Beam indication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are a beam indication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal device receiving first information from a network device, wherein the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beams, or, the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beam groups; and / or the terminal device receiving second information from the network device, wherein the second information indicates a beam / beam group used for transmitting a common channel and / or indicates a beam / beam group used for transmitting a specific traffic channel; and on the basis of the first information and / or the second information, the terminal device determining a first beam / first beam group from among the one or more beams / beam groups. By means of the present application, a network device can effectively configure a beam to a terminal device, such that the terminal device can select a rational and accurate beam for data transmission, thereby guaranteeing the quality of service and improving the system throughput.

Description

A beam indication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on April 1, 2024, with application number 202410394101.5 and application name “A Beam Indication Method and Communication Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and in particular to a beam indication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] Compared to terrestrial communications, satellite communications, due to their wide coverage, geographic independence, and high reliability, have been widely adopted in various fields, including aviation, military, and energy. They are considered a key aspect of future wireless communication technology development. Satellite communications specifically refer to communications conducted by ground-based radio communication equipment using satellites as relays. Satellite communication systems consist of satellite and ground components. Satellite communications can provide communications services in areas where terrestrial networks have limited or no coverage; they can also provide stable emergency communications in the event of natural disasters or large-scale events; they can also offer high-quality communications services to users on vehicles such as trains, ships, and aircraft; and they can also provide specialized services to meet the specific business needs of government and enterprise users.

[0004] To support wide-area coverage, a single satellite is typically equipped with hundreds or even thousands of beams. Therefore, how to effectively allocate beams to terminal devices to ensure service quality and improve system throughput is a pressing issue that needs to be addressed. Summary of the Invention

[0005] An embodiment of the present application provides a beam indication method and a communication device. Based on the method described in the present application, the beam can be effectively configured to the terminal device, thereby ensuring service quality and improving system throughput.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a beam indication method, which includes: a terminal device receives first information from a network device; the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beams, or the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beam groups; and / or the terminal device receives second information from the network device; the second information indicates a beam / beam group used to transmit a common channel, and / or indicates a beam / beam group used to transmit a specific service channel; the terminal device determines a first beam / first beam group from the one or more beams / beam groups based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0007] Based on the method described in the first aspect, the network device can effectively indicate one or more beam configuration information or one or more beam group configuration information to the terminal device through the first information, so that the terminal device can select a reasonable and accurate beam for data transmission based on the first information, thereby ensuring service quality and improving system throughput; in addition, the network device can further classify one or more beams or beam groups, and indicate the beam / beam group used to transmit a common channel (signal) to the terminal device through the second information, and / or indicate the beam / beam group used to transmit a specific service channel, so as to improve the beam coverage and link performance, thereby further ensuring service quality.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates configuration information for one or more beams. The method further includes: the terminal device receiving third information from the network device; the third information indicates one or more beam groups obtained by grouping the one or more beams, and the beams contained in each beam group. This allows subsequent scheduling to be performed at the beam group granularity, which helps reduce signaling overhead.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the third information indicates the beams included in each beam group, including: the third information includes an identifier of the beams included in each beam group (i.e., direct indication); or, the third information indicates the total number of beams and the total number of beam groups, and / or indicates that the index values ​​of the beams included in each beam group are continuous (i.e., indirect indication); or, the third information indicates the total number of beams and the total number of beam groups, and / or indicates difference information of index values ​​between adjacent beams in each beam group (i.e., indirect indication). In this way, the beams contained in each beam group can be indicated directly or indirectly, which improves the flexibility of indication; the first method (i.e., the third information includes the identification of the beams contained in each beam group) is simple and clear, the second method (i.e., the third information indicates the total number of beams and the total number of beam groups, and / or indicates that the index values ​​of the beams contained in each beam group are continuous) is suitable for the situation where the activated users and service areas are relatively concentrated, and the third method (i.e., the third information indicates the total number of beams and the total number of beam groups, and / or indicates the difference information of the index values ​​between adjacent beams in each beam group) is suitable for the situation where the activated users and service areas are relatively dispersed.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates configuration information for one or more beam groups. The beam group configuration information includes one or more of the following: an identifier for the beam group; configuration information for each beam in the beam group; or one or more common configuration information and specific configuration information for each beam in the beam group. The common configuration information includes configuration information common to all beams in the beam group, and the specific configuration information for each beam includes configuration information for the beam other than the common configuration information. This approach avoids duplicate configuration of the same configuration information across multiple beams, reducing signaling overhead.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the configuration information of the beam includes the identifier of the beam and the transmission configuration information corresponding to the beam; the transmission configuration information includes one or more of the following information: the period length information of the beam, the period offset value information, the activation time offset value information, and the activation time information of the beam within the period; the period offset value information is the offset value of the starting position of the transmission period relative to a specific time domain position, and the activation time offset value information is the offset value of the activation time starting position of the beam relative to the starting position of the transmission period; or, the transmission configuration information includes one or more of the following information: the beam corresponding to The reference time domain position of the beam, the first time domain offset value, and the activation time information of the beam; the first time domain offset value is the offset value of the activation time starting position of the beam relative to the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam; or, the transmission configuration information includes the second time domain offset value and / or the activation time information of the beam; the second time domain offset value is the offset value of the activation starting time domain position of the beam relative to the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam; the first information also includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates the total number of beams and indicates that the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams are arranged in a cyclical manner. Based on this method, the transmission resources corresponding to the beams can be effectively configured to ensure the transmission of services.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the first indication information indicates that the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams are arranged in a cyclic manner, including: the first indication information indicates that in multiple consecutive first time periods, the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams in different first time periods are arranged according to the same arrangement strategy.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the configuration information of the beam includes one or more of the following information: coverage area information of the beam, cell identification information corresponding to the beam, configuration information of the reference signal corresponding to the beam, and transmission power information of the beam.

[0014] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried in any one of the following information: a system information block SIB, a radio resource control RRC, or a first medium access control element MAC CE.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device receiving fourth information from the network device; the fourth information indicating activation or deactivation of all or some of the one or more beams, or the fourth information indicating activation or deactivation of all or some of the one or more beam groups. Due to limitations on satellite transmit power or backhaul link bandwidth, satellites can generally only activate a small number of beams simultaneously. To ensure that the terminal device can reasonably and accurately select an activated beam for data transmission, the network device can also effectively indicate the activation or deactivation information of the beam / beam group to the terminal device through the fourth information, thereby ensuring service quality and improving system throughput.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the fourth information is carried in the first downlink control information DCI or the second MAC CE, and the first DCI is a group-common DCI or a terminal device-specific DCI; the fourth information is a field or a bit map, and one or more bits in the bit map correspond one-to-one to the one or more beams / beam groups.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the fourth information is carried in a first DCI, which is a group-common DCI. When the fourth information indicates activation of all or some of the one or more beams / beam groups, the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits of the first DCI are scrambled using a first radio network temporary identifier (RNTI). When the fourth information indicates deactivation of all or some of the one or more beams / beam groups, the CRC bits of the first DCI are scrambled using a second RNTI. This approach effectively distinguishes whether a beam / beam group is being activated or deactivated, thereby ensuring data transmission and service quality.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the fourth information is carried in the second MAC CE. When the fourth information indicates activation of all or some of the one or more beams / beam groups, the fourth information is transmitted via the first logical channel. When the fourth information indicates deactivation of all or some of the one or more beams / beam groups, the fourth information is transmitted via the second logical channel. This approach effectively distinguishes whether a beam / beam group is activated or deactivated, thereby ensuring data transmission and service quality.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the fourth information includes a first field and a second field. When the first field is a first value, the first field indicates activation of all or some of the one or more beams / beam groups; when the first field is a second value, the first field indicates deactivation of all or some of the one or more beams / beam groups. The second field indicates the identifier of the activated or deactivated beam / beam group in the one or more beam groups. This approach effectively distinguishes whether a beam / beam group is activated or deactivated, thereby ensuring data transmission and service quality.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device determining a coverage area to which the terminal device belongs based on location information of the terminal device or quality information of a reference signal; and when the terminal device determines a first beam / first beam group from the one or more beams / beam groups based on the first information and / or the second information, the terminal device determines the first beam / first beam group from the one or more beams / beam groups based on the first information and / or the second information and the coverage area to which the terminal device belongs. Based on this approach, the accuracy of the terminal device's selection of a beam or beam group is improved, thereby ensuring service quality.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device determining an activation time period corresponding to the first beam / first beam group based on the fourth information; and performing signal measurement or data transmission using the first beam / first beam group during the activation time period. Based on this approach, combined with the information indicating whether to activate or deactivate a beam indicated by the network device (i.e., the fourth information), an active beam is selected for data transmission, further ensuring service data transmission.

[0022] In a second aspect, the present application provides a beam indication method, which includes: a network device sends first information to a terminal device; the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beams, or the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beam groups; and / or the network device sends second information to the terminal device; the second information indicates a beam / beam group used to transmit a common channel, and / or indicates a beam / beam group used to transmit a specific service channel.

[0023] The beneficial effects of the possible implementation of the second aspect can be found in the beneficial effects of the possible implementation of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beams, and the method also includes: the network device sends third information to the terminal device; the third information indicates one or more beam groups obtained by grouping the one or more beams and the beams contained in each beam group.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the third information indicates the beams included in each beam group, including: the third information includes an identifier of the beams included in each beam group; or, the third information indicates the total number of beams and the total number of beam groups, and / or indicates that the index values ​​of the beams included in each beam group are continuous; or, the third information indicates the total number of beams and the total number of beam groups, and / or indicates difference information of the index values ​​between adjacent beams in each beam group.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beam groups; the configuration information of the beam group includes one or more of the following information: an identifier of the beam group; configuration information of each beam in the beam group; or, one or more common configuration information and specific configuration information corresponding to each beam in the beam group, the common configuration information includes configuration information common to all beams in the beam group, and the specific configuration information corresponding to the beam includes configuration information of the beam other than the common configuration information.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the configuration information of the beam includes the identifier of the beam and the transmission configuration information corresponding to the beam; the transmission configuration information includes one or more of the following information: the period length information of the beam, the period offset value information, the activation time offset value information, and the activation time information of the beam within the period; the period offset value information is the offset value of the starting position of the transmission period relative to a specific time domain position, and the activation time offset value information is the offset value of the activation time starting position of the beam relative to the starting position of the transmission period; or, the transmission configuration information includes one or more of the following information: the beam corresponding to The reference time domain position of the beam, the first time domain offset value, and the activation time information of the beam; the first time domain offset value is the offset value of the activation time starting position of the beam relative to the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam; or, the transmission configuration information includes the second time domain offset value and / or the activation time information of the beam; the second time domain offset value is the offset value of the activation starting time domain position of the beam relative to the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam; the first information also includes first indication information, which indicates the total number of beams and indicates that the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams are arranged in a cyclic manner.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the first indication information indicates that the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams are arranged in a cyclic manner, including: the first indication information indicates that in multiple consecutive first time periods, the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams in different first time periods are arranged according to the same arrangement strategy.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the configuration information of the beam includes one or more of the following information: coverage area information of the beam, configuration information of a reference signal corresponding to the beam, and transmission power information of the beam.

