Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and a related apparatus. In the method, first information received by a first communication apparatus can indicate P pieces of visibility information, wherein any piece of visibility information can be used for indicating the communication quality between a network device located within a spatial angular interval and a terminal device located within a geographical area. Thus, by means of the indication of the visibility information, different communication apparatuses can subsequently communicate with each other by means of the visibility information, so as to improve communication efficiency. In addition, the first communication apparatus can also send second information on the basis of information collected by the first communication apparatus and the P pieces of visibility information, so that a receiver (e.g. a second communication apparatus) of the second information can update the P pieces of visibility information on the basis of the second information, so that the receiver can obtain more accurate visibility information.

Description

A communication method and related apparatus

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410512206.6, filed on April 23, 2024, entitled "A Communication Method and Related Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and related apparatus. Background Technology

[0003] Wireless communication can be a transmission communication between two or more communication nodes that does not propagate through conductors or cables. These communication nodes generally include network equipment and terminal equipment. Traditional network equipment can be equipment fixed at a certain location on the ground, such as the ground base station belonging to a terrestrial network (TN) cell.

[0004] With the development of communication technology, network equipment may not be fixed in a certain place on the ground. For example, the network equipment may be a high-speed mobile device belonging to a non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell, including but not limited to satellite equipment such as low-Earth orbit satellites, medium-Earth orbit satellites, and high-Earth orbit satellites.

[0005] However, unlike the ground base stations of TN cells, the satellite equipment of NTN cells may move at high speeds, which leads to poor signal propagation stability of NTN cell signals and thus affects communication efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method and related apparatus for improving communication efficiency.

[0007] This application provides a communication method applied to, for example, executed by, a first communication device. The first communication device may be a communication equipment (such as a terminal device), or it may be a component of a communication equipment (such as a processor, circuit, chip, or chip system), or it may be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the communication equipment. Taking the application of this method to a first communication device as an example, in this method, the first communication device receives first information, which includes P visibility information, where P is a positive integer; wherein the P visibility information is used to indicate the communication quality between a network device located within a spatial angle range and a terminal device located within a geographical area; the first communication device, based on the collected information and the P visibility information, sends second information, which is used to update the P visibility information, or to request an update of the P visibility information.

[0008] Based on the above scheme, the first information received by the first communication device can indicate P visibility information, wherein any one of the visibility information can be used to indicate the communication quality between a network device located within a spatial angular range and a terminal device located within a geographical area. Therefore, through the indication of visibility information, different communication devices can subsequently communicate with each other using this visibility information, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0009] In addition, the first communication device can also send second information based on the information it collects and the P visibility information, so that the recipient of the second information (e.g., the second communication device) can update the P visibility information based on the second information, so that the recipient can obtain more accurate visibility information.

[0010] Optionally, the communication quality indicated by the visibility information can be the expected, anticipated, or predicted communication quality. That is, the visibility information is used to indicate the expected, anticipated, or predicted communication quality between network devices located within that spatial angular range and terminal devices located within that geographical area.

[0011] It should be noted that visibility information indicates the degree of obstruction in the transmission path of the signal between the network device and the terminal device, and this obstruction reflects the communication quality. In particular, because NTN communication has a relatively small incident spread angle, signal obstruction between the network device corresponding to the NTN cell and the terminal device located on the ground has a significant impact on signal transmission quality. Therefore, different communication devices can use this visibility information to improve communication efficiency, which can be achieved through one or more of the following examples.

[0012] For example, terminal devices can select network devices that are not blocked (or have less blockage) based on signal obstruction, which can reduce unnecessary handover and / or reselection and improve communication efficiency.

[0013] For example, terminal devices or network devices can predict when a signal interruption will occur based on signal obstruction, and prepare / perform a switch in advance to improve communication efficiency.

[0014] For example, network devices can reduce the range of the measured beam signal based on signal obstruction, thereby reducing detection power consumption and measurement overhead, and improving communication efficiency.

[0015] For example, terminal devices can communicate in a reasonable position and / or posture based on signal obstruction, which can improve the success rate of signal transmission and thus improve communication efficiency.

[0016] For example, terminal devices can select unobstructed (or less obstructed) network devices for positioning based on signal obstruction, which can improve positioning accuracy and enable related communication services through higher positioning accuracy, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0017] In this application, visibility information can be replaced with other terms, such as visibility information of NTN communication, occlusion information, occlusion information of NTN communication, NTN transmission environment information, long-term link quality information, or NTN transmission path information, etc.

[0018] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the collected information includes Q visibility information, which includes at least Q1 visibility information, and the P visibility information includes at least Q2 visibility information, where Q1 equals Q2; wherein the spatial angle interval and geographical region corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q1 visibility information partially overlaps or completely overlaps with the spatial angle interval and geographical region corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q2 visibility information; the communication quality indicated by the i-th visibility information in the Q1 visibility information is different from the communication quality indicated by the i-th visibility information in the Q2 visibility information;

[0019] Based on the collected information and the P visibility information, a second message is sent, including:

[0020] When the first condition is met, the second information is sent based on the collected information and the P visibility information; the first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0021] Q1 is greater than 0;

[0022] The ratio of Q1 to Q is greater than the threshold;

[0023] The ratio of P2 to P is greater than the threshold.

[0024] The spatial division granularity of the spatial angle interval corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q1 visibility information is smaller than the spatial division granularity of the spatial angle interval corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q2 visibility information.

[0025] The frequency point corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q1 visibility information is different from the frequency point corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q2 visibility information.

[0026] Based on the above scheme, the information collected by the first communication device may include Q visibility information, and if the Q visibility information does not match the P visibility information indicated by the first information, the first communication device can trigger the second communication device to update the P visibility information through the second information.

[0027] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first communication device receiving first configuration information, the first configuration information being used to configure the first condition.

[0028] Based on the above scheme, the first communication device can determine the first condition by receiving the first configuration information, so that the first communication device can trigger the update of visibility information based on the instructions of other devices.

[0029] Optionally, the first information and the first configuration information are carried in the same message / signaling, or the first information and the first configuration information are carried in different messages / signaling.

[0030] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the collected information includes current time information; the first communication device sends second information based on the collected information and the P visibility information, including: when the current time information indicates that the effective time of the P visibility information is less than a threshold, the first communication device sends the second information based on the collected information and the P visibility information.

[0031] Based on the above scheme, the information collected by the first communication device may include the current time information. Furthermore, if the current time information indicates that the effective time of the P visibility information is less than a threshold, the first communication device can determine that the P visibility information has expired (or is about to expire). Therefore, the first communication device can trigger the second communication device to update the P visibility information through the second information.

[0032] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first communication device receiving second configuration information, the second configuration information being used to configure the validity period of the P visibility information.

[0033] Based on the above scheme, the first communication device can determine the validity period of P visibility information by receiving the second configuration information, so that the first communication device can trigger the update of visibility information based on the instructions of other devices.

[0034] Optionally, the first information and the second configuration information are carried in the same message / signaling, or the first information and the second configuration information are carried in different messages / signaling.

[0035] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the second information is used to request an update of the P visibility information, and the method further includes: the first communication device receiving third information, the third information being used to update the P visibility information.

[0036] Based on the above scheme, when the second information sent by the first communication device is used to request the update of the P visibility information, the second communication device can send a third information to the first communication device, so that the first communication device can update the P visibility information based on the third information.

[0037] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the P visibility information are used to indicate P communication quality; wherein, in the P visibility information, any one of the visibility information is used to indicate the communication quality between a network device in one of the N sub-intervals contained in the spatial angle interval and a terminal device located in one of the M sub-regions contained in the geographical region, where N, M, and P are all positive integers.

[0038] Based on the above scheme, the first information received by the first communication device may include P visibility information for indicating P communication qualities, so that the first communication device can determine the P communication qualities through the first information.

[0039] It should be understood that the P visibility information pieces are used to indicate the P communication quality pieces respectively. This can be understood as a one-to-one correspondence between the P visibility information pieces and the P communication quality pieces, or that the p-th visibility information piece among the P visibility information pieces is used to indicate the p-th communication quality piece among the P communication quality pieces, where p is from 1 to P.

[0040] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the first information further includes at least one of the following:

[0041] There are N sub-information pieces, each of which is used to indicate one of the N sub-intervals;

[0042] M sub-information items, each of which is used to indicate one of the M sub-regions;

[0043] X sub-information, which are used to indicate the confidence level of X visibility information among P visibility information, where X is less than or equal to P;

[0044] Y sub-information, which are used to indicate the time information when Y of the P visibility information are valid information, where Y is less than or equal to P;

[0045] Z sub-information, which are used to indicate the difference between the communication quality indicated by the Z visibility information in the P visibility information and the communication quality of the reference point, where Z is less than or equal to P.

[0046] Based on the above scheme, the first communication device can also obtain more information through at least one of the above methods, which can help the first communication device quickly determine one or more network devices communicating with the first terminal device.

[0047] Optionally, at least one of the above information may be carried in other messages / signaling / information different from the first information.

[0048] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the P communication qualities include a first communication quality and a second communication quality. The first communication quality is used to indicate the communication quality between a network device in the P1th sub-interval of the N sub-intervals and a terminal device located in the second sub-region. The second communication quality is used to indicate the communication quality between a network device in the P2th sub-interval of the N sub-intervals and a terminal device located in the second sub-region. P1 and P2 are both positive integers less than or equal to N, and P1 is not equal to P2. The P1th sub-interval is divided based on a first parameter, and the P2th sub-interval is divided based on a second parameter. The first parameter is greater than the second parameter, and the priority of the first communication quality is lower than the priority of the second communication quality.

[0049] Based on the above scheme, different spatial division granularities may correspond to different visibility information. Generally, the visibility information corresponding to finer spatial division granularities is more accurate. Therefore, the priority of the first communication quality is lower than that of the second communication quality, so that the first communication device can determine one or more network devices communicating with the first terminal device based on the visibility information with higher priority (e.g., higher accuracy).

[0050] Optionally, the spatial regions indicated by the P1 subinterval and the P2 subinterval may partially or completely overlap.

[0051] Optionally, the first sub-region and the second sub-region can be the same sub-region or different sub-regions.

[0052] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the visibility information includes any of the following:

[0053] The first indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is a visible path;

[0054] The second indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is an invisible path;

[0055] The third indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is a line-of-sight (LOS) transmission path;

[0056] The fourth indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is a non-line of sight (NLOS) transmission path.

[0057] Based on the above scheme, the visibility information of the first information indication can be implemented in a variety of ways to improve the flexibility of the scheme implementation.

