth information may be used to indicate at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB. The at least one SSB may include C SSBs, and bit states of the C bits in the at least one bit may be used to indicate the C SSBs. With this design, the sixth information can accurately indicate the C SSBs.

[0027] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a second device. The second device can be an access network device or a module in the access network device (such as a circuit, chip, chip system or processor), and can also be a logical node, logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device. Among them, the method may include: the second device sends fifth information and sixth information to the first device. Among them, the fifth information can be used to indicate A SSBs, A is the number of areas within the coverage range L of the second device, and A is an integer greater than or equal to 2; the sixth information can be used to indicate C SSBs transmitted within the coverage range L among the A SSBs, and C is a positive integer. The fifth information and the sixth information can be used to determine the SSBs corresponding to multiple first areas within the coverage range L.

[0028] In one possible design, the fifth information may be used to indicate multiple bits corresponding to multiple SSBs, where the multiple SSBs may include A SSBs, and the bit states of A bits in the multiple bits may be used to indicate the A SSBs.

[0029] In one possible design, the sixth information may be used to indicate at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB, where the at least one SSB may include C SSBs, and the bit states of the C bits in the at least one bit may be used to indicate the C SSBs.

[0030] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal or a module in a terminal (such as a circuit, chip, chip system or processor), or a logical node, logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal functions. The communication device has the function of implementing the first or third aspect above. For example, the communication device includes a module or unit or means corresponding to the operation involved in the first or third aspect above, and the module or unit or means may be implemented by software, or by hardware, or the corresponding software may be implemented by hardware.

[0031] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit. Optionally, the communication device also includes an interface unit. The interface unit can be used to transmit and receive signals to enable communication between the communication device and other devices, and the processing unit can be used to perform certain internal operations of the communication device. The functions performed by the processing unit and the interface unit can correspond to the operations described in the first or third aspects above.

[0032] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor, which can be coupled to a memory. The memory can store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions of the first or third aspects described above. The processor can execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method of any possible design of the first or third aspects described above.

[0033] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and a memory. The memory may store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions of the first or third aspect. The processor may execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method of any possible design of the first or third aspect.

[0034] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method in any possible design of the first aspect or the third aspect above.

[0035] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be an access network device or a module in the access network device (such as a circuit, chip, chip system or processor), and may also be a logical node, logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device. The communication device has the function of implementing the second aspect or the fourth aspect above. For example, the communication device includes a module or unit or means corresponding to the operations involved in the second aspect or the fourth aspect above. The module or unit or means may be implemented by software, or by hardware, or the corresponding software implementation may be executed by hardware.

[0036] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit. Optionally, the communication device also includes an interface unit. The interface unit can be used to transmit and receive signals to enable communication between the communication device and other devices; the processing unit can be used to perform certain internal operations of the communication device. The functions performed by the processing unit and the interface unit can correspond to the operations described in the second or fourth aspects above.

[0037] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor, which can be coupled to a memory. The memory can store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions of the second or fourth aspects described above. The processor can execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method of any possible design of the second or fourth aspects described above.

[0038] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and a memory. The memory may store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions of the second or fourth aspect. The processor may execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method of any possible design of the second or fourth aspect.

[0039] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method in any possible design of the second aspect or the fourth aspect above.

[0040] It can be understood that in the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect above, the processor can be implemented by hardware or by software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc.; when implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, which is implemented by reading the software code stored in the memory. In addition, the above processors can be one or more, and the memories can be one or more. The memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor can be set separately. In the specific implementation process, the memory can be integrated with the processor on the same chip, or can be set on different chips respectively. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of memory and the setting method of the memory and the processor.

[0041] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which may include the communication apparatus described in the fifth aspect and the communication apparatus described in the sixth aspect. For example, the communication system includes a terminal and an access network device; wherein the terminal is configured to execute the communication method provided in the first aspect, and the access network device is configured to execute the communication method provided in the second aspect, or the terminal is configured to execute the communication method provided in the third aspect, and the access network device is configured to execute the communication method provided in the fourth aspect.

[0042] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the method in any possible design of any aspect from the first to the fourth aspects mentioned above is implemented.

[0043] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program code. When the computer program code is executed, the method in any possible design of any aspect from the first to the fourth aspects is implemented.

[0044] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a chip for reading a computer program stored in a memory to execute a method in any possible design of any one of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0045] The technical effects that can be achieved in any of the second, fourth to tenth aspects mentioned above can refer to the description of the technical effects that can be achieved in any possible design in any of the first or third aspects mentioned above, and the repetitions will not be discussed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] 1A to 1D are schematic diagrams of several architectures of communication systems applicable to embodiments of the present application;

[0047] 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams of several application scenarios provided by embodiments of the present application;

[0048] 3A to 3C are schematic diagrams of several corresponding relationships provided in embodiments of the present application;

[0049] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams of several other corresponding relationships provided in embodiments of the present application;

[0051] FIG6 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG7 is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG8 is a structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] The method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to NTN communication scenarios. In NTN communication scenarios, non-terrestrial access network devices such as drones, high altitude platform stations (HAPS), and satellites can provide data transmission, voice communication and other services to terminals. In addition, the NTN system may also include other non-terrestrial access network devices, which are not limited in this application. NTN communication scenarios can also support various mobile communication systems, such as new radio (NR) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, or other communication systems such as future communication systems, which are not limited here.

[0055] The method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to at least one of the following: a fourth-generation (4G) communication system (e.g., an LTE system), a fifth-generation (5G) communication system (e.g., an NR system), or various future communication systems (e.g., a sixth-generation (6G) communication system). The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, vehicle networking, autonomous driving, or assisted driving.

[0056] This application will present various aspects, embodiments, or features around systems including multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It should be understood and appreciated that each system may include additional devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all of the devices, components, modules, etc. discussed in conjunction with the figures. Furthermore, combinations of these aspects may also be used.

[0057] To facilitate understanding, a communication system to which the embodiments of the present application can be applied is first described.

[0058] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of a communication system to which an embodiment of the present application can be applied. As shown in Figure 1A, the communication system may include at least one access network device (such as 110a, 110b, 110c in Figure 1A), and may also include at least one terminal (120a-120g in Figure 1A). The terminal may be mobile or fixed. Each access network device can provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area and can communicate with terminals located within the coverage area. Access network devices and access network devices, access network devices and terminals, and terminals and terminals can be connected to each other via wired or wireless means. Figure 1A is only a schematic diagram, and the communication system may also include other devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices.

[0059] The embodiments of the present application may be applicable to a communication system that integrates a terrestrial communication system and a satellite communication system, which may also be referred to as an NTN communication system.

[0060] Among them, the terrestrial communication system can be, for example, an LTE system, a 5G communication system, or various future communication systems (for example, 6G) communication systems, etc., which are not limited here.

[0061] Among them, satellite communication systems have a wider coverage area than traditional communication systems and can overcome natural geographical obstacles such as oceans, deserts, and mountains. In order to overcome the shortcomings of traditional communication systems, satellite communication systems can serve as an effective supplement to traditional communication systems. Satellite communication systems can be divided into the following three types according to the different orbital altitudes: geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite communication systems, medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite communication systems, and low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems. GEO satellite communication systems are also called synchronous orbit satellite systems. It is generally believed that compared with terrestrial communications, NTN has different channel characteristics (for example, large transmission delay, Doppler frequency deviation, etc.). For example, the round-trip delay of the GEO satellite communication system is 238 to 270 milliseconds (ms), and the round-trip delay of the LEO satellite communication system is 8ms to 20ms.

[0062] Satellite operating modes can be categorized as transparent or regenerative. When operating in transparent mode, a satellite performs relay functions. Gateway stations have some or all of the functions of base stations, and in this case, gateway stations can be considered base stations. When operating in regenerative mode, a satellite has data processing capabilities and some or all of the functions of a base station, and in this case, the satellite can be considered a base station.

[0063] Figure 1B is a schematic diagram of an NTN in regeneration mode. As shown in Figure 1B, a satellite has some or all of the functions of a base station and can be called a satellite base station. The satellite base station can provide wireless access services and schedule wireless resources for terminals that access the network through the satellite base station. The satellite base station and the terminal can communicate through the user-universal terrestrial radio access network-user (Uu) interface. Specifically, the satellite base station and the core network (CN) can communicate through the next generation network (NG) interface. The satellite base station and the core network can exchange the core network's non-access stratum (NAS) signaling and user service data through the NG interface. The satellite radio interface (SRI) interface is the feeder link between the NTN gateway and the satellite. In Figure 1B, the SRI interface can be used as part of the next generation network (NG) interface to implement communication interaction between the satellite base station and the core network.

[0064] Figure 1C is a schematic diagram of the NTN in transparent transmission mode. As shown in Figure 1C, the terminal and the ground base station communicate via the Uu interface. The satellite enables transparent payload transmission between the terminal and the ground base station. The satellite and the NTN gateway can be considered the remote radio unit (RRU) of the ground base station, enabling transparent signal forwarding. Specifically, the satellite supports functions such as RF filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification, and the signal waveform remains unchanged. Satellite forwarding is transparent to the terminal. Furthermore, the ground base station and the CN can communicate via the NG interface, exchanging core network NAS signaling and terminal service data.

