Non-terrestrial communication node switching method, and device, storage medium and program product

Abstract

Provided in the present disclosure are a non-terrestrial communication node switching method, and a device, a storage medium and a program product. The method comprises: in response to determining that there is severe weather in a communication area of a currently accessed first non-terrestrial communication node for a terminal, searching for a non-terrestrial communication node in a search area outside the communication area, so as to determine a second non-terrestrial communication node; and switching the access from the first non-terrestrial communication node to the second non-terrestrial communication node.

Description

Non-terrestrial communication node switching method, device, storage medium and program product

[0001] The present disclosure claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410684346.1, filed on May 29, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a non-terrestrial communication node switching method, device, storage medium and program product. BACKGROUND

[0003] With the evolution of the 5th generation mobile communication technology (5G) and the trend of the future 6th generation mobile communication technology (6G), non-terrestrial networks (NTN) have become the most important technology in the next generation of communication.

[0004] Taking satellite communication in NTN as an example, the satellite communication link generally passes through the troposphere in the atmosphere, and the severe weather in the troposphere has a great impact on the satellite signal.

[0005] For example, thick clouds, large raindrops or hail in the clouds, lightning in the clouds, etc. can cause frequent deterioration of satellite signal quality, resulting in intermittent satellite communication. SUMMARY

[0006] The present disclosure provides a non-terrestrial communication node switching method, device, storage medium and program product.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a non-terrestrial communication node switching method. The method is applied to a terminal, and the method comprises:

[0008] In response to determining that the first non-terrestrial communication node currently accessed by the terminal has severe weather in the communication area of the terminal, searching for a non-terrestrial communication node in a search area outside the communication area, and determining a second non-terrestrial communication node;

[0009] Switching from the first non-terrestrial communication node to access the second non-terrestrial communication node.

[0010] In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides a non-terrestrial communication node switching method. The method is applied to a server, and the method comprises:

[0011] acquire weather data of a communication area of the terminal by a first non-terrestrial communication node currently accessed by the terminal;

[0012] identify, based on the weather data, whether the communication area has severe weather;

[0013] in response to identifying that the communication area has severe weather, send indication information to the terminal, wherein the indication information is used to trigger the terminal to switch from the first non-terrestrial communication node to a second non-terrestrial communication node, the second non-terrestrial communication node being located outside the communication area.

[0014] In a third aspect, the present disclosure provides a non-terrestrial communication node switching device. The device is applied to a terminal, and the device comprises a processing module.

[0015] The processing module is configured to: in response to determining that a communication area of the terminal by a first non-terrestrial communication node currently accessed by the terminal has severe weather, search for a non-terrestrial communication node in a search area located outside the communication area, and determine a second non-terrestrial communication node; and switch from the first non-terrestrial communication node to the second non-terrestrial communication node.

[0016] In a fourth aspect, the present disclosure provides a non-terrestrial communication node switching device. The device is applied to a server, and the device comprises an acquisition module and a processing module.

[0017] The acquisition module is configured to acquire weather data of a communication area of the terminal by a first non-terrestrial communication node currently accessed by the terminal.

[0018] The processing module is configured to: identify, based on the weather data, whether the communication area has severe weather; and in response to identifying that the communication area has severe weather, send indication information to the terminal, wherein the indication information is used to trigger the terminal to switch from the first non-terrestrial communication node to a second non-terrestrial communication node, the second non-terrestrial communication node being located outside the communication area.

[0019] In a fifth aspect, the present disclosure provides an electronic device. The electronic device comprises a processor and a memory. The memory stores instructions executable by the processor. The processor is configured to, when executing the instructions, cause the electronic device to implement the method according to any one of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0020] In a sixth aspect, the present disclosure provides a readable storage medium. The readable storage medium comprises software instructions. When the software instructions are run in an electronic device, the electronic device implements the method according to any one of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0021] In a seventh aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes computer instructions. When the computer instructions are run on an electronic device, the electronic device implements the method according to any one of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0022] In the present disclosure, the terminal can trigger searching for a non-terrestrial communication node located in a search area outside the communication area in response to determining that the first non-terrestrial communication node currently accessed by the terminal has severe weather in the communication area of the terminal, determine a second non-terrestrial communication node, and switch to access the second non-terrestrial communication node, thereby establishing a new communication link. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0023] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the technical scheme of the present application, and constitute a part of the specification, and are used together with the embodiments of the present disclosure to explain the technical scheme of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical scheme of the present application.

[0024] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a future communication technology integrated with satellites as non-terrestrial links according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a composition of a non-terrestrial communication node switching system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a flow of a non-terrestrial communication node switching method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a communication area according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a search area direction according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of signal strength jitter according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of signal-to-noise ratio dip according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 8 is another schematic diagram of a flow of a non-terrestrial communication node switching method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] FIG. 9 is a general flowchart of a non-terrestrial communication node switching method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a flow of determining severe weather using a network server according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a terminal autonomously detecting weather conditions according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a composition of a non-terrestrial communication node switching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] FIG. 13 is a constituent schematic diagram of another non-terrestrial communication node switching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] FIG. 14 is a constituent schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] In order for those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0039] Unless otherwise required by context, the term “comprise” and other forms such as “comprises”, “comprises”, and “comprising” are to be construed as open, inclusive, meaning, i.e. “including, but not limited to”. In the description of the specification, the terms “one embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “exemplary embodiments”, “example”, “specific example” or “some examples” and the like are intended to mean that the particular feature, structure, material or characteristic associated with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. The illustrative representation of the above terms does not necessarily mean the same embodiment or example. In addition, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be included in any one or more embodiments or examples in any appropriate manner.

[0040] The terms “first”, “second”, and the like are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined with “first”, “second”, and the like can explicitly or implicitly include one or more features. In the description of the present disclosure, unless otherwise stated, the meaning of “a plurality of” is two or more.