[0058] Optionally, generally speaking, the fewer obstructions on the communication path between two communication devices, the higher the communication quality between them can be considered; conversely, the more obstructions on the communication path between two communication devices, the lower the communication quality can be considered. Therefore, the order of the four communication qualities indicated by the above four indication information from high to low can be: the communication quality indicated by the first indication information (or the communication quality indicated by the third indication information), the communication quality indicated by the fourth indication information, and the communication quality indicated by the second indication information.

[0059] A second aspect of this application provides a communication method applied to, or executed by, a second communication device. This second communication device can be a communication equipment (such as a network device), or it can be a component of a communication equipment (such as a processor, circuit, chip, or chip system), or it can be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the communication equipment. Taking the application of this method to a second communication device as an example, in this method, the second communication device sends first information, which includes P visibility information, where P is a positive integer; wherein the P visibility information is used to indicate the communication quality between a network device located within a spatial angle range and a terminal device located within a geographical area; the second communication device receives second information, which is determined based on collected information and the P visibility information; the second information is used to update the P visibility information, or to request an update of the P visibility information.

[0060] Based on the above scheme, the first information sent by the second communication device can indicate P visibility information, wherein any one of the visibility information can be used to indicate the communication quality between a network device located within a spatial angular range and a terminal device located within a geographical area. Therefore, through the indication of visibility information, different communication devices can subsequently communicate using this visibility information, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0061] Furthermore, after the second communication device sends the first information to the first communication device, the first communication device can also send the second information based on the information it has collected and the P visibility information, so that the recipient of the second information (e.g., the second communication device) can update the P visibility information based on the second information, and the recipient can obtain more accurate visibility information.

[0062] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the collected information includes Q visibility information, which includes at least Q1 visibility information, and the P visibility information includes at least Q2 visibility information, where Q1 equals Q2; wherein the spatial angle interval and geographical region corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q1 visibility information partially or completely overlap with the spatial angle interval and geographical region corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q2 visibility information; the communication quality indicated by the i-th visibility information in the Q1 visibility information is different from the communication quality indicated by the i-th visibility information in the Q2 visibility information;

[0063] When the first condition is met, the collected information is used to trigger the second information, including:

[0064] Q1 is greater than 0;

[0065] The ratio of Q1 to Q is greater than the threshold;

[0066] The ratio of P2 to P is greater than the threshold.

[0067] The spatial division granularity of the spatial angle interval corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q1 visibility information is smaller than the spatial division granularity of the spatial angle interval corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q2 visibility information.

[0068] The frequency point corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q1 visibility information is different from the frequency point corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q2 visibility information.

[0069] Based on the above scheme, the information collected by the first communication device may include Q visibility information, and if the Q visibility information does not match the P visibility information indicated by the first information, the first communication device can trigger the second communication device to update the P visibility information through the second information.

[0070] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the method further includes: the second communication device sending first configuration information for configuring the first condition.

[0071] Based on the above scheme, the second communication device can indicate the first condition by sending the first configuration information, so that the first communication device can trigger the update of visibility information based on the indication of other devices.

[0072] Optionally, the first information and the first configuration information are carried in the same message / signaling, or the first information and the first configuration information are carried in different messages / signaling.

[0073] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the collected information includes current time information; the second communication device uses the collected information to trigger the second information when the current time information indicates that the effective time of the P visibility information is less than a threshold.

[0074] Based on the above scheme, the information collected by the first communication device may include the current time information. Furthermore, if the current time information indicates that the effective time of the P visibility information is less than a threshold, the first communication device can determine that the P visibility information has expired (or is about to expire). Therefore, the first communication device can trigger the second communication device to update the P visibility information through the second information.

[0075] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the method further includes: the second communication device sending second configuration information, the second configuration information being used to configure the validity period of the P visibility information.

[0076] Based on the above scheme, the second configuration information sent by the second communication device determines the validity period of P visibility information, so that the first communication device can trigger the update of visibility information based on the instructions of other devices.

[0077] Optionally, the first information and the second configuration information are carried in the same message / signaling, or the first information and the second configuration information are carried in different messages / signaling.

[0078] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the second information is used to request updates to the P visibility information, and the method further includes: the second communication device sending third information, the third information being used to update the P visibility information.

[0079] Based on the above scheme, when the second information sent by the first communication device is used to request the update of the P visibility information, the second communication device can send a third information to the first communication device, so that the first communication device can update the P visibility information based on the third information.

[0080] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the P visibility information are used to indicate P communication quality; wherein, in the P visibility information, any one of the visibility information is used to indicate the communication quality between a network device in one of the N sub-intervals contained in the spatial angle interval and a terminal device located in one of the M sub-intervals contained in the geographical region, where N, M, and P are all positive integers.

[0081] Based on the above scheme, the first information sent by the second communication device may include P visibility information for indicating P communication qualities, so that the first communication device can determine the P communication qualities through the first information.

[0082] It should be understood that the P visibility information pieces are used to indicate the P communication quality pieces respectively. This can be understood as a one-to-one correspondence between the P visibility information pieces and the P communication quality pieces, or that the p-th visibility information piece among the P visibility information pieces is used to indicate the p-th communication quality piece among the P communication quality pieces, where p is from 1 to P.

[0083] In this application, the term "subinterval" can be replaced with other terms, such as spatial angle subinterval, spatial range, spatial region, or subspace region.

[0084] In this application, the term "subregion" can be replaced with other terms, such as geographic subregion, geographic region, or geographic extent. Alternatively, the subregion can be represented by terms such as wave position, region index, or region number as described in the terminology section below.

[0085] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the first information further includes at least one of the following:

[0086] There are N sub-information pieces, each of which is used to indicate one of the N sub-intervals;

[0087] M sub-information items, each of which is used to indicate one of the M sub-regions;

[0088] X sub-information, which are used to indicate the confidence level of X visibility information among P visibility information, where X is less than or equal to P;

[0089] Y sub-information, which are used to indicate the time information when Y of the P visibility information are valid information, where Y is less than or equal to P;

[0090] Z sub-information, which are used to indicate the difference between the communication quality indicated by the Z visibility information in the P visibility information and the communication quality of the reference point, where Z is less than or equal to P.

[0091] Based on the above scheme, the first communication device can also obtain more information through at least one of the above methods, which can help the first communication device quickly determine one or more network devices communicating with the first terminal device.

[0092] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the P communication qualities include a first communication quality and a second communication quality. The first communication quality is used to indicate the communication quality between a network device in the P1th sub-interval of the N sub-intervals and a terminal device located in the second sub-region. The second communication quality is used to indicate the communication quality between a network device in the P2th sub-interval of the N sub-intervals and a terminal device located in the second sub-region. P1 and P2 are both positive integers less than or equal to N, and P1 is not equal to P2. The P1th sub-interval is divided based on a first parameter, and the P2th sub-interval is divided based on a second parameter. The first parameter is greater than the second parameter, and the priority of the first communication quality is lower than the priority of the second communication quality.

[0093] Based on the above scheme, different spatial division granularities may correspond to different visibility information. Generally, the visibility information corresponding to finer spatial division granularities is more accurate. Therefore, the priority of the first communication quality is lower than that of the second communication quality, so that the first communication device can determine one or more network devices communicating with the first terminal device based on the visibility information with higher priority (e.g., higher accuracy).

[0094] Optionally, the spatial regions indicated by the P1 subinterval and the P2 subinterval may partially or completely overlap.

[0095] Optionally, the first sub-region and the second sub-region can be the same sub-region or different sub-regions.

[0096] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the visibility information includes any of the following:

[0097] The first indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is a visible path;

[0098] The second indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is an invisible path;

[0099] The third indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is a LOS path;

[0100] The fourth indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is the NLOS path.

[0101] Based on the above scheme, the visibility information of the first information indication can be implemented in a variety of ways to improve the flexibility of the scheme implementation.

[0102] Optionally, generally speaking, the fewer obstructions on the communication path between two communication devices, the higher the communication quality between them can be considered; conversely, the more obstructions on the communication path between two communication devices, the lower the communication quality can be considered. Therefore, the order of the four communication qualities indicated by the above four indication information from high to low can be: the communication quality indicated by the first indication information (or the communication quality indicated by the third indication information), the communication quality indicated by the fourth indication information, and the communication quality indicated by the second indication information.

[0103] A third aspect of this application provides a communication device, which is a first communication device, comprising a processing unit and a transceiver unit; the transceiver unit is used to receive first information, the first information comprising P visibility information, where P is a positive integer; wherein the P visibility information is used to indicate the communication quality between a network device located within a spatial angle range and a terminal device located within a geographical area; the processing unit, based on the collected information and the P visibility information, transmits second information through the transceiver unit, the second information being used to update the P visibility information, or the second information being used to request an update of the P visibility information.

[0104] In the third aspect of this application, the constituent modules of the communication device can also be used to execute the steps performed in various possible implementations of the first aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effects. For details, please refer to the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0105] A fourth aspect of this application provides a communication device, which is a second communication device. The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The processing unit is used to determine first information. The transceiver unit is used to transmit the first information, which includes P visibility information, where P is a positive integer. The P visibility information is used to indicate the communication quality between a network device located within a spatial angle range and a terminal device located within a geographical area. The transceiver unit is also used to receive second information, which is determined based on collected information and the P visibility information. The second information is used to update the P visibility information, or to request an update of the P visibility information.

[0106] In the fourth aspect of this application, the constituent modules of the communication device can also be used to perform the steps executed in various possible implementations of the second aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effects. For details, please refer to the second aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0107] A fifth aspect of this application provides a communication device including at least one processor coupled to a memory; the memory is used to store a program or instructions; the at least one processor is used to execute the program or instructions to cause the device to implement the method described in any possible implementation of any of the first to second aspects. Optionally, the communication device may include the memory.

[0108] The sixth aspect of this application provides a communication device including at least one logic circuit and an input / output interface; the logic circuit is used to perform the method as described in any one of the possible implementations of the first to second aspects described above.

[0109] The seventh aspect of this application provides a communication system, which includes the first communication device and the second communication device described above.

[0110] An eighth aspect of this application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing one or more computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, perform the method as described in any possible implementation of any of the first to second aspects described above.

[0111] The ninth aspect of this application provides a computer program product (or computer program) that, when executed by a processor, performs the method described in any possible implementation of any of the first to second aspects described above.

[0112] The tenth aspect of this application provides a chip or chip system including at least one processor for supporting a communication device in implementing the methods described in any possible implementation of any of the first to second aspects. For example, the chip may be a baseband chip, a modem chip, a system-on-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, a system-in-package (SIP) chip, or a communication module, etc.

