Communication method, and apparatus, storage medium and computer program product

Abstract

A communication method, and an apparatus, a storage medium and a computer program product, which are used for improving the anti-interference capability of a signal and reducing the cost of a satellite apparatus. In the present application, a network apparatus performs precoding processing, IFFT processing and digital-to-analog conversion on at least one second signal, so as to obtain an analog first signal, and sends the first signal to a satellite apparatus by means of an air interface; since the first signal is a precoded signal, the anti-interference capability of the signal can be improved; the network apparatus can be configured as a baseband unit, and the satellite apparatus can be configured as a radio unit; and since the first signal has been subjected to the IFFT processing and the digital-to-analog conversion processing, an IFFT unit and a digital-to-analog conversion unit can be configured on a baseband-unit side, such that functional modules configured on a radio-unit side can be reduced, and therefore the complexity of a satellite-apparatus side can also be reduced, thereby reducing the cost of the satellite apparatus.

Description

A communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product

[0001] Cross Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202410826152.0, filed on June 24, 2024, entitled "A communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product. BACKGROUND

[0004] At present, the 5th generation (5G) new radio (NR) technology is evolving from revision (R) 18 to R19. At the same time, the NR technology has also entered the commercial deployment stage from the standardization stage. The NR standard protocol is a wireless communication technology designed for ground cellular network scenarios (which can be referred to as terrestrial networks (TN)), which can provide users with ultra-low latency, ultra-reliability, ultra-high rate, and ultra-large connection wireless communication services. Compared with TN communication, non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication has the characteristics of large coverage area and flexible networking, and can achieve global network seamless coverage. NTN communication includes networking using unmanned aerial vehicles, high-altitude platforms, satellites, and other devices to provide data transmission, voice communication, and other services for user equipment (UE). In TN and / or NTN networks, how to improve the anti-interference capability in the data transmission process and improve the data transmission reliability is a problem that needs to be solved at present. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product for improving the anti-interference capability of signals and thereby improving the data transmission reliability.

[0006] In the data transmission process, the anti-interference ability of data can be improved by pre-coding the data. However, in the scenario with a relay device, the relay device cannot control the beam according to the pre-coded data, which results in that the pre-coding method is not used to reduce interference in the current scenario. In order to improve the anti-interference ability of data transmission, several schemes provided by the present application are used to pre-code the data by the relay device and / or network device in the downlink data transmission process, so as to improve the anti-interference ability in the data transmission process, and then improve the data transmission reliability. In another possible implementation, in the uplink data transmission process, the relay device and / or network device perform merging processing on the data, so as to improve the anti-interference ability in the data transmission process, and then improve the data transmission reliability.

[0007] In another possible implementation, the network device can include / be configured as a baseband unit, and the satellite device can include / be configured as a radio frequency unit. The baseband unit in the present application can include a baseband unit (BBU), for example, and can also include a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), or can include a DU. The radio frequency unit in the present application can include a radio frequency unit (RU), a radio frequency remote unit (RRU), an active antenna processing unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH), for example. The signal transmitted by the network device can be an intermediate frequency analog signal obtained through inverse fast Fourier transformation (IFFT) and digital-to-analog conversion processing, that is, the IFFT and digital-to-analog conversion units can be configured on the baseband unit side. In this way, the function modules configured on the radio frequency unit side can be reduced, thereby reducing the complexity of the satellite device side and reducing the cost of the satellite device.

[0008] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a network device. The network device can include a network equipment or a chip system inside the network equipment. For example, the network equipment can include a network equipment deployed on the ground or controlled. For example, the network equipment can include a ground station or a satellite. The ground station can include an access network equipment deployed on the ground, for example.

[0009] The network device obtains at least one second signal. The network device sends a first signal to a satellite device through an air interface. The first signal is determined according to an analog signal obtained by pre-coding, IFFT processing and digital-to-analog conversion on the at least one second signal.

[0010] The network device pre-encodes the data, thereby improving the anti-interference capability in data transmission, and improving the data transmission reliability.

[0011] In another possible implementation, the network device can include / be configured as a baseband unit, and the satellite device can include / be configured as a radio frequency unit. The signal transmitted by the network device can be an intermediate frequency analog signal obtained through IFFT and digital-to-analog conversion, and the IFFT and digital-to-analog conversion units can be configured on the baseband unit side. In this way, the number of functional modules configured on the radio frequency unit side can be reduced, thereby reducing the complexity of the satellite device, and reducing the cost of the satellite device.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the first signal is used for the satellite device to transmit the first signal to the at least one terminal device through the first antenna, and the first signal has an association relationship with the first antenna of the satellite device. The relay device transmits the F1 groups of first signals based on the association relationship between the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas, and in the association relationship, one group of first signals is pre-encoded through a channel corresponding pre-encoding coefficient of one first antenna. Therefore, the signal transmitted through the first antenna can better resist the interference of the channel between the first antenna and the terminal device corresponding to the signal (for example, the same frequency interference between beams), thereby improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the first signal is determined according to a signal obtained by performing cyclic prefix (CP) insertion on the at least one second signal, and the CP insertion on the at least one second signal is performed after the IFFT processing and before the digital-to-analog conversion. The CP insertion functional module can also be configured on the network device (for example, the baseband unit) side, and the relay device side can not be configured with the CP insertion functional module, thereby reducing the number of functional modules on the relay device (for example, the radio frequency unit) side, and reducing the cost of the relay device (for example, the satellite device).

[0014] In a possible implementation, the first signal is determined according to an intermediate frequency signal obtained by performing digital up-conversion on the at least one second signal, and the digital up-conversion on the at least one second signal is performed after the IFFT processing and before the digital-to-analog conversion. In this way, the network device can transmit an analog signal of an intermediate frequency to the relay device (for example, the satellite device). As can be seen, in this implementation, more functional modules can be placed on the baseband side, such as IFFT, digital up-conversion, and digital-to-analog conversion modules. Moreover, the baseband processing can be completely placed on the network device side, thereby reducing the signal processing complexity on the radio frequency unit side, and since the radio frequency unit can be prevented on the satellite device side, this scheme can reduce the complexity of the satellite device side, and reduce the cost of the satellite device.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the first signal is determined according to a signal obtained after performing encoding and / or modulation processing on the at least one second signal, and the encoding and / or modulation is performed before the precoding processing. The encoding and / or modulation functional module can also be configured on the network device (for example, a baseband unit), and the relay device can not be configured with the encoding and / or modulation functional module, thereby reducing the number of functional modules on the relay device (for example, a radio frequency unit), and reducing the cost of the relay device (for example, a satellite device).

[0016] In a possible implementation, the first signal is determined according to a signal obtained after performing resource mapping processing on the at least one second signal, and the resource mapping is performed after the precoding processing. The resource mapping functional module can also be configured on the network device (for example, a baseband unit), and the relay device can not be configured with the resource mapping functional module, thereby reducing the number of functional modules on the relay device (for example, a radio frequency unit), and reducing the cost of the relay device (for example, a satellite device).

[0017] In a possible implementation, the relay device (for example, a satellite device) can be configured as a device performing the above radio frequency unit functions. The network device (for example, a baseband unit) and the satellite device (for example, a radio frequency unit) can perform signal transmission through an air interface (wireless transmission). The air interface can be, for example, a Uu interface. The Uu interface can be an interface through which the network device and the terminal device perform air interface data transmission. In this application, the network device can multiplex the Uu interface and the relay device to perform data transmission. For example, the network device sends a signal to the terminal device through the relay device, or the terminal device sends a signal to the network device through the relay device. In the embodiments of this application, the air interface used by the network device and the relay device for data transmission can be a Uu interface, or other air interfaces. For example, the first signal is sent through the Uu interface, thereby being more compatible with the prior art, and it is also possible to not additionally increase a new air interface, thereby reducing the hardware requirements of the network device and / or the relay device. In another possible implementation, the relay device receives / transmits control signals and data signals can multiplex the same encoding and decoding modules, modulation / demodulation modules, and the like, thereby reducing the hardware capability requirements of the relay device and reducing the hardware cost of the relay device. In another possible implementation, the interface between the relay device and the network device uses the Uu interface, and the network device receives / transmits control signals and data signals can multiplex the same encoding and decoding modules, modulation / demodulation modules, and the like, thereby reducing the hardware capability requirements of the network device and reducing the hardware cost of the network device.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the network device sends, to the satellite device, a first synchronization signal over an air interface. For example, the first synchronization signal can be sent over a Uu interface. For example, the first synchronization signal can be carried in a message of an NR frame structure. For example, the first synchronization signal can be an SSB signal of NR, for example, a PSS signal and / or an SSS signal. The first synchronization signal is used for time-frequency synchronization (timing synchronization and / or frequency synchronization) between the relay device and the network device.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the network device sends, to the satellite device, information indicating resources occupied by the first signal, and / or information indicating a first antenna used by the satellite device to send the first signal. For example, the information can be sent over an air interface, for example, a Uu interface. The relay device can determine the resources of the first signal according to the received information indicating the resources occupied by the first signal, and then receive the first signal on the corresponding resources. The relay device can determine the antenna used to send the first signal according to the received information indicating the first antenna used by the satellite device to send the first signal. Then, the relay device can send the first signal according to the association between the first signal and the first antenna, so as to avoid a case where the relay device uses a wrong antenna to send a first signal as much as possible, thereby improving the anti-interference capability of the signal.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the network device sends, to the satellite device, a plurality of first signals over an air interface, and the plurality of first signals are sent by at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing. In this way, the data transmission efficiency can be improved.

[0021] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a relay device. The relay device can include a relay device or a chip (or chip system) inside the relay device. For example, the relay device can include a satellite or a relay device deployed on the ground.

[0022] The relay device receives, from a network device, a first signal over an air interface. The network device is deployed on the ground, and the first signal is determined according to an analog signal obtained after pre-encoding processing, IFFT processing, and digital-to-analog conversion of at least one second signal. The relay device sends, to at least one terminal device, the first signal through a first antenna.

[0023] Since the network device performs pre-encoding processing on data, the anti-interference capability in the data transmission process can be improved, and the data transmission reliability can be improved.

[0024] In another possible implementation, the network device can include / be configured as a baseband unit, and the satellite device can include / be configured as a radio frequency unit. The signal transmitted by the network device can be an intermediate frequency analog signal obtained through IFFT and digital-to-analog conversion processing, that is, the IFFT and digital-to-analog conversion unit and the like can be configured on the baseband unit side. In this way, the function modules configured on the radio frequency unit side can be reduced, so that the complexity of the satellite device side can be reduced, and then the cost of the satellite device can be reduced.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the first signal is associated with the first antenna of the satellite device. For details and advantages, refer to the description of the possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the first signal is received through a Uu interface. For details and advantages, refer to the description of the possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the relay device receives the first synchronization signal through an air interface (for example, a Uu interface). For details and advantages, refer to the description of the possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the relay device receives information indicating the resource occupied by the first signal, and / or information indicating the first antenna used by the satellite device to transmit the first signal. For details and advantages, refer to the description of the possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the information indicating the resource occupied by the first signal, and / or the information indicating the first antenna used by the satellite device to transmit the first signal is received through an air interface. For details and advantages, refer to the description of the possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the information indicating the resource occupied by the first signal, and / or the information indicating the first antenna used by the satellite device to transmit the first signal is received through a Uu interface. For details and advantages, refer to the description of the possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the relay device receives a plurality of first signals from the baseband unit network device through an air interface, and the plurality of first signals are transmitted through at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing. The satellite device performs at least one of frequency demultiplexing, time demultiplexing, or polarization demultiplexing on the received signals to obtain the plurality of first signals. The satellite device transmits the plurality of first signals to at least one terminal device through a plurality of first antennas. For related content and beneficial effects, refer to the description of possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0032] In a possible implementation, there is an association relationship between the plurality of first signals and the plurality of first antennas. For related content and beneficial effects, refer to the description of possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the first signal is received by the satellite device on a first carrier. The first signal is transmitted by the satellite device on a second carrier. The second carrier is different from the first carrier. The channel through which the relay device (for example, the satellite device) receives the first signal from the network device is different from the channel through which the relay device forwards the first signal to the terminal device, for example, the channel attenuation is different, the transmitting capability of the signal transmitting end is different, and the like. In a possible implementation, the network device and / or the relay device can select a more suitable carrier frequency band for the signal according to the specific situation of the channel. For example, if the transmitting antenna capability of the signal transmitting end is weak, a lower signal frequency can be selected to reduce the channel propagation attenuation and improve the transmission performance. In another possible implementation, the network device and / or the relay device can also select a more suitable carrier frequency band for the signal according to the difference between the bandwidth requirement of the relay device (for example, the satellite device) for receiving the signal and the bandwidth requirement of the relay device for forwarding the signal. For example, if the bandwidth requirement of the relay device (for example, the satellite device) for receiving the signal is greater, a higher frequency carrier (a high frequency carrier can use a larger bandwidth) can be selected for the signal, so that the transmission performance can be further improved.

[0034] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a network device. The network device can include a network equipment or a chip system inside the network equipment. For example, the network equipment can include a network equipment deployed on the ground or controlled. For example, the network equipment can include a ground station or a satellite. The ground station can include, for example, an access network equipment deployed on the ground.

[0035] The network device receives a third signal from the satellite device through an air interface. The third signal is an analog signal. The network device obtains at least one fourth signal according to the third signal. The at least one fourth signal is determined according to a signal obtained by performing second processing, analog-to-digital conversion, and FFT processing on the third signal. The second processing includes processing of the third signal by a first matrix.

[0036] Due to the processing of the network device on the data through the first matrix on the third signal, the anti-interference capability in the data transmission process can be improved, and then the data transmission reliability can be improved.

[0037] In another possible implementation, the network device can include / be configured as a baseband unit, and the satellite device can include / be configured as a radio frequency unit. The fast Fourier transform (FFT) and analog-to-digital conversion unit and the like can be configured on the baseband unit side. In this way, the number of functional modules configured on the radio frequency unit side can be reduced, and then the complexity of the satellite device side can be reduced, and then the cost of the satellite device can be reduced.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the coefficients in the first matrix for processing the third signal are associated with the second antenna used by the satellite device to receive the third signal. In this way, the network device processes the third signal based on the first matrix, and the capability of the signal to resist the interference of the channel corresponding to the second antenna can be improved, and then the transmission quality of the signal can be improved.

[0039] In a possible implementation, there is an association relationship between the resource occupied by the third signal and the second antenna. The relay device can send the third signal on the resource corresponding to the third signal. In this way, the network device can identify the third signal through the resource occupied by the third signal, and determine the association relationship between the third signal and the second antenna based on the association relationship between the resource of the third signal and the second antenna. Then, the network device can process the third signal using the coefficients associated with the second antenna, so that the capability of the signal to resist the interference of the channel corresponding to the second antenna can be improved, and then the transmission quality of the signal can be improved.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the at least one fourth signal is determined according to the signal after the CP processing on the third signal. The CP processing of the at least one fourth signal is performed after the analog-to-digital conversion and before the FFT processing. The functional module of the CP can also be configured on the network device (for example, the baseband unit) side, and the functional module of the CP can not be configured on the relay device side, so that the number of functional modules on the relay device (for example, the radio frequency unit) side can be reduced, and then the cost of the relay device (for example, the satellite device) can be reduced.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the third signal is an intermediate frequency analog signal. The at least one fourth signal is determined according to a signal obtained after performing digital down-conversion processing on the third signal, the digital down-conversion processing being performed after analog-to-digital conversion and before FFT processing. The functional module of the digital down-conversion processing can also be configured on the network device (for example, a baseband unit) side, and the functional module of the digital down-conversion processing can not be configured on the relay device (for example, a satellite device) side, so that the number of functional modules on the relay device (for example, a radio frequency unit) side can be reduced, and the cost of the relay device (for example, a satellite device) can be reduced.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the at least one fourth signal is determined according to a signal obtained after performing demodulation and / or decoding processing on the third signal. In a possible implementation, the at least one fourth signal is determined according to a signal obtained after performing resource demapping processing on the third signal. The functional module of at least one of demodulation, decoding, or resource demapping can also be configured on the network device (for example, a baseband unit) side, and the functional module of at least one of demodulation, decoding, or resource demapping can not be configured on the relay device (for example, a satellite device) side, so that the number of functional modules on the relay device (for example, a radio frequency unit) side can be reduced, and the cost of the relay device (for example, a satellite device) can be reduced.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the third signal is transmitted through a Uu interface. For details and advantages, refer to the foregoing content of transmitting the first signal through the Uu interface.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the network device transmits, to the satellite device, a second synchronization signal through an air interface. For example, the second synchronization signal can be transmitted through a Uu interface. For example, the second synchronization signal can be carried in a message of an NR frame structure. For example, the second synchronization signal can be an SSB signal of NR, for example, a PSS signal and / or an SSS signal. The second synchronization signal is used for time-frequency synchronization (timing synchronization and / or frequency synchronization) between the relay device and the network device.

[0045] In a possible implementation, the network device sends, to the satellite device, information indicating an association between the resource occupied by the third signal and the second antenna. For example, the information can be sent over an air interface (for example, a Uu interface). The satellite device can send, according to the association between the resource occupied by the third signal and the second antenna, a signal received by the second antenna on the resource associated with the second antenna. In this way, the network device can identify the third signal through the resource occupied by the third signal, and determine the association between the third signal and the second antenna based on the association between the resource of the third signal and the second antenna. Then, the network device can process the third signal using the coefficient associated with the second antenna, thereby improving the ability of the signal to resist interference from the channel corresponding to the second antenna, and improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0046] In a possible implementation, the network device receives, over an air interface, a plurality of third signals from the satellite device, and the plurality of third signals are sent by at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing. In this way, the data transmission efficiency can be improved.

[0047] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a relay device. The relay device can include a relay device or a chip (or chip system) inside the relay device. For example, the relay device can include a satellite or a relay device deployed on the ground.

[0048] The relay device receives, through a second antenna, a third signal from at least one terminal device. The third signal is an analog signal. The relay device sends, to a network device deployed on the ground, the third signal over an air interface. The third signal is used by the network device to perform second processing, analog-to-digital conversion, and FFT processing on the third signal to obtain at least one fourth signal, and the second processing includes processing of the third signal by a first coefficient.

[0049] Because the network device performs processing on the data by using the first matrix on the third signal, the anti-interference ability during data transmission can be improved, and the data transmission reliability can be improved.

[0050] In yet another possible implementation, the network device can include / be configured as a baseband unit, and the satellite device can include / be configured as a radio frequency unit. The FFT and analog-to-digital conversion units and the like can be configured on the baseband unit side. In this way, the number of functional modules configured on the radio frequency unit side can be reduced, the complexity of the satellite device side can be reduced, and the cost of the satellite device can be reduced.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the first coefficient is associated with a second antenna used by the satellite device to receive the third signal. For details and benefits, refer to the description of the possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the third signal occupies resources that are associated with the second antenna. The related content and benefits can be referred to the description of the possible implementation of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the third signal is transmitted through a Uu interface. The related content and benefits can be referred to the description of the possible implementation of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the relay device receives the second synchronization signal from the network device through an air interface (e.g., a Uu interface). The related content and benefits can be referred to the description of the possible implementation of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the relay device receives information from the network device, the information indicating an association between resources occupied by the third signal and the second antenna. The related content and benefits can be referred to the description of the possible implementation of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the information indicating the association between resources occupied by the third signal and the second antenna is received through an air interface (e.g., a Uu interface). The related content and benefits can be referred to the description of the possible implementation of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0057] In a possible implementation, the relay device transmits a plurality of third signals to the network device deployed on the ground through an air interface, and the plurality of third signals are transmitted through at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing. The related content and benefits can be referred to the description of the possible implementation of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0058] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which can be the relay device or the network device. The communication device can include a communication unit and a processing unit to perform any of the first to fourth aspects, or perform any possible implementation of the first to fourth aspects. The communication unit is configured to perform functions related to transmission and reception. The communication unit can be referred to as a transceiver unit. Optionally, the communication unit includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. In one design, the communication device is a communication chip, and the processing unit can be one or more processors or processor cores, and the communication unit can be an input / output circuit, an input / output interface, or an antenna port of the communication chip.

[0059] In another design, the communication unit can be a transmitter and a receiver, or the communication unit can be a transmitter and a receiver.

[0060] Optionally, the communication device further comprises various modules operable to perform any one of the first to fourth aspects, or perform any one of the possible implementation manners of the first to fourth aspects.

[0061] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, which can be the aforementioned relay device or network device. The communication device can comprise a processor. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a memory. The communication device can perform any one of the first to fourth aspects, or perform any one of the possible implementation manners of the first to fourth aspects. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a transceiver, the memory is configured to store a computer program or instructions, and the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program or instructions from the memory, so that when the processor executes the computer program or instructions in the memory, the communication device performs any one of the first to fourth aspects, or performs any one of the possible implementation manners of the first to fourth aspects.

[0062] Optionally, the processor is one or more, and the memory is one or more.

[0063] Optionally, the memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory is disposed separately from the processor.

[0064] Optionally, the transceiver can comprise a transmitter (transmitter) and a receiver (receiver).

