Communication method, terminal, storage medium and program product

Abstract

Provided in the present disclosure is a communication method, which is applied to a terminal, and comprises: acquiring sun outage information of a source service satellite of a terminal; determining a sun outage start time of the source service satellite on the basis of the sun outage information of the source service satellite, and determining a difference value between the sun outage start time of the source service satellite and the current time; and, when the difference value between the sun outage start time of the source service satellite and the current time is less than a preset time difference threshold value, determining a target service satellite from among candidate satellites, and switching the terminal to the target service satellite. Further provided in the present disclosure are a terminal, a computer-readable storage medium and a computer program product.

Description

Communication method, terminal, storage medium and program product

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0002] The present disclosure claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410634422.8, filed May 21, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of satellite communication, and particularly relates to a communication method, a terminal, a computer-readable storage medium and a computer program product. BACKGROUND

[0004] In a non-terrestrial network (NTN), satellite communication is affected by the phenomenon of day-eclipse. As shown in FIG. 1, it is a diagram of the day-eclipse phenomenon in the process of NTN network satellite communication. The satellite in the day-eclipse phenomenon is equivalent to the moon in the phenomenon of lunar eclipse. In FIG. 1, when the sun, the satellite and the earth are in a straight line, the electronic radiation and the interference electromagnetic waves carried by the sun will produce strong interference to the weak satellite signal. At this time, the signal of the satellite will be basically submerged in the strong electromagnetic interference of the sun. This is a problem that all satellite communications will face at present.

[0005] DISCLOSURE

[0006] The present disclosure provides a communication method, a terminal, a computer-readable storage medium and a computer program product.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a communication method applied to a terminal, the method comprising: obtaining day-eclipse information of a source service satellite of the terminal; determining a day-eclipse start time of the source service satellite according to the day-eclipse information of the source service satellite, and determining a difference between the day-eclipse start time of the source service satellite and a current time; in a case where the difference between the day-eclipse start time of the source service satellite and the current time is less than a predetermined time difference threshold, determining a destination service satellite from candidate satellites, and switching the terminal to the destination service satellite.

[0008] In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides a terminal, comprising: at least one processor; a memory having at least one computer program stored thereon, when the at least one computer program is executed by the at least one processor, the at least one processor implements the first aspect and any one of the possible implementation manners in the first aspect; and at least one I / O interface connected between the processor and the memory, configured to realize information interaction between the processor and the memory.

[0009] In a third aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon a computer program, the computer program being executed by a processor to enable the processor to implement the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0010] In a fourth aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer program product, comprising a computer program, the computer program being executed by a processor to enable the processor to implement the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011] In the drawings:

[0012] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a sunrise phenomenon provided by the present disclosure;

[0013] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture provided by the present disclosure;

[0014] Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a communication method provided by the present disclosure;

[0015] Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a manner of determining a destination service satellite provided by the present disclosure;

[0016] Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a manner of determining a destination service satellite provided by the present disclosure;

[0017] Fig. 6 is a flowchart of a communication method provided by the present disclosure;

[0018] Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a terminal provided by the present disclosure;

[0019] Fig. 8 is a block diagram of a computer-readable storage medium provided by the present disclosure;

[0020] Fig. 9 is a block diagram of a computer program product provided by the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] In order for those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of the present disclosure, the communication method, terminal, computer-readable storage medium and computer program product provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] The present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0023] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure and constitute a part of the specification, which serve to explain the present disclosure together with the detailed explanation, and do not limit the present disclosure. The above and other features and advantages will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the detailed description, with reference to the drawings.

[0024] In the case of no conflict, each embodiment of the present disclosure and each feature in the embodiment can be combined with each other.

[0025] The terms used in the present disclosure are only used to describe specific embodiments, and do not limit the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used in the present disclosure, the singular forms "a" and "the" also include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used in the present disclosure, the terms "comprise", "made of" designate the presence of a specific feature, whole, step, operation, element and / or component, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, whole, step, operation, element, component and / or group thereof.

[0026] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used in the present disclosure, including technical terms and scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art. It will also be understood that terms such as those defined in a commonly used dictionary should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense, unless the present disclosure expressly so defines.

