Beam scanning methods, network device, terminal, medium and program product

Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of communications. Disclosed are beam scanning methods, a network device, a terminal, a medium and a program product. A method is applied to a network device, and comprises: acquiring at least one spatial grid within a network coverage area and, on the basis of a service objective, determining the slot offset of the at least one spatial grid; sending the slot offset of the at least one spatial grid to a target terminal corresponding to the spatial grid; and determining within a preset period a relative air interface time of the at least one spatial grid on the basis of an absolute air interface time and the slot offset and, at the relative air interface time, performing beam scanning on an SSB corresponding to the at least one spatial grid.

Description

Beam scanning method, network device, terminal, medium and program product

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410859152.0, filed on June 28, 2024, and entitled “Beam scanning method, network device, terminal, medium and program product”, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, in particular to a beam scanning method, a network device, a terminal, a medium and a program product. BACKGROUND

[0004] In order to support intelligent networking and flexible zoning, the fifth generation cellular mobile communication network (i.e., 5G network) realizes the use of different frame structure types between different sectors on demand by slicing typical application scenarios. Although the 5G network supports different frame structures for different sectors, the same frame structure is still used within the same sector, i.e., the absolute air interface time within the sector is aligned. Under the unified reference of the absolute air interface time within the sector, due to the use of analog beams in millimeter wave communication, there is a strong binding relationship between the time slot and the synchronization broadcast block index, and only one beam direction synchronization broadcast block (Synchronization Signal / PBCH Block, SSB) can be transmitted at the same time, and the remaining beams cannot perform data transmission and reception, resulting in waste of air interface resources and low timeliness. In addition, the alignment of the absolute time within the sector can only exist one kind of downlink or uplink service direction at the same time, which has a great impact on the user experience of users with different service forms within the sector. SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a beam scanning method, a network device, a terminal, a medium and a program product to at least solve the problem that only one beam direction synchronization broadcast block can be transmitted at the same time within the network coverage range, and different service direction data concurrency cannot be supported at the same time.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a beam scanning method applied to a network device, comprising: obtaining at least one spatial grid within a network coverage range of the network device, determining a time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid according to a pre-configured service target; sending the time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid to a target terminal corresponding to the spatial grid, so that the target terminal adjusts an absolute air interface time according to the time slot offset within a preset period; determining a relative air interface time of the at least one spatial grid according to the absolute air interface time and the time slot offset within the preset period, and performing beam scanning of an SSB corresponding to the at least one spatial grid at the relative air interface time.

[0007] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a beam scanning method applied to a terminal, comprising: receiving a target time slot offset sent by a network device; wherein the target time slot offset is a time slot offset of a target spatial grid where the terminal is located, which is determined by the network device according to a pre-configured service target; determining a relative air interface time of the target spatial grid according to a pre-determined absolute air interface time and the time slot offset within a preset period, and performing beam scanning of an SSB at the relative air interface time.

[0008] In a third aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a network device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores programs or instructions executable on the processor, and the programs or instructions are executed by the processor to implement the steps of the method according to the first aspect.

[0009] In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a terminal, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores programs or instructions executable on the processor, and the programs or instructions are executed by the processor to implement the steps of the method according to the second aspect.

[0010] In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer readable storage medium, wherein the computer readable storage medium stores programs or instructions, and the programs or instructions are executed by a processor to implement the steps of the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0011] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product, comprising a computer program stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, wherein the computer program comprises program instructions, and the program instructions are executed by a computer to cause the computer to perform the steps of the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0012] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute part of this specification, illustrate implementations consistent with the application and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the application.

[0013] FIG. 1 shows a flow diagram of a beam scanning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0014] FIG. 2 shows another flow diagram of a beam scanning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0015] FIG. 3 shows an example diagram of data transmission in a scenario where multiple synchronization broadcast blocks are synchronously transmitted in the same time slot position according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0016] FIG. 4 shows an example diagram of data scheduling in different time slot positions according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0017] FIG. 5 shows an example diagram of data transmission in a scenario where uplink service and downlink service are synchronously transmitted in the same time slot position according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0018] FIG. 6 shows an example diagram of re-issuing time slot offset when beam switching occurs according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0019] FIG. 7 shows another flow diagram of a beam scanning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] FIG. 8 shows a structure diagram of a beam scanning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] FIG. 9 shows a structure diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] FIG. 10 shows a structure diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The example embodiments will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Like reference numerals indicate corresponding or like components throughout the drawings. The following detailed description implements only the preferred embodiment of the application and is not intended to limit the scope of the application as described in the claims.

