Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to a communication method and apparatus. In the communication method, a terminal needs to extend both signals carried by CPs in a symbol group and signals carried by symbols in the symbol group. In this way, the problem of timing offset can be reduced when there is no CP between symbols, thereby improving the performance of random-access preamble detection.

Description

A communication method and apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410857759.5, filed on June 27, 2024, with the State Intellectual Property Office of China, and the Chinese patent application No. 202410857759.5, entitled “A communication method and apparatus”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] In a satellite communication scenario, the satellite coverage range is large, and the access demand is also large, which leads to the continuous decrease of the access capacity of the satellite. For example, for an internet of things (IoT) device, due to its poor transmission environment, more repeated transmissions are often needed to ensure the reliability of data transmission, which means further reduction of the access capacity. Therefore, it is imminent to enhance the access capacity.

[0004] At present, in order to improve the access capacity, an orthogonal cover code (OCC) is introduced. That is, a terminal sends a random access preamble based on an orthogonal cover code (OCC). However, how to improve the detection performance of the random access preamble still needs further research. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, which can improve the detection performance of the random access preamble.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be performed by a first communication device, which can be a terminal, or a processor, a module, a chip, or a chip system, etc. in the terminal implementing the method. Taking the first communication device as a terminal for example, in the communication method, the terminal can obtain a narrowband physical control channel (NPRACH) transmission format, and can also obtain a first OCC sequence, so that the terminal can determine a first random access preamble based on the NPRACH transmission format, and the signal carried by the cyclic prefix (CP) in the symbol group in the first random access preamble is the signal carried by the last symbol in the symbol group, and the total number of the CP and the symbols in the symbol group is the same as the length of the first OCC sequence. In this way, the terminal can spread the signal carried by the CP and the signal carried by the symbol in the symbol group based on the first OCC sequence to obtain a second random access preamble, and then transmit the second random access preamble.

[0007] It can be seen that in the above embodiments, the signal carried by the CP in the symbol group in the first random access preamble is the signal carried by the last symbol in the symbol group, which indicates that the CP in the symbol group also carries the signal, so that the terminal needs to perform spreading on both the signal carried by the CP in the symbol group and the signal carried by the symbol in the symbol group. On the one hand, the CP in the symbol group carries the signal, which can increase the length of the OCC sequence used by the terminal and improve the detection performance of the random access preamble. On the other hand, if the terminal only performs spreading on the signal carried by the symbol in the symbol group, the signals carried by the symbols in the spread symbol group will be different, and when there is a timing offset between the transmissions of the symbols, the absence of CP between the symbols will cause the transmission of the adjacent symbols to affect the reception of the current symbol, that is, the signal energy of the current symbol will be reduced when it reaches the network device, thereby affecting the detection performance of the random access preamble. Therefore, the terminal performs spreading on both the signal carried by the CP in the symbol group and the signal carried by the symbol in the symbol group, which can reduce the problem that the transmission of the adjacent symbols affects the reception of the current symbol when there is a timing offset between the transmissions of the symbols, thereby improving the detection performance of the random access preamble. On the other hand, the NPRACH transmission format is format 1, the length of the CP in the symbol group is the same as the length of the symbol, which is 266.66 microseconds (us), which is due to the coverage requirement when the ground cell range is large. However, in the non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication scenario, due to the existence of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and ephemeris broadcast, the terminal can obtain timing pre-compensation before sending the random access preamble. In this case, such a large CP length is not needed, which will cause resource waste. Therefore, the CP in the symbol group carries the signal, which means that the CP can also be understood as a symbol, which is equivalent to removing the CP in the symbol group and reducing the problem of resource waste. On the other hand, the larger the length of the OCC sequence, the more users can be multiplexed on the same resource, thereby improving the uplink capacity.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the terminal obtaining the first OCC sequence includes: the terminal obtaining the length of the first OCC sequence, and determining a set of first OCC sequences based on the length of the first OCC sequence, so that a first OCC sequence can be randomly selected from the set of first OCC sequences as the first OCC sequence. In this way, the randomness of selecting the first OCC sequence can be improved, and the probability of selecting the same OCC sequence as other terminals can be reduced.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the NPRACH transmission format is format 1, and the length of the first OCC sequence is 6. The NPRACH transmission format is format 2, and the length of the first OCC sequence is 4.

[0010] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be performed by a first communication device. The first communication device can be a terminal, or a processor, a module, a chip, or a chip system, etc. in the terminal that implements the method. Taking the terminal as the first communication device, in the communication method, the terminal can obtain an NPRACH transmission format and a first OCC sequence, determine a first random access preamble based on the NPRACH transmission format, and the total number of symbols included in a symbol group in the first random access preamble is the same as the length of the first OCC sequence. In this way, the terminal can spread a signal carried by a symbol in the symbol group based on the first OCC sequence, and take the spread signal on the last symbol in the symbol group as a signal carried by a CP in the symbol group to obtain a second random access preamble, and then transmit the second random access preamble.

[0011] It can be seen that in the above embodiments, the terminal can spread a signal carried by a symbol in a symbol group based on a first OCC sequence, and take the spread signal on the last symbol in the symbol group as a signal carried by a CP in the symbol group to obtain a second random access preamble. In one aspect, this makes the signal carried by the CP in the symbol group and the signal carried by the symbol both spread, thereby reducing the timing offset problem in the absence of a CP between symbols, and further improving the detection performance of the random access preamble. In another aspect, the signal carried by the CP in the symbol group is the spread signal on the last symbol in the symbol group, and the terminal supporting random access based on OCC does not need to be additionally modified. In yet another aspect, the CP in the symbol group carries a signal, which means that the CP can also be understood as a symbol, equivalent to removing the CP in the symbol group, and reducing the problem of resource waste.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the terminal obtaining the first OCC sequence includes: the terminal determining a set of first OCC sequences, so that the terminal can randomly select an OCC sequence from the set of first OCC sequences as the first OCC sequence. In this way, the randomness of selecting the first OCC sequence can be improved, and the probability of selecting the same OCC sequence as other terminals can be reduced.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the terminal determining the set of first OCC sequences includes: the terminal obtaining a first index, so that the terminal can determine the set of first OCC sequences based on the first index. Alternatively, the terminal obtains the length of the first OCC sequence, so that the terminal can determine the set of first OCC sequences based on the length of the first OCC sequence.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the NPRACH transmission format is format 1, and the length of the first OCC sequence is 5.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1], [e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1]. Or, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3)], [e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3)]. Or, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3)], [e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3)]. Or, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3)], [1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3)]. Or, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3)], or [1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3)]. Wherein, i is the imaginary symbol, and pi is the circular constant.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the NPRACH transmission format is format 2, and the length of the first OCC sequence is 3.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1], [-1, -1, 1]. Or, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1], [1, 1, -1].