[0113] In one possible design, the chip or chip system may further include a memory for storing program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. Optionally, the chip system may also include interface circuitry that provides program instructions and / or data to the at least one processor.

[0114] The technical effects of any of the design methods in aspects three through ten can be found in the technical effects of the different design methods in aspects one through two above, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0115] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the communication system provided in this application;

[0116] Figures 2a to 2d are some schematic diagrams of the satellite communication process provided in this application;

[0117] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the satellite communication process in the 5G system provided in this application;

[0118] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the communication method provided in this application;

[0119] Figures 5a to 5c are some schematic diagrams showing the application of the communication method provided in this application;

[0120] Figures 6 to 9 are some schematic diagrams of the communication device provided in this application. Detailed Implementation

[0121] First, some terms used in the embodiments of this application will be explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0122] (1) Terminal device: can be a wireless terminal device that can receive network device scheduling and instruction information. The wireless terminal device can be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to the user, or a handheld device with wireless connection function, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem.

[0123] Terminal devices can be various communication kits with wireless communication capabilities (kits may include, for example, antennas, power supply modules, cables, and Wi-Fi modules). Terminal devices can also be communication modules with satellite communication capabilities, satellite phones or components thereof, and very small aperture terminals (VSATs). Terminal devices can be mobile terminal devices, such as mobile phones (or "cellular" phones), computers, and data cards. For example, they can be portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-embedded, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices that exchange voice and / or data with a wireless access network. Examples include personal communication service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablets, and computers with wireless transceiver capabilities. Wireless terminal equipment can also be referred to as a system, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), remote station, access point (AP), remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, user agent, subscriber station (SS), customer premises equipment (CPE), terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile terminal (MT), drone, etc. Terminal equipment can also be wearable devices and next-generation communication systems, such as terminal equipment in 6G communication systems or terminal equipment in future evolved public land mobile networks (PLMNs). Of course, in this application, terminal equipment can also refer to chips, modems, system-on-a-chip (SoC), or communication platforms that may include radio frequency (RF) components, etc., that are primarily responsible for related communication functions.

[0124] (2) Network equipment: This can be equipment within a wireless network. For example, network equipment can be a RAN node (or device) that connects terminal devices to the wireless network, and can also be called a base station. Currently, some examples of RAN equipment include: base station, evolved NodeB (eNodeB), gNB (gNodeB) in 5G communication systems, transmission reception point (TRP), evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), base band unit (BBU), or wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point (AP), etc. In addition, in a network architecture, network equipment can include centralized unit (CU) nodes, distributed unit (DU) nodes, or RAN equipment including CU nodes and DU nodes.

[0125] Optionally, RAN nodes can also be macro base stations, micro base stations, indoor stations, relay nodes, donor nodes, or radio controllers in cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenarios. RAN nodes can also be servers, wearable devices, vehicles, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, the access network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0126] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, with each RAN node performing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, RAN nodes can be central units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), CU-control plane (CPs), CU-user plane (UPs), or radio units (RUs), etc. CUs and DUs can be separate entities or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs).

[0127] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN, or ORAN) system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules.

[0128] Communication between access network devices and terminal devices follows a specific protocol layer structure. This protocol layer may include a control plane protocol layer and a user plane protocol layer. The control plane protocol layer may include at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, or physical (PHY) layer, etc. The user plane protocol layer may include at least one of the following: service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, or physical layer, etc.

[0129] The correspondence between network elements and their achievable protocol layer functions in the ORAN system can be found in Table 1 below.

[0130] Table 1

[0131] Network devices can be other devices that provide wireless communication functions for terminal devices. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or form of the network device. For ease of description, the embodiments of this application are not limited.

[0132] Network equipment may also include core network equipment, such as the Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Serving Gateway (S-GW), Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), and Public Data Network Gateway (PDN Gateway, P-GW) in 4th generation (4G) networks; and access and mobility management function (AMF), user plane function (UPF), or session management function (SMF) in 5G networks. Furthermore, this core network equipment may also include other core network equipment in 5G networks and next-generation networks of 5G networks.

[0133] In this embodiment of the application, the network device can also be a network node with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, which can provide AI services to terminals or other network devices. For example, it can be an AI node, computing power node, RAN node with AI capabilities, core network element with AI capabilities, etc. on the network side (access network or core network).

[0134] In this application embodiment, the device for implementing the function of the network device can be the network device itself, or it can be a device capable of supporting the network device in implementing that function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the network device. In the technical solutions provided in this application embodiment, the example of a network device being used to implement the function of the network device is used to describe the technical solutions provided in this application embodiment.

[0135] (3) Configuration and Pre-configuration: In this application, both configuration and pre-configuration are used. Configuration refers to the network device sending configuration information or parameter values ​​of some parameters to the terminal device through messages or signaling, so that the terminal device can determine the communication parameters or resources during transmission based on these values ​​or information. Pre-configuration is similar to configuration; it can be parameter information or parameter values ​​that the network device and the terminal device have negotiated in advance, or it can be parameter information or parameter values ​​that the network device or the terminal device uses as specified by the standard protocol, or it can be parameter information or parameter values ​​that are pre-stored in the network device or the terminal device. This application does not limit this.

[0136] Furthermore, these values ​​and parameters can be changed or updated.

[0137] (4) The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of this application can be used interchangeably. "At least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, "at least one of A, B and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. And, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, sequence, priority or importance of multiple objects.

[0138] (5) In the embodiments of this application, "send" and "receive" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which may include sending directly through the air interface or sending indirectly through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receive information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which may include receiving directly from YY through the air interface or receiving indirectly from YY through the air interface by other units or modules. "Send" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface.

[0139] In other words, sending and receiving can occur between devices, such as between network devices and terminal devices, or within a device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device via buses, wiring, or interfaces.

[0140] It is understandable that information may undergo necessary processing, such as encoding and modulation, between the source and destination, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar statements in this application can be interpreted in a similar way and will not be elaborated further.

[0141] (6) Geographical region. In the embodiments of this application, a geographic region may be replaced with a region. Herein, a region is fixed relative to the Earth, or it can be understood as a geographic region that is fixed relative to the Earth.

[0142] For example, a region may have at least one of the following attributes: shape, outline, size, radius, area, geographic location, etc. Furthermore, a "region" may also have an altitude attribute, meaning a region can be understood as a geographic area at a given altitude or within a given altitude range. For instance, a region may refer to a geographic area on the ground with an elevation of 0 km or within a range of 0 km ± 2 km, or a geographic area at a certain average altitude, or a geographic area at a specific altitude, such as an elevation of 10 km or within a range of 10 km ± 3 km.

[0143] Alternatively, the aforementioned region fixed relative to the Earth can also be referred to as a "wave position," "geographic region," etc. Of course, other names are also possible, and this application does not specifically limit the name of the region fixed relative to the Earth.

[0144] In one possible implementation, the shapes, outlines, sizes, radii, and areas of different regions may be the same or different. The geographical locations of the different regions may differ. There may or may not overlap between the different regions.

[0145] In one possible implementation, the region being fixed relative to the Earth can be understood as follows: the region's outline, size, or geographical location remains unchanged; for example, the region's outline, size, or geographical location does not change over time. Alternatively, the region being fixed relative to the Earth can be understood as follows: the region's outline and the points within it can be described using a fixed Earth coordinate system, or the coordinates of each point on the region's outline in the fixed Earth coordinate system remain constant.

[0146] In one possible implementation, the shape of the region can be a regular hexagon, or other shapes such as a regular pentagon, a circle, an ellipse, etc. Alternatively, the shape of the region can also be irregular, without restriction.

[0147] For example, the shape of a region can be defined by a protocol or by a network device. Regions defined by different network devices can have the same or different shapes. The same network device can also define multiple region shapes. Similarly, the size, radius, and area of ​​a region can also be defined by a protocol or by a network device. Regions defined by different network devices can have the same or different sizes, radii, or areas. The same network device can also define multiple region sizes, multiple region radii, or multiple region areas.

[0148] In one possible implementation, the Earth's surface can be divided into multiple regions, and these regions can be indexed (e.g., numbered). Terminal devices and network devices can agree on the numbering method for these regions (e.g., starting from 1 or 0) and the correspondence between regions and indexes. Alternatively, the protocol can define the numbering method for these regions and the correspondence between regions and indexes. Based on the region indexes, information such as the region's geographical location can be determined.

[0149] Optionally, the multiple regions can completely cover the Earth's surface, such that any location on the Earth's surface belongs to a certain region; or, the multiple regions can also cover part of the geographical location on Earth, for example, the multiple regions may not cover the Earth's South Pole and / or North Pole, that is, the South Pole and / or North Pole may not exist in the region.

[0150] Optionally, the method of dividing the network into multiple zones can be defined by a protocol or by the network device. Different network devices can define the same or different division methods. The same network device can also define multiple division methods.

[0151] As a first possible method of partitioning, the Earth's surface can be divided using a latitude and longitude grid with a granularity, for example, a latitude and longitude grid with a granularity of 1 degree. If only this discretization method is used, the globe can be divided into 360×360=129600 regions. Terminal devices and network devices can define the indexes of these 129600 regions as 0,1,…,129599, or they can also define them as 1,2,…,129600.

[0152] Optionally, when introducing the altitude attribute of a geographic region, multiple grids can be defined to divide the Earth's surface. For example, a grid at an altitude of 0 km or within a range of 0 km ± 2 km can be divided into 1-degree latitude and longitude grids, generating 129,600 regions. At an altitude of 10 km or within a range of 10 km ± 3 km, another 1-degree latitude and longitude grid can be used, generating yet another 129,600 regions. When indexing these grids, the index range of a single-layer grid needs to be expanded. For example, the total index could be 0, 1, ..., 129599, 129600, 129601, ..., 259199, where the first 129,600 indices represent the grid index at an altitude of 0 km, and the last 129,600 indices represent the grid index at an altitude of 10 km.

[0153] For example, the granularity of the latitude and longitude grid can be determined based on the type of network device. For instance, a relatively small granularity can be used for discretization when the network device is a LEO satellite, and a relatively large granularity can be used when the network device is a GEO satellite.

[0154] As a second possible method of division, the Earth's surface can be divided using latitude and longitude grids of various granularities. For example, a portion of the Earth's surface or a portion of its administrative region can be divided using a latitude and longitude grid with a granularity of 1 degree, while another portion of the surface or administrative region can be divided using a latitude and longitude grid with a granularity of 2 degrees.

[0155] Alternatively, by introducing the altitude attribute of a geographic region, the Earth's surface can be divided using a latitude and longitude grid with a granularity of 1 degree at an altitude of 0 km, and the Earth's surface can be divided using a latitude and longitude grid with a granularity of 2 degrees at an altitude of 10 km.