[0065] FIG1D is a schematic diagram of a satellite communication scenario. As shown in FIG1D , in a satellite communication scenario, access network equipment includes satellites and gateways. Terminals include IoT terminals, mobile phone terminals, and high-altitude aircraft, etc. Terminals may also be terminals of other forms and performances, etc., which are not limited here. The link between the satellite and the terminal is called a service link, and the link between the satellite and the gateway is called a feeder link. The gateway may also be called a signal gateway. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to satellite communication scenarios expanded based on FIG1D.

[0066] In this application, a terminal may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, subscriber unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal equipment, wireless communication device, user agent or user device.

[0067] A terminal can be a device that provides wireless communication capabilities, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connection capabilities. Currently, some examples of terminals include: mobile phones, satellite mobile terminals, cellular phones, smart phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices (such as smart watches, smart bracelets, pedometers, smart glasses, etc.), vehicle-mounted devices (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 terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, and wireless terminals in smart homes. The present invention also includes wireless terminals (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, electric meters, etc.) in a home, intelligent robots, robotic arms, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, flying devices (e.g., intelligent robots, hot air balloons, drones, airplanes), terminals in 5G networks, or terminals in future-evolved public land mobile networks (PLMNs), etc., which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. As an example and not a limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal may also be a mobile terminal (MT) in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node. When the IAB node faces its parent node, it can be regarded as a terminal. In this case, the IAB node plays the role of an MT.

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

[0069] In this application, an access network device is a device that provides wireless communication functions for a terminal, and the terminal can communicate with a core network device through the access network device. As a node in a wireless access network, an access network device can also be called a base station, a radio access network (RAN) node (or device), or an access point (AP). A communication system may include multiple access network devices, which can be nodes of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of the access network device and the terminal are relative. For example, network element #A can be a helicopter or a drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station and access the RAN through network element #B. For those terminals that access the RAN through network element #A, network element #A is a base station; but for network element #B, network element #A is a terminal.

[0070] In one possible scenario, the access network device may be a base station, a transmitting and receiving point (TRP), a transmitting point (TP), a next-generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, a satellite, an IAB node, a mobile switching center, a high-altitude platform or a satellite, etc. The access network device may be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a cloud RAN (CRAN) scenario. The access network device may also be a device that acts as a base station in device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, drone communication, and machine communication. Optionally, the access network device may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an on-board device, etc. For example, the access network device in V2X technology may be a road side unit (RSU).

[0071] In another possible scenario, multiple access network devices collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, and different access network devices respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the access network device can be a centralized unit (CU), DU, CU-control plane (CP), CU-user plane (UP), or radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be set separately, or 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 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 access 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 an access network device in the access network RAN, or the CU can be divided into an access network device in the core network CN, which is not limited here.

[0072] 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 Open RAN 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.

[0073] In the embodiments of the present application, the form of the access network device is not limited. The device used to implement the functions of the access network device can be the access network device; it can also be a device that supports the access network device to implement the functions, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the access network device or used in conjunction with the access network device.

[0074] Access network equipment and terminals can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; and in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of access network equipment and terminals.

[0075] The communication system and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0076] The following first explains the relevant terms involved in the embodiments of the present application. It should be noted that these explanations are intended to make the embodiments of the present application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed by this application.

[0077] 1) Mobility Management

[0078] The mobility of a terminal causes it to select and switch between different cells. This selection and switching typically relies on mobility management, which primarily involves measurement processes related to radio resource management (RRM) and mobility signaling processes triggered by measurement results.

[0079] In mobility management, the access network device sends measurement configuration information to the terminal. The terminal can measure the reference signal based on the measurement configuration information and obtain the measurement result. The measurement result can include at least one of the following: reference signal receiving power (RSRP), reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ), or signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR).

[0080] There are two types of reference signals used for mobility management, such as SSB or channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS). The embodiments of the present application mainly focus on mobility management based on SSB.

[0081] 2) SSB:

[0082] The synchronization signal block (SS) is generally sent together with the main information block (MIB) on the PBCH to form an SS / PBCH block. The SSB described below in the embodiments of the present application may refer to the SS / PBCH block. Among them, the synchronization signal can be used by the terminal to perform downlink synchronization and obtain the cell identity (ID). Downlink synchronization may include frequency synchronization and time synchronization. The PBCH can be used by the terminal to obtain information about the cell it is accessing.

[0083] 3) The relationship between SSB and beam:

[0084] Access network equipment may use multiple antennas to enhance coverage, but using multiple antennas results in very narrow antenna radiation beams, making it difficult for a single narrow beam to cover the entire cell. At the same time, due to hardware limitations, access network equipment often cannot simultaneously transmit signals through multiple beams to cover the entire cell. Therefore, the communication system introduces beam scanning technology, which allows access network equipment to transmit signals through different beams at different times. For example, for a cell, the access network equipment can transmit different SSBs through different beams at different times, thereby completing the cell's broadcast beam coverage. Each beam can be indicated by an SSB, for example, each beam can be indicated by the index of the SSB transmitted on that beam.

[0085] 4) SSB-based measurement timing configuration (SMTC):

[0086] Normally, SSB is not continuous in the time domain, and the terminal does not need to continuously search and measure SSB in the time domain, but only needs to operate within a time window that can lock these SSBs. Therefore, the NR protocol introduces SMTC, which can be used to configure a measurement time window. The access network equipment can configure the corresponding SMTC for each frequency point to be measured, and then the terminal can measure the SSB in the measurement time window configured by the SMTC of the frequency point. If the center frequency of the SSB of the two cells is the same and the subcarrier spacing is the same during the RRM measurement, the measurement between the two cells is called intra-frequency measurement, otherwise it is called inter-frequency measurement. For the intra-frequency measurement scenario, the terminal may measure the SSB of multiple cells in the measurement time window configured by the SMTC of one frequency point.

[0087] 5) The correspondence between multiple areas and multiple SSBs within the coverage area of ​​the access network equipment (such as satellite).

[0088] In some possible methods, the correspondence between multiple areas and multiple SSBs within the coverage area of ​​the access network device can be unchanged. That is, at different times, the correspondence between multiple areas and multiple SSBs within the coverage area of ​​the access network device is the same. For example, as shown in Figure 2A, at time 1, the satellite is located at position 1, the coverage area of ​​the satellite is coverage area 1, and the correspondence between multiple areas and multiple SSBs within coverage area 1 is correspondence 1. At time 2, the satellite moves to position 2, the coverage area of ​​the satellite is coverage area 2, and the correspondence between multiple areas and multiple SSBs within coverage area 2 is still correspondence 1. In this method, as the access network device moves, the beam weight and beam direction on the access network device side remain unchanged. Therefore, this method can also be called a method in which the beam follows the access network device.

[0089] In other possible approaches, the correspondence between multiple areas within the coverage area of ​​the access network device and multiple SSBs can be variable. That is, the correspondence between multiple areas within the coverage area of ​​the access network device and multiple SSBs may be different at different times. Optionally, over a period of time, even if the location of the access network device changes, the SSBs corresponding to the same area on the ground within the coverage area of ​​the access network device remain the same. For example, as shown in Figure 2B, at time 3, the satellite is at position 3, the satellite's coverage area is coverage area 3, and the correspondence between multiple areas within coverage area 3 and multiple SSBs is correspondence relationship 1. At time 4, the satellite is at position 4, the satellite's coverage area is coverage area 4, and the correspondence between multiple areas within coverage area 4 and multiple SSBs is correspondence relationship 2. Correspondence relationship 1 and correspondence relationship 2 are different. In both correspondence relationship 1 and correspondence relationship 2, ground area 1 corresponds to SSB 1. In this approach, as the access network device moves, the SSBs corresponding to the same area on the ground remain the same. Therefore, this approach can also be called a ground fixed area approach.

[0090] 6) Region:

[0091] In this application, a region can be a geographic region, a geographic range, an administrative region, an administrative range, or a wave position, etc. A wave position can be the coverage range of a beam (or the projection range of a beam on the ground). The access network device can adjust the antenna weights so that the beam sent by the access network device can point in different directions and have different coverage ranges. For example, a satellite is configured with 16 beams, each with a different coverage range, and the coverage range of each beam can be a wave position.

[0092] 7) Areas where SSB is not sent:

[0093] Within the coverage area of ​​an access network device, some areas may not transmit SSBs. For example, in areas where the access network device's coverage overlaps with an electronic fence, SSBs are not transmitted. In other words, in areas where the access network device's coverage overlaps with an electronic fence, the access network device does not transmit SSBs. An electronic fence can be a designated area within which the access network device does not transmit SSBs. For example, an electronic fence may be located at the border between urban and rural areas. To avoid interference with urban communications, the access network device may not transmit SSBs at the border.

[0094] 8) In this application, "sending information to ... (terminal)" can be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal, and can include directly or indirectly sending information to the terminal. "Receiving information from ... (terminal)" can be understood as the source of the information being the terminal, and can include directly or indirectly receiving information from the terminal. The information may undergo necessary processing 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 repeated here.

