Communication method, communication apparatus, and storage medium

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications, and provides a communication method, a communication apparatus, and a storage medium. The solution is applied to a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The method comprises: acquiring first information, the first information being used for indicating an activation time corresponding to each beam among at least one beam; and on the basis of the first information, performing communication by means of a target beam among the at least one beam. In this way, an activation time corresponding to a beam can be determined on the basis of first information, so that communication can be performed by means of a target beam within an activation time corresponding to the target beam, thereby reducing meaningless reconstruction and ping‑ponging.

Description

Communication method, communication apparatus, and storage medium

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202411099030.2, filed on August 9, 2024, and entitled "Communication method, communication apparatus, and storage medium", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, in particular to a communication method, a communication apparatus and a storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0003] In a non-terrestrial network (NTN), one beam (may be referred to as a cellular beam) of a cellular base station can correspond to one or more beams (may be referred to as satellite beams) of a satellite.

[0004] In the process of satellite beam scanning, different satellite beams can be activated at different time points. Then, at different time points, the activation of one or more satellite beams corresponding to one cellular beam can be different, thereby affecting the cellular beam, such as the cellular beam changing from activated to inactivated, or from inactivated to activated. This makes it impossible for a terminal device to continue communication through the currently accessed cellular beam if the cellular beam accessed by the terminal device changes from activated to inactivated, even if the terminal device does not move.

[0005] In the above case, the terminal device will try to access the cellular beam for communication through beam failure recovery, radio resource control (RRC) reestablishment, etc. However, it is also possible that the terminal device fails to access due to the inactivated cellular beam, and then repeatedly retries and fails again, thereby causing meaningless recovery, reestablishment, and ping-pong. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a communication method, a communication apparatus and a storage medium, which can access a target beam for communication based on the activation time corresponding to the cellular beam, thereby reducing meaningless reestablishment and ping-pong.

[0007] In order to achieve the above technical purpose, the present application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0008] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a terminal device, by a component of the terminal device, such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system of the terminal device, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device. The method can be applied to a non-terrestrial network (NTN).

[0009] The communication method includes obtaining first information, the first information being used to indicate an activation time corresponding to each of at least one cellular beam. According to the first information, communication is performed through a target beam in the at least one cellular beam. That is, the terminal device can obtain the activation time corresponding to the cellular beam, so that the terminal device can access the target beam for communication within the activation time, avoid unnecessary reestablishment and ping-pong outside the activation time, and improve the stability of communication.

[0010] In some possible designs in combination with the first aspect described above,

[0011] The first information includes (or can indicate) the activation time of the cellular beam. That is, the terminal device can obtain the time when the cellular beam is activated, so that the terminal device can access the target beam when the cellular beam is activated, and improve the access success rate.

[0012] Alternatively, the first information includes (or can indicate) the configured activation time of the cellular beam. That is, the terminal device can obtain the time when the configuration of the cellular beam is available, so that the terminal device can use the corresponding configuration when the configuration is available, ensure that the correct configuration is used at the correct time, and improve the access success rate.

[0013] In some possible designs in combination with the first aspect described above, the activation time corresponding to each of the cellular beams is obtained based on a periodic configuration of a reference signal corresponding to the cellular beam.

[0014] In some possible designs in combination with the first aspect described above, the activation time corresponding to each of the cellular beams is a period of a reference signal corresponding to the cellular beam; or the activation time corresponding to each of the cellular beams is a time including a transmission time of a reference signal corresponding to the cellular beam.

[0015] In some possible designs in combination with the first aspect described above, the first information is obtained in at least one of the following manners: the first information is obtained through radio resource control signaling; the first information is obtained through reception of a system broadcast message; the first information is obtained through reception of a configuration of cell switching; the first information is obtained through reception of a command of cell switching; the first information is obtained through reception of a configuration of a beam; and the first information is obtained through reception of an indication of beam change.

[0016] With reference to the above first aspect, in some possible design, the communicating according to the first information via the target beam of the at least one cellular beam includes: performing a beam change or a cell switching within an activation time of the first beam of the at least one cellular beam, and communicating via the first beam after the change or the cell after the switching, the target beam being the first beam.

[0017] In this way, the terminal device can change to the first beam within the activation time of the first beam, without repeatedly retrying or switching due to a change failure outside the activation time.

[0018] With reference to the above first aspect, in some possible design, the communicating according to the first information via the target beam of the at least one cellular beam includes: selecting the first beam after a failure of the cellular beam, and performing a beam failure recovery within the activation time of the first beam. Alternatively, selecting the first beam within the activation time after a failure of the cellular beam, and performing a beam failure recovery. The target beam is the first beam, and the first beam is different from the original serving cellular beam. In this way, the terminal device can recover to the first beam within the activation time of the first beam after a beam failure (e.g., a second beam failure), without repeatedly retrying or switching due to a recovery failure outside the activation time.

[0019] The communicating according to the first information via the target beam of the at least one cellular beam includes: selecting the first cell after a radio link failure, and performing a reestablishment within the activation time of the first beam included in the first cell. Alternatively, selecting the first cell corresponding to the first beam within the activation time after a radio link failure, and performing a reestablishment. The target beam is the first beam, and the first beam is different from the original serving cellular beam. In this way, the terminal device can perform a reestablishment within the activation time of the first beam after a beam failure (e.g., a second beam failure), without repeatedly retrying or switching due to a reestablishment failure outside the activation time.

[0020] With reference to the above first aspect, in some possible design, the communicating according to the first information via the target beam of the at least one cellular beam includes: selecting the second beam after a failure of the cellular beam, and performing a beam failure recovery within the activation time of the second beam. Alternatively, selecting the second beam within the activation time after a failure of the cellular beam, and performing a beam failure recovery. The target beam is the second beam, and the second beam is the original serving cellular beam.

[0021] In some possible design, in addition to the activation time, the beam failure recovery related operation is not performed. In some possible design, the beam failure recovery related operation not performed includes: not starting a beam failure recovery timer, or stopping increasing a beam failure instance count, or stopping a beam failure recovery timer running. Thus, the beam failure recovery is not triggered by preventing the condition of the beam failure recovery being met.

[0022] In some possible design, the communication via the target beam in the at least one cellular beam according to the first information includes: after the radio link failure, performing a reestablishment or a recovery within the activation time of the second beam. The target beam is the second beam, and the second beam is the original serving cellular beam.

[0023] In some possible design, the reestablishment is not triggered or the idle state is not entered outside the activation time of the second beam. In some possible design, the reestablishment is not triggered includes: not starting a radio link failure timer, or stopping a radio link failure timer running. Thus, the reestablishment is not triggered by preventing the condition of the reestablishment (i.e., the radio link failure timer expires) being met.

[0024] Thus, in the case where no other beam is available, the reestablishment is not repeatedly attempted and failed outside the activation time of the second beam, and the reestablishment and the communication via the second beam can be performed when the second beam is activated again.