[0156] As a third possible method of division, the Earth's surface can be divided by administrative regions. For example, a township-level administrative region could be considered as a region.

[0157] As a fourth possible division method, for GEO satellites, the projection of one of the GEO satellite's beams onto the ground can be considered as a region. Since GEO satellites are stationary relative to the Earth, the projection of the GEO satellite's beams onto the ground can be considered fixed relative to the Earth.

[0158] In practical applications, the Earth's surface can be divided using a combination of different methods. For example, a portion of the Earth's surface or a part of its administrative region can be divided using a latitude and longitude grid with a granularity of 1, while another portion of the surface or administrative region can be divided according to its administrative region.

[0159] In one possible implementation, when the Earth's surface is divided into multiple regions, different levels of region division can be applied to the same surface area. For example, for a given surface area, a first level of region division can be performed using a 10-degree granularity latitude and longitude grid, a second level using a 6-degree granularity grid, and a third level using a 1-degree granularity grid. In this case, within the surface area, the number of regions at the first level is greater than the number at the second level, and the number of regions at the second level is greater than the number at the third level. Furthermore, in this scenario, each level of region can be individually numbered.

[0160] (7) In the embodiments of this application, "instruction" may include direct instruction and indirect instruction, as well as explicit instruction and implicit instruction. The information indicated by a certain piece of information (as described below, the instruction information) is called the information to be instructed. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be instructed, such as, but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be instructed, such as the information to be instructed itself or its index. It can also indirectly indicate the information to be instructed by indicating other information, where there is an association between the other information and the information to be instructed; or it can only indicate a part of the information to be instructed, while the other parts of the information to be instructed are known or pre-agreed upon. For example, the instruction can be implemented by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol predefined) arrangement order of various information, thereby reducing the instruction overhead to a certain extent. This application does not limit the specific method of instruction. It is understood that for the sender of the instruction information, the instruction information can be used to indicate the information to be instructed; for the receiver of the instruction information, the instruction information can be used to determine the information to be instructed.

[0161] In this application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other. In the various embodiments of this application, and the various methods / designs / implementations within each embodiment, unless otherwise specified or logically conflicting, the terminology and / or descriptions between different embodiments and between the various methods / designs / implementations within each embodiment are consistent and can be mutually referenced. The technical features in different embodiments and the various methods / designs / implementations within each embodiment can be combined to form new embodiments, methods, or implementations based on their inherent logical relationships. The following descriptions of the embodiments of this application do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0162] This application can be applied to long-term evolution (LTE) systems, new radio (NR) systems, or new radio vehicle-to-everything (NR V2X) systems; it can also be applied to systems with hybrid LTE and 5G networks; or device-to-device (D2D) communication systems, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, or drone communication systems; or communication systems supporting multiple wireless technologies, such as LTE and NR technologies; or non-terrestrial communication systems, such as satellite communication systems, high-altitude communication platforms, etc.; or other communication systems, wherein the communication system includes network devices and terminal devices, with the network devices acting as configuration information sending entities and the terminal devices acting as configuration information receiving entities. Specifically, in this communication system, an entity sends configuration information to another entity and sends data to or receives data sent by another entity; another entity receives the configuration information and, according to the configuration information, sends data to or receives data sent by the configuration information sending entity. This application can be applied to terminal devices that are in a connected or active state, or to terminal devices that are in an inactive or idle state.

[0163] Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system 1000 used in the embodiments of this application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include an Internet 300. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (110a and 110b in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 110), and may also include at least one terminal (120a-120j in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1). The terminal 120 is wirelessly connected to the RAN node 110, and the RAN node 110 is wirelessly or wiredly connected to the core network 200. The core network equipment in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 can be independent and different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device integrating the logical functions of the core network equipment and the logical functions of the RAN node. Terminals can be connected to each other, as can RAN nodes, via wired or wireless means.

[0164] It should be noted that the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application are applicable to terrestrial communication systems. Alternatively, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application are applicable to communication systems that integrate terrestrial and satellite communication, which can also be called non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication systems. For example, RAN100 in Figure 1 may include a terrestrial base station, wherein the terrestrial base station may include a TN cell (i.e., the signal of the TN cell can be transmitted and received through the terrestrial base station); and RAN100 in Figure 1 may also include a non-terrestrial base station, taking a satellite as an example, the satellite may include an NTN cell (i.e., the signal of the NTN cell can be transmitted and received through the satellite). The terrestrial communication system may be, for example, a long term evolution (LTE) system, a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), a 5G communication system, or a new radio (NR) system, or a communication system that is the next step in the development of the 5G communication system, etc., and is not limited here.

[0165] Compared to traditional mobile communication systems, satellite communication offers advantages such as wider coverage, communication costs independent of transmission distance, and the ability to overcome natural geographical barriers like oceans, deserts, and mountains. To overcome the shortcomings of traditional communication networks, satellite communication can serve as an effective supplement. It is generally believed that non-terrestrial network communication has different channel characteristics compared to terrestrial network communication, such as large transmission delays and Doppler frequency offsets. For example, the round-trip time (RTT) of GEO satellite communication is 238–270 milliseconds (ms), while that of LEO satellite communication is 8 ms–20 ms. Based on orbital altitude, satellite communication systems can be classified into three types: geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite communication systems (also known as geosynchronous orbit satellite systems); medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite communication systems; and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems.

[0166] GEO satellites, also known as geostationary orbit satellites, orbit at an altitude of 35,786 kilometers. Their main advantages are relative stationary position and large coverage area. However, GEO satellites also have significant drawbacks: their large distance from Earth necessitates larger antennas; their transmission latency is relatively high, around 0.5 seconds, failing to meet the demands of real-time services; and their orbital resources are relatively scarce, resulting in high launch costs and an inability to provide coverage to polar regions. MEO satellites, orbiting at altitudes between 2,000 and 35,786 kilometers, can achieve global coverage with a relatively small number of satellites, but their transmission latency is higher than that of LEO satellites, and they are primarily used for positioning and navigation. Furthermore, satellites orbiting at altitudes between 300 and 2,000 kilometers are called Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. LEO satellites are lower in altitude than MEO and GEO satellites, resulting in lower data propagation latency, lower power loss, and relatively lower launch costs. Therefore, LEO satellite communication networks have received considerable attention in recent years.

[0167] In one possible implementation, satellite equipment can be categorized into transparent mode and regenerative mode based on its operating mode.

[0168] The two modes will be illustrated below using the implementation methods shown in Figures 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d.

[0169] In the transparent transmission mode implementation shown in Figure 2a, the satellite and the gateway station (i.e., the NTN Gateway in Figure 2a) act as relays, specifically the Remote Radio Unit (RTU) shown in Figure 2a. Communication between the terminal equipment and the gNB requires this relay process. In other words, in transparent transmission mode, the satellite has a relay forwarding function.

[0170] For example, in the transparent transmission mode implementation shown in Figure 2b, when the satellite (including GEO satellites, MEO satellites, LEO satellites, etc.) operates in transparent transmission mode, the satellite has a relay forwarding function. The gateway station has the function of a base station or part of the function of a base station, and in this case, the gateway station can be regarded as a base station. Alternatively, the base station can be deployed separately from the gateway station, then the delay of the feeder link includes two parts: the delay from the satellite to the gateway station and the delay from the gateway station to the gNB.

[0171] Optionally, the transparent transmission mode can be used as an example where the gateway station and gNB are together or in close proximity. For cases where the gateway station and gNB are far apart, the feeder link delay can be calculated by adding the delay from the satellite to the gateway station and the delay from the gateway station to the gNB.

[0172] As shown in Figure 2c, in the regeneration mode implementation, the satellite and the gateway station (i.e., the NTN Gateway in Figure 2c) act as gNBs and can communicate with the terminal devices. In other words, in regeneration mode, the satellite has the functions of a base station or some of the functions of a base station, and in this case, the satellite can be regarded as a base station.

[0173] For example, in the regeneration mode implementation shown in Figure 2d, when the satellite (including GEO satellites, MEO satellites, LEO satellites, etc.) is working in regeneration mode, compared with the implementation shown in Figure 2b, the satellite has the function of a base station or part of the function of a base station. In this case, the satellite can be regarded as a base station (i.e., an airborne base station).

[0174] Alternatively, in Figures 2b and / or 2d, the satellite can be implemented in other ways, such as by a drone or a high-altitude platform as shown in the figures.

[0175] It should be noted that NTN and terrestrial network base stations can be interconnected through a shared core network. They can also achieve more timely assistance and interconnection through interfaces defined between base stations. In NR, the interface between base stations is called the Xn interface, and the interface between the base station and the core network is called the NG interface. In a converged network, both NTN nodes and terrestrial nodes can achieve interoperability and collaboration through these interfaces.

[0176] It should be noted that this application can be applied to long term evolution (LTE) systems, new radio (NR) systems, or communication systems that evolve after 5G (such as 6G, 7G, etc.).

[0177] Taking 5G as an example, a 5G satellite communication system architecture is shown in Figure 3. Ground terminal equipment accesses the network through the 5G New Radio interface, while 5G base stations are deployed on satellites and connected to the ground core network via wireless links. Simultaneously, wireless links exist between satellites to facilitate signaling interaction and user data transmission between base stations. The devices and interfaces in Figure 3 are described below:

[0178] 5G Core Network: This includes services such as user access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, and billing. It consists of multiple functional units, which can be divided into control plane and data plane functional entities. The Access and Mobility Management Unit (AMF) is responsible for user access management, security authentication, and mobility management. The User Plane Unit (UPF) is responsible for managing user plane data transmission and traffic statistics. The Session Management Function (SMF) is mainly used for session management in the mobile network, such as session establishment, modification, and release.

[0179] Ground station: Responsible for forwarding signaling and service data between satellite base stations and the 5G core network.

[0180] 5G New Radio: The wireless link between a terminal and a base station.

[0181] Xn interface: The interface between 5G base stations, mainly used for signaling interactions such as handover.

[0182] NG interface: The interface between 5G base stations and 5G core networks, mainly used for exchanging non-access stratum (NAS) signaling of the core network and user service data.

[0183] Furthermore, network devices in terrestrial network communication systems and satellites in NTN communication systems can be uniformly considered as network devices. The apparatus used to implement the functions of a network device can be a network device itself; it can also be an apparatus capable of supporting the network device in implementing that function, such as a chip system, which can be installed within the network device. In the following description of the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application, a satellite is used as an example to illustrate the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application. It is understood that when the methods provided by the embodiments of this application are applied to terrestrial network communication systems, the actions performed by the satellite can be applied to the base station or network device for execution.

