Communication method, communication apparatus, communication system and storage medium

Abstract

Disclosed in embodiments of the present application are a communication method, a communication apparatus, a communication system and a storage medium, used for achieving multi-satellite joint transmission. The method in the embodiments of the present application comprises: receiving first information, the first information being used for instructing a terminal device to measure the power of synchronization signals of at most N candidate cooperative cells, wherein N is the value of the maximum number of candidate cooperative cells; measuring the power of the synchronization signals of the N candidate cooperative cells on the basis of the first information; receiving M pieces of second information, the second information being used for indicating information of cooperative cells configured by a network device; receiving third information, the third information comprising a correspondence between a transmission configuration indication state and a control resource pool index, and the third information being used for the terminal device to receive data from a plurality of satellites; and receiving activation information, the activation information being used for activating at least one transmission configuration indication state. The embodiments of the present application can achieve multi-satellite joint transmission.

Description

Communication method, communication device, communication system and storage medium

[0001] The present application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202410444521.X filed on April 12, 2024, and entitled "A communication method, a communication device, a communication system and a storage medium", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, in particular to a communication method, a communication device, a communication system and a storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0003] In future satellite systems, large-scale constellation and high-gain antenna are two key technologies. Among them, large-scale constellation is composed of a large number of satellites, which are distributed in different orbital planes to achieve global coverage and provide stable and continuous services to any place on earth. High-gain antenna increases the radiation power and transceiver efficiency of the antenna, significantly enhances the strength and stability of satellite signals, reduces signal attenuation and interference, and improves communication quality. Large-scale constellation and high-gain antenna provide the prerequisite for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technology.

[0004] Currently, in the ground system, terminal devices are generally located within the coverage range of at most 2 or 3 base stations, and the scenario of 2 base stations covering at the same time is more common, so the ground standard specifies to support the joint transmission of two transmission and reception points (TRP). For non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems, in the large-scale constellation scenario, the number of visible satellites for UE can reach dozens, and a large number of satellites can be covered and served at the same time.

[0005] Based on this, a mechanism to support joint transmission of multiple satellites is urgently needed. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a communication method, a communication device, a communication system and a storage medium for implementing multi-satellite joint transmission.

[0007] The first aspect of the present application provides a communication method. Optionally, the execution subject of the method can be a terminal device, a component or device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the terminal device, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the terminal device. Taking the terminal device as an example, the terminal device is in the coverage range of a network device, which can be an access network node or an NTN node. In the method, the terminal device receives first information from the network device, and the first information is used to instruct the terminal device to measure the power of the synchronization signals of at most N candidate cooperating cells, wherein N is the value of the maximum number of candidate cooperating cells, and N is an integer greater than 7. The terminal device measures the synchronization signal power of n candidate cooperating cells in the N candidate cooperating cells according to the first information, and n is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to N. The terminal device reports the measurement result to the network device, and the network device configures cooperating cells according to the measurement result. Specifically, the network device sends M second information to the terminal device, and the second information is used to indicate the beam information of the cooperating cells configured by the network device. Wherein, M is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N, and M is used to indicate the number of cooperating cells configured by the network device. The terminal device also receives third information from the network device, and the third information includes the correspondence between the transmission configuration indication state and the control resource pool index, so that the terminal device receives data from multiple satellites. The network device sends activation information to the terminal device to activate at least one transmission configuration indication state, so that the terminal device receives data from the satellite corresponding to the transmission configuration indication state, thereby realizing multi-satellite joint transmission.

[0008] In this embodiment, the network device expands the maximum number of candidate cooperating cells to N, so that the terminal device can measure the synchronization signals of more cooperating cells, and the network device can configure M cooperating cells according to the measurement result of the terminal device. At the same time, the network device can also send third information to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can receive data from multiple satellites and improve the throughput. The network device can also send activation information to the terminal device to realize multi-satellite joint transmission.

[0009] The second aspect of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device can be a terminal device, a component or device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the terminal device, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the terminal device. The communication device comprises:

[0010] The interface unit is configured to receive first information, and the first information is used to instruct the terminal device to measure the power of the synchronization signals of at most N candidate cooperating cells, wherein N is the value of the maximum number of candidate cooperating cells, and N is an integer greater than 7.

[0011] The processing unit is configured to measure power of synchronization signals of the N candidate coordination cells according to the first information.

[0012] The interface unit is further configured to receive M second information, the second information being used to indicate coordination cell information configured by the network device, M being an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N.

[0013] The interface unit is further configured to receive third information, the third information including a correspondence between a transmission configuration indication state and a control resource pool index, the third information being used for the terminal device to receive data from the plurality of satellites.

