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

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, a storage medium, and a computer program product, used for reducing power consumption of terminal apparatuses. In the present application, a first communication apparatus receives first configuration information, and communicates with a non-terrestrial communication apparatus on the basis of the first configuration information. The first configuration information is used for indicating an active time and / or an inactive time of discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first communication apparatus. In this way, the first communication apparatus can communicate with the non-terrestrial communication apparatus within the active time, and cannot communicate with the non-terrestrial communication apparatus within the inactive time, so that the power consumption of the first communication apparatus can be reduced. Additionally, the active time is associated with at least one of a first synchronization signal, a first channel type or a first cell; therefore, a second communication apparatus can configure the first configuration information on the basis of the granularity of at least one of the first synchronization signal, the first channel type or the first cell, so that the first configuration information better matches actual service requirements, thereby improving the communication efficiency.

Description

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

[0001] Cross Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202410906542.9, filed on July 5, 2024, and entitled “A communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product”, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

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

[0004] With the development of non terrestrial networks (NTN), the scale of satellite networks is getting larger and larger. For example, the satellite network develops from 66 of Iridium constellation to 720 of OneWeb constellation, and extends to 12000+ of Starlink super dense low earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation.

[0005] The coverage of a satellite can reach tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of kilometers, and the coverage of a beam can reach tens of meters or even thousands of meters. In order to support the wide area coverage of the satellite, dozens, hundreds or even more beams are usually configured for a satellite. In order to alleviate the contradiction between small load and wide coverage of a satellite, a jump beam mode can be used for regional coverage. That is, a satellite can be configured with more beams to cover a wider area, but only a smaller number of beams are used for regional coverage at the same time, and the wider area is covered by multiple beams used at different times.

[0006] When the satellite uses the jump beam mode for regional coverage, how to reduce the power consumption of the communication apparatus becomes a problem to be solved urgently. SUMMARY

[0007] The present application provides a communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product for reducing the power consumption of the communication apparatus.

[0008] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a first communication apparatus. The first communication apparatus can include / be a terminal device or a chip (or chip system, or circuit) inside the terminal device. The first communication apparatus can also include / be a network device or a chip (or chip system, or circuit) inside the network device.

[0009] The first communication device receives first configuration information. The first configuration information is used to indicate an active time and / or an inactive time of a discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first communication device. The active time is associated with at least one of a first synchronization signal, a first channel type, or a first cell. The first communication device communicates with the non-terrestrial communication device according to the first configuration information.

[0010] Since the first configuration information can indicate the active time and / or the inactive time of the discontinuous transmission, the first communication device can communicate with the non-terrestrial communication device in the active time, and the first communication device cannot communicate with the non-terrestrial communication device in the inactive time, thereby reducing power consumption of the first communication device.

[0011] In another aspect, the active time of the discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first communication device is associated with at least one of the first synchronization signal, the first channel type, or the first cell. Therefore, the second communication device can set the first configuration information based on a granularity of at least one of the first synchronization signal, the first channel type, or the first cell, thereby making the first configuration information more matched with actual traffic demand in a scenario to which the first configuration information is applied, and improving communication efficiency.

[0012] The non-terrestrial communication device can be, for example, a chip (or a chip system, or a circuit) disposed in a communication device in the air, or disposed in the communication device in the air. The communication device can be, for example, a satellite, a drone, a dirigible, or a high-altitude aircraft, etc. The communication device can be, for example, a device with a base station function, or a device with a relay function. For example, the communication device can be a regenerative satellite, or a transmissive satellite.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the active time of the discontinuous transmission is a time when the non-terrestrial communication device provides services for the first communication device. The inactive time of the discontinuous transmission is a time when the non-terrestrial communication device cannot provide services for the first communication device. In this way, the first communication device can communicate with the non-terrestrial communication device in the active time of the discontinuous transmission, and cannot communicate with the non-terrestrial communication device in the inactive time, thereby saving power consumption of the first communication device.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the first configuration information includes information used to indicate at least one of a period of the discontinuous transmission, the active time of the discontinuous transmission, the inactive time of the discontinuous transmission, or at least one of a time offset value of the period of the discontinuous transmission, or a time offset value of the active time in the period of the discontinuous transmission. When the discontinuous transmission is a periodic discontinuous transmission, the first communication device can determine the active time of the periodic discontinuous transmission according to these parameters, the number of these parameters is small, thereby saving resource overhead. In another aspect, these parameters can be better compatible with existing technologies, and help better promote the scheme.

[0015] The discontinuous transmission can also be understood as that the time during which the first communication device and the second communication device can communicate is discontinuous. The "discontinuous transmission" in the embodiments of the present applicationapplicationinclude / replace "dis-continuous transmission (DTX)" and / or "dis-continuous receive (DRX)". For example, the discontinuous transmissionapplicationinclude the dis-continuous transmission and / or the dis-continuous receive, the active time of the discontinuous transmissionapplicationinclude the active time of the dis-continuous transmission and / or the active time of the dis-continuous receive, and the inactive time of the discontinuous transmissionapplicationinclude the inactive time of the dis-continuous transmission and / or the inactive time of the dis-continuous receive.

[0016] For example, the active time of the dis-continuous transmissionapplicationinclude the time during which the second communication deviceapplicationtransmit a signal to the first communication device. For another example, the inactive time of the dis-continuous transmissionapplicationinclude the time during which the second communication deviceapplicationnot transmit a signal to the first communication device. For another example, the active time of the dis-continuous receiveapplicationinclude the time during which the second communication deviceapplicationreceive a signal from the first communication device. For another example, the inactive time of the dis-continuous receiveapplicationinclude the time during which the second communication deviceapplicationnot receive a signal from the first communication device. As can be seen from the above embodiments, the first configuration informationapplicationconfigure the dis-continuous transmission and / or the dis-continuous receive, and thenapplicationconfigure the uplink transmission and the downlink transmission between the first communication device and the non-terrestrial communication device respectively, so as to refine the granularity of the configuration, to make the configuration information more matched with the actual service demand, and to improve the communication efficiency.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the first configuration informationapplicationfurther include at least one of an index of the first synchronization signal, information of a period of the first synchronization signal, or an offset value of the first synchronization signal in a synchronization signal transmission period. The first communication deviceapplicationdetermine the synchronization signal associated with the first configuration information according to the information. Since the second communication deviceapplicationset the configuration information at the granularity of the synchronization signal, for example, the second communication deviceapplicationassociate more reasonable configuration information to the synchronization signal according to the coverage area of the synchronization signal, or according to the applicable range of the synchronization signal, so as to plan the beam hopping transmission mode of each beam in the corresponding geographical area, to improve the communication performance of the system, and to improve the communication quality of the system.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the first configuration information further includes: an identity of the first cell and / or resource configuration information of the first cell. The first cell can include / be a serving cell of the first communication device. In this way, the second communication device can set the configuration information at the granularity of the serving cell, for example, can associate more reasonable configuration information to the serving cell according to the coverage area of the serving cell, so as to improve the communication performance of the system and improve the communication quality of the system.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the first configuration information further includes: configuration information used for indicating the secondary cell. In this way, the second communication device can set the configuration information at the granularity of the secondary cell, for example, can associate more reasonable configuration information to the secondary cell according to the coverage area of the secondary cell, so as to improve the communication performance of the system and improve the communication quality of the system.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the first configuration information further includes information used for indicating the first channel type, and the first channel type includes at least one of: a downlink common channel; a downlink dedicated channel; an uplink common channel; or an uplink dedicated channel. In this way, the second communication device can set the configuration information at the granularity of the channel type. For example, for the first communication device, the common channel and the dedicated channel can use beams of different widths (for example, the common channel uses a wide beam and the data channel uses a narrow beam), and then the second communication device can associate more reasonable configuration information to one channel type according to the width of the beam associated with the channel type, so as to improve the matching degree of the configuration information and the actual service transmission demand, and then improve the efficiency and quality of the communication.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the activation time is associated with at least one of the first area, the first beam or the first transmission parameter. For example, the first configuration information further includes: information used for indicating the first area. The first communication device is located in the first area, the first time period is the activation time of the discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first area, and the second time period is the non-activation time of the discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first area. For example, the second communication device can configure more reasonable configuration information to different areas according to the transmission demand of the area, for example, configure more reasonable activation time of the discontinuous transmission, for example, the area with large transmission demand can be configured with longer activation time of the discontinuous transmission, and the area with small transmission demand can be configured with shorter activation time of the discontinuous transmission, so as to improve the communication performance of the system and improve the communication quality of the system, and better balance the transmission demand of the user and the coverage performance of the network.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the first configuration information further includes information indicating a first beam, the first beam being a beam serving the terminal device in an active time of the discontinuous transmission by the non-terrestrial communication device. Since the second communication device can set the configuration information at the granularity of a beam, the second communication device can make the configuration information more suitable for the traffic demand associated with the beam, and thus improve the communication performance. For example, the second communication device can configure more reasonable configuration information according to the width of the beam (for example, a public channel uses a wide beam and a data channel uses a narrow beam), so as to improve the matching between the configuration information and the actual traffic transmission demand, and thus improve the efficiency and quality of the communication.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the first configuration information further includes a first transmission parameter. The first transmission parameter includes at least one of the following: a transmission bandwidth, a modulation order, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a power parameter, a number of retransmissions, a convergence level of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and a number of symbols of a control resource set (CORESET). In this implementation, the second communication device can associate a proper value or range of the first transmission parameter with the active time and / or the inactive time, so that the network device can jointly allocate transmission resources of an air interface and transmission resources of a beam hopping, and associate more reasonable configuration information with the first transmission parameter, thereby improving the communication performance and the communication quality of the system.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the first configuration information can be carried in a radio resource control (RRC) message. In this scheme, the network device can configure the first configuration information through a semi-static RRC message, thereby reducing the signaling overhead and saving resources.

[0025] In another possible implementation, the first configuration information is carried in system information (e.g., system information block (SIB), e.g., SIB1, SIB19). Since the system information (e.g., SIB1) can be received before the first communication device accesses the cell, the first communication device can receive and / or transmit signals in the active time of the discontinuous transmission based on the active time of the discontinuous transmission indicated by the first configuration information after obtaining the first configuration information, and cannot transmit signals in the inactive time, thereby reducing the power consumption of the first communication device and reducing the access delay of the network. Moreover, the first communication device obtains the first configuration information before accessing the cell, and the scheme does not affect the subsequent operation of the first communication device accessing the cell, and does not additionally prolong the access delay of the first communication device. Moreover, since the first communication device receives and / or transmits signals in the active time of the discontinuous transmission and cannot transmit signals in the inactive time, the scheme can also help the first communication device reduce power consumption during the process of accessing the cell.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the first communication device receives information for activating the discontinuous transmission, or receives information for deactivating the discontinuous transmission. In another possible implementation, the first communication device receives information for activating the discontinuous reception, or receives information for deactivating the discontinuous reception. In this way, the second communication device can flexibly control the state (e.g., activation or deactivation) of the discontinuous transmission and / or the discontinuous reception through signaling, thereby providing more flexible control for communication, so as to better improve the communication efficiency.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the information for activating the discontinuous transmission can be carried in: an information block of downlink control information (DCI), SIB, or RRC signaling. For example, the information for deactivating the discontinuous transmission can be carried in: an information block of DCI, SIB, or RRC signaling. For example, the information for activating the discontinuous reception can be carried in: an information block of DCI, SIB, or RRC signaling. For example, the information for deactivating the discontinuous reception can be carried in: an information block of DCI, SIB, or RRC signaling. In this way, better compatibility with existing technologies can be achieved.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous transmission and / or the information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous reception can be carried in a DCI, and a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) corresponding to the DCI can be associated with beam hopping (BH) and / or NTN. For example, the RNTI of the DCI is associated with uplink transmission and / or downlink transmission of the NTN. In this way, in the NTN communication system, in the case that the non-terrestrial communication device (for example, a satellite) performs data transmission based on beam hopping, the first communication device side can determine whether the received DCI is the DCI that needs to be detected by the first communication device side by detecting the RNTI of the received DCI. For example, the first communication device side can not detect the DCI corresponding to the RNTI that is not associated with BH and / or NTN, so that the number of blind detections of the first communication device side can be reduced, and the power consumption of the first communication device side can be reduced. The RNTI associated with BH and / or NTN can be a preconfigured RNTI, an RNTI satisfying a preset rule, or an RNTI indicated by the second communication device to the first communication device.

[0029] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a second communication device. The second communication device can include a network device or a chip system inside the network device. The second communication device can also include / be a terminal device or a chip (or a chip system, or a circuit) inside the terminal device. For example, the network device can include a network device (for example, a satellite) deployed on the ground or in the air.

[0030] In the present application, the transmission signal between the first communication device and the second communication device. The second communication device and the non-terrestrial communication device can be the same device or different devices. When the second communication device and the non-terrestrial communication device are two different devices, the non-terrestrial communication device can be understood as a relay device between the first communication device and the second communication device, for example, the second communication device is a ground station, and the non-terrestrial communication device is a satellite. The related description of the non-terrestrial communication device in the present application can be referred to the related description of the first aspect described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0031] In the present application, the second communication device determines the first configuration information. The first configuration information is used to indicate the activation time and / or the inactivation time of the discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first communication device, and the activation time is associated with at least one of the first synchronization signal, the first channel type, or the first cell. The second communication device transmits the first configuration information, and the first configuration information is used for the first communication device to communicate with the non-terrestrial network device according to the first configuration information.

[0032] Since the first configuration information can indicate the active time and / or the inactive time of the discontinuous transmission, the first communication apparatus can communicate with the non-terrestrial communication apparatus in the active time, and cannot communicate with the non-terrestrial communication apparatus in the inactive time, thereby reducing the power consumption of the first communication apparatus.

[0033] In another aspect, the active time of the discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first communication apparatus is associated with at least one of the first synchronization signal, the first channel type or the first cell. Therefore, the second communication apparatus can set the first configuration information based on the granularity of at least one of the first synchronization signal, the first channel type or the first cell, thereby making the first configuration information more matched with the actual business demand in the applicable scenario of the first configuration information, and improving the communication efficiency.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the second communication apparatus sends information for activating the discontinuous transmission, or receives information for deactivating the discontinuous transmission. In a possible implementation, the second communication apparatus sends information for activating the discontinuous reception, or receives information for deactivating the discontinuous reception. For related content and beneficial effects, refer to the description of the possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0035] For related content of the discontinuous transmission, the first configuration information, the information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous transmission, or the information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous reception, refer to the description of the possible implementation of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0036] In a possible implementation, the second communication apparatus determines second configuration information. The second configuration information is used to indicate the active time and / or the inactive time of the discontinuous transmission corresponding to a third communication apparatus, and the active time of the discontinuous transmission corresponding to the third communication apparatus is associated with at least one of a second synchronization signal, a second channel type or a second cell. The second communication apparatus sends the second configuration information. The second configuration information is used for the third communication apparatus to communicate with the non-terrestrial communication apparatus according to the second configuration information. The third communication apparatus can include / be a terminal device or a chip (or chip system, or circuit) inside the terminal device. The third communication apparatus can also include / be a network device or a chip (or chip system, or circuit) inside the network device. In this application, the transmission signal between the third communication apparatus and the second communication apparatus. The second communication apparatus and the non-terrestrial communication apparatus can be the same device, or different devices. When the second communication apparatus and the non-terrestrial communication apparatus are two different devices, the non-terrestrial communication apparatus can be understood as a relay device between the third communication apparatus and the second communication apparatus, for example, the second communication apparatus is a ground station, and the non-terrestrial communication apparatus is a satellite.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the active time of the discontinuous transmission corresponding to the third communication device belongs to the inactive time of the discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first communication device.