[0184] In this application embodiment, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device itself; it can also be a device capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing the functions, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the terminal device. In this application embodiment, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices. In the technical solutions provided in this application embodiment, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device is a terminal or UE as an example to describe the technical solutions provided in this application embodiment.

[0185] In addition, the aforementioned satellites can be geostationary satellites, non-geostationary satellites, artificial satellites, low-Earth orbit satellites, medium-Earth orbit satellites, and high-Earth orbit satellites, etc., which are not specifically limited here.

[0186] The foregoing content describes various wireless communication scenarios involved in this application. It should be understood that the above content is merely an illustrative description of the scenarios in which this application can be applied, and this application can also be applied to other application scenarios, which are not limited here. The wireless communication process involved in this application will be described below.

[0187] In the communication systems shown in Figures 1 / 2a / 2b / 2c / 2d / 3, the signals that network devices can send (e.g., signals carrying configuration information / configuration signaling) can configure communication resources. These communication resources can include the communication resources of the network device itself, as well as the communication resources of any adjacent network devices, so that the receiver of the signal can determine the appropriate communication resources based on the signal. For example, if the receiver of the signal is a terminal device, the terminal device can obtain network services based on these communication resources.

[0188] With the development of communication technology, network equipment may not be fixed in a certain place on the ground. For example, the network equipment may be a high-speed mobile device belonging to a non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell, including but not limited to satellite equipment such as low-Earth orbit satellites, medium-Earth orbit satellites, and high-Earth orbit satellites.

[0189] However, unlike the ground base stations of TN cells, the satellite equipment of NTN cells may move at high speeds, which leads to poor signal propagation stability of NTN cell signals and thus affects communication efficiency.

[0190] To address the aforementioned problems, this application provides a communication method and related apparatus, which will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0191] Please refer to Figure 4, which is a schematic diagram of an implementation of the communication method provided in this application. The method includes the following steps.

[0192] It should be noted that, in the following text, Figure 4 uses the first and second communication devices as examples to illustrate the method in the interactive illustration, but this application does not limit the execution subject of the interactive illustration. For example, the communication device can be a communication device (e.g., a terminal device or a network device), or a chip, baseband chip, modem chip, system-on-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, system-in-package (SIP) chip, communication module, chip system, processor, logic module, or software, etc., within the communication device. The first communication device can be a terminal device, and the second communication device can be a network device.

[0193] S401. The second communication device sends first information, and correspondingly, the first communication device receives the first information. The first information includes P visibility information items, where P is a positive integer; the P visibility information items are used to indicate the communication quality between network devices located within a spatial angular range and terminal devices located within a geographical area.

[0194] S402. The first communication device sends second information, and correspondingly, the second communication device receives the second information. The first communication device can send the second information based on the collected information and the P visibility information, the second information being used to update the P visibility information, or the second information being used to request an update of the P visibility information.

[0195] Optionally, the second communication device can be a ground base station, repeater, gateway station (or signaling station), satellite base station (e.g., LEO satellite, MEO satellite, GEO satellite, etc.), UAV, or high-altitude platform, etc. Wherein, if the network device is an ORAN network element in the ORAN architecture shown in Table 1, the network device may include O-CU, O-DU, and O-RU; in step S401 above, first information can be generated through O-CU and / or O-DU, and the first information can be sent through O-RU; in step S402 above, second information can be received through O-RU, and the second information can be processed through O-CU and / or O-DU.

[0196] It should be noted that the information collected by the first communication device can include multiple implementations. Accordingly, in step S402, the first communication device can determine the transmission of the second information in multiple ways. Some possible implementations will be described below.

[0197] In one implementation method, the information collected by the first communication device includes Q visibility information, which includes at least Q1 visibility information and P visibility information, which includes at least Q2 visibility information, where Q1 equals Q2. The spatial angle interval and geographical region corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q1 visibility information partially or completely overlap with the spatial angle interval and geographical region corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q2 visibility information. The communication quality indicated by the i-th visibility information in the Q1 visibility information is different from the communication quality indicated by the i-th visibility information in the Q2 visibility information.

[0198] In the first implementation, the process of the first communication device sending the second information based on the collected information and the P visibility information in step S402 includes: when a first condition is met, sending the second information based on the collected information and the P visibility information; the first condition includes at least one of the following conditions 1 to 5.

[0199] Condition 1. Q1 is greater than 0. That is, the visibility information indicated by the first information is different from the visibility information collected by the first communication device within the same spatial angle range and the same geographical area.

[0200] Condition 2. The ratio of Q1 to Q is greater than a threshold. That is, when the information collected by the first communication device indicates the same spatial angle range and the same geographical area, the difference between the visibility information indicated by the first information and the visibility information collected by the first communication device is greater than a threshold.

[0201] Condition 3. The ratio of P2 to P is greater than a threshold. That is, the ratio between the number of visible information that the first communication device determines is different from the visible information actually collected by the first communication device, and the number of visible information indicated by the first information, is greater than a threshold.

[0202] Condition 4. The spatial division granularity of the spatial angle interval corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q1 visibility information is smaller than the spatial division granularity of the spatial angle interval corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q2 visibility information. That is, the first communication device determines, based on the collected information, that it has collected more refined visibility information than the visibility information indicated by the first information.

[0203] As an implementation example, taking Figure 5a as an example, P visibility information indicates that a network device located in a certain spatial angle interval (denoted as spatial region A) is not visible to a terminal device in a certain geographical region (denoted as geographical region A) when the azimuth angle is 5° and the elevation angle is 5°. However, in the example shown in Figure 5b, the information collected by the first communication device indicates that the network device located in spatial region A is visible or NLOS to the terminal device in geographical region A when the azimuth angle is 5° and the elevation angle is 5°. In this case, the first communication device determines that condition 4 is satisfied, and accordingly, the first communication device can update the P visibility information through the second information in step S402.

[0204] Condition 5. The frequency corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q1 visibility information is different from the frequency corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q2 visibility information. That is, the information collected by the first communication device indicates the same spatial angle range and the same geographical area, and the visibility information collected by the first communication device includes visibility information corresponding to frequency points not included in the P visibility information.

[0205] Specifically, the information collected by the first communication device may include Q visibility information, and if the Q visibility information does not match the P visibility information indicated by the first information, the first communication device may trigger the second communication device to update the P visibility information through the second information.

[0206] In one possible implementation of method one, the method further includes: the first communication device receiving first configuration information, the first configuration information being used to configure the first condition. Specifically, the first communication device can determine the first condition through the received first configuration information, enabling the first communication device to trigger an update of visibility information based on instructions from other devices.

[0207] Optionally, the first information and the first configuration information are carried in the same message / signaling, or the first information and the first configuration information are carried in different messages / signaling.

[0208] Optionally, in implementation method one, if the first communication device determines that the first condition is not met, the first communication device may determine that the collected information may be consistent with the visibility information indicated by the first information. Therefore, the first communication device may not execute step S402, that is, the first communication device may not send the second information.

[0209] In the second implementation method, the information collected by the first communication device includes the current time information.

[0210] In implementation method two, the process of the first communication device sending the second information based on the collected information and the P visibility information in step S402 may include: when the current time information indicates that the validity period of the P visibility information is less than a threshold, the first communication device sends the second information based on the collected information and the P visibility information. Specifically, the information collected by the first communication device may include the current time information, and when the current time information indicates that the validity period of the P visibility information is less than the threshold, the first communication device can determine that the P visibility information has expired (or is about to expire). Therefore, the first communication device can trigger the second communication device to update the P visibility information through the second information.

[0211] In one possible implementation of the second method, the method further includes: the first communication device receiving second configuration information, the second configuration information being used to configure the validity period of the P visibility information items. Specifically, the first communication device can determine the validity period of the P visibility information items through the received second configuration information, enabling the first communication device to trigger the update of the visibility information based on indications from other devices.

[0212] Optionally, the first information and the second configuration information are carried in the same message / signaling, or the first information and the second configuration information are carried in different messages / signaling.

[0213] Optionally, in implementation method two, if the first communication device determines that the current time information indicates that the validity period of the P visibility information is not lower than the threshold, the first communication device can determine that the collected information and the visibility information indicated by the first information may not have expired. Therefore, the first communication device may not execute step S402, that is, the first communication device may not send the second information.

[0214] In one possible implementation, the second information sent by the first communication device in step S402 is used to request an update of the P visibility information items. The method further includes: the first communication device receiving third information, which is used to update the P visibility information items. Specifically, when the second information sent by the first communication device is used to request an update of the P visibility information items, the second communication device can send the third information to the first communication device, so that the first communication device updates the P visibility information items based on the third information.

[0215] Based on the scheme shown in Figure 4, the first information received by the first communication device in step S401 can indicate P visibility information, wherein any one of the visibility information can be used to indicate the communication quality between a network device located within a spatial angle range and a terminal device located within a geographical area. Therefore, through the indication of visibility information, different communication devices can subsequently communicate with each other using this visibility information, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0216] Furthermore, in step S402, the first communication device can also send second information based on the information it has collected and the P visibility information, so that the receiver of the second information (e.g., the second communication device) can update the P visibility information based on the second information, thereby enabling the receiver to obtain more accurate visibility information.

[0217] It should be noted that visibility information indicates the degree of obstruction in the transmission path of the signal between the network device and the terminal device, and this obstruction reflects the communication quality. In particular, because NTN communication has a relatively small incident spread angle, signal obstruction between the network device corresponding to the NTN cell and the terminal device located on the ground has a significant impact on signal transmission quality. Therefore, different communication devices can use this visibility information to improve communication efficiency, which can be achieved through one or more of the following examples.

[0218] For example, terminal devices can select network devices that are not blocked (or have less blockage) based on signal obstruction, which can reduce unnecessary handover and / or reselection and improve communication efficiency.

[0219] For example, terminal devices or network devices can predict when a signal interruption will occur based on signal obstruction, and prepare / perform a switch in advance to improve communication efficiency.

[0220] For example, network devices can reduce the range of the measured beam signal based on signal obstruction, thereby reducing detection power consumption and measurement overhead, and improving communication efficiency.

[0221] For example, terminal devices can communicate in a reasonable position and / or posture based on signal obstruction, which can improve the success rate of signal transmission and thus improve communication efficiency.

[0222] For example, terminal devices can select unobstructed (or less obstructed) network devices for positioning based on signal obstruction, which can improve positioning accuracy and enable related communication services through higher positioning accuracy, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0223] In this application, visibility information can be replaced with other terms, such as visibility information of NTN communication, occlusion information, occlusion information of NTN communication, NTN transmission environment information, long-term link quality information, or NTN transmission path information, etc.