[0018] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be performed by a second communication device. The second communication device can be a network device, or a processor, a module, a chip, or a chip system, etc. in the network device implementing the method. Taking the second communication device as the network device for example, in the communication method, the network device can send an NPRACH transmission format, the NPRACH transmission format being associated with a set of first OCC sequences, receive a second random access preamble, and process a signal carried by a CP and a signal carried by a symbol in a symbol group in the second random access preamble based on the NPRACH transmission format and the set of first OCC sequences.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the method further includes that the network device sends a length of the first OCC sequence, and the length of the first OCC sequence is used to determine the set of first OCC sequences. Alternatively, the network device sends a first index, and the first index is used to determine the set of first OCC sequences.

[0020] In a possible implementation, when the NPRACH transmission format is format 1, the length of the first OCC sequence is 6. When the NPRACH transmission format is format 2, the length of the first OCC sequence is 4.

[0021] In a possible implementation, when the NPRACH transmission format is format 1, the length of the first OCC sequence is 5.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1], [e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1]. Or, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3)], [e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3)]. Or, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3)], [e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3)]. Or, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3)], [1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3)]. Or, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3)], or [1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3)]. Wherein, i is the imaginary symbol, and pi is the circular constant.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the NPRACH transmission format is format 2, and the length of the first OCC sequence is 3.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1], [-1, -1, 1]. Or, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1], [1, 1, -1].

[0025] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, including units or modules for implementing any of the methods in any of the first aspect to the third aspect. The communication apparatus can be the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus.

[0026] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises at least one processor; wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the method in any of the first aspect to the third aspect. The communication apparatus can be the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus. The at least one processor can execute a computer program or an instruction in a memory, so that the above method is executed. The memory can be included in the communication apparatus, or located outside the communication apparatus. In addition, the communication apparatus can further comprise an interface.

[0027] In a sixth aspect, a communication system is provided, which comprises a terminal and a network device. The terminal is configured to execute the method in any of the first aspect or the second aspect, and the network device is configured to execute the method in any of the third aspect.

[0028] In a seventh aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores computer instructions, when the computer instructions are executed, causing a computer to execute the method in any of the first aspect to the third aspect.

[0029] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which comprises computer program codes, when the computer program codes are run by a computer, causing the computer to execute the method in any of the first aspect to the third aspect.

[0030] In a ninth aspect, a chip is provided, which comprises at least one processor and an interface, the processor is configured to read and execute instructions stored in a memory, when the instructions are run, causing the chip to execute the method in any of the first aspect to the third aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0031] FIG. 1 is a basic architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a RAN architecture based on NTN devices according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] FIG. 4 is a structure of a random access preamble with a NPRACH transmission format of format 2;

[0035] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of OCC processing on a symbol group according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of another OCC processing on a symbol group according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 8 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 9 is a structural schematic diagram of another communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "system" and "network" can be used interchangeably. Unless otherwise specified, " / " represents an "or" relationship between the objects before and after the " / ", for example, A / B can represent A or B; in the present application, "and / or" is only used to describe the relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: A alone, A and B together, and B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, in the description of the present application, "multiple" means two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of the items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, and c can be one or more. In addition, in order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the same items or similar items with basically the same functions are distinguished by "first", "second", etc. The skilled in the art can understand that "first", "second", etc. do not limit the quantity and execution order, and "first", "second", etc. also do not necessarily mean different.

[0041] In the embodiments of the present application, the reference to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" means that the specific features, structures or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment are included in one or more embodiments of the present application. Therefore, the statements "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in other some embodiments", "in other some embodiments" and the like appearing in different places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "include", "contain", "have" and their variants mean "include but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0042] The following detailed description further clarifies the objectives, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present application. It should be understood that the following is merely a detailed description of the present application, and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

[0043] In various embodiments of the present application, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referred to each other if there is no special description and logical conflict. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0044] The method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example, can be an internet of things (IoT) system, a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) system, a long term evolution (LTE) system, a 5th-generation (5G) communication system, a new radio (NR) system or a new communication system in future communication development. Among them, the IoT network may, for example, include but not limited to vehicle networking. The communication mode in the vehicle networking system can be collectively referred to as vehicle-to-everything (V2X, X can represent any thing). For example, V2X can include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication or vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, etc. The method provided by the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to NTN communication (also can be called non-terrestrial network communication), or the scene of fusion of NTN and terrestrial network (TN).

[0045] The method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, such as Wi-Fi, and the like. The method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applicable to the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11 series protocol, for example, the 802.11be protocol, the 802.11bn protocol, or the next generation of the 802.11bn protocol, and the like, and the like, and does not need to be listed one by one.

[0046] The method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to two entities in a communication system, for example, one of the two entities can send information to the other entity, or receive information sent by the other entity. In a wireless communication system, communication devices are included, and the communication devices can use air interface resources for wireless communication. The air interface resource can include at least one of a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, a code resource, and a space resource, which is not limited in the present application. For example, the two entities can include a network device and a terminal, or a chip that can be placed in the network device, and a chip that can be placed in the terminal, and the like. Of course, with the development of standards, other types of entities may also appear in the future, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0047] The basic architecture of the communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application is introduced below. The communication system provided by the present application can include one or more network devices and one or more terminals.

[0048] The system architecture shown in FIG. 1 is exemplarily explained below. In FIG. 1, the communication system includes a network device 10 and a terminal 20 in communication with the network device 10.

[0049] It should be pointed out that the number of network devices and terminals in FIG. 1 is only illustrative, and should not be regarded as a specific limitation of the present application. The terminal and network device involved in the system architecture are described in detail below.

[0050] I. Terminal

[0051] A terminal is an entity that receives a signal or transmits a signal or receives a signal and transmits a signal on a user side. The terminal is used to provide one or more of voice services and data connectivity services to a user. The terminal can be a device that includes a wireless transceiving function and can cooperate with a network device to provide communication services to a user. Specifically, the terminal can refer to a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, a user apparatus, or a road side unit (RSU). The terminal can also be a drone, an internet of things (IoT) device, a station (ST) in a wireless local area network (WLAN), a cellular phone, a smart phone, a cordless phone, a wireless data card, a tablet computer, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a laptop computer, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, a handheld device with a wireless communication function, a computing device, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device (which can also be referred to as a wearable smart device), a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in remote medical treatment, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, and the like. The terminal can also be a terminal in a 5G system or a terminal in a next-generation communication system, and embodiments of the present application do not limit the same.

[0052] Embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal, and the device for implementing the function of the terminal can be a terminal; or can be a device capable of supporting the terminal to implement the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal or used with the terminal. In embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0053] II. Network device

[0054] The network device is an entity for transmitting a signal, or receiving a signal, or transmitting and receiving a signal on the network side. The network device can be a device deployed in a radio access network (RAN) to provide a wireless communication function for a terminal.