[0041] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as an example or illustration. Any embodiment or design presented as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present disclosure should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. In fact, the use of "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present concepts in a concrete form for the sake of the reader's understanding.

[0042] In addition, the use of "based on" means open and inclusive, because the process, step, calculation or other action that is "based on" one or more stated conditions or values can be based on additional conditions or values beyond those stated in practice.

[0043] With the evolution of 5G and the trend of future 6G, NTN has become the most important technology for the next generation of communication. For example, 5G Advanced has begun to adopt satellite links.

[0044] And the future 6G space-ground integrated communication system will be a major evolution of current network coverage. Because the current ground mobile communication technology can only cover less than 40% of the land area of the world. For the oceans that occupy most of the earth's area, it is impossible to establish ground base stations for coverage. It is very important for future mobile communication technology to expand its territory by using air technology (such as satellite technology (including low-orbit satellites and medium-orbit satellites)) as a network coverage technology.

[0045] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a future communication technology space-ground integration using satellites as non-ground links according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the architecture mainly involves a 5G / 6G core network, a building baseband unit (BBU), a gateway (Gateway), a radio remote unit (RRU) antenna array, satellites (for example, satellite 1 and satellite 2 are shown in FIG. 1), and a terminal.

[0046] Taking the downlink transmission process as an example, the 5G / 6G core network can send data that needs to be transmitted to the terminal to the BBU, the BBU encodes and modulates the received data, etc. and converts it into a digital signal to send to the Gateway+RRU antenna array, the Gateway+RRU antenna array can convert the digital signal into a radio frequency signal and transmit it to the satellite through a sky feeder link (C / ku / ka band), the satellite can amplify and frequency-convert the radio frequency signal, etc. and then transmit the processed radio frequency signal (or satellite signal) to the signal coverage area through the satellite service wireless link (L / S band), the terminal supporting the L / S band in the signal coverage area can receive the satellite signal transmitted by the satellite.

[0047] Taking the uplink transmission process as an example, a terminal supporting L / S bands can transmit a radio frequency signal to the satellite through L / S bands, the satellite can amplify and frequency-convert the radio frequency signal, and then transmit the processed radio frequency signal (or satellite signal) to the Gateway+RRU antenna array through the feeder link (C / ku / ka bands). The Gateway+RRU antenna array can convert the radio frequency signal into a digital signal and send it to the BBU. The BBU can decode and demodulate the digital signal, and send the processed data to the 5G / 6G core network.

[0048] As can be known from the above introduction of FIG. 1, the satellite communication link is mainly the communication link between the terminal and the satellite. However, one difference between the satellite communication link as the NTN wireless communication link and the ground base station is that the communication link between the terminal and the ground base station will not be separated by thick clouds or lightning, etc., so the weather basically has no effect on the communication link between the terminal and the ground base station. However, the communication link between the terminal and the satellite will generally pass through the troposphere in the atmosphere, and the severe weather in the troposphere will have a great impact on the satellite signal.

[0049] For example, thick clouds, large raindrops or hail in the clouds, lightning in the clouds, etc. can cause the satellite signal quality to deteriorate frequently, resulting in intermittent satellite communication.

[0050] Based on this, the embodiment of the present disclosure provides a non-terrestrial communication node switching method, device, storage medium and program product, which can trigger the terminal to search for other non-terrestrial communication nodes outside the communication area when detecting that the communication area of the non-terrestrial communication node currently accessed by the terminal exists severe weather, so as to avoid the influence of severe weather on satellite communication.

[0051] It should be understood that the example implementations described herein are merely for the purpose of explaining the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

[0052] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various mobile communication networks, for example, a new radio (NR) mobile communication network using 5G, a future mobile communication network such as a 6G mobile communication network, or a multi-communication fusion system, etc. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit this.

[0053] In combination with the schematic diagram of the architecture shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 is a component schematic diagram of a non-terrestrial communication node switching system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, the system includes but is not limited to a plurality of non-terrestrial communication nodes 10 (satellite 11 and satellite 12 are taken as examples in FIG. 2), a server 20, and a terminal 30 (a mobile phone is taken as an example in FIG. 2).

[0054] The non-terrestrial communication node 10 can be a node in a non-terrestrial communication network. The non-terrestrial communication network is a kind of communication network using high-altitude or high-sky platforms, and the main feature of the non-terrestrial communication network is not to rely on traditional ground infrastructure. These high-altitude or high-sky platforms (i.e., the aforementioned nodes) can include communication satellites, satellite networks, unmanned aerial vehicles, hot air balloons, high-altitude airships, and the like. The high-sky platforms are usually equipped with radio frequency resources and can provide wide-area or global coverage to meet the needs of areas that cannot be covered by traditional ground networks.

[0055] The non-terrestrial communication node 10 can be configured to mutually transmit and receive radio frequency signals with the terminal 30.

[0056] The server 20 can be a single server, or alternatively, can be a server cluster composed of multiple servers. In some embodiments, the server cluster can also be a distributed cluster. In some embodiments, the server can also be implemented on a cloud platform, for example, the cloud platform can include a private cloud, a public cloud, a hybrid cloud, a community cloud, a distributed cloud, an inter-cloud, a multi-cloud, and the like, or any combination thereof. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not make any limitation in this regard.

[0057] The server 20 can be configured to actively or passively detect the weather condition of an area in response to a request from the terminal 30, and send indication information to the terminal 30 to indicate the weather condition of the area.

[0058] In some embodiments, the server 20 can also be connected to a ground control center of a non-terrestrial communication network in which the non-terrestrial communication node 10 is located, and the server 20 can obtain relevant information of the non-terrestrial communication node 10, such as location information, through the ground control center.

[0059] In some embodiments, the server 20 can also be connected to a meteorological server, and the server 20 can obtain meteorological data through the meteorological server.