[0025] In some possible design, the communication via the target beam in the at least one cellular beam according to the first information includes: after the cellular beam failure, recovering an access stratum function within the activation time of the second beam, and communicating via the second beam.

[0026] In some possible design, the access stratum function is suspended outside the activation time of the second beam.

[0027] Thus, in the case where no other beam is available, the access stratum function can be recovered when the second beam is activated again, and the communication via the second beam is recovered.

[0028] In some possible design, the first information includes a conditional handover configuration of the at least one candidate cell. The conditional handover configuration of each candidate cell is used to configure an execution condition of the candidate cell, at least one cellular beam of the candidate cell, and an activation time of the at least one cellular beam of the candidate cell. It can be seen that the activation time of the beam is additionally configured in the conditional handover configuration of the candidate cell.

[0029] According to the first information, the target beam in the at least one cellular beam is communicated, including: accessing a first cell in the at least one candidate cell according to a conditional handover configuration of the at least one candidate cell. The third beam is accessed within an activation time of the third beam in the first cell, and the target beam is the third beam.

[0030] In this way, when the CHO configuration is used for handover, the terminal device can access a certain beam in the first cell based on the activation time of the beam, so as to avoid repeated switching due to access failure.

[0031] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in some possible designs, the above-mentioned accessing a first cell in the at least one candidate cell according to a conditional handover configuration of the at least one candidate cell includes: selecting and accessing the first cell based on an execution condition of the at least one candidate cell. That is, the terminal device can select the first cell based on the execution condition of the candidate cell. Alternatively, the first cell is selected and accessed based on the execution condition of the at least one candidate cell and the activation time of at least one cellular beam in each candidate cell. That is, the terminal device can select the first cell based on the execution condition of the candidate cell and the activation time of at least one beam in the candidate cell, so that the selected first cell not only meets the execution condition, but also the activation time of at least one beam meets the requirement, such as there is a beam that will be activated soon and can provide services for a long time.

[0032] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in some possible designs, the first information includes beam activation related information, and the beam activation related information is used to indicate the target beam and / or a configuration of the target beam, and an activation time of the configuration of the target beam. In this way, the terminal device can obtain the configuration of the target beam to be used and the activation time thereof.

[0033] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in some possible designs, the target beam in the at least one cellular beam is communicated according to the first information, including: applying the configuration of the target beam within the activation time indicated by the beam activation related information. In this way, the terminal device can use the configuration matched with the activation of the beam to detect and access the target beam.

[0034] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in some possible designs, the first information includes beam activation related information, and the activation related information is used to indicate the target beam and / or target configuration information of the configuration of the target beam. The activation time corresponding to each cellular beam includes a time of obtaining the first information. In this way, the terminal device can obtain the target configuration information and use it to access the target beam.

[0035] In some possible design, the method further includes: obtaining the configuration of the at least one cellular beam, at least one configuration item in the configuration of each cellular beam includes a plurality of configuration values. That is, the configuration of the cellular beam can be pre-configured to the terminal device in advance.

[0036] The subsequent network device can indicate to use a certain set of configuration and indicate the target configuration value by issuing the beam activation related information. Accordingly, the above-mentioned communication through the target beam in the at least one cellular beam according to the first information includes: applying the configuration of the target beam based on the target configuration information indicated by the beam activation related information. That is, the terminal device can determine the specific configuration to be used based on the beam activation related information, such as determining to use the configuration of the target beam and determining to use the configuration value indicated by the target configuration information. In this way, the terminal device can obtain and apply the configuration of the target beam that matches the actual situation of the target beam, so that the terminal device can correctly access and use the target beam and will not fail to access or communicate through the target beam due to configuration error.

[0037] In some possible design, the target configuration information can indicate at least one of the following configuration values.

[0038] One of the plurality of configuration values of the at least one configuration item. For example, the configuration of the target beam includes a period of 20ms, 40ms and 80ms for a total of 3 SSBs, and the target configuration information can indicate one of them, such as 20ms.

[0039] One configuration value other than the plurality of configuration values of the at least one configuration item. For example, the configuration of the target beam includes a period of 20ms, 40ms and 80ms for a total of 3 SSBs, and the target configuration information can indicate 160ms.

[0040] One of the configuration items that lacks configuration values. For example, there is no pre-configured power of the target beam, and the target configuration information can indicate a certain power value or power interval.

[0041] In some possible design, the at least one configuration item includes a period of a reference signal; or the at least one configuration item includes one or more configuration items other than the period of the reference signal in the configuration of the reference signal.

[0042] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method is applied to a network device, which can be a network equipment, a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.) of the network equipment, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the network equipment functions. For ease of description, the method is described below by taking the network equipment as an example. The method can be applied to a non-terrestrial communication network (NTN). The method comprises: sending first information to a terminal device, so that the terminal device communicates through a target beam in at least one cellular beam according to the first information, the first information being used to indicate an activation time corresponding to each cellular beam in the at least one cellular beam; and communicating with the terminal device through the target beam.

[0043] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible designs, the first information comprises the activation time of the cellular beam, or the first information comprises a configured activation time of the cellular beam.

[0044] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible designs, the activation time corresponding to each cellular beam is obtained based on a periodicity configuration of a reference signal corresponding to the cellular beam.

[0045] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible designs, the activation time corresponding to each cellular beam is a periodicity of a reference signal corresponding to the cellular beam; or the activation time corresponding to each cellular beam is a time comprising a transmission time of the reference signal corresponding to the cellular beam.

[0046] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible designs, the sending of the first information comprises at least one of the following: sending the first information through radio resource control signaling; sending the first information through a system broadcast message; sending the first information through configuration of cell switching; sending the first information through a command of cell switching; sending the first information through configuration of a beam; and sending the first information through an indication of beam change.

[0047] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible designs, the target beam is a beam accessed by the terminal device after performing beam change or cell switching within the activation time of the first beam in the at least one cellular beam.

[0048] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible designs, the target beam is a beam accessed by the terminal device after performing beam failure recovery within the activation time of the first beam after cellular beam failure; or the target beam is a beam accessed by the terminal device after performing reestablishment within the activation time of the first beam after radio link failure; wherein the first beam is different from an original serving cellular beam.

[0049] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible design, the target beam is a beam on which the terminal device performs a beam failure recovery access within an activation time of the second beam after a cell beam failure; and the second beam is the original serving cell beam.

[0050] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible design, no beam failure recovery related operation is performed outside the activation time; and the no beam failure recovery related operation comprises: not starting a beam failure recovery timer or stopping increasing a beam failure instance count or stopping a beam failure recovery timer running.

[0051] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible design, the target beam is a beam on which the terminal device performs a reestablishment or a recovery after a radio link failure; and the second beam is the original serving cell beam.

[0052] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible design, no reestablishment is triggered or no idle state is entered outside the activation time of the second beam; and the no reestablishment comprises: not starting a radio link failure timer or stopping a radio link failure timer running.