[0095] Currently, the access network device can indicate the SSB it sends to the terminal through the SSB bit map, and the terminal determines the correspondence between the area and SSB in the communication system such as NTN based on this. In the SSB bit map, the value of the bit corresponding to the SSB sent by the access network device is 1, and the value of the bit corresponding to the SSB not sent by the access network device is 0. However, as mentioned above, within the coverage of the access network device, some areas may be areas where SSBs are not sent. For example, some areas may be areas that overlap with electronic fences, or some areas may be electronic fence areas. In this case, the access network device will not send the SSB corresponding to the area overlapping with the electronic fence, resulting in different understandings of the terminal and the access network device on the correspondence between each area within the coverage of the access network device and the SSB. For example, if the correspondence between each area within the access network device's coverage and SSBs is shown in Figure 3A, the access network device indicates to the terminal through the SSB bitmap: the indexes of the SSBs sent by the access network device may be {1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 17…, 239, 241, 246, 247, 248, 249, 254, 255}. Based on this, the terminal determines the correspondence between each area within the access network device's coverage and SSBs as shown in Figure 3B. The correspondences shown in Figures 3A and 3B are different. Therefore, how to determine the correspondence between areas and SSBs in communication systems such as NTNs requires further research.

[0096] In addition, in this method, the access network device (e.g., a satellite) can indicate the SSB it sends to the terminal through an SSB bitmap. However, the coverage of the access network device will change at regular intervals. In this way, the area within the coverage of the access network device that overlaps with the electronic fence will also change, causing the SSB bitmap to change. For example, in time period 1, the correspondence between each area within the coverage of the access network device and the SSB is shown in Figure 3A, and the SSB bitmap corresponds to Figure 3A; in time period 2, the correspondence between each area within the coverage of the access network device and the SSB is shown in Figure 3C, and the SSB bitmap corresponds to Figure 3C. In this case, the access network device needs to send an updated SSB bitmap to the terminal at regular intervals, which results in a large signaling overhead and a large power consumption of the terminal receiving the SSB. Therefore, for communication systems such as NTN, further research is needed to reduce signaling overhead and reduce terminal power consumption.

[0097] It should be understood that the present application is not limited to the NTN scenario. NTN is only one of the application scenarios, and other scenarios (for example, in the future 6G evolution) are still applicable.

[0098] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. Figure 4 is a flow chart corresponding to the communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. In Figure 4, the method is illustrated by taking the first device and the second device as the execution subjects of the interaction diagram as an example, but the present application does not limit the execution subjects of the interaction diagram. For example, the first device can be a terminal, or a module applied to the terminal, such as a circuit, chip, chip system or processor, or a logical node, logical module or software that can realize all or part of the terminal functions; the second device can also be an access network device (for example, a satellite), or a module applied to an access network device (for example, a satellite), such as a circuit, chip, chip system or processor, or a logical node, logical module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of an access network device (for example, a satellite). As shown in Figure 4, the method includes:

[0099] S401: The second device may send first information to the first device; correspondingly, the first device may receive the first information from the second device.

[0100] Among them, the first information can be used to indicate A SSBs. A may be the number of areas within the coverage range L of the second device, and A may be an integer greater than or equal to 2. For example, if the coverage range L of the second device is as shown in Figure 3A, A may be 8*16=128. Optionally, there may be a first correspondence between the A SSBs and the A first areas in the coverage range L, so that the first device can detect (or measure or receive) the SSBs based on the first correspondence. It should be understood that the coverage range of the second device may or may not change over time. In the case where the coverage range of the second device changes over time, the coverage range L may be the coverage range of the second device in the first time period; in this case, A may be the number of areas within the coverage range of the second device in the first time period.

[0101] Optionally, the first information may be used to indicate multiple bits corresponding to multiple SSBs, the multiple SSBs may include the A SSBs, and the bit states of the A bits in the multiple bits may be used to indicate the A SSBs. The multiple SSBs may be in various forms, for example, all SSBs that the second device can send, or the A SSBs, and this application is not limited to this. Exemplarily, the first bit is any bit in the multiple bits. If the value of the first bit is value #1 (for example, 1), it indicates that the SSB corresponding to the first bit belongs to the A SSBs; if the value of the first bit is value #2 (for example, 0), it indicates that the SSB corresponding to the first bit does not belong to the A SSBs. For example, if the correspondence between each area and SSB within the coverage range L is shown in Figure 3A, and value #1 is 1, then the multiple bits indicated by the first information may be: {1100001111000011….1100001111000011}, and the indexes representing the A SSBs may be: {0, 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15,…., 240, 241, 246, 247, 248, 249, 254, 255}. In this way, the first information can accurately indicate the A SSBs.

[0102] In some implementations, the first information may be conventional information. For example, the first information is an SSB bitmap, and the SSB bitmap may be included in the ssb-PositionInBurst parameter; in other words, the first information may be included in the ssb-PositionInBurst parameter. The ssb-PositionInBurst parameter may be a 3GPP (3GPP) rd The ssb-PositionInBurst parameter in section 6.3.2 of 3GPP standard 38.331 is used for the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0103] In other implementations, the first information may be new information. For example, the first information may be included in a new parameter, and the name of the new parameter may be, for example, the ssb-AllCoverageMap parameter, or other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0104] Optionally, the first information may be carried in broadcast information sent by the second device, such as radio resource control (RRC) signaling, such as system information. The system information may be a traditional system information block, such as system information block 1 (SIB1), system information block 19 (SIB19), or other system information (OSI); or, the system information may be a new system information block, such as system information block 1bis (SIB1bis). It should be understood that SIB1bis may also have other names, such as system information block 1' (SIB1').

[0105] S402: The second device sends second information to the first device; correspondingly, the first device receives the second information from the second device.

[0106] The second information may be used to indicate B SSBs among the A SSBs that are not transmitted within the coverage range L, where B is a positive integer; in other words, the second information may indicate B SSBs among the A SSBs that correspond to areas (e.g., electronic fences) where SSBs cannot be transmitted within the coverage range L. For example, if the correspondence between the areas within the coverage range L and the SSBs is shown in FIG3A , the indexes of the B SSBs may be: {0, 16, 32, 208, 224, 240}.

[0107] Optionally, the second information may be used to indicate at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB, and the at least one SSB may include B SSBs, and the bit states of the B bits in the at least one bit may be used to indicate the B SSBs. The at least one SSB may have multiple forms, for example, it may be multiple SSBs in S401, or it may be A SSBs, and this application is not limited to this. Exemplarily, the second bit is any bit in the at least one bit. If the value of the second bit is value #3 (for example, 1), it indicates that the SSB corresponding to the second bit belongs to the B SSBs; if the value of the second bit is value #4 (for example, 0), it indicates that the SSB corresponding to the second bit does not belong to the B SSBs. For example, if the correspondence between each area and SSB within coverage range L is shown in Figure 3A, value #3 is 1, and the second information indicates A bits corresponding to A SSBs, then the A bits indicated by the second information may be {10000000100000001….100000001000000010000000}, and the indexes representing the B SSBs may be {0, 16, 32, 208, 224, 240}. In this way, the second information can accurately indicate the B SSBs.

[0108] There may be multiple ways for the second information to indicate at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB, for example, way a1, way a2 or way a3.

[0109] Method a1: The second information includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB. The specific content of this at least one bit can be found in the above description of the at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB and is not further described here. Using this method, the first device can accurately obtain the at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB based on the second information.

[0110] Method a2:

[0111] In the case where the correspondence between the A areas and the A SSBs within the coverage area of ​​the second device is variable, the method shown in FIG4 further includes step A1:

[0112] Step A1: The second device may send third information to the first device; correspondingly, the first device may receive the third information from the second device.

[0113] The third information may be used to indicate the correspondence between the M groups of bits and the M pieces of indication information. M may be the number of areas within a coverage range L along a first direction, where the first direction may be the direction of motion of the second device. For example, if the coverage range L of the second device is as shown in FIG3A , then M = 8.

[0114] The M indication information will be described below. The i-th indication information among the M indication information can be used to indicate the correspondence between A areas i and A SSBs (hereinafter referred to as the i-th correspondence). The A areas i can be the A areas within the coverage range of the second device in time period i, and the value of i can be any integer from 1 to M. It should be understood that this method can be applied to the situation where the coverage range of the second device changes over time, and in time period 1 to time period M, the number of areas within the coverage range of the second device can be A.

[0115] Optionally, the i-th indication information among the M indication information may indicate an association between the i-th correspondence and the initial correspondence. Thus, the first device may determine the i-th correspondence based on the i-th indication information and the initial correspondence. The i-th correspondence may be represented by a pattern or a matrix. Exemplarily, the i-th correspondence may include M rows and N columns. N may be the number of areas within the coverage range L along the second direction, where N is a positive integer. The second direction may be different from the first direction; for example, the second direction may be perpendicular to the first direction. The first element is any element in the i-th correspondence. The first element represents area a among the multiple areas within the coverage range of the second device. The value of the first element is the index of the first SSB among the A SSBs, and area a corresponds to the first SSB. The last (or bottommost) i-1 row in the initial correspondence may be the first (or topmost) i-1 row in the i-th correspondence; the first (or topmost) M-i+1 row in the initial correspondence may be the last (or bottommost) M-i+1 row in the i-th correspondence.