[0027] In the present disclosure, the following technical terms should be understood as follows, unless otherwise specified:

[0028] 1) Sunrise, which can also be referred to as sunrise, is a strong electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun, which is a normal natural phenomenon. The sunrise time is usually different in different cities. Sunrise is possible only when a satellite and the sun are at least in the same latitude. For example, for a geostationary satellite, sunrise will occur during the period when the sun is directly over the equator. For example, around the spring equinox (e.g. March 15 to April 5) and the autumn equinox (e.g. September 25 to October 15), sunrise will occur. If the satellite is located near the northern latitude of 23.5 degrees, i.e. the Tropic of Cancer, sunrise will occur around the summer solstice (June 10 to July 10). The following takes two most common geostationary communication satellites, Zhongxing 6B satellite and Asia Pacific 6C satellite, as examples to give two examples of sunrise time table of different satellites.

[0029] In one example, as shown in Table 1, the sunrise time table for Zhongxing 6B satellite at several locations at 115.5 degrees east longitude for the autumnal equinox in 2023 is shown.

[0030] Table 1: Zhongxing 6B satellite C-band 2023 fall day sunrise schedule

[0031] In one example, as shown in Table 2, the day sunrise schedule for several locations of the Asia Pacific 6C satellite at 134 degrees east longitude for the autumnal equinox in 2023.

[0032] Table 2: Asia Pacific 6C satellite C-band 2023 fall day sunrise schedule

[0033] Referring to FIG. 2, a communication system architecture diagram provided by the present disclosure is provided, and the scenario to which the present disclosure is applicable is described in conjunction with FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows an integrated space-ground communication system, which mainly includes a satellite, a satellite antenna array (for example, a Gateway+RRU antenna array) for ground communication, and a terminal. In the communication system, a satellite communication link is used as a non-ground communication link. Communication signals can be transmitted to each satellite using C / ku / ka bands. Each satellite can forward the received communication signals to a target area using L / S bands. A terminal supporting L / S bands can obtain communication signals of the target area. FIG. 2 is only a schematic diagram and does not constitute a limitation on the applicable scenarios of the technical solutions provided by the present disclosure.

[0034] The terminal in FIG. 2, which can also be referred to as user equipment (UE), a UE unit, a UE device, a mobile station, a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), a remote terminal, a mobile device, etc., refers to a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user. Examples of UE include a handheld device having wireless connection capability, a car-mounted device, etc. Currently, some examples of UE are: a mobile phone, a cell phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a handheld device having wireless communication function, a tablet, a notebook, a laptop, a palmtop, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, etc.

[0035] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication system shown in FIG. 2 can be a 5G Advanced or 6G system, or other communication systems, which are not limited.

[0036] In some related technologies, for NTN networks with fixed receiver positions, it can be known in advance which time period the satellite signal is unavailable, and measures can be taken in advance to artificially intervene the receiver to avoid signal loss.

[0037] In NTN networks with changing terminal positions, it is not possible to know in advance which time period the satellite signal is unavailable, and in this case, how to avoid signal loss becomes a problem to be solved.

[0038] The communication method, terminal, computer readable storage medium and computer program product provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure are mainly applied to satellite communication scenarios containing mobile terminals, and can be applied to the communication system architecture of FIG. 2 introduced above. The following will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0039] In a first aspect, referring to FIG. 3, a flowchart of a communication method provided by the present disclosure is applied to a terminal, for example, the terminal in FIG. 2, and the method includes steps S301-S303.

[0040] S301: Obtain the sunrise information of the source service satellite of the terminal.

[0041] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the source service satellite of the terminal can be understood as a satellite currently providing service for the terminal, or a satellite corresponding to a satellite cell currently camped by the terminal.

[0042] In some embodiments, S301 can be implemented in the following three ways.

[0043] Firstly, the sunrise information is obtained from a pre-configured sunrise information table according to the terminal location information and the source service satellite location information.

[0044] In the first way, the pre-configured sunrise information table can include the correspondence between the terminal location information, the satellite location information and the sunrise information, and the corresponding sunrise information is obtained through the terminal location information and the source service satellite location information.

[0045] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal location information can include but is not limited to longitude, latitude, altitude and the like, and the satellite location information can include but is not limited to longitude, latitude, altitude and the like.

[0046] Secondly, a request message is sent to a predetermined server to request the sunrise information, and the request message at least includes the terminal location information and the source service satellite location information.

[0047] In some embodiments, the request message can further include at least one of the following: a request type for indicating the request for the sunrise information, for example, it can be a sunrise information request; a current time, for example, a time stamp of the current time; and a request time interval, which can be a time interval from the current time to a predetermined time.