[0053] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible design, the target beam is a beam on which the terminal device resumes an access layer function access within an activation time of the second beam after a cell beam failure.

[0054] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible design, the access layer function is suspended outside the activation time of the second beam.

[0055] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible design, the first information comprises a conditional handover configuration of at least one candidate cell, and each conditional handover configuration of the at least one candidate cell is used to configure an execution condition of the candidate cell, at least one cell beam of the candidate cell, and an activation time of the at least one cell beam of the candidate cell; and the target beam is a third beam in a first cell on which the terminal device accesses according to the conditional handover configuration of the at least one candidate cell.

[0056] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible design, the first cell is a cell in the at least one candidate cell that satisfies the execution condition; or the first cell is a cell in the at least one candidate cell that satisfies the execution condition and whose activation time of the at least one cell beam satisfies the condition.

[0057] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible design, the first information comprises beam activation related information, and the beam activation related information is used to indicate the target beam and / or a configuration of the target beam, and an activation time of the configuration of the target beam.

[0058] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible design, the target beam is a beam accessed by the terminal device based on the configuration of the target beam at an activation time indicated by the beam activation related information.

[0059] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible design, the first information includes beam activation related information, the activation related information is used to indicate the target beam and / or target configuration information of the configuration of the target beam, and the activation time corresponding to each cell beam includes a time of obtaining the first information.

[0060] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible design, the method further includes: sending, to the terminal device, the configuration of the at least one cell beam, at least one configuration item in the configuration of each cell beam includes a plurality of configuration values; and wherein the target beam is a beam accessed by the terminal device based on the configuration of the target beam at an activation time indicated by the beam activation related information.

[0061] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible design, the target configuration information can indicate at least one of the following configuration values: one of the plurality of configuration values of the at least one configuration item; one configuration value other than the plurality of configuration values of the at least one configuration item; or one of the configuration items that lacks a configuration value.

[0062] With reference to the above second aspect, in some possible design, the at least one configuration item includes a periodicity of a reference signal; or the at least one configuration item includes one or more configuration items other than the periodicity of the reference signal in the configuration of the reference signal.

[0063] The third aspect provides a communication apparatus, which can be a terminal device, a component (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system) of the terminal device, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the terminal device functions. The communication apparatus includes a module for performing the method in the first aspect or any possible design thereof.

[0064] The fourth aspect provides a communication apparatus, which can be a network device, a component (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system) of the network device, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the network device functions. The communication apparatus includes a module for performing the method in the second aspect or any possible design thereof.

[0065] In a fifth aspect, a chip is provided, which includes an interface circuit and one or more processors. The one or more processors are coupled with a memory. The memory is configured to store part or all of necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions related to the first aspect. The one or more processors can execute the computer programs or instructions, which, when executed, cause the communication apparatus to implement the method in any possible design or implementation manner of the first aspect. The interface circuit is configured to implement communication functions within the communication apparatus and / or communication functions of the communication apparatus with other apparatuses or components.

[0066] In a sixth aspect, a chip is provided, which includes an interface circuit and one or more processors. The one or more processors are coupled with a memory. The memory is configured to store part or all of necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions related to the second aspect. The one or more processors can execute the computer programs or instructions, which, when executed, cause the communication apparatus to implement the method in any possible design or implementation manner of the second aspect. The interface circuit is configured to implement communication functions within the communication apparatus and / or communication functions of the communication apparatus with other apparatuses or components.

[0067] In a seventh aspect, a communication system is provided. The system includes a terminal that executes any method of the first aspect, and a network device that executes any method of the second aspect.

[0068] In an eighth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided. The computer readable storage medium stores computer instructions; when the computer instructions run on a computer, the computer executes the communication method in any design of any aspect described above.

[0069] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product includes computer programs or instructions, which, when running on a computer, cause the computer to execute the communication method in any design of any aspect described above.

[0070] The beneficial effects of the methods in any of the second aspect to the ninth aspect correspond to the description of the beneficial effects of the methods in the first aspect, which will not be repeated herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0071] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a satellite beam in an NTN network according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the relationship among a satellite beam, an NR beam and an NR cell according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG. 3 is another schematic diagram of the relationship among a satellite beam, an NR beam and an NR cell according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a relationship between a satellite beam, an NR beam and an NR cell according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a relationship between a satellite beam and an NR beam according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an NTN communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an NTN communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an NTN communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0084] FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0085] FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0086] FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0087] FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0088] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application, first, a brief introduction of the related technologies of the present application is given.

[0089] 1. Non-terrestrial network (NTN)

[0090] NTN refers to a network using radio frequency resources on platforms such as satellite platforms (including low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, middle earth orbit (MEO) satellites, geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellites), unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms, or high altitude platform stations (HAPS), etc. to provide communication services. Compared with a ground cellular network (such as a 5th generation (5G) new radio (NR) communication system), an NTN network has characteristics such as wider coverage, higher path loss, larger delay, faster speed, and lower cost. As a supplement and extension of a ground network, an NTN can achieve the purpose of seamless coverage in a wide area that cannot be achieved by a wired telephone network and a ground mobile communication network, and effectively solve the problem of Internet access in areas where communication infrastructure is scarce. For example, when a large number of satellites are arranged in LEO, through reasonable constellation construction, seamless coverage of the ground can be achieved, and the round-trip transmission delay between data on the satellite and the ground terminal can also be greatly reduced to tens of milliseconds compared with GEO satellites. With the use of high-frequency bands, multi-point beams, and frequency multiplexing, the communication capability of satellites has been significantly improved, and the unit wideband cost has been reduced, so as to meet the demand of high information rate services. Compared with a ground 5G network and submarine optical fiber cables and other communication infrastructure, an NTN also has a significant cost advantage. The cost of modern small satellites is low, and software-defined technology can further extend the on-orbit satellite service life.

[0091] For example, the application scenarios of an NTN network include one or more of the following: broadband access in remote areas (such as home broadband access, rural education, broadcast television, etc.), broadband access in large transportation (such as aircraft, high-speed rail, and ocean vessels, etc.), temporary network applications (such as emergency rescue, temporary bandwidth demand, scientific exploration, etc.), government and enterprise private networks (such as remote area expansion, vertical management network, etc.), telecommunications enterprise backbone interconnection (such as remote sites, temporary site construction, etc.), Internet of Things (such as disaster monitoring, unattended areas, etc.), etc.

[0092] 2. Satellite coverage range (Satellite Footprint) and satellite beams

[0093] Satellite coverage refers to the region on the earth that is visible to the satellite. Generally, it is determined whether a terminal device can communicate with the satellite, i.e., whether the signal coverage area of the satellite will cover the terminal device and at what time the terminal device will be covered. It can be understood that the satellite coverage can change as the satellite moves.