[0116] For example, the initial correspondence is the correspondence shown in FIG5A , the i-th correspondence is the correspondence shown in FIG5B , and i is 2. The last (or bottommost) row 1 (i.e., i-1=2-1=1) in the initial correspondence is the first (or topmost) row 1 in the i-th correspondence; the first (or topmost) row 7 (i.e., M-i+1=8-2+1=7) in the initial correspondence is the last (or bottommost) row 7 in the i-th correspondence.

[0117] For another example, the initial correspondence and the i-th correspondence are both the correspondences shown in FIG5A , and i is 1. The first row in the initial correspondence is the first row in the i-th correspondence; the second row in the initial correspondence is the second row in the i-th correspondence, and so on.

[0118] The i-th group of bits in the M groups of bits can be used to indicate an SSB in A SSBs that is not transmitted within coverage range i, where coverage range i is the coverage range of the second device in time period i. Exemplarily, the fourth bit is any bit in the i-th group of bits. If the value of the fourth bit is value #3 (for example, 1), it means that the SSB corresponding to the fourth bit belongs to the SSB in A SSBs that is not transmitted within coverage range i; if the value of the fourth bit is value #4 (for example, 0), it means that the SSB corresponding to the fourth bit does not belong to the SSB in A SSBs that is not transmitted within coverage range i.

[0119] As previously described, the third information may be used to indicate the correspondence between the M groups of bits and the M pieces of indication information. In some examples, the third information may explicitly indicate the correspondence between the M groups of bits and the M pieces of indication information. For example, the third information may include the correspondence between the M groups of bits and the M pieces of indication information. In other examples, the third information may implicitly indicate the correspondence between the M groups of bits and the M pieces of indication information. For example, the third information may include information corresponding to the correspondence between the M groups of bits and the M pieces of indication information.

[0120] Optionally, the third information may be carried in broadcast information sent by the second device, such as system information or RRC signaling. The system information may be a traditional system information block, such as SIB1, SIB19, or OSI; or the system information may be a new system information block, such as SIB1bis.

[0121] It should be understood that the present application does not limit the order of steps A1, S401, and S402. The third information and the first information and / or the second information may be carried in the same message or in different messages, and the present application does not limit this.

[0122] In approach a2, the second information may be one of the M indication information, and the at least one bit may be a group of bits in the M groups of bits corresponding to the second information. For example, if M = 8, the correspondence between the M groups of bits and the M indication information is shown in Table 1. If the value of the second information is 0, the at least one bit may be: 100010…00001.

[0123] Table 1

[0124] It should be understood that Table 1 is only an example. In actual application, the value of the M group of bits may also be other values, and this application does not limit this.

[0125] Through method a2, the second information can be one of the M indication information, used to indicate the correspondence between A areas i and A SSBs, and can also implicitly indicate the at least one bit, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0126] Method a3: When the correspondence between A areas and A SSBs within the coverage of the second device remains unchanged, the second information may be used to indicate M groups of bits. For the specific content of M, refer to the description of M in method a2. For the specific content of the M groups of bits, refer to the description of M groups of bits in method a2, and are not repeated here. The M groups of bits may correspond to M time periods in chronological order. The at least one bit may be a group of bits in the M groups of bits that corresponds to the earliest time period among the M time periods. Optionally, the M time periods may be continuous, and the coverage of the second device may be different in different time periods among the M time periods.

[0127] For example, if M=8, the M groups of bits may be as shown in Table 2. The eight groups of bits may correspond to eight time periods in chronological order. For example, the group of bits corresponding to index 0 corresponds to time period #1, which is from t0 to t0+Δt; the group of bits corresponding to index 1 corresponds to time period #2, which is from t0+Δt to t0+2*Δt; the group of bits corresponding to index 2 corresponds to time period #3, which is from t0+2*Δt to t0+3*Δt; and so on. The at least one bit may be the group of bits in the M groups of bits corresponding to time period #1.

[0128] Optionally, the second information may further include the first indication information in Table 2, where the first indication information may indicate an association relationship between the second correspondence and the initial correspondence, where the second correspondence may be a correspondence relationship between A areas and A SSBs within the coverage range of the second device. The association relationship between the second correspondence and the initial correspondence may refer to the description of the association relationship between the i-th correspondence and the initial correspondence in method a2, except that the i-th correspondence is replaced by the initial correspondence, and will not be repeated here.

[0129] Table 2

[0130] It should be understood that Table 2 is only an example. In actual application, the value of the M group of bits may also be other values, and the first indication information may also be other values. This application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0131] Through manner a3, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the at least one bit according to the second information.

[0132] Optionally, the second information may be carried in broadcast information sent by the second device, such as system information or RRC signaling. The system information may be a traditional system information block, such as SIB1, SIB19, or OSI; or the system information may be a new system information block, such as SIB1bis.

[0133] The present application does not impose any restriction on the order of S401 and S402. The first information and the second information may be carried in the same message or in different messages, and the present application does not impose any restriction on this.

[0134] S403: The first device determines the SSBs corresponding to the multiple first areas within the coverage range L based on the first information and the second information; in other words, the first information and the second information can be used to determine the SSBs corresponding to the multiple first areas within the coverage range L.

[0135] For example, if the correspondence between each area and SSB within the coverage range L is shown in Figure 3A, the first device can determine, based on the first information, that the indexes of the A SSBs are: {0, 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, …., 240, 241, 246, 247, 248, 249, 254, 255}, and based on the second information, that the indexes of the B SSBs are: {0, 16, 32, 208, 224, 240}. Then, the first device can determine, based on the first information, that the indexes of the SSBs corresponding to the plurality of first areas within the coverage range L (hereinafter referred to as C SSBs, where C is a positive integer) are: {1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, …., 241, 246, 247, 248, 249, 254, 255}.

[0136] Optionally, the first device may determine the correspondence between multiple first areas and C SSBs within the coverage range L based on the first information and the second information. The following steps B1 to B2 exemplify how the first device may determine the correspondence between multiple first areas and C SSBs within the coverage range L based on the first information and the second information.

[0137] Step B1: The first device may determine a first corresponding relationship according to the first information.

[0138] The first correspondence may be a correspondence between the A SSBs and the A first areas within the coverage range L. For details of the first correspondence, refer to the description of the i-th correspondence in method a2 and are not repeated here. For example, if the correspondence between each area within the coverage range L and the SSB is shown in FIG3A , the first correspondence may be shown in FIG5A .

[0139] For example, after receiving information #a from the second device, the first device may determine a first correspondence based on the first information and information #a. Information #a may be used to indicate at least one of the following information 1 to information 7:

[0140] Information 1: Number of first areas along the third direction within coverage area L: The third direction can be the same as or different from the first direction. When the third direction is the same as the first direction, Information 1 can be M. Still using Figure 5A as an example, if the third direction is the first direction, i.e., the direction of motion of the second device, Information 1 can be 8.

[0141] Information 2: The radius, diameter, or side length of each area within the coverage range L along the third direction: For example, if the shape of each area within the coverage range L is circular or elliptical, Information 2 may be the radius or diameter of each area within the coverage range L along the third direction. For another example, if the shape of each area within the coverage range L is rectangular or square, Information 2 may be the side length of each area within the coverage range L along the third direction.

[0142] Optionally, the shapes and sizes of the areas within the coverage range L may be the same or different. If the shapes and sizes of the areas within the coverage range L are the same, the information #a may only indicate the radius, diameter, or side length of one area within the coverage range L along the third direction, thereby reducing the signaling overhead of the information #a. For example, the information #a may indicate that the radius of each area within the coverage range L along the third direction is 40 kilometers (km). If the shapes and sizes of the areas within the coverage range L are different, the first information may indicate the radius, diameter, or side length of each area within the coverage range L along the third direction.

[0143] Information 3: Number of first areas along the fourth direction within coverage range L: The fourth direction may be different from the third direction, for example, perpendicular to the fourth direction. When the fourth direction is the same as the second direction, Information 3 may be N. Still using Figure 5A as an example, if the third direction is the direction of motion of the second device and is perpendicular to the fourth direction, Information 3 may be 16.

[0144] Information 4: The radius, diameter, or side length of each area within the coverage range L along the fourth direction: For example, if the shape of each area within the coverage range L is circular or elliptical, Information 4 may be the radius or diameter of each area within the coverage range L along the fourth direction. For another example, if the shape of each area within the coverage range L is rectangular or square, Information 4 may be the side length of each area within the coverage range L along the fourth direction.

[0145] Optionally, the shapes and sizes of the areas within the coverage range L may be the same or different. If the shapes and sizes of the areas within the coverage range L are the same, information #a may only indicate the radius, diameter, or side length of one area within the coverage range L along the fourth direction, thereby reducing the signaling overhead of information #a. For example, information #a may indicate that the radius of each area within the coverage range L along the fourth direction is 30 km. If the shapes and sizes of the areas within the coverage range L are different, information #a may indicate the radius, diameter, or side length of each area within the coverage range L along the fourth direction.

[0146] Optionally, if the shape of each area within the coverage range L is circular or square, the information #a may indicate one of information 1 and information 3, and one of information 2 and information 4.