[0048] In some embodiments, the request time interval can be determined according to the current time, the terminal location and the historical sunrise information corresponding to the terminal location. For example, assuming that the historical sunrise duration at the terminal location is 11:20:40-11:30:40, and the current time is 11:05:50, the request time interval can be a preset interval starting from the current time and covering the end time of the sunrise, for example, the request time interval can be 11:05:50-11:40:00.

[0049] When the sunrise information is obtained through the second way, the address of the predetermined server can be pre-configured in the terminal, and the request message is sent to the corresponding server through the server address.

[0050] In some embodiments, after sending the request message to the predetermined server, a response message responsive to the request message can also be received from the predetermined server, the response message including at least the terminal location information, the satellite location information, and the sunrise information. The sunrise information may, for example, be a sunrise time interval (i.e., a sunrise duration), and may, for example, be a time interval from a sunrise start time to a sunrise end time.

[0051] In some embodiments, the response message can further include at least one of: a response type, which can be used to indicate that the response is for the request message requesting the sunrise information, for example, can be a sunrise information response; a current time, which may, for example, be a timestamp of the current time.

[0052] Method three: determining the sunrise information based on the terminal location information and the source service satellite location information according to a predetermined algorithm.

[0053] In some scenarios, if the sunrise information table is not pre-configured, or the current network (Internet) is not available, or the predetermined server does not respond normally, the terminal can determine the sunrise information according to a predetermined algorithm.

[0054] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the predetermined algorithm can be an existing algorithm for determining the sunrise information, and is not limited in this regard. The predetermined algorithm is an algorithm that can be used to calculate the sunrise information offline and is pre-configured for the terminal.

[0055] In one example, taking a geosynchronous satellite as an example (the latitude of the satellite is 0), the corresponding method for determining the sunrise information according to the predetermined algorithm is as follows:

[0056] The sunrise date can be calculated as follows:

[0057] T1 = equinox time - / + A / ω, A is the central date when the sun's rays are perpendicular to the latitude M = 0, and ω is the average speed of the sun's movement north and south before and after the equinox, ω is approximately equal to 0.3854 degrees per day;

[0058] The sunrise time of the terminal location when the sunrise occurs can be calculated using the following formula:

[0059] T2 = 12 hours 00 minutes 00 seconds - (M1-120)*4 minutes - E1, M1 is the sun's rays' longitude position when the sunrise occurs, and E1 is the time difference of the sun when the sunrise occurs.

[0060] S302: determining the sunrise start time of the source service satellite according to the sunrise information of the source service satellite, and determining the difference between the sunrise start time of the source service satellite and the current time.

[0061] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the sunrise-moonset information includes information that can be used to determine the sunrise-moonset start time, and the content included in the sunrise-moonset information is not limited. For example, the sunrise-moonset information can include the sunrise-moonset start time. For another example, the sunrise-moonset information can include the sunrise-moonset end time and the sunrise-moonset duration. For yet another example, the sunrise-moonset information can include the sunrise-moonset start time and the sunrise-moonset end time.

[0062] S303: In the case where the difference between the sunrise-moonset start time of the source service satellite and the current time is less than the predetermined time difference threshold, a destination service satellite is determined from the candidate satellites, and the terminal is switched to the destination service satellite.

[0063] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the predetermined time difference threshold can be set according to actual application requirements, and the present disclosure does not limit this. For example, the predetermined time difference threshold can be set to be greater than the sum of the time for the terminal to perform satellite cell measurement and the time for the terminal to perform satellite switching.

[0064] Through the above communication method, in the case where the difference between the sunrise-moonset start time of the source service satellite and the current time is less than the predetermined time difference threshold, it can be determined that the source service satellite of the terminal will soon experience sunrise-moonset, at this time, a destination service satellite can be determined from the candidate satellites, and the terminal can be switched to the destination service satellite, thereby avoiding the terminal camping on the cell of the source service satellite that will soon experience sunrise-moonset, and effectively avoiding sunrise-moonset by switching the terminal to the destination service satellite to provide services for the terminal, thereby avoiding signal loss caused by communication interruption during sunrise-moonset, and further improving communication reliability.

[0065] In some embodiments, the determination of the destination service satellite from the candidate satellites included in S303 can be implemented by the following method. Referring to FIG. 4, a flowchart of a method for determining a destination service satellite is provided, which includes steps S401 and S402.

[0066] S401: Obtain a candidate satellite.