[0094] Satellite beam refers to the shape formed on the earth's surface by electromagnetic waves emitted from the satellite's antenna.

[0095] Referring to FIG. 1, the region 101 is the satellite coverage of the satellite 102, and the shapes 1011, 1012, 1013, … in the region 101 are satellite beams.

[0096] The antenna of the satellite can form a satellite beam with a specific shape and direction through related technologies, such as phased array technology, so that the satellite beam can cover each sub-region of the satellite coverage area, and terminal devices located in each sub-region of the satellite coverage area can access the network.

[0097] 3. Cell beam and synchronization signal block (SSB)

[0098] The cell beam refers to the beam emitted by a cell base station, and one or more cell beams correspond to one cell. The cell base station can be a base station of a mobile communication network such as UMTS, LTE, NR, 6G, etc., and accordingly, the cell beam can be a beam emitted by an LTE base station (which can be referred to as LTE), a beam emitted by an NR base station (which can be referred to as NR beam), etc., which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0099] In this paper, the cell beam is taken as an NR beam and the cell is taken as an NR cell as an example for illustration.

[0100] The NR beam is a narrow beam with more concentrated energy and stronger directivity formed by the beamforming technology used by the NR system for each type of channel and signal. Compared with a wide beam (such as an LTE beam), the coverage of a narrow beam is limited, and one beam cannot completely cover all users in a cell, so the NR system introduces a beam scanning method to cover all users in the entire NR cell. At a certain moment, the base station can send an NR beam in one direction, and through multiple moments of sending NR beams in different directions, the entire NR cell can be covered.

[0101] In each NR beam, a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), a Physical Boardcast Signal (PBCH), and a De-modulation Reference Signal (DMRS) for PBCH (DMRS for PBCH) are configured to enable a terminal device to achieve downlink synchronization. Moreover, the PSS, the SSS, the PBCH, and the DMRS for PBCH should be transmitted simultaneously. In order to ensure that the PSS, the SSS, the PBCH, and the DMRS for PBCH can be transmitted simultaneously, the NR system combines the PSS, the SSS, the PBCH, and the DMRS for PBCH together and refers to them as an SSB.

[0102] That is, the NR beam corresponds to the SSB, and the NR beam can correspond to the SSB. Of course, other signals such as a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) can also be configured in the NR beam. The NR beam also corresponds to the CSI-RS, and the NR beam can also correspond to the CSI-RS.

[0103] It should be noted that in mobile communication systems other than the NR system, different signals can be configured in the cellular beam. For example, a PSSS, an SSS, and the like can be configured in the LTE beam. For another example, a Common Pilot Channel (CPICH), a Synchronization Channel (SCH), and the like can be configured in the UMTS beam. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this. The signals corresponding to the cellular beam in the above various communication systems can be collectively referred to as reference signals. Hereinafter, the reference signal is mainly taken as an example of the SSB.

[0104] Moreover, each SSB has an independent SSB index, and each NR cell has a physical cell identifier (PCI).

[0105] In the 38.821 protocol, the correspondence between the NR cell, the NR beam, and the satellite beam can have the following options:

[0106] Option 1 (Option 1), one-to-one-to-one. That is, one NR cell corresponds to one NR beam, and one NR beam corresponds to one satellite beam.

[0107] Referring to FIG. 2, the satellite coverage is 1710 kilometers (km), and the satellite beams are 1058, each of which has a coverage of 50 km. Each satellite beam corresponds to an NR beam, and different satellite beams correspond to different SSBs, such as 1058 satellite beams corresponding to SSB1, SSB2, …, SSB 1058 in turn. Each NR beam serves as an NR cell, and different SSBs correspond to different PCIs, such as SSB1, SSB2, …, SSB 1058 corresponding to PCI1, PCI2, …, PCI 1058 one by one.

[0108] Option 2, one-to-one to many. That is, one NR cell corresponds to one NR beam, and one NR beam corresponds to multiple satellite beams.

[0109] Referring to FIG. 3, different from the foregoing FIG. 2, multiple satellite beams correspond to one NR beam, and multiple satellite beams can correspond to one SSB, such as satellite beam 1 and satellite beam 2 both corresponding to SSB p. Each NR beam serves as an NR cell, and different SSBs correspond to different PCIs, such as SSB p corresponding to PCI p.

[0110] Option 3, one-to-many, one-to-many. That is, one NR cell corresponds to multiple NR beams, and one NR cell corresponds to multiple satellite beams.

[0111] Referring to FIG. 4, different from the foregoing FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, one NR cell corresponds to multiple satellite beams, and multiple satellite beams can correspond to the same PCI, such as satellite beam 1 and satellite beam 2 both corresponding to PCI p. One NR cell corresponds to multiple NR beams, and the same PCI can correspond to different SSBs, such as PCI p corresponding to SSB 1 and SSB2. Moreover, one NR beam corresponds to one satellite beam, and one satellite beam can correspond to one SSB, such as satellite beam 1 corresponding to SSB1 and satellite beam 2 corresponding to SSB2.

[0112] It should be noted that in the above Option 1, Option 2, and Option 3: one NR cell corresponds to one NR beam, that is, one NR beam is one cell, which can also be referred to as beam equal to cell, or one NR cell includes one NR beam; one NR cell corresponds to multiple NR beams, that is, multiple NR beams are one cell, which can also be referred to as beam not equal to cell, or one NR cell includes multiple NR beams.

[0113] 4. Radio Link Failure (RLF) and Beam Failure Recovery

[0114] To ensure the robustness of the transceiver link, two functions, RLF and BFR, are defined in the 5G protocol. Among them, RLF is used to declare a cell-level radio link failure. When the quality of the wireless link between the terminal device and the cellular base station drops to a certain level, resulting in the inability to perform normal data transmission and service provision, the wireless link is considered to have failed.

[0115] BFR is used to declare that the current beam has failed. When the signal quality of a certain cellular beam drops to a level that cannot maintain effective communication, the beam is considered to have failed. The purpose of BFR design is to achieve rapid recovery of wireless link failure due to beam failure through the BFR process before RLF is triggered.

[0116] BFR can reestablish the connection by switching the beam used for communication. When BFR cannot reestablish the connection, RLF is considered to have occurred. That is, the terminal device cannot camp on the current cell and needs to perform cell reselection. Generally, the probability of connection failure through a beam in a cell is higher than the probability of connection failure through all beams in the cell, so BFR occurs more frequently than RLF.

[0117] 5、Conditional handover (CHO) configuration

[0118] The network device can send the CHO configuration of the candidate cell to the terminal device, and the CHO configuration includes the handover execution condition (also referred to as the execution condition) and the configuration information of the candidate cell.

[0119] Among them, the handover execution condition can include a CHO execution event type and a corresponding threshold value. One candidate cell can be configured with one or more conditional handover execution conditions. The handover execution conditions corresponding to different candidate cells can be the same or different.