[0224] In one possible implementation, the visibility information includes any of the following:

[0225] The first indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is a visible path;

[0226] The second indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is an invisible path;

[0227] The third indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is a LOS path;

[0228] The fourth indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is the NLOS path.

[0229] Therefore, the visibility information indicated by the first information can be achieved through the above-mentioned multiple methods to improve the flexibility of the solution implementation.

[0230] Optionally, generally speaking, the fewer obstructions on the communication path between two communication devices, the higher the communication quality between them can be considered; conversely, the more obstructions on the communication path between two communication devices, the lower the communication quality can be considered. Therefore, the order of the four communication qualities indicated by the above four indication information from high to low can be: the communication quality indicated by the first indication information (or the communication quality indicated by the third indication information), the communication quality indicated by the fourth indication information, and the communication quality indicated by the second indication information.

[0231] It should be noted that LOS paths and NLOS paths can be identified in one or more of the following ways.

[0232] Method 1: Signal strength.

[0233] In this context, the communication signal transmitted by the signal transmitter based on a certain transmit power has a received signal strength that is greater than the received signal strength that would be greater if the same communication signal were transmitted via a non-linear communication (NLOS) path. In other words, the first communication device can determine whether the transmission path of the reference signal is an LOS path or an NLOS path based on the received signal strength of the reference signal.

[0234] For example, if the received signal strength of a reference signal is greater than a certain threshold, the first communication device can determine that the reference signal is transmitted through the LOS path.

[0235] For example, if the received signal strength of a reference signal is less than a certain threshold, the first communication device can determine that the reference signal is transmitted through the NLOS path.

[0236] Optionally, the threshold can be configured by the network device, pre-configured, or an expected value determined based on the signal reception strength of a reference point.

[0237] Method 2: Signal transmission distance.

[0238] In this context, the communication signal transmitted by the signal transmitter based on a certain transmit power has a transmission distance via a LOS path that is generally less than or equal to the transmission distance via an NLOS path. In other words, the first communication device can determine whether the transmission path of the reference signal is an LOS path or an NLOS path based on the signal attenuation information of the received reference signal.

[0239] Optionally, the terminal device can determine the signal attenuation information through a variety of parameters, such as one or more of the signal transmission parameters configured in the network device, the ephemeris information of the satellite base station, atmospheric transmission compensation information, and reference point information.

[0240] Method 3: Signal offset information, such as signal timing offset rate, signal frequency drift rate, etc.

[0241] In this context, the communication signal transmitted by the signal transmitter based on a certain transmit power has a signal drift that is generally less than or equal to the signal drift that is generated when the communication signal is transmitted through a LOS path. In other words, the first communication device can determine whether the transmission path of the reference signal is an LOS path or an NLOS path based on the signal drift information corresponding to the received reference signal.

[0242] Optionally, the terminal device can determine the signal drift information through a variety of parameters, such as one or more of the following: signal transmission parameters configured by the network device, ephemeris information of the satellite base station, atmospheric transmission compensation information, and reference point information.

[0243] In one possible implementation, the P visibility information pieces are used to indicate P communication qualities respectively; wherein, among the P visibility information pieces, any one of the visibility information pieces is used to indicate the communication quality between a network device in one of the N sub-intervals included in the spatial angle interval and a terminal device located in one of the M sub-regions included in the geographical region, where N, M, and P are all positive integers. Specifically, the first information received by the first communication device may include P visibility information pieces respectively used to indicate P communication qualities, enabling the first communication device to determine the P communication qualities through the first information.

[0244] It should be understood that the P visibility information pieces are used to indicate the P communication quality pieces respectively. This can be understood as a one-to-one correspondence between the P visibility information pieces and the P communication quality pieces, or that the p-th visibility information piece among the P visibility information pieces is used to indicate the p-th communication quality piece among the P communication quality pieces, where p is from 1 to P.

[0245] In one possible implementation, the first information also includes at least one of the following:

[0246] The information consists of N sub-information segments, each of which is used to indicate one of the N sub-intervals.

[0247] Information consists of M sub-information units, each of which is used to indicate a sub-region.

[0248] The information consists of X sub-information units, each of which is used to indicate the confidence level of X visibility information units out of the P visibility information units, where X is less than or equal to P.

[0249] Information DY consists of Y sub-information units, each of which is used to indicate the time information when Y of the P visibility information units are valid information. Y is less than or equal to P.

[0250] Information EZ sub-information, which are used to indicate the difference between the communication quality indicated by the Z visibility information in the P visibility information and the communication quality of the reference point, where Z is less than or equal to P.

[0251] Therefore, the first communication device can also obtain more information through at least one of the above methods, which can help the first communication device quickly identify one or more network devices communicating with the first terminal device.

[0252] Optionally, at least one of the above information may be carried in other messages / signaling / information different from the first information.

[0253] Optionally, at least one of the above information A to information E may be carried in other messages / signaling / information different from the first information.

[0254] Alternatively, at least one of the above information A through information E may be pre-configured.

[0255] For example, if the first information does not carry information A, the spatial region corresponding to the P visibility information contained in the first information can be pre-configured, such as the spatial region where the satellite base station that sent the first information is located.

[0256] For example, if the first information does not carry information B, the geographical regions corresponding to the P visibility information contained in the first information can be pre-configured, such as the spatial region where the terminal device receiving the first information is located.

[0257] For example, if the first information does not carry information C, the P visibility information contained in the first information can implicitly indicate the confidence level of each first sub-information in a sequential order.

[0258] For example, if the first information does not carry information D, the start time when the P visibility information contained in the first information is valid can be the time when the terminal device receives the first information, and the duration for which the P visibility information is valid can be pre-configured.

[0259] For example, if the first information does not carry information E, the difference between the communication quality indicated by the P visibility information contained in the first information and the communication quality of the pre-configured reference point is below a threshold.

[0260] It should be noted that the first information can indicate the relationship between spatial angle ranges, visibility information, and geographical regions in various ways, such as tables, formulas, and different field meanings. The following will take the first information indicating this relationship in the form of a table as an example for explanation.

[0261] As an example, the first piece of information, as shown in Table 2, indicates the relationship between spatial angle intervals, visibility information, and geographical regions. In Table 2, the first column is the information A mentioned earlier, the second column is the "P pieces of visibility information" mentioned earlier, and the third column is information C.

[0262] Table 2

[0263] In Table 2, the first column corresponds to "Spatial Angle Range," the second column to "Visibility Information," and the third column to "Geographic Region." Information from different columns within the same row indicates a relationship between the information in those columns. The visibility information in the second column is explained using visibility as an example (e.g., a value of "1" indicates visibility, and a value of "0" indicates invisibility). For example, the first row indicates that the visibility information between a network device located in "Spatial Region #1" and a terminal device located in "Geographic Region #1" is "Visible (value 1)," indicating high communication quality. Conversely, the second row indicates that the visibility information between a network device located in "Spatial Region #2" and a terminal device located in "Geographic Region #1" is "Invisible (value 0)," indicating low communication quality.

[0264] Optionally, the descriptions of the spatial angle intervals in Table 2 can be discretized into different intervals, as shown in Table 3.

[0265] Table 3

[0266] In Table 3, the azimuth and zenith angle can be determined using the east-north-up (ENU) coordinate system, which can also be called the station center coordinate system.

[0267] In one example, within the ENU coordinate system, taking the Earth as an ellipsoid, a rectangular coordinate system can be formed with the location of the terminal device as the station center (i.e., the origin O of the coordinate system), the z-axis coinciding with the normal to the ellipsoid (positive, i.e., celestial direction); the y-axis coinciding with the minor semi-axis of the ellipsoid (i.e., north direction); and the x-axis coinciding with the major semi-axis of the Earth ellipsoid (i.e., east direction). Correspondingly, for the connection line between the ground-based terminal device and the satellite base station in the air, the zenith angle can be the angle between the connection line and the z-axis, and the azimuth angle can be the angle between the projection of the connection line onto the ground and the x-axis (or y-axis).

[0268] Optionally, in addition to the azimuth and zenith angles shown in Table 3, other information can be used to configure spatial angle intervals. For example, coordinate parameters of a spatial region can be configured in a geocentric coordinate system with the Earth's center as the center. Alternatively, the indexes and identifiers corresponding to the aforementioned azimuth, zenith angles, and coordinate parameters can be configured. Furthermore, after configuring a specific geographic region (e.g., this geographic region can be configured using wave position, region index, region number, etc., as described in the previous terminology introduction), the spatial range at a certain altitude above that geographic region can be configured as the spatial region represented by the spatial angle interval.

[0269] Optionally, the descriptions of the geographical regions in Table 2 can be discretized into different intervals, as shown in Table 4.

[0270] Table 4

[0271] Optionally, in addition to the longitude, latitude, and altitude intervals shown in Table 4, other information can be used to configure the geographic region. For example, if the geographic region is circular, the coordinates of a configured reference point can be used as the center, and the configured length value can be used as the diameter or radius of the circle. Similarly, if the geographic region is rectangular, the coordinates of the four vertices of the rectangle can be configured. Furthermore, the geographic region can also be a regular shape such as a hexagon, pentagon, or ellipse, or an irregular shape, and the coordinates of the outline of the regular or irregular shape can be configured. Additionally, the geographic region can be configured using methods such as wave position, region index, and region number as described in the previous terminology introduction.

[0272] For example, as shown in Figure 5c, taking a device located in a certain geographical area as a UE, the six scenarios shown in Figure 5c indicate the visibility descriptions corresponding to different altitudes within the same circular area. Generally, the higher the altitude of the UE, the fewer obstructions between the UE and the satellite base station. Therefore, under the same latitude and longitude coordinates, the higher the altitude, the more sky the UE can see. Thus, the description of the "altitude interval" shown in Table 4 can also be expressed in the form ">x (x is a real number) m.

[0273] As another example, the visibility information in Table 2 is implemented in other forms. For example, in Table 5 below, the visibility information is illustrated by "whether it is LOS" (for example, a value of "1" indicates LOS, and a value of "0" indicates NLOS).

[0274] Table 5

[0275] For example, the first row of information in Table 5 indicates that the visibility information between the network device located in "Spatial Region #1" and the terminal device located in "Geographic Region #1" is "LOS (value is 1)", which indicates a high communication quality. Similarly, the second row indicates that the visibility information between the network device located in "Spatial Region #2" and the terminal device located in "Geographic Region #1" is "NLOS (value is 0)", which indicates a low communication quality.

[0276] As another example, Table 2 may also include the information C described above, as shown in the last column of Table 6 below.