[0030] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried in any one of the following information: a system information block SIB, a radio resource control RRC, or a first medium access control element MAC CE.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the method also includes: the network device sends fourth information to the terminal device; the fourth information indicates activation or deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams, or the fourth information indicates activation or deactivation of all or part of the one or more beam groups.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the fourth information is carried in the first downlink control information DCI or the second MAC CE, and the first DCI is a group-common DCI or a terminal device-specific DCI; the fourth information is a field or a bit map, and one or more bits in the bit map correspond one-to-one to the one or more beams / beam groups.

[0033] In one possible implementation, the fourth information is carried in the first DCI, which is a group common DCI; when the fourth information indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the first wireless network temporary identifier RNTI is used to scramble the cyclic redundancy check CRC bits of the first DCI; when the fourth information indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the second RNTI is used to scramble the CRC bits of the first DCI.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the fourth information is carried in the second MAC CE; when the fourth information indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the fourth information is transmitted through the first logical channel; when the fourth information indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the fourth information is transmitted through the second logical channel.

[0035] In one possible implementation, the fourth information includes a first field and a second field; when the first field is a first value, the first field indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups; when the first field is a second value, the first field indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups; the second field indicates the identification of the activated or deactivated beam / beam group in the one or more beam groups.

[0036] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor. When the processor calls a computer program in a memory, the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect is executed.

[0037] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor and a memory, and the processor and the memory are coupled; the processor is used to implement the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0038] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor, a memory and a transceiver, and the processor and the memory are coupled; the transceiver is used to send and receive data, and the processor is used to implement the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0039] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a chip comprising a processor and an interface, wherein the processor and the interface are coupled; the interface is used to receive or output signals, and the processor is used to execute code instructions so that the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect is executed.

[0040] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect is implemented.

[0041] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which includes a terminal device and a network device, wherein the terminal device is used to execute the method described in the first aspect, and the network device is used to execute the method described in the second aspect.

[0042] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when read and executed by a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG2A is a schematic diagram of a network application architecture based on satellite communications provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG2B is a schematic diagram of another satellite communication-based network application architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG2C is a schematic diagram of another satellite communication-based network application architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG2D is a schematic diagram of a transparent transmission mode in satellite communication provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG2E is a schematic diagram of satellite communication in a satellite communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG2F is a schematic diagram of a satellite coverage area on the ground provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG2G is a schematic diagram of a satellite beam provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG3 is a schematic flow chart of a beam indication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG4A is a schematic diagram of transmission resources corresponding to a beam provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG4B is a schematic diagram of transmission resources corresponding to another beam provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG4C is a schematic diagram of transmission resources corresponding to another beam provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG5 is a schematic flow chart of another beam indication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG6A is a schematic diagram of a bit map provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG6B is a schematic diagram of another bit map provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] The terms "first" and "second" and the like in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish between different objects, not to describe a particular order. Furthermore, the terms "including" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or elements is not limited to the listed steps or elements, but may optionally include steps or elements not listed, or may optionally include other steps or elements inherent to the process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0062] References herein to "embodiments" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it constitute an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive of other embodiments. It is understood, both explicitly and implicitly, by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0063] In this application, "at least one (item)" refers to one or more, "more than one" refers to two or more, "at least two (items)" refers to two or three and more than three, and "and / or" is used to describe the corresponding relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

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

[0065] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as satellite communication systems and traditional mobile communication systems. Among them, the satellite communication system has been introduced by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) under the name of non-terrestrial network (NTN), and the satellite communication system can be integrated with the traditional mobile communication system (i.e., terrestrial network (TN)). Mobile communication systems include, for example, wireless local area network (WLAN) communication systems, wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, fourth generation (4G) systems, fifth generation (5G) systems or new radio (NR), and other future communication systems, such as sixth generation (6G) systems. In addition, it also supports communication systems that integrate multiple wireless technologies. For example, it can also be applied to systems that integrate NTN with ground mobile communication networks, such as drones, satellite communication systems, and high altitude platform stations (HAPS) communications. It is understandable that the system architecture described in the embodiments of the present application is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0066] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application. The communication system includes at least one network device and at least one terminal device. FIG1 uses a network device and one terminal device as an example. The terminal device here can be a cellular phone, a smart phone, a portable computer, a handheld communication device, a handheld computing device, a satellite radio device, a global positioning system, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and / or any other suitable device for communicating on a wireless communication system, and can all be connected to the network device. The network device here can be a satellite base station. The terminal devices can all communicate with the network device. Of course, the number of terminal devices and network devices in FIG1 is only an example, and can also be less or more. The terminal devices and network devices involved in the communication system in FIG1 are described in detail below.

[0067] 1. Terminal Equipment

[0068] The terminal device mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a device with wireless transceiver functions, specifically user equipment (UE), access terminal, subscriber unit, user station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent or user device. The terminal device may also be a satellite phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a wireless data card, a wireless modem, a machine type communication device, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a PDA, a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a communication device carried on a high-altitude aircraft, a wearable device, a drone, a robot, a terminal in device-to-device (D2D) communication, a terminal in vehicle to everything (V2X), a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, a wireless terminal in an industrial control system, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home ... This application does not limit the scope of this invention to wireless terminals in homes or terminal devices in future communication networks. Terminal devices can be mobile devices that support the new air interface and can access satellite networks through the air interface to initiate calls, access the Internet, and other services. In addition, in this application, unless otherwise specified, "terminal device" can refer to the terminal device itself or a component of the terminal device, such as a system-on-chip (SoC), which can be installed in the terminal device.

[0069] 2. Network Equipment

[0070] The network device mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be an entity on the network side for sending signals, or receiving signals, or sending and receiving signals. The network device can be a device with wireless transceiver functions in the NTN, such as a device with wireless transceiver functions in a satellite network. The network device can be a satellite base station. For example, the network device can be an evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutionary Node B) in LTE carried on a satellite, a base station (gNodeB or gNB) or a transmission receiving point / transmission reception point (TRP) in NR, a base station of subsequent evolution of 3GPP, an access node in a WiFi system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, etc. The satellite base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a pico base station, a small station, or a relay station, etc. The network device can also be a balloon station, a drone station, etc. It mainly provides wireless access services, schedules wireless resources to access terminals, and provides reliable wireless transmission protocols and data encryption protocols, etc. In a scenario where a communication system includes multiple network devices, the multiple network devices may support networks of the same technology or networks of different technologies; the network devices may include one or more co-sited or non-co-sited TRPs. Taking a satellite base station as an example, the multiple network devices may be satellite base stations of the same type or different types. The network device may communicate with the terminal device or communicate with the terminal device through a relay station. In a scenario where multiple network devices support networks of different technologies, the terminal device may communicate with the multiple network devices. For example, the terminal device may communicate with a network device that supports an LTE network, or the terminal device may communicate with a network device that supports a 5G network, or the terminal device may implement dual connection, that is, communicating with both a network device that supports an LTE network and a network device that supports a 5G network.

[0071] A network device may also be a module or unit that can implement some of the functions of a base station. For example, a network device may be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU) described below. In the ORAN system, the CU may also be referred to as an O-CU, the DU may also be referred to as an open (O)-DU, the CU-CP may also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP may also be referred to as an O-CUP-UP, and the RU may also be referred to as an O-RU. For example, the base station in the embodiments of the present application may include various forms of base stations, such as: macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small stations), relay stations, access points, next-generation base stations (gNodeB, gNB), TRPs, transmitting points (transmitting points, TP), mobile switching centers, and may also be devices that perform wireless access functions in device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, and Internet of Things (IoT) communications. In addition, in this application, unless otherwise specified, "network device" may refer to the network device itself or a component in the network device, such as a chip system or a system-on-a-chip (SOC), which may be installed in the network device.

[0072] In particular, the solution provided in this application can be applied to the field of satellite communications, such as the integration of satellite communications and 5G technologies by 3GPP members. Figures 2A to 2C show a network application architecture based on satellite communications applicable to an embodiment of this application. The network application architecture includes terminal equipment, satellites, 5G base stations (also referred to as ground base stations, such as gNBs), ground stations (also referred to as gateways, earth stations, gateways, gateway stations), 5G core networks (5G core networks) and data networks (DNs). The terminal device accesses the wireless network through an air interface (such as a 5G air interface) to obtain data network services through the wireless network, or communicates with other devices (such as other terminal devices) through the wireless network.

[0073] As shown in Figure 2A, the 5G base station or part of the base station functions are deployed on the satellite (i.e., satellite base station), the terminal equipment accesses the satellite through the air interface, the satellite is connected to the ground station through a wireless link, and the ground station is used to communicate with the 5G core network. As shown in Figure 2B, the 5G base station is deployed on the ground, the terminal equipment accesses the satellite through the air interface, the satellite is connected to the ground station through a wireless link, and the ground station and the 5G base station communicate with the 5G core network through wired or wireless communication. As shown in Figure 2C, multiple terminal devices (taking 2 terminal devices as an example) and multiple satellites (taking 2 satellites as an example) are added to Figure 2A. There is a wireless link between the satellites. If the satellite only has a transparent transmission and forwarding function (i.e., the corresponding 5G base station is deployed on the ground), only transparent transmission and forwarding are realized between the satellites; if the 5G base station or part of the base station functions are deployed on the satellite, the satellites can complete the signaling interaction and user data transmission between the base stations. The following is an explanation of each device or network element in Figures 2A to 2C and the interfaces between them:

[0074] Terminal devices: These devices can be mobile devices that support the new air interface, such as mobile phones and tablets. These devices can access the satellite network through the air interface and initiate calls, access the internet, and other services.