[0060] In some embodiments, the server 20 can also be a meteorological server.

[0061] The terminal 30 can be a terminal capable of implementing communication based on a non-terrestrial communication network. The terminal can be a fixed terminal, a personal handheld satellite mobile terminal (such as a satellite phone or a mobile phone with satellite communication function), a vehicle-mounted mobile terminal (such as a vehicle-mounted satellite phone), or the like. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not make any limitation on the specific form of the terminal 30.

[0062] The terminal 30 can trigger switching the non-terrestrial communication node (for example, switching from accessing the satellite 12 to accessing the satellite 11) in response to the existence of severe weather between the currently accessed non-terrestrial communication node 10. The specific process can be referred to in the following embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0063] In some embodiments, the terminal 30 can also be connected to a weather server, and the terminal 30 can obtain weather data through the weather server.

[0064] It should be noted that the above-mentioned Fig. 2 is an exemplary structure diagram, and the non-terrestrial communication node switching system provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can include more or fewer components than the diagram, which is not limited by the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0065] Next, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a non-terrestrial communication node switching method, which is applied to a terminal (for example, the terminal 30 described above). Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a non-terrestrial communication node switching method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 3, the method includes the following steps.

[0066] S101, in response to determining that the first non-terrestrial communication node currently accessed by the terminal has severe weather in the communication area of the terminal, searching for a non-terrestrial communication node in a search area outside the communication area, and determining a second non-terrestrial communication node.

[0067] The type of severe weather can be preset in the terminal. For example, the severe weather can be rain, snow, hail, lightning, etc. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific type of severe weather.

[0068] In one implementation, whether severe weather occurs can be determined by the terminal itself, or can also be determined by other devices (for example, the server 20 described above) and notified to the terminal.

[0069] As an example, the communication area can be a rough estimated area, that is, the communication area can be understood as an area within a preset range centered on the terminal or the first non-terrestrial communication node.

[0070] As another example, the communication area can also be an area of the troposphere accurate position determined according to the terminal position and the non-terrestrial node position. Considering that there is a pitch angle between the non-terrestrial communication node and the terminal, and severe weather mainly occurs in the troposphere, in order to more accurately detect severe weather, the communication area can also be understood as the area corresponding to the cross section at the troposphere height in the reference cylinder. The central axis of the reference cylinder is the communication path between the first non-terrestrial communication node and the terminal.

[0071] Exemplarily, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a communication area according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, taking an example that a terminal is at point O, a first non-terrestrial communication node is at point O’’, and a projection point of the first non-terrestrial communication node to the ground is point N, if the terminal wants to know a range of 5 km square, a bottom surface of a reference cylinder can be taken as a range within 5 km square centered at the terminal (for example, a circular area with a center at O and a diameter AB in the NO direction in FIG. 4), and a top surface of the reference cylinder can be taken as a range within 5 km square centered at the first non-terrestrial communication node (for example, a circular area with a center at O’’’ and a diameter A’’’ B’’’ in the NO direction in FIG. 4), the top surface and the bottom surface are parallel, and a cylinder obtained by connecting the top surface and the bottom surface is the reference cylinder, a part of the reference cylinder intersecting with the troposphere is the communication area, and in the case of ignoring the thickness of the troposphere, a region corresponding to a cross section at a height of the troposphere (for example, a height of 17 km from the ground in FIG. 4) in the reference cylinder can be taken as the communication area.

[0072] S102, switching to access a second non-terrestrial communication node from the first non-terrestrial communication node.

[0073] In the non-terrestrial communication node switching method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal can trigger searching for a non-terrestrial communication node in a search area outside the communication area in response to determining that the first non-terrestrial communication node currently accessed by the terminal has adverse weather in the communication area of the terminal, determine a second non-terrestrial communication node, and switch to access the second non-terrestrial communication node, so as to establish a new communication link, thereby avoiding the influence of preset weather conditions in the original communication area on the communication link.

[0074] In some embodiments, taking the above communication area as a rough estimated area as an example, the server can actively monitor meteorological data in the communication area, and determine whether adverse weather occurs according to the meteorological data in the communication area, and notify the terminal after determining. In this case, before S101, the method can further include the following steps.

[0075] Step 1a, receiving indication information from the server.

[0076] The indication information is used to indicate that the communication area has adverse weather.

[0077] In an implementation manner, the server can monitor meteorological data of a larger area in real time, and if it is found that adverse weather occurs in a part of a target area in the larger area according to the meteorological data of the larger area, the server can actively trigger sending indication information to all terminals in the target area to indicate that adverse weather occurs.

[0078] In another implementation, for terminals that need to be guaranteed communication, the server can periodically obtain the location of the terminals or the location of the non-terrestrial communication nodes accessed by the terminals according to a preset detection period, detect whether severe weather occurs in the communication area of the terminals, and send indication information to the terminals.

[0079] Step 2a, determining, based on the indication information, that severe weather exists in the communication area.

[0080] For example, upon receiving the indication information, the terminal can determine that severe weather exists in the communication area indicated in the indication information.

[0081] In some other embodiments, taking the communication area as an example, the communication area is an area with a precise location in the troposphere, the terminal can actively obtain meteorological data of the communication area, and determine whether severe weather occurs according to the meteorological data in the communication area. In this case, before S101, the method can further include the following steps.

[0082] Step 1b, obtaining meteorological data of the communication area.

[0083] In an implementation, as described above, the server can be a meteorological server. In this case, the terminal can first calculate the location of the communication area according to the location of the terminal and the location of the non-terrestrial communication node currently accessed by the terminal, and then directly send a meteorological data request message to the server (meteorological server), the meteorological data request message including geographic location information of the communication area, the server (meteorological server) can query the meteorological data of multiple areas stored by the server (meteorological server) according to the geographic location information of the communication area, obtain the meteorological data of the communication area, and send a meteorological data response message to the terminal (correspondingly, the terminal can receive the meteorological data response message sent by the server (meteorological server)), the meteorological data response message including the meteorological data of the communication area.