[0014] The interface unit is further configured to receive activation information, the activation information being used to activate at least one transmission configuration indication state.

[0015] In some optional embodiments based on the first aspect or the second aspect of the present application, the value of the maximum number of candidate coordination cells is positively correlated with the number of satellites.

[0016] In the embodiments, the more visible satellites there are, the greater the value of the maximum number of candidate coordination cells, so that the maximum number of candidate coordination cells of the terminal device increases with the increase in the number of satellites.

[0017] In some optional embodiments based on the first aspect or the second aspect of the present application, the value of the control resource pool index is K, K being an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N.

[0018] In some optional embodiments based on the first aspect or the second aspect of the present application, the value of the control resource pool index is related to the number of satellites and the processing capability of the terminal device.

[0019] In some optional embodiments based on the first aspect or the second aspect of the present application, the activation information includes a plurality of control resource pool indexes, the control resource pool indexes being used to distinguish the at least one transmission configuration indication state.

[0020] In the embodiments, the plurality of control resource pool indexes correspond to beams of the plurality of satellites, so that the terminal device can distinguish different satellites through the control resource pool indexes, which is conducive to realizing multi-satellite joint transmission.

[0021] In some optional embodiments based on the first aspect or the second aspect of the present application, the activation information includes one or more of an ephemeris identifier, a transmission reception point (TRP) identifier or a physical cell identifier, the ephemeris identifier, the TRP identifier or the physical cell identifier being used to distinguish the at least one transmission configuration indication state.

[0022] In some optional embodiments based on the first aspect or the second aspect of the present application, the third information further includes a correspondence between a transmission configuration indication state and an ephemeris identifier, a TRP identifier, or a physical cell identifier.

[0023] The third aspect of the present application provides a communication method. Optionally, the execution subject of the method can be a network device, a component (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the network device, or a logic module or software (such as a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU)) capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the network device. In the method, the network device sends first information to a terminal device, where the first information is used to instruct the terminal device to measure the power of the synchronization signals of at most N candidate cooperating cells, N is a value of the maximum number of candidate cooperating cells, and N is an integer greater than 7. The terminal device reports the measurement result to the network device, and the network device configures cooperating cells according to the measurement result. Specifically, the network device sends M second information to the terminal device, where the second information is used to indicate the beam information of the cooperating cells configured by the network device. M is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N, and M is used to indicate the number of cooperating cells configured by the network device. The network device also sends third information to the terminal device, where the third information includes a correspondence between a transmission configuration indication state and a control resource pool index, so that the terminal device receives data from multiple satellites. The network device sends activation information to the terminal device to activate at least one transmission configuration indication state, so that the terminal device receives data from the satellite corresponding to the transmission configuration indication state, thereby realizing multi-satellite jointing.

[0024] The fourth aspect of the present application provides a communication apparatus. The communication apparatus can be a network device, a component or apparatus (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the network device, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the network device. The communication apparatus includes:

[0025] a processing unit configured to generate first information;

[0026] an interface unit configured to send the first information, where the first information is used to instruct a terminal device to measure the power of the synchronization signals of at most N candidate cooperating cells, N is a value of the maximum number of candidate cooperating cells, and N is an integer greater than 7;

[0027] the processing unit is further configured to generate second information;

[0028] the interface unit is further configured to send M second information, where the second information is used to indicate the cooperating cell information configured by the network device, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N.

[0029] The processing unit is further configured to generate third information.

[0030] The interface unit is further configured to send the third information, the third information comprising a correspondence between the transmission configuration indication states and the control resource pool indexes, and the third information being used for the terminal device to receive data from the plurality of satellites.

[0031] The processing unit is further configured to generate activation information.

[0032] The interface unit is further configured to send the activation information, the activation information being used for activating the at least one transmission configuration indication state.

[0033] In some possible implementation manners based on the third aspect or the fourth aspect of the present application, the value of the maximum number of candidate cooperating cells is positively correlated with the number of satellites.

[0034] In some possible implementation manners based on the third aspect or the fourth aspect of the present application, the value of the control resource pool index is K, K being an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N.

[0035] In some possible implementation manners based on the third aspect or the fourth aspect of the present application, the value of the control resource pool index is correlated with the number of satellites and the processing capability of the terminal device.

[0036] In some possible implementation manners based on the third aspect or the fourth aspect of the present application, the activation information comprises a plurality of control resource pool indexes, and the control resource pool indexes are used to distinguish the at least one transmission configuration indication state.

[0037] In some possible implementation manners based on the third aspect or the fourth aspect of the present application, the activation information comprises one or more of an ephemeris identifier, a transmission reception point (TRP) identifier or a physical cell identifier, and the ephemeris identifier, the TRP identifier or the physical cell identifier are used to distinguish the at least one transmission configuration indication state.