[0075] 5G base station: A network device as mentioned above, which mainly provides wireless access services, dispatches wireless resources to access terminals, and provides reliable wireless transmission protocols and data encryption protocols.

[0076] Satellite: This may be a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite, a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) satellite, or a high altitude platform station (HAPS). This application does not limit the specific type of satellite.

[0077] 5G Core Network: This network primarily provides services such as user access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, and billing. It consists of multiple functional units, divided into control plane and data plane functional entities. The 5G Core Network includes the Network Exposure Function (NEF), Policy Control Function (PCF), Session Management Function (SMF), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Location Management Function (LMF), and User Plane Function (UPF). The NEF exposes the services and capabilities of 3GPP network functions to the Application Function (AF), while also enabling the AF to provide information to the 3GPP network functions. The PCF manages charging and Quality of Service (QoS) policies. The SMF performs session management functions such as Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation for terminal devices, UPF selection, and billing and QoS policy control. The AMF is primarily responsible for user access management, security authentication, and mobility management. LMF is mainly responsible for managing and controlling the positioning service requests of the target terminal and processing positioning related information. UPF is mainly responsible for managing the transmission of user plane data, traffic statistics and other functions.

[0078] Ground station: Also known as a gateway, earth station, signal gateway, or gateway station, it is mainly responsible for forwarding signaling and service data between satellite base stations and the 5G core network. One or more satellites can be connected to one or more ground base stations through one or more gateways, without any restrictions.

[0079] Air interface: The wireless link between the terminal device and the 5G base station.

[0080] Xn interface: The interface between 5G base stations, mainly used for signaling interaction such as switching.

[0081] NG interface: The interface between the 5G base station and the core network, which mainly interacts with the core network's non-access stratum (NAS) signaling and user service data.

[0082] The present invention can be applied to 4G and 5G communication systems, involving wireless access devices such as terminal devices, base stations, and ground stations, and performing uplink and downlink data communications based on wireless communication protocols. It should be noted that if it is a 4G communication system, the Xn interface in Figures 2A to 2C is called the X2 interface, and the NG interface is the S1 interface.

[0083] In addition, the embodiments of the present application do not limit the working mode of the satellite. For example, the working mode of the satellite can be a transparent mode or a regenerative mode.

[0084] As shown in Figure 2D, the system architecture in transparent transmission mode may include terminal devices, a transparent forwarding satellite that can act as a radio frequency repeater (RF repeater), a gNB, a 5G core network, and a data network. Communication between the terminal device and the transparent forwarding satellite, and between the gNB and the transparent forwarding satellite, can both be based on NR radio protocols. Communication between the gNB and the 5G core network can be based on the NG interface (e.g., N2 or N3), and communication between the 5G core network and the data network can be based on the N6 interface. It can be understood that the satellite acts as an analog RF repeater, performing relay and forwarding functions, enabling wireless frequency conversion and amplification, and transparently transmitting or replicating signals between the base station and the terminal device. For example, signals sent by the terminal device can be transparently transmitted via the satellite and forwarded by the gateway (i.e., ground station) to the ground base station. The gateway has some or all of the functions of the base station and can be considered a base station in this case. It can be considered that the network element and the base station can be deployed together or separately. If the gateway and base station are deployed separately, the feeder link latency includes both the satellite-to-gateway latency and the gateway-to-base station latency.

[0085] As shown in Figure 2E , the system architecture in regenerative mode may include a terminal device, a regenerative satellite containing a gNB or DU, a gNB / control unit (CU), a 5G core network, and a data network. Communication between the terminal device and the regenerative satellite can be based on the NR radio protocol, between the regenerative satellite and the gNB / CU can be based on the F1 interface, between the gNB / CU and the 5G core network can be based on an NG interface (e.g., N2 or N3), and between the 5G core network and the data network can be based on the N6 interface. It can be understood that the satellite acts as a wireless communication base station, possessing some or all of the functions of a base station, regenerating signals received from the ground and capable of understanding and processing these signals. For example, the satellite can be a base station carried by an artificial earth satellite or a high-altitude aircraft, such as an evolved base station (eNB) or a 5G base station (gNB). The gateway can forward signaling between the satellite (i.e., base station) and the core network.

[0086] It should be noted that the network application architecture 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. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of network application 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.

[0087] To facilitate understanding of the solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application, the following describes the relevant concepts involved in the embodiments of the present application:

[0088] 1. NTN and satellite

[0089] Satellite communications, a crucial communication scenario within 5G, have been introduced by 3GPP under the name NTN. NTN refers to networks that use radio frequency resources from satellite platforms, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or high-altitude aerial vehicles (HAPS) to provide communication services. Satellites can be deployed in LEO, MEO, or GEO locations. NTN can provide communication services in areas where terrestrial networks are inadequate or have insufficient coverage. It can also provide stable emergency communications in the event of natural disasters or large-scale events. It can also deliver high-quality communication services to users on vehicles such as trains, ships, and aircraft. It can also provide specialized services to meet the specific business needs of government and enterprise users. In other words, NTN can be applied to scenarios such as global coverage (for example, signal coverage in remote areas and on ocean-going vessels), emergency response (for example, disaster monitoring and emergency communications), the Internet of Everything, and high-speed mobility (for example, on high-speed trains and aircraft).

[0090] Compared to terrestrial communications, NTN boasts wider coverage, lower path loss, greater latency, higher speed, and lower cost. It has been widely adopted in various fields, including aviation, military, and energy. Specifically, NTN can serve as a supplement and extension of terrestrial networks, achieving wide-area seamless coverage that neither wired telephone networks nor terrestrial mobile communication networks can achieve. It effectively addresses internet access challenges in areas lacking communication infrastructure, such as remote areas and ocean-going vessels.

[0091] Satellites can be categorized as LEO, MEO, and GEO satellites based on their orbital altitudes. LEO satellites orbit at altitudes between 500 and 2000 km, MEO satellites orbit at altitudes between 2000 and 36,000 km, and GEO satellites orbit at altitudes above 36,000 km. The primary difference between these satellites lies in their altitude above the Earth's surface, which further influences the satellite's speed and orbital period in its appropriate orbit. Because their low orbital altitude reduces transmission latency, minimizes path loss, and facilitates acquisition of high-resolution imagery of targets, LEO satellites are primarily used for military target detection and mobile communications. A communication system comprised of multiple satellites can achieve true global coverage and more efficient frequency reuse. Cellular communications, multiple access, spot beams, and frequency reuse technologies also provide technical support for LEO satellite mobile communications. For example, a large number of satellites can be deployed in LEO, and through appropriate constellation construction, seamless coverage of the ground can be achieved. Furthermore, the round-trip transmission delay between LEO satellites and ground-based devices can be as low as tens of milliseconds, significantly lower than the round-trip transmission delay between GEO satellites and ground-based devices. For another example, referring to Figure 2F, taking a satellite orbiting at an altitude of 600 kilometers (km), and assuming that all ground-based terminal devices with a ground elevation angle greater than 30° relative to the satellite can access the satellite, the satellite's ground coverage radius is 850 km. The satellite's ground coverage area, for example, encompasses a circular area with this coverage radius of 2.27 million square kilometers. Furthermore, NTN can incorporate high-frequency bands, multi-spot beams, and frequency reuse technologies to meet the needs of high-information-rate services while reducing unit broadband costs.

[0092] 2. Wave beam

[0093] As shown in Figure 2G, a beam is the shape of electromagnetic waves emitted by a satellite antenna on the Earth's surface (think of it like the beam of light from a flashlight into a dark place). It refers to the directionality of radio waves during transmission. Beam technology can be achieved through antenna design and control. Antennas are an important component of wireless communications, converting electrical signals into radio waves and converting received radio waves into electrical signals. In beam technology, antenna design and control can focus radio waves in a specific direction, forming a beam.

[0094] Data transmission between terminal devices and satellites occurs via beamforming. Since satellite signals radiate omnidirectionally into space, most of the energy is not received by ground antennas, resulting in wasted energy. To avoid this waste, beamforming is used when transmitting and receiving satellite signals. This concentrates the transmitted electromagnetic wave signals in a single direction, allowing the receiving antenna to receive as much signal as possible as long as it is aligned in that direction. Currently, the main beamforming methods include global beamforming, spot beamforming, and shaped beamforming, each of which has a shape determined by the transmitting antenna.

[0095] To support wide-area coverage, a single satellite is typically equipped with hundreds or even thousands of beams. Therefore, how to effectively communicate these beam configuration information to terminal devices to ensure service quality and improve system throughput is a pressing issue.

[0096] Therefore, in order to effectively indicate beam configuration information to a terminal device so that the terminal device can select a reasonable and accurate beam for data transmission, thereby ensuring service quality and improving system throughput, the present application provides a beam indication method and communication device. The beam indication method and communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application are further described in detail below.

[0097] FIG3 is a flow chart of a beam indication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG3 , the beam indication method includes the following steps S301 and / or S302, and the beam indication method also includes the following step S303. The method shown in FIG3 may be performed by a terminal device and a network device. Alternatively, the method shown in FIG3 may be performed by a chip in a terminal device and a chip in a network device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. FIG3 illustrates the method using a terminal device and a network device as an example.

[0098] S301: A network device sends first information to a terminal device, where the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beams, or configuration information of one or more beam groups. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the network device.

[0099] In an embodiment of the present application, a network device can effectively indicate one or more beam configuration information or one or more beam group configuration information to a terminal device through first information, so that the terminal device can select a reasonable and accurate beam for data transmission based on the first information, thereby ensuring service quality and improving system throughput. The one or more beams / beam groups here can be considered as beams / beam groups supported by the network device.