[0120] For example, the handover execution condition can include a time-related condition, which limits the time of accessing the candidate cell. When the time-related condition is met, the terminal device can access the candidate cell.

[0121] For another example, the handover execution condition includes a signal quality condition, which limits the signal quality of the candidate cell required to be met when accessing the candidate cell.

[0122] The configuration information of the candidate cell can include cell identification information corresponding to the candidate cell, a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) allocated to the terminal device by the candidate cell, random access channel (RACH) resource information associated with the candidate cell, and the like.

[0123] After receiving the CHO configuration, the terminal device determines whether each candidate cell meets the handover execution condition, and selects a certain candidate cell meeting the handover execution condition as a target cell, and then switches to the target cell.

[0124] 6. SSB configuration

[0125] The network device can send the SSB configuration to the terminal device. Based on the SSB configuration, the terminal device can implement network discovery and access, time synchronization, frequency synchronization, beam management, and the like.

[0126] For example, the SSB configuration can include one or more of the following configuration items:

[0127] Periodicity of SSB (ssb-PeriodicityServingCell): The period of SSB defines the period of SSB broadcast, i.e., the time interval of SSB transmission. The period of SSB can be used by the terminal device to determine the time of listening to SSB. For example, if the period of SSB is 20 ms, the terminal device can listen to SSB once every 20 ms.

[0128] Position of SSB (ssb-PositionsInBurst): The position of SSB indicates the specific position of SSB in a SSB burst. The position of SSB can be used by the terminal device to search for SSB at the correct time slot and frequency.

[0129] SSB block power (ss-PBCH-BlockPower): The SSB block power refers to the transmission power level of SSB. The SSB block power can affect the ability of the terminal device to detect SSB.

[0130] In the NTN scenario, the number of satellite beams is huge, while the total energy of the satellite payload is limited, which is not enough to activate all the satellite beams at the same time at a certain level of Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) density. Based on the conclusion of RAN1, the proportion of simultaneously activated satellite beams is 1.5% (16 / 1058) to 10.02% (106 / 1058). That is, only part of the satellite beams can be activated at the same time. For example, at a certain moment, the activated satellite beams are as shown in FIG. 5, where the diagonal slash represents activation and no filling represents non-activation. The satellite can activate different satellite beams at different time points through satellite beam scanning.

[0131] Here, the satellite beam activation can also be understood as satellite beam lighting, validity, effectiveness, etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0132] At the same time, based on the foregoing introduction of the correspondence between the satellite beam and the NR beam, one NR beam can correspond to one or more satellite beams.

[0133] In the case where one NR beam corresponds to one satellite beam: if the satellite beam is not activated, the NR beam will be missing, and a coverage hole will appear, and the terminal device cannot communicate through the NR beam.

[0134] Continuing to refer to FIG. 5, the satellite beam b1 and the NR beam B1 have a one-to-one relationship, which is represented as b1=B1 in the figure. The satellite beam b1 is not activated, and accordingly, the NR beam B1 is missing, and the terminal device cannot communicate through the NR beam B2.

[0135] In the case where one NR beam corresponds to multiple satellite beams: if at least one of the multiple satellite beams is not activated, the configuration parameters (such as the period, power, etc. in the configuration of the SSB) of the NR beam can change, such as a 6dB power reduction, which will cause the signal quality provided by the NR beam to change.

[0136] Continuing to refer to FIG. 5, the satellite beams b2, b3, b4, b5 and the NR beam B2 have a many-to-one relationship. Compared with the case where all the satellite beams b2-b5 are activated, when the satellite beams b2-b5 are partially activated, the power of the NR beam B2 will be reduced, thereby affecting the signal quality of the NR beam B2.

[0137] As can be seen, satellite beam scanning can cause some NR beams to be missing or the signal quality to be poor, and cannot provide communication services continuously and stably.

[0138] Then, for the terminal device in the connected state, due to the above satellite beam scanning problem, mobility or state transition such as handover, radio link monitoring (RLM) / RLF, beam failure detection (BFD) / BFR may occur even if the terminal device does not move. Therefore, it is extremely likely that meaningless reestablishment and ping-pong will occur.

[0139] Therefore, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, and a terminal device can obtain (or receive) information (which can be denoted as first information) indicating an activation time corresponding to an NR beam. Further, the first information can include an activation time of the NR beam or an activation time of a configuration of the NR beam. Within the activation time, it indicates that the NR beam or the configuration of the NR beam is available. Subsequently, the terminal device can communicate through a target beam within the activation time corresponding to a target beam of the NR beam based on the activation time corresponding to the NR beam, thereby reducing meaningless reestablishment and ping-pong.

[0140] At this point, it should be noted that the activation time refers to the available time, such as the time when the NR beam can provide communication services or the time when the configuration of the NR beam is available. The activation time can also be referred to as available time, effective time, lighting time, time when the terminal device can detect the SSB corresponding to the NR beam, etc. The present application does not make specific limitations thereto.

[0141] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in combination with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0142] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be used in any communication system, which can be a third generation partnership project (3GPP) communication system, for example, a long term evolution (LTE) system, or a 5G communication system, a system with mixed networking of LTE and 5G, an NR system, an NR vehicle to everything (V2X) system, a device-to-device (D2D) communication system, a machine to machine (M2M) communication system, an internet of things (IoT), a narrow band-internet of things (NB-IoT) system, an enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) system, an ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC) system, an enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) system, and various types of future communication systems, or an NTN system (such as a satellite communication system), a non-3GPP communication system, etc., without limitation.

[0143] The communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application is described below taking FIG. 6 as an example.

[0144] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application, as shown in FIG. 6, the communication system can include a terminal, a network device, and a core network device.

[0145] The terminal in FIG. 6 can be a device with wireless transceiving function or a chip or chip system that can be provided in the device, can allow a user to access a network, and is a device used to provide voice and / or data connectivity for a user, and can be located within the beam / cell coverage range of the network device and be provided with communication services by the network device. The terminal can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), a subscriber unit, a terminal device, or a mobile station (MS) or a mobile terminal (MT), etc. The terminal can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable, or vehicle-mounted; can be deployed on water (such as ships, etc.); or can be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons, etc.), without limitation.

[0146] Exemplarily, the terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or a computer with wireless transceiver function. The terminal can also be a user station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile terminal, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, a user device, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device, a processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal in Internet of Things, a household appliance, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical treatment, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a road side unit (RSU), a vehicle with vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication capability, a smart connected vehicle, a drone with unmanned aerial vehicle to unmanned aerial vehicle (U2U) communication capability, a terminal in future network, or a terminal in future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc., without limitation.

[0147] In the network device in FIG. 6, the network device can be any device deployed in an access network and capable of wireless communication with a terminal, can also be a chip or chip system that can be arranged in the above device, can also be a logical node or a logical module or a software-implemented function, and is mainly responsible for functions such as wireless physical control, resource scheduling, radio resource management, quality of service management, data compression and encryption, wireless access control, and mobility management. Specifically, the network device can be a device supporting wired access or a device supporting wireless access.