[0065] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which can be the aforementioned relay device or network device. The communication device can comprise a processor to perform any one of the first to fourth aspects, or perform any one of the possible implementation manners of the first to fourth aspects. The processor is coupled with a memory. Optionally, the communication device further comprises the memory. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a communication interface, and the processor is coupled with the communication interface.

[0066] In an implementation manner, when the communication device is the relay device or the network device, the communication interface can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0067] In yet another implementation manner, when the communication device is a chip or a chip system, the communication interface can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or related circuit on the chip or chip system, etc. The processor can also be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit.

[0068] In an eighth aspect, a system is provided, which comprises the aforementioned relay device.

[0069] In a possible implementation manner, the system further includes a network device and a terminal device.

[0070] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes a computer program (which can also be referred to as code or instructions), which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, or perform any possible implementation manner of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

[0071] In a tenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program (which can also be referred to as code or instructions), which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, or perform any possible implementation manner of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

[0072] In an eleventh aspect, a processing device is provided, which includes an interface circuit and a processing circuit. The interface circuit can include an input circuit and an output circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect to the fourth aspect is implemented.

[0073] In the implementation process, the processing device can be a chip, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the processing circuit can be a transistor, a gate circuit, a flip-flop, and various logic circuits, etc. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example but not limited to, a receiver, the signal output by the output circuit can be output to and transmitted by, for example but not limited to, a transmitter, and the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit, which is used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. The specific implementation manner of the processor and various circuits is not limited in the present application.

[0074] In an implementation manner, when the communication device is a relay device or a network device. The interface circuit can be a radio frequency processing chip in the relay device or the network device, and the processing circuit can be a baseband processing chip in the relay device or the network device.

[0075] In another implementation manner, the communication device can be part of a device in the relay device or the network device, such as a system chip or a communication chip, etc. The interface circuit can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or a related circuit on the chip or the chip system. The processing circuit can be a logic circuit on the chip. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0076] FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

[0077] FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of a comparison of a communication system architecture of 4G and 5G, to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0078] FIG. 1C is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system, to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0079] FIG. 1D is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system, to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0080] FIG. 1E is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system, to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0081] FIG. 1F is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system, to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0082] FIG. 1G is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system, to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0083] FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system, to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0084] FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system, to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0085] FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system, to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0086] FIG. 2D is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system, to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0087] FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system, to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0088] FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system, to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0089] FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of a method flow of a possible downlink signal transmission, according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0090] FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture for transmitting downlink data, according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0091] FIG. 4C is a schematic diagram of a method flow of another possible downlink signal transmission, according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0092] FIG. 4D is a schematic diagram of a method flow of another possible downlink signal transmission, according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0093] FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram of a method flow of a possible uplink signal transmission, according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0094] FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram of a possible communication system architecture for transmitting uplink data according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0095] FIG. 5C is a schematic diagram of a possible method for transmitting uplink data according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0096] FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram of a possible method for transmitting downlink data according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0097] FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram of a possible communication system architecture for transmitting downlink data according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0098] FIG. 6C is a schematic diagram of a possible method for transmitting downlink data according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0099] FIG. 6D is a schematic diagram of a possible method for transmitting downlink data according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0100] FIG. 6E is a schematic diagram of a possible method for transmitting downlink data according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0101] FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram of a possible method for transmitting uplink data according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0102] FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram of a possible communication system architecture for transmitting uplink data according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0103] FIG. 7C is a schematic diagram of a possible method for transmitting uplink data according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0104] FIG. 7D is a schematic diagram of a possible method for transmitting uplink data according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0105] FIG. 7E is a schematic diagram of a possible method for transmitting uplink data according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0106] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a possible method for transmitting downlink data according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0107] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a possible method for transmitting uplink data according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0108] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0109] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0110] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0111] The following introduces the terms and names related to the embodiments of the present application.

[0112] (1) Resource.

[0113] The resource in the embodiments of the present application may, for example, include at least one of a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, and a polarization mode corresponding to a signal.

[0114] (1.1) Time domain resource.

[0115] The time domain resource may, for example, include at least one of a radio frame, a subframe, a slot, a mini slot, or a symbol (for example, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), for example, discrete fourier transform (DFT)-spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM), orthogonal time frequency and space (OTFS), etc.).

[0116] One time unit may, for example, include one radio frame, one subframe, one slot, one mini slot, or one OFDM symbol. One time unit may also include a resource aggregated by multiple radio frames or multiple subframes or multiple slots or multiple mini slots or multiple OFDM symbols. Wherein, one radio frame may include multiple subframes, one subframe may include one or more slots, and one slot may include at least one symbol. Alternatively, one radio frame may include multiple slots, and one slot may include at least one symbol. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, one OFDM symbol may also be referred to as one symbol.

[0117] According to different subcarrier spacings, the length of each symbol may be different, and thus the length of a slot may be different. For example, the length of a slot corresponding to a subcarrier spacing of 15 kilo mega hertz (kHz) is 1 ms, the length of a slot corresponding to a subcarrier spacing of 60 kHz is 0.5 ms, and so on.

[0118] In the embodiments of the present application, the time unit may also be replaced by a time domain resource unit or a time domain unit, etc.

[0119] (1.2) Frequency domain resource.

[0120] In the frequency domain, a frequency domain resource can include one or more frequency domain units. A frequency domain unit can be a resource block (RB), a physical resource block (PRB), a subcarrier, a resource block group (RBG), a predefined subband, a precoding resource block group (PRG), a resource pool, a bandwidth part (BWP), a resource element (RE) (also referred to as a resource unit or resource particle), a carrier, a serving cell, etc. A PRB and an RB can be used interchangeably. Optionally, a resource pool can include one or more resources, which can include at least one of a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, a code domain resource, or a space domain resource. The number and size of resources included in a resource pool can be predetermined or configured by signaling.

[0121] A subcarrier or an RE refers to a smallest frequency domain unit in a specific symbol in a multi-carrier system. Sub-carrier spacing (SCS) is the interval between the center positions or peak positions of two adjacent subcarriers in the frequency domain in an OFDM system. In 5G NR, multiple subcarrier spacings are introduced, and different carriers can have different subcarrier spacings. The baseline is 15 kHz, which can be 15 kHz x 2 n , where n is an integer from 3.75, 7.5, to 480 kHz. In embodiments of the present application, an RE can refer to a resource unit of a time-frequency resource, which can be regarded as the smallest time-frequency resource unit. In the present application, subcarriers and REs can be used interchangeably, and they contain the same information.

[0122] A subchannel is the smallest unit of frequency domain resources occupied by a physical sidelink shared channel, and a subchannel can include one or more resource blocks (RBs). The bandwidth of a wireless communication system in the frequency domain can include multiple RBs, for example, in the LTE system, the included physical resource blocks (PRBs) can be 6, 15, 25, 50, etc. In the frequency domain, an RB can include a number of subcarriers, for example, in the LTE system, an RB includes 12 subcarriers, where each subcarrier interval can be 15 kHz, of course, other subcarrier intervals can also be used, such as 3.75 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, or 120 kHz subcarrier intervals, which are not limited here.

[0123] A frequency domain unit can include one RE, one RB, one channel, one sub channel, one carrier, or one bandwidth part (BWP), etc. A frequency domain unit can also include a resource composed of multiple REs or multiple RBs or multiple sub channels or multiple carriers or multiple BWPs. In embodiments of the present application, a channel can be equivalent to a resource block set (RB set), and the frequency domain bandwidth of one RB set can be 20 mega hertz (MHz).

[0124] In embodiments of the present application, a frequency domain unit can also be replaced by a frequency domain resource unit or a frequency unit, etc.

[0125] A frequency domain resource set can include one or more frequency domain units. A frequency domain resource set can also be referred to as a frequency domain resource set, a frequency domain resource group, etc. A frequency domain resource set can include, for example, a resource block set (RB set), one RB, one sub channel, one resource pool, one carrier, or one BWP.

[0126] (1.2) Polarization mode.

[0127] The polarization mode can include left-handed polarization (or left-handed circular polarization) and right-handed polarization (or right-handed circular polarization). For example, right-handed polarization refers to a polarization mode in which the electric field vector of an electromagnetic wave rotates clockwise along the direction of propagation. Left-handed polarization refers to a polarization mode in which the electric field vector of an electromagnetic wave rotates counterclockwise along the direction of propagation.

[0128] Figure 1A illustrates an exemplary architecture of a communication system 1000 to which embodiments of the present application can be applied. As shown in Figure 1A, the communication system includes a radio access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 can further include an Internet 300. The radio access network 100 can include at least one radio access network device (e.g., 110a and 110b in Figure 1A) and at least one terminal device (e.g., 120a-120j in Figure 1A). The terminal devices are connected to the radio access network devices by wireless means, and the radio access network devices are connected to the core network by wireless or wired means. The core network devices and the radio access network devices can be independent and different physical devices, or can be integrated into the same physical device with the functions of the core network devices and the logical functions of the radio access network devices, or can be a physical device integrated with part of the functions of the core network devices and part of the functions of the radio access network devices. The terminal devices and the terminal devices, and the radio access network devices and the radio access network devices can be connected to each other by wired or wireless means. Figure 1A is only a schematic diagram, and the communication system can further include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 1A.

[0129] The network device involved in the embodiments of the present application, for example, includes a radio access network (RAN) device. The radio access network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB for short), a transmission reception point (TRP), a transmission point (TP), a base station in a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, an access node in a WiFi system, etc.; it can also be a module or unit that completes part of the functions of a base station, for example, it can be a central unit (CU), it can also be a distributed unit (DU), and it can also be a radio unit (RU). The CU here completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence layer protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete part of the physical layer or the entire physical layer. The specific description of the above-mentioned various protocol layers can refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can also be included in the same network element, for example, in a baseband unit. The baseband unit is, for example, a BBU, or the baseband unit includes the CU and the DU. In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the CU and the DU can be contained in the BBU, or the functions of the BBU are described as being contained in the CU and the DU. The radio unit can be included in a radio device or a radio unit, for example, the radio unit includes an RU, an RRU, an AAU, or an RRH.

[0130] FIG. 1B exemplarily shows a comparison diagram of architectures of a 4G and a 5G communication system. As shown in FIG. 1B, the architecture of the communication system of the 4G can include an evolved packet core (EPC), a BBU and an RRU, and the architecture of the communication system of the 5G can include a core network (CN), a CU, a DU and an RRU (the RRU can include / replace an AAU). The functions of the base station of the 5G can be restructured into two functional entities, the CU and the DU. The DU and the CU can be deployed together or separately, which can be determined according to the scene and the requirement. Part of the core network function in the 4G communication system is sunk to the CU, and part of the function of the BBU in the 4G is moved to the RRU / AAU. The division of the functions of the CU and the DU is differentiated according to the real-time requirement of the processing content. The CU can mainly include the non-real-time wireless high-layer protocol stack function, and also support the sinking of part of the core network function and the deployment of the edge application service. The DU can mainly process the physical layer function and the layer 2 function with real-time requirement. The AAU can be the part of the original BBU baseband function that is moved up to reduce the transmission bandwidth between the DU and the RRU.

[0131] In different systems, the CU, the DU or the RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (ORAN) system, the CU can also be referred to as an open-CU (O-CU), the DU can also be referred to as an open-DU (O-DU), and the RU can also be referred to as an open-RU (O-RU). Any one of the CU (or CU control plane (CU-CP), CU user plane (CU-UP), DU and RU) in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. The CU-CP can also be referred to as an open-CU-CP (O-CU-CP), and the CU-UP can also be referred to as an open-CU-UP (O-CU-UP).

[0132] The radio access network device can be a macro base station (such as 110a in FIG. 1A), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in FIG. 1A), a relay device, a relay node or a donor node, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the radio access network device. For the convenience of description, the base station is taken as an example of the radio access network device in the following description.

[0133] The terminal device can also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal device, etc. The terminal device can be widely applied to various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, automatic driving, remote medical treatment, smart power grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal device can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, wearable device, vehicle, unmanned aerial vehicle, helicopter, airplane, ship, robot, mechanical arm, smart home device, sensor, etc. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the terminal device.

[0134] The terminal device can establish a connection with the operator network through an interface (such as N1, etc.) provided by the operator network, and use data and / or voice services provided by the operator network. The terminal device can also access the domain name system (DNS) through the operator network, use operator services deployed on the DNS, and / or third-party services. The third party can be a service provider other than the operator network and the terminal device, and can provide the terminal device with data and / or voice services. The specific form of the third party can be determined according to the actual application scenario, which is not limited here.

[0135] The base station and the terminal device can be fixed in position or mobile. The base station and the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface; can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons and artificial satellites in the air. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the base station and the terminal device.

[0136] The roles of the base station and the terminal device can be relative. For example, the helicopter or the drone 120i in FIG. 1A can be configured as a mobile base station, and for the terminal device 120j that accesses the wireless access network 100 through the 120i, the terminal device 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, the 120i is a terminal device, that is, the 110a and the 120i communicate through a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, the 110a and the 120i can also communicate through a base station-to-base station interface protocol, and in this case, the 120i is also a base station relative to the 110a. Therefore, the base station and the terminal device can be collectively referred to as a communication device, and the 110a and the 110b in FIG. 1A can be referred to as a communication device with a base station function, and the 120a-120j in FIG. 1A can be referred to as a communication device with a terminal device function.

[0137] The base station and the terminal device, the base station and the base station, and the terminal device and the terminal device can communicate through a licensed frequency spectrum, an unlicensed frequency spectrum, or both. They can communicate through a frequency spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), a frequency spectrum above 6 GHz, or both. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the frequency spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0138] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station can also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station or a control subsystem containing base station functions. The control subsystem containing base station functions herein can be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. The functions of the terminal device can also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal device or a device containing terminal device functions.

[0139] In the present application, the base station sends a downlink signal or downlink information to the terminal device, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel; the terminal device sends an uplink signal or uplink information to the base station, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. The terminal device needs to establish a wireless connection with a cell controlled by the base station in order to communicate with the base station. The cell that establishes a wireless connection with the terminal device is called a service cell of the terminal device. When the terminal device communicates with the service cell, it will also be interfered by signals from neighboring cells.

[0140] The core network involved in the embodiments of the present application can include network devices for processing and forwarding signaling and data of a user. For example, it can include core network devices such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), and a user plane gateway. The user plane gateway can be a server having functions of mobility management, routing, forwarding, and the like for user plane data, and is generally located at the network side, such as a serving gateway (SGW), a packet data network gateway (PGW), a user plane function (UPF), or the like. The AMF and the SMF are equivalent to a mobility management entity (MME) in a long term evolution (LTE) system. The AMF is mainly responsible for admission, and the SMF is mainly responsible for session management. Of course, other network elements can also be included in the core network, which are not listed here.

[0141] Based on the contents shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C also exemplarily shows another system architecture diagram to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 1C, the communication system includes a terminal device (for example, a UE), a network device (for example, a base station), and a relay device. The UE shown in FIG. 1C can be replaced by any terminal device shown in FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B. The base station shown in FIG. 1C can be replaced by the network device (for example, an access network device) shown in FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B. The relay device shown in FIG. 1C can be the network device shown in FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B, and the relay device has the capability of forwarding data. Data can be transmitted and received in the form of a signal, so the signal in the embodiments of the present application can be replaced by data, and the data can be replaced by the signal.

[0142] In FIG. 1C, the relay device is taken as an example of a network-controlled repeater (NCR). The NCR transparent device can access the base station (parent node) as a UE to receive control signaling from the base station. The NCR can also amplify and forward the signals between the UE and the base station.

[0143] Based on the content shown in at least one of FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B or FIG. 1C, FIG. 1D further exemplarily shows another system architecture diagram to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 1D, the communication system includes terminal devices (e.g., UEs), network devices (e.g., base stations), and a relay device. The UE shown in FIG. 1D can be replaced by any terminal device shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B or FIG. 1C. The base station shown in FIG. 1D can be replaced by the network device (e.g., access network device) shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B or FIG. 1C. The relay device shown in FIG. 1D can be the network device shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B or FIG. 1C, and the relay device has the capability of forwarding data.

[0144] As shown in FIG. 1D, the relay device (e.g., NCR, satellite or other relay device) includes two functional entities, mobile termination (MT) (the relay device is NCR, and the MT can also be referred to as NCR MT, and can also be denoted as NCR-MT) and forwarding (Fwd) (the relay device is NCR, and the forwarding can also be referred to as NCR Fwd, and can also be denoted as NCR-Fwd).

[0145] The MT can be defined as a functional entity that communicates with the base station through a control link (C-link) to exchange control information. The C-link can be based on the NR Uu interface, that is, the NCR-MT is connected with the next generation NodeB (gNB) through the Uu interface, and the base station uses the C-link to control the relay device. For example, the relay device can receive control information (e.g., side information for controlling the forwarding (Fwd)), beam control information (e.g., beam control information of the control link, backhaul link or access link), switching of the relay device (the on and off state of the NCR), or power control, etc. from the base station through the C-link. The relay device amplifies and forwards the data between the base station and the UE without decoding the data, etc.

[0146] The forwarding (Fwd) is defined as a functional entity that performs amplification and forwarding of uplink (UL) / downlink (DL) radio frequency (RF) signals between the base station and the UE through the backhaul link and the access link. The behavior of the forwarding (Fwd) can be controlled according to the control information received from the base station.

[0147] FIG. 1E and FIG. 1F exemplarily show network architecture diagrams of several communication systems to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. The communication system can include satellites, network devices, terminal devices, and the like. The communication system can also include gateways and core network devices. FIG. 1E and FIG. 1F exemplarily show a converged network architecture of an NTN and a terrestrial network. The following is described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0148] The satellite can be a highly elliptical orbiting (HEO) satellite, a geosynchronous orbit (GSO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, and a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the working mode of the satellite, for example, the working mode of the satellite can be a transparent mode or a regenerative mode. FIG. 1E is a schematic diagram taking the working mode of the satellite as the transparent mode, and FIG. 1F is a schematic diagram taking the working mode of the satellite as the regenerative mode.

[0149] When the satellite works in the transparent mode, the satellite has the function of transparent forwarding of relaying. The gateway has the function of a network device (such as a base station) or part of the function of a network device (such as a base station), at this time, the gateway can be regarded as a network device (such as a base station). Alternatively, the network device (such as a base station) can be deployed separately from the gateway, and then the delay of the feeder link includes the delay of the satellite to the gateway and the delay of the gateway to the gNB. The transparent mode discussed later is an example taking the case that the gateway and the gNB are together or close to each other, and for the case that the gateway is far away from the gNB, the delay of the feeder link is the sum of the delay of the satellite to the gateway and the delay of the gateway to the gNB.

[0150] When the satellite works in the regenerative mode, the satellite has data processing capability, has the function of a network device (such as a base station) or part of the function of a network device (such as a base station), at this time, the satellite can be regarded as a network device (such as a base station).

[0151] The satellite can perform wireless communication with the terminal through broadcast communication signals, navigation signals, and the like. Optionally, each satellite can provide communication services, navigation services, positioning services, and the like for terminal devices through multiple beams. For example, each satellite uses multiple beams to cover a service area, and the relationship between different beams can be one or more of time division, frequency division, and space division.

[0152] A gateway (or ground station, earth station, interface station, interface station) can be used to connect a satellite and a ground network device (such as a ground base station). One or more satellites can be connected to one or more ground network devices (such as ground base stations) through one or more gateways, which is not limited herein. The link between a satellite and a terminal is referred to as a service link, and the link between a satellite and a gateway is referred to as a feeder link. The network device can be deployed separately from the gateway, and the delay of the feeder link can include the delay of the satellite to the gateway and the gateway to the network device.

[0153] The network device in the embodiments of the present application can include a network device deployed on a satellite (such as a satellite base station), can include a network device deployed on a gateway, and can include a network device deployed on the ground (such as a ground base station). For example, the network device can be a radio access network (RAN) node, a RAN node in an O-RAN system, and the like shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C or FIG. 1D. For related content, refer to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0154] The core network (CN) is a device disposed on the ground and capable of communicating with the NTN device in the NTN system. For example, the CN can be the CN involved in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C or FIG. 1D. For related content, refer to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0155] The terminal can be the terminal involved in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C or FIG. 1D. For related content, refer to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0156] The embodiments of the present application can also be applicable to other communication system architectures, such as an air to ground (ATG) communication system, which includes at least one network device and at least one high-altitude terminal. The high-altitude terminal includes, for example, a high-altitude aircraft and an on-board terminal. The satellite in the above-mentioned FIG. 1E and FIG. 1F can be replaced by other relay devices, such as a high altitude platform station (HAPS) or other NTN device. The communication system shown in FIG. 1E or FIG. 1F is an example and does not limit the communication system to which the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is applicable.

[0157] It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application can also be applicable to an air to ground (ATG) communication system, for example, the communication system includes at least one network device and at least one high-altitude terminal device. The network device and the high-altitude terminal device can also forward data through a relay device. The high-altitude terminal device includes, for example, a high-altitude aircraft and an on-board terminal device.