[0067] In this embodiment, satellite cell information can be obtained through satellite cell measurement, and the candidate satellite can be determined through the satellite cell information. The number of candidate satellites can be one or more. For example, the satellite corresponding to the satellite cell obtained through satellite cell measurement can be determined as the candidate satellite.

[0068] The satellite cell information can include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a satellite cell identifier; position information of the satellite; cell signal strength; a server or a server provider, which refers to a satellite server or a satellite server provider that provides corresponding satellite services.

[0069] S402: Determine a destination service satellite from the candidate satellites according to the cell signal strength and / or the sunrise-moonset information of the candidate satellites.

[0070] In some embodiments, S402 can be implemented by the following method, referring to FIG. 5, a flowchart of a method for determining a target service satellite according to the present disclosure, the method comprising steps S4021-S4023.

[0071] S4021: Obtain the cell signal strength and / or the sunrise / sunset information of the candidate satellite.

[0072] In this embodiment, the method for obtaining the cell signal strength of the candidate satellite included in S4021 is not limited. In one possible implementation, the cell signal strength of the candidate satellite can be obtained from the satellite cell information obtained in S401.

[0073] In some embodiments, the method for obtaining the sunrise / sunset information of the candidate satellite comprises the following three methods.

[0074] Method one: Obtain the sunrise / sunset information from a preconfigured sunrise / sunset information table according to the terminal location information and the candidate satellite location information.

[0075] Method two: Send a request message to a predetermined server to request the sunrise / sunset information, the request message comprising at least the terminal location information and the candidate satellite location information.

[0076] Method three: Determine the sunrise / sunset information according to a predetermined algorithm based on the terminal location information and the candidate satellite location information.

[0077] In this embodiment, the method for obtaining the sunrise / sunset information of the candidate satellite can be the same as the method for obtaining the sunrise / sunset information of the source service satellite of the terminal in S301, and the specific implementation of the method one to method three can refer to the related description in S301, which will not be described here.

[0078] In some embodiments, the method for obtaining the sunrise / sunset information of the candidate satellite included in S4021 can be implemented by any one of the following methods.

[0079] Method one: Determine the candidate satellite that belongs to the same server as the source service satellite of the terminal, and request the sunrise / sunset information of the candidate satellite that belongs to the same server as the source service satellite of the terminal from the server.

[0080] In method one, the candidate satellite that belongs to the same server as the source service satellite of the terminal can also be understood as the candidate satellite that belongs to the same satellite server provider as the source service satellite of the terminal, and the satellites belonging to the same server can all request satellite-related services from the server.

[0081] Method two: Obtain the location information of the source service satellite and the candidate satellite, the location information comprising longitude, determine the candidate satellite whose longitude is less than the longitude of the source service satellite, and obtain the sunrise / sunset information of the candidate satellite whose longitude is less than the longitude of the source service satellite.

[0082] In the second way, the position information of the source serving satellite and the candidate satellites can be obtained by satellite cell measurement. The position information can also include latitude and altitude. According to the moving direction of the satellite, it is known that the time of the candidate satellite with a smaller longitude than the source serving satellite to experience the sunrise is earlier than the time of the source serving satellite to experience the sunrise, so the candidate satellite with a smaller longitude than the source serving satellite usually experiences the sunrise to end when the source serving satellite is about to experience the sunrise. In the second way, the sunrise information of the candidate satellite experiencing the sunrise to end is obtained, and the target serving satellite is determined from the candidate satellite experiencing the sunrise to end, so that the problem of communication interruption caused by the terminal experiencing the sunrise again after switching to the target serving satellite can be avoided.

[0083] The third way is to obtain the sunrise information of all the candidate satellites.

[0084] In some embodiments, the first preset condition that the cell signal strength satisfies includes that the cell signal strength is greater than a predetermined signal strength threshold, or the cell signal strength is the first preset number of cell signal strengths in a target order, and the target order is an order of the cell signal strengths of all the satellites included in the candidate satellites from large to small. In this way, several satellites with the strongest cell signal strengths can be selected from the candidate satellites as the target serving satellites of the terminal, and the communication efficiency can be improved.

[0085] In some embodiments, the first preset condition that the cell signal strength satisfies includes that the cell signal strength is greater than a predetermined signal strength threshold, or the cell signal strength is the first preset number of cell signal strengths in a target order, and the target order is an order of the cell signal strengths of all the satellites included in the candidate satellites from large to small. In this way, several satellites with the strongest cell signal strengths can be selected from the candidate satellites as the target serving satellites of the terminal, and the communication efficiency can be improved.