[0038] In some possible implementation manners based on the third aspect or the fourth aspect of the present application, the third information further comprises a correspondence between the transmission configuration indication states and the ephemeris identifier, the TRP identifier or the physical cell identifier.

[0039] The fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which can be a terminal device, a component or apparatus (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the terminal device, and can also be a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the terminal device. Alternatively, the communication apparatus can be a network device, a component (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the network device, and can also be a logic module or software (for example, a CU, a DU, or a RU) capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the network device. The communication apparatus comprises:

[0040] The processor is configured to execute a program, so that the communication apparatus performs the method in the first aspect or the second aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0041] Optionally, the communication apparatus further comprises a memory, and the processor is coupled to the memory; and the memory is configured to store the program.

[0042] The sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a chip or a chip system, which comprises at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the at least one processor are connected through a line, and the at least one processor is configured to run a computer program or an instruction to perform the communication method described in any one of the first aspect to the second aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0043] The communication interface in the chip can be an input / output interface, a pin, or a circuit.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the chip or the chip system described in the present application further comprises at least one memory, and the at least one memory stores instructions. The memory can be a storage unit inside the chip, for example, a register, a cache, or the like, or can be a storage unit of the chip, for example, a read-only memory, a random access memory, or the like.

[0045] The seventh aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a communication system, which comprises the communication apparatus in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof, and the communication apparatus in the third aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0046] The eighth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, which comprises instructions, when the instructions are run on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method in the first aspect, or the computer is caused to perform the method in the third aspect.

[0047] The ninth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a computer program product containing instructions, when the computer program product is executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to the first aspect, or the computer is caused to execute the method according to the third aspect.

[0048] The advantages of the third aspect to the ninth aspect can be understood by referring to the advantages of the first aspect to the second aspect and the corresponding implementation manners, and details are not repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0049] Fig. 1 is a ground network architecture diagram in the embodiments of the present application;

[0050] Fig. 2 is a non-ground network architecture diagram in the embodiments of the present application;

[0051] Fig. 3 is one possible application scenario of the communication method in the embodiments of the present application;

[0052] Fig. 4 is an embodiment of the spectrum efficiency of multi-satellite joint transmission in the embodiments of the present application;

[0053] Fig. 5 is an embodiment of the throughput of multi-satellite joint transmission in the embodiments of the present application;

[0054] Fig. 6 is an embodiment of the communication method in the embodiments of the present application;

[0055] Fig. 7 is an embodiment of the communication device in the embodiments of the present application;

[0056] Fig. 8 is another embodiment of the communication device in the embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0057] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, a communication device, a communication system and a storage medium, which can realize multi-satellite joint transmission.

[0058] The embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the drawings. Those skilled in the art can know that, with the development of technology and the appearance of new scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0059] The terms "first", "second", and the like in the description, claims, and drawings of the application are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the application described herein are, for example, capable of orderly transition from one embodiment to another embodiment. Moreover, the terms "include", "have", and "exist" are intended to be inclusive in meaning and encompass the occurrence of zero, one or more of the stated elements. Additionally, the term "comprising" and variations thereof as used in describing the embodiments of the present application are meant to encompass the presence of stated elements, but not exclude the presence of additional elements.

[0060] Referring to FIG. 1, a ground network architecture on which the communication method in the embodiments of the present application is based is described as follows:

[0061] FIG. 1 is a possible, non-limiting system diagram. As shown in FIG. 1, a communication system 10 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 110a and 110b in FIG. 1, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal (e.g., 120a-120j in FIG. 1, collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 can further include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in FIG. 1), etc. The terminal 120 is connected to the RAN node 110 in a wireless manner. The RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 in a wireless or wired manner. The core network device in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 can be different physical devices respectively, or can be the same physical device integrated with the logical functions of the core network and the logical functions of the radio access network.

[0062] The RAN 100 can be a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) related cellular system, such as a 4G, 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolved system (e.g., a 6G mobile communication system). The RAN 100 can also be an ORAN, a CRAN, or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN 100 can also be a communication system in which two or more of the above systems are integrated.

[0063] The RAN node 110, which can also be referred to as an access network device, a RAN entity, or an access node, etc., forms part of the communication system, and is configured to facilitate wireless access to the communication system by terminals. The RAN nodes 110 in the communication system 10 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of the RAN node 110 and the terminal 120 are relative, e.g., the network element 120i in Figure 1 can be a helicopter or a drone, which can be configured to move as a mobile base station, to the terminal 120j accessing the RAN 100 via the network element 120i, the network element 120i is a base station; but to the base station 110a, the network element 120i is a terminal. The RAN nodes 110 and the terminals 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices, e.g., the network elements 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be understood as communication devices with base station functionalities, and the network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functionalities.