[0158] FIG. 1G exemplarily shows another communication system architecture to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 1G, the communication system includes a gateway, a satellite, a relay device deployed on the ground, a UE located on the ground, a UE located in the high altitude (for example, a high-altitude aircraft or an on-board terminal device, etc.), and a relay device located in the high altitude (for example, the satellite shown in FIG. 1G can be an NCR / IAB-MT).

[0159] As shown in FIG. 1G, the gateway can transmit a base station signal to the relay device deployed on the ground through the satellite, and the relay device deployed on the ground can forward the base station signal to the UE on the ground, the UE in the sky / space (for example, an aircraft, a satellite device (for example, a satellite of IAB-MT), etc.). The relay device deployed on the ground can also forward the base station signal to the next relay device, which can be deployed on the ground or in the air. In FIG. 1G, the next relay device is exemplarily shown as a satellite in the air, which can act as an NCR to forward the received data (which can also be forwarded to other UEs or other relay devices). The base station signal can come from a ground base station or a satellite base station, etc.

[0160] In another example, the gateway can transmit a base station signal to the relay device deployed on the ground through the satellite, and the relay device can forward the base station signal to the UE. The relay device deployed on the ground can forward the signal from the UE (for example, a UE on the ground, an aircraft terminal in the air, or a satellite configured as an IAB-MT) or other relay devices (for example, a satellite configured as an NCR-MT) to the gateway (for example, through the satellite to the gateway, or directly to the gateway), and the gateway sends the received UE signal to the base station. The UE signal can come from a ground UE or a high-altitude UE.

[0161] FIG. 2A exemplarily shows a communication system architecture provided by the embodiments of the present application. The communication system in the embodiments provided by the present application can include other components in addition to the components shown in FIG. 2A. As shown in FIG. 2A, the access network device (RAN, for example, an eNB or a gNB or an access network device in a future mobile communication system) communicates with the core network (CN) through a backhaul link and communicates with the user equipment (UE) through an air interface.

[0162] For example, a baseband unit in an access network device communicates with a core network through a backhaul link. A processing unit in the BBU for implementing baseband functions is referred to as a base band high (BBH) unit. A radio frequency unit in the access network device communicates with at least one UE through an air interface. The radio frequency unit is located in an RU, RRU, AAU or RRH, and a processing unit in the RU, RRU, AAU or RRH for implementing baseband functions can be referred to as a base band low (BBL) unit.

[0163] The baseband unit can communicate with at least one radio frequency unit through a fronthaul link. The fronthaul link can be a wireless air interface link or a wired transmission link (such as optical fiber, cable, etc.). The baseband unit and the RU can be co-located or not co-located. The baseband unit includes at least one control unit (CU) and at least one distributed unit (DU), which can communicate through at least one midhaul link.

[0164] FIG. 2B illustrates a possible schematic diagram of a protocol layer structure followed by communication between an access network device and a terminal. As shown in FIG. 2B, the protocol layer can include a control plane protocol layer and a user plane protocol layer. The control plane protocol layer can include at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) layer / service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a media access control (MAC) layer, or a physical (PHY) layer, etc. The user plane protocol layer can include at least one of an SDAP layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, or a physical layer, etc.

[0165] The CU and the DU can be configured according to protocol layer functions of the wireless network implemented by them, for example, the CU is configured to implement functions of the PDCP layer and the protocol layers above it (such as the RRC layer and / or the SDAP layer, etc.); the DU is configured to implement functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer (such as the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and / or the PHY layer, etc.). For another example, the CU is configured to implement functions of the PDCP layer and the protocol layers above it (such as the RRC layer and / or the SDAP layer), and the DU is configured to implement functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer (such as the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and / or the PHY layer, etc.). When the CU includes the CU-CP and the CU-UP, the CU-CP is configured to implement the control plane function of the CU, and the CU-UP is configured to implement the user plane function of the CU. For example, the CU is configured to implement functions of the PDCP layer, the RRC layer, and the SDAP layer, the CU-CP is configured to implement the RRC layer function and the control plane function of the PDCP layer, and the CU-UP is configured to implement the SDAP layer function and the user plane function of the PDCP layer.

[0166] The above configuration of the CU and the DU is only an example, and the CU and the DU can be configured to have other functions according to requirements. For example, the CU or the DU can be configured to have more protocol layer functions, or the CU or the DU can be configured to have partial processing functions of the protocol layers. For example, partial functions of the RLC layer and functions of the protocol layers above the RLC layer are configured in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are configured in the DU. For another example, the functions of the CU or the DU can be divided according to service types or other system requirements, for example, according to delay, functions that need to meet a shorter delay requirement are configured in the DU, and functions that do not need to meet the delay requirement are configured in the CU.

[0167] The functions of the DU and the RU can be configured in various ways according to design. For example, the DU is configured to implement baseband functions, and the RU is configured to implement intermediate radio frequency functions. For another example, the DU is configured to implement high-layer functions in the PHY layer, and the RU is configured to implement low-layer functions in the PHY layer or to implement the low-layer functions and radio frequency functions. The high-layer functions in the PHY layer can include part of the functions of the PHY layer, which are closer to the MAC layer, and the low-layer functions in the PHY layer can include another part of the functions of the PHY layer, which are closer to the intermediate radio frequency side.

[0168] FIG. 2C exemplarily shows a possible example of functional modules of the PHY layer.

[0169] As shown in FIG. 2C, the access network device includes one or more functional modules for implementing processing of signals. Taking physical layer functions as an example, the access network device can process downlink data by using one or more of the following functional modules: encoding, modulation, layer mapping, resource element (RE) mapping, inverse fast Fourier transformation (IFFT) / cyclic prefix (CP) insertion, digital up converter (DUC), digital to analog conversion (DAC), transceiver and receiver (TRX) 1, and TRX 2. The TRX 1 functional module can be understood as a functional module for frequency conversion of a signal to a corresponding carrier frequency or carrier (for example, carrier 1). The TRX 2 functional module can be understood as a functional module for frequency conversion of a signal to a corresponding carrier frequency or carrier (for example, carrier 2). Some functional examples are given in FIG. 2C, and some of the functions shown in FIG. 2C can also be omitted, or some functions not shown in the figure can also be included in FIG. 2C, for example, scrambling can also be included between encoding and modulation in FIG. 2C.

[0170] As shown in FIG. 2C, taking physical layer functions as an example, the access network device can process uplink data by using one or more of the following functional modules: TRX 3, TRX 4, analog to digital conversion (ADC), digital down converter (DDC), fast Fourier transform (FFT) / CP removal, RE demapping, channel equalization (or channel estimation), inverse discrete Fourier transformation (IDFT), demodulation, or decoding. The TRX 3 functional module can be understood as a functional module for frequency conversion of a signal to a corresponding carrier frequency or carrier (for example, carrier 3). The TRX 4 functional module can be understood as a functional module for frequency conversion of a signal to a corresponding carrier frequency or carrier (for example, carrier 4). Some functional examples are given in FIG. 2C, and some of the functions shown in FIG. 2C can also be omitted, or some functions not shown in the figure can also be included in FIG. 2C, for example, descrambling can also be included between demodulation and decoding in FIG. 2C.

[0171] The one or more functional modules described above can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. Physically, the one or more functional modules can be discrete or integrated. It can be understood that the functional modules described above are merely examples, and the communication device can include more other modules (for example, a scheduling module, a power control module, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) module, a flow control module, a mobility management module, or an artificial intelligence (AI) module, etc.) according to design, or does not include some functional modules shown in FIG. 2C.

[0172] FIG. 2D shows an example of an O-RAN system architecture according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2D, the O-RAN can include an O-CU-CP, an O-CU-UP, an O-DU, and an O-RU. The system architecture can also include an open cloud (O-cloud), a service management and orchestration framework, an open eNB (O-eNB), and near (near)-real time (RT) RIC and non-real time (RT) RIC. The non-real time (RT) RIC can implement configuration, management, and control of radio resources of at least one of the O-CU-CP, the O-CU-UP, the DU, or the O-eNB. As shown in FIG. 2D, the interfaces defined by 3GPP include, for example, E1, F1 (e.g., F1-c, F1-u), NG (e.g., NG-c, NG-u), Xn (e.g., Xn-c, Xn-u), and X2 (e.g., X2-c, X2-u). For example, the O-RAN communication system also includes some interfaces, such as O1, O2, E2, A1, Open-front hual (FH) (e.g., Open-FH control (M)-plane, and Open-FH control, user, and synchronization (CUS)-plane). The names of the interfaces and the connections of the units shown in FIG. 2D are examples, and in actual applications, the O-RAN system can include more or fewer interfaces, or more or fewer units.

[0173] In one possible implementation, the O-DU and the O-RU can cooperate to jointly implement the functions of the PHY layer. There are multiple split options for the O-DU and the O-RU. FIG. 3A exemplarily shows one possible example of the functional modules of the protocol layers under the O-RAN protocol. In FIG. 3A, the PHY layer is divided into a PHY-high layer and a PHY-low layer & RF.

[0174] For downlink transmission, the split point of the O-DU and the O-RU can be between RE mapping and IFFT. For uplink transmission, the split point of the O-DU and the O-RU can be between FFT and RE demapping.

[0175] As shown in FIG. 3A, for downlink transmission, with IFFT / add CP as the split, the O-DU is configured to implement one or more functions before IFFT / add CP (i.e., encoding, modulation, layer mapping, RE mapping), and other functions after IFFT / add CP (e.g., one or more of IFFT / add CP, DUC, DAC, TRX1, or TRX2) are moved to the O-RU for implementation. For uplink transmission, with FFT / remove CP as the split, other functions before FFT / remove CP (e.g., at least one of TRX3, TRX4, ADC, DDC, or FFT / remove CP) are moved to the O-RU for implementation. The O-DU is configured to implement one or more functions after FFT / remove CP (i.e., one or more of RE demapping, channel equalization (or channel estimation), IDFT, demodulation, or decoding). In embodiments of the present application, a TRX unit can include / be: a transceiver unit, a carrier frequency unit, or a carrier wave unit. A TRX unit can be used to modulate a signal onto a carrier. For example, TRX1 is used to modulate a signal onto a first carrier, and TRX2 is used to modulate a signal onto a second carrier, which can be different (or the same). For example, TRX3 is used to modulate a signal onto a third carrier, and TRX4 is used to modulate a signal onto a fourth carrier, which can be different (or the same). A carrier frequency can be understood as the frequency of a carrier that carries a signal. A carrier frequency can be replaced by a carrier, which is commonly referred to as carrier in standards.

[0176] FIG. 3B exemplarily shows several DU and RU split options corresponding to CPRI and eCPRI, taking the fronthaul interface between the DU and the RU as an example.

[0177] For CPRI, for downlink transmission, the split point of the DU and the RU can be between the IFFT and the RF processing; for uplink transmission, the split point of the DU and the RU can be between the RF processing and the FFT, which is shown as split point #1 in FIG. 3B. As shown in FIG. 3B, in the case of the fronthaul interface between the DU and the RU being CPRI, for downlink transmission, the DU is configured to implement one or more functions before the IFFT / add CP (split point #1), i.e., one or more of encoding, modulation, layer mapping, RE mapping, or IFFT / add CP, while other functions after the IFFT / add CP, e.g., one or more of DUC, DAC, TRX1, and TRX2, are moved to the RU for implementation. For uplink transmission, other functions before the FFT / remove CP (split point #1), e.g., one or more of TRX3, TRX4, ADC, and DDC, are moved to the RU for implementation. The DU is configured to implement one or more functions after the FFT / remove CP, i.e., one or more of FFT / remove CP, RE demapping, channel equalization (or channel estimation), IDFT, demodulation, or decoding. The channel equalization in the embodiments of the present application can also be replaced by a multiple-input multiple-output equalizer (MIMO EQ), or by a combining process of data (the combining process can be replaced by a second process involved in the embodiments of the present application later).

[0178] The CPRI standard defines the interface between the radio equipment control center and the radio equipment. Generally, the CPRI link is used for the data interface of the BBU to the RRU / AAU. With a large increase in the number of antennas, the data volume of the BBU to the RRU / AAU also greatly increases, and the requirement for transmission rate greatly increases, so the module division of the BBU and the AAU is redefined, and the interface is also redefined, i.e., eCPRI. The eCPRI standard published after the CPRI defines the specification for connecting the eCPRI radio equipment control and the eCPRI radio equipment through the fronthaul transmission network. The eCPRI is generally used for the fronthaul of the 5G system.

[0179] For eCPRI, for downlink transmission, the split point between DU and RU can be between encoding and modulation; for uplink transmission, the split point between DU and RU can be between RE demapping and channel equalization, which is shown as split point #2 in FIG. 3B. As shown in FIG. 3B, in the case of eCPRI for the fronthaul interface between DU and RU, for downlink transmission, with modulation (split point #2) as the split, the DU is configured to implement one or more functions before modulation, and the RU is configured to implement one or more functions after modulation. For uplink transmission, with channel equalization (split point #2) as the split, the DU is configured to implement one or more functions after channel equalization, and the RU is configured to implement one or more functions before channel equalization.

[0180] As can be seen from FIGS. 3A and 3B, in the current division manner of baseband units and radio frequency units, there are more functional modules in the radio frequency unit, which will result in a higher cost of the radio frequency unit. For example, in the NTN scenario, the radio frequency unit is located on the satellite, and if there are too many functional modules in the radio frequency unit, the cost of the satellite will be too high. Moreover, in the O-RAN, CPRI and eCPRI fronthaul modes, the baseband unit transmits baseband digital signals (or I / Q signals) to the radio frequency unit, and the baseband unit can transmit signals to the radio frequency unit based on an Ethernet transmission protocol stack (in the CPRI mode, the baseband unit can also transmit signals to the radio frequency unit based on a TDM transmission protocol stack), and the baseband unit usually transmits signals to the radio frequency unit through optical or electrical cables.

[0181] Based on the above problems, the embodiment of the present application provides a division scheme of a baseband unit and a radio frequency unit. For downlink transmission, the division point of the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit can be between an analog intermediate frequency and a radio frequency / antenna; for uplink transmission, the division point of the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit can be between a radio frequency / antenna and an analog intermediate frequency, which is shown as the division point #3 in FIG. 3B. As shown in FIG. 3B, in the scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application, for downlink transmission, the baseband unit is configured to implement one or more functions (i.e., one or more of encoding, modulation, layer mapping, RE mapping, IFFT / adding CP, DUC, DAC, or TRX1) before TRX1 (the division point #3), while other functions (e.g., one or more of TRX2) after TRX1 are implemented in the radio frequency unit. For uplink transmission, other functions (e.g., TRX3) before TRX4 (the division point #3) are implemented in the radio frequency unit. The baseband unit is configured to implement one or more functions (i.e., one or more of TRX4, ADC, DDC, FFT / removing CP, RE demapping, channel equalization (or channel estimation), IDFT, demodulation, or decoding) after TRX4. This implementation can reduce the functional modules in the radio frequency unit, thereby reducing the cost of the radio frequency unit.

[0182] The division scheme of the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit in the embodiment of the present application is different from O-RAN, CPRI, and eCPRI. Therefore, the signal transmitted by the baseband unit to the radio frequency unit in the embodiment of the present application is also different from the signal under the O-RAN, CPRI, and eCPRI protocols. For example, in the embodiment of the present application, the baseband unit transmits an intermediate frequency analog signal to the radio frequency unit. Alternatively, the baseband unit can transmit a signal based on an air interface (e.g., Uu interface) to the radio frequency unit, and the baseband unit transmits the signal to the radio frequency unit by wireless transmission or laser transmission.

[0183] In a possible implementation, the network device in the embodiment of the present application can be configured to perform the function of the baseband unit, or the network device is configured to perform the function of the baseband unit. The relay device (e.g., a satellite device) in the embodiment of the present application can be configured to perform the function of the radio frequency unit.

[0184] Based on the content shown in at least one of FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, 1G, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 3A, or 3B and the above other content, FIG. 4A exemplarily shows a possible flow diagram of a communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application. For ease of understanding, the interaction of a terminal device, a relay device, and a network device is taken as an example for introduction in FIG. 4A.

[0185] In some examples of the embodiments of the present application, the network device is deployed on the ground. The network device may, for example, be configured as a device performing the functions of the baseband unit described above, or the network device comprises the baseband unit. The baseband unit in the present application may, for example, include / replace the BBU, and may, for example, include / replace the CU and the DU, and may, for example, include / replace the DU. The baseband unit in the embodiments of the present application may, for example, be replaced by other names, such as baseband processing unit, first unit, or distributed unit, etc. In some examples of the embodiments of the present application, the relay device is taken as a satellite device. The relay device (for example, the satellite device) may, for example, be configured as a device performing the functions of the radio frequency unit described above, or the relay device (for example, the satellite device) comprises the radio frequency unit. The radio frequency unit in the present application may, for example, include / replace the RU, the RRU, the AAU, or the RRH. The radio frequency unit in the embodiments of the present application may, for example, be replaced by other names, such as radio frequency processing unit, second unit, etc. In another possible implementation, the network device may, for example, not be configured to perform the functions of the radio frequency unit described above, and / or the relay device may, for example, not be configured to perform the functions of the baseband unit described above.

[0186] The terminal device in FIG. 4A may, for example, be a terminal device or a chip system inside a terminal device involved in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, FIG. 1D, FIG. 1E, FIG. 1F, FIG. 1G, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, or FIG. 2D. The terminal device may, for example, be located on the ground, or in the high altitude (for example, high-altitude aircraft or on-board terminal).

[0187] The network device in FIG. 4A may, for example, be a network device (for example, an access network device) or a chip system inside a network device involved in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, FIG. 1D, FIG. 1E, FIG. 1F, FIG. 1G, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, or FIG. 2D. The network device may, for example, be an access network device, which may, for example, be deployed on the ground, or in the air (for example, satellite).

[0188] The relay device in FIG. 4A can be a relay device (for example, a relay device) in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, FIG. 1D, FIG. 1E, FIG. 1F, FIG. 1G, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C or FIG. 2D or a chip system inside the relay device. The relay device can be a network device with a data forwarding function. The relay device can be, for example, an NCR deployed on the ground or in the air. For another example, the relay device is a satellite (in this example, the relay device can also be referred to as a satellite device, and the satellite device is a satellite or a chip (or chip system) in the satellite). For example, the relay device is a satellite that can work in a transparent mode, for example, the satellite enables the function of transparent forwarding of relaying, and the satellite can not work in (or support) a regenerative mode (for example, the satellite can not perform decoding operations on received data, or does not have decoding capability, etc.). In the scheme provided in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device and the network device can include one relay device, or can include multiple relay devices. The terminal device and the network device can also include or not include other communication devices. For example, the network device and the relay device can perform signal transmission through an air interface, or the network device and the relay device can perform signal transmission through a link formed by one or more other communication devices. For example, the terminal device and the relay device can perform signal transmission through an air interface, or the terminal device and the relay device can perform signal transmission through a link formed by one or more other communication devices. In the embodiments of the present application, one terminal device and one relay device between the network device are taken as an example for introduction, and the schemes of other relay devices can refer to the related content of the relay device introduced in the embodiments of the present application, which will not be described here.

[0189] The scheme provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a TN scenario, or can be applied to an NTN scenario, for example, applied to a scenario of an NTN transparent mode, in which a satellite can act as a relay device, and the satellite works in a transparent mode or carries a transparent payload.

[0190] The scheme provided in the embodiments of the present application is applicable to downlink data transmission (the downlink data transmission refers to transmission of signals sent by the network device to the terminal device), and is also applicable to uplink data transmission (the uplink data transmission refers to transmission of signals sent by the terminal device to the network device). The downlink data transmission is taken as an example for introduction in the following FIG. 4A, and the uplink data transmission will be described in detail in subsequent content, which will not be described here.

[0191] The following will be introduced with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0192] As shown in FIG. 4A, the method includes the following steps.

[0193] In step 401, the network device sends a synchronization signal to the relay device through an air interface.

[0194] Correspondingly, the relay device receives the synchronization signal.

[0195] For example, the synchronization signal can be transmitted through a Uu interface. For example, the synchronization signal can be carried in a message of an NR frame structure. For example, the synchronization signal can be a synchronization signal and physical sidelink broadcast channel block (SSB) signal in NR, such as a primary synchronization signal (PSS) signal and / or a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) signal. The synchronization signal is used for the relay device to perform time-frequency synchronization (timing synchronization and / or frequency synchronization) with the network device. For distinction, the synchronization signal transmitted by the network device in step 401 can be referred to as a first synchronization signal.

[0196] In step 402, the relay device transmits, to the network device, information indicating antenna information of the relay device.

[0197] Correspondingly, the network device receives the information indicating the antenna information of the relay device.

[0198] For example, the relay device transmits, to the network device through an air interface (for example, a Uu interface), the information indicating the antenna information of the relay device. For example, the information indicating the antenna information of the relay device can be carried in a message of an NR frame structure.