[0277] Table 6

[0278] For example, the first row of Table 6 indicates that the visibility information between the network device located in "Spatial Region #1" and the terminal device located in "Geographic Region #1" is "visible (value 1)", and the confidence level of this visibility information is 1, indicating that the confidence level of this visibility information is high. Similarly, the third row of Table 6 indicates that the visibility information between the network device located in "Spatial Region #3" and the terminal device located in "Geographic Region #1" is "visible (value 1)", and the confidence level of this visibility information is 0, indicating that the confidence level of this visibility information is low.

[0279] As another example, Table 2 may also include the information D described above, as shown in the last column of Table 7 below.

[0280] Table 7

[0281] For example, the first row of Table 7 indicates that the visibility information between the network device located in "Spatial Region #1" and the terminal device located in "Geographic Region #1" is valid for "1 day," meaning that the visibility information will expire after 1 day. Similarly, the fourth row of Table 7 indicates that the visibility information between the network device located in "Spatial Region #1" and the terminal device located in "Geographic Region #2" is valid for "1 year," meaning that the visibility information will expire after 1 year.

[0282] As another example, Table 2 may also include the information D described above, as shown in the last two columns of Table 8 below.

[0283] Table 8

[0284] For example, the information in the third row of Table 8 indicates that the visibility information between the network device located in "Spatial Region #3" and the terminal device located in "Geographic Region #1" is "NLOS (value is 2)", and that during communication in the frequency domain resources corresponding to [1GHz~3GHz], the additional loss of the terminal device compared to the terminal device located at the reference point is 10dB.

[0285] For example, the fourth row of information in Table 8 indicates that the visibility information between the network device located in "Spatial Region #4" and the terminal device located in "Geographic Region #2" is "NLOS (value is 2)". Furthermore, during communication in the frequency domain resources corresponding to 6 GHz and above, the additional loss of this terminal device compared to the terminal device located at the reference point is 20 dB.

[0286] In one possible implementation, the P communication quality metrics include a first communication quality and a second communication quality. The first communication quality indicates the communication quality between a network device in the P1th sub-interval of the N sub-intervals and a terminal device located in the second sub-interval. The second communication quality indicates the communication quality between a network device in the P2th sub-interval of the N sub-intervals and a terminal device located in the second sub-interval. P1 and P2 are both positive integers less than or equal to N, and P1 is not equal to P2. The P1th sub-interval is divided based on a first parameter, and the P2th sub-interval is divided based on a second parameter. The first parameter is greater than the second parameter, and the priority of the first communication quality is lower than the priority of the second communication quality.

[0287] Based on the above scheme, different spatial division granularities may correspond to different visibility information. Generally, the visibility information corresponding to finer spatial division granularities is more accurate. Therefore, the priority of the first communication quality is lower than that of the second communication quality, so that the first communication device can determine one or more network devices communicating with the first terminal device based on the visibility information with higher priority (e.g., higher accuracy).

[0288] Optionally, the spatial regions indicated by the P1 subinterval and the P2 subinterval may partially or completely overlap.

[0289] Optionally, the first sub-region and the second sub-region can be the same sub-region or different sub-regions.

[0290] Optionally, in the information C described above, the X fourth sub-information pieces can each indicate the confidence level of the X first sub-information pieces among the P first sub-information pieces. The confidence level indicated by the fourth sub-information piece may be determined by one or more factors. For example, the one or more factors may include the aforementioned spatial partitioning granularity (e.g., a higher priority may indicate a higher confidence level); or the one or more factors may include the confidence level of the core network equipment or server configuration; or the one or more factors may include the number of terminal devices reporting the same visibility information.

[0291] Please refer to Figure 6. This application embodiment provides a communication device 600, which can realize the functions of the second communication device or the first communication device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In this application embodiment, the communication device 600 can be the first communication device (or the second communication device), or it can be an integrated circuit or component inside the first communication device (or the second communication device), such as a chip.

[0292] It should be noted that the transceiver unit 602 may include a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, which are used to perform transmitting and receiving respectively.

[0293] In one possible implementation, when the device 600 is used to execute the method performed by the first communication device in the aforementioned embodiments, the device 600 includes a processing unit 601 and a transceiver unit 602; the transceiver unit 602 is used to receive first information, which includes P visibility information, where P is a positive integer; wherein the P visibility information is used to indicate the communication quality between a network device located within a spatial angle range and a terminal device located within a geographical area; the processing unit 601 sends second information through the transceiver unit 602 based on the collected information and the P visibility information, the second information being used to update the P visibility information, or the second information being used to request an update of the P visibility information.

[0294] In one possible implementation, when the device 600 is used to execute the method performed by the second communication device in the foregoing embodiments, the device 600 includes a processing unit 601 and a transceiver unit 602; the processing unit 601 is used to determine first information; the transceiver unit 602 is used to send the first information, which includes P visibility information, where P is a positive integer; wherein the P visibility information is used to indicate the communication quality between a network device located within a spatial angle range and a terminal device located within a geographical area; the transceiver unit 602 is also used to receive second information, which is determined based on the collected information and the P visibility information, and the second information is used to update the P visibility information, or the second information is used to request an update of the P visibility information.

[0295] It should be noted that the information execution process of the unit of the above-mentioned communication device 600 can be specifically described in the method embodiments shown above in this application, and will not be repeated here.

[0296] Please refer to Figure 7, which is another schematic structural diagram of the communication device 700 provided in this application. The communication device 700 includes a logic circuit 701 and an input / output interface 702. The communication device 700 can be a chip or an integrated circuit.

[0297] In Figure 6, the transceiver unit 602 can be a communication interface, which can be the input / output interface 702 in Figure 7, and the input / output interface 702 can include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the communication interface can also be a transceiver circuit, which can include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

[0298] Optionally, the input / output interface 702 is used to receive first information, which includes P visibility information, where P is a positive integer; wherein the P visibility information is used to indicate the communication quality between network devices located within a spatial angle range and terminal devices located within a geographical area; the logic circuit 701 sends second information through the input / output interface 702 based on the collected information and the P visibility information, the second information being used to update the P visibility information, or the second information being used to request an update of the P visibility information.

[0299] Optionally, the logic circuit 701 is used to determine first information; the input / output interface 702 is used to send the first information, which includes P visibility information, where P is a positive integer; wherein the P visibility information is used to indicate the communication quality between network devices located within a spatial angle range and terminal devices located within a geographical area; the input / output interface 702 is also used to receive second information, which is determined based on the collected information and the P visibility information, and the second information is used to update the P visibility information, or the second information is used to request an update of the P visibility information.

[0300] The logic circuit 701 and the input / output interface 702 can also perform other steps performed by the first or second communication device in any embodiment and achieve corresponding beneficial effects, which will not be elaborated here.

[0301] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 601 shown in FIG6 can be the logic circuit 701 in FIG7.

[0302] Optionally, the logic circuit 701 can be a processing device, the functions of which can be partially or entirely implemented in software.

[0303] Optionally, the processing apparatus may include a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor reads and executes the computer program stored in the memory to perform the corresponding processing and / or steps in any of the method embodiments.

[0304] Optionally, the processing device may consist of only a processor. A memory for storing computer programs is located outside the processing device, and the processor is connected to the memory via circuitry / wires to read and execute the computer programs stored in the memory. The memory and processor may be integrated together or physically independent of each other.

[0305] Optionally, the processing device may be one or more chips, or one or more integrated circuits. For example, the processing device may be one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), system-on-chips (SoCs), central processing units (CPUs), network processors (NPs), digital signal processors (DSPs), microcontroller units (MCUs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), or other integrated chips, or any combination of the above chips or processors.

[0306] Please refer to Figure 8, which shows the communication device 800 involved in the above embodiments provided in the embodiments of this application. Specifically, the communication device 800 can be the communication device as a terminal device in the above embodiments. The communication device shown in Figure 8 is implemented through a terminal device (or a component in the terminal device).

[0307] The present invention is a possible logical structure diagram of the communication device 800, which may include, but is not limited to, at least one processor 801 and a communication port 802.

[0308] In Figure 6, the transceiver unit 602 can be a communication interface, which can be the communication port 802 in Figure 8. The communication port 802 can include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the communication port 802 can also be a transceiver circuit, which can include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

[0309] Further optionally, the device may also include at least one of a memory 803 and a bus 804. In the embodiments of this application, the at least one processor 801 is used to control the operation of the communication device 800.

[0310] Furthermore, the processor 801 can be a central processing unit, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of this application. The processor can also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, etc. Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0311] It should be noted that the communication device 800 shown in Figure 8 can be used to implement the steps implemented by the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiments and achieve the corresponding technical effects of the terminal device. The specific implementation of the communication device shown in Figure 8 can be referred to the description in the aforementioned method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0312] Please refer to Figure 9, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device 900 involved in the above embodiments provided in the embodiments of this application. Specifically, the communication device 900 can be a communication device as a network device in the above embodiments. The communication device shown in Figure 9 is implemented through a network device (or a component in a network device). The structure of the communication device can refer to the structure shown in Figure 9.

[0313] The communication device 900 includes at least one processor 911 and at least one network interface 914. Optionally, the communication device further includes at least one memory 912, at least one transceiver 913, and one or more antennas 915. The processor 911, memory 912, transceiver 913, and network interface 914 are connected, for example, via a bus. In this embodiment, the connection may include various interfaces, transmission lines, or buses, etc., and this embodiment is not limited thereto. The antenna 915 is connected to the transceiver 913. The network interface 914 enables the communication device to communicate with other communication devices through a communication link. For example, the network interface 914 may include a network interface between the communication device and core network equipment, such as an S1 interface, or a network interface between the communication device and other communication devices (e.g., other network devices or core network equipment), such as an X2 or Xn interface.

[0314] In Figure 6, the transceiver unit 602 can be a communication interface, which can be the network interface 914 in Figure 9. The network interface 914 can include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the network interface 914 can also be a transceiver circuit, which can include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

[0315] The processor 911 is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process data from these programs, for example, to support the actions described in the embodiments of the communication device. The communication device may include a baseband processor and a central processing unit (CPU). The baseband processor is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the CPU is primarily used to control the entire terminal device, execute software programs, and process data from these programs. The processor 911 in Figure 9 can integrate the functions of both a baseband processor and a CPU. Those skilled in the art will understand that the baseband processor and CPU can also be independent processors interconnected via technologies such as buses. Those skilled in the art will understand that a terminal device may include multiple baseband processors to adapt to different network standards, and multiple CPUs to enhance its processing capabilities. The various components of the terminal device can be connected via various buses. The baseband processor can also be described as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The CPU can also be described as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing communication protocols and communication data can be built into the processor or stored in memory as a software program, which is then executed by the processor to implement the baseband processing function.