[0038] In a possible implementation, at least one of the following is satisfied: the first synchronization signal is different from the second synchronization signal; the first channel type is different from the second channel type; the first cell is different from the second cell; the first region associated with the first configuration information is different from the second region associated with the second configuration information, the first communication device is located in the first region, and the third communication device is located in the second region; the first beam associated with the first configuration information is different from the second beam associated with the second configuration information; or the first transmission parameter associated with the first configuration information is different from the second transmission parameter associated with the second configuration information. In this implementation, the second communication device can configure the configuration information based on the granularity of at least one of the synchronization signal, the channel type, the cell, the region, the beam, or the transmission parameter, so that the configuration information is more reasonable, thereby improving the communication performance of the system and improving the communication quality of the system. The related beneficial effects can be found in the description of the possible implementations of the first aspect, and will not be described here.

[0039] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, which can be the first communication device or the second communication device. The communication device can include a communication unit and a processing unit to perform any of the first aspect to the second aspect, or perform any of the possible implementations of the first aspect to the second aspect. The communication unit is configured to perform functions related to sending and receiving. The communication unit can be referred to as a transceiver unit. Optionally, the communication unit includes a receiving unit and a sending unit. In one design, the communication device is a communication chip, and the processing unit can be one or more processors or processor cores, and the communication unit can be an input / output circuit, an input / output interface, or an antenna port of the communication chip.

[0040] In another design, the communication unit can be a transmitter and a receiver, or the communication unit can be a transmitter and a receiver.

[0041] Optionally, the communication device further includes various modules that can be used to perform any of the first aspect to the second aspect, or perform any of the possible implementations of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0042] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which can be the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus. The communication apparatus can include a processor. Optionally, the communication apparatus can further include a memory. The communication apparatus can perform any one of the first aspect to the second aspect, or perform any possible implementation of the first aspect to the second aspect. Optionally, the communication apparatus can further include a transceiver, the memory is configured to store a computer program or instructions, and the processor is configured to invoke and execute the computer program or instructions in the memory, so that the communication apparatus performs any one of the first aspect to the second aspect, or performs any possible implementation of the first aspect to the second aspect, when the processor executes the computer program or instructions in the memory.

[0043] Optionally, the processor is one or more, and the memory is one or more.

[0044] Optionally, the memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory can be disposed separately from the processor.

[0045] Optionally, the transceiver can include a transmitter (transmitter) and a receiver (receiver).

[0046] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which can be the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus. The communication apparatus can include a processor to perform any one of the first aspect to the second aspect, or perform any possible implementation of the first aspect to the second aspect. The processor is coupled with a memory. Optionally, the communication apparatus can further include the memory. Optionally, the communication apparatus can further include a communication interface, and the processor is coupled with the communication interface.

[0047] In an implementation, when the communication apparatus is the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus, the communication interface can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0048] In yet another implementation, when the communication apparatus is a chip or a chip system, the communication interface can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or related circuit on the chip or the chip system. The processor can also be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit.

[0049] In a sixth aspect, a system is provided, which includes the first communication apparatus.

[0050] In a possible implementation, the system can further include the second communication apparatus.

[0051] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes a computer program (which can also be referred to as code or instructions), which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the first aspect to the second aspect, or any possible implementation of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0052] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program (which can also be referred to as code or instructions), which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the first aspect to the second aspect, or any possible implementation of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0053] In a ninth aspect, a processing apparatus is provided, which includes an interface circuit and a processing circuit. The interface circuit can include an input circuit and an output circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that any one of the first aspect to the second aspect, or any possible implementation of the first aspect to the second aspect is implemented.

[0054] In the implementation process, the processing apparatus can be a chip, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the processing circuit can be a transistor, a gate circuit, a flip-flop, and various logic circuits, etc. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example but not limited to, a receiver, the signal output by the output circuit can be output to and transmitted by, for example but not limited to, a transmitter, and the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit, which is used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. The specific implementation of the processor and various circuits is not limited in the present application.

[0055] In an implementation manner, when the communication apparatus is the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus. The interface circuit can be a radio frequency processing chip in the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus, and the processing circuit can be a baseband processing chip in the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus.

[0056] In another implementation manner, the communication apparatus can be part of a device in the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus, such as a system chip or a communication chip, etc. The interface circuit can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or a related circuit on the chip or the chip system. The processing circuit can be a logic circuit on the chip. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0057] FIG. 1A is an example of a DRX mechanism provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG. 1B is an example of a DTX mechanism provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0060] FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of another communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0061] FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of still another communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0062] FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a coverage of a satellite according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of a satellite hopping beam covering each region according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG. 3C is a schematic diagram of an active time and an inactive time of a terminal device side of each region according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of still another communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0066] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a possible communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a possible structure of a DCI according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of another structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0070] The following describes terms and names related to embodiments of the present application.

[0071] (1) Resource.

[0072] The resource in embodiments of the present application can include at least one of a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, a code domain resource, or a space domain resource, for example.

[0073] (1.1) Time domain resource.

[0074] The time domain resource can include at least one of a radio frame, a subframe, a slot, a mini slot, or a symbol (e.g., an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, a discrete fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) symbol, or an orthogonal time frequency and space (OTFS) symbol).

[0075] (1.2) Frequency domain resource.

[0076] In the frequency domain, the frequency domain resource can include one or more frequency domain units. A frequency domain unit can be one resource block (RB), one physical resource block (PRB), one subcarrier, one resource block group (RBG), one predefined subband, one precoding resource block group (PRG), one resource pool, one bandwidth part (BWP), one resource element (RE) (also referred to as a resource unit or resource particle), one carrier, or one serving cell. The PRB and the RB can be replaced with each other.

[0077] (1.3) Spatial domain resource.

[0078] The spatial domain resource can include, for example, a spatial beam resource and / or a polarization mode corresponding to a signal. The polarization mode can include left-handed polarization (or left-handed circular polarization) and right-handed polarization (or right-handed circular polarization). For example, the right-handed polarization refers to a polarization mode in which an electric field vector in an electromagnetic wave rotates clockwise along a propagation direction. The left-handed polarization refers to a polarization mode in which an electric field vector in an electromagnetic wave rotates counterclockwise along a propagation direction.

[0079] (2) Area.

[0080] Region: Unless otherwise specified, "region" in the following embodiments of the present application refers to a geographical region. The region is fixed relative to the earth, or it is understood that the region refers to a geographical region fixed relative to the earth. For example, the region can have at least one of the following properties: shape, contour, size, radius, area, geographical position, etc. Alternatively, the region can be replaced by a "cell".

[0081] The "region" can also have a height property, i.e., the region can be understood as a geographical region at a given height or a range of heights. By default, the region can refer to a geographical region with an altitude of 0 km or an altitude around 0 km (e.g., within a range of [-2, 2] km) above sea level, or a geographical region with an average altitude. In addition, it can also refer to a geographical region with a specific height or a specific range of heights, e.g., a geographical region with an altitude of 10 km, or a geographical region with an altitude around 10 km (e.g., within a range of [7, 13] km).

[0082] In one possible implementation, the above-mentioned region fixed relative to the earth can also be referred to as a "cell", "geographical region", etc. Of course, there can be other names, and the present application does not specifically limit the name of the region fixed relative to the earth.

[0083] The shapes, contours, sizes, radii, and areas of different regions can or can not be the same. Different regions have different geographical positions. There can or can not be overlap between different regions.

[0084] In one possible implementation, the region is fixed relative to the earth, which can be understood as: the contour, size, or geographical position of the region does not change over time, e.g., the contour, size, or geographical position of the region does not change over time. Alternatively, the region is fixed relative to the earth, which can be understood as: the contour of the region and the points in the region can be described by a fixed coordinate system of the earth, or the coordinates of each point on the contour of the region in the fixed coordinate system of the earth are fixed and do not change.

[0085] In one possible implementation, the shape of the region can be a regular hexagon, or other shapes such as a regular pentagon, a circle, an ellipse, etc. Alternatively, the shape of the region can also be irregular, without limitation.

[0086] For example, the shape of the region can be defined by a protocol, or can be defined by a network device. The shapes of the regions defined by different network devices can be the same or different. The same network device can also define multiple region shapes. Similarly, the size, radius, and area of the region can be defined by a protocol, or can be defined by a network device. The sizes, radii, and areas of the regions defined by different network devices can be the same or different. The same network device can also define multiple region sizes, multiple region radii, or multiple region areas.

[0087] In a possible implementation, the earth surface can be divided into multiple regions, and the multiple regions can be indexed (e.g., numbered). The terminal device and the network device can agree on a numbering manner of the regions (e.g., whether to start numbering from 1 or from 0) and a correspondence between the regions and the indexes. Alternatively, a protocol can define the numbering manner of the regions and the correspondence between the regions and the indexes. Based on the index of a region, information such as a geographical position of the region can be determined.

[0088] Optionally, the multiple divided regions can completely cover the earth surface, for example, any position on the earth surface belongs to a region; or the multiple divided regions can cover part of the geographical positions on the earth, for example, the multiple regions can not cover the South Pole and / or the North Pole of the earth, that is, the South Pole and / or the North Pole can not exist in the regions.

[0089] Optionally, the manner of dividing the multiple regions can be defined by a protocol or can be defined by the network device. The dividing manners defined by different network devices can be the same or different. The same network device can also define multiple dividing manners.

[0090] As a first possible dividing manner, a granularity of latitude and longitude grid can be used to divide the earth surface, for example, the earth surface can be divided by a latitude and longitude grid with a granularity of 1 degree. If only this discrete manner is used, the global can be divided into 360 x 360 = 129600 regions, and the terminal device and the network device can agree that the indexes of the 129600 regions are 0, 1, …, 129599, or can be agreed to be 1, 2, …, 129600.

[0091] Optionally, when the height attribute of the geographical region is introduced, multiple grids dividing the earth surface can be defined, for example, the grid at an altitude of 0 km or in a range of [-2, 2] km can divide the earth surface by a latitude and longitude grid with a granularity of 1 degree, to generate 129600 regions. The grid at an altitude of 10 km or in a range of [7, 13] km can also divide the earth surface by a latitude and longitude grid with a granularity of 1 degree, to generate another 129600 regions. When indexing these regions, the index range needs to be extended, for example, the total index is 0, 1, …, 129599, 129600, 129601, …, 259199, where the first 129600 serial numbers represent the indexes of the regions at an altitude of 0 km or in a range of [-2, 2] km, and the last 129600 serial numbers represent the indexes of the regions at an altitude of 10 km or in a range of [7, 13] km.

[0092] For example, the granularity of the latitude-longitude grid can be determined according to the type of network device. For example, in the case of a network device being a LEO satellite (e.g., a satellite in low earth orbit), a relatively small granularity can be used for discretization; in the case of a network device being a GEO satellite (e.g., a satellite in geosynchronous earth orbit), a relatively large granularity can be used for discretization.

[0093] As a second possible way of division, the earth surface can be divided using latitude-longitude grids of different granularities, e.g., a latitude-longitude grid of granularity 1 degree in one part of the earth surface or in one part of an administrative region, and a latitude-longitude grid of granularity 2 degrees in another part of the earth surface or in another part of an administrative region.

[0094] Alternatively, after introducing the height attribute of a geographical region, the earth surface can be divided using latitude-longitude grids of different granularities, e.g., a latitude-longitude grid of granularity 1 degree at an altitude of 0 km, and a latitude-longitude grid of granularity 2 degrees at an altitude of 10 km.

[0095] As a third possible way of division, the earth surface can be divided according to administrative regions. For example, one township-level administrative region can be taken as one region.

[0096] As a fourth possible way of division, for a satellite (e.g., a GEO satellite), the projection of a beam of the satellite (e.g., a GEO satellite) on the earth surface can be taken as one region. One region can also be referred to as one beam footprint, or as a satellite beam footprint. Since a GEO satellite is stationary relative to the earth, the projection of a beam of a GEO satellite on the earth surface can be considered to be fixed relative to the earth.

[0097] In actual applications, a plurality of ways of division can be combined to divide the earth surface, e.g., a latitude-longitude grid of granularity 1 degree in one part of the earth surface or in one part of an administrative region, and division according to administrative regions in another part of the earth surface or in another part of an administrative region.

[0098] In one possible implementation, in the case of dividing the earth surface into a plurality of regions, different levels of region division can be performed for the same earth surface range. For example, for a certain earth surface range, a latitude-longitude grid of granularity 10 degrees can be used for first-level region division, a latitude-longitude grid of granularity 6 degrees can be used for second-level region division, and a latitude-longitude grid of granularity 1 degree can be used for third-level region division. In this case, the number of regions of the first level is greater than the number of regions of the second level, and the number of regions of the second level is greater than the number of regions of the third level. Furthermore, in this scenario, the regions of each level can be numbered separately.

[0099] (3) DRX mechanism.

[0100] The DRX mechanism in the embodiments of the present application can be a DRX mechanism of the second communication device or a DRX mechanism of the terminal device. In the DRX mechanism of the second communication device, the second communication device can receive signals (for example, signals from the terminal device) in the active time and cannot receive signals in the inactive time. In the DRX mechanism of the terminal device, the terminal device can receive signals (for example, signals from the second communication device or other terminal devices) in the active time and cannot receive signals in the inactive time.

[0101] FIG. 1A exemplarily shows an example of the DRX mechanism. The DRX mechanism involves the following parameters: DRX cycle start offset (which can be denoted as drx-CycleStartOffset), DRX slot offset (which can be denoted as drx-SlotOffset), and DRX active duration (which can be denoted as drx-onDurationTimer).