[0199] In a possible implementation, the antenna information of the relay device includes antenna information of F1 first antennas involved in the subsequent description. The description of the F1 first antennas can be referred to the subsequent description, which is not described here. Since the network device can obtain the antenna information of the relay device, the network device can select F1 first antennas for the relay device based on the received antenna information. On the other hand, the antenna information can also assist the network device to determine the precoding coefficients. For example, the network device can determine the positions of the antennas according to the distribution form of the antennas and / or the spacing of the antennas. Then, the network device can determine the precoding coefficients corresponding to the channels between the antennas of the relay device and the terminal device based on the positions of the antennas and the positions of the terminals, and then the network device precodes the signal based on the precoding coefficients, so as to improve the anti-interference ability of the signal and improve the communication performance.

[0200] For example, one antenna of the relay device can include / be one physical antenna port or multiple physical antenna ports. Alternatively, one antenna of the relay device can include / be one logical antenna port, which can include / be one or more physical antenna ports. The antenna (e.g., the first antenna and / or the second antenna mentioned later) in the embodiments of the present application can also be replaced by: an antenna element, an antenna feed, an antenna feed element, a feed, a feed element, an antenna port, a port, a physical antenna port, or a logical antenna port. The above-mentioned replacement manners of the antenna can be replaced with each other, for example, the feed element signal can be replaced by the antenna element signal.

[0201] In a possible implementation, the antenna information of the antenna sent by the relay device can include at least one of the following: the number of antennas of the relay device, the antenna distribution form of the relay device, or the spacing between two antennas of the relay device. For example, the antenna distribution form of the relay device includes one of the following: a rectangular grid distribution form, a triangular grid distribution form, a concentric circular ring distribution form, or an elliptical ring grid distribution form.

[0202] In step 402, the relay device sends information indicating the antenna information of the relay device in various forms. For example, the information indicating the antenna information of the relay device includes / be the antenna information of the relay device, or the information indicating the antenna information of the relay device includes / be the index number of the antenna information of the relay device, so that the network device finds the antenna information of the relay device corresponding to the index number from the pre-configured index number of the antenna information and the association relationship between the antenna information.

[0203] Step 402 can be executed or not executed. For example, when step 402 is not executed, the network device learns the antenna information of the relay device through other manners, for example, the antenna information of the relay device can be pre-configured on the network device side.

[0204] In step 403, the network device sends first information to the relay device.

[0205] Correspondingly, the relay device receives the first information.

[0206] For example, the network device sends the first information to the relay device through an air interface (e.g., a Uu interface). For example, the first information can be carried in a message of an NR frame structure. For another example, the network device can transmit the first information to the relay device through a control link.

[0207] In a possible implementation, the first information can include / be at least one of: information A-1 (information indicating a number of signal groups of the first signals of the first group F1), information A-2 (information indicating resources of the first signals of the first group F1), information A-3 (information indicating the first antennas F1), information A-4 (information indicating an association between the first signals of the first group F1 and the first antennas F1), and information A-5 (information indicating an association between resources of the first signals of the first group F1 and the first antennas F1). Multiple pieces of information among the information A-1, the information A-2, the information A-3, the information A-4, and the information A-5 can be carried in a same message or in multiple messages.

[0208] The information A-1 is information indicating a number of signal groups of the first signals of the first group F1.

[0209] The number of signal groups of the first signals of the first group F1 can also be implicitly indicated by information of resources of the first signals of the first group F1. In this implementation, the network device can no longer additionally send information indicating the number of signal groups of the first signals of the first group F1, thereby saving resource overhead.

[0210] The information A-2 is information indicating resources used by the network device to send the first signals of the first group F1.

[0211] For example, the resources used by the network device to send the first signals of the first group F1 include at least one of: time domain resources occupied by the first signals of the first group F1, frequency domain resources occupied by the first signals of the first group F1, or a polarization mode corresponding to the first signals of the first group F1. The polarization mode may, for example, include left-handed polarization and right-handed polarization.

[0212] The information A-3 is information indicating information of the first antennas (for example, the first antennas F1) used by the satellite device to send the first signals.

[0213] The first antennas F1 belong to part or all of the antennas of the relay device. F1 is a positive integer. The information indicating the first antennas F1 includes at least one of the following information: identification information of the first antennas F1; position information of the first antennas F1; index numbers of the first antennas F1; or bitmap information.

[0214] The information A-4 is information indicating an association between the first signals of the first group F1 and the first antennas F1.

[0215] For example, one group of first signals is associated with one first antenna, and one first antenna is associated with one group of first signals.

[0216] In the embodiments of the present application, the F1 group of first signals can be obtained by precoding the B1 group of second signals. The relay device can subsequently transmit the F1 group of first signals through the F1 first antennas according to the association relationship between the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas. The F1 first antennas and the F1 group of first signals can be in one-to-one correspondence. In a possible implementation, the association relationship between the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas can be predefined, or pre-stored by the network device and the relay device or agreed through a protocol / technical standard / technical specification.

[0217] For one (or each) of the F1 first antennas: the group of first signals associated with the first antenna is obtained by precoding the B1 group of second signals through the B1 precoding coefficients associated with the first antenna. Since the relay device can transmit the group of signals processed by precoding through one first antenna, the group of signals can better resist interference in the channels corresponding to the F1 first antennas in combination with other groups of signals, thereby improving the data transmission quality.

[0218] Information A-5 for indicating the association relationship between the resources of the F1 group of first signals transmitted by the network device and the F1 first antennas.

[0219] The information for indicating the association relationship between the resources of the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas can be used to determine the association relationship between the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas. In this implementation, the network device can no longer transmit information for indicating the association relationship between the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas, thereby saving signaling overhead. In a possible implementation, the association relationship between the resources of the F1 group of first signals transmitted by the network device and the F1 first antennas can be predefined, or pre-stored by the network device and the relay device or agreed through a protocol / technical standard / technical specification.

[0220] Step 404: The network device acquires the B1 group of second signals.

[0221] B1 is a positive integer. For example, B1 is 1 or an integer greater than 1.

[0222] For the sake of distinction, the signals acquired by the network device and needed to be transmitted to the terminal device are referred to as second signals in the embodiments of the present application. A group of second signals can include one or more second signals. The number of second signals included in two groups of second signals can be equal or unequal. The B1 group of second signals in the embodiments of the present application can also be replaced by other names, for example, replaced by: B1 second signals, a set of B1 second signals, etc.

[0223] The second signals in the B1 set of second signals can be signals that one terminal device needs to receive, or can be signals that one or more terminal devices in a region corresponding to a beam needs to receive. For example, the number of the B1 set of second signals can be the number of terminal devices corresponding to the B1 set of second signals. For another example, the number of the B1 set of second signals can be the number of beams corresponding to the B1 set of second signals.

[0224] In a possible implementation, the second signal in the B1 set of second signals can be a signal corresponding to data sent by the network device to at least one terminal device. For example, the second signal can be a signal corresponding to service data sent by the network device to at least one terminal device. For another example, the second signal can be a signal corresponding to service data sent by the network device to at least one terminal device based on a service request sent by the terminal device to the network device.

[0225] At step 405, the network device sends the F1 set of first signals to the relay device over the air interface.

[0226] Correspondingly, the relay device receives the F1 set of first signals.

[0227] For example, the F1 set of first signals can be sent over the Uu interface. For example, the F1 set of first signals can be carried in a message of the NR frame structure.

[0228] F1 is a positive integer. For example, F1 is 1 or an integer greater than 1. One set of first signals in the F1 set of first signals can include one or more first signals. The number of first signals included in the two sets of first signals can be equal or can not be equal. The F1 set of first signals in the embodiments of the present application can also be replaced by other names, for example, replaced by: F1 first signals, a set of F1 first signals, etc. Each set of first signals in the F1 set of first signals can also be replaced by other names, for example, replaced by: a set of signals after precoding, a set of signals after encoding, a set of feed element signals, a set of feed signals, a set of antenna element signals, a set of antenna signals, or a set of signals corresponding to one antenna feed element (source) / antenna element.

[0229] In a possible implementation, the network device can be configured as a device that performs the above-mentioned baseband unit functions. The relay device (for example, a satellite device) can be configured as a device that performs the above-mentioned radio frequency unit functions. The network device and the satellite device can perform signal transmission through an air interface. The air interface can be a Uu interface. The Uu interface can be an interface through which the network device and the terminal device perform air interface data transmission. In the embodiments of the present application, the network device can multiplex the Uu interface and the data transmission between the network device and the relay device. For example, the network device transmits signals to the terminal device through the relay device, or the terminal device transmits signals to the network device through the relay device. In the embodiments of the present application, the air interface used for data transmission between the network device and the relay device can be a Uu interface, or other air interfaces.

[0230] In a possible implementation, the network device can perform first processing on the B1 set of second signals through one or more precoding coefficients to obtain a F1 set of first signals. In the embodiments of the present application, the first processing performed by the network device on the B1 set of second signals can include / be: precoding, digital beamforming (DBF), analog beamforming, or beamforming. In the embodiments of the present application, the first processing is taken as an example of precoding processing, and the precoding processing can be replaced by DBF, analog beamforming, or beamforming.

[0231] The one or more precoding coefficients can be in the form of a precoding matrix. For example, the F1 set of first signals is obtained by precoding the B1 set of second signals through a first precoding matrix.

[0232] The F1 set of first signals and the F1 first antennas of the relay device have a correlation relationship. For example, the F1 set of first signals can correspond to the F1 first antennas of the relay device one by one, one set of first signals corresponds to one first antenna, one first antenna corresponds to one set of first signals, and the relay device can send the set of first signals corresponding to the first antenna through the first antenna. For example, the F1 set of first signals satisfies the following formula (1): F1×1 = W F1×B1 * S B1×1 … Formula (1)

[0233] In formula (1), S F1×1 represents the F1 set of first signals, W F1×B1 represents a first precoding matrix of F1 rows and B1 columns, S B1×1 represents the B1 set of second signals. In the embodiments of the present application, * represents multiplication, and other positions are not described again.

[0234] For ease of understanding, let's take F1 as 3 and B1 as 3 as an example. The above formula (1) can be transformed into the following formula (2):

[0235] In formula (2), F 11 F 21 and F 31 These are three sets of first signals (S) transmitted by the relay device through the first antenna #11, the first antenna #12, and the first antenna #13, respectively. F1×1 ), where one of the first antennas is used to transmit a set of first signals, B 11 B 21 and B 31 For the second signal of group B1 (S) B1×1 ), The first precoding matrix (W) in row F1 and column B1. F1×B1 ).

[0236] It can be seen from the above formula (2) that F 11 =(W 11 *B 11 +W 12 *B 21 +W 13 *B 31 ), F 21 =(W 21 *B 11 +W 22 *B 21 +W 23 *B 31 ), F 31 =(W 31 *B 11 +W 32 *B 21 +W 33 *B 31 For example, F 11 It can be transmitted via the first antenna #11 of the relay device, F 21 It can be transmitted via the first antenna #12 of the relay device, F 31 It can be transmitted via the first antenna #13 of the relay device. For example, W 11 W 21 W 31 It can be considered as the first antenna #11, the first antenna #12, the first antenna #13, and signal B. 11 The coefficient for determining the channel between the corresponding terminal devices (or, in other words, the coefficient is determined based on the channel conditions). W 12 W 22 W 32 It can be considered as the first antenna #11, the first antenna #12, the first antenna #13, and signal B.12 coefficients determined based on the channel conditions between the corresponding terminal devices. 13 23 33 The first antenna #11, the first antenna #12, the first antenna #13 and the signal B 13 coefficients determined based on the channel conditions between the corresponding terminal devices. In another possible implementation, the determination of the precoding coefficients of a certain terminal device can also take into account the channel conditions between the other terminal devices and the antennas.

[0237] In one possible implementation, for one of the F1 first antennas (e.g., the first antenna #11):

[0238] The set of first signals (e.g., F 11 ) associated with the first antenna (e.g., the first antenna #11) is obtained by precoding the B1 set of second signals (e.g., B 11 , B 12 and B 13 ) using the B1 precoding coefficients (e.g., W 11 , W 21 and W 31 ) associated with the first antenna (e.g., the first antenna #11) (e.g., F 11 = (W 11 *B 11 +W 12 *B 21 +W 13 *B 31 )). The description of F 21 and F 31 can be found in the description of F 11 , which is similar and thus not repeated here. For one of the B1 set of second signals (e.g., B 11 ), the precoding coefficient (e.g., W 11 ) used to precoding the set of second signals (e.g., B 11 ) is also associated with the channel between the at least one terminal device associated with the set of second signals (e.g., B 11 ) and the corresponding terminal device. As can be seen from the above equation, W 11 is used to precoding B 11 , W 11 may be determined based on the channel between the first antenna #11 and the corresponding terminal device (one or more terminal devices) of the signal B 11 , thus using W 11 to precoding B 11 may better resist the interference in the channel and thus improve the transmission quality of the signal. Similarly, W 12 is used to precoding B 12 , W​​13 for precoding, see the related description of W 13 for precoding, see the related description of W 11 for precoding, see the related description of W

[0239] In one possible implementation, the precoding coefficients corresponding to the two terminal devices can be different or the same, for example, the precoding coefficients W 11 and W 12 may be different or the same. In another possible implementation, for a region, for example, a region corresponding to a beam, the channel states corresponding to the multiple terminal devices corresponding to the same first antenna in the region can be similar, and therefore the multiple terminal devices corresponding to the same first antenna in the region can use the same precoding coefficient (for example, W 11 and W 12 are the same). For example, the multiple terminal devices corresponding to the same first antenna in the region can also use different precoding coefficients (for example, W 11 and W 12 are different).

[0240] In one possible implementation, the first precoding matrix is determined according to at least one of the following: channel information between the terminal device and the network device; channel information between the terminal device, the antenna of the relay device, and the network device; channel information between the terminal device and the antenna of the relay device; or location information of the terminal device. For example, the network device can obtain at least one of the information used to determine the first precoding matrix (for example, obtain channel information (for example, channel state information) between the terminal device and the network device, or obtain location information of the terminal device), and then determine the first precoding matrix according to the obtained information. For another example, the network device receives a precoding matrix indication (PMI) from the terminal device, and then determines the first precoding matrix according to the PMI. The precoding coefficients used by the two groups of second signals can be different or the same. For example, the network device can configure a more optimal precoding matrix (or precoding coefficient) according to the channel condition of the terminal device or the region corresponding to the beam. Or the network device determines a more optimal precoding matrix (or precoding coefficient) according to the positional relationship between the relay device and the terminal device (the region corresponding to the beam).

[0241] In another possible implementation, the relay device can process the received signals by analog or digital filtering to obtain (or extract) the F1 groups of first signals. In this way, the relay device can flexibly select the filtering mode based on its own capability and applicable scenarios.

[0242] In a possible implementation, the network device can send the first F1-group signals through the backhaul link. For example, the network device sends the first F1-group signals through at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing. For example, the network device sends the first F1-group signals occupying the same time domain resources but different frequency domain resources and / or different polarization manners. In this way, resource overhead can be saved, and data transmission efficiency can be improved. Correspondingly, the relay device can obtain the first F1-group signals through at least one of frequency division demultiplexing, time division demultiplexing, or polarization demultiplexing. For example, the frequency division demultiplexing of the relay device can be implemented in an analog domain or a digital domain.

[0243] At step 406, the relay device sends the first F1-group signals to the at least one terminal device through the first F1 antennas.

[0244] Correspondingly, the one or more terminal devices receive the first F1-group signals.

[0245] The first F1-group signals and the first F1 antennas of the relay device have an association relationship. For example, the first F1-group signals can be in one-to-one correspondence with the first F1 antennas of the relay device, and the relay device can send a group of first signals corresponding to a first antenna through the first antenna. For example, the first signal F 11 may be sent through the first antenna #11 of the relay device, the first signal F 21 may be sent through the first antenna #12 of the relay device, the first signal F 31 may be sent through the first antenna #13 of the relay device.

[0246] In a possible implementation, the antennas of the relay device for receiving signals (for example, the first F1-group signals) from the network device can be very small aperture terminal (VSAT) antennas. The antennas of the relay device for sending signals (for example, the first F1-group signals) to the one or more terminal devices can be antenna arrays. The set of antennas of the relay device for receiving signals from the network device and the set of antennas of the relay device for sending signals to the terminal device can be disjoint or different (or can also have an intersection or be the same).

[0247] For ease of understanding, FIG. 4B exemplarily shows a possible communication system architecture for transmitting downlink data according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0248] As shown in FIG. 4B, the L2 layer of the network device can include a front hual-scheduling function and an antenna management function. For example, the front hual-scheduling function of the network device can be used to schedule resources for transmitting the F1 set of first signals to the relay device, or for scheduling resources for transmitting signals from the relay device to the network device. For another example, the front hual-scheduling function of the network device can transmit some control signaling to the relay device based on the NR-Uu interface, such as some information in the aforementioned first information (e.g., information for indicating resources for the network device to transmit the F1 set of first signals; for another example, information for indicating an association relationship between the F1 set of first signals and the F1 set of first antennas). For example, the antenna management function can be used to transmit information to the satellite device for indicating antennas used by the satellite device to transmit the first signals. For another example, the L1 layer (physical layer) of the network device can include a multiplexing unit and a synchronization unit. The multiplexing unit can be used to perform at least one of time division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing on the F1 set of first signals, and transmit the resulting F1 set of first signals using the Uu interface (e.g., the F1 set of first signals are transmitted using the NR-Uu interface frame structure, for example). The synchronization unit of the network device can be used to synchronize with the relay device based on a first synchronization signal (e.g., an SSB of the NR-Uu interface).

[0249] An example of a relay device being a satellite device is shown in FIG. 4B. As shown in FIG. 4B, the L2 layer of the relay device (e.g., satellite device) can include a fronthaul scheduling unit and an antenna mapping function. For example, the fronthaul scheduling unit of the relay device (e.g., satellite device) can receive scheduling instructions from the network device, and schedule resources to receive the F1 set of first signals from the network device. For example, the fronthaul scheduling unit of the relay device can receive some control signaling from the network device based on the NR-Uu interface, such as some of the first information described above (e.g., information indicating resources used by the network device to transmit the F1 set of first signals; or, for example, information indicating an association between the F1 set of first signals and the F1 first antennas). For another example, the antenna mapping function can be used to map the F1 set of first signals received from the network device to the F1 first antennas, respectively, and transmit to at least one terminal device. For another example, the L1 layer (physical layer) of the relay device can include a demultiplexing unit and a synchronization unit. The demultiplexing unit can be used to perform at least one of de-time division multiplexing, de-frequency division multiplexing, or de-polarization multiplexing on the received F1 set of first signals (e.g., transmitted using the NR-Uu interface frame structure). The synchronization unit of the relay device can be used to synchronize with the network device based on the first synchronization signal (e.g., SSB of the NR-Uu interface). For example, when the network device transmits multiple sets of signals using frequency division multiplexing (or time division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing), the relay device can perform de-frequency division multiplexing (or de-time division multiplexing, or de-polarization multiplexing) on the received signals, and the actions performed by the relay device can correspond to the actions performed by the network device, and other examples are similar and will not be described in detail.

[0250] For ease of understanding, FIG. 4C exemplarily shows a possible method flow diagram of downlink data transmission provided by the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4C, the network device (for example, a base station or a gateway deployed on the ground) acquires a B1 group second signal. The B1 group second signal in the embodiments of the present application can be generated by the network device or received by the network device from other devices. The network device performs first processing (for example, pre-coding processing is taken as an example for illustration in FIG. 4C) on the B1 group second signal to obtain a F1 group first signal. The network device sends the F1 group first signal through at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing or polarization multiplexing. The F1 group first signal is transmitted through an air interface. FIG. 4C takes a satellite device as an example for illustration. The satellite device can process the received signal through analog or digital filtering to obtain the F1 group first signal (or extract, or sorting or extracting the F1 group first signal). Then the satellite device can obtain each group first signal in the F1 group first signal through at least one of de-frequency division multiplexing, de-time division multiplexing or de-polarization multiplexing, and input the F1 group first signal into each group first signal corresponding first antenna respectively, and send to the terminal device.

[0251] In a possible implementation, the network device can be configured as a device performing the above-mentioned baseband unit functions, for example. The relay device (for example, a satellite device) can be configured as a device performing the above-mentioned radio frequency unit functions, for example. The network device and the satellite device can be divided at the analog intermediate frequency and the radio frequency / antenna (for example, switching point #3 in FIG. 3B), which can be referred to the related description of FIG. 3B.

[0252] In a possible implementation, the first signal is determined according to an analog signal obtained after the network device performs IFFT processing and digital-to-analog conversion on the second signal (or at least one second signal) in the B1 group. For example, the first signal is determined according to an intermediate frequency signal obtained after performing digital up-conversion on the at least one second signal. The digital up-conversion on the at least one second signal is performed after the IFFT processing and before the digital-to-analog conversion. For example, the network device performs precoding processing, IFFT processing, and digital-to-analog conversion on the second signal in the B1 group, and performs digital up-conversion on the obtained analog signal to obtain an analog intermediate frequency signal, which can be the first signal in the F1 group, or the first signal in the F1 group is determined according to the analog intermediate frequency signal. In another possible implementation, the network device can transmit the analog intermediate frequency signal on a first carrier (for example, modulate the signal to the first carrier by using at least one TRX module). After receiving the first signal in the F1 group on the first carrier, the relay device can transmit the first signal in the F1 group to the terminal device on a second carrier (for example, modulate the signal to the second carrier by using at least one TRX module). The second carrier is different from (or the same as) the first carrier. As can be seen from the examples, in the embodiments of the present application, the relay device can be configured to perform the function of the radio frequency unit, and the network device can be configured to perform the function of the baseband unit. Since the split point of the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit is reasonably set in the embodiments of the present application, the complexity of the satellite device can be reduced, and the cost of the satellite device can be reduced.