[0024] For the fourth generation cellular mobile communication network, the whole network adopts a unified frame structure, and the network does not have the characteristics of flexible slicing intelligent networking according to the service type. In order to support intelligent networking and flexible zoning, the fifth generation cellular mobile communication network realizes the on-demand use of different frame structure types between different sectors by slicing typical application scenarios. Generally speaking, for the sector with frequent downlink services, a frame structure with more downlink time slots is flexibly used; for the sector with frequent uplink services, a frame structure with more uplink time slots can be used on demand.

[0025] Although the 5G network supports different sectors using different frame structures, the same frame structure is still used within the same sector, that is, the absolute air interface time within the sector is aligned. Under the unified reference of the absolute air interface time within the sector, due to the use of analog beams in millimeter wave communication, there is a strong binding relationship between the time slot and the synchronization broadcast block index, and only one beam direction synchronization broadcast block can be transmitted at the same time, and the remaining beams cannot perform data transmission and reception, causing waste of air interface resources and low timeliness. In addition, the alignment of the absolute time within the sector can only exist in one downlink or uplink service direction at the same time, which has a great impact on the user experience of the sector with different service forms.

[0026] In view of the problems existing in the above communication process, the embodiment of the application provides a beam scanning method, which is applied to a network device. The method determines the relative air interface time of a spatial grid according to the time slot offset of the absolute air interface time and the spatial grid. At the same absolute air interface time, at least one spatial grid in the network coverage range performs beam scanning of a synchronization broadcast block (SSB) at the corresponding relative air interface time, so as to realize the transmission of multiple SSBs at the same absolute air interface time, and at the same time, one beam transmits uplink service and another beam transmits downlink service at the same absolute air interface time, thereby at least solving the problem that only one beam direction synchronization broadcast block can be transmitted at the same time in the network coverage range, and different service directions cannot support data concurrency at the same time.

[0027] Please refer to FIG. 1, which shows a flowchart of a beam scanning method provided by the embodiment of the application. The beam scanning method can be applied to a network device such as a New Radio (NR) base station and a wireless access point. As shown in the figure, the beam scanning method 100 includes the following steps.

[0028] S101: Obtain at least one spatial grid in the network coverage range of the network device, and determine the time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid according to the pre-configured service target.

[0029] The time slot offset is used to indicate the time slot difference between the relative air interface time of the spatial grid and the absolute air interface time.

[0030] In this embodiment, the network coverage range (i.e. sector) of the network device can be divided into at least one spatial grid according to a preset rule, for example, the spatial grid can be divided according to the beam coverage range of multiple beams of the network device, or the spatial grid can be divided according to the position of the terminal in the network coverage range and the service form thereof. Further, the time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid is determined according to a preconfigured service target, wherein the service target can be that multiple synchronization broadcast blocks (Synchronization Signal / PBCH Block, SSB) are synchronously transmitted at the same time slot position, or the service target can be that uplink service and downlink service are synchronously transmitted at the same time slot position. Different service targets can use a time slot offset calculation method corresponding to the service target to calculate the time slot offset of each spatial grid.

[0031] In this way, by obtaining the spatial grid in the network coverage range and determining the time slot offset of each spatial grid, resource management in time and space dimensions can be realized, and it is ensured that different spatial grids can orderly use air interface resources.

[0032] S102: The time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid is sent to a target terminal corresponding to the spatial grid, so that the target terminal adjusts the absolute air interface time according to the time slot offset within a preset period.

[0033] In this embodiment, the network device can carry a time slot offset field through MAC CE (MAC Control Channel Element) signaling, broadcast signaling or handover signaling, and send the time slot offset of each spatial grid to a target terminal in the corresponding spatial grid in the downlink control information (Downlink Control Information, DCI). After receiving the signaling, the target terminal adjusts the absolute air interface time according to the time slot offset in the signaling within a preset period. For example, after the absolute air interface time T0 and the time slot offset ATn are determined, the relative air interface time of the target terminal in the nth spatial grid can be determined as Fn(T0, ATn), wherein Fn() represents the mapping relationship between T0, ATn and the relative air interface time. For example, when the three are in a linear mapping relationship, Fn(T0, ATn) represents T0+ATn.

[0034] In this way, the time synchronization between the target terminal and the network device can be ensured, and communication conflicts or interference caused by time asynchronization can be avoided.

[0035] S103: The relative air interface time of the at least one spatial grid is determined according to the absolute air interface time and the time slot offset within the preset period, and beam scanning of the SSB corresponding to the at least one spatial grid is performed at the relative air interface time.