[0102] The DRX cycle start offset is used to configure the time window of the periodic DRX, including the length P1 (also referred to as DRX period) of each time window and the start subframe offset S sf1 , both of which can be in units of subframes. The DRX slot offset is used to configure the start slot offset value S 时隙1 in the start subframe, which can be counted in units of slots. The DRX active duration is used to configure the duration T1 of the active time (which can be referred to as on duration) starting from the start time, which can be in units of milliseconds (ms). FIG. 1A exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a DRX cycle. As shown in FIG. 1A, in the (S sf1 +n*P1)th subframe, the position offset by S 时隙1 is the start time of the active time configured by the DRX mechanism, and the active time lasts for T1. The active time in the embodiments of the present application can also be referred to as the on duration.

[0103] For example, the DRX mechanism of the second communication device is introduced. The second communication device enters the active time of the DRX mechanism at the start time of the start slot of each time window, and ends until the active time ends. In the active time of the DRX mechanism of the second communication device, the terminal device can send a signal to the second communication device, and the second communication device can receive a signal from a terminal device in a region. The active time ends, and the second communication device enters the inactive time of the DRX mechanism. In the inactive time of the DRX mechanism, the terminal device cannot send a signal to the second communication device, and the second communication device cannot receive a signal from the terminal device in the region.

[0104] The active time of the DRX mechanism can also be referred to as an active period, an active time, and the like. The inactive time of the DRX mechanism can also be referred to as an inactive time, an inactive period, or an idle period, and the like.

[0105] (4) DTX mechanism.

[0106] The DTX mechanism in the embodiments of the present application can be a DTX mechanism of the second communication device or a DTX mechanism of the terminal device. In the DTX mechanism of the second communication device, the second communication device can send a signal (for example, can send a signal to the terminal device) in the active time, and cannot send a signal in the inactive time. In the DTX mechanism of the terminal device, the terminal device can send a signal (for example, can send a signal to the second communication device or other terminal devices) in the active time, and cannot send a signal in the inactive time.

[0107] FIG. 1B exemplarily shows an example of the DTX mechanism. For example, the DTX mechanism can also include a DTX cycle start offset (which can be represented as dtx-CycleStartOffset), a DTX slot offset (which can be represented as dtx-SlotOffset), and a DTX active duration (which can be represented as dtx-onDurationTimer).

[0108] The DTX cycle start offset is used to configure the time window of the long DTX cycle, including the length P2 (also referred to as the DTX period) of each time window and the start subframe offset S sf2 , both of which can be in units of subframes. The DTX slot offset is used to configure the start slot offset value S 时隙2, which can be counted in units of slots. The DTX activation duration is used to configure the duration T2 of the activation time (the activation time can be referred to as the on duration) starting from the starting time. An exemplary diagram of a DTX cycle is shown in FIG. IB, as shown in FIG. IB, in the (S sf2 + n*P2) subframe, the position offset from the subframe by S 时隙2 is the starting time of the activation time configured with the DTX mechanism, and the activation time lasts for T2.

[0109] Taking the DTX mechanism of the second communication device as an example, the second communication device enters the activation time of the DTX mechanism at the starting time of the starting slot of each time window starting subframe and lasts until the end of the activation time. In the activation time of the DTX mechanism of the second communication device, the second communication device can send signals to terminal devices in a region, and the terminal devices can receive signals from the second communication device at the corresponding time. After the activation time ends, the second communication device enters the inactive time of the DTX mechanism, and in the inactive time of the DTX mechanism, the second communication device cannot send signals to the terminal devices in the region.

[0110] The activation time of the DTX mechanism can also be referred to as the activation period, the activation time, etc. The inactive time of the DTX mechanism can also be referred to as the inactive time, the inactive period, the idle period, etc.

[0111] (5) RNTI.

[0112] The RNTI is used to distinguish or identify the connected terminal devices in the cell, a specific wireless channel, a group of terminal devices in a paging case, a group of terminal devices receiving power control parameters, and system information sent by the second communication device for all terminal devices. The RNTI can be a 16-bit identifier, and its value depends on the type of RNTI. The RNTI used for paging is denoted as P-RNTI. In addition, there are cell radio network temporary identifiers (C-RNTI) for data scheduling, modulation and coding scheme cell radio network temporary identifiers (MCS-C-RNTI), configured scheduling radio network temporary identifiers (CS-RNTI), etc.

[0113] (6) SSB.

[0114] For example, the SSB can include a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). Among them, the PSS can be used to transmit a cell number, and the SSS can be used to transmit a cell group number. The cell number and the cell group number jointly determine a plurality of physical cell identities (PCIs) in the mobile communication system. Once the terminal device successfully searches for the PSS and the SSS, it knows the physical cell identity of the carrier carrying the PSS and the SSS, and thus has the ability to analyze the system message contained in the SSB.

[0115] The system information in the SSB can be carried by the PBCH. Since this information is necessary for the terminal device to access the network, it can be referred to as a main information block (MIB). The MIB can include a system frame number and an initial access subcarrier spacing.

[0116] The information contained in the MIB is limited and is not enough to support the terminal device to access the cell. Therefore, the terminal device can also obtain other system information, such as system information block (SIB) 1. SIB1 can be transmitted on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) with a period of 160 ms. The terminal device can obtain the parameters used for SIB1 transmission in the MIB carried by the PBCH, so as to receive SIB1. In this way, the terminal device can obtain the system information required to access the cell, and can subsequently access the cell.

[0117] Figure 2A illustrates an exemplary architecture of a communication system 1000 to which embodiments of the present application can be applied. As shown in Figure 2A, the communication system includes a radio access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 can further include an Internet 300. The radio access network 100 can include at least one radio access network device (e.g., 110a and 110b in Figure 2A) and at least one terminal device (e.g., 120a-120j in Figure 2A). The terminal devices are connected to the radio access network devices by wireless means, and the radio access network devices are connected to the core network by wireless or wired means. The core network devices and the radio access network devices can be independent and different physical devices, or can be integrated into the same physical device with the functions of the core network devices and the logical functions of the radio access network devices, or can be a physical device integrated with part of the functions of the core network devices and part of the functions of the radio access network devices. The terminal devices and the terminal devices, and the radio access network devices and the radio access network devices can be connected to each other by wired or wireless means. Figure 2A is only a schematic diagram, and the communication system can further include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 2A.

[0118] The network device involved in the embodiments of the present application, for example, includes a radio access network (RAN) device. The radio access network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB for short), a transmission reception point (TRP), a transmission point (TP), a base station in a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, an access node in a WiFi system, and the like; it can also be a module or unit that completes part of the functions of a base station, for example, it can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). The CU here completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete part of the physical layer or the entire physical layer; the specific description of the above-mentioned protocol layers can refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). The CU and the DU can be separately arranged or can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna processing unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). In different systems, the CU, the DU, or the RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (ORAN) system, the CU can also be referred to as an open-CU (O-CU), the DU can also be referred to as an open-DU (O-DU), and the RU can also be referred to as an open-RU (O-RU).Any of the CUs (or CU control plane (CU-CP), CU user plane (CU-UP), DUs and RUs in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. The CU-CP can also be referred to as an open-CU-CP (O-CU-CP), and the CU-UP can also be referred to as an open-CU-UP (O-CU-UP).

[0119] The radio access network device can be a macro base station (such as 110a in FIG. 2A), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in FIG. 2A), a relay device, a relay node, a donor node, or the like. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the radio access network device. For ease of description, the following describes the base station as an example of the radio access network device.

[0120] The terminal device can also be referred to as a terminal device, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal device, or the like. The terminal device can be widely applied to various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, remote medical treatment, smart power grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, or the like. The terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a dirigible, a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, a smart home device, a sensor, a vehicle-mounted device, an on board unit (OBU), a road side unit (RSU), a relay node with mobile capability, or the like. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal device.

[0121] The terminal device can establish a connection with the operator network through an interface (such as N1 and the like) provided by the operator network, and use data and / or voice services provided by the operator network. The terminal device can also access a domain name system (DNS) through the operator network, use operator services deployed on the DNS, and / or services provided by a third party. The third party can be a service provider other than the operator network and the terminal device, and can provide the terminal device with data and / or voice services. The specific form of the third party can be determined according to actual application scenarios, which is not limited herein.

[0122] The base station and the terminal device can be fixed in position or mobile. The base station and the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface; and can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and artificial satellites in the air. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the base station and the terminal device.

[0123] The roles of the base station and the terminal device can be relative, for example, the helicopter or the unmanned aerial vehicle 120i in FIG. 2A can be configured as a mobile base station, and for terminal devices 120j that access the wireless access network 100 through 120i, the terminal device 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, 120i is a terminal device, that is, 110a and 120i communicate through a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i can also communicate through a base station-to-base station interface protocol, in which case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a base station. Therefore, the base station and the terminal device can be collectively referred to as communication apparatuses, 110a and 110b in FIG. 2A can be referred to as communication apparatuses with base station functions, and 120a-120j in FIG. 2A can be referred to as communication apparatuses with terminal device functions.

[0124] The base station and the terminal device, the base station and the base station, and the terminal device and the terminal device can communicate through a licensed frequency spectrum, an unlicensed frequency spectrum, or both. They can communicate through a frequency spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), a frequency spectrum above 6 GHz, or both. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the frequency spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0125] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station can also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station, or by a control subsystem containing the functions of the base station. The control subsystem containing the functions of the base station herein can be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal device can also be performed by a module (such as a chip or modem) in the terminal device, or by a device containing the functions of the terminal device.

[0126] In the present application, the base station transmits a downlink signal or downlink information to the terminal device, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel; the terminal device transmits an uplink signal or uplink information to the base station, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. In order to communicate with the base station, the terminal device needs to establish a wireless connection with a cell controlled by the base station. The cell with which the terminal device establishes a wireless connection is called the service cell of the terminal device. When the terminal device communicates with the service cell, it will also be interfered by signals from neighboring cells.

[0127] The core network involved in the embodiments of the present application can include network devices for processing and forwarding signaling and data of users. For example, it can include core network devices such as access and mobility management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), user plane gateway, and positioning management device. The user plane gateway can be a server with functions of mobility management, routing, forwarding, etc. for user plane data, and is generally located at the network side, such as a serving gateway (SGW), a packet data network gateway (PGW), a user plane function (UPF), etc. The AMF and the SMF are equivalent to the mobility management entity (MME) in the long term evolution (LTE) system. The AMF is mainly responsible for admission, and the SMF is mainly responsible for session management. Of course, other network elements can also be included in the core network, which are not listed one by one here.

[0128] FIGS. 2B and 2C exemplarily show network architecture diagrams of several communication systems to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. The communication system can include satellites, network devices, and terminal devices, etc. The communication system can also include gateways and core network devices. FIGS. 2B and 2C exemplarily show the network architecture of a fusion network of NTN and ground network. The following will be introduced in conjunction with the drawings.

[0129] The satellite can be a highly elliptical orbiting (HEO) satellite, a geosynchronous orbit (GSO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, and a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the working mode of the satellite. For example, the working mode of the satellite can be a transparent mode or a regenerative mode. FIG. 2B schematically illustrates an example in which the working mode of the satellite is a transparent mode, and FIG. 2C schematically illustrates an example in which the working mode of the satellite is a regenerative mode.

[0130] When the satellite works in the transparent mode, the satellite has the function of transparent forwarding of relaying. In this mode, the satellite can also be referred to as a transparent satellite. The gateway has the function of a network device (such as a base station) or part of the function of a network device (such as a base station), and in this case, the gateway can be regarded as a network device (such as a base station). Alternatively, the network device (such as a base station) can be deployed separately from the gateway, and in this case, the time delay of the feeder link includes the time delay of the satellite to the gateway and the time delay of the gateway to the gNB. The transparent mode discussed later is an example in which the gateway and the gNB are together or close to each other. For the case in which the gateway is far away from the gNB, the time delay of the feeder link is the sum of the time delay of the satellite to the gateway and the time delay of the gateway to the gNB.

[0131] When the satellite works in the regenerative mode, the satellite has data processing capability, has the function of a network device (such as a base station) or part of the function of a network device (such as a base station), and in this case, the satellite can be regarded as a network device (such as a base station). In this mode, the satellite can also be referred to as a regenerative satellite.

[0132] The satellite can perform wireless communication with the terminal device by broadcasting communication signals and navigation signals, etc. Optionally, each satellite can provide communication services, navigation services, and positioning services, etc. for terminal devices by multiple beams. For example, each satellite covers a service area by multiple beams, and the relationship between different beams can be one or more of time division, frequency division, and space division.

[0133] A gateway (or ground station, earth station, gateway station, gateway) can be used to connect a satellite and a ground network device (such as a ground base station). One or more satellites can be connected to one or more ground network devices (such as ground base stations) through one or more gateways, which is not limited herein. A link between a satellite and a terminal device is referred to as a service link, and a link between a satellite and a gateway is referred to as a feeder link. A network device can be deployed separately from a gateway, and the latency of a feeder link can include the latency of a satellite to a gateway and a gateway to a network device.

[0134] The network device in the embodiments of the present application can include a network device (such as a satellite base station) deployed on a satellite, can include a network device deployed on a gateway, and can include a network device (such as a ground base station) deployed on the ground. For example, the network device can be a radio access network (RAN) node shown in FIG. 2A, a RAN node in an O-RAN system, and the like. For related content, refer to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0135] The core network device (CN) is a device disposed on the ground and capable of communicating with an NTN device in an NTN system. For example, the CN can be the CN involved in FIG. 2A. For related content, refer to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0136] The terminal device can be the terminal device involved in FIG. 2A. For related content, refer to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0137] The embodiments of the present application can also be applicable to other communication system architectures, such as an air to ground (ATG) communication system, which includes at least one network device and at least one high-altitude terminal device. The high-altitude terminal device includes, for example, a high-altitude aircraft and an on-board terminal device, and the like. The satellite in FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C can be replaced by other relay devices, such as a high altitude platform station (HAPS) and other NTN devices. The communication system shown in FIG. 2B or FIG. 2C is an example and does not limit the communication system to which the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is applicable.

[0138] It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application can also be applicable to an air to ground (ATG) communication system. The communication system includes at least one network device and at least one high-altitude terminal device. The network device and the high-altitude terminal device can also forward data through a relay device. The high-altitude terminal device includes, for example, a high-altitude aircraft and an on-board terminal device, and the like.

[0139] To alleviate the contradiction between small satellite payload and wide coverage, the satellite can adopt a beam hopping manner to perform regional coverage, that is, the satellite illuminates different regions by beams in turn, so as to provide services for each region in turn.

[0140] FIG. 3A exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of coverage of a satellite according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3A, a satellite is configured with multiple beams to cover a wide area. There are areas in the area that cannot be served by the satellite, for example, the area represented by the dashed line in FIG. 3A, which cannot be illuminated by the beam of the satellite at any time. There are also areas in the area that can be served by the satellite. The area that can be served by the satellite is large, and the beam of the satellite can only illuminate part of the area in a period of time. As shown in FIG. 3A, the satellite can provide services for the area being illuminated by the beam, but the satellite cannot currently provide services for the area not illuminated by the beam. The satellite can illuminate other areas with the beam in the next period of time to provide services for the other areas.