[0253] In another possible implementation, the network device can further perform one or more of encoding, modulation, CP insertion, or resource mapping on the second signal in the B1 group. For example, the first signal is determined according to a signal obtained after performing CP insertion on the at least one second signal. The CP insertion on the at least one second signal is performed after the IFFT processing and before the digital-to-analog conversion. For another example, the encoding and / or modulation on the at least one second signal is performed before the precoding processing. For yet another example, the resource mapping on the at least one second signal is performed after the precoding processing.

[0254] For ease of understanding, FIG. 4D exemplarily shows a possible method flow diagram of downlink data transmission provided in the embodiments of the present application. FIG. 4D can be regarded as an extended embodiment of the embodiments of FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, or FIG. 4C, and the related contents can be referred to each other. In FIG. 4D, the relay device is taken as an example of the satellite device.

[0255] As shown in FIG. 4D, the network device sequentially performs signal processing on the B1 group second signal through the L3 layer (for example, RRC), the L2 layer (for example, PDCP, RLC and MAC layers) and the L1 layer (physical layer) (for example, encoding, modulation, layer mapping / pre-coding, RE mapping, IFFT+CP addition). The network device also performs DUC, DAC / TRX#11 processing (TRX#11 can be used to modulate the signal to carrier #11) on the signal, and then modulates the signal to carrier #12 through TRX#12, and transmits the obtained analog intermediate frequency (AIF) signal through the air interface. The satellite device receives the signal through the air interface, modulates the received signal to carrier #13 through TRX#13, and processes the signal through at least one of de-frequency division multiplexing, de-time division multiplexing or de-polarization multiplexing to obtain the F1 group first signal. The relay device modulates the obtained F1 group first signal to carrier #14 through TRX#14, and transmits the F1 group first signal to at least one terminal device through the F1 first antennas. In FIG. 4D, the network device transmits the F1 group first signal through at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing or polarization multiplexing, and the unit module performing the action is not shown on the network device side in FIG. 4D. The number of TRXs in FIG. 4D is a possible example, and in actual application, the network device and the relay device can include more or fewer TRXs. In the embodiments of the present application, DAC / TRX (for example, DAC / TRX#11) can represent DAC and / or TRX. In the embodiments of the present application, IFFT+CP addition can represent IFFT and CP addition. In the embodiments of the present application, layer mapping / pre-coding can represent layer mapping and / or pre-coding.

[0256] As can be seen from the above embodiments shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, FIG. 4C and FIG. 4D, the relay device can be configured to perform the function of the radio frequency unit, and the network device can be configured to perform the function of the baseband unit. Since the split point of the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit in the embodiments of the present application is reasonably set, the complexity of the satellite device side can be reduced, and in turn the cost of the satellite device can be reduced.

[0257] In another aspect, in the prior art, in the scenario where the relay device transmits data, the data transmitted by the network device to the terminal device through the relay device cannot be pre-coded. For example, when the relay device is a satellite working in a transparent forwarding state, the NR NTN does not standardize the feeder link transmission of the ground station-satellite link working in the transparent forwarding state, and the satellite only transparently forwards the received ground station signal without other signal processing, which leads to the fact that the data to be transmitted in the prior art cannot be pre-coded, and in turn the anti-interference ability of the data to be transmitted is low.

[0258] Based on the above scheme, in the embodiments of the present application, the network device can perform first processing (such as precoding, DBF, analog beamforming, or beamforming, etc.) on the data to be transmitted, and the relay device can transmit the F1 groups of first signals according to the association relationship between the F1 groups of first signals after the first processing and the F1 first antennas. In this way, the signal transmitted through one first antenna is processed using the first antenna and the precoding coefficient associated with the channel between the first antenna and the terminal device corresponding to the signal, so that the signal transmitted through the first antenna can better resist the interference (such as inter-beam co-frequency interference) of the channel between the first antenna and the terminal device corresponding to the signal, thereby improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0259] In another aspect, the scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application can also control the direction of the beam, thereby solving the influence of satellite attitude change, satellite orbit change, etc. on the beam coverage area in the NTN scenario. For example, the coverage geographical areas of different beams are different, the network device can estimate the channel according to the positional relationship between the beam coverage area and the F1 first antennas of the relay device, and then obtain the precoding coefficient associated with the channel of each beam, and then the signal corresponding to each beam can have more concentrated energy in the expected beam coverage area, thereby achieving the effect of controlling the direction of the beam.

[0260] In another aspect, since the first processing (such as precoding, DBF, analog beamforming, or beamforming, etc.) is completed at the network device side, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the relay device. When the scheme is applied in the NTN scenario, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the satellite as the relay device, thereby reducing the cost of the satellite.

[0261] In another aspect, the network device can periodically or aperiodically update the precoding matrix, thereby making the dynamic precoding processing, or dynamic DBF, or dynamic analog beamforming, or dynamic beamforming provided by the embodiments of the present application, so that the precoded data can better resist the interference of the channel, thereby further improving the data transmission quality.

[0262] In another aspect, the network device can perform filtering in the analog domain, which has lower processing complexity.

[0263] Based on the content shown in at least one of FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, FIG. 1D, FIG. 1E, FIG. 1F, FIG. 1G, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, FIG. 2D, FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, FIG. 4C or FIG. 4D and other content described above, FIG. 5A exemplarily shows a possible flow diagram of a communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application. For the convenience of understanding, FIG. 5A takes the interaction of a terminal device, a relay device and a network device as an example for introduction. The related content of FIG. 5A can be referred to the description of the terminal device, the relay device and the network device in the aforementioned FIG. 4A, and will not be repeated here. The difference between FIG. 5A and FIG. 4A is that FIG. 4A takes the downlink data transmission as an example for introduction, while FIG. 5A takes the uplink data transmission as an example for introduction.

[0264] The following will be introduced in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0265] As shown in FIG. 5A, the method comprises the following steps.

[0266] In step 501, the network device sends a synchronization signal to the relay device through the air interface.

[0267] Correspondingly, the relay device receives the synchronization signal.

[0268] The content of step 501 can be referred to the description of the aforementioned step 401, and will not be repeated here. For the sake of distinction, the synchronization signal sent by the network device in step 501 can be referred to as a second synchronization signal. The second synchronization signal can be the same synchronization signal as the aforementioned first synchronization signal, or two different synchronization signals.

[0269] In step 502, the relay device sends information for indicating the antenna information of the relay device to the network device.

[0270] Correspondingly, the network device receives the information for indicating the antenna information of the relay device.

[0271] The content of step 502 can be referred to the content of the aforementioned step 402. In step 502, the relay device can send the antenna information of the antenna used for receiving (or, receiving / transmitting) the signal of the access link to the network device. For example, the relay device can send the antenna information of the F2 second antennas to the network device. The antenna information of the antenna sent by the relay device to the network device can also comprise at least one of the information A-1, the information A-2 and the information A-3, and the related content can be referred to the aforementioned description.

[0272] Since the network device can obtain the antenna information of the relay device, the network device can select F2 second antennas for the relay device based on the received antenna information. In another aspect, the antenna information can also assist the network device to determine the coefficients in the first matrix (or referred to as the merging matrix). For example, the network device can determine the positions of the antennas according to the distribution form of the antennas and / or the spacing of the antennas. Then, the network device can determine the coefficients in the first matrix (or referred to as the merging matrix) corresponding to the channels between the antennas of the relay device and the terminal device based on the received antenna information. For the sake of distinction, the coefficients in the first matrix (or referred to as the merging matrix) can be referred to as weighting coefficients or merging coefficients.

[0273] Step 502 can be performed or not performed. The content of step 502 can refer to the content of the aforementioned step 402.

[0274] Step 503, the network device sends second information to the relay device.

[0275] Correspondingly, the relay device receives the second information.

[0276] For example, the network device sends the second information to the relay device through an air interface (such as a Uu interface). For example, the second information can be carried in a message of an NR frame structure. For another example, the network device can transmit the second information to the relay device through a control link.

[0277] In a possible implementation, the second information can include / be at least one of: information B-1 (information used to indicate the resources occupied by the F2 groups of third signals sent by the relay device), information B-2 (information used to indicate the F2 second antennas), and information B-3 (information used to indicate the association relationship between the resources used by the relay device to send the F2 groups of third signals and the F2 second antennas). Multiple pieces of information in the information B-1, the information B-2, and the information B-3 can be carried in the same message or in multiple messages.

[0278] Information B-1, information used to indicate the resources occupied by the F2 groups of third signals sent by the relay device.

[0279] For example, the resources occupied by the F2 groups of third signals sent by the relay device include at least one of the following: time domain resources occupied by the F2 groups of third signals, frequency domain resources occupied by the F2 groups of third signals, or a polarization mode corresponding to the F2 groups of third signals.

[0280] Information B-2, information used to indicate the F2 second antennas.

[0281] The F2 second antennas belong to part or all of the antennas of the relay device. The information used to indicate the F2 second antennas includes at least one of the following: identification information of the F2 second antennas; position information of the F2 second antennas; index numbers of the F2 second antennas; or bitmap information. In the embodiments of the present application, the information used to indicate the F2 second antennas is similar to the information used to indicate the F1 first antennas, and can be referred to each other, and will not be described here.

[0282] The information B-3 is information used to indicate the association between the resources used by the relay device to send the F2 groups of third signals to the network device and the F2 second antennas.

[0283] In the embodiments of the present application, for the resources of one group of third signals in the F2 groups of third signals, the resources (for example, frequency domain resources or polarization modes) used by the relay device to send the group of third signals can be the same as or different from the resources (for example, frequency domain resources or polarization modes) used by the relay device to receive the group of third signals.

[0284] The relay device receives the F2 groups of third signals from the at least one terminal device through the F2 second antennas. Then, the relay device can determine the resources used by the relay device to send the F2 groups of third signals according to the association between the resources and the F2 second antennas, and then can make the relay device send the group of third signals corresponding to the second antenna on the resources corresponding to the second antenna, so that after the network device receives the group of third signals, the network device can determine through the resources occupied by the group of third signals which second antenna of the relay device receives the group of third signals. For example, the relay device receives the third signal #31 through the second antenna #21, and the second antenna #21 is associated with the resource #21, and the relay device can send the third signal #31 to the network device on the resource #21, so that the network device identifies the third signal #31 based on the resource #21. Then, the network device can process the signal received by the second antenna using the coefficient corresponding to the channel between the second antenna and the terminal device, so that the processed signal can better resist the interference on the channel, thereby improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0285] In a possible implementation, the association between the resources used by the relay device to send the F2 groups of third signals to the network device and the F2 second antennas can be predefined, or pre-stored or agreed by the network device and the relay device through a protocol / technical standard / technical specification.

[0286] In step 504, the at least one terminal device sends a signal to the relay device.

[0287] Correspondingly, the relay device receives the F2 groups of third signals through the F2 second antennas.

[0288] The relay device receives F2 sets of third signals through F2 second antennas. F2 is a positive integer. There is a correlation between the F2 sets of third signals and the F2 second antennas of the relay device. For example, the F2 sets of third signals can correspond to the F2 second antennas of the relay device one by one, one set of third signals corresponding to one second antenna and one second antenna corresponding to one set of third signals. For example, the signal received by one second antenna can be referred to as one set of third signals.

[0289] One set of third signals in the F2 sets of third signals can include one or more third signals. The number of third signals included in two sets of third signals can be equal or unequal. The F2 sets of third signals in the embodiments of the present application can also be replaced by other names, for example, replaced by F2 third signals, a collection of F2 third signals, etc. One set (or each set) of third signals in the F2 sets of third signals can also be replaced by other names, for example, replaced by a set of signals, a set of feed element signals, a set of feed signals, a set of antenna element signals, a set of antenna signals, or a set of signals corresponding to one antenna feed (source) / antenna element, etc.

[0290] In step 505, the relay device sends the F2 sets of third signals to the network device.

[0291] Correspondingly, the network device receives the F2 sets of third signals.

[0292] For example, the F2 sets of third signals can be sent through a Uu interface. For example, the F2 sets of third signals can be carried in a message of an NR frame structure.

[0293] In a possible implementation, the relay device can send the F2 sets of third signals through a backhaul link. For another example, the F2 sets of third signals are sent by the relay device in at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing. For example, the F2 sets of third signals sent by the relay device occupy the same time domain resources, but different frequency domain resources and / or different polarization manners.

[0294] In a possible implementation, the set of antennas through which the relay device sends the F2 sets of third signals can have an intersection, or no intersection, or be the same as the set of antennas through which the F2 sets of third signals are received (i.e., the set of F2 second antennas), which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0295] In step 506, the network device obtains B2 sets of fourth signals according to the F2 sets of third signals.

[0296] In a possible implementation, the network device can perform second processing on the F2 groups of third signals by using one or more coefficients (e.g., combining coefficients) to obtain B2 groups of fourth signals. In a possible implementation, the fourth signals in the B2 groups of fourth signals can be signals corresponding to data (or service data) sent by the at least one terminal device to the network device. B2 is a positive integer. For example, B2 is 1 or an integer greater than 1. In embodiments of this application, the second processing performed by the network device on the F2 groups of third signals can include / consist of: combining processing, or combining and weighting processing, or channel equalization processing, and the like. The one or more coefficients can be in the form of a first matrix, which can also be referred to as a combining matrix, and the like. The B2 groups of fourth signals indicate signals obtained by processing the F2 groups of third signals by using the first matrix. The B2 groups of fourth signals can be signals obtained by processing the F2 groups of third signals by using the first matrix.

[0297] For example, the B2 groups of fourth signals satisfy the following formula (3): B2×1 B2×F2 F2×1 … Formula (3)

[0298] In formula (3), S F2×1 represents the F2 groups of third signals, W B2×F2 represents the first matrix of B2 rows and F2 columns, and S B2×1 represents the B2 groups of fourth signals.

[0299] For ease of understanding, taking F2 as 3 and B2 as 3 as an example, the above formula (3) can be converted into the following formula (4):

[0300] In formula (4), C 11 , C 21 , and C 31 are three groups of fourth signals (S B2×1 ), E 11 , E 21 , and E 31 groups are three groups of third signals (S F2×1 ) received by the second antenna #21, the second antenna #22, and the second antenna #23, respectively, wherein one second antenna receives one group of third signals, is the first matrix (W B2×F2 ) of B2 rows and F2 columns. For example, X 11 , X 12 , and X 13 may be regarded as coefficients corresponding to the channels between the terminal devices corresponding to the second antenna #21, the second antenna #22, and the second antenna #23 and the signal C 11 (or the coefficients are determined according to the channels). X 21 , X 22 , and X​​23 The second antenna #21, the second antenna #22, and the second antenna #23 can be regarded as receiving the signal C 21 The corresponding coefficient between the corresponding terminal device and the channel (or the coefficient is determined according to the condition of the channel), X 31 , X 32 , and X 33 The second antenna #21, the second antenna #22, and the second antenna #23 can be regarded as receiving the signal C 31 The corresponding coefficient between the corresponding terminal device and the channel (or the coefficient is determined according to the condition of the channel).

[0301] As can be seen from the above formula (4), C 11 = (X 11 * E 11 + X 12 * E 21 + X 13 * E 31 ), C 21 = (X 21 * E 11 + X 22 * E 21 + X 23 * E 31 ), and C 31 = (X 31 * E 11 + X 32 * E 21 + X 33 * E 31 ). E 11 is received by the relay device through the second antenna #21, and the relay device sends E 11 to the network device through the resource #1 according to the association relationship between the resource #1 and the second antenna #21. Similarly, E 21 is received by the relay device through the second antenna #22 of the relay device, and the relay device sends E 21 to the network device through the resource #2 according to the association relationship between the resource #2 and the second antenna #22. E 31 is received by the relay device through the second antenna #23 of the relay device, and the relay device sends E 31 to the network device through the resource #3 according to the association relationship between the resource #3 and the second antenna #23. The network device can determine the second antenna associated with each group of third signals according to the resources occupied by the received third signals and the association relationship between the resources and the second antennas.

[0302] As can be seen from the above example, for a group (or each group) of fourth signals (for example, C 11 ) in the B2 group of fourth signals, the group of fourth signals (for example, C 11) is obtained through the F2 coefficients (e.g., X) in the first matrix. 11 X 12 and X 13 For the third signal in group F2 (e.g., E) 11 E 21 and E 31 The F2 coefficients obtained after processing (e.g., X) 11 X 12 and X 13 ) and F2 second day lines (e.g. E) 11 E 21 and E 31 The corresponding channel association.

[0303] In conjunction with the above examples, another possible implementation involves a group of third signals (e.g., E) within the F2 group of third signals. 11 ), used for the third signal in this group (e.g., E) 11 The coefficients (e.g., X) are processed. 11 ) and used to receive the third signal in this group (e.g., E) 11 The second antenna (e.g., second antenna #21) and the third signal group (e.g., E) 11 The channel association corresponding to at least one terminal device. For example, E 11 The coefficient X used 11 It is related to the relay device receiving signal E 11 The antenna used and signal C 11 The corresponding terminal device location corresponds to the channel association (or the coefficient X). 11 (It is determined based on the channel). For example, E... 21 The coefficient X used 12 It is related to the relay device receiving signal E 21 The antenna used and signal C 11 The corresponding terminal device location corresponds to the channel association (or the coefficient X). 12 (It is determined based on the channel). For example, E... 31 The coefficient X used 13 It is related to the relay device receiving signal E 31 The antenna used and signal C 11 The corresponding terminal device location corresponds to the channel association (or the coefficient X). 13 (It is determined based on the channel). A set of third signals can correspond to one terminal device or multiple terminal devices.

[0304] It can be seen that, since the network device can process the signal received by the second antenna using the coefficient corresponding to the channel between the terminal device and the second antenna, the processed signal can better resist the interference on the channel, thereby improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0305] In a possible implementation, the two coefficients in the first matrix can be different or the same, for example, the coefficients X 11 and X 21 may be different or the same. In another possible implementation, for a region, for example, a region corresponding to a beam, the channel states corresponding to the multiple terminal devices corresponding to the same second antenna in the region can be relatively similar, and therefore the multiple terminal devices corresponding to the same second antenna in the region can use the same coefficient (for example, X 11 and X 21 are the same). For example, the multiple terminal devices corresponding to the same second antenna in the region can also use different coefficients (for example, X 11 and X 21 are different).

[0306] In a possible implementation, the first matrix indicates (or is determined according to) at least one of the following: channel information between the terminal device and the network device; channel information between the terminal device, the antenna of the relay device, and the network device; channel information between the terminal device and the antenna of the relay device; or location information of the terminal device. For example, the network device can obtain at least one piece of information used to determine the first matrix (for example, obtain channel information (for example, channel state information) between the terminal device and the network device, or obtain location information of the terminal device), and then determine the first matrix according to the obtained information. For another example, the network device receives PMI from the terminal device, and then determines the first matrix according to the PMI.

[0307] The B2 groups of fourth signals in the embodiments of the present application can also be replaced by other names, for example, replaced by: B2 groups of fourth signals, a set of B2 groups of fourth signals, and the like. One group of fourth signals can be a signal sent by one terminal device, or a signal sent by one or more terminal devices in a region corresponding to one beam. For example, the number of B2 groups of fourth signals can be the number of terminal devices corresponding to the B2 groups of fourth signals. For another example, the number of B2 groups of fourth signals can be the number of beams corresponding to the B2 groups of fourth signals.

[0308] For ease of understanding, FIG. 5B exemplarily shows a possible communication system architecture schematic diagram provided by the embodiments of the present application for transmitting downlink data.

[0309] An example of the relay device being a satellite device is shown in FIG. 5B. As shown in FIG. 5B, the L2 layer of the relay device (e.g., satellite device) can include a fronthaul scheduling unit and an antenna mapping unit. For example, the fronthaul scheduling unit of the relay device can be configured to receive information (e.g., second information, which can also be referred to as scheduling information) from the network device and schedule resources for transmitting the F2 set of third signals to the network device. For example, the fronthaul scheduling unit of the relay device can receive some control signaling from the network device based on the NR-Uu interface, such as some information in the aforementioned second information (e.g., information indicating resources occupied by the F2 set of third signals transmitted by the relay device; or for example, information indicating an association between resources used by the relay device to transmit the F2 set of third signals and the F2 set of second antennas). For another example, the antenna mapping unit is configured to receive the F2 set of third signals via the F2 set of second antennas and transmit to the network device. For another example, the L1 layer (physical layer) of the relay device can include a multiplexing unit and a synchronization unit. The multiplexing unit can be configured to perform at least one of time division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing on the received F2 set of third signals and transmit to the network device (e.g., the F2 set of third signals are transmitted in the NR-Uu interface frame structure). The synchronization unit of the relay device can be configured to synchronize with the network device based on the first synchronization signal (e.g., SSB of the NR-Uu interface).