[0036] In the embodiment, the network device determines the relative air interface time of the space grid according to the absolute air interface time and the time slot offset of the space grid within a preset period, and performs beam scanning of the SSB corresponding to the space grid at the relative air interface time. Since the target terminal under different space grids has different relative air interface times at this time, different SSB beam data can be supported to be transmitted simultaneously, and different beams can also be supported to transmit uplink and downlink data simultaneously. For example, at the absolute air interface time, beam X can only transmit data at the absolute air interface time Tx, and beam Y can only transmit data at the absolute air interface time Ty. Since there is a time slot offset between different space grids, at the relative air interface time, the network device and the target terminal perceive the relative air interface time, beam X perceives that the current time is Tx (the absolute air interface time is Tx), and beam Y perceives that the current time is Ty=Fy(T0,△Ty) (the absolute air interface time is Tx). Therefore, through this way, data of different beams can be transmitted simultaneously at the same absolute air interface time. Since the SSB data of multiple different beams are integrated into the same time slot position for transmission, the time slot originally used for transmitting SSB can be applied to transmission of other data services, thereby facilitating improvement of the utilization rate of time slot resources.

[0037] Through the above steps, the relative air interface time of the space grid is determined according to the absolute air interface time and the time slot offset of the space grid, at least one space grid in the network coverage range performs beam scanning of the SSB at the corresponding relative air interface time at the same absolute air interface time, multiple SSBs can be transmitted at the same absolute air interface time, the utilization rate of air interface resources is improved, and one beam transmits uplink service and another beam transmits downlink service at the same absolute air interface time, thereby flexibly adapting to the service mode of different terminals.

[0038] In the embodiment, at least one space grid in the network coverage range of the network device is acquired, the time slot offset of the at least one space grid is determined according to a preconfigured service target, the time slot offset of the at least one space grid is transmitted to a target terminal corresponding to the space grid, so that the target terminal adjusts the absolute air interface time according to the time slot offset within a preset period, the relative air interface time of the at least one space grid is determined according to the absolute air interface time and the time slot offset within the preset period, and beam scanning of the SSB corresponding to the at least one space grid is performed at the relative air interface time. In this way, at least one space grid in the network coverage range performs beam scanning of the SSB at the corresponding relative air interface time at the same absolute air interface time, multiple SSBs can be transmitted within the same absolute air interface time, the utilization rate of air interface resources is improved, one beam transmits uplink service and another beam transmits downlink service at the same absolute air interface time, and different terminals are flexibly adapted to the service mode.

[0039] In a possible implementation, before the step S102 of sending the time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid to the target terminal corresponding to the spatial grid, the method further includes the following steps.

[0040] S104: broadcasting a main system message on a physical broadcast channel, so that the target terminal determines the absolute air interface time according to the main system message.

[0041] In the embodiments of the present application, in the cell search stage, the target terminal detects the synchronization channel and the signal. The network device sends a main system message on a physical broadcast channel, wherein the main system message includes a synchronization broadcast block index (SSB Index) and a pattern of a synchronization broadcast block set used by the current frequency band. The target terminal receives the main system message, determines the time slot where the current synchronization signal is located according to the SSB Index and the pattern of the synchronization broadcast block set, and extracts the system frame number and the time slot number from the synchronization signal; and adjusts and aligns the internal clock to the absolute air interface time T0 by using the obtained system frame number and time slot number.

[0042] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the beam scanning method described above can include the following steps.

[0043] Step 201: the network device broadcasts a main system message on a physical broadcast channel, so that the target terminal obtains the system frame number and the time slot number, and adjusts and aligns the internal clock to the absolute air interface time T0 according to the system frame number and the time slot number.

[0044] Step 202: the network device calculates the time slot offset of different spatial grids.

[0045] Step 203: the network device sends a MAC CE / broadcast signaling, wherein the MAC CE / broadcast signaling includes the time slot offset; and determines the relative air interface time according to the time slot offset.

[0046] Step 204: the network device performs the same transmission of different beams based on the relative air interface time.

[0047] Step 205: the additional idle time slots are used for other uplink or downlink data services.

[0048] In a possible implementation, before the step S101 of obtaining the at least one spatial grid in the network coverage range of the network device, the method further includes the following steps: dividing the network coverage range of the network device into at least one spatial grid according to the beam coverage range of the network device.

[0049] In the embodiments of the present application, the network coverage range can be determined according to the power, antenna type and the like of the network device, and the network coverage range is further divided into at least one spatial grid according to the coverage range of the generated beam. The division mode of the spatial grid can include that the coverage range of one beam is considered as one spatial grid, that is, the size of one spatial grid corresponds to the size of the coverage range of one beam. The division mode can also include that the coverage ranges of multiple beams are considered as one spatial grid, and the terminal service demand directions under these beams are the same, that is, in this division mode, all target terminals in one spatial grid have large uplink service demand or large downlink service demand. The division of the spatial grid can be flexibly adjusted according to actual target demands, including but not limited to the above two modes.