[0084] For example, please continue to refer to the above Figure 4, the terminal can determine the position of point N according to the position of the first non-ground communication node, and further determine the length of NO, and determine the length of O”’N according to the height of the first non-ground communication node (for example, the height of the first non-ground communication node is 38000 km, which is taken as an example of the geosynchronous satellite). Since the triangle O”’O’N’ and the triangle O”’NO are similar triangles, that is, the ratio of O”’N’ to O”’N is equal to the ratio of N’O’ to NO. Therefore, the terminal can first calculate the height difference between the first non-ground communication node and the troposphere (for example, 38000 km-17 km=37983 km), and calculate the first ratio according to the ratio of the height difference to the height of the first ground communication node (for example, 38000 km), then multiply NO by the first ratio to obtain the length of N’O’, and then determine the position of N’O’ length from the N’ point in the direction from the N point to the O point, that is, the position of the O’ point can be obtained. The O’ point is taken as the center point of the communication area, and the area within the preset range (for example, the above-mentioned 5 km) around the O’ point is taken as the communication area.

[0085] As an example, the weather data can include at least one of the following: the number of lightning occurrences, the thickness of the thickest cloud layer, and the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity.

[0086] As another example, the weather data can also include wind direction. For example, the prevailing wind direction in a certain area.

[0087] For example, the format of the weather data request message sent by the terminal to the server (weather server) can be specifically as shown in Table 1 below:

[0088] Table 1

[0089] As shown in Table 1, the weather data request message sent by the terminal to the server (weather server) can include the timestamp of the request message (Table 1 takes 2023-11-25 11:22:22 as an example), the center of the communication area (that is, the center of the area whose weather data is requested, Table 1 takes 10.2 degrees north latitude and 121.2 degrees east longitude as an example), the radius of the communication area (that is, the range of the area whose weather data is requested, Table 1 takes 5 km as an example), the request time range (Table 1 takes 2023-11-25 11:22:22-2023-11-25 11:22:22 as an example), and the type of requested (weather) data (Table 1 takes the number of lightning occurrences, the thickness of the thickest cloud layer, the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity, and the wind direction as an example).

[0090] The number of times lightning occurs can be the number of times lightning occurs within a preset time period (e.g., 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or 1 hour, etc.) before the time stamp in the meteorological data request message, or can also be the number of times lightning occurs within the time range requested in the meteorological data request message. The present embodiment does not limit this. The wind direction can be the prevailing wind direction in the communication area.

[0091] Exemplarily, the format of the meteorological data response message sent by the server (meteorological server) to the terminal can be specifically as shown in Table 2 below:

[0092] Table 2

[0093] As shown in Table 2, in the meteorological data response message, the number of times lightning occurs in the communication area is 0, the thickness of the thickest cloud layer is 20 meters, and the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity is 20 dBz.

[0094] Generally, thinner (e.g., a few hundred meters thick) cloud layers (such as cirrus and cumulus clouds, etc.) usually appear in sunny weather. These thinner cloud layers are usually composed of ice crystals and are white, feathery or silk-like, and have good sunlight transmittance, so thinner cloud layers can indicate sunny weather.

[0095] On the contrary, thicker (e.g., a few kilometers or even tens of kilometers thick) cloud layers (such as cumulonimbus and nimbostratus clouds, etc.) usually appear on rainy days. These cloud layers are composed of water droplets or ice crystals and can block sunlight and produce precipitation, so thicker cloud layers can indicate bad weather.

[0096] Doppler radar reflectivity is a physical quantity that describes the integrated backscattering power of radar antenna receiving different sizes of cloud and rain droplets and other precipitation particles. The larger the Doppler radar reflectivity (e.g., above 45 dBz), the larger the size or the more the number of precipitation particles per unit volume, which can indicate bad weather. Conversely, the smaller the Doppler radar reflectivity (e.g., below 35 dBz), the smaller the size or the fewer the number of precipitation particles per unit volume, which can indicate that no bad weather has occurred.

[0097] Therefore, from the meteorological response message in Table 2, it can be seen that the number of times lightning occurs in the communication area is 0, the thickest cloud layer is relatively thin, and the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity is also relatively low. At this time, it can be considered that the communication area is basically cloudless sunny weather, and the terminal does not need to switch the accessed non-terrestrial communication node.

[0098] Exemplarily, please refer to Table 3, which shows a meteorological data response message under another weather condition.

[0099] Table 3

[0100] As shown in Table 3, the number of lightning strikes in the communication area is not high, the thickness of the thickest cloud layer is moderate, and the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity is moderate. At this time, it can be considered that there is moderate rainfall in the communication area, accompanied by slight lightning. This situation can be considered as not being severe weather, and the terminal can use the conventional handover scheme for handover.

[0101] For example, please refer to Table 4, which shows the meteorological data response message under another weather condition.

[0102] Table 4

[0103] As shown in Table 4, if there are multiple lightning strikes in the communication area, the thickest cloud layer is thick, and the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity is high, it can be considered that there is an extreme intensity thunderstorm in the communication area, accompanied by a large number of lightning strikes. This situation can be considered as severe weather, and the terminal needs to immediately switch to the non-ground communication node it accesses.

[0104] It should be noted that the types of meteorological data requested and the specific values ​​of each type of meteorological data shown in Tables 1 to 4 above are merely examples. In actual request processes, more or fewer types of meteorological data may be requested, and the specific values ​​of each type of meteorological data responded to by the meteorological server may be the same as or different from the specific values ​​in Tables 2 to 4 above. This disclosure does not impose any limitations on this.