[0100] The first information can be configured individually to indicate the configuration information of one or more beams / beam groups, i.e., the first information includes the configuration information of one or more beams / beam groups (which can be understood as including all configuration information for each beam / beam group). Alternatively, the first information can be configured uniformly to indicate the configuration information of one or more beams / beam groups, i.e., the first information includes first common configuration information, which is configuration information shared by one or more beams / beam groups. This unified configuration approach helps save signaling overhead.

[0101] In one possible implementation, when the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beams, the method further includes: the network device sending third information to the terminal device, where the third information indicates one or more beam groups obtained by grouping the one or more beams and the beams included in each beam group. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the third information from the network device.

[0102] It can be understood that when the first information indicates the configuration information of one or more beams, the network device can further indicate the grouping of one or more beams, that is, the third information can indicate the one or more beam groups obtained by grouping the one or more beams and the beams contained in each beam group. For example, the third information may include the identifiers of the one or more beam groups obtained by grouping the one or more beams, as well as information indicating the beams contained in each beam group. In this way, subsequent scheduling can be performed at the granularity of beam groups, which helps save signaling overhead.

[0103] Optionally, when the third information indicates the beams included in each beam group, the following three methods may be used to indicate the division of each beam group. Of course, other methods may also be used to indicate the division of each beam group, which is not limited here.

[0104] Method 1: The third information includes the identifiers of the beams included in each beam group. (Directly indicating the division of each beam group)

[0105] For example, the third information includes beam group 0 and beam group 1, wherein beam group 0 includes beam identifiers 0, 1, 2, and 3; and beam group 1 includes beam identifiers 4, 5, 6, and 7.

[0106] Mode 2: The third information indicates the total number of beams and the total number of beam groups, and / or indicates that the index values ​​of the beams included in each beam group are continuous. (Indicates the division of each beam group by indirect indication)

[0107] In a specific implementation, assuming that the third information indicates that the total number of beams is N and the total number of beam groups is M, it can be considered that: in the 0th beam group to the N-2th beam group, the number of beams contained in each beam group is in, "a" represents rounding up, with N and M being positive integers. The number of beams in the N-1th beam group is N-(N-1)*a. Of course, the third information may further indicate that the index values ​​of the beams included in each beam group are continuous. It should be noted that this method of indicating the division of beam groups (i.e., method 2) is suitable for situations where activated users and service areas are concentrated.

[0108] For example, assume that the third information indicates that the total number of beams is 8, the total number of beam groups is 3, and the third information further indicates that the index values ​​of the beams included in each beam group are consecutive. The index values ​​of these 8 beams are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, respectively. Then, the number of beams included in the 0th beam group (i.e., beam group 0) is 3, and the index values ​​of the beams included in beam group 0 are 0, 1, and 2; the number of beams included in the 1st beam group (i.e., beam group 1) is 3, and the index values ​​of the beams included in beam group 1 are 3, 4, and 5; the number of beams included in the 2nd beam group (i.e., beam group 2) is 2, and the index values ​​of the beams included in beam group 0 are 6 and 7.

[0109] Mode 3: The third information indicates the total number of beams and the total number of beam groups, and / or indicates the difference in index values ​​between adjacent beams in each beam group. (Indicates the division of each beam group by indirect indication)

[0110] In a specific implementation, assuming that the third information indicates that the total number of beams is N and the total number of beam groups is M, it can be considered that: the index value of the beam contained in the i-th beam group is index = i + k * a; wherein, i + k * a ≤ N - 1, k represents an integer greater than or equal to 0, a represents the difference information of the index values ​​between adjacent beams in each beam group, and N and M are positive integers. In other words, the index values ​​of the beams contained in each beam group are an arithmetic sequence. It should be noted that a here can be a preset value agreed upon by the protocol, or it can be indicated by the third information, and is not limited here. This method of indicating the division of beam groups (i.e., method three) is suitable for situations where activated users and service areas are relatively dispersed.

[0111] For example, assume that the third information indicates that the total number of beams is 8, the total number of beam groups is 2, and the third information indicates that the difference in index values ​​between adjacent beams in each beam group is 2. The index values ​​of the eight beams are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, respectively. Then, the index values ​​of the beams included in the 0th beam group (i.e., beam group 0) are 0, 2, 4, and 6; and the index values ​​of the beams included in the 1st beam group (i.e., beam group 1) are 1, 3, 5, and 7.

[0112] In a possible implementation, when the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beam groups, the configuration information of the beam groups may include one or more of the following information. Of course, the configuration information of the beam groups may also include other information, which is not limited here.

[0113] (1) Identification of the beam group.

[0114] For example, the identifier of a certain beam group is 1 (ie, beam group 1); the identifier of a certain beam group is 2 (ie, beam group 2).

[0115] (2) Configuration information of each beam in the beam group.

[0116] In a specific implementation, the configuration information of a beam group may directly include all configuration information of each beam in the beam group.

[0117] For example, assuming that a beam group contains beam 0, beam 1 and beam 2, then the configuration information of the beam group includes all configuration information of beam 0 (A, B, C), all configuration information of beam 1 (A, B, D) and all configuration information of beam 2 (A, B, E).

[0118] (3) The configuration information of the beam group includes one or more common configuration information and specific configuration information corresponding to each beam in the beam group.

[0119] In a specific implementation, the shared configuration information (i.e., the second shared configuration information) includes configuration information shared by all beams in the beam group, and the beam-specific configuration information includes configuration information specific to that beam other than the shared configuration information. This approach avoids duplicate configuration of the same configuration information across multiple beams, reducing signaling overhead.

[0120] For example, assuming that a beam group contains beam 0, beam 1 and beam 2, then the configuration information of the beam group includes two common configuration information (A, B), as well as specific configuration information corresponding to beam 0 (C), specific configuration information corresponding to beam 0 (D), and specific configuration information corresponding to beam 0 (E).

[0121] Based on the above, the configuration information of each beam is further described in detail below:

[0122] In one possible implementation, the beam configuration information includes an identifier of the beam and transmission configuration information corresponding to the beam. The beam identifier includes, but is not limited to, a beam index value, a cell identification (ID) corresponding to the beam, an area ID corresponding to the beam, a reference signal identifier corresponding to the beam, and a transmission configuration indicator state (TCI state) ID associated with a specific reference signal.

[0123] In addition, the transmission configuration information corresponding to the beam can be represented in the following three ways. Of course, other ways of representation are also possible and are not limited here. Based on this method, the transmission resources corresponding to the beam can be effectively configured to ensure the transmission of the service.

[0124] Method A: Periodic configuration

[0125] The transmission configuration information includes one or more of the following information: the period length information of the beam, the period offset value information, the activation time offset value information, and the activation time information of the beam within the period.

[0126] In a specific implementation, the period offset value information is the offset value of the transmission period start position relative to a specific time domain position, and the activation time offset value information is the offset value of the beam activation time start position relative to the transmission period start position. The beam activation start time domain position indicates the time domain position at which the beam begins to be activated, and the transmission period start position indicates the time domain position at which each period begins.

[0127] The starting position of the transmission cycle needs to satisfy the following formula (1): (N·n f +n s-T offset )modT=0 (1)

[0128] In formula (1), N represents the number of time units in the system frame, n f Indicates the system frame number, n s Indicates the time unit number in the system frame, T indicates the length of the transmission cycle, mod indicates modulo, T offset Indicates the period offset value information. In this way, the terminal device can determine the starting position of the transmission period based on the period length information and the period offset value information. Each period starts from its own starting position and lasts for T.

[0129] For example, assuming that the transmission configuration information includes: the period length information of the beam is T, the period offset value information is offset_0, the activation time offset value information is t1, and the activation time information of the beam within the period is t2; then the transmission resources corresponding to the beam can be obtained as shown in Figure 4A.

[0130] It should be noted that the period length information, period offset value information, activation time offset value information of the beam, and activation time information of the beam within the period can also be agreed upon through a protocol and are not limited here.

[0131] Method B: Non-periodic configuration method

[0132] The transmission configuration information includes one or more of the following information: the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam, the first time domain offset value, and the activation time information of the beam.

[0133] In a specific implementation, the first time domain offset value is an offset value of the activation start time domain position of the beam relative to the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam, wherein the activation start time domain position of the beam represents the time domain position at which the beam begins to be activated. The reference time domain position corresponding to the beam indicates a preset time domain position as a reference point. For example, for a network device, the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam may be the time slot of the hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) corresponding to the feedback medium access control control element (MAC CE) activation signaling received by the network device, or the time slot of the downlink control information (DCI) activation signaling sent by the network device, or the time slot corresponding to the time when the network device sends the first information, or other agreed time domain positions, which are not limited here; for another example, for a terminal device, the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam may be the time slot of the HARQ-ACK corresponding to the feedback MAC CE activation signaling sent by the terminal device, or the time slot of the time when the terminal device receives the DCI activation signaling, or the time slot corresponding to the time when the terminal device receives the first information, or other agreed time domain positions, which are not limited here.

[0134] For example, assuming that the transmission configuration information includes: the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam is x, the first time domain offset value is offset_1, and the activation time information of the beam is t; then the transmission resource corresponding to the beam can be obtained as shown in Figure 4B.

[0135] It should be noted that the first time domain offset value and / or the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam may also be agreed upon by protocol. Furthermore, if the transmission configuration information includes activation time information for the beam, this indicates that the corresponding beam remains activated during that time. If the transmission configuration information does not include activation time information for the beam, this indicates that the corresponding beam remains active after activation until a new deactivation instruction takes effect.

[0136] Method C: Round Robin Configuration

[0137] The transmission configuration information includes a second time domain offset value and / or activation time information of the beam.

[0138] In a specific implementation, the second time domain offset value is an offset value of the activation start time domain position of the beam relative to the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam; and in this case, the first information also includes first indication information, which indicates the total number of beams and indicates that the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams are arranged in a cyclic manner. The activation start time domain position of the beam indicates the time domain position at which the beam begins to be activated; and the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam indicates a preset time domain position as a reference point.