[0055] In a possible scenario, the network device can be a device with base station functions, such as an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmitting and receiving point (TRP), a transmitting point (TP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a base station in a future mobile communication system, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a non-ground network device, that is, a device that can be deployed on a high-altitude platform or a satellite, and the like. The network device can be a transmission reception point (TRP), a base station, various forms of control nodes. For example, a network controller, a radio controller, and the like. Specifically, the network device can be various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also referred to as small stations) in a heterogeneous network (HetNet) scenario, relay stations, access points (APs), radio network controllers (RNCs), node Bs (NBs), base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), home base stations (for example, home evolved nodeBs, or home node Bs, HNBs), baseband units (BBUs) and remote radio units (RRUs) in a distributed base station scenario, transmitting and receiving points (TRPs), transmitting points (TPs), mobile switching centers, and the like, and can also be an antenna panel of a base station. The control node can connect multiple base stations and configure resources for multiple terminals under the coverage of the multiple base stations. In systems using different wireless access technologies, the names of devices with base station functions can be different. For example, it can be a gNB in 5G, or a network side device in a network after 5G or a network device in a future evolved public land mobile (communication) network (PLMN) network, or a device assuming base station functions in device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and the like. The specific name of the network device is not limited in the present application.The network device can also be a baseband pool (BBU pool) and RRU under an open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), and the like.

[0056] In another possible scenario, a terminal is assisted by multiple network devices to implement wireless access, and different network devices respectively implement part of functions of a base station. For example, a network device can include a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), and the like. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can be included in the same network element, for example, a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, for example, included in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna processing unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). It can be understood that the network device can be a CU node, or a DU node, or a device including a CU node and a DU node. In addition, the CU can be divided into a network device in a RAN, or the CU can be divided into a network device in a core network (CN), which is not limited here.

[0057] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an ORAN system, the CU can also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as an O-RU. For the convenience of description, the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU are taken as examples for description in this application. Any one of the CU (or CU-CP, 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.

[0058] In the embodiments of this application, the form of the network device is not limited, and the device for implementing the function of the network device can be the network device; or can be a device capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, for example, a chip system. The device can be installed in the network device or used in combination with the network device.

[0059] For the convenience of understanding the content of the present scheme, the following will explain some of the terms involved in the embodiments of the present application. The following part is for the convenience of understanding and cannot be regarded as a specific limitation of the present application.

[0060] I. NTN

[0061] In the embodiments of the present application, the network equipment deployed in the air can be referred to as NTN equipment, and the network equipment deployed on the ground can be referred to as TN equipment. The NTN communication system includes at least one NTN equipment, and the network equipment in the TN communication system is TN equipment. The TN equipment is a network equipment that is stationary or moves slowly relative to the NTN equipment. That is, the NTN equipment can be a high-speed moving network equipment relative to the TN equipment.

[0062] The NTN equipment can include a satellite, a high-altitude platform (HAP), a drone, or a hot air balloon, etc., which is not limited here. The satellite can be a non-geostationary earth orbit (NGEO) medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a high-altitude communication platform (HAPS), an evolved NodeB (eNB) or a 5G base station (gNB), etc.

[0063] In the NTN communication network, the network equipment can include the following three deployment modes:

[0064] In the first deployment mode, the NTN equipment can perform RAN functions (access service functions), and the TN equipment without performing RAN functions can communicate with the core network through the ground station (such as NTN gateway) in the TN equipment, which is used to solve the coverage problem in remote areas such as mountainous areas, oceans, etc.

[0065] In the second deployment mode, the NTN equipment and the ground station in the TN equipment can serve as radio frequency units, and the access network (such as base station) in the TN equipment except the ground station can perform RAN functions.

[0066] In the third deployment mode, the NTN equipment does not perform RAN functions, and the ground station in the TN equipment for forwarding signaling and data of the NTN equipment and other network equipment does not perform RAN functions. The RAN functions are performed by the access network (such as base station) in the TN equipment except the ground station.

[0067] The following describes the architecture of the NTN communication system with reference to the above deployment modes, taking the 5G communication system shown in FIG. 2 as an example. In FIG. 2, the access network can be a next generation-RAN (NG-RAN), and the core network can be a 5G core network (5G CN). Therefore, the architecture can be understood as an NTN-based NG-RAN architecture.

[0068] The NTN system in FIG. 2 can include at least one terminal, at least one NTN device, and at least one TN device. For example, in 2-1 of FIG. 2, the NTN device is a satellite, and the TN device includes a ground station, a 5G base station, a 5G user plane processing unit, a 5G control plane processing unit, and a data network device.

[0069] The 5G core network device is composed of multiple functional units and can be divided into control plane and data plane functional entities, such as the 5G control plane processing unit and the 5G user plane processing unit shown in 2-1 of FIG. 2 to 2-3 of FIG. 2. The 5G control plane processing unit can include the access and mobility management function (AMF) network element and the location management function (LMF) network element in 2-1 of FIG. 2 to 2-3 of FIG. 2, and can also include other network elements not shown in the figure, such as a user plane function (UPF) network element, etc. The ground station is used to forward signaling and service data between the satellite (network device) and the core network device. The functions of the terminal and various network devices can refer to the foregoing and will not be described here.

[0070] The system architecture shown in 2-1 of FIG. 2 can be referred to as a transparent satellite access architecture (such as a RAN architecture with transparent satellite). In 2-1 of FIG. 2, the terminal accesses the network through the air interface, and the 5G base station is deployed on the ground and connected to the ground station that communicates with the satellite, which can be understood as the second deployment mode described above. In the corresponding scenario of this architecture, the role of the satellite is radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion and amplification. That is, the satellite can realize transparent forwarding and serve as a layer 1 relay to regenerate physical layer signals without other higher protocol layers.

[0071] The satellite shown in 2-2 of FIG. 2 can be referred to as a regenerative satellite without an inter-satellite link (ISL). The terminal accesses the network through an air interface, and the network device is specifically a 5G base station, which is deployed on the satellite and connected to the core network device through a wireless link. This can be understood as the first deployment mode described above.

[0072] The satellite shown in 2-3 of FIG. 2 can be referred to as a regenerative satellite with an inter-satellite link, and the ISL between two satellites is connected through an Xn interface. The satellite and the satellite can complete signaling interaction and user data transmission between network devices and network devices, which can be understood as the third deployment mode described above.

[0073] It should be noted that FIG. 2 is some possible examples of the architecture of the NTN communication system. In the NTN communication network, the network device can also have other deployment modes, which are not limited in the present application.

[0074] In FIG. 2, the interface of the wireless link between the terminal and the access network can be referred to as an air interface, such as an NR Uu interface. The NG interface is an interface between the access network and the core network, mainly used for interacting with the non-access layer (NAS) signaling of the core network and the service data of the user. The Xn interface is an interface between the access network and the access network, mainly used for interacting with the signaling of handover. The N6 interface can be an interface between the core network and the data network.