[0064] In a possible scenario, the RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation base station in a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The RAN node can be a macro base station (e.g., 110a in Figure 1), a micro base station or an indoor station (e.g., 110b in Figure 1), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the RAN node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, the access network device in a vehicle to everything (V2X) technology can be a road side unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the RAN node in this application can also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). The RAN node can also be provided with a communication module, circuit or chip for performing corresponding communication functions, and program instructions for performing corresponding communication functions. The RAN node in this application can also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the RAN node.

[0065] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes cooperate to assist a terminal to implement wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of functions of a base station. For example, a RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-CP, a CU-UP, or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can also be included in the same network element, for example, in a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, for example, included in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna processing unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0066] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an ORAN system, the CU can also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as an O-RU. For the convenience of description, the CU, the CU-CP, the CU-UP, the DU and the RU are taken as examples for description in this application. Any one of the CU (or the CU-CP, the CU-UP), the DU and the RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0067] Terminal, which can access the above communication system and has corresponding communication function device or module. The terminal can also be called terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. The terminal can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, automatic driving, remote medical treatment, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, a smart home device, a wireless communication function transport vehicle, a communication module, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal. The communication module, circuit or chip for executing the corresponding communication function is usually arranged in the terminal. The terminal is also configured with program instructions for executing the corresponding communication function.

[0068] Please refer to FIG. 2, the non-terrestrial network architecture based on which the communication method in the embodiments of the present application is described as follows:

[0069] The ground mobile terminal accesses the network through the new air interface, and the base station is deployed on the satellite and connected with the ground core network through the wireless link. At the same time, there is a wireless link between the satellites to complete the signaling interaction and user data transmission between the base stations. The various network elements in FIG. 2 and their interface descriptions are as follows:

[0070] Terminal: mobile device supporting new air interface, typical mobile devices such as mobile phones, pads, etc. It can access the satellite network through the air interface and initiate calls, online services, etc.

[0071] Network device: mainly provides wireless access service, schedules wireless resources to access terminals, provides reliable wireless transmission protocol and data encryption protocol, etc.

[0072] Core network: user access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, charging, etc. It is composed of multiple functional units, which can be divided into control plane and data plane functional entities. Access and mobility management unit (AMF) is responsible for user access management, security authentication and mobility management. User plane unit (UPF) is responsible for managing user plane data transmission, traffic statistics and other functions.

[0073] Ground station: responsible for forwarding signaling and traffic data between satellite base station and core network.

[0074] New radio: wireless link between terminal and base station.

[0075] Xn interface: interface between base stations, mainly used for signaling interaction such as handover.

[0076] NG interface: interface between base station and CN, mainly interacting with non-access layer (NAS) signaling of core network and user traffic data.

[0077] The terminal device in FIG. 2 can be located in the beam or cell coverage range of the network device. Among them, the terminal device can communicate with the network device through uplink (UL) or downlink (DL). For example: the terminal device can send uplink data to the network device through the uplink physical layer shared channel (PUSCH) in the UL direction; the network device can send downlink data to the terminal device through the downlink physical layer shared channel (PDSCH) in the DL direction. The terminal device can be a new radio-enabled terminal device that can access the network device through the air interface and initiate calls, Internet access, and other services. Illustratively, the network device can be a RAN device mounted on a flight platform. When the RAN device is mounted on the flight platform, the RAN device moves synchronously with the flight platform, and the RAN device and the flight platform can be regarded as a whole. At this time, the flight platform can be regarded as the RAN device, or the flight platform can be described as working in a regenerative mode, i.e., the flight platform has the function of the RAN device. In addition, the communication link between the flight platform and the terminal device can be referred to as a service link. When multiple flight platforms are included in the communication system, the flight platforms can communicate with each other through the Xn interface. In actual applications, the network device can also be a RAN device mounted on a flight platform in a DU distributed manner, or directly as a flight platform, which is not limited here.

[0078] The flight platform can be a satellite, a drone, or the like. For example, the flight platform can include a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a non-geostationary orbit satellite, a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium-earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a geosynchronous orbit satellite, a drone flight system platform, or a high-earth orbit satellite, without limitation.

[0079] The low-earth orbit and medium-earth orbit satellites can have their own movement trajectories, and generally provide communication for a fixed area in cooperation with multiple satellites. The high-earth orbit satellite is generally in a stationary state, and one or a few high-earth orbit satellites provide communication for a fixed area.