[0050] After the network device divides the network coverage range into N spatial grids, each spatial grid is numbered as 0, 1,..., n,..., N, and the initialization time of each spatial grid is aligned to the absolute air interface time T0, where n is a positive integer.

[0051] On the basis of completing the division of the spatial grid, the network device calculates the time slot offset corresponding to different spatial grids. In the calculation of the time slot offset, the base station can comprehensively consider the service target, network configuration parameter and historical uplink and downlink service volume, so as to calculate the time slot offset of the nth spatial grid as △Tn.

[0052] In a possible implementation, in the case where the service target is the synchronous sending of multiple synchronization broadcast blocks in the same time slot position, in S101, the time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid is determined according to the preconfigured service target, including: obtaining a synchronization broadcast block SSB pattern, the SSB pattern including an SSB bitmap and an SSB period; determining the time slot interval between each SSB index according to the SSB bitmap and the SSB period; and determining the time slot offset of at least one spatial grid in the network coverage range of the network device according to the time slot interval between each SSB index.

[0053] The SSB bitmap is a binary sequence, the length of which usually corresponds to the number of SSB indexes, and each bit indicates whether the SSB of the corresponding index is in an active state. If a bit is 1, it indicates that the SSB of the corresponding index is currently active. If it is 0, it indicates that the SSB is currently inactive. The SSB period refers to the transmission period of the SSB signal.

[0054] In an embodiment, the time interval between each SSB index can be determined according to the SSB bitmap and the SSB period, and the time offset of at least one spatial grid in the network coverage of the network device can be determined according to the time interval between each SSB index, for example, the time interval between each SSB index can be taken as the time offset between spatial grids.

[0055] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, one spatial grid corresponds to the coverage of one beam, for example, spatial grid #0 corresponds to the coverage of SSB0 beam, spatial grid #2 corresponds to the coverage of SSB2 beam, and spatial grid #4 corresponds to the coverage of SSB4 beam. During cell search, the network device (for example, a base station) broadcasts a main system message, and the terminal synchronizes the absolute air interface time T0 according to the main system message. At the absolute air interface time T0, SSB0 beam can only be transmitted at time slot 0 (Slot0), SSB2 beam can only be transmitted at Slot1, and SSB4 beam can only be transmitted at Slot2, that is, only one SSB beam can be transmitted at the same time.

[0056] The base station determines the time offset ATn of each spatial grid according to the configuration parameters such as SSB bitmap and SSB period, and the time offset is the offset to the SSB transmission time. Generally, the time offset AT0 of spatial grid #0 is 0, the size of the time offset AT2 of spatial grid #2 is 1 time slot, and the size of the time offset AT4 of spatial grid #4 is 2 time slots. The base station issues the time offset for the target terminal of different spatial grids in the MAC CE signaling or broadcast signaling, and the target terminal receives the time offset combined with the absolute air interface time, the position number of the spatial grid it is located in, and the time offset to calculate its relative air interface time. At the absolute air interface time T0 (that is, Slot0), SSB0 beam transmits SSB0 at the relative air interface time F0(T0, AT0) = T0 = Slot0; SSB2 beam perceives the relative air interface time F2(T0, AT2) = T0 + AT2 = Slot1, considers that it has been in the time of SSB service, and can transmit SSB2; SSB4 beam perceives the relative air interface time F4(T0, AT4) = T0 + AT4 = Slot2, considers that it has been in the time of SSB service, and can transmit SSB4. Therefore, it can be considered that SSB0 beam, SSB2 beam and SSB4 beam all transmit SSB at the absolute air interface time T0 at this time, so as to realize the synchronous transmission of different SSB beams at the same time.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 4, in the absolute air time, the SSB0 beam can only be sent in Slot0, the SSB2 beam can only be sent in Slot1, and the SSB4 beam can only be sent in Slot2, that is, only one SSB beam can be sent at the same time. After introducing the time slot offset into the absolute air time to form the relative air time, SSB0, SSB2 and SSB4 can be sent in Slot0 at the same time, and Slot1 and Slot2 originally used for SSB sending can be currently used for data scheduling, so that the utilization rate of time domain resources can be improved by about 67% by using the beam scanning method provided in the application.

[0058] In another possible implementation, in a case where the service target is to synchronously send uplink service and downlink service at a same time slot position, the step S101 of determining the time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid according to the preconfigured service target comprises: obtaining a first spatial grid in the at least one spatial grid in which uplink service is expected to be performed, and a second spatial grid in the at least one spatial grid in which downlink service is expected to be performed; and determining a time slot interval at which a frame header is offset to an uplink time slot as the time slot offset of the first spatial grid, and determining a time slot interval at which the frame header is offset to a downlink time slot as the time slot offset of the second spatial grid.