[0141] FIG. 3B exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the satellite hopping beams to cover each region according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3B, for example, a satellite is configured with 16 beams to cover a wide area, but only 4 beams are used for regional coverage at one time. In time period t11, four beams numbered 0, 1, 4 and 5 are used to cover region A. In time period t12, four beams numbered 2, 3, 6 and 7 are used to cover region B. In time period t13, four beams numbered 8, 9, 12 and 13 are used to cover region C. In time period t14, four beams numbered 10, 11, 14 and 15 are used to cover region D. It can be seen that the satellite serves all the areas covered by a single satellite (i.e., the areas corresponding to the 16 beams) in a time-sharing manner. Time period t11, time period t12, time period t13 and time period t14 can be regarded as the total duration of a period, and for each region, the satellite can periodically illuminate the region with a beam. For a region, the signal transmission between the terminal device in the region and the satellite is discontinuous in time domain, so this transmission manner can also be referred to as discontinuous transmission.

[0142] FIG. 3C illustrates a diagram of the active time and the inactive time of each regional terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 3C(a) illustrates a diagram of the time pattern of the discontinuous transmission of the terminal device in region A. As shown in FIG. 3C(a), region A can be the region illuminated by the wave position 0, the wave position 1, the wave position 4 and the wave position 5 in FIG. 3B. The terminal device in region A is in the active time (for example, the active time is 20 ms) in the time period t11, and the offset value of the start time of the active time is 0. The terminal device in region A can perform signal transmission with the satellite in the active time (for example, the terminal device transmits a signal to the satellite, and / or the satellite transmits a signal to the terminal device). In the active time, for example, in the 20 ms of the active time, the satellite can transmit SSB in the first 5 ms, and the satellite and the terminal device can transmit common signals or data in the remaining 15 ms. After the active time ends, the beam of the satellite is switched to other regions (for example, region B) for illumination. That is, the terminal device in region A is in the inactive time (for example, the inactive time is 60 ms, and the period of one discontinuous transmission is 80 ms) in the time period t12, the time period t13 and the time period t14 in one period except the active time. In the inactive time, since the satellite does not illuminate region A with the beam (for example, the satellite can illuminate other regions with the beam), the satellite cannot (or does not, or cannot) provide services for the terminal device in region A in the inactive time, and the terminal device in region A cannot perform any channel (such as a common channel) transmission with the satellite in the inactive time.

[0143] Similarly, (b) of FIG. 3C exemplarily shows a time pattern of discontinuous transmission corresponding to the terminal device in region B, the terminal device in region B is in the active time in time period t12, is in the inactive time in time other than the active time (for example, time in time period t11, time period t13 and time period t14), the offset value of the start time of the active time is 20 ms, and the frontmost 20 ms is the inactive time. (c) of FIG. 3C exemplarily shows a time pattern of discontinuous transmission corresponding to the terminal device in region C, the terminal device in region C is in the active time in time period t13, is in the inactive time in time other than the active time (for example, time in time period t11, time period t12 and time period t14), and the offset value of the start time of the active time is 40 ms. (d) of FIG. 3C exemplarily shows a time pattern of discontinuous transmission corresponding to the terminal device in region D, the terminal device in region D is in the active time in time period t14, is in the inactive time in time other than the active time (for example, time in time period t11, time period t12 and time period t13), and the offset value of the start time of the active time is 60 ms.

[0144] The scheme of the service provided by the satellite to the terminal device through the beam hopping scheme is different from the existing DRX mechanism and / or DTX mechanism in some aspects. Taking the case that the second communication device can provide services for the terminal device in region A as an example to introduce the difference between the two. In the existing DRX mechanism and / or DTX mechanism, the second communication device has the ability to provide services for the terminal device in region A in the inactive time and the active time, and the beam of the second communication device will not switch from region A to other regions in the inactive time. The second communication device can transmit all channels with the terminal device in the active time, and the second communication device can be in deep sleep in the inactive time, or can transmit a small amount of channels (for example, some public channels) to the terminal device. When the satellite provides services for each region through beam hopping, the satellite has the ability to provide services for the terminal device in region A in the active time corresponding to region A, but in the inactive time corresponding to region A, the beam of the satellite switches to other regions (for example, region B), and the satellite cannot serve the terminal device in region A in the inactive time corresponding to region A, and the satellite will not enter deep sleep in the inactive time corresponding to region A, but continue to provide services to the terminal device in other regions.

[0145] The present application provides a scheme for reducing power consumption of a terminal device in a scenario of discontinuous transmission between a non-ground communication device (e.g., a satellite) and the terminal device (e.g., a scenario in which a satellite provides services for a terminal device through a hopping beam). In a possible implementation of the present application, the second communication device can configure configuration information corresponding to each terminal device for the terminal device respectively. For example, the second communication device can send first configuration information for the first communication device, and the second communication device can send second configuration information for the third communication device. Take the first configuration information as an example to introduce one configuration information. For example, the first configuration information can configure the active time and / or the inactive time of discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first communication device. The first communication device communicates with the non-ground communication device (e.g., a satellite) in the active time, and does not communicate with the non-ground communication device (e.g., a satellite) in the inactive time, so as to reduce the power consumption of the terminal device, and then reduce carbon emissions and environmental radiation.

[0146] In another possible implementation, the active time of discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first communication device is associated with at least one of a first synchronization signal, a first channel type, or a first cell. The active time of discontinuous transmission corresponding to the third communication device is associated with at least one of a second synchronization signal, a second channel type, or a second cell. It can be seen that the second communication device can set the configuration information based on the granularity of at least one of the synchronization signal, the channel type, or the cell, so as to make the configuration information more matched with the actual business demand in the applicable scenario of the configuration information, thereby improving the communication efficiency.

[0147] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a fourth generation (4th generation, 4G) communication system, for example, a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) communication system, and can also be applied to a fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) communication system, for example, a 5G new radio (new radio, NR) communication system, or various communication systems evolved after 5G, for example, a future communication system, and the like. The method provided in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to a bluetooth system, a wireless fidelity (wireless fidelity, Wifi) system, a long range radio (long range radio, LoRa) system or a vehicle-to-everything system. The method provided in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to a terrestrial network (terrestrial network, TN), and can also be applied to a non-terrestrial network (non-terrestrial network, NTN). The NTN can refer to that a second communication device in a communication system is at a high altitude relative to a first communication device, and the first communication device can communicate with the second communication device. A typical application scenario in the NTN scenario is a satellite communication system. For example, the satellite communication system can be applied to a transparent satellite architecture or a regenerative satellite architecture, and the like, without limitation.

[0148] FIG. 4 exemplarily shows an application scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4, the communication system includes a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device and the second communication device can communicate.

[0149] In the embodiments of the present application, the first communication device can communicate with a non-terrestrial communication device. The non-terrestrial communication device may, for example, be a communication device deployed in the air, or a chip (or chip system, or circuit) deployed inside a communication device in the air. The communication device may, for example, be a satellite, a drone, a dirigible, or a high-altitude aircraft, and the like, as described in at least one of the foregoing FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B or FIG. 3C. The communication device may, for example, be a device with a base station function, or a device with a relay function. For example, the communication device may, for example, be a regenerative satellite, or a transparent satellite.

[0150] The second communication device and the non-terrestrial communication device may, for example, be the same device, for example, the second communication device and the non-terrestrial communication device are satellites. The second communication device and the non-terrestrial communication device may, for example, be different devices, in which case the non-terrestrial communication device can be understood as a relay device between the first communication device and the second communication device. For example, the second communication device is a ground station, and the non-terrestrial communication device is a satellite.

[0151] The first communication device can be a terminal device or a second communication device. The second communication device can be a terminal device or a second communication device. For example, the first communication device is a terminal device, and the second communication device is a second communication device. For another example, the first communication device and the second communication device are two terminal devices. For another example, the first communication device and the second communication device are two different second communication devices (for example, the first communication device is an RSU or a control node, and the second communication device is an access network device or a core network device). For another example, the second communication device can be a relay or a forwarding device that forwards signals of other devices.

[0152] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can be a terminal device or a chip (or chip system, or circuit) inside the terminal device. The terminal device can be a terminal, an RSU, or a control node as described in at least one of the foregoing FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, or FIG. 3C. The network device can be a satellite, an access network device deployed on the ground, an RSU, or a control node as described in at least one of the foregoing FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, or FIG. 3C.

[0153] Based on the foregoing embodiments shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 3C, and FIG. 4, and the foregoing other content, FIG. 5 exemplarily shows a possible flowchart of a communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0154] The scheme in FIG. 5 is introduced by taking the interaction of the second communication device, the first communication device, the non-ground communication device, and the third communication device as an example. Alternatively, the communication architecture can not include the third communication device, in which case the scheme related to the third communication device in FIG. 5 can be removed. The third communication device can be a terminal device or a second communication device. The scheme on the side of the third communication device is similar to the scheme on the side of the first communication device. The third communication device and the second communication device can communicate with each other, and the third communication device can communicate with the non-ground communication device. The second communication device and the non-ground communication device can be the same device. The second communication device and the non-ground communication device can also be different devices, in which case the non-ground communication device can be understood as a relay device between the third communication device and the second communication device.

[0155] For the description of the first communication device, the second communication device, the non-ground communication device, the terminal device, and the second communication device, refer to the related introduction of FIG. 4. The second communication device and the non-ground communication device can be the same device or two different devices, which are introduced by taking the second communication device and the non-ground communication device as two devices in FIG. 5.

[0156] As shown in FIG. 5, the scheme includes the following method steps.

[0157] At step 501, the second communication device sends the first configuration information to the first communication device.

[0158] Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the first configuration information.

[0159] In a possible implementation, the second communication device sends the first configuration information to a terminal device in a first region. The first communication device belongs to or is located in the terminal device in the first region. The first region is a region where the first communication device is located, for example, the first region can be a wave position. For details about the region, refer to the foregoing description.

[0160] The first communication device in the embodiment of the application can perform discontinuous transmission with the second communication device. The discontinuous transmission can also be understood as that the time when the first communication device and the second communication device can communicate is discontinuous.

[0161] The "discontinuous transmission" in the embodiment of the application can include / replace "discontinuous sending" and / or "discontinuous receiving". The active time of the discontinuous transmission can include / be: the active time of the discontinuous sending and / or the active time of the discontinuous receiving. The non-active time of the discontinuous transmission can include / be: the non-active time of the discontinuous sending and / or the non-active time of the discontinuous receiving. For example, a cycle of the discontinuous transmission can include an "active time" and a "non-active time". For example, an "active time" can be a time period, which is a continuous period of time. For example, a "non-active time" can be a time period, which is a continuous period of time.

[0162] The discontinuous transmission involved in the embodiment of the application can be discontinuous transmission of the second communication device side or discontinuous transmission of the terminal device side. The discontinuous transmission of the second communication device side is taken as an example for description in the embodiment of the application. The related content and description of the discontinuous transmission of the terminal device side are similar to those of the discontinuous transmission of the second communication device side, and can be referred to each other, for example, the related content of the discontinuous sending of the second communication device side is similar to the related content of the discontinuous receiving of the terminal device side, and for another example, the related content of the discontinuous receiving of the second communication device side is similar to the related content of the discontinuous sending of the terminal device side. The subsequent content in the embodiment of the application is taken as an example for description of the discontinuous sending of the second communication device and / or the discontinuous receiving of the terminal device.

[0163] The active time of the discontinuous transmission of the second communication device includes / is: a time when the second communication device can (or can) send a signal to the first communication device (or a terminal device in the first area), or a time when a beam of the non-ground communication device irradiates the first area, or a time when the non-ground communication device provides service for the first communication device, or a time when the second communication device is allowed to send a signal to the first communication device (or a terminal device in the first area), or a time when the first communication device can (or can) receive a signal from the second communication device, or a time when the first communication device is allowed to receive a signal from the second communication device. In the embodiments of the present application, “can” can be replaced by “may” or “allowed”. In the embodiments of the present application, “cannot” can be replaced by “cannot”, “may not” or “not allowed”.

[0164] The inactive time of the discontinuous transmission of the second communication device includes / is: a time when the second communication device cannot (or cannot) send a signal to the first communication device (or a terminal device in the first area), or a time when a beam of the non-ground communication device does not irradiate the first area, or a time when the non-ground communication device cannot provide service for the first communication device, or a time when the second communication device is not allowed to send a signal to the first communication device (or a terminal device in the first area), or a time when the first communication device cannot (or cannot) receive a signal from the second communication device, or a time when the first communication device is not allowed to receive a signal from the second communication device.

[0165] The active time of the discontinuous reception of the second communication device includes / is: a time when the second communication device can (or can) receive a signal from the first communication device (or a terminal device in the first area), or a time when a beam of the non-ground communication device irradiates the first area, or a time when the non-ground communication device provides service for the first communication device, or a time when the second communication device is allowed to receive a signal from the first communication device (or a terminal device in the first area), or a time when the first communication device can (or can) send a signal to the second communication device, or a time when the first communication device is allowed to send a signal to the second communication device.

[0166] The inactive time of the discontinuous reception of the second communication device includes / is: a time when the second communication device cannot (or cannot) receive a signal from the first communication device (or a terminal device in the first area), or a time when a beam of the non-ground communication device does not irradiate the first area, or a time when the non-ground communication device cannot provide service for the first communication device, or a time when the second communication device is not allowed to receive a signal from the first communication device (or a terminal device in the first area), or a time when the first communication device cannot (or cannot) send a signal to the second communication device, or a time when the first communication device is not allowed to send a signal to the second communication device.

[0167] The first configuration information can be used to configure relevant parameters when the beam is directed to the first area. The information in the first configuration information associated with the discontinuous transmission of the second communication device and / or the information associated with the discontinuous reception of the second communication device. The information in the first configuration information associated with the discontinuous transmission can be referred to as the configuration information corresponding to the discontinuous transmission (e.g. the activation time of the discontinuous transmission). The configuration information in the first configuration information corresponding to the discontinuous reception can be referred to as the configuration information corresponding to the discontinuous reception (e.g. the activation time of the discontinuous reception).

[0168] In a possible implementation, the first configuration information comprises information A1 (information used to indicate the activation time and / or the inactivation time of the discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first communication device). In another possible implementation, the first configuration information can further comprise at least one of information A2 (information used to indicate the first area), information A3 (information used to indicate the first synchronization signal), information A4 (information used to indicate the first cell), information A5 (information used to indicate the secondary cell of the first communication device), information A6 (information used to indicate the first channel type), information A7 (information used to indicate the first transmission parameter), or information A8 (information used to indicate the first beam).

[0169] Information A1: information used to indicate the activation time and / or the inactivation time of the discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first communication device.