[0310] As shown in FIG. 5B, the L2 layer of the network device can include a fronthaul scheduling unit and an antenna management unit. For example, the fronthaul scheduling unit of the network device can be configured to schedule resources for the relay device to transmit the F2 set of third signals to the network device. For another example, the fronthaul scheduling unit of the network device can transmit some control signaling to the relay device based on the NR-Uu interface, such as some information in the aforementioned second information (e.g., information indicating resources occupied by the F2 set of third signals transmitted by the relay device; or for example, information indicating an association between resources used by the relay device to transmit the F2 set of third signals and the F2 set of second antennas). For example, the antenna management unit is configured to transmit information to the satellite device indicating antennas used by the satellite device to receive the F2 set of third signals. For another example, the L1 layer (physical layer) of the network device can include a demultiplexing unit and a synchronization unit. The demultiplexing unit can be configured to perform at least one of time division demultiplexing, frequency division demultiplexing, or polarization demultiplexing on the received F2 set of third signals from the relay device (e.g., the F1 set of first signals are transmitted in the NR-Uu interface frame structure). The synchronization unit of the network device can be configured to synchronize with the relay device based on the first synchronization signal (e.g., SSB of the NR-Uu interface), such as the network device transmitting the synchronization signal to the relay device.

[0311] In a possible implementation, the network device can be configured as a device that performs the functions of the baseband unit described above. The relay device (e.g., a satellite device) can be configured as a device that performs the functions of the radio frequency unit described above. The network device and the satellite device can be split at an analog intermediate frequency and a radio frequency / antenna (e.g., switching point #3 in FIG. 3B), which can be referred to in the foregoing description of FIG. 3B and will not be repeated here.

[0312] In a possible implementation, the third signal of the F2 group is an analog signal. The at least one fourth signal is determined according to a signal obtained by performing, on the third signal, second processing, analog-to-digital conversion, and FFT processing by the network device. For example, the third signal is an intermediate frequency analog signal; and the at least one fourth signal is determined according to a signal obtained by performing digital down-conversion on the third signal. The digital down-conversion on the third signal is performed after the analog-to-digital conversion and before the FFT processing. In another possible implementation, the relay device can transmit the third signal of the F2 group on a third carrier (e.g., by modulating the signal onto the third carrier by using at least one TRX module). After receiving the third signal of the F2 group on the third carrier, the network device can modulate the third signal of the F2 group onto a fourth carrier. The third carrier and the fourth carrier are different (or the same). As can be seen from the foregoing examples, in the embodiments of the present application, the relay device can be configured to perform the functions of the radio frequency unit, and the network device can be configured to perform the functions of the baseband unit. Because the split point of the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit is reasonably set in the embodiments of the present application, the complexity of the satellite device can be reduced, and the cost of the satellite device can be reduced accordingly.

[0313] In another possible implementation, the network device can further perform one or more of resource demapping, CP removal, demodulation, or decoding on the third signal of the F2 group. For example, the CP removal on the at least one fourth signal is performed after the analog-to-digital conversion and before the FFT processing. For another example, the at least one fourth signal is determined according to a signal obtained by performing resource demapping on the third signal.

[0314] For ease of understanding, FIG. 5C exemplarily shows a possible method flow diagram of downlink data transmission provided in the embodiments of the present application. FIG. 5C can be regarded as an example of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5B. In FIG. 5C, the relay device is taken as an example of a satellite device.

[0315] As shown in FIG. 5C, the satellite device receives the F2 sets of third signals from the terminal device through the F2 second antennas, modulates the received F2 sets of third signals through TRX #24 to carrier #24, and processes the signals through at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing, modulates the resulting signals through TRX #23 to carrier #23, and sends the F2 sets of third signals to the network device. The network device receives the signals from the relay device through the air interface (for example, the Uu interface), modulates the signals through TRX #22 to carrier #22, and then processes the signals through ADC / TRX #21 processing (TRX #21 can be used to modulate the signals to carrier #21) and DDC processing, and processes the resulting signals through FFT+CP removal processing, RE demapping processing, and second processing (for example, combining processing in FIG. 5C), to obtain B2 sets of fourth signals. The network device also processes the signals obtained through the second processing through IDFT, demodulation, and decoding processing, and through L2 layer (for example, MAC layer, RLC layer, and PDCP layer) and L3 layer (for example, RRC) processing, to obtain B2 sets of fourth signals.

[0316] The network device in FIG. 5C processes the F2 sets of third signals through at least one of de-frequency division multiplexing, de-time division multiplexing, or de-polarization multiplexing, and the unit module performing this action is not shown on the network device side in FIG. 5C. The number of TRXs in FIG. 5C is a possible example, and the network device and the relay device can include more or fewer TRXs in actual applications. Related content of FIG. 5C can also be referred to the related description of the foregoing FIG. 4D, and will not be described again.

[0317] As can be seen from the above-described embodiments shown in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B, and FIG. 5C, the relay device can be configured to perform the function of the radio frequency unit, and the network device can be configured to perform the function of the baseband unit. Since the split point of the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit is reasonably set in the embodiments of the present application, the complexity of the satellite device side can be reduced, and in turn the cost of the satellite device can be reduced.

[0318] In yet another aspect, the relay device can send the F2 sets of third signals according to the association relationship between the second antennas receiving the F2 sets of third signals and the resources sending the F2 sets of third signals. The network device can perform second processing (for example, combining processing, or combining and weighting processing, etc.) on the received F2 sets of third signals. Since the network device can use the coefficients corresponding to the channel of the second antenna and the channel between the terminal device to process the signals received by the second antenna, the processed signals can better resist the interference on the channel, and thus the transmission quality of the signals can be improved.

[0319] In yet another aspect, since the second processing (e.g., the combining processing, or the combining and weighting processing, etc.) is completed at the network device side, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the relay device. When the scheme is applied to the NTN scenario, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the satellite as the relay device, and in turn, can reduce the cost of the satellite.

[0320] In yet another aspect, the network device can update the first matrix periodically or aperiodically, so that the data processed by the first matrix can better resist the interference of the channel, and in turn, can further improve the data transmission quality.

[0321] Based on the content shown in at least one of FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, FIG. 1D, FIG. 1E, FIG. 1F, FIG. 1G, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, FIG. 2D, FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, FIG. 4C, FIG. 4D, FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B, or FIG. 5C, and other content described above, FIG. 6A and FIG. 7A exemplarily show a possible flow diagram of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. For ease of understanding, FIG. 6A and FIG. 7A take the interaction of the terminal device, the relay device, and the network device as an example for introduction. The related content of FIG. 6A and FIG. 7A can be referred to the description of the terminal device, the relay device, and the network device in the aforementioned FIG. 4A and FIG. 5A, and will not be repeated here.

[0322] The following row data transmission is taken as an example for introduction in FIG. 6A, and the uplink data transmission is taken as an example for introduction in FIG. 7A.

[0323] For the downlink data transmission process, the network device performs the precoding processing on the signal in FIG. 4A, and the relay device performs the precoding processing on the signal in FIG. 6A. The related content of FIG. 6A can also be referred to the description of FIG. 4A.

[0324] For the uplink data transmission process, the network device performs the second processing (combining processing) on the signal in FIG. 5A, and the relay device performs the second processing (combining processing) on the signal in FIG. 7A. The related content of FIG. 7A can also be referred to the description of FIG. 5A.

[0325] As shown in FIG. 6A, the method comprises the following steps.

[0326] In step 601, the network device sends a synchronization signal to the relay device through the air interface.

[0327] Correspondingly, the relay device receives the synchronization signal.

[0328] The step 601 can be referred to the step 401, and will not be repeated here.

[0329] In step 602, the relay device sends information indicating the antenna information of the relay device to the network device.

[0330] Correspondingly, the network device receives information indicating the antenna information of the relay device.

[0331] The content of step 602 can refer to the content of the aforementioned step 402, and will not be described again. Step 602 can be executed or not executed.

[0332] In step 603, the network device sends third information to the relay device.

[0333] Correspondingly, the relay device receives the third information.

[0334] For example, the network device sends the third information to the relay device through an air interface (for example, a Uu interface). For example, the third information can be carried in a message of an NR frame structure. For another example, the network device can transmit the third information to the relay device through a control link.

[0335] In a possible implementation, the third information can include / be at least one of: information C-1 (information indicating the number of signal groups of the B1 group second signal), information C-2 (information indicating the resource of the B1 group second signal), information C-3 (information indicating the F1 first antennas), information C-4 (information indicating the precoding coefficient associated with the B1 group second signal), information C-5 (information indicating the association relationship between the precoding coefficient associated with the B1 group second signal and the F1 first antennas), and information C-6 (information indicating the association relationship between the F1 group first signal and the F1 first antennas). Multiple information in the information C-1, the information C-2, the information C-3, the information C-4, and the information C-5 can be carried in the same message or multiple messages.

[0336] The information C-1 is information indicating the number of signal groups of the B1 group second signal.

[0337] The information indicating the number of signal groups of the B1 group second signal can include at least one of the following: indication information of the number of signal groups of the B1 group second signal; information indicating the resource of the B1 group second signal; or information indicating the number of columns or rows of the first precoding matrix. The F1 group first signal indicates a signal after the B1 group second signal is precoded by the first precoding matrix.

[0338] The information C-2 is information indicating the resource of the B1 group second signal sent by the network device to the relay device.

[0339] For example, the resource of the B1 group second signal includes at least one of the following: time domain resource occupied by the B1 group second signal, frequency domain resource occupied by the B1 group second signal, or polarization mode corresponding to the B1 group second signal.

[0340] Information C-3, information for indicating the F1 first antennas.

[0341] The content of information C-3 can refer to the relevant description of the aforementioned information A-3, and will not be described again.

[0342] Information C-4, information for indicating the precoding coefficients associated with the B1 groups of second signals.

[0343] The information for indicating the precoding coefficients associated with the B1 groups of second signals includes information for indicating the first precoding matrix.

[0344] The information for indicating the first precoding matrix includes at least one of the following: indication information of the first precoding matrix, or an index of the first precoding matrix, or information of the precoding coefficients associated with each of the B1 groups of second signals in the first precoding matrix.

[0345] Information C-5, information for indicating the association relationship between the precoding coefficients associated with the B1 groups of second signals (or the precoding coefficients in the first precoding matrix) and the F1 first antennas.

[0346] The association relationship between the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas is determined according to the association relationship between the precoding coefficients associated with the B1 groups of second signals and the F1 first antennas. The relay device can determine the association relationship between the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas according to the association relationship between the precoding coefficients associated with the B1 groups of second signals and the F1 first antennas.

[0347] For example, F1 is 3, and B1 is 3. The F1 first antennas are respectively first antenna #11, first antenna #12, and first antenna #13. The B1 groups of second signals are respectively second signal #21, second signal #22, and second signal #23. The precoding coefficients associated with the first antenna #11 are W 11 , W 12 , and W 13 . The three groups of second signals are precoded respectively using W 11 , W 12 , and W 13 , and a group of first signals (W 11 *second signal #21+W 12 *second signal #22+W 13 *second signal #23) is obtained. Since the group of first signals is obtained by precoding through the precoding coefficients associated with the first antenna #11, the group of first signals and the first antenna #11 have an association relationship. For example, one group of first signals is associated with one first antenna, and one first antenna is associated with one group of first signals.

[0348] For one (or each) of the F1 first antennas: the set of first signals associated with the first antenna is obtained by precoding the set of B1 second signals with the B1 precoding coefficients associated with the first antenna. Since the relay device can transmit the set of signals processed by precoding corresponding to the first antenna through the first antenna, the set of signals can better resist interference in the channel corresponding to the first antenna, thereby improving data transmission quality.

[0349] In a possible implementation, the association between the precoding coefficients (or the precoding coefficients in the first precoding matrix) associated with the set of B1 second signals and the F1 first antennas can be predefined, or pre-stored by the network device and the relay device or agreed by a protocol / technical standard / technical specification.

[0350] Information C-6, information for indicating the association between the set of F1 first signals and the F1 first antennas.

[0351] The association between the set of F1 first signals and the F1 first antennas is determined according to the association between the precoding coefficients associated with the set of B1 second signals and the F1 first antennas. Alternatively, in a possible implementation, the association between the set of F1 first signals and the F1 first antennas can be predefined, or pre-stored by the network device and the relay device or agreed by a protocol / technical standard / technical specification.

[0352] In step 604, the network device transmits the set of B1 second signals to the relay device through the air interface.

[0353] Correspondingly, the relay device receives the set of B1 second signals.

[0354] For example, the set of B1 second signals can be transmitted through the Uu interface. For example, the set of B1 second signals can be carried in the message of the NR frame structure. The related content of the set of B1 second signals can be referred to the foregoing description in FIG. 4A, and will not be described herein again.

[0355] In a possible implementation, the network device can transmit the set of B1 second signals through the backhaul link. For another example, the set of B1 second signals is transmitted by the network device in at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing. Correspondingly, the relay device can obtain the set of F1 first signals in at least one of frequency division demultiplexing, time division demultiplexing, or polarization demultiplexing. For example, the set of B1 second signals transmitted by the network device occupies the same time domain resource, but different frequency domain resources and / or different polarization manners. In this way, resource overhead can be saved, and data transmission efficiency can be improved.

[0356] At step 605, the relay device transmits F1 groups of first signals to the at least one terminal device through F1 first antennas.

[0357] Correspondingly, the one or more terminal devices receive the F1 groups of first signals.

[0358] For details of the related content of step 605, the relay device transmits F1 groups of first signals to the at least one terminal device through F1 first antennas, reference can be made to the related description in the foregoing step 406, and no longer be repeated herein.

[0359] At step 605, the relay device can use the first precoding matrix to precode the B1 groups of second signals to obtain the F1 groups of first signals. For details of the process, reference can be made to the related content of the network device using the first precoding matrix to precode the B1 groups of second signals to obtain the F1 groups of first signals, which is given in the foregoing FIG. 4A, and no longer be repeated herein.

[0360] For ease of understanding, FIG. 6B exemplarily shows a possible communication system architecture for transmitting downlink data according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0361] As shown in FIG. 6B, the L2 layer of the network device can include a front-haul scheduling unit and an antenna management unit. For example, the front-haul scheduling unit of the network device can be used to schedule resources to transmit the B1 groups of second signals to the relay device. For another example, the front-haul scheduling unit of the network device can transmit some control signaling to the relay device based on the NR-Uu interface, such as some information in the foregoing third information (for example, information used to indicate the resources of the network device transmitting the B1 groups of second signals; for another example, information used to indicate the first precoding matrix, etc.). For example, the antenna management unit is used to transmit information to the satellite device, which is used to indicate the antennas used by the satellite device to transmit the F1 groups of first signals. For another example, the L1 layer (physical layer) of the network device can include a multiplexing unit and a synchronization unit. The multiplexing unit can be used to perform at least one of time division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing or polarization multiplexing on the B1 groups of second signals, and transmit the obtained B1 groups of second signals using the Uu interface (for example, the B1 groups of second signals are transmitted using the NR-Uu interface frame structure). The synchronization unit of the network device can be used to synchronize with the relay device based on a synchronization signal (such as the SSB of the NR-Uu interface).

[0362] Fig. 6B shows a schematic diagram of an example in which the relay device is a satellite device. As shown in Fig. 6B, the L2 layer of the relay device (e.g., the satellite device) can include a fronthaul scheduling unit and an antenna mapping unit. For example, the fronthaul scheduling unit of the relay device can be configured to schedule resources to receive the B1 set of second signals from the network device and to precode the B1 set of second signals to obtain the F1 set of first signals. For example, the fronthaul scheduling unit of the relay device can receive some control signaling from the network device based on the NR-Uu interface, such as some of the third information described above (e.g., information indicating resources used by the network device to transmit the B1 set of second signals; or, for example, information indicating the first precoding matrix, etc.). For another example, the antenna mapping unit is configured to map the F1 set of first signals to the F1 first antennas, respectively, and transmit to the at least one terminal device. For another example, the L1 layer (physical layer) of the relay device can include a demultiplexing unit and a synchronization unit. The demultiplexing unit can be configured to perform at least one of de-time division multiplexing, de-frequency division multiplexing, or de-polarization multiplexing on the received B1 set of second signals (e.g., transmitted using the NR-Uu interface frame structure). The synchronization unit of the relay device can be configured to synchronize with the network device based on a synchronization signal (e.g., SSB of the NR-Uu interface).

[0363] In a possible implementation, the network device can be configured as a device performing the functions of the baseband unit described above. The relay device (e.g., the satellite device) can be configured as a device performing the functions of the radio frequency unit described above. The network device and the satellite device can be divided at the analog intermediate frequency and the radio frequency / antenna (e.g., switching point #3 in Fig. 3B). For details, refer to the related description of Fig. 3B.

[0364] In the manner provided by the embodiments of the present application, the relay device can also perform precoding processing in the digital domain and / or the analog domain. Figs. 6C, 6D, and 6E respectively show schematic diagrams of several possible methods of downlink data transmission provided by the embodiments of the present application. Figs. 6C, 6D, and 6E can be regarded as extended embodiments of the embodiments shown in Figs. 6A and 6B. For details, refer to the related description of Figs. 6A and 6B. Figs. 6C, 6D, and 6E show examples in which the relay device is a satellite device.

[0365] In the embodiments shown in FIG. 6C, FIG. 6D and FIG. 6E, the action performed by the network device on the B1 group second signal does not include the first processing (e.g. pre-coding processing), and the remaining processing can refer to the processing steps of the network device on the B1 group second signal shown in FIG. 4A. For example, the network device performs IFFT processing and digital-to-analog conversion on the B1 group second signal. The B1 group second signal transmitted by the network device also belongs to the intermediate frequency analog signal. In FIG. 6C, FIG. 6D and FIG. 6E, the relay device is configured to perform the first processing (e.g. pre-coding processing) on the received B1 group second signal from the network device.

[0366] FIG. 6C is a schematic diagram illustrating the pre-coding processing performed by the relay device in the digital domain. FIG. 6D is a schematic diagram illustrating the pre-coding processing performed by the relay device in the digital domain. FIG. 6E is a schematic diagram illustrating the pre-coding processing performed by the relay device in the digital domain and the analog domain.

[0367] As shown in FIG. 6C, the network device performs signal processing on the B1 group second signal through L3 layer (e.g. RRC), L2 layer (e.g. PDCP, RLC and MAC layer) and L1 layer (physical layer) (e.g. encoding, modulation, layer mapping, RE mapping, IFFT + adding CP) in sequence. The network device further performs DUC, DAC / TRX#31 processing (TRX#11 can be used to modulate the signal to carrier #31), and then modulates the signal to carrier #32 through TRX#32, and transmits the obtained analog intermediate frequency (AIF) (B1 group second signal) through the air interface. The satellite device receives the signal (e.g. B1 group second signal) through the air interface, and performs processing on the signal through TRX#33, ADC / TRX#34 and DDC, and performs at least one of de-frequency division multiplexing, de-time division multiplexing or de-polarization multiplexing on the obtained signal to obtain the B1 group second signal. The satellite device performs digital domain pre-coding processing on the obtained signal to obtain the F1 group first signal. The relay device modulates the F1 group first signal to carrier #36 through DUC, DAC / TRX#35 and TRX#36 processing, and transmits the obtained F1 group first signal to at least one terminal device through the F1 first antennas. The related content of FIG. 6C can refer to the description in FIG. 4D, and will not be described here.

[0368] The content of the network device side in FIG. 6D is the same as that in FIG. 6C, and will not be repeated. As shown in FIG. 6D, the satellite device receives a signal (for example, the second signal of the B1 group) through the air interface, modulates the received signal to the carrier #33 through the TRX #33, and processes the received signal through at least one of de-frequency division multiplexing, de-time division multiplexing, or de-polarization multiplexing to obtain the second signal of the B1 group. The relay device performs analog domain precoding processing on the second signal of the B1 group to obtain the first signal of the F1 group. The relay device modulates the first signal of the F1 group to the carrier #36 through the TRX #36, and transmits the first signal of the F1 group to at least one terminal device through the F1 first antennas.

[0369] FIG. 6C and FIG. 6D are both examples of introducing the relay device performing one precoding operation. For example, the relay device precodes the second signal of the B1 group using a first precoding matrix to obtain the second signal of the F1 group. The relay device can also obtain the second signal of the F1 group by performing multiple precodings on the second signal of the B1 group. For example, the relay device precodes the second signal of the B1 group using a second precoding matrix to obtain a fifth signal of the B1 group, and precodes the fifth signal of the B1 group using a third precoding matrix to obtain the second signal of the F1 group.

[0370] In a possible implementation, the first precoding matrix can have an association relationship with the second precoding matrix and / or the third precoding matrix. For example, the first precoding matrix can be decomposed into the second precoding matrix and the third precoding matrix.

[0371] For example, the first precoding matrix satisfies the following formula (5): F1×B1 = U F1×B1 * V B1×B1 … Formula (5)

[0372] In formula (5), W F1×B1 may represent the first precoding matrix of F1 rows and B1 columns, U F1×B1 may represent the second precoding matrix of F1 rows and B1 columns, and V B1×B1 may represent the third precoding matrix of B1 rows and B1 columns.