[0086] In this embodiment, the predetermined signal strength threshold and the preset value can be set according to actual needs, and are not limited.

[0087] In some embodiments, the sunrise time includes the sunrise start time or the sunrise end time, and the second preset condition that the sunrise time satisfies includes that the sunrise end time is less than the current time, or the difference between the sunrise start time and the current time is the largest. In some possible implementations, when the target serving satellite is determined, a satellite with the sunrise end time less than the current time can be determined as the target serving satellite first, and if there is no satellite with the sunrise end time less than the current time, a satellite with the largest difference between the sunrise start time and the current time can be further determined as the target serving satellite. In this way, a satellite whose sunrise has ended (the sunrise end time is less than the current time) or a satellite farthest from the sunrise start time (the difference between the sunrise start time and the current time is the largest) can be selected from the candidate satellites as the target serving satellite of the terminal, so that the terminal can be prevented from experiencing the sunrise again after switching to the target serving satellite.

[0088] S4023: determining the target service satellite from the candidate satellite whose cell signal strength satisfies the first preset condition and / or the candidate satellite whose nautical time satisfies the second preset condition.

[0089] In S4023, the determination of the target service satellite from the candidate satellite whose cell signal strength satisfies the first preset condition and the candidate satellite whose nautical time satisfies the second preset condition can include: first determining the candidate satellite whose cell signal strength satisfies the first preset condition, and then determining the candidate satellite whose nautical time satisfies the second preset condition from the candidate satellite whose cell signal strength satisfies the first preset condition, and determining the candidate satellite as the target service satellite.

[0090] In order for those skilled in the art to more clearly understand the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure are further described below through specific examples.

[0091] Referring to FIG. 6, a flowchart of a communication method provided by the present disclosure is shown. In this example, it is assumed that the source service satellite accessed by the terminal is a geostationary satellite (the satellite is located above the equator), the position of the terminal is 112.5 degrees east longitude and 40.6 degrees north latitude, and the terminal is assumed to operate near the ground (the height of the terminal can be ignored for the entire calculation process), i.e., the height of the terminal is 0 km, the position of the source service satellite is 76.5 degrees east longitude and 0 degrees north latitude (geostationary satellite), and the height is 38000 km. The method can include the following steps S600 to S606.

[0092] S600: obtaining relevant parameters for obtaining the nautical information of the source service satellite of the terminal.

[0093] In this example, the relevant parameters are assumed to include the terminal position information, the satellite position information, and the current time.

[0094] S601: determining whether the current network is available. If the current network is available, S602a1 is performed, and if the current network is not available, S602b1 is performed.

[0095] In this example, it is assumed that the current network is available.

[0096] S602a1: requesting the nautical information of the source service satellite of the terminal from a predetermined server according to the address of the predetermined server configured in advance, and performing S602a2 after performing S602a1. The specific request method can refer to the method two in S301, which will not be described here.

[0097] In S602a1, the nautical information can be requested from the predetermined server by using the relevant parameters obtained in S600.

[0098] In this example, it is assumed that the predetermined servers pre-configured for the terminal include server A and server B, server A belongs to satellite server provider A, and server B belongs to satellite server provider B.

[0099] It is assumed that the addresses of the predetermined servers pre-configured for the terminal are as follows:

[0100] The address of server A of satellite server provider A is AAAA.com.

[0101] The address of server B of satellite server provider B is BBBB.com.

[0102] It is also assumed that the terminal is currently registered with satellite server provider A, and server A provides satellite-related services for the terminal.

[0103] Under the above assumptions, S602a1 sends a request message to server A to request the sunrise information of the source service satellite of the terminal according to AAAA.com.

[0104] In this example, the request message can be sent to server A in the second manner in S301 to request the sunrise information.

[0105] In one example, the format of the request message sent by the terminal to server A can be seen in Table 3, and the format of the response message returned by server A to the terminal can be seen in Table 4.

[0106] Table 3 is a possible format of a request message

[0107] Table 4 is a possible format of a response message

[0108] S602b1: determines the sunrise information of the source service satellite of the terminal according to a predetermined algorithm, and performs S603 after performing S602b1.

[0109] The relevant parameters obtained by S600 in S602b1 are used to determine the sunrise information according to a predetermined algorithm.

[0110] S602a2: determines whether the predetermined server successfully returns the sunrise information, and if the predetermined server successfully returns the sunrise information, performs S603, and if the predetermined server does not successfully return the sunrise information, performs S602b1.