[0170] The first communication device can communicate with the non-terrestrial communication device in the activation time indicated by the first configuration information, and cannot communicate with the non-terrestrial communication device in the inactivation time indicated by the first configuration information, so as to reduce the power consumption of the first communication device.

[0171] The first configuration information can indicate one or more time periods. For example, the first configuration information can comprise / inform information used to indicate at least one of the following: the activation time of the discontinuous transmission, the inactivation time of the discontinuous transmission, the activation time of the discontinuous reception, or the inactivation time of the discontinuous reception.

[0172] In a possible implementation, the first configuration information comprises / informs information used to indicate at least one of the following: the period of the discontinuous transmission, the activation time of the discontinuous transmission, the inactivation time of the discontinuous transmission, or at least one of the time offset value of the discontinuous transmission period or the time offset value of the activation time within the discontinuous transmission period.

[0173] For example, the period of the discontinuous transmission comprises the period of the discontinuous transmission and / or the discontinuous reception. The period of the discontinuous transmission (which can be represented as CycleStartOffset) can be used to configure the time window of the period, including the length of each time window and the starting subframe offset, both of which can be in units of subframes.

[0174] For example, the inactivity time of the discontinuous transmission includes the inactivity time of the discontinuous transmission and / or the inactivity time of the discontinuous reception. The length of the inactivity time of the discontinuous transmission is used to configure the duration of the inactivity time, and the unit can be ms.

[0175] For example, the active time of the discontinuous transmission includes the active time of the discontinuous transmission and / or the active time of the discontinuous reception. The length of the active time of the discontinuous transmission (for example, which can be represented as onDurationTimer) is used to configure the duration of the active time (the active time can be referred to as on duration), and the unit can be ms.

[0176] For example, the time offset value of the active time in the discontinuous transmission cycle includes: the time offset value of the active time of the discontinuous transmission in the discontinuous transmission cycle; and / or, the time offset value of the active time of the discontinuous reception in the discontinuous reception cycle. The time offset value of the active time in the discontinuous transmission cycle (for example, which can be represented as SlotOffset) is used to configure the starting time offset value of the active time of the discontinuous transmission in the starting subframe, and the starting time offset value can be counted in units of slots (Slot) or referred to as the starting slot offset value.

[0177] The time offset value of the discontinuous transmission cycle includes the time offset value of the cycle of the discontinuous transmission and / or the cycle of the discontinuous reception, and the parameter can indicate the starting position of the discontinuous transmission and / or the discontinuous reception in time.

[0178] The sum of the duration of the inactivity time and the duration of the active time can be equal to the length of the cycle of the discontinuous transmission. The information used to indicate the active time of the discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first communication device and the information used to indicate the inactivity time of the discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first communication device can be the same information or different information (which can be partially different or completely different). For example, the information used to indicate the active time of the discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first communication device and the information used to indicate the inactivity time of the discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first communication device are the same information, for example, both are: the cycle of the discontinuous transmission, the length of the active time of the discontinuous transmission, and the time offset value of the active time in the discontinuous transmission cycle. The first communication device determines the cycle of the discontinuous transmission to be 80 ms, the active time to be 20 ms, and then infers the inactivity time to be 60 ms according to the three information.

[0179] Information A2, used to indicate the information of the first area.

[0180] The first region can comprise / be a region to which discontinuous transmission (e.g. discontinuous transmission and / or discontinuous reception) indicated by the first configuration information is applicable. The first region belongs to "regions" about which the definition can be found in the foregoing description. For example, the first region can be a geographical region. For another example, the first region can be a wave position.

[0181] For example, the information for indicating the first region can comprise at least one of the following: identification information of a wave position of the first region, location information of the first communication device, location information of a reference point (e.g. a more central point of the first region) of the first region, information of a coverage range of the first region, or information of a boundary (e.g. information of a street) of the first region, etc.

[0182] In the case that the information for indicating the first region is comprised in the first configuration information transmitted by the second communication device, the first terminal device can determine the region to which discontinuous transmission (e.g. discontinuous transmission and / or discontinuous reception) indicated by the first configuration information is applicable based on the information for indicating the first region, and then use the first configuration information for discontinuous transmission (e.g. discontinuous transmission and / or discontinuous reception) in the first region.

[0183] In yet another possible implementation, the activation time of discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first communication device can be associated with the first region. In this way, the second communication device can configure the configuration information (or set the activation time of discontinuous transmission) based on the granularity of the region. For example, the second communication device can configure the first configuration information for the first region and the second configuration information for the second region based on the actual traffic demand of the first region and the second region. For example, the first configuration information and the second configuration information can also be different or the same. For example, the first configuration information and the second configuration information are different including / be that the activation time of discontinuous transmission indicated by the first configuration information is different (may have no intersection or have partial intersection) or the same from the activation time of discontinuous transmission indicated by the second configuration information. In this scheme, the second communication device can configure more reasonable configuration information for the region according to the transmission demand of the region, for example, configure more reasonable activation time of discontinuous transmission. For example, the region with large transmission demand can be configured with longer activation time of discontinuous transmission, and the region with small transmission demand can be configured with shorter activation time of discontinuous transmission, so as to improve the communication performance of the system, improve the communication quality of the system, and better balance the transmission demand of users and the network performance.

[0184] In another possible implementation, the first configuration information can also not include information for indicating the first area. In this way, the first communication apparatus can infer (e.g. according to a preset rule) the applicable area (or geographical area) of discontinuous transmission indicated by the first configuration information through the result of blind detection of the control information, e.g. the first communication apparatus can consider the area where the first communication apparatus is currently located as the applicable area (or geographical area) of discontinuous transmission indicated by the first configuration information.

[0185] In another possible implementation, the first configuration information can include information for indicating at least one area (information A2 can be replaced by information for indicating at least one area). The first area belongs to the at least one area. For example, the activation time of discontinuous transmission indicated by the first configuration information is associated with geographical area #1. The non-activation time of discontinuous transmission indicated by the first configuration information is associated with geographical area #2. The activation time of discontinuous reception indicated by the first configuration information is associated with geographical area #3. The non-activation time of discontinuous reception indicated by the first configuration information is associated with geographical area #4. Any one or more of geographical area #1, geographical area #2, geographical area #3 and geographical area #4 can be the same or different. For the case where the first configuration information configures multiple areas, the relevant description of each area can refer to the foregoing description about the first area, and similar description will not be repeated.

[0186] Information A3, information for indicating the first synchronization signal.

[0187] The first synchronization signal can include, for example, an SSB.

[0188] The information for indicating the first synchronization signal can include, for example, at least one of: an index of the first synchronization signal, information of a period of the first synchronization signal, or an offset value (English can be denoted as SSB time offset) of the first synchronization signal in a synchronization signal transmission period. The index of the first synchronization signal can include / be, for example, an index of a synchronization signal or an index of a group of synchronization signals. For example, the index of the first synchronization signal can be an index corresponding to one or a group of synchronization signals in a synchronization signal set.

[0189] In a possible implementation, one area can be associated with at least one synchronization signal (e.g., SSB). For example, a pattern (e.g., an active time and / or a length of an inactive time, or a length of a discontinuous transmission cycle) of discontinuous transmission of the synchronization signal (e.g., SSB) can be associated with a size of the area, a number of service demands. For example, the larger the area and the number of service demands of the area, the more downlink services the area needs, and the more synchronization signals (e.g., SSBs) the area corresponds to can be, and the smaller the cycle of the synchronization signals (e.g., SSBs) can be. Conversely, the smaller the area and the number of service demands of the area, the less downlink services the area needs, and the fewer synchronization signals (e.g., SSBs) the area corresponds to can be, and the larger the cycle of the synchronization signals (e.g., SSBs) can be. In this way, the parameters (e.g., at least one of a number of indexes of the synchronization signals, a cycle, or a time domain location) of the synchronization signals (e.g., SSBs) can be more matched with the size of the area and the number of service demands, so as to better guarantee the service demands of the corresponding area, and improve the allocation of downlink capacity of different areas, thereby balancing user services and network performance. In another aspect, the offset of the synchronization signals (e.g., SSBs) in the time domain can also match the mapping relationship between the synchronization signals (e.g., SSBs) and different areas (as shown in FIG. 3C), so as to make the transmission of the synchronization signals more matched with the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the second communication device.

[0190] In a possible implementation, the second communication device can send one or more configuration information, and the configuration information can be associated with the synchronization signal. Different configuration information associated with different synchronization signals can be different or the same. Or different configuration information can be associated with the same or different synchronization signals. For example, the second communication device sends first configuration information and second configuration information. The first configuration information and the second configuration information can be different (e.g., the active time of the discontinuous transmission indicated by the first configuration information is different (may have no intersection, or have partial intersection) or the same as the active time of the discontinuous transmission indicated by the second configuration information). The first configuration information is associated with the first synchronization signal, and the second configuration information is associated with the second synchronization signal. Since the second communication device can set the configuration information at the granularity of the synchronization signal, for example, the second communication device can associate more reasonable configuration information for the synchronization signal according to the coverage area of the synchronization signal, or according to the applicable range of the synchronization signal, so as to improve the communication performance of the system and improve the communication quality of the system.

[0191] In another aspect, the second communication device can more flexibly associate the configuration information with the synchronization signal, so as to determine the number and identification of the synchronization signal for different areas, so as to provide the capacity of the corresponding downlink transmission according to the service demands of the corresponding area, improve the pertinence and efficiency of the network downlink transmission, and improve the user experience.

[0192] For example, in the same cell, different terminal devices in different areas can use the same or different indexes of synchronization signals for downlink reception and system access, so as to flexibly support the transmission mode of the network in different areas in downlink transmission, including: transmitting different contents based on different beams to cover different areas, or transmitting the same content based on different beams to cover the areas of the cell.

[0193] In another possible implementation, different configuration information can be associated with different synchronization signal periods (e.g., SSB periods). For example, the period of the first synchronization signal can be different from the period of the second synchronization signal. In this way, for different terminal devices in different areas, the number of terminal devices in different areas is different, and then the service demand in different areas can be different, and the second communication device can configure a more reasonable synchronization signal transmission period for the terminal devices in one area based on the service demand in the area, so as to improve the transmission efficiency of the synchronization signal and other common signals.

[0194] In another possible implementation, the synchronization signals associated with different configuration information can have different time domain positions in the synchronization signal period, for example, different offset values in the synchronization signal transmission period. In this way, for different terminal devices (e.g., the first communication device and the third communication device located in different areas), the time domain positions of the synchronization signals seen by different terminal devices in the synchronization signal period can be different, so that different time domain positions are associated with or correspond to downlink beam emission to the corresponding area, so that the transmission of the "beam hopping" of the time division multiplexing of the emission beam in different geographical areas can be realized (see the related examples of beam hopping shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C).

[0195] In another possible implementation, the first configuration information can also not include information for indicating the first synchronization signal. The first communication device can infer (e.g., according to a preset rule) the first synchronization signal associated with the first configuration information. For example, the first communication device can determine the synchronization signal received by the first communication device before the current synchronization signal (or the synchronization signal configured by the pre-defined manner or other signaling) as the first synchronization signal associated with the first configuration information through the blind detection result of the downlink SSB.

[0196] Information A4 for indicating information of the first cell.

[0197] For example, the first cell can include / be a serving cell of the first communication device. For example, the information used for indicating the first cell includes / be configuration information of the first cell. For another example, the information used for indicating the first cell includes / be a first cell identifier and / or configuration information of resources of the first cell, etc. The configuration information of resources of the first cell can include configuration information of at least one of time domain resources, frequency domain resources, space domain resources, code domain resources or polarization of the first cell, for details, refer to the foregoing description.

[0198] In a possible implementation, the second communication device can send one or more configuration information, which can be associated with a serving cell. The configuration information associated with different serving cells can be different or the same. Or different configuration information can be associated with the same or different serving cells. For example, the second communication device sends first configuration information and second configuration information. The first configuration information and the second configuration information can be different (for example, the activation time of discontinuous transmission indicated by the first configuration information is different (may have no intersection or have partial intersection) or the same as the activation time of discontinuous transmission indicated by the second configuration information). The first configuration information is associated with a first cell, and the second configuration information is associated with a second cell. The first cell and the second cell are different. In this way, the second communication device can set the configuration information at the granularity of the serving cell, for example, it can associate more reasonable configuration information with the serving cell according to the coverage area of the serving cell, so as to improve the communication performance of the system and improve the communication quality of the system.

[0199] In another aspect, the scheme can extend the transmission of the beam hopping to a multi-carrier scenario. For example, when the satellite device performs data transmission through the same beam, the satellite device can switch to different carriers at different times to perform data transmission (uplink and / or downlink data transmission) to the same or different areas, so as to improve the capacity and reduce the delay of the beam hopping transmission.

[0200] In another possible implementation, the first configuration information can also not include information used for indicating the first cell, and the first communication device can infer (for example, according to a preset rule) the first cell associated with the first configuration information. For example, the first communication device can consider that the current serving cell of the first communication device is the first cell associated with the first configuration information.

[0201] Information A5, used for indicating information of a secondary cell (SCell) of the first communication device.

[0202] For example, the information used to indicate the secondary cell of the first communication device comprises / is: configuration information of the secondary cell. For another example, the information used to indicate the secondary cell of the first communication device comprises / is: a secondary cell identifier and / or configuration information of resources of the secondary cell, etc. The configuration information of the resources of the secondary cell may, for example, comprise configuration information of at least one of time domain resources, frequency domain resources, space domain resources or code domain resources of the secondary cell.

[0203] In a possible implementation, the second communication device may, for example, send one or more pieces of configuration information, which may, for example, be associated with a secondary cell. Different pieces of configuration information associated with different secondary cells may, for example, be different or the same. Or different pieces of configuration information may, for example, be associated with the same or different secondary cells. For example, the second communication device may, for example, send first configuration information and second configuration information. The first configuration information may, for example, be different from the second configuration information (for example, the activation time of discontinuous transmission indicated by the first configuration information may, for example, be different from (may, for example, have no intersection or have partial intersection) or the same as the activation time of discontinuous transmission indicated by the second configuration information). The secondary cell associated with the first configuration information may, for example, be different from the secondary cell associated with the second configuration information. In this way, the second communication device may, for example, set configuration information at the granularity of a secondary cell, for example, associate more reasonable configuration information with a secondary cell according to the coverage area of the secondary cell, thereby improving the communication performance of the system and improving the communication quality of the system. In another aspect, this scheme may, for example, extend the transmission of the beam hopping to a multi-carrier scenario. For example, when the satellite device is performing data transmission through the same beam, the satellite device may, for example, switch to different carriers at different times to perform data transmission (uplink and / or downlink data transmission) to the same or different areas, thereby improving the capacity of the beam hopping transmission and reducing the latency.