[0075] It should be noted that the above interfaces are exemplified by the 5G communication system. In different communication systems, different names can exist, for example, in the 4G communication system, the interface between the access network and the access network can be an X2 interface, and the interface between the access network and the core network can be an S1 interface. Of course, in future communications, the names of these interfaces can remain unchanged, or can be replaced by other names, which are not limited in the present application.

[0076] II. OCC

[0077] The OCC multiplexes the time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources of the terminal in the same physical resource block (PRB), and has almost no code rate loss for a given number of terminals, and thus can be used in the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) to enhance the system capacity and improve the transmission rate of the terminal.

[0078] The basic principle of OCC is to encode user data so that the orthogonal sequences of different users are orthogonal in code domain, thereby realizing mutual non-interference between multiple users. Specifically, OCC uses an orthogonal matrix as a coding matrix, multiplies user data with the coding matrix to obtain a coded sequence. At the receiving end, by multiplying with the transpose of the coding matrix, the interference signals of other users can be eliminated, thereby realizing decoding of user data.

[0079] In the embodiments of the present application, the orthogonal matrix includes a plurality of orthogonal sequences, which are orthogonal to each other. The orthogonal sequence can also be referred to as a coded sequence or an OCC sequence. Hereinafter, the OCC sequence is taken as an example for introduction, which should not be regarded as a limitation of the present application.

[0080] Optionally, the orthogonal matrix can include a DFT code, or a Hadamard code (also referred to as a Walsh code). By assigning different OCC sequences to different terminals, the same physical resource (the same time and the same frequency) can be multiplexed by multiple terminals, and the data transmitted after multiplexing is orthogonal in code domain.

[0081] For example, the OCC corresponds to the orthogonal matrix including the matrix A and the matrix B shown as follows. The OCC sequences in the matrix A include W1 assigned to terminal A and W2 assigned to terminal B, and the OCC sequences in the matrix B include W3 assigned to terminal C, W4 assigned to terminal D, W5 assigned to terminal E, and W6 assigned to terminal F. Wherein, W1 = {1 1}, W2 = {1 -1}. W3 = {1 1 1 1}, W4 = {1 1 -1 -1}, W5 = {1 -1 1 -1}, and W6 = {1 -1 -1 1}.

[0082] In the embodiments of the present application, the length of the OCC sequence refers to the number of values in the OCC sequence. The value in the OCC sequence can also be referred to as an OCC element, and the length of the OCC sequence can also be referred to as an expansion factor or a spreading factor. The present application does not limit the size of the length of the OCC sequence, for example, 2, 4, etc. Exemplarily, the length of the OCC sequence of the matrix A is 2, and the length of the OCC sequence of the matrix B is 4.

[0083] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below. The first communication device or the second communication device involved in the embodiments of the present application can be any two devices capable of communication in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2. The specific names of the first communication device and the second communication device are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. As an example, the first communication device can be a terminal or a chip or a functional module of the terminal, and the second communication device can be a network device or a chip or a functional module of the network device. As another example, the first communication device can be a network device or a chip or a functional module of the network device, and the second communication device can be a terminal or a chip or a functional module of the terminal. As yet another example, the first communication device and the second communication device can be different terminals. The specific forms of the first communication device and the second communication device are not listed here. For ease of description, the first communication device is taken as a terminal and the second communication device is taken as a network device, which should not be regarded as a limitation of the present application.

[0084] Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3, the method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0085] 301. The terminal acquires an NPRACH transmission format and acquires a first OCC sequence.

[0086] Correspondingly, the network device sends the NPRACH transmission format.

[0087] The NPRACH transmission format is format 1 or format 2. Optionally, the NPRACH transmission format can be carried in system information. The system information can be system information block (SIB) 1 or other system information, which is not limited here.

[0088] The following describes how the terminal obtains the first OCC sequence.

[0089] As an example, the first OCC sequence can be indicated by the network device to the terminal by direct or indirect means.

[0090] 1. The terminal can acquire the length of the first OCC sequence, determine a set of first OCC sequences based on the length of the first OCC sequence, and thus randomly select an OCC sequence from the set of first OCC sequences as the first OCC sequence.

[0091] The length of the first OCC sequence is 6 when the NPRACH transmission format is format 1. The length of the first OCC sequence is 4 when the NPRACH transmission format is format 2.

[0092] Optionally, the length of the first OCC sequence can be indicated to the terminal by the network device in a direct or indirect manner, such as being carried in system information. Or, it can be predefined, which is not limited in the present application. Optionally, the length of the first OCC sequence and the NPRACH transmission format can be carried in the same system information or different system information.

[0093] Optionally, the terminal determines the first OCC sequence set based on the length of the first OCC sequence, including that the terminal can determine the first OCC sequence set from one or more OCC sequence sets based on the length of the first OCC sequence. In a possible implementation, one or more OCC sequences can be predefined in the terminal, and the lengths of the OCC sequences can be partially the same, completely the same, or completely different. The terminal can divide the OCC sequences with the same length into the same OCC sequence set, for example, divide the OCC sequences with the same length as the first OCC sequence into the first OCC sequence set. In this way, the terminal can determine the first OCC sequence set from one or more OCC sequence sets based on the length of the first OCC sequence. In another possible implementation, one or more OCC sequence sets can be predefined in the terminal, and the one or more OCC sequence sets include the first OCC sequence set, and the lengths of the OCC sequences in different OCC sequence sets are different. In this way, the terminal can determine the first OCC sequence set from one or more OCC sequence sets based on the length of the first OCC sequence.

[0094] 2. The terminal can obtain the first OCC sequence. Wherein, the first OCC sequence can be indicated to the terminal by the network device in a direct or indirect manner, such as being carried in system information. Or, it can be predefined, which is not limited in the present application. Optionally, the first OCC sequence and the NPRACH transmission format can be carried in the same system information or different system information.

[0095] As another example, the first OCC sequence set to which the first OCC sequence belongs can be predefined. In this case, the terminal can randomly select an OCC sequence as the first OCC sequence in the first OCC sequence set.

[0096] The first OCC sequence set is introduced as follows.

[0097] 1. In the case of NPRACH transmission format being format 1, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [1, e^(i*1*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), -1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*5*pi / 3)], [1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3)], [1, -1, 1, -1, 1, -1], [1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3)], or [1, e^(i*5*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), -1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*1*pi / 3)]. This is also represented as a orthogonal matrix, for example, a DFT code with length 6. Or represented as a table, for example, any row and / or any column in the table, which can be referred to Table 1.

[0098] Table 1

[0099] 2. In the case of NPRACH transmission format being format 2, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1], [1, -i, 1, i], [1, -1, 1, -1], or [1, i, 1, -i]. This is also represented as a orthogonal matrix, for example, a DFT code with length 4. Or represented as a table, for example, any row and / or any column in the table, which can be referred to Table 2.