[0105] In another implementation, as described above, the server can connect to a meteorological server. In this case, the terminal can first calculate the location of the communication area based on its own location and the location of the currently connected non-ground communication node, and then send a meteorological data request message to the server. This meteorological data request message can include the geographical location information of the communication area. The server can interact with the meteorological server based on the geographical location information of the communication area, query the meteorological data of the communication area from the meteorological server, and send a meteorological data response message to the terminal (correspondingly, the terminal can receive the meteorological data response message sent by the server). The meteorological data response message can include the meteorological data of the communication area.

[0106] The process of determining the precise location of the troposphere (communication area), the format and content of meteorological data request messages, and the format and content of meteorological data response messages can be referred to the above implementation method, and will not be repeated here.

[0107] Step 2b: Based on meteorological data of the communication area, determine whether there is severe weather in the communication area.

[0108] As an example, meteorological data can include severe weather.

[0109] In one implementation, please continue to refer to the meteorological data responded by the meteorological server shown in Tables 2 to 4 above. When the number of lightning strikes in the communication area is low, the thickness of the thickest cloud layer is thin, and the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity is also low, the communication area can be considered to have clear weather. When the number of lightning strikes in the communication area is not high, the thickness of the thickest cloud layer is moderate, and the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity is moderate, the communication area can be considered to have experienced moderate rainfall. When the number of lightning strikes in the communication area is high, the thickness of the thickest cloud layer is thick, and the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity is high, the communication area can be considered to have experienced extreme thunderstorm rainfall, which is considered severe weather.

[0110] Based on the meteorological data responded to by the meteorological server in Tables 2 to 4 above, step 2b above can specifically include: determining that severe weather exists in the communication area under at least one of the following conditions:

[0111] The number of lightning strikes exceeds the threshold.

[0112] The thickness of the thickest cloud layer exceeds the thickness threshold.

[0113] The maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity is greater than the reflectivity threshold.

[0114] The number of times threshold can be preset in the terminal, for example, it can be set to 200 times, 300 times, or 400 times. This embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the specific value of the number of times threshold. The thickness threshold can also be preset in the terminal, for example, it can be set to 1000 μm, 2000 μm, or 3000 μm. This embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the specific value of the thickness threshold. The reflectivity threshold can also be preset in the terminal, for example, it can be set to 50 dBz, 55 dBz, or 60 dBz. This embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the specific value of the reflectivity threshold.

[0115] In some embodiments, the meteorological data acquired by the terminal may also include wind direction. To prevent the wind from blowing severe weather systems into the communication area of ​​the second non-ground communication node after switching, the terminal may search in the same direction as the wind direction when searching for the second non-ground communication node after determining that severe weather exists; that is, the direction of the search area relative to the communication area is the same as the direction of the wind direction.

[0116] For example, Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the search area direction according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Taking a satellite as an example of a non-terrestrial communication node, assume that the terminal is currently connected to satellite A, satellite B is located to the east of satellite A, and satellite C is located to the west of satellite A.

[0117] As shown in Figure 5(a), assuming the wind direction in the communication area of ​​satellite A is westerly, the westerly wind will blow severe weather systems (shown as clouds in Figure 5(a)) eastward into the communication area of ​​satellite B. Therefore, if severe weather is detected in the communication area of ​​satellite A, and the terminal searches eastward to switch to satellite B, subsequent severe weather systems may blow into the communication area of ​​satellite B, requiring the terminal to switch again, thus leading to frequent switching.

[0118] As shown in Figure 5(b), it is also assumed that the wind direction in the communication area of ​​satellite A is westerly. The westerly wind will blow the severe weather system in the communication area eastward and into the communication area of ​​satellite B. Therefore, when severe weather is detected in the communication area of ​​satellite A, if satellite C is searched to the west for access, the subsequent severe weather system will continue to blow eastward and will not affect the communication area of ​​the western satellite C.

[0119] The non-ground communication node switching method provided in this embodiment can search for a search area in the same direction as the wind direction relative to the communication area when the terminal searches for and switches to access a second non-ground communication node. This can prevent weather systems that are subsequently severe from being blown into the communication area between the second non-ground communication node and the terminal, thus avoiding frequent switching of the non-ground communication node accessed by the terminal.

[0120] In some other embodiments, considering the possibility that the terminal may be unable to connect to the network or that no weather server is currently available, the terminal may also estimate whether there is severe weather in the communication area based on the channel status information of the first non-ground communication node.

[0121] For example, FIG6 is a schematic diagram of signal strength jitter according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6, when there is severe weather in the communication area between the first non-ground communication node and the terminal, the signal strength of the first non-ground communication node will fluctuate.

[0122] For example, FIG7 is a schematic diagram of signal-to-noise ratio drop according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG7, when there is severe weather in the communication area between the first non-ground communication node and the terminal, the signal-to-noise ratio of the first non-ground communication node may experience multiple sudden drops similar to the drop.

[0123] Based on the above understanding, prior to S101, the method may further include the following steps.

[0124] Step 1c: Obtain the channel status information of the first non-terrestrial communication node.

[0125] As an example, channel state information may include signal strength. For instance, signal strength could be the reference signal receiving power (RSRP).

[0126] As another example, channel state information can include the signal-to-noise ratio.

[0127] As another example, channel state information can include signal strength and signal-to-noise ratio.

[0128] Step 2c: Determine whether there is severe weather in the communication area based on changes in channel status information.

[0129] In one implementation, if the change in signal strength exceeds a first threshold, the terminal can determine that there is severe weather in the communication area.

[0130] The first threshold can be preset in the terminal. For example, as mentioned above, the signal strength can be RSRP, in which case the first threshold can be set to 7dB / s, 8dB / s, or 9dB / s, etc. This disclosure does not limit the specific value of the first threshold.

[0131] In another implementation, if the change in signal-to-noise ratio is greater than a second threshold, the terminal can determine that there is severe weather in the communication area.