[0204] In another aspect, for example, the serving cell corresponding to the first communication device may, for example, be different from the serving cell corresponding to the third communication device, and the SSB index and / or PCI of the first communication device and the third communication device may, for example, be configured to be the same or different values. If the PCIs of the first communication device and the third communication device are the same, this scheme may, for example, correspond to supporting the splitting of a cell, that is, sending the same downlink content to different geographical areas to improve coverage. If the PCIs of the first communication device and the third communication device are different, this scheme may, for example, correspond to setting different PCIs under different serving cells, thereby configuring different cells for different geographical areas, and managing different geographical areas in a multi-cell manner to improve the flexibility of network management.

[0205] In another possible implementation, the first configuration information may, for example, not comprise information used to indicate the secondary cell, and the first communication device may, for example, infer (for example, according to a preset rule) the secondary cell associated with the first configuration information. For example, the first communication device may, for example, consider the current secondary cell of the first communication device to be the secondary cell associated with the first configuration information.

[0206] information A6, used for indicating the first channel type.

[0207] For example, the first channel type comprises at least one of: a downlink common channel; a downlink dedicated channel; an uplink common channel; or, an uplink dedicated channel.

[0208] In the embodiments of the present application, the first channel type can also be replaced by a first signal type. The downlink common channel can also be replaced by a downlink common signal. The downlink dedicated channel can also be replaced by a downlink dedicated signal. The uplink common channel can also be replaced by an uplink common signal. The uplink dedicated channel can also be replaced by an uplink dedicated signal.

[0209] For example, the downlink common channel (or the downlink common signal) comprises / is at least one of: an SSB, a radio resource management (RRM) channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a time / frequency tracking reference signal (TRS), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) used for paging or carrying a system information block (such as SIB1, SIB19, wherein 1 or 19 can be replaced by other numbers, indicating other ways of system messages), or a PDCCH used for paging or carrying a system information block (such as SIB1, SIB19, wherein 1 or 19 can be replaced by other numbers, indicating other ways of system messages).

[0210] For example, the downlink dedicated channel (or the downlink dedicated signal) comprises at least one of: a UE dedicated PDSCH / PDCCH, a CSI-RS, or a TRS, etc.

[0211] For example, the uplink common channel (or the uplink common signal) comprises at least one of: an idle state physical random access channel (PRACH), etc.

[0212] For example, the uplink dedicated channel (or the uplink dedicated signal) comprises at least one of: a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) / physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), etc.

[0213] In a possible implementation, the second communication apparatus can send one or more configuration information, and the configuration information can be associated with a channel type. The configuration information associated with different channel types can be different or the same. Or different configuration information can be associated with the same or different channel types. For example, the second communication apparatus sends first configuration information and second configuration information. The first configuration information and the second configuration information can be different (for example, the activation time of discontinuous transmission indicated by the first configuration information is different (may have no intersection or have partial intersection) or the same as the activation time of discontinuous transmission indicated by the second configuration information). The channel type associated with the first configuration information is different from the channel type associated with the second configuration information. In this way, the second communication apparatus can set the configuration information at the granularity of the channel type. For example, for the first communication apparatus, the common channel and the dedicated channel can use beams of different widths (for example, the common channel uses a wide beam, and the data channel (in the embodiment of the application, the data channel can also be replaced by a dedicated channel) uses a narrow beam), and then the second communication apparatus can configure more reasonable configuration information according to the width of the beam associated with the channel type, so as to improve the matching degree of the configuration information and the actual service transmission demand, and then improve the efficiency and quality of communication.

[0214] In another possible implementation, the first configuration information can also not include information for indicating the first channel type, and the first communication apparatus can infer (for example, can be according to a preset rule) the first channel type associated with the first configuration information. For example, the first communication apparatus can determine all channels (or common signals, or dedicated channels, etc.) as the first channel type associated with the first configuration information according to a preset rule.

[0215] The information A7 is information for indicating the first transmission parameter.

[0216] For example, the first transmission parameter includes at least one of the following: modulation order, value range of MCS, power parameter, retransmission times, aggregation level of PDCCH, and number of symbols of CORESET.

[0217] In a possible implementation, the second communication apparatus can send one or more configuration information, and the configuration information can be associated with a signal transmission parameter. For example, the first configuration information configured by the second communication apparatus is associated with the first transmission parameter, and the second configuration information configured by the second communication apparatus is associated with the second transmission parameter. The first transmission parameter and the second transmission parameter can be different (or the same). In this implementation, the second communication apparatus can determine a reasonable value or value range of the transmission parameter according to the coverage capability of the network to the corresponding area and the service demand on the corresponding area, so as to provide the best transmission performance for the corresponding area and improve the communication quality of the system.

[0218] In another possible implementation, the first configuration information can also not include information for indicating the first transmission parameter, the first transmission parameter can be preset, or be sent by the second communication device to the first communication device through other information than the first configuration information.

[0219] Information A8 for indicating information of the first beam.

[0220] The first beam is a beam serving the first communication device (or the first area) in the active time of the discontinuous transmission of the non-terrestrial communication device. The first beam can include / be: a transmitting beam and / or a receiving beam of the non-terrestrial communication device. The information for indicating the first beam can include an index of the first beam and / or a resource index of a reference signal.

[0221] In a possible implementation, the second communication device can send one or more configuration information, the configuration information can be associated with a beam. The configuration information associated with different beams can be different or the same. For example, the second communication device respectively configures the first communication device with first configuration information and second configuration information for beam #1 and beam #2. The first configuration information and the second configuration information can be different (for example, the active time of the discontinuous transmission indicated by the first configuration information is different (may have no intersection, or have partial intersection) or the same as the active time of the discontinuous transmission indicated by the second configuration information) or the same (the first configuration information and the second configuration information can also be the same). Since the second communication device can set the configuration information in the granularity of the beam, it can make the configuration information more matched with the service demand associated with the beam, and then improve the communication performance. For example, the second communication device can configure more reasonable configuration information according to the width of the beam (for example, the public channel uses a wide beam, and the data channel uses a narrow beam), so as to improve the matching degree of the configuration information and the actual service transmission demand, and then improve the efficiency and quality of the communication.

[0222] In a possible implementation, the first configuration information can be transmitted through a newly defined signaling or can be carried in an existing message. For example, the first configuration information is carried in a static signaling such as an SIB or an RRC message, so as to improve the efficiency of signaling indication, reduce the number of signaling, and reduce resource overhead. In another possible implementation, the first configuration information can be carried in an SIB1 or an SIB19. Since the SIB1 can be received before the first communication device accesses the cell, the first communication device can receive and / or send signals in the active time of the discontinuous transmission based on the active time of the discontinuous transmission indicated by the first configuration information, and cannot transmit signals in the inactive time, thereby reducing the power consumption of the first communication device and reducing the access delay of the network. Moreover, the first communication device acquires the first configuration information before accessing the cell, and this scheme does not affect the subsequent operation of the first communication device accessing the cell, and does not additionally prolong the access delay of the first communication device. Moreover, since the first communication device receives and / or sends signals in the active time of the discontinuous transmission and cannot transmit signals in the inactive time, this scheme can also help the first communication device reduce power consumption in the process of accessing the cell.

[0223] In step 502, the second communication device sends the second configuration information to the third communication device.

[0224] Correspondingly, the third communication device receives the second configuration information.

[0225] In a possible implementation, the second communication device sends the second configuration information to the terminal device in the second area. The third communication device belongs to the terminal device in the second area. The second area is an area where the third communication device is located, for example, the second area can be a wave position, and the description of the area can be referred to the foregoing description.

[0226] In the embodiment of the application, the third communication device can perform discontinuous transmission with the second communication device. The discontinuous transmission can also be understood as the time when the third communication device and the second communication device can communicate is discontinuous. The discontinuous transmission indicated by the second configuration information can include / replace "discontinuous transmission" and / or "discontinuous reception". The related content is similar to the content indicated by the first configuration information, and can be referred to each other, and will not be described again.

[0227] The second configuration information can be used to configure the related parameters when the beam points to the second area. The information associated with the discontinuous transmission and / or the information associated with the discontinuous reception in the second configuration information. The information associated with the discontinuous transmission in the second configuration information can be called the corresponding configuration information of the discontinuous transmission (for example, the active time of the discontinuous transmission). The corresponding configuration information of the discontinuous reception in the second configuration information can be called the corresponding configuration information of the discontinuous reception (for example, the active time of the discontinuous reception).

[0228] In a possible implementation, the second configuration information comprises information B1 (information for indicating an active time and / or an inactive time of discontinuous transmission corresponding to the third communication device). In another possible implementation, the second configuration information can further comprise at least one of information B2 (information for indicating a second area), information B3 (information for indicating a second synchronization signal), information B4 (information for indicating a second cell), information B5 (information for indicating a secondary cell of the third communication device), information B6 (information for indicating a second channel type), information B7 (information for indicating a second transmission parameter), or information B8 (information for indicating a second beam).

[0229] Information B1: information for indicating an active time and / or an inactive time of discontinuous transmission corresponding to the third communication device.

[0230] The third communication device can communicate with the non-terrestrial communication device in the active time indicated by the second configuration information, and cannot communicate with the non-terrestrial communication device in the inactive time indicated by the second configuration information, so as to reduce power consumption of the third communication device.

[0231] The second configuration information can indicate one or more time periods. For example, the second configuration information can comprise / be information for indicating at least one of an active time of discontinuous transmission, an inactive time of discontinuous transmission, an active time of discontinuous reception, or an inactive time of discontinuous reception. In a possible implementation, the second configuration information comprises / be information for indicating at least one of a discontinuous transmission cycle, an active time of discontinuous transmission, an inactive time of discontinuous transmission, or a time offset value of a discontinuous transmission cycle, or a time offset value of the active time in the discontinuous transmission cycle.

[0232] In a possible implementation, the active time of discontinuous transmission indicated by the first configuration information is the same as or different from the active time of discontinuous transmission indicated by the second configuration information. Or the inactive time of discontinuous transmission indicated by the first configuration information is the same as or different from the inactive time of discontinuous transmission indicated by the second configuration information. Or the active time of discontinuous reception indicated by the first configuration information is the same as or different from the active time of discontinuous reception indicated by the second configuration information. Or the inactive time of discontinuous reception indicated by the first configuration information is the same as or different from the inactive time of discontinuous reception indicated by the second configuration information.

[0233] In a possible implementation, the active time of discontinuous transmission corresponding to the third communication device belongs to the inactive time of discontinuous transmission corresponding to the first communication device.

[0234] The content of information B1 and the beneficial effects and the like can be referred to the relevant description of the aforementioned information A1, and will not be repeated here.

[0235] Information B2, information for indicating the second area.

[0236] The second area can include / be an area where a discontinuous transmission (e.g. discontinuous transmission and / or discontinuous reception) indicated by the second configuration information is applicable. The second area belongs to the “area”, and the definition of the “area” can be referred to the aforementioned description. For example, the second area can be a geographical area. For another example, the second area can be a wave position.

[0237] For example, the information for indicating the second area can include at least one of the following: identification information of a wave position of the second area, location information of the third communication apparatus, location information of a reference point of the second area (e.g. a more central point of the second area as the reference point), information of a coverage range of the second area, or information of a boundary of the second area (e.g. information of a street), and the like. For example, the second area can be the same as, or different from (e.g. completely different from, or partially intersected with) the first area.

[0238] The content of information B2 and the beneficial effects and the like can be referred to the relevant description of the aforementioned information A2, and will not be repeated here.

[0239] Information B3, information for indicating the second synchronization signal.

[0240] The second synchronization signal can include an SSB, for example.

[0241] The information for indicating the second synchronization signal can include at least one of the following: an index of the second synchronization signal, information of a period of the second synchronization signal, or an offset value (English can be denoted as SSB time offset) of the second synchronization signal in a synchronization signal transmission period. The index of the second synchronization signal can include / be: an index of one synchronization signal, or an index of a group of synchronization signals, for example. For example, the index of the second synchronization signal can be an index corresponding to one or a group of synchronization signals in a synchronization signal set. For example, the second synchronization signal can be the same as, or different from the first synchronization signal.

[0242] The content of information B3 and the beneficial effects and the like can be referred to the relevant description of the aforementioned information A3, and will not be repeated here.

[0243] Information B4, information for indicating the second cell.

[0244] For example, the second cell comprises / is a serving cell of the third communication device. For example, the information used for indicating the second cell comprises / is configuration information of the second cell. For another example, the information used for indicating the second cell comprises / is a second cell identity and / or configuration information of resources of the second cell, etc. The configuration information of resources of the second cell may, for example, comprise configuration information of at least one of time domain resources, frequency domain resources, spatial domain resources or code domain resources of the second cell. For example, the second cell can be the same as or different from the first cell.

[0245] The content of information B4 and the beneficial effects, etc. can be referred to the related description of the foregoing information A4, and will not be repeated here.

[0246] Information B5, information used for indicating a secondary cell (sCell) of the third communication device.

[0247] For example, the information used for indicating a secondary cell (sCell) of the third communication device comprises / is configuration information of the secondary cell. For another example, the information used for indicating a secondary cell (sCell) of the third communication device comprises / is a secondary cell identity and / or configuration information of resources of the secondary cell, etc. The configuration information of resources of the secondary cell may, for example, comprise configuration information of at least one of time domain resources, frequency domain resources, spatial domain resources or code domain resources of the secondary cell. For example, the secondary cell of the third communication device can be the same as or different from the secondary cell of the first communication device.

[0248] The content of information B5 and the beneficial effects, etc. can be referred to the related description of the foregoing information A5, and will not be repeated here.

[0249] Information B6, information used for indicating a second channel type.

[0250] For example, the second channel type comprises at least one of: a downlink common channel; a downlink dedicated channel; an uplink common channel; or, an uplink dedicated channel.

[0251] In embodiments of the present application, the second channel type can also be replaced by a second signal type. The downlink common channel can also be replaced by a downlink common signal. The downlink dedicated channel can also be replaced by a downlink dedicated signal. The uplink common channel can also be replaced by an uplink common signal. The uplink dedicated channel can also be replaced by an uplink dedicated signal. For example, the second channel type can be the same as or different from the first channel type.

[0252] The content of information B6 and the beneficial effects, etc. can be referred to the related description of the foregoing information A6, and will not be repeated here.

[0253] Information B7, information used for indicating a second transmission parameter.

[0254] For example, the second transmission parameter comprises at least one of: a modulation order, a range of MCS values, a power parameter, a number of retransmissions, a PDCCH aggregation level, a number of symbols of a CORESET. For example, the second transmission parameter can be the same as or different from the first transmission parameter.

[0255] The content of information B7 and the beneficial effects and the like can be referred to the relevant description of the foregoing information A7, and will not be repeated.

[0256] Information B8, for indicating information of a second beam.