[0100] Table 2

[0101] The 'i' in the above listed OCC sequences is imaginary symbol, '*' represents multiplication, and 'pi' is the constant pi.

[0102] 302. The terminal determines a first random access preamble based on the NPRACH transmission format, and a signal carried by a CP in a symbol group in the first random access preamble is a signal carried by a last symbol in the symbol group, and a total number of the CP and the symbols in the symbol group is the same as a length of the first OCC sequence. The first random access preamble includes N symbol groups, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 4. For example, in the case of the NPRACH transmission format being format 1, the first random access preamble includes 4 symbol groups, and each symbol group includes one CP and 5 repeated symbols. Or, in the case of the NPRACH transmission format being format 2, the first random access preamble includes 6 symbol groups, and each symbol group includes one CP and 3 repeated symbols, as shown in FIG. 4.

[0103] Optionally, the symbol mentioned in the present application can be an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol.

[0104] It should be understood that the signal carried by the CP in different symbol groups in the first random access preamble is the signal carried by the last symbol in the symbol group where the CP is located. Among them, the symbols in each symbol group in the first random access preamble carry signals, and the signals carried by different symbols in the same symbol group are the same. The signal here can be understood as a signal sampling point.

[0105] 303、The terminal spreads the signal carried by the CP and the signal carried by the symbol in the symbol group based on the first OCC sequence to obtain a second random access preamble.

[0106] For example, the terminal spreads the signal carried by the CP and the signal carried by the symbol in different symbol groups in the N symbol groups based on the first OCC sequence to obtain a second random access preamble. Optionally, the terminal spreads the signal carried by the CP and the signal carried by the symbol in each symbol group in turn according to the order of the OCC elements in the first OCC sequence to obtain the second random access preamble. For example, the process of spreading is introduced by taking one symbol group in FIG. 5 as an example. In FIG. 5-1, the symbol group includes one CP and 5 symbols, and the signal carried by the CP, such as's' in the virtual box, is the signal carried by the last symbol in the symbol group. The first OCC sequence includes 6 OCC elements, i.e. w0 to w5. The terminal can use w0 to w5 to spread the signal carried by the CP and the signal carried by the symbol in the symbol group in turn. In FIG. 5-2, the symbol group includes one CP and 3 symbols, and the signal carried by the CP, such as's' in the virtual box, is the signal carried by the last symbol in the symbol group. The first OCC sequence includes 4 OCC elements, i.e. w0 to w3. The terminal can use w0 to w3 to spread the signal carried by the CP and the signal carried by the symbol in the symbol group in turn.

[0107] 304、The terminal sends the second random access preamble.

[0108] Correspondingly, the network device receives the second random access preamble, and processes the signal carried by the CP and the signal carried by the symbol in the symbol group in the second random access preamble based on the NPRACH transmission format and the set of the first OCC sequence.

[0109] The NPRACH transmission format is associated with a set of first OCC sequences for the network device. That is, the NPRACH transmission format can be used to determine the length of the first OCC sequence, and the length of the first OCC sequence is used to determine the set of first OCC sequences. For example, the NPRACH transmission format is format 1, the length of the first OCC sequence is 6, and the set of first OCC sequences can be referred to Table 1 above. The NPRACH transmission format is format 2, the length of the first OCC sequence is 4, and the set of first OCC sequences can be referred to Table 2 above.

[0110] Optionally, the network device processing the signal carried by the CP and the signal carried by the symbol in the symbol group in the second random access preamble based on the NPRACH transmission format and the set of first OCC sequences can include: the network device decoding the signal carried by the CP and the signal carried by the symbol in the symbol group in the second random access preamble in turn based on the NPRACH transmission format and in ascending or descending order of the index of each OCC sequence in the set of first OCC sequences. As can be seen from here, the network device does not remove the CP. That is, the network device originally needs to remove the CP before decoding the signal carried by the symbol in the symbol group in the second random access preamble, but in the present application, the network device does not need to remove the CP, but directly decodes the signal carried by the CP and the signal carried by the symbol in the symbol group in the second random access preamble, which can improve the detection performance of the random access preamble, thereby improving the success rate of random access.

[0111] Referring to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6, the method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0112] 601. The terminal can obtain the NPRACH transmission format and obtain the first OCC sequence.

[0113] Correspondingly, the network device sends the NPRACH transmission format.

[0114] The NPRACH transmission format can be referred to step 301 of FIG. 3, and will not be described here.

[0115] The following describes how the terminal obtains the first OCC sequence.

[0116] I. The first OCC sequence can be indicated by the network device to the terminal by direct or indirect means.

[0117] 1. The terminal can determine the set of first OCC sequences, so as to randomly select an OCC sequence from the set of first OCC sequences as the first OCC sequence.

[0118] Optionally, the determining, by the terminal, the set of the first OCC sequence based on the first index can comprise: the terminal obtaining a first index, and determining the set of the first OCC sequence based on the first index. Or, the terminal obtaining a length of the first OCC sequence, and determining the set of the first OCC sequence based on the length of the first OCC sequence.

[0119] In the present application, the index or the number can be referred to as a sequence number (seqnum) or the like, and the name thereof is not limited in the present application. Optionally, the first index can be indicated by the network device to the terminal in a direct or indirect manner, such as being carried in system information. Or, it can be predefined, which is not limited in the present application. Optionally, the first index and the NPRACH transmission format can be carried in the same system information or different system information.

[0120] Optionally, the determining, by the terminal, the set of the first OCC sequence based on the first index can comprise: the terminal obtaining a first index, and determining the set of the first OCC sequence based on the first index. Or, the terminal obtaining a length of the first OCC sequence, and determining the set of the first OCC sequence based on the length of the first OCC sequence.

[0121] In the present application, the index or the number can be referred to as a sequence number (seqnum) or the like, and the name thereof is not limited in the present application. Optionally, the first index can be indicated by the network device to the terminal in a direct or indirect manner, such as being carried in system information. Or, it can be predefined, which is not limited in the present application. Optionally, the first index and the NPRACH transmission format can be carried in the same system information or different system information.

[0122] Table 3

[0123] Table 4

[0124] It should be noted that the OCC sequences in any one of the OCC sequence sets listed in the above table 3 or table 4 are not orthogonal.

[0125] The length of the first OCC sequence is introduced as follows.

[0126] The length of the first OCC sequence is 5 when the NPRACH transmission format is format 1, and the length of the first OCC sequence is 3 when the NPRACH transmission format is format 2.

[0127] Alternatively, the length of the first OCC sequence can be indicated to the terminal by the network device in a direct or indirect manner, such as being carried in system information. Or, it is predefined, which is not limited in the present application. Alternatively, the length of the first OCC sequence and the NPRACH transmission format can be carried in the same system information or different system information.