[0111] In this example, it is assumed that the predetermined server successfully returns the sunrise information (sunrise time interval) contained in Table 4.

[0112] S603: determines the sunrise start time of the source service satellite according to the sunrise information of the source service satellite, and determines the difference between the sunrise start time of the source service satellite and the current time.

[0113] In this example, when S603 is performed, the sun transit start time of the source service satellite can be determined as 2023-10-1 11:21:40 according to the sun transit time interval contained in Table 4, and then the difference between the sun transit start time 2023-10-1 11:21:40 of the source service satellite and the current time 2023-10-1 11:20:45 can be determined as 55 seconds.

[0114] S604: Compare the difference between the sun transit start time of the source service satellite and the current time with the size of the predetermined time difference threshold, determine whether the difference between the sun transit start time of the source service satellite and the current time is less than the predetermined time difference threshold, if the difference between the sun transit start time of the source service satellite and the current time is less than the predetermined time difference threshold, perform S605, if the difference between the sun transit start time of the source service satellite and the current time is greater than or equal to the predetermined time difference threshold, perform S606.

[0115] In this example, it is assumed that the predetermined time difference threshold is dt, and dt takes the value of 1 minute. When S604 is performed, by comparing the difference between the sun transit start time of the source service satellite and the current time (55 seconds) with the size of the predetermined time difference threshold (1 minute), it can be determined that the difference between the sun transit start time of the source service satellite and the current time is less than the predetermined time difference threshold, so S605 is performed.

[0116] S605: Determine the destination service satellite from the candidate satellites, and switch the terminal to the destination service satellite.

[0117] In this example, after the terminal determines that the difference between the sun transit start time of the source service satellite and the current time is less than the predetermined time difference threshold in S604, it can immediately start measurement on other satellite cells (cells other than the satellite cell currently camped by the terminal). It is assumed that the currently measured satellite cell information is as shown in Table 5.

[0118] Table 5 is a satellite cell information table

[0119] In this example, after the other satellite cell measurement is performed, the candidate satellites can be determined to be the satellites on which the satellite cells corresponding to cell identifiers 1 to 3 are located according to the measured satellite cell information.

[0120] In this example, after the candidate satellites are determined, the sun transit information of all or part of the satellites included in the candidate satellites can be obtained. In some scenarios where the demand for cell switching is urgent, the sun transit information of part of the satellites included in the candidate satellites can be obtained to improve switching efficiency. In some scenarios where the demand for cell switching is not very urgent, the sun transit information of all satellites included in the candidate satellites can be obtained.

[0121] The following describes the process of obtaining the sun-dip information of all or part of the satellites included in the candidate satellites by taking three strategies as examples.

[0122] Strategy A

[0123] The candidate satellite whose longitude is less than the longitude (east longitude 76.5 degrees) of the source serving satellite is determined. For the example described above, the satellite corresponding to the cell identifier 3 (east longitude 68.5 degrees) is determined as the candidate satellite. It is further determined whether the cell signal strength of the satellite meets the preset condition. In the case where the preset condition is met, the sun-dip information of the satellite can be obtained.

[0124] In this example, it is assumed that the cell signal strength of the satellite corresponding to the cell identifier 3 meets the first preset condition, so the sun-dip information of the satellite can be obtained. As can be seen from Table 5, the satellite server provider of the satellite is A, and therefore a request message can be sent to the server A. The format of the request message is shown in Table 6.

[0125] Table 6 is the format of the request message

[0126] It is assumed that the server A can provide services. The format of the response message returned by the server A is shown in Table 7.

[0127] Table 7 is the format of the response message

[0128] After the terminal receives the response message shown in Table 7, the sun-dip end time can be determined according to the sun-dip time interval contained in the response message, and the sun-dip end time of the satellite can be determined to be less than the current time, that is, the sun-dip of the satellite has ended, and the terminal can be switched to the target serving satellite.

[0129] Strategy B

[0130] The candidate satellite belonging to the same satellite server provider as the source serving satellite of the terminal is determined. In this example, the satellite server provider of the source serving satellite of the terminal is A, and therefore the candidate satellites belonging to the same satellite server provider as the source serving satellite of the terminal include the satellites corresponding to the cell identifiers 1 and 3, and a batch of request messages can be sent to the server A to request the sun-dip information of these satellites. The request messages can be spliced in the field to minimize the amount of redundant characters. The format of the request message is shown in Table 8.