[0059] In an embodiment, the historical uplink service amount and the historical downlink service amount can be obtained, it is determined whether the target terminal under a corresponding beam is expected to perform uplink service or downlink service, and then the first spatial grid in the at least one spatial grid in which uplink service is expected to be performed and the second spatial grid in the at least one spatial grid in which downlink service is expected to be performed are determined. The frame structure configuration of the network device is read, the time slot offset corresponding to the spatial grid in which the target terminal under the beam is expected to perform uplink service is determined as the time slot interval at which the frame header is offset to the uplink time slot (U slot), and the time slot offset corresponding to the spatial grid in which the target terminal under the beam is expected to perform downlink service is determined as the time slot interval at which the frame header is offset to the downlink time slot (D slot).

[0060] The obtaining of the first spatial grid in the at least one spatial grid in which uplink service is expected to be performed and the second spatial grid in the at least one spatial grid in which downlink service is expected to be performed comprises: determining uplink data transmission indexes and downlink data transmission indexes of each spatial grid according to historical service amounts corresponding to the at least one spatial grid; and determining the first spatial grid in the at least one spatial grid in which uplink service is expected to be performed and the second spatial grid in the at least one spatial grid in which downlink service is expected to be performed according to the uplink data transmission indexes and the downlink data transmission indexes of each spatial grid.

[0061] The uplink data transmission index includes uplink throughput and uplink physical resource block utilization, and the downlink data transmission index includes downlink throughput and downlink physical resource block utilization.

[0062] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, one spatial grid can correspond to the coverage of multiple beams, and the desired service direction of terminals in one spatial grid is the same. For example, the coverage of beam 0 and beam 1 jointly constitutes spatial grid #0, and the downlink service of terminals in spatial grid #0 is more frequent; the coverage of beam 2 and beam 3 jointly constitutes spatial grid #1, and the uplink service of terminals in spatial grid #1 is more frequent. During cell search, a network device (for example, a base station) broadcasts a main system message, and a target terminal synchronizes an absolute air interface time T0 according to the main system message. When the absolute air interface time is the first downlink D slot in FIG. 5, at the absolute air interface time D slot, the terminals in spatial grid #0 and spatial grid #1 can only perform downlink service, that is, data of only one service direction can be transmitted at the same time.

[0063] The base station determines the time slot offset amount AT to be an offset amount that can offset to the coexistence of uplink and downlink service directions in the network according to the frame structure and historical service amount and other parameters. Generally, the time slot offset amount AT0 of spatial grid #0 is 0, and the size of the time slot offset amount AT1 of spatial grid #1 is 4 slots. The base station issues the time slot offset amount for target terminals of different spatial grids in the MAC CE signaling or broadcast signaling, and the terminal receives the time slot offset amount in combination with the absolute air interface time, the position number of the spatial grid in which the terminal is located, and the time slot offset amount to calculate the relative air interface time of the terminal. When the absolute air interface time is T0(D slot), the target terminal of spatial grid #0 considers that it is in the relative air interface time D slot and performs downlink service, and the terminal of spatial grid #1 considers that it is in the relative air interface time D slot plus 4 slot offset, that is, U slot, and performs uplink service after the time slot offset amount is offset by 4 slots. Therefore, at the absolute air interface time T0, it can be considered that there is data service in the downlink direction and data service in the uplink direction, so that the data of different service directions can be transmitted synchronously at the same time.

[0064] In a possible implementation, after the time slot offset amount of the at least one spatial grid is sent to the target terminal corresponding to the spatial grid in S102, the method further includes: monitoring beam information of the target terminal; in a case where it is determined that the beam of the target terminal changes according to the beam information of the target terminal, obtaining a target beam of the target terminal; determining a target spatial grid corresponding to the target beam, and sending a time slot offset amount of the target spatial grid to the target terminal.

[0065] In an example embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the time slot offset of each spatial grid is all issued to the target terminal when the target terminal accesses, the target terminal is originally in the coverage range of beam 0, the coverage range of beam 0 corresponds to spatial grid #0, and therefore the time slot offset obtained by the target terminal from the signaling issued by the network device (for example, a base station) when the target terminal accesses is the time slot offset corresponding to spatial grid #0. In the embodiment of the present application, the target terminal has mobility, when the target terminal moves from the coverage range of beam 0 to the coverage range of beam 1, beam switching occurs, and the corresponding spatial grid also changes, that is, from spatial grid #0 to spatial grid #1. Therefore, the time slot offset corresponding to spatial grid #0 originally obtained by the target terminal also needs to be changed. The base station monitors the beam information of the target terminal, and when it is determined that the beam of the target terminal changes according to the beam information, the time slot offset corresponding to the target spatial grid mapped by the target beam of the target terminal is obtained, and the new time slot offset is issued to the terminal again in the form of signaling in the process of beam switching. The terminal obtains the new time slot offset in the switching signaling, so the terminal can still obtain the time slot offset of the target spatial grid when the terminal moves and switches the beam.