[0080] In addition, the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to other future-oriented communication technologies. The network architecture and service scenarios described in the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the present application. Those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of network architecture and the appearance of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0081] FIG. 3 shows an application scenario suitable for the embodiments of the present application. Joint transmission (JT) refers to multiple cooperating cells sending data to the same terminal device at the same time, thereby reducing inter-cell interference by changing the interference signals between different cells into useful signals, improving the received signal quality of the user, and achieving the purpose of improving system performance. Normally, the signal sent by the base station will be attenuated to a very weak level when it reaches the edge of the cell. When multiple cooperating cells simultaneously send the same data to the same terminal device, the received signal of the terminal device can be strengthened. In the satellite communication scenario, the multiple cooperating cells in JT can be multiple satellites. As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device is located within the coverage range of satellite 1, satellite 2, satellite 3, and satellite 4, and multiple satellites perform joint transmission, which is referred to as multi-satellite MIMO. Multi-satellite MIMO can greatly improve the rate of the terminal device, which can be divided into two aspects. Based on the same power and the same number of antennas, in the high signal-to-noise ratio range, compared with the centralized type, the distributed type can obtain higher spectral efficiency, as shown in FIG. 4. Compared with a single satellite, multiple satellites of the same specification can greatly improve the throughput, as shown in the following figure. Without considering interference, the throughput can increase linearly; when considering interference, the throughput first increases, and when it increases to a certain amount, due to the limitation of interference, the throughput decreases, as shown in FIG. 5. Therefore, multi-satellite joint transmission can not only improve spectral efficiency, but also improve throughput.

[0082] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application proposes a method. Please refer to FIG. 6, a communication method in an embodiment of the present application includes:

[0083] 601. The network device sends first information to the terminal device;

[0084] The network device sends first information to the terminal device, which is used to instruct the terminal device to measure the power of the synchronization signal of at most N candidate cooperating cells, i.e., synchronization signal and PBCH block (SSB), wherein N is an integer greater than 7. In a possible implementation, the first information is a maxNrofAdditionalPCI-r17 parameter, which is used to indicate the maximum number of candidate cooperating cells, and the value of the parameter is N, indicating that the network device configures at most N candidate cooperating cells for the terminal device, and the terminal device needs to measure the SSB of X cooperating cells in the N cooperating cells, and then select one from the X cooperating cells as the final cooperating cell.

[0085] It should be noted that the value of the maxNrofAdditionalPCI-r17 parameter is positively correlated with the number of visible satellites. For example, for a large constellation, the number of visible satellites is large, and the value of maxNrofAdditionalPCI-r17 is large; on the contrary, for a small constellation, the number of visible satellites is small, and the value of maxNrofAdditionalPCI-r17 is small.

[0086] In a possible implementation, the value N of the maxNrofAdditionalPCI-r17 parameter can be an integer greater than 7, or an integer greater than 7 and less than 30, which is not limited here. For example, possible values of maxNrofAdditionalPCI-r17 include N=8, N=9, N=10, N=16, N=20, N=24, N=32, N=36, N=48, which are not limited here.

[0087] It should be understood that the essential function of the first information in the embodiment of the present application is not limited by its name, and the corresponding parameter in the first information can also be maxNrofAdditionalPCI or maxNrofAdditionalSat, which is not limited here.

[0088] In the embodiment of the present application, by increasing the maximum number of candidate cooperating cells to N, the terminal device can measure the SSB signal of more cooperating cells.

[0089] 602. The terminal device measures the power of the synchronization signal;

[0090] The terminal device measures SSBs of n candidate cooperation cells in the N candidate cooperation cells according to the first information to obtain measurement results. n is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to N.

[0091] 603. The terminal device reports the measurement results to the network device;

[0092] 604. The network device sends second information to the terminal device;

[0093] The network device determines M second information according to the measurement results, the second information being used to indicate cooperation cell information configured by the network device, wherein the M second information is used to indicate information of M cooperation cells, that is, the value of the number of cooperation cells is M, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N.

[0094] In a possible implementation, the second information is an SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17 parameter, which is used to indicate SSB information of the cooperation cell configured by the network device. The network device determines M cooperation cells in the N cooperation cells according to the measurement results reported by the terminal device, and sends SSB information of the M cooperation cells to the terminal device, that is, M second information. It should be noted that the SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17 parameter further includes an AdditionalPCIIndex-r17 parameter, which is used to indicate that the cooperation cell indicated by the SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17 parameter is the mth cooperation cell in the N cooperation cells, wherein m is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0095] It should be understood that the essential function of the second information in the embodiments of the present application is not limited by its name, and the parameter corresponding to the second information can also be SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI or SSB-MTC-AdditionalSat, which is not limited here.

[0096] In the embodiments of the present application, by sending M second information to the terminal device, more SSB information of cooperation cells is provided for the terminal device.