[0148] The network devices can support a network of the same technology or a network of different technologies. The network devices can include one or more co-sited or non-co-sited transmission reception points (TRPs). The network devices can be of the same type or of different types. The base stations can communicate with the terminals directly or through a relay station. The terminals can communicate with multiple base stations supporting different technologies, for example, the terminals can communicate with a base station supporting an LTE network and a base station supporting a 5G network, and can support dual connectivity with the base station supporting the LTE network and the base station supporting the 5G network.

[0149] For example, a network device can be composed of one or more access network (AN) / radio access network (RAN) nodes. The AN / RAN node can be various forms of base stations, such as a satellite base station, a gNB, a TRP, an eNB, a radio network controller (RNC), a NodeB, a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (such as a home eNB or home NodeB, HNB), a macro base station, a micro base station, a pico base station, a femto base station, a relay station, a balloon station, a drone station, a wireless backhaul node, a base band unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point (AP), etc. It can be understood that the network device can be a device arranged on the ground or a non-ground device (such as a satellite, a drone, a high-altitude communication device, etc.). In addition, in a communication system using different radio access technologies, the name of the network device with the function of the base station can be different, which is not limited in the present application.

[0150] In another example, the network device can include a BBU and an RRU. The BBU and the RRU can be placed in different places, for example, the RRU is pulled away and placed in a high traffic area, and the BBU is placed in a central machine room. The BBU and the RRU can also be placed in the same machine room. The BBU and the RRU can also be different components under one rack.

[0151] In another example, the network device can also be a device including a centralized unit (CU) node, or including a distributed unit (DU) node, or including a CU node and a DU node. For example, the network device can be divided into a CU and a DU from a logical function perspective, functions of part protocol layers are centrally controlled in the CU, and the rest or all protocol layers are distributed in the DU and controlled by the CU. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can be included in the same network element, such as a BBU. Further, the centralized unit CU can also be divided into a control plane (CU-CP) and a user plane (CU-UP).

[0152] In another example, the network device can also be a device including a radio unit (RU), or including a CU, a DU and an RU. The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a RRU, an active antenna processing unit (AAU) or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0153] It can be understood that the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU can also have different names in different systems, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) system, the CU can also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as an O-RU. For the convenience of description, the CU, the CU-CP, the CU-UP, the DU and the RU are taken as examples for description in this application. Any one of the CU (or the CU-CP, the CU-UP), the DU and the RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0154] The core network device in FIG. 6 can be configured to transmit data of a terminal transmitted by the network device to a data network. Specifically, the core network device can be configured to implement user registration, access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, charging and other services. The core network device can be composed of one or more functional units. For example, the core network device can be divided into control plane and data plane functional entities. The control plane functional entities can include a mobility management network element, a session management network element, etc., and the data plane functional entities can include a user plane network element, etc.

[0155] The mobility management network element is mainly responsible for signaling processing, for example: access control, mobility management, attachment and detachment, gateway selection and other functions. In the case of providing services for a session in the terminal, the mobility management network element can provide storage resources for the control plane of the session to store session identifiers, session management network element identifiers associated with the session identifiers, and the like. The session management network element mainly completes the session management functions such as Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation of the terminal, user plane network element selection, charging and Quality of Service (QoS) policy control. The user plane network element mainly performs specific data forwarding of the user plane, and generates a bill based on traffic conditions. At the same time, it also functions as a data plane anchor.

[0156] Optionally, the core network device can further include a policy control network element, a network exposure network element, and the like. The policy control network element is used for policy management of charging policies and QoS policies. The network exposure network element is used to expose the services and capabilities of the 3GPP network functions to the application function network element, and at the same time, the application function network element can also provide information to the 3GPP network functions.

[0157] Based on the above description of the communication system, for example, taking the above communication system as an NTN communication system, the NTN communication system can include a transparent forwarding scenario based on satellite communication and a regenerative mode scenario based on satellite communication.

[0158] For example, as shown in FIG. 7, for the transparent forwarding scenario based on satellite communication, the terminal can communicate with the ground base station and the core network device through the satellite and the NTN gateway. In this scenario, the satellite mainly plays a role of frequency conversion and forwarding, which is equivalent to an analog radio frequency repeater. Specifically, the satellite can copy the NR Uu wireless interface signal from the feeder link (the link between the NTN gateway and the satellite) to the service link (the link between the satellite and the terminal), and vice versa. The satellite wireless interface transmission on the feeder link is the NR Uu interface signal, and the satellite does not terminate the NR Uu interface signal, but copies the signal to the service link. The NTN gateway can support all necessary functions for forwarding all NR Uu interface signals. Different satellites can be connected to the same ground base station.

[0159] In another example, for a regenerative mode scenario based on satellite communication, the terminal can communicate with the ground network based on the satellite and the NTN gateway. In this scenario, the satellite can have part or all of the processing functions of the base station. As shown in FIG. 8, the satellite can act as a base station to communicate with the core network device on the ground through the NTN gateway, or as shown in FIG. 9, the satellite can include a DU to communicate with the CU and the core network device set on the ground through the NTN gateway. The satellite can implement regeneration of signals received from the ground, that is, the satellite can transmit NR Uu wireless interface signals on the service link between the terminal and the satellite, and satellite wireless interface signals on the feeder link between the NTN gateway and the satellite. The satellite wireless interface signals transmitted by the satellite are transmitted to the ground network by the NTN gateway.

[0160] In a possible implementation, the network device, the terminal device, and the core network device in the embodiments of the present application can also be referred to as a communication apparatus, which can be a general-purpose device or a special-purpose device, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations.

[0161] In a possible implementation, the related functions of the terminal device, the network device, and the core network device in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by one device, or by multiple devices together, or by one or more functional modules in a device, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations. It can be understood that the above functions can be network elements in a hardware device, software functions running on a special-purpose hardware, a combination of hardware and software, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform).

[0162] FIGS. 6-9 are merely exemplary drawings, and the number of devices included is not limited. The names of the devices in FIGS. 6-9 and the names of the links are not limited, and the devices and the links can also be named by other names in addition to the names shown in FIGS. 6-9.

[0163] For example, the related functions of the terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by the communication apparatus 400 in FIG. 10. FIG. 10 shows a structural schematic diagram of the communication apparatus 400 provided by the embodiments of the present application. The communication apparatus 400 includes one or more processors 401, a communication line 402, and at least one communication interface (only an example of including a communication interface 404 is shown in FIG. 10, and one processor 401 is taken as an example for description), and can also include a memory 403.

[0164] The processor 401 can be a general central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits used to control the execution of programs for the schemes of the present application.

[0165] The communication line 402 can include a path for connecting different components.

[0166] The communication interface 404 can be a transceiver module for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, RAN, wireless local area networks (WLAN), etc. For example, the transceiver module can be a device such as a transceiver or a transceiver. In one possible implementation, the communication interface 404 can also be a transceiver circuit located in the processor 401 to realize the signal input and signal output of the processor.