[0066] The embodiment of the present application provides a beam scanning method, which is applied to a network device, at least one spatial grid in a network coverage range is obtained, a time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid is determined according to a service target, the time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid is sent to a target terminal corresponding to the spatial grid, and the relative air time of the at least one spatial grid is determined according to the absolute air time and the time slot offset within a preset period, and beam scanning of an SSB corresponding to the at least one spatial grid is performed in the relative air time. Compared with the prior art, the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, on the one hand, overcomes the limitation that only a single beam can transmit service data at the same time during beam scanning, and through superimposing the time slot offset, the synchronous transmission of service data of different beams within a preset period is realized, and the utilization efficiency of air resources is improved; on the other hand, the problem that different service direction data cannot be concurrently transmitted at the same time can be solved, and different service types can be adapted according to requirements through adjusting the time slot offset, and the diverse service forms of the target terminal in the network coverage range can be flexibly met.

[0067] FIG. 7 shows another flowchart of the beam scanning method provided by the embodiment of the present application, which can be applied to a target terminal such as a mobile phone, a 5G mobile router, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. As shown in the figure, the beam scanning method 700 includes the following steps.

[0068] S701: receiving a target time slot offset sent by a network device; wherein the target time slot offset is a time slot offset of a target spatial grid where the terminal is located, which is determined by the network device according to a pre-configured service target.

[0069] S702: determining a relative air interface time of the target spatial grid according to the predetermined absolute air interface time and the time slot offset in a preset period, and performing beam sweeping of an SSB at the relative air interface time.

[0070] In a possible implementation, after the beam sweeping of the SSB at the relative air interface time in S702, the method further includes: sending beam information to the network device; and obtaining a time slot offset of a target spatial grid sent by the network device, wherein the time slot offset of the target spatial grid is sent by the network terminal in a case where the beam of the terminal is determined to change according to the beam information of the terminal.

[0071] In a possible implementation, the absolute air interface time is determined in S702 in the following manner: obtaining a main system message broadcast by the network device on a physical broadcast channel; and determining the absolute air interface time according to the main system message.

[0072] Embodiments of the present application provide a beam sweeping method, applied to a terminal, receiving a target time slot offset sent by a network device; wherein the target time slot offset is a time slot offset of a target spatial grid in which the terminal is located, determined by the network device according to a pre-configured service target; determining a relative air interface time of the target spatial grid according to a predetermined absolute air interface time and the time slot offset in a preset period, and performing beam sweeping of an SSB at the relative air interface time. In this way, the terminals in different spatial grids can obtain a synchronization broadcast block SSB at the same absolute air interface time, which is conducive to improving the utilization rate of air interface resources, and meanwhile, the terminals in different spatial grids can perform uplink service and downlink service at the same absolute air interface time, so as to adapt to the service mode of the terminals in the spatial grid.

[0073] FIG. 8 shows a structural schematic diagram of a beam sweeping apparatus provided by embodiments of the present application. The beam sweeping apparatus can be applied to a network device such as a New Radio (NR) base station or a wireless access point, as shown in the figure. The beam sweeping apparatus includes a storage module 810 configured to store network configuration parameters and historical service amount. The network configuration parameters can include frame structure configuration information, the number of synchronization broadcast blocks (SSBs), an SSB bitmap and an SSB period, the number of beams, beam patterns and the coverage of beams, etc. The historical service amount includes the uplink throughput and the physical resource block utilization rate in a unit of time, the downlink throughput and the physical resource block utilization rate, etc.

[0074] In some examples, the information stored by the storage module 810 further comprises input parameters that can be used by the calculation module 820 to calculate the size of the spatial grid and the time slot offset; the calculation module 820 is configured to calculate the size of the spatial grid and the time slot offset according to the output parameters of the storage module 810; the processing module 830 is configured to carry the time slot offset output by the calculation module 820 into the signaling field, and perform signaling field distribution.

[0075] FIG. 9 shows a structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG. 9, at the hardware level, the network device 900 includes a processor 910, which in one example includes an internal bus 920, a network interface 930, and a memory 940. The memory 940 can include a memory 941, such as a random-access memory (RAM), and can also include a non-volatile memory 942, such as at least one disk memory. Of course, the network device 900 can also include other hardware required by other services.