[0147] Information 5. The position of the reference area within the coverage range L: The reference area may be a first area within the coverage range L. In some examples, the reference area is the central area of ​​the coverage range L. In other examples, the reference area is the starting area of ​​the coverage range L. For example, still taking Figure 5A as an example, the reference area may be the area corresponding to 0. In some further examples, the reference area is the area corresponding to the starting SSB within the coverage range L. The starting SSB may be the SSB with the largest or smallest index among the multiple SSBs. For example, still taking Figure 5A as an example, if the starting SSB may be the SSB with the smallest index among the multiple SSBs, the reference area may be the area corresponding to SSB index 0; if the starting SSB may be the SSB with the largest index among the multiple SSBs, the reference area may be the area corresponding to SSB index 255.

[0148] In some implementations, information #a may indicate the geographic location of the reference area (e.g., coordinates or longitude and latitude of the reference area), so that upon receiving information #a, the first device can determine the location of the reference area. In other implementations, information #a may indicate the relationship between the reference area and a reference location (e.g., the sub-satellite point of the second device), so that the first device can determine the geographic location of the reference area based on information #a and the reference location. For example, still using Figure 5A as an example, the reference area may be the area corresponding to 0, the reference location may be the sub-satellite point of the second device, and information #a indicates that the reference location is offset by four first areas in the opposite direction of the third direction and by eight first areas in the opposite direction of the fourth direction relative to the sub-satellite point of the second device.

[0149] Information 6. In the initial correspondence between the A areas and the A SSBs within the coverage area of ​​the second device, the arrangement order of the A SSBs: in some examples, the arrangement order is arranged in sequence along the fourth direction. For example, the fourth direction is perpendicular to the movement direction of the second device (or the fourth direction is perpendicular to the track direction of the second device), and the arrangement order is arranged in sequence along the vertical track. In other examples, the arrangement order is arranged in sequence along the third direction. For example, the third direction is the movement direction of the second device (or the track direction of the second device), and the arrangement order is arranged in sequence along the horizontal track. Assuming that the initial correspondence is as shown in Figure 5A, if the third direction is the movement direction of the second device, the indexes of the A SSBs gradually increase along the third direction.

[0150] The association between information 7, the first correspondence, and the initial correspondence: If the first correspondence is the i-th correspondence, information 7 may be related to i. For example, information 7 is i, or information 7 is the sum of i and offset value 1, where offset value 1 can be a positive or negative number. Offset value 1 can be pre-set, for example, as specified by a protocol; it can also be determined by the first device or the second device. For the specific content of the association between the first correspondence and the initial correspondence, refer to the description of the association between the i-th correspondence and the initial correspondence in method a2, and will not be repeated here.

[0151] In this way, the first device can determine the first correspondence based on the first information and information #a. For example, the first device can determine the multiple first regions based on information 1 to information 5, and determine the first correspondence between the multiple first regions and the multiple SSBs based on information 6, information 7, and the first information. Optionally, when determining the first correspondence, the first device can also refer to the ephemeris of the second device; that is, the first device can determine the first correspondence based on the ephemeris of the second device and the first information. For example, the first device can determine information 5 based on the ephemeris of the second satellite and the first information, thereby determining the locations of the multiple first regions and further determining the first correspondence.

[0152] Step B2: The first device may determine the correspondence between the plurality of first areas within the coverage range L and the C SSBs based on the first correspondence and the second information.

[0153] For example, if the first correspondence is as shown in FIG5A , and the indexes of the B SSBs indicated by the second information are: {0, 16, 32, 208, 224, 240}, the first device may determine that the correspondence between the multiple first areas within the coverage range L and the C SSBs is the correspondence shown in FIG3A .

[0154] S404: The first device detects (or measures or receives) SSBs corresponding to some or all of the multiple first areas.

[0155] In some implementations, the first device may detect SSBs corresponding to some or all of the multiple first areas based on the location of the first device. In some examples, the first device may detect the SSBs corresponding to the area where the first device is located. For example, the correspondence between each area within the coverage range L and the SSBs is shown in FIG3A. If the first device is located in the area corresponding to SSB136, the first device may detect SSB136. In other examples, the first device may detect the SSBs corresponding to the area where the first device is located and the SSBs corresponding to the areas adjacent to the area where the first device is located. For example, the correspondence between each area within the coverage range L and the SSBs is shown in FIG3A. If the first device is located in the area corresponding to SSB136, the first device may detect SSB136, SSB119, SSB120, SSB121, SSB135, SSB137, SSB151, SSB152, and SSB153.

[0156] In other implementations, the first device may detect SSBs corresponding to some or all of the multiple first areas based on the location of the first device and the motion information of the first device. In some examples, if the first device has not moved, the first device may detect the SSBs corresponding to the area where the first device is located. For example, the correspondence between each area and SSB within the coverage range L is shown in Figure 3A. If the first device is located in the area corresponding to SSB136 and the first device has not moved, the first device may detect SSB136. In other examples, if the first device has moved, the first device may detect the SSBs corresponding to the area where the first device is located and the SSBs corresponding to a first adjacent area, which is an area adjacent to the area where the first device is located in the direction of movement of the first device. For example, the correspondence between each area and SSB within the coverage range L is shown in Figure 3A. If the first device is located in the area corresponding to SSB136 and the first device moves toward the area corresponding to SSB137, the first device may detect SSB136 and SSB137.

[0157] Through this method, the first device can detect the SSB corresponding to some of the multiple first areas, thereby reducing the time the first device takes to measure SSB, reducing the power consumption of the first device, and reducing the overhead of measuring SSB.

[0158] Optionally, the first device may also perform other processing based on the SSBs corresponding to multiple first areas within the coverage range L. For example, the first device may merge system messages (for example, SIB1, SIB19, SIB1bis or OSI) corresponding to adjacent SSBs during access, thereby improving performance.

[0159] Through the method shown in Figure 4, when there is an area within the coverage range L that does not send SSB, the first device can accurately determine the correspondence between each area and SSB within the coverage range of the second device based on the first information and the second information, so as to determine the area where it is located and the coverage information around the area, thereby improving the mobility management performance, achieving accurate SSB measurement, and reducing measurement overhead. For example, the first device can determine the area where it is located and the coverage information around the area within the SMTC window sent down by the network side, and measure the SSB corresponding to the area where it is located and / or the SSB corresponding to the area around the area, thereby achieving accurate SSB measurement and reducing measurement overhead. In addition, if the system information associated with different SSB indexes is the same, the first device can merge the system information corresponding to different SSB indexes or the system information associated with SSB indexes corresponding to geographically adjacent areas, thereby improving the accuracy of the parsed system information, and at the same time reducing the time to obtain system messages and reducing access delays.

[0160] In some possible manners, when the second information indicates at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB using manner a2 or manner a3 described above, the method shown in FIG4 may further include:

[0161] S405: The first device determines fourth information based on the second information; in other words, the second information can be used to determine the fourth information.

[0162] The fourth information may be used to indicate a group of bits in the M groups of bits. The group of bits indicated by the fourth information may be used to indicate D SSBs out of A SSBs that are not transmitted within the coverage range P of the second device, where D is a positive integer. The second time period during which the second device covers the coverage range P may be after the first time period during which the second device covers the coverage range L. A may be the number of areas within the coverage range P. For the specific content of the fourth information, refer to the description of the second information in S402, and any repetitive details will not be repeated.

[0163] Optionally, the first device may determine the fourth information based on the second information and K. In other words, the second information and K may be used to determine the fourth information. K is determined based on the number of zones spanned by the second device from the first time period to the second time period. In other words, the first device may determine K based on the number of zones spanned by the second device from the first time period to the second time period. For example, as shown in the top graph of Figure 2B, if, during the first time period, the second device's coverage area is the bottom 8 rows of zones, and during the second time period, the second device's coverage area is the top 8 rows of zones, then the number of zones spanned by the second device from the first time period to the second time period may be 1.

[0164] Since the number of regions can be determined based on the start time of the first time period, the duration of the first time period, and the first corresponding relationship, K can be determined based on the start time of the first time period, the duration of the first time period, and the first corresponding relationship. Exemplarily, K can satisfy one of the following formulas (1) to (5), so that the first device can determine K based on one of the formulas (1) to (5). K= floor((t-t0) / Δt) mod M, Formula (1) K= (floor((t-t0) / Δt)+1)mod M, Formula (2) K= roundup((t-t0) / Δt) mod M, Formula (3) K= (roundup((t-t0) / Δt)-1)mod M, Formula (4) K= round ((t-t0) / Δt) mod M, Formula (5)

[0165] Where t is a time in the second time period, t0 is the start time of the first time period, Δt is the duration of the first time period, floor represents a round-down operation, roundup represents a round-up operation, round represents a round-off operation, and mod represents a modulo operation.

[0166] The following example illustrates how to determine K, taking the case where K satisfies formula (1) as an example. For example, if M is 8, Δt is 9 seconds, t0 is 0 seconds, and t is 10 seconds, then K = floor((t-t0) / Δt) mod M = floor((10-0) / 9) mod 8 = 1 mod 8 = 1.

[0167] In some examples, the M groups of bits may be as shown in Table 1. If the value of the second information is 0 and K is 1, the value of the fourth information may be 1, and the group of bits indicated by the fourth information may be the group of bits corresponding to the second indication information (i.e., 1) in Table 1: 000010...00001.