[0139] Optionally, the first indication information indicates that the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams are arranged in a cyclic manner, which can be understood as: the first indication information indicates that in multiple consecutive first time periods, the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams in different first time periods are arranged according to the same arrangement strategy. That is to say, the arrangement order of the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams in each first time period is the same. The arrangement strategy here can be the order of the index values ​​of the beams from small to large, the order of the index values ​​of the beams from large to small, or other arrangement orders, which are not limited here.

[0140] It can be understood that, assuming that the transmission configuration information includes the second time domain offset value offset_2, the activation time information of the beam is T, and the first indication information indicates that the total number of beams is P. Since the first indication information also indicates that the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams are arranged in a cyclic manner, then taking beam m as an example, the reference time domain position corresponding to beam m needs to satisfy the following formula (2): (N_f*n_f+n_s-offset_2-m*T)mod(P*T)=0 (2)

[0141] In formula (2), N_f represents the number of time slots in a system frame, n_f represents the system frame sequence number, and n_s represents the time slot sequence number in the system frame. The time unit here is a time slot, but other units are also possible and are not limited here.

[0142] For example, assuming that the total number of beams is 3, namely beam 0, beam 1 and beam 2; the transmission configuration information includes a second time domain offset value offset_2, and the activation time information of the beam is T; then the reference time domain positions corresponding to the three beams are arranged in a cyclic manner, and the transmission resources corresponding to the beam can be obtained as shown in Figure 4C.

[0143] Optionally, the configuration information of the beam also includes one or more of the following information: coverage area information of the beam, cell identification information corresponding to the beam (such as cell ID information corresponding to the beam), configuration information of the reference signal corresponding to the beam, and transmit power information of the beam. Among them, the coverage area information of the beam can be satellite beam footprint information, where the so-called satellite beam coverage area refers to the area (zone) illuminated by the communication broadcast antenna beam of the communication broadcast satellite in the beam coverage area. For details, please refer to the definition and calculation method in the current protocol. The transmit power information of the beam can be the energy per resource element (EREP) value on each resource unit.

[0144] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried in any one of the following information: a system information block (SIB), a radio resource control (RRC), or a first MAC CE.

[0145] S302: The network device sends second information to the terminal device, where the second information indicates a beam / beam group used to transmit a common channel and / or a beam / beam group used to transmit a specific service channel. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second information from the network device.

[0146] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device may further classify one or more beams or beam groups, and may indicate the beam / beam group used to transmit a common channel (signal) through the second information, and / or indicate the beam / beam group used to transmit a specific service channel. The common channel may be a synchronization signal block (SSB), an SIB, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of a common search space (CSS), etc., which are not limited here; the specific service channel may be a terminal device specific PDCCH (UE specific PDCCH), a terminal device specific physical downlink shared channel (UE specific physical downlink shared channel, UE specific PDSCH), etc., which are not limited here.

[0147] When the network device indicates the beam / beam group used to transmit the common channel to the terminal device through the second information, the access of the legacy UE can be taken into account in the early stage of satellite network deployment, which is conducive to improving the beam coverage. The so-called legacy UE here refers to the UE that supports the previous communication network. When the network device indicates the beam / beam group used to transmit a specific service channel to the terminal device through the second information, in the later stage of satellite network deployment, considering the situation that the legacy UE has completed the network exit, it can be adjusted to the transmission of the specific service channel, thereby improving the link performance. Based on this method, the purpose of one or more beams / beam groups can be further effectively indicated to the terminal device through the second information, so that the terminal device can select a reasonable and accurate beam for data transmission based on the first information, thereby ensuring service quality and improving system throughput.

[0148] In one possible implementation, if the network device only indicates to the terminal device through the second information the beam / beam group used to transmit a specific service channel, then in the later stage of satellite network deployment, taking into account the situation where existing UEs have completed network exit, the indicated beam / beam group can be used to transmit both common channels and specific service channels. Of course, if the network device only indicates to the terminal device through the second information the beam / beam group used to transmit a specific service channel, then the timing of transmitting the common channel can also be unchanged, taking into account the situation of existing UEs. At this time, the indicated beam / beam group can also be used only to transmit specific service channels.

[0149] S303. The terminal device determines a first beam / first beam group from one or more beams / beam groups based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0150] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device determining the coverage area to which the terminal device belongs based on location information of the terminal device or quality information of a reference signal; when the terminal device determines the first beam / first beam group from the one or more beams / beam groups based on the first information and / or the second information, a specific implementation may be: the terminal device determines the first beam / first beam group from the one or more beams / beam groups based on the first information and / or the second information and the coverage area to which the terminal device belongs. In other words, the first beam / first beam group is selected from one or more beams / beam groups indicated by the network device and is used for subsequent signal measurement or data transmission by the terminal device.

[0151] In an embodiment of the present application, after the terminal device receives the first information and / or the second information from the network device, the terminal device determines the coverage area to which it belongs based on its own position or based on the quality of the received reference signal; and then determines the first beam / first beam group for the current service from one or more beams / beam groups based on the first information and / or the second information (that is, the coverage area corresponding to the first beam / first beam group can include the coverage area to which the terminal device belongs) so that the first beam or first beam group can be used for signal measurement or data transmission.

[0152] It can be seen that based on the method described in Figure 3, the network device can effectively indicate one or more beam configuration information or one or more beam group configuration information to the terminal device through the first information, so that the terminal device can select a reasonable and accurate beam for data transmission based on the first information, thereby ensuring service quality and improving system throughput; in addition, the network device can further classify one or more beams or beam groups, and indicate the beam / beam group used to transmit common channels (signals) to the terminal device through the second information, and / or, indicate the beam / beam group used to transmit specific service channels, so as to improve the beam coverage and link performance, thereby further ensuring service quality.

[0153] Figure 5 is a flow chart of another beam indication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 5, the beam indication method includes the following steps S501 and / or S502, and the beam indication method also includes the following steps S503 and S504. Among them, step S504 is a specific implementation of the above-mentioned step S303. The execution subject of the method shown in Figure 5 can be a terminal device and a network device. Alternatively, the execution subject of the method shown in Figure 5 can be a chip in a terminal device and a chip in a network device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 takes the terminal device and the network device as the execution subject of the method as an example for explanation.

[0154] S501: A network device sends first information to a terminal device, where the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beams, or the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beam groups. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the network device.

[0155] S502: The network device sends second information to the terminal device, where the second information indicates a beam / beam group used to transmit a common channel and / or a beam / beam group used to transmit a specific service channel. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second information from the network device.

[0156] The specific implementation of step S501 and step S502 may refer to the specific implementation of step S301 and step S302, and will not be described in detail here.

[0157] S503. The network device sends fourth information to the terminal device, where the fourth information indicates activation or deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams, or activation or deactivation of all or part of the one or more beam groups. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the fourth information from the network device.

[0158] In the embodiments of the present application, due to limitations on satellite transmit power or backhaul link bandwidth, satellites can typically only activate a small number of beams simultaneously. To ensure that terminal devices can accurately select an active beam for data transmission, the network device can also effectively indicate the activation or deactivation of a beam or beam group to the terminal device via fourth information, thereby ensuring service quality and improving system throughput.

[0159] In one possible implementation, the fourth information is carried in the first DCI or the second MAC CE, where the first DCI is a group-common DCI or a terminal device-specific DCI. The so-called group-common DCI refers to group DCI, i.e., DCI received by a group of UEs in common; the so-called terminal device-specific DCI refers to UE-specific DCI, i.e., DCI received specifically for a certain terminal device.

[0160] Optionally, the fourth information may be a field or a bitmap, and one or more bits in the bitmap correspond one-to-one to the one or more beams / beam groups. The field may be a newly added field in the first DCI or the second MAC CE, or an existing field in the first DCI, which is not limited here. Of course, all or part of the bits (bits) of the field may also be used for indication, and the bit string used may be used as a bitmap to indicate the activation or deactivation of the beam / beam group. It should be noted that the correspondence between the bits and the beams may be predetermined, for example, the bits correspond to the index values ​​of the beams from front to back in order from small to large (such as bit 0 corresponds to beam 0, bit 1 corresponds to beam 1, and bit 2 corresponds to beam 2).

[0161] For example, assuming that the fourth information is a field, and the beams supported by the network device include beam 0, beam 1, and beam 2, then this field can be used to indicate the activation or deactivation of beam 0 and beam 1. For another example, assuming that the fourth information is a field, and the beam groups supported by the network device include beam group 0, beam group 1, and beam group 2, then this field can be used to indicate the activation or deactivation of beam group 0 and beam group 1.

[0162] For another example, assuming that the fourth information is a bitmap, and the beams supported by the network device include beam 0, beam 1, beam 2, beam 3, beam 4, beam 5, beam 6, and beam 7, then as shown in FIG6A , the bitmap can be used to indicate activation or deactivation of beam 0, beam 1, beam 2, beam 3, beam 4, beam 5, beam 6, and beam 7. Bit 0 corresponds to beam 0, bit 1 corresponds to beam 1, bit 2 corresponds to beam 2, bit 3 corresponds to beam 3, bit 4 corresponds to beam 4, bit 5 corresponds to beam 5, bit 6 corresponds to beam 6, and bit 7 corresponds to beam 7.

[0163] For another example, assuming that the fourth information is a bitmap, and the beam groups supported by the network device include beam group 0, beam group 1, beam group 2, beam group 3, beam group 4, beam group 5, beam group 6, and beam group 7, then as shown in FIG6B , the bitmap can be used to indicate activation or deactivation of beam group 0, beam group 1, beam group 2, beam group 3, beam group 4, beam group 5, beam group 6, and beam group 7. Bit 0 corresponds to beam group 0, bit 1 corresponds to beam group 1, bit 2 corresponds to beam group 2, bit 3 corresponds to beam group 3, bit 4 corresponds to beam group 4, bit 5 corresponds to beam group 5, bit 6 corresponds to beam group 6, and bit 7 corresponds to beam group 7.

[0164] Further optionally, for different situations, the following methods can be used to distinguish whether to activate a beam / beam group or deactivate a beam / beam group. Of course, other methods can also be used for distinction, which are not limited here.

[0165] Method a: If the fourth information is carried in the first DCI, and the first DCI is a group-common DCI, different RNTIs can be used to scramble the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits of the first DCI to distinguish whether the beam / beam group is activated or deactivated.