[0128] Alternatively, the terminal determines the first OCC sequence set based on the length of the first OCC sequence, including that the terminal can determine the first OCC sequence set from one or more OCC sequence sets based on the length of the first OCC sequence. In a possible implementation, one or more OCC sequences can be predefined in the terminal, and the lengths of the plurality of OCC sequences can be partially the same, completely the same, or completely different. The terminal can divide the OCC sequences with the same length into the same OCC sequence set, for example, divide the OCC sequences with the same length as the first OCC sequence into the first OCC sequence set. In this way, the terminal can determine the first OCC sequence set from one or more OCC sequence sets based on the length of the first OCC sequence. In another possible implementation, one or more OCC sequence sets can be predefined in the terminal, and the one or more OCC sequence sets include the first OCC sequence set, and the lengths of the OCC sequences in different OCC sequence sets are different. In this way, the terminal can determine the first OCC sequence set from one or more OCC sequence sets based on the length of the first OCC sequence.

[0129] 2. The terminal can obtain the first OCC sequence. The first OCC sequence can be indicated to the terminal by the network device in a direct or indirect manner, such as being carried in system information. Or, it is predefined, which is not limited in the present application. Alternatively, the first OCC sequence and the NPRACH transmission format can be carried in the same system information or different system information.

[0130] II. The first OCC sequence set to which the first OCC sequence belongs can be predefined. In this case, the terminal can randomly select an OCC sequence as the first OCC sequence in the first OCC sequence set.

[0131] The first OCC sequence set is introduced as follows.

[0132] 1、In the case of NPRACH transmission format being format 1, the first OCC sequence set can be any one of the OCC sequence sets in Table 3 above.

[0133] For example, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1], [e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1]. Or, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3)], [e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3)]. Or, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3)], [e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3)]. Or, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3)], [1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3)]. Or, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3)], or [1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3)], which are not listed one by one here.

[0134] 2、In the case of NPRACH transmission format being format 2, the first OCC sequence set can be any one of the OCC sequence sets in Table 4 above.

[0135] For example, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1], [-1, -1, 1]. Or, the first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1], [1, 1, -1].

[0136] 602、The terminal determines a first random access preamble based on the NPRACH transmission format, and a total number of symbols included in a symbol group in the first random access preamble is the same as a length of the first OCC sequence.

[0137] The first random access preamble includes N symbol groups, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 4. For example, the NPRACH transmission format is format 1, and the first random access preamble includes 4 symbol groups, and each symbol group includes one CP and 5 repeated symbols. Or, the NPRACH transmission format is format 2, and the first random access preamble includes 6 symbol groups, and each symbol group includes one CP and 3 repeated symbols.

[0138] The symbols in each symbol group in the first random access preamble carry signals, and the signals carried by different symbols in the same symbol group are the same. Here, the signal can be understood as a signal sampling point.

[0139] 603、The terminal spreads the signals carried by the symbols in the symbol group based on the first OCC sequence, and takes the spread signal on the last symbol in the symbol group as the signal carried by the CP in the symbol group to obtain a second random access preamble.

[0140] For example, the terminal spreads the signals carried by the symbols in different symbol groups in the N symbol groups based on the first OCC sequence, and takes the spread signal on the last symbol in each symbol group as the signal carried by the CP in the symbol group to obtain the second random access preamble. Alternatively, the terminal spreads the signals carried by the symbols in each symbol group in turn according to the order of the OCC elements in the first OCC sequence, and then takes the spread signal on the last symbol in each symbol group as the signal carried by the CP in the symbol group. For example, the spreading process is introduced by taking one symbol group in FIG. 7 as an example. In 7-1 of FIG. 7, the symbol group includes one CP and 5 symbols. The first OCC sequence includes 5 OCC elements, i.e., x0 to x4. The terminal can spread the signals carried by the symbols in the symbol group in turn using x0 to x4, and then take the spread signal on the last symbol in the symbol group as the signal carried by the CP in the symbol group. In 7-2 of FIG. 7, the symbol group includes one CP and 3 symbols. The first OCC sequence includes 3 OCC elements, i.e., x0 to x2. The terminal can spread the signals carried by the symbols in the symbol group in turn using x0 to x2, and then take the spread signal on the last symbol in the symbol group as the signal carried by the CP in the symbol group.

[0141] It should be noted that the terminal spreads the signals carried by the symbols in different symbol groups in the N symbol groups based on the first OCC sequence, and after spreading the signals carried by the last symbol in each symbol group, the terminal can ensure that the signals carried by the CP in each symbol group are orthogonal to the signals carried by the symbols.

[0142] 604. The terminal sends the second random access preamble.

[0143] Correspondingly, the network device receives the second random access preamble, and processes the signals carried by the CP and the signals carried by the symbols in the symbol groups in the second random access preamble based on the set of the first OCC sequence and the NPRACH transmission format.

[0144] In step 604, the terminal sends the second random access preamble.

[0145] It can be understood that the device described above includes hardware structure and / or software modules corresponding to each function in order to realize the above functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed in the present application can be realized in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is driven by hardware or computer software to drive hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0146] The embodiments of the present application can divide the functional modules of the terminal or the network device according to the above-mentioned method examples. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or software function module. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. There can be another division method in actual implementation.

[0147] Referring to FIG. 8, FIG. 8 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 800 can be applied in the method shown in the embodiments of FIG. 3 or FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 8, the communication apparatus 800 includes a processing module 801 and a transceiver module 802. The processing module 801 can be one or more processors, and the transceiver module 802 can be a transceiver or a communication interface. The communication apparatus can be used to implement the functions of the terminal or network device in any of the method embodiments, or to implement the functions of the network element in any of the method embodiments. The network element or network function can be a network element in a hardware device, a software function running on a special hardware, or a virtualized function instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform). Optionally, the communication apparatus 800 can further include a storage module 803 for storing the program code and data of the communication apparatus 800.

[0148] An example is that the communication apparatus serves as a terminal or a chip applied in a terminal, that is, a chip for a terminal, and performs the steps performed by the terminal in the method embodiments. The transceiver module 802 is specifically configured to perform the sending and / or receiving actions performed by the terminal in the embodiments of FIG. 3 or FIG. 6, for example, to support the terminal to perform other processes of the techniques described herein. The processing module 801 can be configured to support the communication apparatus 800 to perform the processing actions in the method embodiments, for example, to support the terminal to perform other processes of the techniques described herein.

[0149] For example, the transceiver module 802 is configured to: obtain an NPRACH transmission format, and obtain a first OCC sequence. The processing module 801 is configured to: determine a first random access preamble based on the NPRACH transmission format, the signal carried by the CP in the symbol group in the first random access preamble being the signal carried by the last symbol in the symbol group, the total number of the CP and the symbols in the symbol group being the same as the length of the first OCC sequence; perform spreading on the signal carried by the CP and the signal carried by the symbols in the symbol group based on the first OCC sequence to obtain a second random access preamble; and the transceiver module 802 is configured to send the second random access preamble.