[0373] In a possible implementation, the first signal of the F1 group indicates a signal obtained by precoding the fifth signal of the B1 group through the second precoding matrix, and the fifth signal of the B1 group indicates a signal obtained by precoding the second signal of the B1 group through the third precoding matrix.

[0374] For example, the fifth signal of the B1 group satisfies the following formula (6), and the first signal of the F1 group satisfies the following formula (7): B1×1 = V B1×B1 * S B1×1 … Formula (6) S F1×1 = UF1×B1 S' B1×1 … Equation (7)

[0375] In Equation (6) and Equation (7), S B1×1 represents the B1 group second signal, V B1×B1 represents the B1 row B1 column third precoding matrix, S' B1×1 represents the B1 group fifth signal, U F1×B1 represents the F1 row B1 column second precoding matrix, S F1×1 represents the F1 group first signal.

[0376] The network device side content in FIG. 6E is the same as that in FIG. 6C, and will not be repeated. As shown in FIG. 6E, the satellite device receives a signal (for example, the B1 group second signal) through the air interface, the satellite device processes the signal through TRX #33 (for example, modulates the received signal to carrier #33 through TRX #33), ADC / TRX #34 and DDC, and processes the obtained signal through at least one of de-multiplexing, de-time multiplexing or de-polarization multiplexing to obtain the B1 group second signal. The satellite device performs digital domain precoding processing on the obtained signal to obtain the B1 group fifth signal. The relay device processes the B1 group fifth signal through DUC, DAC / TRX #35 to obtain the analog domain B1 group fifth signal. The relay device performs analog domain precoding on the analog domain B1 group fifth signal to obtain the F1 group first signal. The relay device processes the F1 group first signal through TRX #36 to modulate the F1 group first signal to carrier #36, and transmits the F1 group first signal to at least one terminal device through the F1 first antenna. The related content of FIG. 6E can be referred to the description of the foregoing FIG. 6C, and will not be repeated.

[0377] As can be seen from the above-described embodiments shown in FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, FIG. 6C, FIG. 6D and FIG. 6E, the relay device can be configured to perform the function of the radio frequency unit, and the network device can be configured to perform the function of the baseband unit (function. Since the split point of the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit in the embodiments of the present application is set to be more reasonable, the complexity of the satellite device side can be reduced, and in turn the cost of the satellite device can be reduced.

[0378] Based on the above scheme, in the embodiment of the present application, the relay device can perform first processing (such as precoding, DBF, analog beamforming, or beamforming, etc.) on the data to be transmitted. The relay device can transmit the F1 set of first signals according to the association relationship between the F1 set of first signals after the first processing and the F1 first antennas. In this way, the signal transmitted through one first antenna is processed using the first antenna and the precoding coefficient associated with the channel between the first antenna and the terminal device corresponding to the signal, so that the signal transmitted through the first antenna can better resist the interference (such as inter-beam co-frequency interference) of the channel between the first antenna and the terminal device corresponding to the signal, thereby improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0379] In another aspect, since the precoding processing is located at the relay device side, the ground base station side transmits data before precoding processing to the satellite, so that the scheme can reduce the transmission bandwidth requirement of the link between the ground base station side and the satellite. In another aspect, the data amount of the signal transmitted by the network device to the relay device is the number of B1 set of second signals, instead of the number of F1 set of first signals, so that the transmission data amount is changed from the number of first signals (or the number of first antennas) F1 to the number of second signals B1. In a commonly used scenario, the number of second signals B1 is less than the number of first antennas F1. It can be seen that the data amount transmitted by the relay device to the network device can be reduced in the scheme.

[0380] FIG. 7A is an example of uplink data transmission. The related content of FIG. 7A can also be referred to the description of FIG. 5A described above. For the downlink data transmission process, the network device performs second processing (merging processing) on the signal in FIG. 5A, and the relay device performs second processing (merging processing) on the signal in FIG. 7A.

[0381] As shown in FIG. 7A, the method comprises:

[0382] Step 701, the network device transmits a synchronization signal to the relay device through an air interface.

[0383] Correspondingly, the relay device receives the synchronization signal.

[0384] The related content of step 701 can be referred to the related description of step 501 described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0385] Step 702, the relay device transmits information indicating antenna information of the relay device to the network device.

[0386] Correspondingly, the network device receives the information indicating the antenna information of the relay device.

[0387] Step 702 can be executed or not executed. The content of step 702 can be referred to the content of step 402 described above.

[0388] In step 703, the network device sends fourth information to the relay device.

[0389] Correspondingly, the relay device receives the fourth information.

[0390] For example, the network device can transmit the fourth information to the relay device through a control link.

[0391] In a possible implementation, the fourth information can include / is at least one of: information D-1 (information used to indicate resources occupied by the B2 group of fourth signals sent by the relay device), information D-2 (information used to indicate the F2 second antennas), information D-3 (information used to indicate the first matrix), and information D-4 (information used to indicate an association between resources used by the relay device to send the B2 group of fourth signals and the F2 second antennas). Multiple pieces of information in the information D-1, the information D-2, the information D-3, and the information D-3 can be carried in the same message or in multiple messages.

[0392] The information D-1 is information used to indicate resources occupied by the B2 group of fourth signals sent by the relay device to the network device.

[0393] For example, the resources occupied by the B2 group of fourth signals sent by the relay device to the network device include at least one of the following: time domain resources occupied by the B2 group of fourth signals, frequency domain resources occupied by the B2 group of fourth signals, or a polarization mode corresponding to the B2 group of fourth signals.

[0394] The information D-2 is information used to indicate the F2 second antennas.

[0395] The information used to indicate the F2 second antennas includes at least one of the following: identification information of the F2 second antennas, position information of the F2 second antennas, index numbers of the F2 second antennas, or bitmap information. In embodiments of the present application, the information used to indicate the F2 second antennas is similar to the information used to indicate the F1 first antennas, and can be referred to each other, which will not be described herein.

[0396] The information D-3 is information used to indicate the first matrix.

[0397] The information used to indicate the first matrix includes at least one of the following: indication information of the first matrix, an index of the first matrix, or information of a coefficient (for example, a combining coefficient) associated with each group of fourth signals in the B2 group of fourth signals.

[0398] The information D-3 is information used to indicate an association between a coefficient in the first matrix and the F2 second antennas.

[0399] The relay device can perform combining processing on the F2 groups of third signals received by the F2 second antennas to obtain B2 groups of fourth signals. In the combining processing, for one (or each) of the F2 second antennas, the relay device uses the coefficients in the first matrix associated with the second antenna to process the group of signals received by the second antenna. In this way, the processed signals can better resist interference in the channel of the second antenna, thereby improving data transmission reliability.

[0400] For example, F2 is 3 and B2 is 3. The F2 second antennas are second antenna #21, second antenna #22 and second antenna #23 respectively. The F2 groups of third signals received by the F2 second antennas are third signal #31, third signal #32 and third signal #33 respectively. The precoding coefficients associated with the second antenna #21 include X 11 , the precoding coefficients associated with the second antenna #22 include X 12 , and the precoding coefficients associated with the second antenna #23 include X 13 . The relay device uses X 11 , X 12 and X 13 to process and combine the three groups of third signals respectively to obtain a group of fourth signals (X 11 *third signal #31+X 12 *third signal #32+X 13 *third signal #33). Since the signals corresponding to each second antenna in the group of fourth signals are obtained by combining processing with the coefficients associated with each second antenna, the combined signals in the group of fourth signals can better resist interference in the channel corresponding to each second antenna, thereby improving data output reliability.

[0401] The content of the information indicating the association between the coefficients in the first matrix and the F2 second antennas can refer to the content of the information indicating the association between the precoding coefficients in the first precoding matrix and the F1 first antennas configured by the network device for the relay device, which is similar and will not be repeated.

[0402] In a possible implementation, the association between the coefficients in the first matrix and the F2 second antennas can be predefined, or pre-stored by the network device and the relay device or agreed by a protocol / technical standard / technical specification.

[0403] At step 704, the at least one terminal device sends signals to the relay device.

[0404] Correspondingly, the relay device receives F2 groups of third signals through the F2 second antennas.

[0405] The step 704 can refer to the description of the step 504.

[0406] In step 705, the relay device sends a fourth B2 group signal to the network device.

[0407] Correspondingly, the network device receives the fourth B2 group signal.

[0408] For example, the fourth B2 group signal can be sent through the Uu interface. For example, the fourth B2 group signal can be carried in the message of the NR frame structure.

[0409] In step 705, the relay device can use the first matrix to perform the second processing on the third F2 group signal to obtain the fourth B2 group signal. The process can refer to the description of the network device performing the second processing on the third F2 group signal to obtain the fourth B2 group signal in the foregoing FIG. 5A, and details are not repeated.

[0410] For ease of understanding, FIG. 7B exemplarily shows a possible communication system architecture for transmitting downlink data according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0411] In FIG. 7B, the relay device is taken as an example of the satellite device. As shown in FIG. 7B, the L2 layer of the relay device (for example, the satellite device) can include a front-haul scheduling unit and an antenna mapping unit. For example, the front-haul scheduling unit of the relay device can be used to schedule resources to send the fourth B2 group signal to the network device. For example, the front-haul scheduling unit of the relay device can receive some control signaling from the network device based on the NR-Uu interface, for example, some information in the fourth information (for example, information used to indicate the resources occupied by the fourth B2 group signal sent by the relay device). For another example, the antenna mapping unit is used to receive the third F2 group signal through the second F2 group antenna. For another example, the L1 layer (physical layer) of the relay device can include a multiplexing unit and a synchronization unit. The multiplexing unit can be used to perform at least one of time division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing on the received third F2 group signal, and send (the fourth B2 group signal is sent by using the NR-Uu interface frame structure, for example) to the network device. The synchronization unit of the relay device can be used to synchronize with the network device based on the first synchronization signal (for example, the SSB of the NR-Uu interface).

[0412] As shown in FIG. 7B, the L2 layer of the network device can include a front-haul scheduling unit and an antenna management unit. For example, the front-haul scheduling unit of the network device can be used to schedule resources to receive the fourth signals from the relay device B2 group. For another example, the front-haul scheduling unit of the network device can transmit some control signaling to the relay device based on the NR-Uu interface, such as some information in the aforementioned fourth information (for example, information used to indicate the resources occupied by the fourth signals of the B2 group transmitted by the relay device). For example, the antenna management unit is used to transmit information to the satellite device for indicating the antenna used by the satellite device to receive the third signals of the F2 group. For another example, the L1 layer (physical layer) of the network device can include a demultiplexing unit and a synchronization unit. The demultiplexing unit can be used to perform at least one of time division demultiplexing, frequency division demultiplexing or polarization demultiplexing on the received fourth signals of the B2 group from the relay device (for example, the fourth signals of the B2 group are transmitted in the NR-Uu interface frame structure). The synchronization unit of the network device can be used to synchronize with the relay device based on a synchronization signal (for example, the SSB of the NR-Uu interface).

[0413] In a possible implementation, the network device can be configured as a device performing the functions of the aforementioned baseband unit. The relay device (for example, the satellite device) can be configured as a device performing the functions of the aforementioned radio frequency unit. The network device and the satellite device can be divided at the cut-off point between the analog intermediate frequency and the radio frequency / antenna (for example, the switching point #3 in FIG. 3B), which can be referred to the related description of FIG. 3B. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7A, the actions performed by the network device on the fourth signals of the B2 group do not include the second processing (for example, the merging processing), and the remaining processing can be referred to the processing steps of the network device on the third signals of the F2 group in FIG. 5A, such as the analog-to-digital conversion and the FFT performed by the network device on the fourth signals of the B2 group in FIG. 7A. In FIG. 7A, the relay device is used to perform the second processing (for example, the merging processing) on the received third signals of the F2 group.

[0414] In the manner provided by the embodiments of the present application, the relay device can also perform the second processing (for example, the merging processing) in the digital domain and / or the analog domain. FIG. 7C, FIG. 7D and FIG. 7E respectively exemplarily show several possible method flow diagrams of uplink data transmission provided by the embodiments of the present application. FIG. 7C, FIG. 7D and FIG. 7E can be regarded as extended embodiments of the embodiments given in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, and the related contents of FIG. 7C, FIG. 7D and FIG. 7E can also be referred to the related description of FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B. In FIG. 7C, FIG. 7D and FIG. 7E, the relay device is taken as an example of the satellite device.

[0415] In the embodiments shown in FIG. 7C, FIG. 7D and FIG. 7E, the actions performed by the relay device on the F2 groups of third signals received from the terminal device include the second processing (e.g. combining processing), and the B2 groups of fourth signals are sent to the network device. The network device receives the B2 groups of fourth signals, and thus does not need to perform the second processing (e.g. combining processing) on the received signals. The remaining processing performed by the network device on the B2 groups of fourth signals can refer to the processing steps of the network device on the F2 groups of third signals in the aforementioned FIG. 5A, such as the FFT processing, the analog-to-digital conversion, etc. performed by the network device on the B2 groups of fourth signals from the relay device in FIG. 7C, FIG. 7D and FIG. 7E. The B2 groups of fourth signals sent by the relay device to the network device also belong to the intermediate frequency analog signals or the intermediate frequency analog signals.

[0416] FIG. 7C is a schematic diagram taking the example that the second processing (e.g. combining processing) is performed by the relay device in the digital domain. FIG. 7D is a schematic diagram taking the example that the second processing (e.g. combining processing) is performed by the relay device in the digital domain. FIG. 7E is a schematic diagram taking the example that the second processing (e.g. combining processing) is performed by the relay device in the digital domain and in the analog domain respectively.

[0417] As shown in FIG. 7C, the satellite device receives the F2 groups of third signals from the terminal device through the F2 second antennas, modulates the received F2 groups of third signals to the carrier #46 through the TRX #46, and processes the signals through the ADC / TRX #45. Further, the satellite device processes the signals through at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing or polarization multiplexing, and performs DDC and digital domain second processing (e.g. digital domain combining processing) on the obtained signals to obtain the B2 groups of fourth signals. The relay device performs DUC, DAC / TRX #44 on the obtained B2 groups of fourth signals, modulates the obtained signals to the carrier #43 through the TRX #43, and sends the B2 groups of fourth signals to the network device. The network device receives the signals (the B2 groups of fourth signals) from the relay device through the air interface (e.g. Uu interface), modulates the signals to the carrier #42 through the TRX #42, and then processes the signals through the ADC / TRX #41 (TRX #41 can be used to modulate the signals to the carrier #41) and DDC, and performs FFT+CP removal processing, RE demapping processing, IDFT, demodulation and decoding processing, and L2 layer (e.g. MAC layer, RLC layer and PDCP layer) and L3 layer (e.g. RRC) processing on the obtained signals to obtain the B2 groups of fourth signals. The related content of FIG. 7C can refer to the description in the aforementioned FIG. 5C, and will not be described here.

[0418] As shown in FIG. 7D, the satellite device receives the F2 sets of third signals from the terminal device through the F2 second antennas, modulates the received F2 sets of third signals through TRX #46 to carrier #46, and obtains B2 sets of fourth signals through analog domain second processing (e.g., analog domain combining processing). The relay device performs at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing on the obtained B2 sets of fourth signals, modulates the obtained signals through TRX #43 to carrier #43, and transmits the B2 sets of fourth signals to the network device. The content on the network device side in FIG. 7D is the same as that in FIG. 7C, and will not be described again.

[0419] FIGS. 7C and 7D are both described by way of example in which the relay device performs one second processing (e.g., combining processing) operation. For example, the relay device performs second processing (e.g., combining processing) on the F2 sets of third signals using a first code matrix to obtain B2 sets of fourth signals. The relay device can also perform second processing (e.g., combining processing) on the F2 sets of third signals multiple times to obtain B2 sets of fourth signals. For example, the relay device performs second processing (e.g., combining processing) on the F2 sets of third signals using a second code matrix to obtain B2 sets of sixth signals, and performs second processing (e.g., combining processing) on the B2 sets of sixth signals using a third code matrix to obtain B2 sets of fourth signals.

[0420] In one possible implementation, the first matrix can have a relationship with the second matrix and / or the third matrix. For example, the first code matrix can be decomposed into the second matrix and the third matrix.

[0421] For example, the first matrix satisfies the following equation (8): B2×F2 = V B2×B2 * U B2×F2 Equation (8)

[0422] In equation (8), W B2×F2 may represent a B2-row and F2-column first matrix, U B2×F2 may represent a B2-row and F2-column second matrix, and V B2×B2 may represent a B2-row and B2-column third matrix.

[0423] For example, the B2 sets of sixth signals satisfy the following equation (9), and the B2 sets of fourth signals satisfy the following equation (10): B2×1 = U B2×F2 * S F2×1 Equation (9) S B2×1 = V B2×B2 * S' B2×1 Equation (10)

[0424] In equations (9) and (10), S B2×1 may represent B2 sets of fourth signals, VB2×B2 denotes a third matrix of B2 rows and B2 columns, S’ B2×1 denotes a sixth signal of B2 groups, U B2×F2 denotes a second matrix of B2 rows and F2 columns, S F2×1 denotes a third signal of F2 groups.

[0425] As shown in FIG. 7E, the satellite device receives the third signal of F2 groups from the terminal device through the F2 second antennas, modulates the received third signal of F2 groups through TRX #46 to carrier #46, and obtains the sixth signal of B2 groups through analog domain combining processing. The satellite device processes the sixth signal of B2 groups through ADC / TRX #45. Further, the satellite device processes the signal through at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing or polarization multiplexing, and obtains the fourth signal of B2 groups through DDC and digital domain second processing (for example, digital domain combining processing). The relay device performs DUC, DAC / TRX #44 on the obtained fourth signal of B2 groups, modulates the obtained signal through TRX #43 to carrier #43, and transmits the fourth signal of B2 groups to the network device. The content on the network device side in FIG. 7E is the same as that on the network device side in FIG. 7C, and will not be described again.

[0426] As can be seen from the above embodiments shown in FIG. 7A, FIG. 7B, FIG. 7C, FIG. 7D and FIG. 7E, the relay device can be configured to perform the function of the radio frequency unit, and the network device can be configured to perform the function of the baseband unit. Since the split point of the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit in the embodiments of the present application is more reasonable, the complexity of the satellite device side can be reduced, and then the cost of the satellite device can be reduced.

[0427] In another aspect, the relay device can use the coefficients corresponding to the channel between the second antenna and the terminal device to process the signal received by the second antenna, so that the processed signal can better resist the interference on the channel, thereby improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0428] Based on the content shown in at least one of FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, FIG. 1D, FIG. 1E, FIG. 1F, FIG. 1G, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, FIG. 2D, FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, FIG. 4C, FIG. 4D, FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B, FIG. 5C, FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, FIG. 6C, FIG. 6D, FIG. 6E, FIG. 7A, FIG. 7B, FIG. 7C, FIG. 7D or FIG. 7E and other content described above, FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 exemplarily show possible flow diagrams of a communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application. For ease of understanding, FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 take the interaction of the terminal device, the relay device and the network device as an example for introduction. The related content of FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 can be referred to the description of the terminal device, the relay device and the network device in the foregoing FIG. 4A, and will not be described again.

[0429] The following describes the downlink data transmission in FIG. 8 and the uplink data transmission in FIG. 9.

[0430] For the downlink data transmission, FIG. 4A describes an example in which the network device performs precoding on the signal and the relay device does not perform precoding on the signal. FIG. 6A describes an example in which the network device does not perform precoding on the signal and the relay device performs precoding on the signal. The downlink data can be precoded once or multiple times. FIG. 8 describes an example in which the network device performs precoding on the signal and the relay device also performs precoding on the signal. The related content of FIG. 8 can also be found in the descriptions of FIG. 4A and FIG. 6A.

[0431] For example, the network device precodes the second signal of the B1 group using a second precoding matrix to obtain a fifth signal of the B1 group. The network device sends the fifth signal of the B1 group to the relay device. The relay device precodes the fifth signal of the B1 group using a third precoding matrix to obtain the second signal of the F1 group. The related examples of the second precoding matrix and the third precoding matrix can be found in the foregoing content, and will not be described again.

[0432] As shown in FIG. 8, the network device sequentially processes the B1 group second signal through the L3 layer (e.g., RRC), the L2 layer (e.g., PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers), and the L1 layer (physical layer) (e.g., encoding, modulation, layer mapping / digital domain precoding (e.g., precoding processing using a second precoding matrix), to obtain a B1 group fifth signal. The network device performs RE mapping, IFFT+CP addition on the B1 group fifth signal. The network device also performs DUC, DAC / TRX#11 processing (TRX#11 can be used to modulate the signal to carrier #11) on the signal, and then modulates the signal to carrier #12 through TRX#12, and transmits the obtained analog intermediate frequency (AIF) (B1 group fifth signal processing) through the air interface. The satellite device receives the B1 group fifth signal processing through the air interface, and modulates the received signal to carrier #13 through TRX#13, and processes it through at least one of de-frequency division multiplexing, de-time division multiplexing, or de-polarization multiplexing, to obtain a B1 group fifth signal. The relay device performs analog domain precoding (e.g., precoding the B1 group fifth signal using a third precoding matrix) on the B1 group fifth signal to obtain a F1 group first signal. The relay device modulates the obtained F1 group first signal to carrier #14 through TRX#14, and transmits the F1 group first signal to at least one terminal device through the F1 first antennas. The scheme performed by the network device in FIG. 8 can refer to the scheme performed by the network device in at least one of the aforementioned FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D. The scheme performed by the relay device in FIG. 8 can refer to the scheme performed by the relay device in at least one of the aforementioned FIGS. 6A, 6B, or 6D.