[0166] Specifically, when the fourth information indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the CRC bits of the first DCI may be scrambled using a first radio network temporary identity (RNTI); when the fourth information indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the CRC bits of the first DCI may be scrambled using a second RNTI. The first RNTI and the second RNTI are different.

[0167] For example, assuming that the fourth information is carried in a first DCI, which is a group-common DCI, the fourth information may indicate activation or deactivation of beam 0 and beam 1. If the CRC bits of the first DCI are scrambled using RNTI 1, the fourth information indicates activation of beam 0 and beam 1; if the CRC bits of the first DCI are scrambled using RNTI 2, the fourth information indicates deactivation of beam 0 and beam 1. RNTI 1 is different from RNTI 2.

[0168] For another example, assuming that the fourth information is carried in a first DCI, which is a group-common DCI, the fourth information may indicate activation or deactivation of beam group 0 and beam group 1. If the CRC bits of the first DCI are scrambled using RNTI 1, the fourth information indicates activation of beam group 0 and beam group 1; if the CRC bits of the first DCI are scrambled using RNTI 2, the fourth information indicates deactivation of beam group 0 and beam group 1. RNTI 1 is different from RNTI 2.

[0169] Mode b: If the fourth information is carried in the second MAC CE, the fourth information may be transmitted through different logical channels to distinguish whether the beam / beam group is activated or deactivated.

[0170] Specifically, when the fourth information indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the fourth information may be transmitted through a first logical channel; when the fourth information indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the fourth information may be transmitted through a second logical channel. The first logical channel is different from the second logical channel, which may also be understood as meaning that a logical channel identification (LCID) of the first logical channel is different from a logical channel identification (LCID) of the second logical channel.

[0171] For example, assuming that the fourth information is carried in the second MAC CE, the fourth information may indicate activation or deactivation of beam 0 and beam 1. If the fourth information is transmitted through the first logical channel (LCID 1), it indicates that the fourth information indicates activation of beam 0 and beam 1; if the fourth information is transmitted through the first logical channel (LCID 2), it indicates that the fourth information indicates deactivation of beam 0 and beam 1. LCID 1 is different from LCID 2.

[0172] For another example, assuming that the fourth information is carried in the second MAC CE, the fourth information may indicate activation or deactivation of beam group 0 and beam group 1. If the fourth information is transmitted through the first logical channel (LCID 1), it indicates that the fourth information indicates activation of beam group 0 and beam group 1; if the fourth information is transmitted through the first logical channel (LCID 2), it indicates that the fourth information indicates deactivation of beam group 0 and beam group 1. LCID 1 is different from LCID 2.

[0173] Method c: If the fourth information is carried in the first DCI or the second MAC CE, and the first DCI is a group-common DCI or a terminal device-specific DCI, then different field values ​​of the same field can also be used to distinguish whether the beam / beam group is activated or deactivated.

[0174] Specifically, assuming that the fourth information is a field, the fourth information includes a first field and a second field; when the first field is a first value, the first field indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups; when the first field is a second value, the first field indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups; the second field indicates the identification of the activated or deactivated beam / beam group in the one or more beam groups.

[0175] In addition, assuming that the fourth information is a bit map, when the bit is the third value, the bit indicates activation of the beam / beam group corresponding to the bit; when the bit is the fourth value, the bit indicates deactivation of the beam / beam group corresponding to the bit.

[0176] For example, assuming that the fourth information is carried in the first DCI or the second MAC CE, wherein the first DCI may be a group common DCI or a terminal device specific DCI. The fourth information is a field, and the fourth information may include a first field and a second field. If the first field is 1 (i.e., the first numerical value) and the second field indicates the identifiers of beam 0, beam 1, and beam 2, then the fourth information indicates activation of beam 0, beam 1, and beam 2. If the first field is 0 (i.e., the second numerical value) and the second field indicates the identifiers of beam 0, beam 1, and beam 2, then the fourth information indicates deactivation of beam 0, beam 1, and beam 2.

[0177] For another example, assume that the fourth information is carried in the first DCI or the second MAC CE, wherein the first DCI may be a group-common DCI or a terminal device-specific DCI. The fourth information is a field, and the fourth information may include a first field and a second field. If the first field is 1 (i.e., the first numerical value), and the second field indicates the identifiers of beam group 0, beam group 1, and beam group 2, then the fourth information indicates activation of beam group 0, beam group 1, and beam group 2. If the first field is 0 (i.e., the second numerical value), and the second field indicates the identifiers of beam group 0, beam group 1, and beam group 2, then the fourth information indicates deactivation of beam group 0, beam group 1, and beam group 2.

[0178] For another example, assume that the fourth information is carried in the first DCI or the second MAC CE, wherein the first DCI may be a group-common DCI or a terminal device-specific DCI. The fourth information is a bitmap, which includes 4 bits (i.e., bit 0, bit 1, bit 2, and bit 3). When the bit is 1 (i.e., the third value), it indicates that the beam corresponding to the bit is activated; when the bit is 0 (i.e., the fourth value), it indicates that the beam corresponding to the bit is deactivated. Bit 0 corresponds to beam 0, bit 1 corresponds to beam 1, bit 2 corresponds to beam 2, and bit 3 corresponds to beam 3. If the bitmap indicates 0011, the fourth information indicates that beam 0 and beam 1 are deactivated, and beam 2 and beam 3 are activated. If the bitmap indicates 0111, the fourth information indicates that beam 0 is deactivated, and beam 1, beam 2, and beam 3 are activated. If the bitmap indicates 0001, the fourth information indicates that beam 0, beam 1, and beam 2 are deactivated, and beam 3 is activated.

[0179] For another example, assume that the fourth information is carried in the first DCI or the second MAC CE, wherein the first DCI can be a group-common DCI or a terminal device-specific DCI. The fourth information is a bitmap, which includes 4 bits (i.e., bit 0, bit 1, bit 2, and bit 3). When the bit is 1 (i.e., the third value), it indicates that the beam group corresponding to the bit is activated; when the bit is 0 (i.e., the fourth value), it indicates that the beam group corresponding to the bit is deactivated. Bit 0 corresponds to beam group 0, bit 1 corresponds to beam group 1, bit 2 corresponds to beam group 2, and bit 3 corresponds to beam group 3. If the bitmap is 0011, the fourth information indicates that beam group 0 and beam group 1 are deactivated, and beam group 2 and beam group 3 are activated. If the bitmap is 0111, the fourth information indicates that beam group 0 is deactivated, and beam group 1, beam group 2, and beam group 3 are activated. If the bitmap is 0001, the fourth information indicates that beam group 0, beam group 1, and beam group 2 are deactivated, and beam group 3 is activated.

[0180] S504. The terminal device determines a first beam / first beam group from the one or more beams / beam groups based on the first information and / or the second information, and the fourth information.

[0181] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device determining the coverage area to which the terminal device belongs based on location information of the terminal device or quality information of a reference signal; when the terminal device determines the first beam / first beam group from the one or more beams / beam groups based on the first information and / or the second information, a specific implementation may be: the terminal device determines the first beam / first beam group from the one or more beams / beam groups based on the first information and / or the second information and the coverage area to which the terminal device belongs. In other words, the first beam / first beam group is selected from one or more beams / beam groups indicated by the network device and is used for subsequent signal measurement or data transmission by the terminal device.

[0182] Optionally, the method also includes: the terminal device determines an activation time period corresponding to the first beam / first beam group based on the fourth information; and the terminal device uses the first beam / first beam group to perform signal measurement or data transmission within the activation time period.

[0183] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device determines the coverage area to which it belongs based on its own position or based on the quality of the received reference signal; then, based on the received first information and / or second information, determines the first beam / first beam group for the current service from one or more beams / beam groups (that is, the coverage area corresponding to the first beam / first beam group can include the coverage area to which the terminal device belongs); then, based on the fourth information, the activation time period corresponding to the first beam / first beam group can be determined, so that the first beam / first beam group can be used for signal measurement or data transmission within the activation time period of the first beam / first beam group.

[0184] It can be seen that based on the method described in Figure 5, the network device can effectively indicate one or more beam configuration information or configuration information indicating one or more beam groups to the terminal device through the first information, so that the terminal device can select a reasonable and accurate beam for data transmission based on the first information, thereby ensuring service quality and improving system throughput; the network device can also further classify one or more beams or beam groups, and indicate the beam / beam group used to transmit a common channel (signal) to the terminal device through the second information, and / or, indicate the beam / beam group used to transmit a specific service channel, so as to improve the beam coverage and link performance, thereby further ensuring service quality; in addition, due to the constraints of satellite transmission power or return link bandwidth, a general satellite can only activate a few beams at the same time. Therefore, in order to ensure that the terminal device can reasonably and accurately select the activated beam for data transmission, the network device can also effectively indicate the activation or deactivation information of the beam / beam group to the terminal device through the fourth information, thereby ensuring service quality.

[0185] Please refer to Figure 7, which shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 700 of an embodiment of the present application. The communication device shown in Figure 7 can be a terminal device or a network device, or it can be a device in a terminal device or a network device, or it can be a device that can be used in combination with a terminal device or a network device. Specifically, as shown in Figure 7, the communication device 700 may include a communication unit 701 and a processing unit 702. Among them, the processing unit 702 is used to perform data processing. The communication unit 701 is used to communicate. Optionally, the communication unit 701 integrates a receiving unit and a sending unit. The communication unit 701 can also be called a transceiver unit. Alternatively, the communication unit 701 can also be split into a receiving unit and a sending unit.

[0186] In one embodiment, the communication device 700 may be a terminal device, or a device in a terminal device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a terminal device, wherein:

[0187] The communication unit 701 is configured to receive first information from a network device; the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beams, or the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beam groups; and / or,

[0188] The communication unit 701 is further configured to receive second information from a network device; the second information indicates a beam / beam group used to transmit a common channel and / or indicates a beam / beam group used to transmit a specific service channel;

[0189] The processing unit 702 is configured to determine a first beam / first beam group from the one or more beams / beam groups based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0190] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beams, and the communication unit 701 is further used to: receive third information from a network device; the third information indicates one or more beam groups obtained by grouping the one or more beams and the beams contained in each beam group.