[0150] In a possible implementation, when the first OCC sequence is obtained, the transceiver module 802 is configured to obtain the length of the first OCC sequence. The processing module 801 is configured to: determine a set of first OCC sequences based on the length of the first OCC sequence; and randomly select one OCC sequence from the set of first OCC sequences as the first OCC sequence.

[0151] The transceiver 802 is configured to obtain the NPRACH transmission format and obtain the first OCC sequence. The processor 801 is configured to determine the first random access preamble based on the NPRACH transmission format, the total number of symbols included in the symbol group in the first random access preamble being the same as the length of the first OCC sequence; spread the signal carried by the symbols in the symbol group based on the first OCC sequence, and take the spread signal carried on the last symbol in the symbol group as the signal carried by the CP in the symbol group to obtain the second random access preamble; and the transceiver 802 is configured to transmit the second random access preamble.

[0152] In a possible implementation, when the first OCC sequence is obtained, the processor 801 is configured to determine a set of first OCC sequences, and randomly select one OCC sequence from the set of first OCC sequences as the first OCC sequence.

[0153] In a possible implementation, when the set of first OCC sequences is determined, the transceiver 802 is configured to obtain a first index, and the processor 801 is configured to determine the set of first OCC sequences based on the first index. Alternatively, the transceiver 802 is configured to obtain the length of the first OCC sequence, and the processor 801 is configured to determine the set of first OCC sequences based on the length of the first OCC sequence.

[0154] In an example, the communication apparatus is a network device or a chip for a network device, and performs the steps performed by the network device in the above method embodiments. The transceiver 802 is configured to specifically perform the transmitting and / or receiving actions performed by the network device in the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 6, for example, to support the network device to perform other processes of the technologies described herein. The processor 801 can be configured to support the communication apparatus 800 to perform the processing actions in the above method embodiments, for example, to support the network device to perform other processes of the technologies described herein.

[0155] In an example, the transceiver 802 is configured to transmit the NPRACH transmission format, the NPRACH transmission format being associated with a set of first OCC sequences, and receive the second random access preamble; and the processor 801 is configured to process the signal carried by the CP and the signal carried by the symbols in the symbol group in the second random access preamble based on the NPRACH transmission format and the set of first OCC sequences.

[0156] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 802 is further configured to transmit the length of the first OCC sequence, the length of the first OCC sequence being used to determine the set of first OCC sequences. Alternatively, the transceiver 802 is further configured to transmit a first index, the first index being used to determine the set of first OCC sequences.

[0157] In a possible implementation, when the apparatus is a chip, the transceiving module 802 can be a communication interface, a pin, a circuit, or the like. The communication interface can be configured to input data to be processed to the processor, and output the processing result of the processor to the outside. In a specific implementation, the communication interface can be a general purpose input output (GPIO) interface, and can be connected with a plurality of peripheral devices, such as a display (LCD), a camera, a radio frequency (RF) module, an antenna, and the like. The communication interface is connected with the processor through a bus.

[0158] The processing module 801 can be a processing circuit, which can be one or more processors, or all or part of the circuit in the one or more processors for control and / or processing. The processing circuit or the processor can execute computer-executed instructions stored in the storage module, so that the chip executes the method related to the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 6. Further, the processor can include a controller, an arithmetic unit, and a register. For example, the controller is mainly responsible for instruction decoding, and sends a control signal for the operation corresponding to the instruction. The arithmetic unit is mainly responsible for executing fixed-point or floating-point arithmetic operation, shift operation, and logic operation, and can also execute address operation and conversion. The register is mainly responsible for saving the register operand and intermediate operation result temporarily stored in the process of instruction execution, and the like. In a specific implementation, the hardware architecture of the processor can be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) architecture, a microprocessor without interlocked piped stages architecture (MIPS) architecture, an advanced RISC machines (ARM) architecture, or a network processor (NP) architecture, or the like. The processor can be single-core or multi-core. The storage module can be a storage module in the chip, such as a register, a cache, or the like. The storage module can also be a storage module located outside the chip, such as a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM), or the like.

[0159] It should be noted that the functions of the processor and the interface can be implemented by hardware design, software design, or a combination of hardware and software, which is not limited here.

[0160] Fig. 9 is a structural schematic diagram of another communication apparatus provided in embodiments of the present application. It can be understood that the communication apparatus 910 includes necessary means such as modules, units, elements, circuits, or interfaces, etc., which are configured to be appropriately combined to perform the present solution. The communication apparatus 910 can be the terminal or the network device, or a component (e.g., a chip) of the terminal or the network device, to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments. The communication apparatus 910 includes one or more processors 911. The processor 911 can be a general processor or a special purpose processor, etc. For example, it can be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be configured to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be configured to control the communication apparatus (e.g., a terminal, a network device, or a chip, etc.), execute software programs, and process data of the software programs.

[0161] Optionally, in one design, the processor 911 can include a program 913 (which can also be referred to as code or instructions at times) that can be run on the processor 911, so that the communication apparatus 910 performs the methods described in the above embodiments. In another possible design, the communication apparatus 910 includes a circuit (not shown in Fig. 9) for implementing the functions of the terminal, the network device, etc. in the above embodiments. Optionally, the communication apparatus 910 can include one or more memories 912 having a program 914 (which can also be referred to as code or instructions at times) stored thereon, and the program 914 can be run on the processor 911, so that the communication apparatus 910 performs the methods described in the above method embodiments.

[0162] Optionally, the processor 911 and / or the memory 912 can also store data. The processor and the memory can be separately arranged, or integrated together.

[0163] Optionally, the communication apparatus 910 can further include a transceiver 915 and / or an antenna 916, in the case of being a terminal or a network device. The processor 911 can also be referred to as a processing unit, and is configured to control the communication apparatus (e.g., a terminal or a network device). The transceiver 915 can also be referred to as a transceiving unit, a transceiver, a transceiving circuit, or a transceiver, etc., and is configured to implement the transceiving function of the communication apparatus through the antenna 916.

[0164] Optionally, the communication apparatus 910 can further include a transceiving circuit, such as an input / output interface, or a transceiving interface, in the case of being a chip for a terminal or a network device.

[0165] Embodiments of the present application further provide a communication apparatus, which includes at least one processor; and wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform the method described in any one of the embodiments shown in Fig. 3 or Fig. 6.

[0166] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed, the computer executes the method according to any one of the embodiments shown in Fig. 3 or Fig. 6.

[0167] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which comprises computer program codes, and when the computer program codes are run by a computer, the computer program codes make the computer execute the method according to any one of the embodiments shown in Fig. 3 or Fig. 6.

[0168] The embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which comprises at least one processor and an interface, and the processor is used for reading and executing instructions stored in a memory, and when the instructions are run, the chip executes the method according to any one of the embodiments shown in Fig. 3 or Fig. 6.