[0131] Table 8 is the format of the request message

[0132] It is assumed that the server A can provide services. The format of the response message returned by the server A is shown in Table 9.

[0133] Table 9 is the format of the response message

[0134] After obtaining the sunrise information of the multiple satellites included in the candidate satellites, a satellite with a sunrise end time less than the current time, i.e., the satellite corresponding to the cell identifier 3 (east longitude 68.5 degrees, north latitude 0 degrees, height 38000 km), can be determined from the candidate satellites according to the sunrise information of the candidate satellites. The sunrise of the satellite has ended, and the terminal can be switched to the target service satellite.

[0135] Strategy C

[0136] Obtain the sunrise information of all satellites in the candidate satellites.

[0137] As can be seen from Table 5, the satellite server providers of the satellites where the cells corresponding to the cell identifiers 1 and 3 are located are both A, so a request message can be sent to the server A in batches to request the sunrise information of these satellites. The format of the request message sent to the server A is shown in Table 10 below.

[0138] Table 10 is the format of the request message

[0139] Assuming that the server A can provide services, the format of the response message returned by the server A is shown in Table 11 below.

[0140] Table 11 is the format of the response message

[0141] As can be seen from Table 5, the satellite server provider of the satellite where the cell corresponding to the cell identifier 2 is located is B, so a request message can be sent to the server B to request the sunrise information of the satellite. The format of the request message sent to the server B is shown in Table 12 below.

[0142] Table 12 is the format of the request message

[0143] Assuming that the server B can provide services, the format of the response message returned by the server B is shown in Table 13 below.

[0144] Table 13 is the format of the response message

[0145] After obtaining the sunrise information of the multiple satellites included in the candidate satellites, a satellite with a sunrise end time less than the current time, i.e., the satellite corresponding to the cell identifier 3 (east longitude 68.5 degrees, north latitude 0 degrees, height 38000 km), can be determined from the candidate satellites according to the sunrise information of the candidate satellites. The sunrise of the satellite has ended, and the terminal can be switched to the target service satellite.

[0146] S606: End the current round of evaluation process, and wait for a preset time before performing the next round of evaluation process.

[0147] In a second aspect, referring to FIG. 7, a terminal is provided, which comprises: at least one processor 701; a memory 702, having at least one computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by the at least one processor 701, causes the at least one processor 701 to implement the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect; and at least one I / O interface 703 connected between the processor 701 and the memory 702, configured to implement information interaction between the processor 701 and the memory 702.

[0148] The processor 701 is a device having data processing capability, including but not limited to a central processing unit (CPU) and the like; the memory 702 is a device having data storage capability, including but not limited to a random access memory (RAM, more specifically SDRAM, DDR, etc.), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory (FLASH), and the like; and the I / O interface (read-write interface) 703 is connected between the processor 701 and the memory 702, and can implement information interaction between the processor 701 and the memory 702, including but not limited to a data bus (Bus) and the like.

[0149] In some embodiments, the processor 701, the memory 702, and the I / O interface 703 are connected to each other through a bus 704, and further connected to other components of the computing device.

[0150] In a third aspect, referring to FIG. 8, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0151] In a fourth aspect, referring to FIG. 9, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0152] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or some of the functional modules / units in the above disclosed steps, systems, and devices can be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, and appropriate combinations thereof.

[0153] In a hardware implementation, the division between the functional modules / units mentioned in the above description does not necessarily correspond to the division of physical components; for example, one physical component can have multiple functions, or one function or step can be executed by several physical components in cooperation.

[0154] Some or all of the physical components can be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor, or a microprocessor, or hardware, or a combination of software and / or hardware. Such software can be distributed on computer readable media, which can comprise computer storage media (or non-transitory media), and communication media (or transitory media). Computer storage media, as used herein, includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), such as SDRAM, DDR, or other RAM; read only memory (ROM); electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM); flash memory or other memory technology; compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disks (DVDs), or other optical disk storage; magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices; or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and that can be accessed by a computer. Further, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that computer storage media generally includes any media that can be used for storage of data and / or computer code longer than a transitory signal, and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, as used herein, "non-transitory computer-readable medium" includes all computer-readable media, except for a transitory signal.

[0155] The present disclosure has disclosed example embodiments, and while specific terminology has been employed, it is merely in favor of a general descriptive purpose and should not be construed as limiting. In some instances, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that features, characteristics, and / or elements described in connection with a particular embodiment can be used in conjunction with other embodiments unless otherwise explicitly stated, either alone or in combination. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the claims that follow.