[0168] In other examples, the M groups of bits may be as shown in Table 2. If K is 1, the group of bits indicated by the fourth information may be a group of bits corresponding to index 1 in Table 2: 000010 . . . 00001.

[0169] In this way, the first device can accurately determine the fourth information based on the second information and K.

[0170] S406: The first device may determine SSBs corresponding to multiple second areas within the coverage range P based on the first information and the fourth information.

[0171] S407: The first device may detect SSBs corresponding to some or all of the second areas.

[0172] The specific contents of S406 to S407 can refer to S403 to S404, except that the second information is replaced by the fourth information, the coverage range L is replaced by the coverage range P, and the first area is replaced by the second area, which will not be repeated here.

[0173] For example, the coverage range L may be as shown in Figure 3A, and the coverage range P may be as shown in Figure 3C. From the first time period to the second time period, the number of areas spanned by the second device may be 1. In S405, the first device may determine the fourth information based on the second information and K, and the indexes of the D SSBs indicated by the fourth information may be: {0, 224, 240}. In S406, the first device may determine the indexes of the SSBs corresponding to the multiple second areas within the coverage range P (hereinafter referred to as E SSBs, E is a positive integer) based on the second information and the fourth information as: {1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, …., 241, 246, 247, 248, 249, 254, 255}. In this way, the first device may determine that the correspondence between the multiple second areas and the E SSBs within the coverage range P is the correspondence shown in Figure 3C. In S407, the first device may detect the SSBs corresponding to some or all of the second areas in the multiple second areas based on the correspondence shown in Figure 3C.

[0174] With this method, if the coverage of the second device changes over time, the first device can obtain M groups of bits, each of which indicates the SSBs that are not transmitted within the coverage of the second device during different time periods. This eliminates the need for the second device to send multiple updated SSB bitmaps, thereby reducing signaling overhead and lowering the first device's receiving power.

[0175] An embodiment of the present application provides another communication method. Figure 6 is a flow chart corresponding to the communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. In Figure 6, the method is illustrated by taking the first device and the second device as the execution subjects of the interaction diagram as an example, but the present application does not limit the execution subjects of the interaction diagram. For example, the first device can be a terminal, or a module applied to the terminal, such as a circuit, a chip, a chip system or a processor, or a logical node, a logical module or software that can realize all or part of the terminal functions; the second device can also be an access network device (for example, a satellite), or a module applied to an access network device (for example, a satellite), such as a circuit, a chip, a chip system or a processor, or a logical node, a logical module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of an access network device (for example, a satellite). As shown in Figure 6, the method includes:

[0176] S601: The second device may send fifth information to the first device; correspondingly, the first device may receive the fifth information from the second device.

[0177] The fifth information may be used to indicate A SSBs, where A may be the number of areas within the coverage L of the second device, and A may be an integer greater than or equal to 2. For specific contents of the A SSBs, reference may be made to the description of the A SSBs in S401 and will not be repeated here.

[0178] Optionally, the fifth information may be used to indicate multiple bits corresponding to multiple SSBs, where the multiple SSBs may include A SSBs, and the bit states of the A bits in the multiple bits may be used to indicate the A SSBs. For specific contents of the multiple bits corresponding to the multiple SSBs indicated by the fifth information, reference may be made to the description in S401 of how the first information may be used to indicate the multiple bits corresponding to the multiple SSBs, except that the first information is replaced by the fifth information, and repeated details are omitted.

[0179] In some implementations, the fifth information may be new information. For example, the fifth information may be included in a new parameter, and the name of the new parameter may be, for example, the ssb-AllCoverageMap parameter, or other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0180] Optionally, the fifth information may be carried in broadcast information sent by the second device, such as RRC signaling such as system information. The system information may be a traditional system information block, such as SIB1, SIB19, or OSI; or the system information may be a new system information block, such as SIB1bis.

[0181] S602: The second device may send sixth information to the first device, and correspondingly, the first device may receive the sixth information from the second device.

[0182] The sixth information may be used to indicate C SSBs among the A SSBs that are transmitted within the coverage range L, where C is a positive integer; in other words, the sixth information may be used to indicate C SSBs among the A SSBs that correspond to areas within the coverage range L where SSBs can be transmitted (e.g., areas outside the electronic fence within the coverage range L). For example, if the correspondence between the areas within the coverage range L and the SSBs is shown in FIG3A , the indexes of the C SSBs may be: {1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, …, 241, 246, 247, 248, 249, 254, 255}.

[0183] Optionally, the sixth information may be used to indicate at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB, and the at least one SSB may include C SSBs, and the bit states of the C bits in the at least one bit may be used to indicate the C SSBs. The at least one SSB may have multiple forms, for example, it may be multiple SSBs in S601, or it may be A SSBs, and this application is not limited to this. Exemplarily, the third bit is any bit in the at least one bit. If the value of the third bit is value #5 (for example, 1), it indicates that the SSB corresponding to the third bit belongs to the C SSBs; if the value of the third bit is value #6 (for example, 0), it indicates that the SSB corresponding to the third bit does not belong to the C SSBs. For example, if the correspondence between each area and SSB within the coverage range L is shown in Figure 3A, and the value #5 is 1, then at least one bit indicated by the sixth information may be: {0100001111000011….0100001111000011}, and the indexes representing the C SSBs may be: {1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15,…., 241, 246, 247, 248, 249, 254, 255}. In this way, the sixth information can accurately indicate the C SSBs.

[0184] Optionally, the sixth information may be carried in broadcast information sent by the second device, such as system information or RRC signaling. The system information may be a traditional system information block, such as SIB1, SIB19, or OSI; or, the system information may be a new system information block, such as SIB1bis.

[0185] The present application does not impose any restriction on the order of S601 and S602. The fifth information and the sixth information may be carried in the same message or in different messages, and the present application does not impose any restriction on this.

[0186] S603: The first device may determine the SSBs corresponding to the plurality of first areas within the coverage range L according to the fifth information and the sixth information.

[0187] For example, if the correspondence between each area and the SSB within the coverage range L is shown in FIG3A , the first device may determine, based on the fifth information, that the indexes of the A SSBs may be: {0, 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, …., 240, 241, 246, 247, 248, 249, 254, 255}, and determine, based on the sixth information, that the indexes of the C SSBs may be: {1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, …., 241, 246, 247, 248, 249, 254, 255}. Then, the first device may determine that the indexes of the SSBs corresponding to the multiple first areas within the coverage range L (i.e., the C SSBs) are: {1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, …., 241, 246, 247, 248, 249, 254, 255}.

[0188] Optionally, the first device may determine the correspondence between multiple first areas and C SSBs within the coverage range L based on the fifth information and the sixth information. The following steps C1 to C2 exemplify how the first device may determine the correspondence between multiple first areas and C SSBs within the coverage range L based on the fifth information and the sixth information.

[0189] Step C1: The first device may determine a first correspondence relationship based on the fifth information, wherein the first correspondence relationship may be a correspondence relationship between the A SSBs and the A first areas in the coverage area L.

[0190] The specific content of step C1 can refer to step B1, except that the first information is replaced by the fifth information, and will not be repeated here.

[0191] Step C2: The first device may determine the correspondence between multiple first areas and C SSBs within the coverage range L based on the first correspondence and the sixth information.

[0192] For example, if the first correspondence is as shown in Figure 5A, and the indexes of the C SSBs indicated by the sixth information are: {1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15,…., 241, 246, 247, 248, 249, 254, 255}, the first device can determine that the correspondence between multiple first areas within the coverage range L and the C SSBs is the correspondence shown in Figure 3A.

[0193] S604: The first device may detect SSBs corresponding to some or all of the multiple first areas.

[0194] The specific content of S604 can be found in S404 and will not be repeated here.

[0195] Through the method shown in Figure 6, when there is an area within the coverage range L that does not send SSB, the first device can accurately determine the correspondence between each area and SSB within the coverage range of the second device based on the fifth information and the sixth information, so as to determine the area where it is located and the coverage information around the area, thereby improving the mobility management performance, achieving accurate SSB measurement, and reducing measurement overhead. For example, the first device can determine the area where it is located and the coverage information around the area within the SMTC window sent down by the network side, measure the SSB corresponding to the area where it is located and / or the SSB corresponding to the area around the area, thereby achieving accurate SSB measurement and reducing measurement overhead. In addition, if the system information associated with different SSB indexes is the same, the first device can merge the system information corresponding to different SSB indexes or the system information associated with SSB indexes corresponding to geographically adjacent areas, thereby improving the accuracy of the parsed system information, and at the same time reducing the time to obtain system messages and reducing access delay.

[0196] Based on the same technical concept as the above-mentioned method embodiment, the embodiment of the present application provides a corresponding communication device, which can be used to perform the functions of the relevant steps in the above-mentioned method embodiment. This function can be implemented by hardware, can be implemented by software, or can be implemented by hardware executing the corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions. The communication device can be a terminal, or can be a module in a terminal (such as a circuit or a chip), or can be a logical node, logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of a terminal or access network device; or the communication device can be an access network device or a module in an access network device (such as a circuit or a chip), or can be a logical node, logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of an access network device.