[0167] The memory 403 can be a device with storage function. For example, it can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, an optical disc storage (including a compact disc, a laser disc, an optical disc, a digital versatile disc, a Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and capable of being accessed by a computer, but not limited to this. The memory can exist independently and be connected to the processor through the communication line 402. The memory can also be integrated with the processor.

[0168] The memory 403 is used to store computer execution instructions for executing the schemes of the present application, and the processor 401 is used to control the execution. The processor 401 is used to execute the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 403, so as to realize the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0169] Alternatively, in embodiments of the present application, the processor 401 can execute the functions related to the processing of the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application below, and the communication interface 404 is responsible for communication with other devices or communication networks, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0170] In a possible implementation, the memory 403 in the embodiments of the present application can also be used to store information or parameters described in the following embodiments, such as system information.

[0171] The computer execution instructions in the embodiments of the present application can also be referred to as application program codes, which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0172] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 401 can include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG. 10.

[0173] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 400 can include multiple processors, such as the processor 401 and the processor 407 in FIG. 10. Each of the processors can be a single-CPU processor or a multi-CPU processor. Here, the processor can refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (such as computer program instructions).

[0174] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 400 can further include an output device 405 and an input device 406. The output device 405 communicates with the processor 401 and can display information in various ways.

[0175] The communication device 400 described above can be a general-purpose device or a special-purpose device. For example, the communication device 400 can be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a network server, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal device, an embedded device, or a device with a similar structure as shown in FIG. 10. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of the communication device 400.

[0176] In combination with the structure schematic diagram of the communication device 400 shown in FIG. 10, taking the communication device 400 as an example of the terminal device in FIG. 11, FIG. 11 shows a specific structure form of the terminal device provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0177] In some embodiments, the functions of the processor 401 in FIG. 10 can be implemented by the processor 510 in FIG. 11.

[0178] In some embodiments, the functions of the communication interface 404 in FIG. 10 can be implemented by the antenna 1, the antenna 2, the mobile communication module 550, the wireless communication module 560, etc. in FIG. 11.

[0179] The antenna 1 and the antenna 2 are used to transmit and receive electromagnetic wave signals. Each antenna in the terminal device can be used to cover a single or multiple communication frequency bands. Different antennas can also be multiplexed to improve the utilization of the antennas. For example, the antenna 1 can be multiplexed as a diversity antenna of a wireless local area network. In some other embodiments, the antennas can be used in combination with tuning switches.

[0180] The mobile communication module 550 can provide solutions for wireless communication including second generation mobile communication technology (2G) / third generation mobile communication technology (3G) / fourth generation mobile communication technology (4G) / 5G, etc. applied to the terminal device. The mobile communication module 550 can include at least one filter, a switch, a power amplifier, a low noise amplifier (LNA), etc. The mobile communication module 550 can receive electromagnetic waves by the antenna 1, and perform filtering, amplification, etc. on the received electromagnetic waves, and transmit the processed signals to the modem processor for demodulation. The mobile communication module 550 can also amplify the signals modulated by the modem processor, and radiate the signals as electromagnetic waves by the antenna 1. In some embodiments, at least part of the functional modules of the mobile communication module 550 can be arranged in the processor 510. In some embodiments, at least part of the functional modules of the mobile communication module 550 and at least part of the modules of the processor 510 can be arranged in the same device.

[0181] The wireless communication module 560 can be one or more devices integrating at least one communication processing module. The wireless communication module 560 receives electromagnetic waves via the antenna 2, performs frequency modulation and filtering processing on the electromagnetic wave signals, and transmits the processed signals to the processor 510. The wireless communication module 560 can also receive signals to be transmitted from the processor 510, perform frequency modulation and amplification on the signals, and radiate the signals as electromagnetic waves by the antenna 2.

[0182] In some embodiments, the antenna 1 of the terminal device is coupled with the mobile communication module 550, and the antenna 2 is coupled with the wireless communication module 560, so that the terminal device can communicate with the network and other devices through wireless communication technology.

[0183] In some embodiments, the functions of the memory 403 in FIG. 10 can be implemented by the internal memory 521 or the external memory 520 connected with the external memory interface 520 in FIG. 11, such as a Micro SD card.

[0184] In some embodiments, the functions of the output device 405 in FIG. 10 can be implemented by the display screen 594 in FIG. 11. The display screen 594 includes a display panel.

[0185] In some embodiments, the functions of the input device 406 in FIG. 10 can be implemented by a mouse, a keyboard, a touchscreen device, or the sensor module 580 in FIG. 11. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 11, the terminal device can further include one or more of an audio module 570, a camera 593, an indicator 592, a motor 591, a key 590, a SIM card interface 595, a USB interface 530, a charging management module 540, a power management module 541, and a battery 542, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0186] It can be understood that the structure shown in FIG. 11 does not constitute a specific limitation on the terminal device. For example, in other embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can include more or fewer components than those shown, or combine certain components, or split certain components, or different component arrangements. The components shown can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0187] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with FIG. 12.

[0188] It should be noted that in the following embodiments of the present application, the message names between the network elements, the names of the parameters, or the names of the information, etc. are only examples, and in other embodiments, they can also be other names, and the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is not limited to this. In addition, the processing performed by a single execution subject (terminal device or network device) shown in the embodiments of the present application can also be divided into processing performed by multiple execution subjects, which can be logically and / or physically separated, without limitation.

[0189] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, each network element can perform part or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application, and these steps or operations are only examples, and the embodiments of the present application can also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, each step can be performed in a different order according to the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiments of the present application are performed.

[0190] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, except for the "satellite beam" specifically indicated, the remaining beams refer to NR beams.

[0191] S1201. The network device sends first information to the terminal device, where the first information is used to indicate an activation time corresponding to each of the at least one beam.

[0192] In some embodiments, the activation time of each beam can be included in the first information, so as to indicate the activation time corresponding to the beam, i.e., to indicate when the beam is available for providing a communication service or is accessible.

[0193] Within the activation time of the beam, the beam can be activated, and the terminal device can access the beam to implement communication. Outside the activation time, the beam cannot be activated, and the terminal device cannot access the beam to implement communication.

[0194] It can be understood that the activation time can also be referred to as a non-activation time, which is the same in the following.

[0195] The activation time of one beam can be one or more. For example, the beam B3 is activated in the time interval A and the time interval B, i.e., the activation time of the beam B3 can correspond to the time interval A and the time interval B.

[0196] Here, the activation time of the beam can be obtained based on the periodicity of the SSB.

[0197] In a specific implementation, the activation time of the beam is the periodicity of the SSB. For example, if the periodicity of the SSB is 20 ms, the activation time of the beam can also be the time corresponding to the 20 ms periodicity.

[0198] In another specific implementation, the activation time of the beam is a time including the transmission time of the SSB corresponding to the beam.