[0169] Optionally, the processing performed by a single execution subject (terminal or network device) shown in any of the above embodiments can also be divided into processing performed by multiple execution subjects, which can be logically and / or physically separated. For example, the processing performed by the network device can be divided into processing performed by at least one of the CU, the DU and the RU.

[0170] In addition, each embodiment of the present application is only described by taking all the steps included in the embodiment as an example, and should not be regarded as a specific limitation of the present application. For example, the order between the steps in each embodiment can be simply changed according to the function and internal logic thereof; for another example, the steps in each embodiment can be executed in whole or in part, as long as the same function as in the embodiments of the present application can be achieved.

[0171] In the present application, “sending” and “receiving” represent the direction of signal transmission. For example, “sending information to a network device” can be understood as that the destination of the information is the network device, which can include direct transmission through the air interface, and also includes indirect transmission through the air interface by other units or modules. “Receiving information from a network device” can be understood as that the source of the information is the network device, which can include direct reception from the network device through the air interface, and also includes indirect reception from the network device through the air interface from other units or modules. “Sending” can also be understood as the “output” of the chip interface, and “receiving” can also be understood as the “input” of the chip interface.

[0172] In other words, the sending and receiving can be between devices, for example, between the network device and the terminal; or can be within the device, for example, between components, between modules, between chips, between software modules or hardware modules within the device through the bus, wire or interface.

[0173] In the embodiments of the present application, "when", "if", "whether" and "in the case of" all refer to the objective condition that the device will make corresponding processing, and are not limited in time, and do not require the device to have a judgment action when implemented, nor mean that there are other limitations.

[0174] In the present application, the words "example", "exemplary", "for example" or "for instance" are used to indicate that the related concept is an example, illustration or description. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "example", "exemplary", "for example" or "for instance" in the present application should not be interpreted as more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Rather, the words "example", "exemplary", "for example" or "for instance" are intended to present the related concept in a specific manner.

[0175] The above is merely specific embodiments of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed by the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: obtaining a narrowband random access channel (NPRACH) transmission format, and obtaining a first OCC sequence; determining a first random access preamble based on the NPRACH transmission format, wherein a signal carried by a cyclic prefix (CP) in a symbol group in the first random access preamble is a signal carried by a last symbol in the symbol group, and a total number of the CP and the symbols in the symbol group is the same as a length of the first OCC sequence; spreading the signal carried by the CP and the signal carried by the symbols in the symbol group based on the first OCC sequence to obtain a second random access preamble; and sending the second random access preamble.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method comprises: obtaining the length of the first OCC sequence; determining a first OCC sequence set based on the length of the first OCC sequence; and randomly selecting an OCC sequence from the first OCC sequence set as the first OCC sequence.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein: the NPRACH transmission format is format 1, and the length of the first OCC sequence is 6; or the NPRACH transmission format is format 2, and the length of the first OCC sequence is 4.

4. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: obtaining a narrowband random access channel (NPRACH) transmission format, and obtaining a first OCC sequence; determining a first random access preamble based on the NPRACH transmission format, wherein a total number of symbols included in a symbol group in the first random access preamble is the same as a length of the first OCC sequence; spreading a signal carried by the symbols in the symbol group based on the first OCC sequence, and taking a signal spread on a last symbol in the symbol group as a signal carried by a cyclic prefix (CP) in the symbol group to obtain a second random access preamble; and sending the second random access preamble.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The method comprises: determining a first OCC sequence set; and randomly selecting an OCC sequence from the first OCC sequence set as the first OCC sequence.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein, The method comprises: obtaining a first index, and determining the first OCC sequence set based on the first index; or obtaining the length of the first OCC sequence, and determining the first OCC sequence set based on the length of the first OCC sequence.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4-6, characterized in that, The NPRACH transmission format is format 1, and the length of the first OCC sequence is 5.

8. The method of any one of claims 4-7, wherein: the first OCC sequence set comprises at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1], [e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1]; or The first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3)], [e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3)]; or, The first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3)], [e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3)]; or, The first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3)], [1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3)]; or, The first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3)], or [1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3)]; Wherein, the i is an imaginary symbol, and the pi is a circular constant.

9. The method according to any one of claims 4-6, characterized in that, The NPRACH transmission format is format 2, and the length of the first OCC sequence is 3.

10. The method according to any one of claims 4-6 or 9, characterized in that, The first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1], [-1, -1, 1]; or, The first OCC sequence set includes at least one of the following OCC sequences: [1, 1, 1], [1, 1, -1].

11. A communication method, comprising: Comprising: Sending a narrowband random access channel (NPRACH) transmission format, the NPRACH transmission format being associated with a set of first OCC sequences; Receiving a second random access preamble; Processing signals carried by CPs and signals carried by symbols in a symbol group in the second random access preamble based on the NPRACH transmission format and the set of first OCC sequences.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The method further comprises: Sending a length of a first OCC sequence, the length of the first OCC sequence being used to determine the set of first OCC sequences; or Sending a first index, the first index being used to determine the set of first OCC sequences.

13. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein, The NPRACH transmission format is format 1, and the length of the first OCC sequence is 6. The NPRACH transmission format is format 2, and the length of the first OCC sequence is 4.

14. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein, The NPRACH transmission format is format 1, and the length of the first OCC sequence is 5.

15. The method of claim 11, 12, or 14, wherein: the first OCC sequence set comprises at least one OCC sequence of: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1], [e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1]; or, the first OCC sequence set comprises at least one OCC sequence of: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3)], [e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3)]; or, the first OCC sequence set comprises at least one OCC sequence of: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3)], [e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3)]; or, the first OCC sequence set comprises at least one OCC sequence of: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3)], [1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3)]; or, the first OCC sequence set comprises at least one OCC sequence of: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1], [1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*4*pi / 3), e^(i*2*pi / 3)], or [1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), 1, e^(i*2*pi / 3), e^(i*4*pi / 3)]; wherein the i is the imaginary unit and the pi is the constant pi.

16. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein, the NPRACH transmission format is format 2, and the first OCC sequence has a length of 3.

17. The method of claim 11, 12, or 16, wherein: the first OCC sequence set comprises at least one OCC sequence of: [1, 1, 1], [-1, -1, 1]; or, the first OCC sequence set comprises at least one OCC sequence of: [1, 1, 1], [1, 1, -1].

18. A communications device, characterized by A unit or module for implementing the method of any one of claims 1-17.

19. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises at least one processor; wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1-17.

20. A communication system, characterized by The communication system comprises a first communication device and a second communication device; The first communication device is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, or the first communication device is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 4 to 10. The second communication device is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 11 to 17.

21. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium stores computer instructions which, when executed, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

22. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises computer program code which, when run by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

23. A chip, characterized by The chip comprises at least one processor and an interface, the processor being configured to read and execute instructions stored in a memory, the instructions, when executed, causing the chip to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

Images