[0197] In one possible implementation, the structure of the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG7 , which includes a processing unit 702. Optionally, the communication device further includes an interface unit 701. The functions of each unit in the communication device 700 are described below.

[0198] The interface unit 701 is used to input and / or output information. Input information can be replaced by receiving information, and output information can be replaced by sending information. When outputting information, the interface unit 701 can output information to other devices outside the communication device 700, or it can output information to other units in the communication device 700. In some embodiments, the interface unit 701 can be implemented by at least one of a physical interface, a communication module, a communication interface, and an input / output interface. In other embodiments, the interface unit 701 can be implemented by an interface circuit, for example, a mobile communication module. The mobile communication module may include one or more of at least one antenna, at least one filter, a switch, a power amplifier, a low noise amplifier (LNA), etc.

[0199] The processing unit 702 can be used to support the communication device 700 in performing the processing actions in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The processing unit 702 can be implemented by one or more processors. For example, the processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), or 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 can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0200] In one embodiment, the communication device 700 is applied to the first device in the embodiment of the present application shown in Figure 4. The specific functions of the processing unit 702 in this embodiment are introduced below.

[0201] The processing unit 702 is used to: receive first information from the second device through the interface unit 701, where the first information is used to indicate A SSBs, where A is the number of areas within the coverage range L of the second device, and A is an integer greater than or equal to 2; receive second information from the second device through the interface unit 701, where the second information is used to indicate B SSBs among the A SSBs that are not transmitted within the coverage range L, where B is a positive integer; determine the SSBs corresponding to multiple first areas within the coverage range L based on the first information and the second information; and detect the SSBs corresponding to some or all of the multiple first areas.

[0202] In some possible embodiments, the processing unit 702 is also used to: when the correspondence between A areas and A SSBs within the coverage range of the second device is variable, receive third information from the second device through the interface unit 701, the third information is used to indicate the correspondence between M groups of bits and M indication information, M is the number of areas within the coverage range L along the first direction, and the first direction is the movement direction of the second device; the i-th indication information among the M indication information is used to indicate the correspondence between A areas i and A SSBs, A areas i are A areas within the coverage range of the second device within time period i, and the value of i is any integer from 1 to M; the second information is one of the M indication information, and at least one bit is a group of bits in the M groups of bits corresponding to the second information.

[0203] Optionally, the processing unit 702 is also used to: determine fourth information based on the second information, the fourth information is used to indicate a group of bits in the M groups of bits, the group of bits indicated by the fourth information is used to indicate D SSBs in A SSBs that are not transmitted within the coverage range P of the second device, D is a positive integer, the second time period covering the coverage range P by the second device is after the first time period covering the coverage range L by the second device, and A is the number of areas within the coverage range P; determine SSBs corresponding to multiple second areas within the coverage range P based on the first information and the fourth information; and detect SSBs corresponding to some or all of the multiple second areas.

[0204] Exemplarily, the processing unit 702 is specifically configured to determine the fourth information according to the second information and K, where K is determined based on the number of areas spanned by the second device from the first time period to the second time period.

[0205] In another embodiment, the communication device 700 is applied to the second device in the embodiment of the present application shown in Figure 4. The specific functions of the processing unit 702 in this embodiment are introduced below.

[0206] The processing unit 702 is used to: send first information through the interface unit 701, where the first information is used to indicate A SSBs, where A is the number of areas within the coverage range L of the second device, and A is an integer greater than or equal to 2; send second information through the interface unit 701, where the second information is used to indicate B SSBs among the A SSBs that are not transmitted within the coverage range L, where B is a positive integer; the first information and the second information are used to determine the SSBs corresponding to multiple first areas within the coverage range L.

[0207] In some possible embodiments, the processing unit 702 is also used to: when the correspondence between A areas and A SSBs within the coverage range of the second device is variable, send third information to the first device through the interface unit 701, the third information is used to indicate the correspondence between M groups of bits and M indication information, M is the number of areas within the coverage range L along the first direction, and the first direction is the movement direction of the second device; the i-th indication information among the M indication information is used to indicate the correspondence between A areas i and A SSBs, A areas i are A areas within the coverage range of the second device within the time period i, and the value of i is any integer from 1 to M; the second information is one of the M indication information, and at least one bit is a group of bits in the M groups of bits corresponding to the second information.

[0208] In yet another embodiment, the communication device 700 is applied to the first device in the embodiment of the present application shown in Figure 6. The specific functions of the processing unit 702 in this embodiment are introduced below.

[0209] The processing unit 702 is used to: receive fifth information from the second device through the interface unit 701, the fifth information is used to indicate A SSBs, where A is the number of areas within the coverage range L of the second device, and A is an integer greater than or equal to 2; receive sixth information from the second device through the interface unit 701, the sixth information is used to indicate C SSBs transmitted within the coverage range L among the A SSBs, where C is a positive integer; determine the SSBs corresponding to multiple first areas within the coverage range L based on the fifth information and the sixth information; and detect the SSBs corresponding to some or all of the multiple first areas.

[0210] In yet another embodiment, the communication device 700 is applied to the second device in the embodiment of the present application shown in Figure 6. The specific functions of the processing unit 702 in this embodiment are introduced below.

[0211] The processing unit 702 is used to: send fifth information to the first device through the interface unit 701, where the fifth information is used to indicate A SSBs, where A is the number of areas within the coverage range L of the second device, and A is an integer greater than or equal to 2; send sixth information to the first device through the interface unit 701, where the sixth information is used to indicate C SSBs transmitted within the coverage range L among the A SSBs, where C is a positive integer; the fifth information and the sixth information are used to determine the SSBs corresponding to multiple first areas within the coverage range L.

[0212] A more detailed description of the processing unit 702 and the interface unit 701 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4 and 6, and will not be repeated here.

[0213] It should be noted that the division of modules in the above embodiments of the present application is illustrative and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a processing unit, or may exist separately physically, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The above-mentioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional units.

[0214] If the above-mentioned integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0215] In one possible implementation, the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG8 . The communication device 800 includes a processor 802. Optionally, the communication device 800 also includes an interface circuit 801 and a memory 803. The interface circuit 801, the processor 802, and the memory 803 are coupled to each other.

[0216] Optionally, the interface circuit 801, the processor 802, and the memory 803 are coupled to each other via a bus 804. Bus 804 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus. Buses can be classified as address buses, data buses, control buses, etc. For ease of illustration, FIG8 shows only one thick line, but this does not indicate that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0217] Interface circuit 801 is used to input and / or output information. Inputting information can be replaced by receiving information, and outputting information can be replaced by sending information. When outputting information, interface circuit 801 can output information to other devices outside of communication device 800, or to other units within communication device 800. Exemplarily, interface circuit 801 can be implemented via at least one of a physical interface, a communication module, a communication interface, an input / output interface, and a mobile communication module. The mobile communication module may include one or more of at least one antenna, at least one filter, a switch, a power amplifier, an LNA, and the like.

[0218] Processor 802 can be used to support communication device 800 in executing the processing actions in the above-described method embodiments. When communication device 800 is used to implement the above-described method embodiments, processor 802 can also be used to implement the functions of processing unit 702. Processor 802 can be a CPU, other general-purpose processors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs, other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0219] In one embodiment, the communication device 800 is applied to the first device in the embodiment of the present application shown in Figure 4. The specific functions of the processor 802 in this embodiment are introduced below.

[0220] Processor 802 is used to: receive first information from the second device through the interface circuit 801, the first information is used to indicate A SSBs, where A is the number of areas within the coverage range L of the second device, and A is an integer greater than or equal to 2; receive second information from the second device through the interface circuit 801, the second information is used to indicate B SSBs among the A SSBs that are not transmitted within the coverage range L, and B is a positive integer; determine the SSBs corresponding to multiple first areas within the coverage range L based on the first information and the second information; and detect the SSBs corresponding to some or all of the multiple first areas.

[0221] In another embodiment, the communication device 800 is applied to the second device in the embodiment of the present application shown in Figure 4. The specific functions of the processor 802 in this embodiment are introduced below.

[0222] Processor 802 is used to: send first information through interface circuit 801, the first information is used to indicate A SSBs, A is the number of areas within the coverage range L of the second device, and A is an integer greater than or equal to 2; send second information through interface circuit 801, the second information is used to indicate B SSBs among the A SSBs that are not transmitted within the coverage range L, and B is a positive integer; the first information and the second information are used to determine the SSBs corresponding to multiple first areas within the coverage range L.

[0223] In yet another embodiment, the communication device 800 is applied to the first device in the embodiment of the present application shown in Figure 6. The specific functions of the processor 802 in this embodiment are described below.

[0224] Processor 802 is used to: receive fifth information from the second device through the interface circuit 801, the fifth information is used to indicate A SSBs, where A is the number of areas within the coverage range L of the second device, and A is an integer greater than or equal to 2; receive sixth information from the second device through the interface circuit 801, the sixth information is used to indicate C SSBs transmitted within the coverage range L among the A SSBs, where C is a positive integer; determine SSBs corresponding to multiple first areas within the coverage range L based on the fifth information and the sixth information; and detect SSBs corresponding to some or all of the multiple first areas.