[0132] The second threshold can be preset in the terminal. For example, the second threshold can be set to 4dB, 5dB, or 6dB, etc. This disclosure does not limit the specific value of the second threshold.

[0133] In another implementation, if the change in signal strength is greater than a first threshold and the change in signal-to-noise ratio is greater than a second threshold, the terminal can determine that there is severe weather in the communication area.

[0134] In another implementation, the terminal can also determine whether there is severe weather in the communication area based on the number of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) drops. For example, if the number of SNR drops exceeds a threshold, the terminal can determine that there is severe weather in the communication area.

[0135] Here, "dropping the channel" refers to a signal-to-noise ratio change that is greater than a second threshold (or can also be understood as falling below the peak second threshold), and the duration does not exceed a duration threshold. The number of occurrences threshold can be preset in the terminal. For example, the number of occurrences threshold can be set to 2, 3, or 4 times, etc. This disclosure does not limit the specific value of the number of occurrences threshold.

[0136] In another implementation, if the change in signal strength is greater than a first threshold, the change in signal-to-noise ratio is greater than a second threshold, and the number of times the signal-to-noise ratio drops below a certain threshold, the terminal can determine that there is severe weather in the communication area.

[0137] For example, please refer to Table 5, which shows the channel state information over a period of time:

[0138] Table 5

[0139] As shown in Table 5, taking channel state information within 5 seconds as an example, assuming a sampling granularity of once every 0.2 seconds, there were multiple instances of excessively large RSRP changes within those 5 seconds (e.g., at 3.2 seconds and 4.4 seconds), and four instances of signal-to-noise ratio drops (e.g., once at 0.4 seconds and 0.6 seconds, once at 1.8 seconds, once at 3 seconds and 3.2 seconds, and once at 4.4 seconds). Under these circumstances, the terminal can determine that there is severe weather in the communication area. Therefore, the terminal can choose a non-ground communication node that is as far away as possible from the currently accessed non-ground communication node and whose signal is not particularly weak to attempt communication.

[0140] Next, this disclosure also provides a method for handing over non-terrestrial communication nodes, which is applied to a server. Figure 8 is another schematic flowchart of the non-terrestrial communication node handover method according to an embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 8, the method includes the following steps.

[0141] S201. Obtain meteorological data of the communication area of ​​the terminal from the first non-ground communication node currently connected to the terminal.

[0142] For example, the server can receive a meteorological data request message from the terminal. This message includes the geographical location information of the communication area. In response, the server can obtain meteorological data of the communication area between the terminal and the first non-terrestrial communication node currently connected to the terminal. The specific process can be referred to in step 1b above, and will not be repeated here.

[0143] In some embodiments, the communication region is the area corresponding to the cross-section at the tropospheric height in the reference column, and the central axis of the reference column is the communication path between the first non-ground communication node and the terminal. The process of determining the region of the precise tropospheric location as the communication region can refer to the description in step 1b above, and will not be repeated here.

[0144] S202. Based on meteorological data, identify whether there is severe weather in the communication area.

[0145] For example, meteorological data may include severe weather. Meteorological data may include at least one of the following: the number of lightning strikes, the thickness of the thickest cloud layer, and the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity. In this case, the server can determine that severe weather exists in the communication area if at least one of the following conditions is met: the number of lightning strikes is greater than a threshold; the thickness of the thickest cloud layer is greater than a threshold; or the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity is greater than a threshold. The specific process can be referred to in step 2b above, and will not be repeated here.

[0146] In some embodiments, meteorological data may include wind direction; the indication information is also used to trigger the terminal to search for a second non-ground communication node from the search area; the direction of the search area relative to the communication area is the same as the wind direction. The process by which the server instructs the terminal to search for a second non-ground communication node in the search area with the same direction as the wind direction can be referred to the description in Figure 5 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0147] S203. In response to the detection of severe weather in the communication area, an instruction message is sent to the terminal.

[0148] The indication information is used to trigger the terminal to switch from the first non-ground communication node to the second non-ground communication node. The second non-ground communication node is located outside the communication area.

[0149] Based on the understanding of the above embodiments, Figure 9 is a general flowchart of the non-ground communication node switching method according to an embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 9, the method first needs to periodically acquire weather data of the communication area of ​​the currently accessing non-ground node to the terminal. Therefore, the terminal can determine whether a weather server is currently available. If not, the terminal can determine whether there is severe weather in the communication area based on the channel status information. If so, the terminal can report the location of the communication area to the server, acquire weather data of the communication area, and determine whether there is severe weather. If so, it can search for areas outside the communication area and switch to other non-ground communication nodes. If not, it can wait for a period of time before conducting the next round of monitoring and evaluation.

[0150] Based on the understanding of the above embodiments, Figure 10 is a schematic flowchart illustrating the process of determining severe weather using a network server according to an embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 10, the terminal can request the network meteorological server to return meteorological data for the communication area. The parameters included in the request include weather type, weather data type, and communication area. Then, the terminal can calculate whether severe weather has occurred in the communication area based on the acquired meteorological data.

[0151] Based on the understanding of the above embodiments, Figure 11 is a flowchart of a terminal autonomously detecting weather conditions according to an embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 11, the terminal can detect changes in downlink signal strength and signal-to-noise ratio, and determine whether the signal strength change exceeds a first threshold. If not, it performs the next monitoring after a period of time. If so, it determines whether the number of signal-to-noise ratio drops exceeds a threshold. If so, it determines that severe weather has occurred in the communication area, searches for areas outside the communication area, and switches to other non-ground communication nodes. If not, it determines that moderate weather exists in the communication area, and selects a non-ground communication node to access using a conventional method.

[0152] The foregoing primarily describes the solutions provided by the embodiments of this disclosure from a methodological perspective. To achieve the aforementioned functions, each device (e.g., a terminal or server) includes corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the algorithmic steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein, this disclosure can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this disclosure.