[0191] In one possible implementation, the third information indicates the beams included in each beam group, including: the third information includes an identifier of the beams included in each beam group (i.e., direct indication); or, the third information indicates the total number of beams and the total number of beam groups, and / or indicates that the index values ​​of the beams included in each beam group are continuous (i.e., indirect indication); or, the third information indicates the total number of beams and the total number of beam groups, and / or indicates difference information of index values ​​between adjacent beams in each beam group (i.e., indirect indication).

[0192] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beam groups; the configuration information of the beam group includes one or more of the following information: an identifier of the beam group; configuration information of each beam in the beam group; or, one or more common configuration information and specific configuration information corresponding to each beam in the beam group, the common configuration information includes configuration information common to all beams in the beam group, and the specific configuration information corresponding to the beam includes configuration information of the beam other than the common configuration information.

[0193] In one possible implementation, the configuration information of the beam includes the identifier of the beam and the transmission configuration information corresponding to the beam; the transmission configuration information includes one or more of the following information: the period length information of the beam, the period offset value information, the activation time offset value information, and the activation time information of the beam within the period; the period offset value information is the offset value of the starting position of the transmission period relative to a specific time domain position, and the activation time offset value information is the offset value of the activation time starting position of the beam relative to the starting position of the transmission period; or, the transmission configuration information includes one or more of the following information: the beam corresponding to The reference time domain position of the beam, the first time domain offset value, and the activation time information of the beam; the first time domain offset value is the offset value of the activation time starting position of the beam relative to the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam; or, the transmission configuration information includes the second time domain offset value and / or the activation time information of the beam; the second time domain offset value is the offset value of the activation starting time domain position of the beam relative to the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam; the first information also includes first indication information, which indicates the total number of beams and indicates that the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams are arranged in a cyclic manner.

[0194] In one possible implementation, the first indication information indicates that the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams are arranged in a cyclic manner, including: the first indication information indicates that in multiple consecutive first time periods, the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams in different first time periods are arranged according to the same arrangement strategy.

[0195] In one possible implementation, the configuration information of the beam includes one or more of the following information: coverage area information of the beam, cell identification information corresponding to the beam, configuration information of the reference signal corresponding to the beam, and transmission power information of the beam.

[0196] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried in any one of the following information: a system information block SIB, a radio resource control RRC, or a first medium access control element MAC CE.

[0197] In one possible implementation, the method also includes: the terminal device receives fourth information from the network device; the fourth information indicates activation or deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams, or the fourth information indicates activation or deactivation of all or part of the one or more beam groups.

[0198] In one possible implementation, the fourth information is carried in the first downlink control information DCI or the second MAC CE, and the first DCI is a group-common DCI or a terminal device-specific DCI; the fourth information is a field or a bit map, and one or more bits in the bit map correspond one-to-one to the one or more beams / beam groups.

[0199] In one possible implementation, the fourth information is carried in the first DCI, which is a group common DCI; when the fourth information indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the first wireless network temporary identifier RNTI is used to scramble the cyclic redundancy check CRC bits of the first DCI; when the fourth information indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the second RNTI is used to scramble the CRC bits of the first DCI.

[0200] In one possible implementation, the fourth information is carried in the second MAC CE; when the fourth information indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the fourth information is transmitted through the first logical channel; when the fourth information indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the fourth information is transmitted through the second logical channel.

[0201] In one possible implementation, the fourth information includes a first field and a second field; when the first field is a first value, the first field indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups; when the first field is a second value, the first field indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups; the second field indicates the identification of the activated or deactivated beam / beam group in the one or more beam groups.

[0202] In one possible implementation, the method also includes: the terminal device determines the coverage area to which the terminal device belongs based on the location information of the terminal device or the quality information of the reference signal; when the terminal device determines the first beam / first beam group from the one or more beams / beam groups based on the first information and / or the second information, the specific implementation is: the terminal device determines the first beam / first beam group from the one or more beams / beam groups based on the first information and / or the second information, and the coverage area to which the terminal device belongs.

[0203] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device determines an activation time period corresponding to the first beam / first beam group based on the fourth information; and uses the first beam / first beam group to perform signal measurement or data transmission within the activation time period.

[0204] In one embodiment, the communication device 700 may be a network device, a device in a network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a network device, wherein:

[0205] Communication unit 701 is configured to send first information to a terminal device; the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beams, or the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beam groups; and / or,

[0206] The communication unit 701 is further used to send second information to the terminal device; the second information indicates the beam / beam group used to transmit the common channel, and / or indicates the beam / beam group used to transmit the specific service channel.

[0207] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beams, and the communication unit 701 is further used to: send third information to the terminal device; the third information indicates one or more beam groups obtained by grouping the one or more beams and the beams contained in each beam group.

[0208] In one possible implementation, the third information indicates the beams included in each beam group, including: the third information includes an identifier of the beams included in each beam group; or, the third information indicates the total number of beams and the total number of beam groups, and / or indicates that the index values ​​of the beams included in each beam group are continuous; or, the third information indicates the total number of beams and the total number of beam groups, and / or indicates difference information of the index values ​​between adjacent beams in each beam group.

[0209] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beam groups; the configuration information of the beam group includes one or more of the following information: an identifier of the beam group; configuration information of each beam in the beam group; or, one or more common configuration information and specific configuration information corresponding to each beam in the beam group, the common configuration information includes configuration information common to all beams in the beam group, and the specific configuration information corresponding to the beam includes configuration information of the beam other than the common configuration information.

[0210] In one possible implementation, the configuration information of the beam includes the identifier of the beam and the transmission configuration information corresponding to the beam; the transmission configuration information includes one or more of the following information: the period length information of the beam, the period offset value information, the activation time offset value information, and the activation time information of the beam within the period; the period offset value information is the offset value of the starting position of the transmission period relative to a specific time domain position, and the activation time offset value information is the offset value of the activation time starting position of the beam relative to the starting position of the transmission period; or, the transmission configuration information includes one or more of the following information: the beam corresponding to The reference time domain position of the beam, the first time domain offset value, and the activation time information of the beam; the first time domain offset value is the offset value of the activation time starting position of the beam relative to the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam; or, the transmission configuration information includes the second time domain offset value and / or the activation time information of the beam; the second time domain offset value is the offset value of the activation starting time domain position of the beam relative to the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam; the first information also includes first indication information, which indicates the total number of beams and indicates that the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams are arranged in a cyclic manner.

[0211] In one possible implementation, the first indication information indicates that the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams are arranged in a cyclic manner, including: the first indication information indicates that in multiple consecutive first time periods, the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams in different first time periods are arranged according to the same arrangement strategy.

[0212] In one possible implementation, the configuration information of the beam includes one or more of the following information: coverage area information of the beam, configuration information of a reference signal corresponding to the beam, and transmission power information of the beam.

[0213] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried in any one of the following information: a system information block SIB, a radio resource control RRC, or a first medium access control element MAC CE.

[0214] In one possible implementation, the method also includes: the network device sends fourth information to the terminal device; the fourth information indicates activation or deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams, or the fourth information indicates activation or deactivation of all or part of the one or more beam groups.

[0215] In one possible implementation, the fourth information is carried in the first downlink control information DCI or the second MAC CE, and the first DCI is a group-common DCI or a terminal device-specific DCI; the fourth information is a field or a bit map, and one or more bits in the bit map correspond one-to-one to the one or more beams / beam groups.

[0216] In one possible implementation, the fourth information is carried in the first DCI, which is a group common DCI; when the fourth information indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the first wireless network temporary identifier RNTI is used to scramble the cyclic redundancy check CRC bits of the first DCI; when the fourth information indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the second RNTI is used to scramble the CRC bits of the first DCI.

[0217] In one possible implementation, the fourth information is carried in the second MAC CE; when the fourth information indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the fourth information is transmitted through the first logical channel; when the fourth information indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the fourth information is transmitted through the second logical channel.

[0218] In one possible implementation, the fourth information includes a first field and a second field; when the first field is a first value, the first field indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups; when the first field is a second value, the first field indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups; the second field indicates the identification of the activated or deactivated beam / beam group in the one or more beam groups.

[0219] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device. The communication device 800 can be a terminal device or network device in the above method embodiment, or can also be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the terminal device or network device to implement the above method. This communication device can be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. For details, please refer to the description of the above method embodiment.

[0220] The communication device 800 may include one or more processors 801. The processor 801 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. For example, it may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit (CPU). The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the CPU may be used to control a communication device (e.g., a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal, a terminal chip, a DU or a CU), execute software programs, and process data in the software programs.

[0221] Optionally, the communication device 800 may include one or more memories 802, on which instructions 804 may be stored. The instructions may be executed on the processor 801, causing the communication device 800 to perform the method described in the above method embodiment. Optionally, the memory 802 may also store data. The processor 801 and memory 802 may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0222] Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a transceiver 805 and an antenna 806. The transceiver 805 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, or a transceiver circuit, and is configured to implement transceiver functions. The transceiver 805 may include a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver may be referred to as a receiver or a receiving circuit, and is configured to implement a receiving function; the transmitter may be referred to as a transmitter or a transmitting circuit, and is configured to implement a transmitting function. The processing unit 702 shown in FIG. 7 may be the processor 801. The communication unit 701 may be the transceiver 805.

[0223] In another possible design, processor 801 may include a transceiver for implementing receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit for implementing the receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for reading and writing code / data, or the transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for transmitting or delivering signals.

[0224] In another possible design, processor 801 may optionally store instructions 803. Instructions 803, when executed on processor 801, may cause communication device 800 to perform the method described in the above method embodiment. Instructions 803 may be fixed in processor 801. In this case, processor 801 may be implemented by hardware.

[0225] In another possible design, the communication device 800 may include a circuit that can implement the functions of sending, receiving, or communicating in the aforementioned method embodiments. The processor and transceiver described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, a radio frequency integrated circuit RFIC, a mixed signal IC, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), an electronic device, etc. The processor and transceiver can also be manufactured using various IC process technologies, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), N-type metal oxide semiconductor (nMetal-oxide-semiconductor, NMOS), P-type metal oxide semiconductor (positive channel metal oxide semiconductor, PMOS), bipolar junction transistor (Bipolar Junction Transistor, BJT), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), etc.