[0257] The second beam is a beam that provides services for the third communication device (or the second area) in the active time of the discontinuous transmission of the non-terrestrial communication device. The second beam can include / be: a transmitting beam and / or a receiving beam of the non-terrestrial communication device. The information for indicating the second beam can include an index of the second beam. For example, the second beam can be the same as or different from the first beam.

[0258] The content of information B8 and the beneficial effects and the like can be referred to the relevant description of the foregoing information A8, and will not be repeated.

[0259] In a possible implementation, the second configuration information can be transmitted through a newly defined signaling, or can be carried in an existing message. For example, the second configuration information is carried in a static signaling such as SIB (for example, SIB1 or SIB19) or RRC message. The relevant content and the beneficial effects and the like can be referred to the relevant description of the foregoing first configuration information, and will not be repeated. The first configuration information and the second configuration information can be carried in the same signaling, or can be carried in different signalings, so as to improve the flexibility of the scheme.

[0260] In step 503, the second communication device sends, to the first communication device: information for activating or deactivating discontinuous transmission, and / or information for activating or deactivating discontinuous reception.

[0261] Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the information for activating or deactivating discontinuous transmission, and / or the information for activating or deactivating discontinuous reception.

[0262] For example, the second communication device activates or deactivates the discontinuous transmission indicated by the first configuration information.

[0263] When the second communication device activates the discontinuous transmission of the first communication device, the second communication device can transmit signals to the first communication device in the active time of the discontinuous transmission, and the second communication device cannot transmit signals to the first communication device in the inactive time of the discontinuous transmission. When the second communication device deactivates the discontinuous transmission of the first communication device, the second communication device does not need to consider the active time and the inactive time of the discontinuous transmission when transmitting signals to the first communication device, for example, the second communication device can transmit signals to the first communication device in the inactive time of the discontinuous transmission.

[0264] When the second communication device activates the discontinuous reception of the first communication device, the second communication device can receive signals from the first communication device in the active time of the discontinuous reception, and the second communication device cannot receive signals from the first communication device in the inactive time of the discontinuous reception. When the second communication device deactivates the discontinuous reception of the first communication device, the second communication device does not need to consider the active time and the inactive time of the discontinuous reception when transmitting signals to the first communication device, for example, the second communication device can receive signals from the first communication device in the inactive time of the discontinuous reception.

[0265] The second communication device can carry information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous transmission and / or information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous reception by multiple types of signaling. Two examples are introduced below through embodiment C1 and embodiment C2. In embodiment C1, the second communication device carries information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous transmission and / or information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous reception by DCI. In embodiment C2, the second communication device carries information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous transmission and / or information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous reception by RRC or SIB.

[0266] Embodiment C1, the second communication device carries information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous transmission and / or information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous reception by DCI.

[0267] For example, the DCI is a DCI of a specified format. The DCI of the format can have an identifier. The identifier of the DCI can be defined according to actual needs. In one possible embodiment, a number can be used as the identifier of the DCI. For example, the number of the DCI can be DCI 2_x, where x can be an integer. For example, if the value of x is 9, the identifier or name of the DCI can be DCI 2_9. In this way, in the NTN communication system, in the case of data transmission based on beam hopping of the non-terrestrial communication device (such as a satellite), the first communication device side can detect DCI 2_9 and not detect other formats of DCI, thereby reducing the number of blind detections of the first communication device side, thereby reducing the power consumption of the first communication device side.

[0268] For another example, the RNTI of the DCI is a RNTI associated with the BH and / or the NTN. For example, the second communication device can scramble the DCI carrying the information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous transmission and / or the information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous reception using the RNTI associated with the BH and / or the NTN. In this way, in the NTN communication system, in the case that the non-terrestrial communication device (e.g., a satellite) performs data transmission based on beam hopping, the first communication device side can determine whether the received DCI is the DCI that needs to be detected by the first communication device side by detecting the RNTI of the received DCI. For example, the first communication device side can not detect the DCI corresponding to the RNTI that is not associated with the BH and / or the NTN, so that the number of blind detections of the first communication device side can be reduced, and the power consumption of the first communication device side can be reduced. The RNTI associated with the BH and / or the NTN can be preconfigured, or a RNTI satisfying a preset rule, or a RNTI indicated by the second communication device to the first communication device.

[0269] In a possible implementation, the DCI can be used to indicate whether the discontinuous transmission and / or the discontinuous reception associated with one or more configuration information is activated. For example, the DCI can include one or more information blocks, and one information block can be associated with one configuration information. The information carried in one information block can be used to indicate whether the discontinuous transmission and / or the discontinuous reception associated with the configuration information is activated.

[0270] In a possible implementation, one information block of the DCI can include at least two parts, and the information of one part can be used to indicate whether the discontinuous transmission associated with the information block is activated or deactivated, and the information of another part can be used to indicate whether the discontinuous reception associated with the information block is activated or deactivated.

[0271] In another possible implementation, the information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous transmission and / or the information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous reception sent by the second communication device can be associated with at least one of the following: a first area, a first synchronization signal, a first channel type, a first signal type, a first cell, a secondary cell of the first communication device, or a first beam. For example, the second communication device can carry information for indicating at least one of the following in the information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous transmission and / or the information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous reception: a first area, a first synchronization signal, a first channel type, a first signal type, a first cell, a secondary cell of the first communication device, or a first beam.

[0272] In another possible implementation, the second communication device can further transmit an association between the information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous transmission and / or the information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous reception and at least one of the first area, the first synchronization signal, the first channel type, the first signal type, the first cell, the secondary cell of the first communication device, or the first beam.

[0273] In a possible implementation, the number of information blocks in one DCI (for example, the number N of information blocks in the DCI) can be configured by RRC. The association between each information block and at least one of the area, the synchronization signal, the channel type, the signal type, the serving cell, the secondary cell, or the beam associated with the information block can also be configured by RRC. The first communication device can determine, according to the RRC message, at least one of the area, the synchronization signal, the channel type, the signal type, the serving cell, the secondary cell, or the beam associated with each information block in the subsequently received DCI.

[0274] For example, information block #1 in the DCI can be associated with the index of the first synchronization signal. In this way, the terminal device can find the configuration information associated with information block #1 (that is, the first configuration information associated with the first synchronization signal) based on the index of the first synchronization signal associated with information block #1, and then determine which configuration information is indicated by information block #1 of the second communication device.

[0275] FIG. 6 shows a possible structure of a DCI according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6, the DCI includes N information blocks, where N is a positive integer. Information block #1 is associated with the index #1 of the synchronization signal (for example, the SSB index #1), and the information block includes two bits, one of which is used to indicate whether the discontinuous transmission is activated or deactivated. For example, if the bit value on bit position #0 is 1, it can represent that the discontinuous transmission associated with the index #1 of the synchronization signal is activated. For another example, if the bit value on bit position #0 is 0, it can represent that the discontinuous transmission associated with the index #1 of the synchronization signal is deactivated. For example, if the bit value on bit position #1 is 1, it can represent that the discontinuous reception associated with the index #1 of the synchronization signal is activated. For another example, if the bit value on bit position #1 is 0, it can represent that the discontinuous reception associated with the index #1 of the synchronization signal is deactivated. Similarly, information block #2 is associated with the index #2 of the synchronization signal, and information block #3 is associated with the index #3 of the synchronization signal. For details, please refer to the meaning of information block #1, which will not be described here. For example, in a possible implementation, the state information for indicating the first configuration information in the embodiment of the present application can be carried in information block #1, and the state information for indicating the second configuration information can be carried in information block #2. FIG. 6 shows an example, and in actual application, the bit value for indicating activation can also be 0, and the bit value for indicating deactivation can also be 1.

[0276] In an embodiment C2, the second communication device carries, by RRC or SIB: information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous transmission, and / or information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous reception.

[0277] In this embodiment, the RRC message or the SIB message can belong to static information. In a scenario where the first communication device does not need to move frequently, this scheme can reduce the transmission of signaling (e.g., compared to a scheme of activating or deactivating the first configuration information by DCI, this scheme can reduce the transmission of DCI signaling), thereby reducing resource overhead and improving resource efficiency.

[0278] In a possible embodiment, the second communication device can carry, by SIB1 or SIB19: information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous transmission, and / or information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous reception. Since the transmission of SIB1 is located before the access procedure of the first communication device, this scheme can not affect the subsequent downlink access procedure of the first communication device and the corresponding uplink access procedure, thereby reducing the latency of accessing the communication system (e.g., the NTN communication system).

[0279] In a possible embodiment, the information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous transmission, and / or the information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous reception: can be carried in the same message as the first configuration information, e.g., both in the RRC message.

[0280] A possible example of parameters in an RRC message is given below. The parameters shown in this example can include the first configuration information, and can also include information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous transmission, and / or information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous reception (e.g., configured by the parameter cellDTXDRX-L1activation-r18). The first configuration information can include the configuration of discontinuous transmission (e.g., configured by the parameter cellDTXDRX-Config-r18), which can indicate information of the activation time and / or the deactivation time of the discontinuous transmission. The first configuration information can also include information for indicating at least one of the first area, the first synchronization signal, the first channel type, the first signal type, the first cell, the secondary cell of the first communication device, or the first beam.

[0281] The first configuration information in the above examples can be configured in a serving cell configuration information element (ServingCellConfig information element) for example. The serving cell configuration (ServingCellConfig) of the RRC message can configure the related information of the cell and the configuration of the cell associated discontinuous transmission (cellDTXDRX-Config-r18). The configuration of the cell associated discontinuous transmission (cellDTXDRX-Config-r18) can include, for example, the information of the activation time of the discontinuous transmission discontinuous reception (for example, configured by the parameter cellDTXDRX-onDurationTimer), the period and offset value (for example, configured by the parameter cellDTXDRX-CycleStartoffset), and whether to activate the DTX and / or DRX (for example, configured by the parameter cellDTXDRXactivationStatus).

[0282] As can be seen from the above examples, the serving cell configuration information element (ServingCellConfig information element) also configures the information of the synchronization signal associated with the first configuration information (for example, configured by the parameter SSBindex-r19), the PCI (for example, configured by the parameter PCI-r19), and the channel type (for example, configured by the parameter ChanType-r19). The serving cell configuration information element (ServingCellConfig information element) can also configure the bit position of the information block corresponding to the DCI format 2_9 or the start of the information block of the serving cell associated with the first configuration information (for example, configured by the parameter positionInDCI-cellDTXDRX). The serving cell configuration information element (ServingCellConfig information element) can also configure the information of whether to activate the discontinuous transmission and / or discontinuous reception (for example, configured by the parameter cellDTXDRX-L1activation-r18).

[0283] The implementation C1 and the implementation C2 can be executed independently or in combination. For example, the second communication device can activate or deactivate the discontinuous transmission (discontinuous transmission and / or discontinuous reception) by a message (for example, an RRC message, or an SIB message, or a DCI message) at a granularity of per cell or at a granularity of per UE group. For another example, the second communication device can activate or deactivate the discontinuous transmission (discontinuous transmission and / or discontinuous reception) by an RRC message (or an SIB message) and a DCI at a granularity of per cell or at a granularity of per UE group.

[0284] In step 504, the second communication device sends, to the third communication device, information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous transmission and / or information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous reception.

[0285] Correspondingly, the third communication device receives the information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous transmission and / or the information for activating or deactivating the discontinuous reception.

[0286] In step 504, the second communication device activates the deactivated discontinuous transmission to the discontinuous transmission indicated by the second configuration information. This scheme is similar to the scheme in which the second communication device activates the deactivated discontinuous transmission indicated by the first configuration information in step 503, and details are not repeated.

[0287] There is no absolute sequence between any two of steps 501, 502, 503, and 504, and a possible example is given in FIG. 5. In actual applications, several steps can also be executed simultaneously.

[0288] In step 505, the first communication device communicates with the non-terrestrial communication device according to the first configuration information.

[0289] In the embodiments of the present application, the second communication device and the non-terrestrial communication device can be the same device or two different devices. In the case where the second communication device and the non-terrestrial communication device are different, the signals transmitted between the first communication device and the second communication device can be signals that need to be transmitted (or forwarded) by the non-terrestrial communication device. For example, the non-terrestrial communication device sends the signals received from the second communication device to the first communication device. For another example, the non-terrestrial communication device sends the signals received from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0290] In the embodiments of the present application, the signals transmitted between the first communication device and the non-terrestrial communication device (or the second communication device) can include / reference signals, and can also include signals corresponding to data or signals corresponding to information.

[0291] At step 506, the third communication device communicates with the non-ground communication device according to the second configuration information.

[0292] The step 506 can refer to the description of the step 505, and will not be repeated here.

[0293] There is no absolute sequence between the step 505 and the step 506. The sequence shown in FIG. 5 is one possible example. In actual application, several steps can be executed simultaneously.

[0294] It can be understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the first communication device, the third communication device, the second communication device and the non-ground communication device can include corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing the functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and method steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the present application can be realized in the form of hardware, or software, or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0295] Based on the same idea, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are structural schematic diagrams of possible communication devices provided by the embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the first device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be the terminal device, the chip (or chip system, or circuit) inside the terminal device, the network device, the chip (or chip system, or circuit) inside the network device, the non-ground communication device or the chip (or chip system, or circuit) inside the non-ground communication device involved in the foregoing FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B or FIG. 2C.

[0296] As shown in FIG. 7, the communication device 1300 includes a processing unit 1310 and a transceiver unit 1320. The communication device 1300 is used to implement the functions of the first communication device, the third communication device, the second communication device or the non-ground communication device in the method embodiments shown in the foregoing FIG. 5. The transceiver unit 1320 can also be referred to as a communication unit. The transceiver unit 1320 can include a sending unit and a receiving unit.

[0297] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the functions of the first communication device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to receive first configuration information and communicate with the non-ground communication device according to the first configuration information through the transceiver unit 1320.

[0298] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the functions of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in Fig. 5, in a possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to, through the transceiver unit 1320: receive information for activating or deactivating DTX, and / or, receive information for activating or deactivating DRX.

[0299] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the functions of the first communication apparatus or the third communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in Fig. 5, in a possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to, through the transceiver unit 1320: receive information for activating or deactivating DTX, and / or, receive information for activating or deactivating DRX.

[0300] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the functions of the second communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in Fig. 5, in a possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to, through the transceiver unit 1320: send first configuration information, and communicate with the first communication apparatus according to the first configuration information.

[0301] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the functions of the second communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in Fig. 5, in a possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to, through the transceiver unit 1320: send second configuration information, and communicate with the third communication apparatus according to the second configuration information.

[0302] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the functions of the second communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in Fig. 5, in a possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to, through the transceiver unit 1320: send information for activating or deactivating DTX, and / or, send information for activating or deactivating DRX.

[0303] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the functions of the non-terrestrial communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in Fig. 5, in a possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to, through the transceiver unit 1320: communicate with the first communication apparatus according to the first configuration information, and / or, communicate with the third communication apparatus according to the second configuration information.