[0433] Since the first processing (e.g., precoding processing, etc.) can be completed on the network device and the relay device respectively, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the relay device. When the scheme is applied to the NTN scenario, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the satellite as the relay device, and in turn can reduce the cost of the satellite.

[0434] For the uplink data transmission process, FIG. 5A is an example in which the network device performs the second processing (combining processing) on the signal, and the relay device does not perform the second processing (combining processing). FIG. 7A is an example in which the network device does not perform the second processing (combining processing) on the signal, and the relay device performs the second processing (combining processing) on the signal. The uplink data can be processed once by the second processing (combining processing), or can be processed multiple times by the second processing (combining processing). FIG. 9 is an example in which the network device performs the second processing (combining processing) on the signal, and the relay device also performs the second processing (combining processing) on the signal. The related content of FIG. 9 can also refer to the description in the aforementioned FIGS. 5A and 7A.

[0435] For example, the relay device performs second processing (e.g., combining processing) on the F2 sets of third signals using a second matrix to obtain F2 sets of sixth signals. The relay device sends the F2 sets of sixth signals to the network device, and the network device performs second processing (e.g., combining processing) on the F2 sets of sixth signals using a third matrix to obtain F2 sets of fourth signals.

[0436] As shown in FIG. 9, the satellite device receives the F2 sets of third signals from the terminal device through the F2 second antennas, modulates the received F2 sets of third signals to carrier #46 through TRX #46, and performs analog domain second processing (e.g., analog domain combining processing) to obtain F2 sets of sixth signals. The relay device performs at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing on the obtained F2 sets of sixth signals, modulates the obtained signals to carrier #43 through TRX #43, and sends the F2 sets of sixth signals to the network device. The network device receives the signals (F2 sets of sixth signals) from the relay device through the air interface (e.g., Uu interface), modulates the signals to carrier #22 through TRX #22, and then performs ADC / TRX #21 processing (TRX #21 can be used to modulate the signals to carrier #21) and DDC processing on the signals, and performs FFT+CP removal processing, RE demapping processing, and second processing (for example, combining processing is taken as the second processing in FIG. 5C) on the obtained signals to obtain F2 sets of fourth signals. The network device also performs IDFT, demodulation, and decoding processing on the signals obtained through the second processing, and performs L2 layer (e.g., MAC layer, RLC layer, and PDCP layer) and L3 layer (e.g., RRC) processing to obtain F2 sets of fourth signals. The scheme performed by the relay device in FIG. 9 can refer to the scheme performed by the relay device in at least one of the foregoing FIGS. 7A, 7B, or 7D. The scheme performed by the network device in FIG. 9 can refer to the scheme performed by the network device in at least one of the foregoing FIGS. 5A, 5B, or 5C.

[0437] Since the second processing (e.g., combining processing, or combining and weighting processing, etc.) can be completed on the network device and the relay device respectively, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the relay device. When the scheme is applied to the NTN scenario, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the satellite as the relay device, and in turn can reduce the cost of the satellite.

[0438] The signaling or information (such as one or more of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information) sent by the network device in the embodiments of the present application can have multiple sending modes, such as any of the signaling or information can be carried in at least one of the broadcast information of a system information block (SIB) 1, a SIB 19, other system information (OSI), a master information block (MIB), or a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) message, etc. The signaling or information (such as one or more of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information) sent by the network device is broadcast, multicast, or unicast sent by the network device to the relay device. Broadcasting or multicasting the above signaling to the relay device can avoid scheduling different resources for different relay devices to send the above signaling, saving signaling overhead of scheduling resources and reducing system scheduling complexity.

[0439] In another possible implementation, if transmitted in the radio resource control (RRC) connection setup phase and subsequent communication process, the signaling or information (such as one or more of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information) transmitted by the network device can be carried in at least one of RRC signaling (for example, an RRC setup message, RRC reconfiguration signaling (RRCReconfiguration), RRC resume signaling (RRCResume), etc.), downlink control information (DCI), group DCI, a media access control (MAC) control element (CE), or a timing advance command (TAC). The signaling or information (such as one or more of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information) transmitted by the network device can be indicated by information or a table, or transmitted to the relay device in unicast or groupcast manner with data transmission or in a separately allocated physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carrying. The advantage of transmitting the above signaling to the UE individually or in groups is that the parameter values of each / each group of UEs can be flexibly controlled, and different parameter values are configured to the UE according to different locations or different areas where the UE is located, to optimize system parameters and optimize UE communication performance / system communication performance. For example, the network device can configure the relay device to use different numbers or combinations of antennas according to different locations of the UEs served by the relay device, and can optimize the transmission signal-to-noise ratio when the relay device forwards data to the UEs in different locations, to improve communication performance.

[0440] It can be understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal device, the relay device, and the network device can include corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for performing the respective functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and method steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware, or software, or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is implemented in hardware or computer software driven hardware depends on the specific application scenarios and design constraints of the technical solutions.

[0441] Based on the same concept, FIG. 10, FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are structural schematic diagrams of possible communication apparatuses provided by embodiments of the present application. The communication apparatuses shown in FIG. 10, FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 can be used to implement the functions of the relay device or the network device in the method embodiments described above, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the method embodiments described above. In embodiments of the present application, the communication apparatus can be a relay device or a chip (or chip system) inside a relay device as involved in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, FIG. 1D, FIG. 1E, FIG. 1F, FIG. 1G, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C or FIG. 2D, for example, the relay device is a satellite, or the relay device is an NCR deployed on the ground. The communication apparatus can be a network device or a chip (or chip system) inside a network device as involved in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, FIG. 1D, FIG. 1E, FIG. 1F, FIG. 1G, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C or FIG. 2D, for example, the network device is an access network device, which can be deployed on the ground or in the air.

[0442] As shown in FIG. 10, the communication apparatus 1300 includes a processing unit 1310 and a transceiver unit 1320. The communication apparatus 1300 is used to implement the functions of the relay device or the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4C, FIG. 4D, FIG. 5A, FIG. 5C, FIG. 6A, FIG. 6C, FIG. 6D, FIG. 6E, FIG. 7A, FIG. 7C, FIG. 7D, FIG. 7E, FIG. 8 or FIG. 9. The transceiver unit 1320 can also be referred to as a communication unit. The transceiver unit 1320 can include a sending unit and a receiving unit.

[0443] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4C, FIG. 4D or FIG. 8, the processing unit 1310 is configured to obtain at least one second signal, and the transceiver unit 1320 is configured to send a first signal to a satellite device through an air interface.

[0444] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4C, FIG. 4D or FIG. 8, the transceiver unit 1320 is configured to send a first synchronization signal to a satellite device through an air interface.

[0445] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4C, FIG. 4D or FIG. 8, the transceiver unit 1320 is configured to send, to a satellite device, information indicating resources occupied by a first signal, and / or information indicating a first antenna used by the satellite device to send the first signal.

[0446] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4C, FIG. 4D or FIG. 8, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is specifically configured to send the plurality of first signals to the radio remote unit satellite device through the air interface.

[0447] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the relay device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4C, FIG. 4D or FIG. 8, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is configured to receive the first signals from the network device through the air interface, and send the first signals to the at least one terminal device through the first antenna.

[0448] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the relay device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4C, FIG. 4D or FIG. 8, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is configured to receive the first synchronization signal through the air interface.

[0449] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the relay device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4C, FIG. 4D or FIG. 8, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is configured to receive information indicating the resources occupied by the first signals, and / or information indicating the first antenna used by the satellite device to send the first signals.

[0450] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the relay device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4C, FIG. 4D or FIG. 8, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is configured to receive the plurality of first signals from the baseband unit network device through the air interface.

[0451] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5C or FIG. 9, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to, through the transceiver unit 1320: receive F2 sets of third signals through F2 second antennas, and send B2 sets of fourth signals.

[0452] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5C or FIG. 9, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is configured to receive the third signals from the satellite device through the air interface, and the processing unit 1310 is configured to obtain at least one fourth signal according to the third signals.

[0453] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5C or FIG. 9, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is configured to send the second synchronization signal to the satellite device through the air interface.

[0454] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5C or FIG. 9, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is configured to send, to the satellite device, information indicating the association relationship between the resource occupied by the third signal and the second antenna.

[0455] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5C or FIG. 9, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is specifically configured to receive, from the satellite device, a plurality of third signals over the air interface, the plurality of third signals being transmitted by at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing or polarization multiplexing.

[0456] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the relay device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5C or FIG. 9, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is configured to receive, from at least one terminal device, a third signal through the second antenna, and send the third signal to the network device deployed on the ground over the air interface.

[0457] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the relay device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5C or FIG. 9, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is configured to receive, from the network device, a second synchronization signal over the air interface.

[0458] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the relay device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5C or FIG. 9, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is configured to receive, from the network device, information indicating the association relationship between the resource occupied by the third signal and the second antenna.

[0459] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the relay device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5C or FIG. 9, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is specifically configured to send, to the network device deployed on the ground, a plurality of third signals over the air interface, the plurality of third signals being transmitted by at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing or polarization multiplexing.

[0460] For more detailed description of the processing unit 1310 and the transceiver unit 1320, please refer to the relevant description in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4C, FIG. 4D, FIG. 5A, FIG. 5C, FIG. 6A, FIG. 6C, FIG. 6D, FIG. 6E, FIG. 7A, FIG. 7C, FIG. 7D, FIG. 7E, FIG. 8 or FIG. 9.

[0461] As shown in FIG. 11, the communication apparatus 1400 includes a processor 1410 and an interface circuit 1420. The processor 1410 and the interface circuit 1420 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1420 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. The input / output interface is used for inputting and / or outputting information, and the output can be understood as transmitting, and the input can be understood as receiving. Optionally, the communication apparatus 1400 can further include a memory 1430, used for storing instructions executed by the processor 1410 or storing input data required by the processor 1410 for executing instructions or storing data generated by the processor 1410 after executing instructions.

[0462] When the communication apparatus 1400 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4C, FIG. 4D, FIG. 5A, FIG. 5C, FIG. 6A, FIG. 6C, FIG. 6D, FIG. 6E, FIG. 7A, FIG. 7C, FIG. 7D, FIG. 7E, FIG. 8 or FIG. 9, the processor 1410 is configured to implement the functions of the processing unit 1310, and the interface circuit 1420 is configured to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 1320.

[0463] Referring to FIG. 12, the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 12 can also be a possible architecture schematic diagram of a baseband. As shown in FIG. 12, the communication apparatus can include a processing system, which can include one or more processors, which can be configured to execute processes, such as process #1…process #N shown in FIG. 12.

[0464] The processing system can be implemented using a bus architecture, which is generally represented by a bus. The bus can include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the specific application of the processing system and the overall design constraints. The bus communicatively couples various circuits including one or more processors (generally represented by a processor), memory, and computer-readable media (generally represented by computer-readable media, such as computer-readable media #1…computer-readable media #N shown in FIG. 12). The bus can also link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be further described. A bus interface provides an interface between the bus and a transceiver, and between the bus and an interface.

[0465] The communication apparatus can also include a transceiver (not shown in FIG. 12), which can also be replaced by an interface circuit or a communication interface, etc. The transceiver provides a communication interface or means for communicating with various other apparatuses through a wireless transmission medium. The transceiver can be coupled to an antenna array, and the transceiver and the antenna array can be used together to communicate with a corresponding network type. At least one interface (e.g., a network interface and / or a user interface) provides a communication interface or means for communicating through an internal bus or via an external transmission medium.

[0466] The processor is responsible for managing the bus and general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium. The software, when executed by the processor, causes the processing system to perform the various functions described below for any particular apparatus. The functions of the processor, memory, and computer-readable medium can include one or more of encoding, decoding, rate matching, de-rate matching, scrambling, de-scrambling, modulating, demodulating, layer mapping, fast fourier transform (FFT), inverse fast fourier transform (IFFT), inverse discrete fourier transform (IDFT), precoding, resource element (RE) mapping, channel equalization, RE de-mapping, digital beam forming (BF), adding a cyclic prefix (CP), de-CP, and the like.

[0467] The signaling (such as the first information, the second information, the third information, the fourth information, the signal, and the like) involved in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by the processor, the memory, and the computer-readable medium. For example, the network device sends the above signaling to the relay device (for example, a satellite), and the processor, the memory, and the computer-readable medium in FIG. 12 process the above parameters and then send them to the terminal device.

[0468] When the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 12 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4C, FIG. 4D, FIG. 5A, FIG. 5C, FIG. 6A, FIG. 6C, FIG. 6D, FIG. 6E, FIG. 7A, FIG. 7C, FIG. 7D, FIG. 7E, FIG. 8, or FIG. 9, the processing system is configured to implement the functions of the processing unit 1310, and the interface circuit is configured to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 1320.

[0469] When the above communication apparatus (for example, the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 10, FIG. 11, or FIG. 12) is a terminal chip, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from the base station, which can be understood as the information being received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal first, and then being sent to the terminal chip by these modules. The terminal chip sends information to the base station, which can be understood as the information being sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal first, and then being sent to the base station by these modules.

[0470] When the communication device (for example, the communication device shown in FIG. 10, FIG. 11 or FIG. 12) is a chip applied to a base station (for example, a satellite base station), the base station chip implements the function of the network device in the method embodiment. The base station chip receives information from the terminal, which can be understood as the information being received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station first, and then being sent to the base station chip by these modules. The base station chip sends information to the terminal, which can be understood as the information being sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station first, and then being sent to the terminal by these modules.

[0471] In this application, the sending of information from entity A to entity B can be direct sending from A to B, or indirect sending from A to B through other entities. Similarly, the receiving of information from entity A by entity B can be direct receiving of the information sent by entity A, or indirect receiving of the information sent by entity A through other entities. Here, entity A and entity B can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules inside RAN nodes or terminals. The sending and receiving of information can be information interaction between RAN nodes and terminals, for example, information interaction between a base station and a terminal; the sending and receiving of information can also be information interaction between two RAN nodes, for example, information interaction between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can also be information interaction between different modules inside one device, for example, information interaction between a terminal chip and other modules of the terminal, or information interaction between a base station chip and other modules of the base station.

[0472] It can be understood that the processor (for example, the processor 1410 in FIG. 11 and / or the processor in the processing system in FIG. 12) in the embodiments of the present application can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0473] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. The processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the base station or the terminal.

[0474] In the above embodiments, the implementation can be entirely or partially achieved by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, the implementation can be entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer programs or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions of the embodiments of the present application are entirely or partially executed. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable devices. The computer programs or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, the computer programs or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another by wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state disk. The computer-readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile storage media.

[0475] In various embodiments of the present application, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referred to if there is no special description and no logical conflict. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0476] In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist together, B exists alone, where A, B can be singular or plural. In the textual description of the present application, the character " / ", generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of the present application, the character " / ", indicates that the associated objects before and after are in a "division" relationship. "Including at least one of A, B or C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0477] It can be understood that various numbers (such as numerical numbers "first", "second", and so on, such as letter numbers "information A-1", "embodiment B-1", and so on) involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of differentiation, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the serial number of the above processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of the processes should be determined according to their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

A communication method applied to a non-terrestrial network (NTN) transparent transmission mode, characterized in that, The method is suitable for a network device deployed on the ground, and the method comprises: obtaining at least one second signal; sending a first signal to a satellite device through an air interface, the first signal being determined according to an analog signal obtained after pre-coding processing, inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) processing and digital-to-analog conversion of the at least one second signal. The method of claim 1, wherein The network device comprises a baseband unit, and the satellite device comprises a radio frequency unit. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein The first signal is determined according to a signal obtained after cyclic prefix (CP) insertion processing of the at least one second signal, the CP insertion processing being performed after the IFFT processing and before the digital-to-analog conversion. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The first signal is determined according to an intermediate frequency signal obtained after digital up-conversion processing of the at least one second signal, the digital up-conversion processing being performed after the IFFT processing and before the digital-to-analog conversion. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: sending a first synchronization signal to the satellite device through the air interface. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first signal is used for the satellite device to send the first signal to at least one terminal device through a first antenna, and there is an association relationship between the first signal and the first antenna of the satellite device. The method of claim 6, wherein The method further comprises: sending, to the satellite device through the air interface, information indicating resources occupied by the first signal, and / or information indicating the first antenna used by the satellite device to send the first signal. A communication method applied to a non-terrestrial network (NTN) transparent transmission mode, characterized in that, The method is suitable for a satellite device, and the method comprises: receiving a first signal from a network device through an air interface, the network device being deployed on the ground, the first signal being determined according to an analog signal obtained after pre-coding processing, inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) processing and digital-to-analog conversion of at least one second signal; sending the first signal to at least one terminal device through a first antenna. The method of claim 8, wherein The network device comprises a baseband unit, and the satellite device comprises a radio frequency unit. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein The method further comprises: receiving a first synchronization signal through the air interface. The method according to any one of claims 8-10, characterized in that There is an association relationship between the first signal and the first antenna of the satellite device. The method according to any one of claims 8-11, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving, through the air interface, information indicating resources occupied by the first signal, and / or information indicating the first antenna used by the satellite device to send the first signal. A communication method applied to a non-terrestrial network (NTN) transparent transmission mode, characterized in that, The communication method is suitable for a network device deployed on the ground, and the method comprises: receiving a third signal from a satellite device through an air interface, the third signal being an analog signal; obtaining at least one fourth signal according to the third signal, the at least one fourth signal being determined according to a signal obtained after processing of the third signal through a first matrix, analog-to-digital conversion and fast Fourier transform (FFT) processing. The method of claim 13, wherein The network device comprises a baseband unit, and the satellite device comprises a radio frequency unit. The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein The at least one fourth signal is determined according to a signal obtained after cyclic prefix (CP) removal processing of the third signal, the CP removal processing being performed after the analog-to-digital conversion and before the FFT processing. The method according to any one of claims 13-15, characterized in that The third signal is an intermediate frequency analog signal; The at least one fourth signal is determined according to a signal obtained after digital down-conversion processing of the third signal, the digital down-conversion processing being performed after the analog-to-digital conversion and before the FFT processing. The method according to any one of claims 13-16, characterized in that The method further comprises: sending, through the air interface, a second synchronization signal to the satellite device. The method according to any one of claims 13-17, characterized in that The coefficients in the first matrix used for processing the third signal are associated with a second antenna used by the satellite device to receive the third signal. The method of claim 18, wherein The third signal occupies resources that are associated with the second antenna. The method of any one of claims 18-19, wherein The method further comprises: sending, through the air interface, information indicating the association between the resources occupied by the third signal and the second antenna to the satellite device. A communication method applied to a non-terrestrial network (NTN) transparent transmission mode, characterized in that, The communication method is applicable to a satellite device, and the method comprises: receiving, through a second antenna, a third signal from at least one terminal device, the third signal being an analog signal; sending, through an air interface, the third signal to a network device deployed on the ground; the third signal is used by the network device to perform processing on the third signal through a first matrix, analog-to-digital conversion, and fast Fourier transform (FFT) processing to obtain at least one fourth signal. The method of claim 21, wherein The network device comprises a baseband unit, and the satellite device comprises a radio frequency unit. The method of claim 21 or 22, wherein The method further comprises: receiving, through the air interface, a second synchronization signal from the network device. The method of any one of claims 21-23, wherein The coefficients in the first matrix used for processing the third signal are associated with the second antenna used by the satellite device to receive the third signal. The method of any one of claims 21-24, wherein The third signal occupies resources that are associated with the second antenna. The method of any one of claims 21-25, wherein The method further comprises: receiving, through the air interface, information indicating the association between the resources occupied by the third signal and the second antenna from the network device. A communication device, characterized by comprising a module for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 7, or comprising a module for performing the method of any one of claims 8 to 12, or comprising a module for performing the method of any one of claims 13 to 20, or comprising a module for performing the method of any one of claims 21 to 26. A communication device, characterized by comprising a processor and an interface circuit for receiving signals from other communication devices and transmitting signals to the processor or sending signals from the processor to other communication devices, the processor being used to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 7, or the method of any one of claims 8 to 12, or the method of any one of claims 13 to 20, or the method of any one of claims 21 to 26 through logic circuitry or execution of code instructions. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized by The storage medium has a computer program or instructions stored therein, which, when executed by a communication device, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 7, or the method of any one of claims 8 to 12, or the method of any one of claims 13 to 20, or the method of any one of claims 21 to 26. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product stores a computer program, the computer program comprising program instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the method of any one of claims 1 to 7, or the method of any one of claims 8 to 12, or the method of any one of claims 13 to 20, or the method of any one of claims 21 to 26.

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