[0076] The processor 910, the network interface 930, and the memory can be connected to each other through the internal bus 920, which can be an industry standard architecture (ISA) bus, a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one bidirectional arrow is shown in the figure, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0077] The memory 940 stores programs. The programs can include program code, which includes computer operation instructions. The memory 940 can include the memory 941 and the non-volatile memory 942, and provide instructions and data to the processor 910.

[0078] The processor 910 reads the corresponding computer program from the non-volatile memory 942 into the memory and then runs, and forms a device for positioning a target user at the logical level. The processor 910 executes the programs stored in the memory, and performs the methods disclosed in the embodiments of FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 and realizes the functions and beneficial effects of the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments, which are not repeated here.

[0079] The method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 can be applied to the processor 910 or implemented by the processor 910. The processor 910 can be an integrated circuit chip having a signal processing capability. In the implementation process, each step of the above method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit or an instruction in the form of software in the processor 910. The processor 910 described above can be a general processor, including a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), etc.; can also be a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component. Each method, step and logic block diagram disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as a hardware code processor for execution, or a combination of hardware and software modules in the code processor for execution. The software module can be located in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium in the memory is read by the processor, and the hardware thereof is combined to complete the steps of the above method.

[0080] The network device can also perform the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments, and achieve the functions and beneficial effects of the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0081] Of course, in addition to the software implementation, the network device of the present application does not exclude other implementation manners, such as logic devices or a combination of software and hardware, etc. That is, the execution subject of the following processing flow is not limited to each logic unit, but can also be hardware or a logic device.

[0082] Figure 10 shows a structure diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application. Referring to Figure 10, at the hardware level, the terminal 1000 comprises a processor 1010, in an example, an internal bus 1020, a network interface 1030, and a memory 1040. The memory 1040 can include a memory 1041, such as a random-access memory (RAM), and can also include a non-volatile memory 1042, such as at least one disk memory. Of course, the terminal 1000 can also include other hardware required by other services.

[0083] The processor 1010, the network interface 1030, and the memory can be connected to each other through the internal bus 1020, which can be an industry standard architecture (ISA) bus, a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one bidirectional arrow is shown in the figure, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0084] The memory 1040 stores programs. The programs can include program codes, which include computer operation instructions. The memory 1040 can include the memory 1041 and the non-volatile memory 1042, and provide instructions and data to the processor 1010.

[0085] The processor 1010 reads the corresponding computer program from the non-volatile memory 1042 into the memory and then runs, and forms a device for positioning a target user at the logical level. The processor 1010 executes the programs stored in the memory, and performs the method disclosed in Figure 7 and realizes the functions and advantages of each method described in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0086] The method disclosed in the embodiment shown in Fig. 7 of the present application can be applied to the processor 1010 or implemented by the processor 1010. The processor 1010 can be an integrated circuit chip having a signal processing capability. In the implementation, each step of the method can be completed by the integrated logic circuit or the instruction in the software form of the hardware in the processor 1010. The processor 1010 can be a general processor, including a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), etc.; or a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component. Each method, step and logic block diagram disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as a hardware code processor for execution, or a combination of hardware and software modules in the code processor for execution. The software module can be located in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and combines the hardware to complete the steps of the method.

[0087] The terminal can also perform the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments, and achieve the functions and beneficial effects of the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0088] Of course, in addition to the software implementation, the terminal of the present application does not exclude other implementation manners, such as a logic device or a combination of software and hardware, etc. That is, the execution subject of the following processing flow is not limited to each logic unit, but can also be hardware or a logic device.

[0089] The embodiments of the present application also propose a computer readable storage medium, which stores one or more programs, and when the one or more programs are executed by an electronic device including a plurality of application programs, the electronic device executes the method disclosed in the embodiments shown in Fig. 1 or Fig. 2 or Fig. 7 and achieves the functions and beneficial effects of the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0090] The computer readable storage medium includes a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc.

[0091] Further, the embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which comprises a computer program stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, and the computer program comprises program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed by a computer, the method disclosed in the following flowchart 1 or flowchart 2 or flowchart 7 or the functions and advantages of each method described in the foregoing method embodiments are implemented, and details are not repeated here.

[0092] The system, device, module or unit illustrated in the above embodiment can be implemented by a computer chip or entity, or by a product with certain functions. A typical implementation device is a computer. For example, the computer can be a personal computer, a laptop computer, a cellular phone, a camera phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, a media player, a navigation device, an email device, a game console, a tablet computer, a wearable device, or a combination of any of these devices.

[0093] The computer readable medium includes permanent and non-permanent, removable and non-removable media, which can be implemented by any method or technology to store information. The information can be computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Examples of computer storage media include, but are not limited to, phase change memory (PRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), other types of random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device, or any other non-transmission medium that can store information accessible by a computing device. According to the definition herein, the computer readable medium does not include transitory computer readable media, such as modulated data signals and carriers.