[0097] 605. The network device sends third information to the terminal device;

[0098] The network device can configure a plurality of transmission indication states for the terminal device, which can be contained in a transmission indication state table. In a possible implementation, the transmission indication state is a TCI state, and the transmission indication state table is a TCI state list. The network device extends the value of the control resource pool index to K, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than N. The network device sets a mapping relationship between the transmission indication state and the control resource pool index to obtain third information. The network device sends the third information to the terminal device.

[0099] It should be noted that the value K of the control resource pool index is related to the number of visible satellites and the multi-stream processing capability of the terminal device. For example, the value K of the control resource pool index satisfies: K = min(Sat_visible, max_UE_proc)

[0100] Where Sat_visible represents the number of visible satellites, and max_UE_proc represents the maximum multi-stream processing capability of the terminal device.

[0101] In a possible implementation, the control resource pool index is a CORESETPoolIndex parameter, which is used to distinguish a plurality of TRPs so that the terminal device receives data from a plurality of satellites. The correspondence between the TCI state and the CORESETPoolIndex is shown in Table 1 as follows:

[0102] Table 1

[0103] As shown in Table 1, the value of the CORESETPoolIndex parameter is 0 to K. In a possible implementation, when the CORESETPoolIndex parameter is 0, it is used to indicate the current cell; when the CORESETPoolIndex parameter is 1 to K, it is used to indicate the cooperative cell. Wherein each CORESETPoolIndex parameter corresponds to a TCI state, and each TCI state corresponds to a satellite. In a possible implementation, the third information can further include the correspondence between the transmission configuration indication state and the ephemeris identifier, the TRP identifier or the physical cell identifier. For example, the correspondence contained in the third information is shown in Table 2 as follows:

[0104] Table 2

[0105] As shown in Table 2, the third information further includes beam information corresponding to multiple satellites, so that the TCI state and the CORESETPoolIndex parameter can correspond to the beam information of the satellite. The beam information shown in Table 2 is only an example, and in actual application, the third information can further include beam information of other satellites, which is not limited here.

[0106] It should be understood that the essential function of the control resource pool index is not limited by its name, and the parameter corresponding to the control resource pool index can also be CORESETPoolIndex-ntn, which is not limited here.

[0107] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device can configure multiple TCI states for the terminal device, so that the terminal device can receive data from multiple satellites, thereby improving throughput.

[0108] 606、The network device sends activation information to the terminal device;

[0109] The network device can send one or more activation information to the terminal device to enable one or more satellites to perform joint transmission. The activation information is used to activate or deactivate at least one TCI state.

[0110] In a possible implementation, the activation information is a MAC CE message, which is used for the network device to manage the connection and communication process of the terminal device. One MAC CE message can be used to activate one TCI state, or one MAC CE message can be used to activate multiple TCI states. If one MAC CE message is used to activate one TCI state, the CORESETPoolIndex parameter can be included in each MAC CE message to distinguish the TCI state, or one or more of the ephemeris identifier, TRP identifier or physical cell identifier can be included in each MAC CE to distinguish the TCI state.

[0111] If one MAC CE message can be used to activate multiple TCI states, each TCI state corresponds to one or more of the CORESETPoolIndex parameter, ephemeris identifier, TRP identifier or physical cell identifier, which is not described here.

[0112] It should be noted that the network device can also send other activation information to the terminal device to activate or deactivate the TCI state, which is not limited here.

[0113] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device can support activation / deactivation of multiple TCI states, and the terminal device can distinguish the TCI states according to the mapping relationship.

[0114] The communication method in the embodiments of the present application is described above, and the communication device in the embodiments of the present application is described below. Referring to FIG. 7, the communication device in the embodiments of the present application can be a terminal device, or a component or device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to a terminal device, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of a terminal device, and can realize the functions of the terminal device in the above method. One embodiment of the communication device includes:

[0115] The interface unit 701 is configured to receive first information, the first information being used to instruct the terminal device to measure the power of the synchronization signals of at most N candidate cooperating cells, N being a value of the maximum number of candidate cooperating cells, and N being an integer greater than 7;

[0116] The processing unit 702 is configured to measure the power of the synchronization signals of the N candidate cooperating cells according to the first information.

[0117] The interface unit 701 is further configured to receive M second information, the second information being used to indicate the cooperating cell information configured by the network device, M being an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N;

[0118] The interface unit 701 is further configured to receive third information, the third information including the correspondence between the transmission configuration indication states and the control resource pool indexes, and the third information being used for the terminal device to receive data from multiple satellites.

[0119] The interface unit 701 is further configured to receive activation information, the activation information being used to activate at least one transmission configuration indication state.