[0225] In yet another embodiment, the communication device 800 is applied to the second device in the embodiment of the present application shown in Figure 6. The specific functions of the processor 802 in this embodiment are described below.

[0226] Processor 802 is used to: send fifth information to the first device through the interface circuit 801, where the fifth information is used to indicate A SSBs, where A is the number of areas within the coverage range L of the second device, and A is an integer greater than or equal to 2; send sixth information to the first device through the interface circuit 801, where the sixth information is used to indicate C SSBs transmitted within the coverage range L among the A SSBs, where C is a positive integer; the fifth information and the sixth information are used to determine the SSBs corresponding to multiple first areas within the coverage range L.

[0227] The specific functions of the processor 802 can refer to the description of the communication method provided in the above embodiments and examples of the present application, as well as the specific functional description of the communication device 700 in the embodiment of the present application shown in Figure 7, and will not be repeated here.

[0228] The memory 803 is used to store program instructions and / or data, etc. Specifically, the program instructions may include program code, which includes computer operating instructions. The memory 803 may include RAM, and may also include non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as at least one disk storage. The processor 802 executes the program instructions stored in the memory 803 and uses the data stored in the memory 803 to implement the above functions, thereby realizing the communication method provided in the above-mentioned embodiment of the present application. The memory 803 can be integrated with the processor 802, or it can be a memory outside the communication device.

[0229] It will be appreciated that the memory 803 in FIG. 8 of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a ROM, a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a RAM, which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to comprise, but not be limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0230] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product including computer-executable instructions. When the computer program product is run, the method provided in the above embodiments is executed.

[0231] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer executes the method provided in the above embodiments.

[0232] The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer.

[0233] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which is used to read a computer program stored in a memory to implement the method provided in the above embodiments.

[0234] Based on the above embodiments, embodiments of the present application provide a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a computer device to implement the functions involved in each device in the above embodiments. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory for storing the necessary programs and data for the computer device. The chip system can be composed of a chip or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0235] 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.

[0236] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the flow chart and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more flow charts and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0237] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0238] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0239] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0240] 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.

[0241] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The first device receives first information from the second device, where the first information is used to indicate A synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) blocks (SSBs), where A is the number of areas within a coverage range (L) of the second device, and A is an integer greater than or equal to 2. The first device receives second information from the second device, where the second information is used to indicate B SSBs among the A SSBs that are not transmitted within the coverage range L, where B is a positive integer; The first device determines, based on the first information and the second information, SSBs corresponding to a plurality of first areas within the coverage range L; The first device detects SSBs corresponding to some or all of the multiple first areas.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first information is used to indicate multiple bits corresponding to multiple SSBs, the multiple SSBs include the A SSBs, and the bit states of the A bits in the multiple bits are used to indicate the A SSBs.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The second information is used to indicate at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB, the at least one SSB includes the B SSBs, and the bit states of the B bits in the at least one bit are used to indicate the B SSBs.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein In a case where the correspondence between the A areas within the coverage area of the second apparatus and the A SSBs is variable, the method further includes: The first device receives third information from the second device, where the third information is used to indicate a correspondence between M groups of bits and M pieces of indication information, where M is the number of areas within the coverage range L along a first direction, and the first direction is a movement direction of the second device; the i-th piece of indication information in the M pieces of indication information is used to indicate a correspondence between A areas i and the A SSBs, where the A areas i are the A areas within the coverage range of the second device in a time period i, and the value of i is any integer between 1 and M; The second information is used to indicate at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB, including: The second information is one of the M indication information, and the at least one bit is a group of bits in the M groups of bits corresponding to the second information.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein When the correspondence between the A areas within the coverage of the second apparatus and the A SSBs remains unchanged, the second information is used to indicate at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB, including: The second information is used to indicate M groups of bits, where M is the number of areas within the coverage range L along a first direction, the first direction is the movement direction of the second device, and the M groups of bits correspond to M time periods in chronological order, and the at least one bit is a group of bits in the M groups of bits corresponding to the earliest time period in the M time periods.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that Also includes: The first device determines, based on the second information, fourth information, where the fourth information indicates a group of bits in the M groups of bits, the group of bits indicated by the fourth information indicating D SSBs among the A SSBs that are not transmitted within a coverage range P of the second device, where D is a positive integer, a second time period during which the second device covers the coverage range P is after a first time period during which the second device covers the coverage range L, and A is the number of areas within the coverage range P; The first device determines, based on the first information and the fourth information, SSBs corresponding to a plurality of second areas within the coverage range P; The first device detects SSBs corresponding to some or all of the plurality of second areas.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein The first device determines fourth information based on the second information, including: The first device determines the fourth information according to the second information and K, where K is determined based on the number of areas spanned by the second device from the first time period to the second time period.

8. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The second device sends first information to the first device, where the first information is used to indicate A synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) blocks (SSBs), where A is the number of areas within a coverage range (L) of the second device, and A is an integer greater than or equal to 2; The second device sends second information to the first device, where the second information is used to indicate B SSBs among the A SSBs that are not transmitted within the coverage range L, where B is a positive integer; The first information and the second information are used to determine the SSBs corresponding to multiple first areas within the coverage range L.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The first information is used to indicate multiple bits corresponding to multiple SSBs, the multiple SSBs include the A SSBs, and the bit states of the A bits in the multiple bits are used to indicate the A SSBs.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that The second information is used to indicate at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB, the at least one SSB includes the B SSBs, and the bit states of the B bits in the at least one bit are used to indicate the B SSBs.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein In a case where the correspondence between the A areas within the coverage area of the second apparatus and the A SSBs is variable, the method further includes: The second apparatus sends third information to the first apparatus, where the third information is used to indicate a correspondence between M groups of bits and M pieces of indication information, where M is the number of areas within the coverage range L along a first direction, and the first direction is a movement direction of the second apparatus; the i-th piece of indication information in the M pieces of indication information is used to indicate a correspondence between A areas i and the A SSBs, where the A areas i are the A areas within the coverage range of the second apparatus in a time period i, and the value of i is any integer between 1 and M; The second information is used to indicate at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB, including: The second information is one of the M indication information, and the at least one bit is a group of bits in the M groups of bits corresponding to the second information.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein When the correspondence between the A areas within the coverage of the second apparatus and the A SSBs remains unchanged, the second information is used to indicate at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB, including: The second information is used to indicate M groups of bits, where M is the number of areas within the coverage range L along a first direction, the first direction is the movement direction of the second device, and the M groups of bits correspond to M time periods in chronological order, and the at least one bit is a group of bits in the M groups of bits corresponding to the earliest time period in the M time periods.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein: The second information is used to determine fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate a group of bits in the M groups of bits, the group of bits indicated by the fourth information is used to indicate D SSBs among the A SSBs that are not transmitted within a coverage range P of the second apparatus, where D is a positive integer, the second time period during which the second apparatus covers the coverage range P is after the first time period during which the second apparatus covers the coverage range L, and A is the number of areas within the coverage range P; The first information and the fourth information are used to determine the SSBs corresponding to multiple second areas within the coverage range P.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The second information is used to determine fourth information, including: The second information and K are used to determine the fourth information, where K is determined based on the number of areas spanned by the second device from the first time period to the second time period.

15. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The first device receives fifth information from the second device, where the fifth information is used to indicate A synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) blocks (SSB), where A is the number of areas within a coverage range (L) of the second device, and A is an integer greater than or equal to 2; The first device receives sixth information from the second device, where the sixth information is used to indicate C SSBs among the A SSBs transmitted within the coverage range L, where C is a positive integer; The first device determines, based on the fifth information and the sixth information, SSBs corresponding to a plurality of first areas within the coverage range L; The first device detects SSBs corresponding to some or all of the multiple first areas.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein The fifth information is used to indicate multiple bits corresponding to multiple SSBs, the multiple SSBs include the A SSBs, and the bit states of the A bits in the multiple bits are used to indicate the A SSBs.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, wherein: The sixth information is used to indicate at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB, the at least one SSB includes the C SSBs, and the bit states of the C bits in the at least one bit are used to indicate the C SSBs.

18. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The second device sends fifth information to the first device, where the fifth information is used to indicate A synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) blocks (SSB), where A is the number of areas within the coverage range (L) of the second device, and A is an integer greater than or equal to 2. The second device sends sixth information to the first device, where the sixth information is used to indicate C SSBs among the A SSBs that are transmitted within the coverage range L, where C is a positive integer; The fifth information and the sixth information are used to determine the SSBs corresponding to multiple first areas within the coverage range L.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein The fifth information is used to indicate multiple bits corresponding to multiple SSBs, the multiple SSBs include the A SSBs, and the bit states of the A bits in the multiple bits are used to indicate the A SSBs.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein The sixth information is used to indicate at least one bit corresponding to at least one SSB, the at least one SSB includes the C SSBs, and the bit states of the C bits in the at least one bit are used to indicate the C SSBs.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, or a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 8 to 14, or a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, or a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 18 to 20.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor, wherein the processor executes instructions so that the apparatus performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, or the apparatus performs the method according to any one of claims 8 to 14, or the apparatus performs the method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, or the apparatus performs the method according to any one of claims 18 to 20.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is implemented.

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