[0226] The communication device described in the above embodiments may be a terminal device or a network device, but the scope of the communication device described in the embodiments of the present application is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device may not be limited to FIG8. The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be:

[0227] (1) An independent integrated circuit (IC), or chip, or chip system or subsystem;

[0228] (2) A set of one or more ICs, optionally including a storage component for storing data and instructions;

[0229] (3) ASIC, such as modem (MSM);

[0230] (4) Modules that can be embedded in other devices;

[0231] (5) Receivers, terminals, smart terminals, cellular phones, wireless devices, handheld devices, mobile units, vehicle-mounted devices, network devices, cloud devices, artificial intelligence devices, etc.;

[0232] (6)Others, etc.

[0233] In the case where the communication device can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to the chip structure diagram shown in Figure 9. The chip 900 shown in Figure 9 includes a processor 901 and an interface 902. Optionally, it may also include a memory 903. The number of processors 901 can be one or more, and the number of interfaces 902 can be multiple.

[0234] For the case where the chip is used to implement a terminal device or a network device in the embodiments of the present application:

[0235] The interface 902 is used to receive or output signals;

[0236] The processor 901 is configured to execute data processing operations of a terminal device or a network device.

[0237] It is understandable that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application may, in certain scenarios, be implemented independently of other features, such as the solution on which they are currently based, to solve corresponding technical problems and achieve corresponding effects. They may also be combined with other features in certain scenarios as needed. Accordingly, the communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application may also implement these features or functions accordingly, which will not be described in detail here.

[0238] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiment of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor or instructions in the form of software. The above processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component.

[0239] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments 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 read-only memory (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 random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0240] The present application also provides a computer-readable medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, the functions of any of the above method embodiments are implemented.

[0241] The present application also provides a computer program product including instructions, which enables a computer to implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments when the computer reads and executes the computer program product.

[0242] The present application provides a communication system, which includes a terminal device and a network device; wherein the terminal device is used to execute the method executed by the terminal device in the above embodiment, and the network device is used to execute the method executed by the network device in the above embodiment.

[0243] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0244] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A beam pointing method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receiving first information from a network device; the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beams, or the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beam groups; and / or, receiving second information from the network device; the second information indicating a beam / beam group used to transmit a common channel and / or indicating a beam / beam group used to transmit a specific service channel; A first beam / first beam group is determined from the one or more beams / beam groups based on the first information and / or the second information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information indicates configuration information of one or more beams, and the method further includes: Receive third information from the network device; the third information indicates one or more beam groups obtained by grouping the one or more beams and the beams included in each beam group.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The third information indicates beams included in each beam group, including: The third information includes an identifier of the beams included in each beam group; or, The third information indicates the total number of beams and the total number of beam groups, and / or indicates that index values ​​of beams included in each beam group are continuous; or, The third information indicates the total number of beams and the total number of beam groups, and / or indicates difference information of index values ​​between adjacent beams in each beam group.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first information indicates configuration information of one or more beam groups; The beam group configuration information includes one or more of the following information: an identifier of the beam group; configuration information of each beam in the beam group; or, one or more common configuration information and specific configuration information corresponding to each beam in the beam group, the common configuration information includes configuration information common to all beams in the beam group, and the specific configuration information corresponding to the beam includes configuration information of the beam other than the common configuration information.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The configuration information of the beam includes an identifier of the beam and transmission configuration information corresponding to the beam; The transmission configuration information includes one or more of the following information: the period length information of the beam, the period offset value information, the activation time offset value information, and the activation time information of the beam within the period; the period offset value information is the offset value of the starting position of the transmission period relative to a specific time domain position, and the activation time offset value information is the offset value of the starting position of the activation time of the beam relative to the starting position of the transmission period; or, The transmission configuration information includes one or more of the following information: the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam, a first time domain offset value, and activation time information of the beam; the first time domain offset value is the offset value of the activation time starting position of the beam relative to the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam; or, The transmission configuration information includes a second time domain offset value and / or activation time information of the beam; the second time domain offset value is the offset value of the activation starting time domain position of the beam relative to the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam; the first information also includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates the total number of beams and indicates that the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams are arranged in a cyclic manner.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The first indication information indicates that the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams are arranged in a cyclic manner, including: The first indication information indicates that in a plurality of consecutive first time periods, the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams in different first time periods are arranged according to the same arrangement strategy.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The configuration information of the beam includes one or more of the following information: coverage area information of the beam, cell identification information corresponding to the beam, configuration information of the reference signal corresponding to the beam, and transmission power information of the beam.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The first information is carried in any one of the following information: system information block SIB, radio resource control RRC, and first medium access control element MAC CE.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive fourth information from the network device; the fourth information indicates activation or deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams, or the fourth information indicates activation or deactivation of all or part of the one or more beam groups.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The fourth information is carried in the first downlink control information DCI or the second MAC CE, where the first DCI is a group-common DCI or a terminal device-specific DCI; The fourth information is a field or a bitmap, and one or more bits in the bitmap correspond one-to-one to the one or more beams / beam groups.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The fourth information is carried in the first DCI, where the first DCI is a group common DCI; When the fourth information indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, scrambling the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits of the first DCI using a first radio network temporary identifier (RNTI); When the fourth information indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the CRC bits of the first DCI are scrambled using the second RNTI.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The fourth information is carried in the second MAC CE; When the fourth information indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the fourth information is transmitted through the first logical channel; When the fourth information indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the fourth information is transmitted through the second logical channel.

13. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The fourth information includes a first field and a second field; when the first field is a first value, the first field indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups; when the first field is a second value, the first field indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups; the second field indicates the identification of the activated or deactivated beam / beam group in the one or more beam groups.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determining a coverage area to which the terminal device belongs based on location information of the terminal device or quality information of a reference signal; The determining, based on the first information and / or the second information, a first beam / a first beam group from the one or more beams / beam groups includes: Based on the first information and / or the second information, and the coverage area to which the terminal device belongs, a first beam / first beam group is determined from the one or more beams / beam groups.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determine an activation time period corresponding to the first beam / first beam group based on the fourth information; Signal measurement or data transmission is performed using the first beam / first beam group during the activation time period.

16. A beam indication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending first information to a terminal device; the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beams, or the first information indicates configuration information of one or more beam groups; and / or, Sending second information to the terminal device; the second information indicates the beam / beam group used to transmit a common channel, and / or indicates the beam / beam group used to transmit a specific service channel.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The first information indicates configuration information of one or more beams, and the method further includes: Sending third information to the terminal device; the third information indicates one or more beam groups obtained by grouping the one or more beams and the beams contained in each beam group.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The third information indicates beams included in each beam group, including: The third information includes an identifier of the beams included in each beam group; or, The third information indicates the total number of beams and the total number of beam groups, and / or indicates that index values ​​of beams included in each beam group are continuous; or, The third information indicates the total number of beams and the total number of beam groups, and / or indicates difference information of index values ​​between adjacent beams in each beam group.

19. The method according to claim 16, wherein The first information indicates configuration information of one or more beam groups; The beam group configuration information includes one or more of the following information: an identifier of the beam group; configuration information of each beam in the beam group; or, one or more common configuration information and specific configuration information corresponding to each beam in the beam group, the common configuration information includes configuration information common to all beams in the beam group, and the specific configuration information corresponding to the beam includes configuration information of the beam other than the common configuration information.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that The configuration information of the beam includes an identifier of the beam and transmission configuration information corresponding to the beam; The transmission configuration information includes one or more of the following information: the period length information of the beam, the period offset value information, the activation time offset value information, and the activation time information of the beam within the period; the period offset value information is the offset value of the starting position of the transmission period relative to a specific time domain position, and the activation time offset value information is the offset value of the starting position of the activation time of the beam relative to the starting position of the transmission period; or, The transmission configuration information includes one or more of the following information: the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam, a first time domain offset value, and activation time information of the beam; the first time domain offset value is the offset value of the activation time starting position of the beam relative to the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam; or, The transmission configuration information includes a second time domain offset value and / or activation time information of the beam; the second time domain offset value is the offset value of the activation starting time domain position of the beam relative to the reference time domain position corresponding to the beam; the first information also includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates the total number of beams and indicates that the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams are arranged in a cyclic manner.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The first indication information indicates that the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams are arranged in a cyclic manner, including: The first indication information indicates that in a plurality of consecutive first time periods, the reference time domain positions corresponding to the one or more beams in different first time periods are arranged according to the same arrangement strategy.

22. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 21, characterized in that The configuration information of the beam includes one or more of the following information: coverage area information of the beam, cell identification information corresponding to the beam, configuration information of the reference signal corresponding to the beam, and transmission power information of the beam.

23. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 22, characterized in that The first information is carried in any one of the following information: system information block SIB, radio resource control RRC, and first medium access control element MAC CE.

24. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 23, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending fourth information to the terminal device; the fourth information indicates activation or deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams, or the fourth information indicates activation or deactivation of all or part of the one or more beam groups.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that The fourth information is carried in the first downlink control information DCI or the second MAC CE, where the first DCI is a group-common DCI or a terminal device-specific DCI; The fourth information is a field or a bitmap, and one or more bits in the bitmap correspond one-to-one to the one or more beams / beam groups.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The fourth information is carried in the first DCI, where the first DCI is a group common DCI; When the fourth information indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, scrambling the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits of the first DCI using a first radio network temporary identifier (RNTI); When the fourth information indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the CRC bits of the first DCI are scrambled using the second RNTI.

27. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The fourth information is carried in the second MAC CE; When the fourth information indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the fourth information is transmitted through the first logical channel; When the fourth information indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups, the fourth information is transmitted through the second logical channel.

28. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The fourth information includes a first field and a second field; when the first field is a first value, the first field indicates activation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups; when the first field is a second value, the first field indicates deactivation of all or part of the one or more beams / beam groups; the second field indicates the identification of the activated or deactivated beam / beam group in the one or more beam groups.

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