[0304] For more detailed description of the processing unit 1310 and the transceiver unit 1320, please refer to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in Fig. 5.

[0305] As shown in FIG. 8, the communication apparatus 1400 includes a processor 1410 and an interface circuit 1420. The processor 1410 and the interface circuit 1420 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1420 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. The transceiver includes a transmitter and a receiver, the transmitter can be used to send information, the receiver can be used to receive information, and other functions can be implemented by the processor. The input / output interface is used to input and / or output information, the output can be understood as sending, the input can be understood as receiving, and other functions can be implemented by the processor. Optionally, the communication apparatus 1400 can further include a memory 1430, used to store instructions executed by the processor 1410 or store input data required by the processor 1410 to run instructions or store data generated after the processor 1410 runs instructions.

[0306] When the communication apparatus 1400 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 5, the processor 1410 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 1310, and the interface circuit 1420 is used to implement the functions of the transceiving unit 1320.

[0307] When the above communication apparatus is a terminal chip, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal apparatus in the above method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from a base station, which can be understood as that the information is first received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal, and then sent to the terminal chip by these modules. The terminal chip sends information to the base station, which can be understood as that the information is first sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal, and then sent to the base station by these modules.

[0308] When the above communication apparatus is a base station chip, the base station chip implements the functions of the network apparatus in the above method embodiments. The base station chip receives information from a terminal, which can be understood as that the information is first received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station, and then sent to the base station chip by these modules. The base station chip sends information to the terminal, which can be understood as that the information is first sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station, and then sent to the terminal by these modules.

[0309] In the present application, when entity A sends information to entity B, it can be that A sends the information to B directly, or that A sends the information to B indirectly via other entities. Similarly, when entity B receives information from entity A, it can be that entity B receives the information sent by entity A directly, or that entity B receives the information sent by entity A indirectly via other entities. Here, entity A and B can be RAN nodes or terminals, or can be modules within RAN nodes or terminals. The sending and receiving of information can be the exchange of information between RAN nodes and terminals, for example, the exchange of information between base stations and terminals; the sending and receiving of information can also be the exchange of information between two RAN nodes, for example, the exchange of information between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can also be the exchange of information between different modules within one device, for example, the exchange of information between a terminal chip and other modules of the terminal, or the exchange of information between a base station chip and other modules of the base station.

[0310] It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0311] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware, or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. The processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the base station or the terminal.

[0312] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer programs or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions of the embodiments are performed. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment or other programmable apparatus. The computer programs or instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transferred from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer programs or instructions can be transferred from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center through wired or wireless manner. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center and the like integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; or an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid state disk. The computer readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile storage media.

[0313] 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, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0314] In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent the following cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the literal description of the present application, the character " / ", generally represents that the front and rear associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of the present application, the character " / ", represents that the front and rear associated objects are in a "division" relationship. "Including at least one of A, B or C" can represent: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0315] It can be understood that various numbers (such as the numerical numbers "first", "second", such as the alphabetical numbers "A1, A2", "B1, B2", etc.) involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of differentiation, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the serial number of the above processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of the processes should be determined according to its function and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: receiving first configuration information, the first configuration information being used for indicating an active time and / or an inactive time of discontinuous transmission, the active time being associated with at least one of a first synchronization signal, a first channel type, or a first cell; communicating with a non-terrestrial communication device according to the first configuration information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The discontinuous transmission comprises discontinuous transmission and / or discontinuous reception.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving information for activating the discontinuous transmission, or receiving information for deactivating the discontinuous transmission; and / or; receiving information for activating the discontinuous reception, or receiving information for deactivating the discontinuous reception.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, At least one of the information for activating the discontinuous transmission, the information for deactivating the discontinuous transmission, the information for activating the discontinuous reception, or the information for deactivating the discontinuous reception is carried in an information block of downlink control information, a system message, or a radio resource control message.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) corresponding to the downlink control information is associated with a beam hopping (BH) and / or a non-terrestrial network (NTN).

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein, The active time of the discontinuous transmission is a time during which the non-terrestrial communication device provides service to a first communication device, and the inactive time of the discontinuous transmission is a time during which the non-terrestrial communication device cannot provide service to the first communication device.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein The first configuration information comprises information for indicating at least one of: a period of the discontinuous transmission, an active time of the discontinuous transmission, an inactive time of the discontinuous transmission, or at least one of a time offset value of the period of the discontinuous transmission, or a time offset value of the active time within a period of the discontinuous transmission.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein, The discontinuous transmission comprises discontinuous transmission and / or discontinuous reception, the active time of the discontinuous transmission comprises an active time of the discontinuous transmission and / or an active time of the discontinuous reception, and the inactive time of the discontinuous transmission comprises an inactive time of the discontinuous transmission and / or an inactive time of the discontinuous reception.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, At least one of the following is satisfied: The active time of the discontinuous transmission comprises a time during which the second communication device can transmit a signal to the first communication device. The inactive time of the discontinuous transmission comprises a time during which the second communication device cannot transmit a signal to the first communication device. The active time of the discontinuous reception comprises a time during which the second communication device can receive a signal from the first communication device. The inactive time of the discontinuous reception comprises a time during which the second communication device cannot receive a signal from the first communication device.

10. The method of any one of claims 1-9, wherein, The first configuration information further comprises at least one of an index of the first synchronization signal, information of a period of the first synchronization signal, or an offset value of the first synchronization signal within a synchronization signal transmission period.

11. The method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein, The first configuration information further comprises an identity of the first cell and / or resource configuration information of the first cell.

12. The method of any one of claims 1-11, wherein, The first cell comprises a serving cell.

13. The method of any one of claims 1-12, wherein, The first configuration information further comprises configuration information for indicating a secondary cell. The method comprises: receiving first configuration information, the first configuration information being used for indicating an active time and / or an inactive time of discontinuous transmission, the active time being associated with at least one of a first synchronization signal, a first channel type, or a first cell; communicating with a non-terrestrial communication device according to the first configuration information. The discontinuous transmission comprises discontinuous transmission and / or discontinuous reception. The method further comprises: receiving information for activating the discontinuous transmission, or receiving information for deactivating the discontinuous transmission; and / or; receiving information for activating the discontinuous reception, or receiving information for deactivating the discontinuous reception. At least one of the information for activating the discontinuous transmission, the information for deactivating the discontinuous transmission, the information for activating the discontinuous reception, or the information for deactivating the discontinuous reception is carried in an information block of downlink control information, a system message, or a radio resource control message. The radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) corresponding to the downlink control information is associated with a beam hopping (BH) and / or a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The active time of the discontinuous transmission is a time during which the non-terrestrial communication device provides service to a first communication device, and the inactive time of the discontinuous transmission is a time during which the non-terrestrial communication device cannot provide service to the first communication device. The first configuration information comprises information for indicating at least one of: a period of the discontinuous transmission, an active time of the discontinuous transmission, an inactive time of the discontinuous transmission, or at least one of a time offset value of the period of the discontinuous transmission, or a time offset value of the active time within a period of the discontinuous transmission. The discontinuous transmission comprises discontinuous transmission and / or discontinuous reception, the active time of the discontinuous transmission comprises an active time of the discontinuous transmission and / or an active time of the discontinuous reception, and the inactive time of the discontinuous transmission comprises an inactive time of the discontinuous transmission and / or an inactive time of the discontinuous reception. At least one of the following is satisfied: The active time of the discontinuous transmission comprises a time during which the second communication device can transmit a signal to the first communication device. The inactive time of the discontinuous transmission comprises a time during which the second communication device cannot transmit a signal to the first communication device. The active time of the discontinuous reception comprises a time during which the second communication device can receive a signal from the first communication device. The inactive time of the discontinuous reception comprises a time during which the second communication device cannot receive a signal from the first communication device. The first configuration information further comprises at least one of an index of the first synchronization signal, information of a period of the first synchronization signal, or an offset value of the first synchronization signal within a synchronization signal transmission period. The first configuration information further comprises an identity of the first cell and / or resource configuration information of the first cell. The first cell comprises a serving cell. The first configuration information further comprises configuration information for indicating a secondary cell.

14. The method of any one of claims 1-13, wherein, The first configuration information further comprises information indicating the first channel type, the first channel type comprising at least one of: a downlink common channel; a downlink dedicated channel; an uplink common channel; or an uplink dedicated channel.

15. The method of any one of claims 1-14, wherein, The activation time is associated with at least one of a first region, a first beam, or a first transmission parameter; The first communication device is located in the first region, and the first beam is a beam serving the non-terrestrial communication device at the activation time of the discontinuous transmission.

16. The method of any one of claims 1-15, wherein, The first configuration information further comprises information indicating at least one of a first region, a first beam, or a first transmission parameter; The first communication device is located in the first region, and the first beam is a beam serving the non-terrestrial communication device at the activation time of the discontinuous transmission.

17. The method of claim 15 or 16, wherein, The first transmission parameter comprises at least one of a transmission bandwidth, a modulation order, a modulation and coding strategy (MCS), a power parameter, a number of retransmissions, a concentration level of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a number of symbols of a control resource set (CORESET).

18. The method of any one of claims 1-17, wherein, The first configuration information is carried in a system information block or a radio resource control message.

19. A method of communication, comprising: The method comprises: determining first configuration information, the first configuration information being used to indicate an activation time and / or a non-activation time of a discontinuous transmission corresponding to a first communication device, the activation time being associated with at least one of a first synchronization signal, a first channel type, or a first cell; sending the first configuration information, the first configuration information being used for the first communication device to communicate with a non-terrestrial network device according to the first configuration information.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, The discontinuous transmission comprises discontinuous transmission and / or discontinuous reception.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein, The method further comprises: sending information for activating the discontinuous transmission, or receiving information for deactivating the discontinuous transmission; and / or; sending information for activating the discontinuous reception, or receiving information for deactivating the discontinuous reception.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein, At least one of the information for activating the discontinuous transmission, the information for deactivating the discontinuous transmission, the information for activating the discontinuous reception, or the information for deactivating the discontinuous reception is carried in a system information block, a system message, or a radio resource control message.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein, A radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) corresponding to the downlink control information is associated with a beam hopping (BH) and / or a non-terrestrial network (NTN).

24. The method of any one of claims 19-23, wherein, The method further comprises: determining second configuration information, the second configuration information being used to indicate an activation time and / or a non-activation time of a discontinuous transmission corresponding to a third communication device, the activation time of the discontinuous transmission corresponding to the third communication device being associated with at least one of a second synchronization signal, a second channel type, or a second cell; sending the second configuration information, the second configuration information being used for the third communication device to communicate with the non-terrestrial communication device according to the second configuration information.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein, At least one of the following is satisfied: The first synchronization signal is different from the second synchronization signal; The first channel type is different from the second channel type; The first cell is different from the second cell; The first region associated with the first configuration information is different from the second region associated with the second configuration information, the first terminal device is located in the first region, and the second terminal device is located in the second region. The first beam associated with the first configuration information is different from the second beam associated with the second configuration information; or The first transmission parameter associated with the first configuration information is different from the second transmission parameter associated with the second configuration information.

26. The method of any one of claims 19-25, wherein, The active time of the discontinuous transmission is a time during which the non-terrestrial communication device serves the first communication device, and the inactive time of the discontinuous transmission is a time during which the non-terrestrial communication device cannot serve the first communication device.

27. The method of any one of claims 19-26, wherein, The first configuration information includes information for indicating at least one of the following: The period of the discontinuous transmission, the active time of the discontinuous transmission, the inactive time of the discontinuous transmission, or at least one of a time offset value of the period of the discontinuous transmission or a time offset value of the active time within the period of the discontinuous transmission.

28. The method of any one of claims 19-27, wherein, The discontinuous transmission includes discontinuous transmission and / or discontinuous reception, the active time of the discontinuous transmission includes an active time of the discontinuous transmission and / or an active time of the discontinuous reception, and the inactive time of the discontinuous transmission includes an inactive time of the discontinuous transmission and / or an inactive time of the discontinuous reception.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein, At least one of the following is satisfied: The active time of the discontinuous transmission includes a time during which the second communication device can transmit a signal to the first communication device; The inactive time of the discontinuous transmission includes a time during which the second communication device cannot transmit a signal to the first communication device; The active time of the discontinuous reception includes a time during which the second communication device can receive a signal from the first communication device; The inactive time of the discontinuous reception includes a time during which the second communication device cannot receive a signal from the first communication device.

30. The method of any one of claims 19-29, wherein, The first configuration information further includes at least one of an index of the first synchronization signal, information of a period of the first synchronization signal, or an offset value of the first synchronization signal within a synchronization signal transmission period.

31. The method of any one of claims 19-30, wherein, The first configuration information further includes an identifier of the first cell and / or resource configuration information of the first cell.

32. The method of any one of claims 19-30, wherein, The first cell includes a serving cell.

33. The method of any one of claims 19-32, wherein, The first configuration information further includes configuration information of a secondary cell.

34. The method of any one of claims 19-33, wherein, The first configuration information further includes information for indicating the first channel type, the first channel type including at least one of the following: A downlink common channel; A downlink dedicated channel; An uplink common channel; or An uplink dedicated channel.

35. The method of any one of claims 19-34, wherein, The active time is associated with at least one of a first region, a first beam, or a first transmission parameter; The first communication device is located in the first region, and the first beam is a beam with which the non-terrestrial communication device serves the first communication device during the active time of the discontinuous transmission.

36. The method of any one of claims 19-35, wherein, The first configuration information further includes information for indicating at least one of the first region, the first beam, or the first transmission parameter. The first communication device is located in the first area, and the first beam is a beam serving the non-ground communication device at an active time of the discontinuous transmission.

37. The method of claim 35 or 36, wherein, The first transmission parameter comprises at least one of the following: at least one of a transmission bandwidth, a modulation order, a modulation and coding strategy (MCS), a power parameter, a retransmission number, a convergence level of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and a symbol number of a control resource set (CORESET).

38. The method of any one of claims 19-37, wherein, The first configuration information is carried in a system information block or a radio resource control message.

39. A communications device, characterized by A module for performing the method of any one of claims 1-38.

40. A communications device, characterized by A processor is configured to implement a method recited in any one of claims 1-38 by means of a logic circuit or by executing a computer program or instructions.

41. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising: A computer program or instructions stored in the storage medium, when executed by a communication device, implement a method recited in any one of claims 1-38.

42. A computer program product, characterised in that, A computer program product stores a computer program, and the computer program comprises program instructions, which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1-38.

43. A chip or chip system, characterized by The chip or chip system comprises at least one processor and one or more interface circuits, the interface circuits and the at least one processor are interconnected by a circuit, and the processor is configured to execute instructions to perform the method of any one of claims 1-38.

Images