[0120] The communication device shown in FIG. 7 can be a network device, or a component (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to a network device, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of a network device, and can realize the functions of the network device in the above method. One embodiment of the communication device includes:

[0121] The processing unit 702 is configured to generate first information.

[0122] The interface unit 701 is configured to send the first information, the first information being used to instruct the terminal device to measure the power of the synchronization signals of at most N candidate cooperating cells, N being a value of the maximum number of candidate cooperating cells, and N being an integer greater than 7;

[0123] The processing unit 702 is further configured to generate second information.

[0124] The interface unit 701 is further configured to send M second information, the second information being used to indicate the coordinated cell information configured by the network device, M being an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N;

[0125] The processing unit 702 is further configured to generate third information.

[0126] The interface unit 701 is further configured to send the third information, the third information including the correspondence between the transmission configuration indication state and the control resource pool index, and the third information being used for the terminal device to receive data from the plurality of satellites.

[0127] The processing unit 702 is further configured to generate activation information.

[0128] The interface unit 701 is further configured to send the activation information, the activation information being used to activate at least one transmission configuration indication state.

[0129] Next, a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application is introduced. Referring to FIG. 8, FIG. 8 is a structural schematic diagram of the communication apparatus provided by the embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus can be the terminal device or the network device in the above method embodiments, and can also be a chip, a chip system, or a processor, etc. that supports the terminal device or the network device to implement the above method. The communication apparatus can be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiments, and the specific implementation can refer to the description in the above method embodiments.

[0130] The communication apparatus can include one or more processors 801, the processor 801 being connected with a memory 802, an input and output unit 803, and a bus 804. The processor 801 can be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, etc. For example, it can be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process a communication protocol and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication apparatus (such as a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal, a terminal chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute a software program, and process the data of the software program.

[0131] Optionally, the communication apparatus can include one or more memories 802, and the memories 802 can have instructions stored thereon. The instructions can be run on the processor 801, so that the communication apparatus executes the method described in the above method embodiments. Optionally, the memories 802 can also store data. The processor 801 and the memories 802 can be separately arranged, or can be integrated together.

[0132] Optionally, the communication apparatus can further include a transceiver, an antenna. The transceiver can be referred to as a transceiving unit, a transceiver, or a transceiving circuit, etc., for realizing the transceiving function. The transceiver can include a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver can be referred to as a receiver or a receiving circuit, etc., for realizing the receiving function; the transmitter can be referred to as a transmitter or a transmitting circuit, etc., for realizing the transmitting function.

[0133] In another possible design, the processor 801 can include a transceiver for realizing the receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the transceiver can be a transceiving circuit, or an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiving circuit, the interface, or the interface circuit for realizing the receiving and transmitting functions can be separate or integrated together. The transceiving circuit, the interface, or the interface circuit can be used for reading and writing codes / data, or the transceiving circuit, the interface, or the interface circuit can be used for signal transmission or transfer.

[0134] In yet another possible design, the processor 801 can store instructions, which, when executed on the processor 801, can cause the communication apparatus to perform the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments. The instructions can be fixed in the processor 801, in which case the processor 801 can be implemented by hardware.

[0135] In yet another possible design, the communication apparatus can include a circuit, which can realize the functions of the transmitting or receiving or communicating of the communication device or the first terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments. The processor and the transceiver described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented on an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, an RFIC, a mixed-signal IC, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), an electronic device, etc. The processor and the transceiver can also be manufactured by various IC technologies, such as a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), an N-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS), a P-type metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS), a bipolar junction transistor (BJT), a bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), etc.

[0136] The communication apparatus in the above embodiments can be a terminal device or a network device, but the communication apparatus described in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to this, and the structure of the communication apparatus can not be limited by FIG. 8. The communication apparatus can be a stand-alone device or can be part of a larger device. For example, the communication apparatus can be:

[0137] (1) a stand-alone integrated circuit (IC), or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem;

[0138] (2) a set of one or more ICs, which can optionally also include storage means for storing data, instructions;

[0139] (3) an ASIC, such as a modem (KSK);

[0140] (4) a module that can be embedded within other devices;

[0141] (5) a receiver, a terminal, a smart terminal, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handset, a mobile unit, a car device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, and the like;

[0142] (6) and the like.

[0143] It can be understood that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented independently in some scenarios, without relying on other features, such as the scheme currently based on, to solve the corresponding technical problems and achieve the corresponding effects, or can be combined with other features according to the needs in some scenarios. Correspondingly, the communication apparatus given in the embodiments of the present application can also implement these features or functions, which will not be described here.

[0144] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with a signal processing capability. In the implementation process, each step of the above method embodiments can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor or an instruction in the form of software. The processor can be a general processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components.