Claims

1. A communication method applied to a terminal, comprising: obtaining sun transit information of a source serving satellite of the terminal; determining a sun transit start time of the source serving satellite according to the sun transit information of the source serving satellite, and determining a difference between the sun transit start time of the source serving satellite and a current time; in a case that the difference between the sun transit start time of the source serving satellite and the current time is less than a predetermined time difference threshold, determining a target serving satellite from candidate satellites, and switching the terminal to the target serving satellite. The determining of the target serving satellite from the candidate satellites comprises: obtaining the candidate satellites; and determining the target serving satellite from the candidate satellites according to cell signal strength and / or sun transit information of the candidate satellites. The determining of the target serving satellite from the candidate satellites according to the cell signal strength and / or sun transit information of the candidate satellites comprises: obtaining the cell signal strength and / or sun transit information of the candidate satellites; determining candidate satellites with cell signal strength satisfying a first preset condition from the candidate satellites according to the cell signal strength of the candidate satellites; and / or determining candidate satellites with sun transit time satisfying a second preset condition from the candidate satellites according to the sun transit information of the candidate satellites; and determining the target serving satellite from the candidate satellites with cell signal strength satisfying the first preset condition and / or the candidate satellites with sun transit time satisfying the second preset condition. The sun transit information of the candidate satellites is obtained according to any one of the following manners: manner one: determining the candidate satellites belonging to a same server as the source serving satellite of the terminal, and requesting the sun transit information of the candidate satellites belonging to the same server as the source serving satellite of the terminal from the server; manner two: obtaining position information of the source serving satellite and the candidate satellites, the position information comprising longitude, determining the candidate satellites with longitude less than that of the source serving satellite, and obtaining the sun transit information of the candidate satellites with longitude less than that of the source serving satellite; and manner three: obtaining the sun transit information of all the candidate satellites. The cell signal strength satisfying the first preset condition comprises the cell signal strength being greater than a predetermined signal strength threshold, or the cell signal strength being a top preset number of cell signal strengths in a target ranking, wherein the target ranking is a ranking of cell signal strengths of all the candidate satellites from large to small. The sun transit time comprises a sun transit start time or a sun transit end time, and the sun transit time satisfying the second preset condition comprises the sun transit end time being less than the current time, or the difference between the sun transit start time and the current time being maximum. The obtaining of the sun transit information of the candidate satellites comprises: obtaining the sun transit information from a preconfigured sun transit information table according to terminal position information and candidate satellite position information; or sending a request message to a predetermined server to request the sun transit information, wherein the request message at least comprises the terminal position information and the candidate satellite position information; or determining the sun transit information according to a predetermined algorithm based on the terminal position information and the candidate satellite position information. ​ ​ ​ 2. The method of claim 1, wherein, ​ ​ ​ 3. The method of claim 2, wherein, ​ ​ ​ ​ 4. The method of claim 3, wherein, ​ ​ ​ ​ 5. The method of claim 3, wherein, ​ 6. The method of claim 3, wherein, ​ 7. The method of claim 3, wherein, ​ ​ 8. The method of claim 1, wherein, The obtaining of the sunrise information of the source service satellite of the terminal comprises: obtaining the sunrise information from a pre-configured sunrise information table according to the terminal position information and the source service satellite position information; or sending a request message to a predetermined server to request the sunrise information, wherein the request message at least comprises the terminal position information and the source service satellite position information; or determining the sunrise information according to a predetermined algorithm based on the terminal position information and the source service satellite position information.

9. The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein, The request message further comprises at least one of the following: a request type, used to indicate that the sunrise information is requested; a current time; a request time interval.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The request time interval is determined according to the current time, the terminal position and historical sunrise information corresponding to the terminal position.

11. The method of claim 7 or 8, further comprising: after the sending of the request message to the predetermined server to request the sunrise information, receiving a response message from the predetermined server in response to the request message, wherein the response message at least comprises the terminal position information, the satellite position information and the sunrise information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The response message further comprises at least one of the following: a response type, used to indicate that the response is to the request message for requesting the sunrise information; a current time.

13. A terminal, comprising: at least one processor; a memory having at least one computer program stored thereon, wherein when the at least one computer program is executed by the at least one processor, the at least one processor implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12; at least one I / O interface connected between the processor and the memory, configured to realize the information interaction between the processor and the memory.

14. A computer readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

15. A computer program product comprising a computer program, wherein the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

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