[0094] It is also to be noted that the terms "comprising", "including", and any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but can include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by "comprises a... " does not, without more constraints, exclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the recited element.

[0095] The various embodiments described in this specification are presented as examples. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the overall subject matter and is not a limitation on the overall subject matter. Changes in, or replacements to, parts of certain examples are covered by this specification. The various embodiments described in this specification are presented as examples. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the overall subject matter and is not a limitation on the overall subject matter. Changes in, or replacements to, parts of certain examples are covered by this specification.

Claims

1. A beam scanning method applied to a network device, comprising: obtaining at least one spatial grid within a network coverage range of the network device, and determining a time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid according to a pre-configured service target; sending the time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid to a target terminal corresponding to the spatial grid, so that the target terminal adjusts an absolute air interface time according to the time slot offset within a preset period; determining a relative air interface time of the at least one spatial grid according to the absolute air interface time and the time slot offset within the preset period, and performing beam scanning of a SSB corresponding to the at least one spatial grid at the relative air interface time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, Before the obtaining at least one spatial grid within a network coverage range of the network device, the method further comprises: dividing the network coverage range of the network device into at least one spatial grid according to a beam coverage range of the network device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, In a case where the service target is a plurality of synchronization broadcast blocks (SSBs) synchronously transmitted at a same time slot position, the determining the time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid according to the pre-configured service target comprises: obtaining an SSB pattern, wherein the SSB pattern comprises an SSB bitmap and an SSB period; determining a time slot interval between each SSB index according to the SSB bitmap and the SSB period; determining the time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid within the network coverage range of the network device according to the time slot interval between each SSB index.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, In a case where the service target is uplink service and downlink service synchronously transmitted at a same time slot position, the determining the time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid according to the pre-configured service target comprises: obtaining a first spatial grid in which uplink service is expected to be performed in the at least one spatial grid, and a second spatial grid in which downlink service is expected to be performed in the at least one spatial grid; determining a time slot interval in which a frame header is offset to an uplink time slot as the time slot offset of the first spatial grid; determining a time slot interval in which the frame header is offset to a downlink time slot as the time slot offset of the second spatial grid.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The obtaining the first spatial grid in which uplink service is expected to be performed in the at least one spatial grid, and the second spatial grid in which downlink service is expected to be performed in the at least one spatial grid comprises: determining an uplink data transmission index and a downlink data transmission index of each spatial grid according to historical service amounts corresponding to the at least one spatial grid; determining the first spatial grid in which uplink service is expected to be performed in the at least one spatial grid, and the second spatial grid in which downlink service is expected to be performed in the at least one spatial grid according to the uplink data transmission index and the downlink data transmission index of each spatial grid.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein, After the sending the time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid to the target terminal corresponding to the spatial grid, the method further comprises: monitoring beam information of the target terminal; in a case where it is determined that a beam of the target terminal changes according to the beam information of the target terminal, obtaining a target beam of the target terminal; determining a target spatial grid corresponding to the target beam, and sending a time slot offset of the target spatial grid to the target terminal.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein, Before the sending of the time slot offset of the at least one spatial grid to the target terminal corresponding to the spatial grid, the method further comprises: broadcasting a main system message on a physical broadcast channel, and causing the target terminal to determine the absolute air interface time according to the main system message. 8.A beam scanning method applied to a terminal, comprising: receiving a target time slot offset sent by a network device, wherein the target time slot offset is a time slot offset of a target spatial grid in which the terminal is located, and is determined by the network device according to a pre-configured service target; determining a relative air interface time of the target spatial grid according to a pre-determined absolute air interface time and the time slot offset within a preset period, and performing beam scanning of SSB at the relative air interface time.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, After the beam scanning of SSB at the relative air interface time, the method further comprises: sending beam information to the network device; obtaining a time slot offset of a target spatial grid sent by the network device, wherein the time slot offset of the target spatial grid is sent by the network terminal in a case where beam information of the terminal is determined to be changed.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein, The absolute air interface time is determined in the following manner: obtaining a main system message broadcasted by the network device on a physical broadcast channel; determining the absolute air interface time according to the main system message. 11.A network device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores programs or instructions executable on the processor, and the programs or instructions are executed by the processor to implement steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7. 12.A terminal, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores programs or instructions executable on the processor, and the programs or instructions are executed by the processor to implement steps of the method according to any one of claims 8 to 10. 13.A computer readable storage medium, wherein the computer readable storage medium stores programs or instructions, and the programs or instructions are executed by a processor to implement steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10. 14.A computer program product, comprising a computer program stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, wherein the computer program comprises program instructions, and the program instructions are executed by a computer to cause the computer to perform steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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