[0145] It can be appreciated that the memory in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (read-only memory, ROK), a programmable read-only memory (programmable read-only memory, PROK), an erasable programmable read-only memory (erasable programmable read-only memory, EPROK), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, EEPROK) or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (random access memory, RAK) used as an external cache. By way of example but not limitation, many forms of RAK are available, such as static random access memory (static random access memory, SRAK), dynamic random access memory (dynamic random access memory, DRAK), synchronous dynamic random access memory (synchronous dynamic random access memory, SDRAK), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory, DDR SDRAK), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory, ESDRAK), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (synchronous link dynamic random access memory, SLDRAK) and direct memory bus random access memory (direct memory bus random access memory, DR RAK). It should be noted that the memory of the system and method described herein is intended to include but not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0146] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method in the foregoing embodiments.

[0147] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method in the foregoing embodiments.

[0148] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the system, device and unit described above can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0149] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other manners. For example, the described device embodiments are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There can be another division manner for the actual implementation, for example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections between different units, can be indirect couplings or communication connections through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0150] The units described as separated components can or can not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units can or can not be physical units, i.e., can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. In actual implementation, some or all of the units can be selected according to the actual needs to achieve the purposes of the embodiments of the present application.

[0151] In addition, each functional unit in the embodiments of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically as a separate unit, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware, or in the form of software functional units.

[0152] When the integrated unit is implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or a part of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM, read-only memory), random access memory (RAM, random access memory), magnetic disk or optical disk, and various other media that can store program codes.

[0153] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can 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 can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer instructions can 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 can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) manner. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a high-density digital video disc (digital video disc, DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (solid state disk, SSD)), etc.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Receive first information, where the first information is used to instruct the terminal device to measure the power of synchronization signals of up to N candidate coordinated cells, where N is a value of the maximum number of candidate coordinated cells, and N is an integer greater than 7; Measuring the power of synchronization signals of the maximum N candidate coordinated cells according to the first information; Receive M pieces of second information, where the second information is used to indicate beam information of a coordinated cell configured by the network device, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N; receiving third information, the third information including a correspondence between a transmission configuration indication state and a control resource pool index, the third information being used by the terminal device to receive data from multiple satellites; Activation information is received, where the activation information is used to activate at least one of the transmission configuration indication states.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The value of the maximum number of candidate coordinated cells is positively correlated with the number of satellites.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The value of the control resource pool index is K, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The value of the control resource pool index is related to the number of satellites and the processing capability of the terminal device.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The activation information includes a plurality of control resource pool indexes, where the control resource pool indexes are used to distinguish the at least one transmission configuration indication state.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The activation information includes one or more of an ephemeris identifier, a transmission receiving point TRP identifier or a physical cell identifier, and the ephemeris identifier, the TRP identifier or the physical cell identifier is used to distinguish the at least one transmission configuration indication state.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The third information also includes the correspondence between the transmission configuration indication state and the ephemeris identifier, the TRP identifier or the physical cell identifier.

8. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending first information, where the first information is used to instruct the terminal device to measure the power of synchronization signals of up to N candidate coordinated cells, where N is a value of the maximum number of candidate coordinated cells and N is an integer greater than 7; Sending M pieces of second information, where the second information is used to indicate beam information of the coordinated cell configured by the network device, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N; sending third information, where the third information includes a correspondence between a transmission configuration indication state and a control resource pool index, and the third information is used by the terminal device to receive data from multiple satellites; Send activation information, where the activation information is used to activate at least one of the transmission configuration indication states.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The value of the maximum number of candidate coordinated cells is positively correlated with the number of satellites.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that The value of the control resource pool index is K, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The value of the control resource pool index is related to the number of satellites and the processing capability of the terminal device.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that The activation information includes a plurality of control resource pool indexes, where the control resource pool indexes are used to distinguish the at least one transmission configuration indication state.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that The activation information includes one or more of an ephemeris identifier, a transmission receiving point TRP identifier or a physical cell identifier, and the ephemeris identifier, the TRP identifier or the physical cell identifier is used to distinguish the at least one transmission configuration indication state.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that The third information also includes the correspondence between the transmission configuration indication state and the ephemeris identifier, the TRP identifier or the physical cell identifier.

15. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises modules or units for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

16. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises modules or units for executing the method according to any one of claims 8 to 14.

17. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, configured to execute a program so that the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

18. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, configured to execute a program so that the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 8 to 14.

19. A communication system, characterized in that: include: A communication device for executing the method according to any one of steps 1 to 7, and a communication device for executing the method according to any one of claims 8 to 14.

20. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, or enable the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 8 to 14.

21. A computer program product comprising instructions, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, or causes the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 8 to 14.

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