[0153] This disclosure embodiment can divide the terminal or server into functional modules according to the above method embodiment. For example, a functional module can be divided for each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one functional module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or software. It should be noted that the module division in this disclosure embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. The following description uses the example of dividing one functional module for each function.

[0154] In an exemplary embodiment, this disclosure provides a non-terrestrial communication node handover device, which is applied to the aforementioned terminal. Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a non-terrestrial communication node handover device according to an embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 12, the non-terrestrial communication node handover device 120 includes a processing module 1201.

[0155] The processing module 1201 is used to respond to the determination that there is severe weather in the communication area of ​​the terminal by the first non-ground communication node currently connected, to search for non-ground communication nodes in the search area outside the communication area, to determine the second non-ground communication node, and to switch from the first non-ground communication node to the second non-ground communication node.

[0156] In some embodiments, the non-terrestrial communication node switching device 120 further includes an acquisition module 1202.

[0157] The acquisition module 1202 is used to receive indication information from the server; the indication information is used to indicate that there is severe weather in the communication area.

[0158] The processing module 1201 is used to determine, based on the indication information, that there is severe weather in the communication area.

[0159] In some embodiments, the acquisition module 1202 is also used to acquire meteorological data of the communication area.

[0160] Processing module 1201 is also used to determine whether there is severe weather in the communication area based on meteorological data of the communication area.

[0161] In some embodiments, the acquisition module 1202 is further configured to: send a meteorological data request message to the server, the meteorological data request message including geographical location information of the communication area; and receive a meteorological data response message sent by the server, the meteorological data response message including meteorological data of the communication area.

[0162] In some embodiments, the meteorological data includes at least one of the following: the number of lightning strikes, the thickness of the thickest cloud layer, and the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity; the processing module 1201 is further configured to determine that there is severe weather in the communication area if at least one of the following conditions is met: the number of lightning strikes is greater than a number threshold; the thickness of the thickest cloud layer is greater than a thickness threshold; the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity is greater than a reflectivity threshold.

[0163] In some embodiments, the acquisition module 1202 is further configured to acquire channel state information of the first non-terrestrial communication node.

[0164] The processing module 1201 is also used to determine whether there is severe weather in the communication area based on changes in channel status information.

[0165] In some embodiments, the channel state information includes signal strength and / or signal-to-noise ratio; the processing module 1201 is further configured to determine that there is severe weather in the communication area when the change in signal strength is greater than a first threshold and / or the change in signal-to-noise ratio is greater than a second threshold.

[0166] In an exemplary embodiment, this disclosure provides a non-terrestrial communication node switching device, which is applied to the aforementioned server. Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of the composition of another non-terrestrial communication node switching device according to an embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 13, the non-terrestrial communication node switching device 130 includes: an acquisition module 1301, a processing module 1302, and a sending module 1303.

[0167] The acquisition module 1301 is used to acquire meteorological data of the communication area of ​​the terminal from the first non-ground communication node currently connected to the terminal.

[0168] The processing module 1302 is used to identify whether there is severe weather in the communication area based on meteorological data.

[0169] The sending module 1303 is used to send an indication message to the terminal in response to the detection of severe weather in the communication area. The indication message is used to trigger the terminal to switch from the first non-ground communication node to the second non-ground communication node, which is located outside the communication area.

[0170] In some embodiments, the acquisition module 1301 is further configured to: receive a meteorological data request message from the terminal, the meteorological data request message including geographical location information of the communication area; and in response to the meteorological data request message, acquire meteorological data of the communication area of ​​the terminal from the first non-ground communication node currently connected to the terminal.

[0171] In some embodiments, the meteorological data includes at least one of the following: the number of lightning strikes, the thickness of the thickest cloud layer, and the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity. The processing module 1302 is further configured to determine that severe weather exists in the communication area if at least one of the following conditions is met: the number of lightning strikes is greater than a number threshold; the thickness of the thickest cloud layer is greater than a thickness threshold; or the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity is greater than a reflectivity threshold.

[0172] It should be noted that the modules in Figures 12 and 13 can also be called units; for example, a processing module can be called a processing unit. Furthermore, in the embodiments shown in Figures 12 and 13, the names of the modules may not be those shown in the figures; for example, an acquisition module could also be called a transceiver module or a communication module, etc.

[0173] The modules in Figures 12 and 13, if implemented as software functional modules and sold or used as independent products, can be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure, essentially, or the parts that contribute to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solutions, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause an electronic device (which may be a mobile phone, personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or processor to execute all or part of the steps of the methods of the various embodiments of this disclosure. Storage media for storing computer software products include 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.

[0174] In the case where the functions of the integrated modules described above are implemented in hardware by the non-ground communication node switching device 120 and the non-ground communication node switching device 130, this disclosure also provides an electronic device. FIG14 is a schematic diagram of the composition of an electronic device according to an embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in FIG14, the electronic device 140 includes: a processor 1402, a communication interface 1403, and a bus 1404. As an example, the electronic device 140 may also include a memory 1401.

[0175] Processor 1402 may be a logic block, module, or circuit that implements or performs the various examples described in conjunction with this disclosure. Processor 1402 may be a central processing unit, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. Processor 1402 may be a logic block, module, or circuit that implements or performs the various examples described in conjunction with this disclosure. Processor 1402 may also be a combination that implements computational functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, etc.

[0176] The communication interface 1403 is used to connect to other devices via a communication network. This communication network can be Ethernet, wireless access network, wireless local area network (WLAN), etc.

[0177] The memory 1401 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and instructions, or a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device capable of storing information and instructions. It may also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

[0178] In one implementation, the memory 1401 can exist independently of the processor 1402. The memory 1401 can be connected to the processor 1402 via a bus 1404 to store instructions or program code. When the processor 1402 calls and executes the instructions or program code stored in the memory 1401, it can implement the non-terrestrial communication node switching method according to the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0179] In another implementation, the memory 1401 can also be integrated with the processor 1402.