[0316] The memory is primarily used to store software programs and data. The memory 912 can exist independently or be connected to the processor 911. Optionally, the memory 912 can be integrated with the processor 911, for example, integrated into a single chip. The memory 912 can store program code that executes the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and its execution is controlled by the processor 911. The various types of computer program code being executed can also be considered as drivers for the processor 911.

[0317] Figure 9 shows only one memory and one processor. In actual terminal devices, there may be multiple processors and multiple memories. Memory can also be called storage medium or storage device, etc. Memory can be a storage element on the same chip as the processor, i.e., an on-chip storage element, or it can be a separate storage element; this application does not limit this.

[0318] Transceiver 913 can be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency (RF) signals between a communication device and a terminal. Transceiver 913 can be connected to antenna 915. Transceiver 913 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 915 can receive RF signals. The receiver Rx of transceiver 913 receives the RF signals from the antennas, converts the RF signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency (IF) signals, and provides the digital baseband signals or IF signals to processor 911 so that processor 911 can perform further processing on the digital baseband signals or IF signals, such as demodulation and decoding. Furthermore, the transmitter Tx in transceiver 913 is also used to receive modulated digital baseband signals or IF signals from processor 911, convert the modulated digital baseband signals or IF signals into RF signals, and transmit the RF signals through one or more antennas 915. Specifically, the receiver Rx can selectively perform one or more stages of downmixing and analog-to-digital conversion on the radio frequency signal to obtain a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency (IF) signal. The order of these downmixing and IF conversion processes is adjustable. The transmitter Tx can selectively perform one or more stages of upmixing and digital-to-analog conversion on the modulated digital baseband signal or digital IF signal to obtain a radio frequency signal. The order of these upmixing and IF conversion processes is also adjustable. The digital baseband signal and the digital IF signal can be collectively referred to as digital signals.

[0319] The transceiver 913 can also be called a transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver device, etc. Optionally, the device in the transceiver unit that performs the receiving function can be regarded as the receiving unit, and the device in the transceiver unit that performs the transmitting function can be regarded as the transmitting unit. That is, the transceiver unit includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The receiving unit can also be called a receiver, input port, receiving circuit, etc., and the transmitting unit can be called a transmitter, transmitter, or transmitting circuit, etc.

[0320] It should be noted that the communication device 900 shown in Figure 9 can be used to implement the steps implemented by the network device in the aforementioned method embodiments and achieve the corresponding technical effects of the network device. The specific implementation of the communication device 900 shown in Figure 9 can be referred to the description in the aforementioned method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0321] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing one or more computer-executable instructions. When the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, the processor performs the method described in the possible implementations of the first or second communication device in the foregoing embodiments.

[0322] This application also provides a computer program product (or computer program) that, when executed by a processor, executes the method described above for the possible implementation of the first or second communication device.

[0323] This application also provides a chip system including at least one processor for supporting a communication device in implementing the functions involved in the possible implementations of the communication device described above. Optionally, the chip system further includes an interface circuit that provides program instructions and / or data to the at least one processor. In one possible design, the chip system may also include a memory for storing the program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices, wherein the communication device may specifically be the first communication device or the second communication device in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0324] This application also provides a communication system, the network system architecture of which includes a first communication device and a second communication device in any of the above embodiments.

[0325] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be an indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units through some interfaces, and may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0326] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0327] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit. If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive first information, the first information including P visibility information, where P is a positive integer; wherein, the P visibility information is used to indicate the communication quality between network devices located within a spatial angle range and terminal devices located within a geographical area; Based on the collected information and the P visibility information, a second message is sent, which is used to update the P visibility information, or the second message is used to request an update of the P visibility information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The collected information includes Q visibility information items, of which at least Q1 visibility information items are included, and the P visibility information items include at least Q2 visibility information items, where Q1 equals Q2; wherein, the spatial angle interval and geographical region corresponding to the i-th visibility information item in the Q1 visibility information items partially or completely overlap with the spatial angle interval and geographical region corresponding to the i-th visibility information item in the Q2 visibility information items; the communication quality indicated by the i-th visibility information item in the Q1 visibility information items is different from the communication quality indicated by the i-th visibility information item in the Q2 visibility information items; The step of sending the second information based on the collected information and the P visibility information includes: When the first condition is met, the second information is sent based on the collected information and the P visibility information; the first condition includes at least one of the following: Q1 is greater than 0; The ratio of Q1 to Q is greater than the threshold; The ratio of P2 to P is greater than the threshold. The spatial division granularity of the spatial angle interval corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q1 visibility information is smaller than the spatial division granularity of the spatial angle interval corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q2 visibility information. The frequency point corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q1 visibility information is different from the frequency point corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q2 visibility information.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive first configuration information, which is used to configure the first condition.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The collected information includes the current time information; The step of sending the second information based on the collected information and the P visibility information includes: If the current time information indicates that the effective time of the P visibility information is less than a threshold, the second information is sent based on the collected information and the P visibility information.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive second configuration information, which is used to configure the validity period of the P visibility information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The second information is used to request updates to the P visibility information, and the method further includes: Receive third information, which is used to update the P visibility information.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The P visibility information items are used to indicate the P communication quality items respectively; Among the P visibility information, any one of the visibility information is used to indicate the communication quality between a network device in one of the N sub-intervals contained in the spatial angle interval and a terminal device located in one of the M sub-intervals contained in the geographical region, where N, M, and P are all positive integers.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The first information also includes at least one of the following: N sub-information pieces, each of which is used to indicate one of the N sub-intervals; M sub-information items, each of which is used to indicate one of the M sub-regions; X sub-information, wherein each of the X sub-information is used to indicate the confidence level of X visibility information among the P visibility information, and X is less than or equal to P; Y sub-information, wherein each of the Y sub-information is used to indicate the time information when Y of the P visibility information are valid information, and Y is less than or equal to P; Z sub-information, wherein each of the Z visibility information in the P visibility information indicates the difference between the communication quality indicated by the Z visibility information and the communication quality of the reference point, and Z is less than or equal to P.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, The P communication quality includes a first communication quality and a second communication quality. The first communication quality is used to indicate the communication quality between the network device in the P1th sub-interval of the N sub-intervals and the terminal device located in the second sub-interval. The second communication quality is used to indicate the communication quality between the network device in the P2th sub-interval of the N sub-intervals and the terminal device located in the second sub-interval. P1 and P2 are both positive integers less than or equal to N, and P1 is not equal to P2. Wherein, the P1 sub-interval is divided based on the first parameter, and the P2 sub-interval is divided based on the second parameter. The first parameter is greater than the second parameter, and the priority of the first communication quality is lower than the priority of the second communication quality.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The visibility information includes any of the following: The first indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is a visible path; The second indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is an invisible path; The third indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is a line-of-sight (LOS) path; The fourth indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is a non-line-of-sight (NLOS) path.

11. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Send first information, which includes P visibility information, where P is a positive integer; wherein the P visibility information is used to indicate the communication quality between network devices located within a spatial angle range and terminal devices located within a geographical area; Receive second information, which is determined based on the collected information and the P visibility information. The second information is used to update the P visibility information, or the second information is used to request an update of the P visibility information.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The collected information includes Q visibility information items, of which at least Q1 visibility information items are included, and the P visibility information items include at least Q2 visibility information items, where Q1 equals Q2; wherein, the spatial angle interval and geographical region corresponding to the i-th visibility information item in the Q1 visibility information items partially or completely overlap with the spatial angle interval and geographical region corresponding to the i-th visibility information item in the Q2 visibility information items; the communication quality indicated by the i-th visibility information item in the Q1 visibility information items is different from the communication quality indicated by the i-th visibility information item in the Q2 visibility information items; When the first condition is met, the collected information is used to trigger the second information, including: Q1 is greater than 0; The ratio of Q1 to Q is greater than the threshold; The ratio of P2 to P is greater than the threshold. The spatial division granularity of the spatial angle interval corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q1 visibility information is smaller than the spatial division granularity of the spatial angle interval corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q2 visibility information. The frequency point corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q1 visibility information is different from the frequency point corresponding to the i-th visibility information in the Q2 visibility information.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send first configuration information, which is used to configure the first condition.

14. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The collected information includes the current time information; If the current time information indicates that the effective time of the P visibility information is less than a threshold, the collected information is used to trigger the second information.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send second configuration information, which is used to configure the validity period of the P visibility information.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that, The second information is used to request updates to the P visibility information, and the method further includes: Send a third message, which is used to update the P visibility information.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that, The P visibility information items are used to indicate the P communication quality items respectively; Among the P visibility information, any one of the visibility information is used to indicate the communication quality between a network device in one of the N sub-intervals contained in the spatial angle interval and a terminal device located in one of the M sub-intervals contained in the geographical region, where N, M, and P are all positive integers.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The first information also includes at least one of the following: N sub-information pieces, each of which is used to indicate one of the N sub-intervals; M sub-information items, each of which is used to indicate one of the M sub-regions; X sub-information, wherein each of the X sub-information is used to indicate the confidence level of X visibility information among the P visibility information, and X is less than or equal to P; Y sub-information, wherein each of the Y sub-information is used to indicate the time information when Y of the P visibility information are valid information, and Y is less than or equal to P; Z sub-information, wherein each of the Z visibility information in the P visibility information indicates the difference between the communication quality indicated by the Z visibility information and the communication quality of the reference point, and Z is less than or equal to P.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, The P communication quality includes a first communication quality and a second communication quality. The first communication quality is used to indicate the communication quality between the network device in the P1th sub-interval of the N sub-intervals and the terminal device located in the second sub-interval. The second communication quality is used to indicate the communication quality between the network device in the P2th sub-interval of the N sub-intervals and the terminal device located in the second sub-interval. P1 and P2 are both positive integers less than or equal to N, and P1 is not equal to P2. Wherein, the P1 sub-interval is divided based on the first parameter, and the P2 sub-interval is divided based on the second parameter. The first parameter is greater than the second parameter, and the priority of the first communication quality is lower than the priority of the second communication quality.

20. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 19, characterized in that, The visibility information includes any of the following: The first indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is a visible path; The second indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is an invisible path; The third indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is a line-of-sight (LOS) path; The fourth indication information indicates that the transmission path of the communication signal is a non-line-of-sight (NLOS) path.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 20.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes at least one processor, said at least one processor being used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 20.

23. The communication device according to claim 22, characterized in that, The communication device is a chip or chip system.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed by a communication device, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 20.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that, It includes a computer program or instructions that, when executed by a computer, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 20.

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