[0180] Bus 1404 can be an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. Bus 1404 can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is used to represent the bus in Figure 14, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0181] Through the above description of the implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, only the division of the above functional modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the terminal or server can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0182] In exemplary embodiments, this disclosure also provides a readable storage medium including software instructions that, when executed in an electronic device, cause the electronic device to implement the methods described in the above embodiments. The readable storage medium can also be an external storage device of the terminal or server, such as a plug-in hard drive, smart media card (SMC), secure digital (SD) card, flash card, etc., equipped on the terminal or server. Further, the readable storage medium may include both internal storage units of the terminal or server and external storage devices. The readable storage medium is used to store the software instructions and other programs and data required by the terminal or server. The readable storage medium can also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or will be output.

[0183] In an exemplary embodiment, this disclosure also provides a computer program product including computer instructions that, when executed on an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments.

[0184] Although this disclosure has been described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments by reviewing the accompanying drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims in carrying out the claimed disclosure. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. While different dependent claims may recite certain measures, this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce a good effect.

[0185] Although this disclosure has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments, it will be apparent that various modifications and combinations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, this specification and drawings are merely illustrative descriptions of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and are to be considered as covering any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of this disclosure. Clearly, those skilled in the art can make various alterations and modifications to this disclosure without departing from its spirit and scope. Thus, this disclosure is also intended to include such alterations and modifications if they fall within the scope of the claims of this disclosure and their equivalents.

[0186] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this disclosure, but the scope of protection of this disclosure is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this disclosure should be included within the scope of protection of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of this disclosure should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for switching non-terrestrial communication nodes, wherein, The method is applied to a terminal, and the method includes: In response to determining that there is severe weather in the communication area of ​​the terminal to the first non-ground communication node currently connected, a search is performed on non-ground communication nodes in the search area outside the communication area to determine a second non-ground communication node; Switch from the first non-ground communication node to the second non-ground communication node.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Receive indication information from the server, wherein the indication information is used to indicate that the severe weather exists in the communication area; Based on the indicated information, it is determined that the severe weather exists in the communication area.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Acquire meteorological data for the communication area; Based on the meteorological data of the communication area, determine whether the severe weather exists in the communication area.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, The acquisition of meteorological data for the communication area includes: Send a meteorological data request message to the server, wherein the meteorological data request message includes the geographical location information of the communication area; The system receives a meteorological data response message sent by the server, wherein the meteorological data response message includes the meteorological data of the communication area.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein, The meteorological data includes at least one of the following: the number of lightning strikes, the thickness of the thickest cloud layer, and the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity; Determining whether severe weather exists in the communication area based on the meteorological data of the communication area includes: The severe weather is determined to exist in the communication area if at least one of the following conditions is met: The number of lightning strikes exceeds a threshold. The thickness of the thickest cloud layer is greater than the thickness threshold. The maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity is greater than the reflectivity threshold.

6. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein, The meteorological data includes wind direction; the direction of the search area relative to the communication area is the same as the direction of the wind direction.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Obtain the channel state information of the first non-terrestrial communication node; Based on the changes in the channel state information, it is determined whether the severe weather exists in the communication area.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The channel state information includes signal strength and / or signal-to-noise ratio; determining whether the severe weather exists in the communication area based on changes in the channel state information includes: If the change in signal strength is greater than a first threshold, and / or the change in signal-to-noise ratio is greater than a second threshold, it is determined that the severe weather exists in the communication area.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The communication area is the region corresponding to the cross-section at the troposphere height in the reference column, and the central axis of the reference column is the communication path between the first non-ground communication node and the terminal.

10. A method for switching non-terrestrial communication nodes, wherein, The method is applied to a server; the method includes: Obtain meteorological data of the communication area of ​​the terminal from the first non-terrestrial communication node currently connected to the terminal; Based on the meteorological data, it can be determined whether severe weather exists in the communication area; In response to the detection of severe weather in the communication area, an indication message is sent to the terminal, wherein the indication message is used to trigger the terminal to switch from the first non-ground communication node to a second non-ground communication node, the second non-ground communication node being located outside the communication area.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The step of acquiring meteorological data of the communication area of ​​the terminal from the first non-terrestrial communication node currently connected to the terminal includes: Receive a meteorological data request message from the terminal, wherein the meteorological data request message includes the geographical location information of the communication area; In response to the meteorological data request message, the meteorological data of the communication area of ​​the terminal obtained by the first non-ground communication node currently connected to the terminal is obtained.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The meteorological data includes at least one of the following: the number of lightning strikes, the thickness of the thickest cloud layer, and the maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity; The step of identifying whether severe weather exists in the communication area based on the meteorological data includes: The severe weather is determined to exist in the communication area if at least one of the following conditions is met: The number of lightning strikes exceeds a threshold. The thickness of the thickest cloud layer is greater than the thickness threshold. The maximum Doppler weather radar reflectivity is greater than the reflectivity threshold.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein, The meteorological data includes wind direction; the indication information is also used to trigger the terminal to search for the second non-ground communication node from the search area; the direction of the search area relative to the communication area is the same as the direction of the wind direction.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein, The communication area is the region corresponding to the cross-section at the troposphere height in the reference column, and the central axis of the reference column is the communication path between the first non-ground communication node and the terminal.

15. An electronic device comprising: Processor and memory, of which The memory stores instructions that the processor can execute; The processor is configured to, when executing the instructions, cause the electronic device to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. A readable storage medium, comprising: Software instructions, among which When the software instructions are executed in an electronic device, the electronic device causes the electronic device to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

17. A computer program product comprising computer instructions, wherein, When the computer instructions are executed on an electronic device, the electronic device causes the electronic device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

Images