[0199] For example, the activation time of the beam is consistent with the duration of the SSB burst set. For example, the SSB corresponding to a certain beam is transmitted in 0-40 ms with a periodicity of 20 ms, and the duration of the SSB burst set in which the SSB is located is 5 ms, i.e., the SSB burst set including the SSB can be continuously transmitted in 0-5 ms, 20-25 ms, and 40-45 ms, and the activation time of the beam corresponding to the SSB can include 0-5 ms, 20-25 ms, and 40-45 ms.

[0200] For example, the active time of the beam is the time including the duration of the SSB burst set. For example, the SSB burst set is continuously transmitted at 0-5 ms, 20-25 ms, and 40-45 ms, and the active time of the beam can include -1-5 ms, 19-26 ms, 39-45 ms, and the like. That is, the active time is earlier than the transmission time of the SSB burst set, so that the terminal device can avoid missing the SSB. Further, the time difference between the start time of the active time and the start time of the transmission of the corresponding SSB in the SSB burst set is less than the duration of the RLF timer, so that the RLF can be avoided.

[0201] It should be noted that the period of the SSB can change. For example, the period of the SSB can be changed from 20 ms to 160 ms, in which case the active time of the beam also changes accordingly, and the network device can transmit a new active time based on the changed period of the SSB.

[0202] In addition, although the SSB is configured according to the period, the actual transmission of the SSB is semi-static. For example, the period of the SSB is 20 ms, but the SSB is actually transmitted every 20 ms only at 0-40 ms, and at 40-100 ms, the SSB is not transmitted because the beam corresponding to the SSB is not activated. Further, the network device can configure the active time of the beam based on the period of the SSB and in combination with the actual transmission of the SSB, so that the active time is consistent with the time of the actual transmission of the SSB.

[0203] In a specific implementation, the first information can carry the active time of the beam.

[0204] For example, the active time of the beam can be a time period, that is, the beam is available in the time period, and the first information can carry information indicating the time period.

[0205] The information indicating the time period can be the start time and the end time of the time period, or the start time and the time length, and the like, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0206] The start time and the end time can be absolute time, or a time interval from the time when the terminal device receives the first information, or a time corresponding to a timer of the start time or a timer of the end time started after the terminal device receives the first information, and the like, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0207] In some embodiments, the first information can comprise an activation time of the configuration (e.g., SSB configuration) of each beam, thereby indicating the activation time corresponding to the beam, i.e., indicating when the configuration of the beam takes effect. Within the activation time, the configuration of the beam takes effect, and the terminal device can apply the configuration, e.g., apply the configuration of the beam to detect or access the beam. Outside the activation time, the configuration of the beam is invalid, and the terminal device can no longer use the configuration of the beam.

[0208] For example, the configuration of the beam can be different at different times, e.g., the periodicity of the SSB is different, the power is different, etc. That is, different configurations of the beam take effect at different time intervals, and different configurations of the beam have different activation times.

[0209] It can be understood that the activation time of the configuration of the beam is after the start time of the activation time of the beam, so that the configuration of the beam can be further applied after the beam is available, and the detection and access of the beam can be implemented. For example, if the activation time of the beam is 20-25 ms, the activation time of the configuration of the beam can be 21 ms.

[0210] The determination of the activation time of the beam can be referred to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0211] In a specific implementation, the first information can carry the activation time of the configuration.

[0212] For example, the activation time of the configuration can be a time point, i.e., indicating that the configuration takes effect from the time point, and the first information can carry information indicating the time point.

[0213] The information indicating the time point can be an absolute time, a time interval from when the terminal device receives the first information, or a time corresponding to a start time timer or an end time timer started after the terminal device receives the first information, etc., which will not be limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0214] For example, the activation time of the configuration can also be a time period, i.e., indicating that the configuration takes effect within the time period, and the first information can carry information indicating the time period, which can be referred to the foregoing description of the activation time of the beam, which will not be repeated here.

[0215] Further, the configuration of the beam can change, and after the configuration changes, the network device can obtain the activation time of the changed configuration.

[0216] The network device can send the first information to the terminal device by at least one of the following ways, which will not be limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0217] Manner 1, the network device can send the first information to the terminal device through dedicated RRC signaling or system message broadcast.

[0218] Manner 2, the network device sends the first information through configuration of cell switching. Exemplarily, the first information can be CHO configuration, and the network device can indicate the activation time corresponding to the beam in the CHO configuration.

[0219] Manner 3, the network device sends the first information through command of cell switching. Exemplarily, the first information can be L1 / L2 triggered mobility management (LTM) command, and the network device can indicate the activation time corresponding to the beam in the LTM command.

[0220] Manner 4, the network device sends the first information through configuration of the beam. Exemplarily, the first information can be configuration of the candidate beam list, and the network device can indicate the activation time corresponding to the beam in the configuration of the candidate beam list.

[0221] Manner 5, the network device sends the first information through beam change indication.

[0222] S1203, the terminal device receives the first information.

[0223] The reception of the first information can also be understood as the acquisition of the first information.

[0224] S1204, the terminal device communicates with the network device through the target beam according to the first information.

[0225] Based on the first information, the terminal device can obtain the activation time corresponding to the beam, access the target beam or apply the configuration of the target beam within the activation time, so as to successfully communicate with the network device through the target beam. In this way, it can be avoided to attempt to access, switch, etc. outside the activation time corresponding to the beam, and the meaningless reestablishment and ping-pong can be reduced.

[0226] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with respect to different first information.

[0227] Embodiment 1, the first information includes the activation time of a plurality of beams. Referring to FIG. 13, the communication method of embodiment 1 includes the following steps:

[0228] S1301, the network device sends the activation time of at least one beam to the terminal device.

[0229] The determination of the activation time of the beam can be referred to the relevant description in the foregoing, which will not be repeated here.

[0230] One beam can have one or more active times.

[0231] S1303, the terminal device receives the active time of the at least one beam.

[0232] After receiving the active time of the at least one beam, the terminal device can obtain the time during which each beam can provide communication services. For example, the active time of beam B5 includes 9-12 ms, and after obtaining the active time of beam B5, the terminal device can determine that beam B5 can normally provide communication services during 9-12 ms.

[0233] For parts not described in detail in S1301-S1303, please refer to the relevant description of S1201-1203 in the foregoing, which will not be described here again.

[0234] S1304, in a case where the terminal device is at a beam overlap position, the terminal device changes to communicate with the network device through the first beam based on the active time of the at least one beam.

[0235] For example, the terminal device changes from communicating through the second beam (i.e., the original serving beam is the second beam) to communicating through the first beam. That is, the target beam in S1204 described above is the changed first beam.

[0236] The beam overlap position refers to an overlapping area in the coverage areas of multiple beams.

[0237] It should be noted that the beam overlap position can also be referred to as a beam overlap location, a cell edge, etc., which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0238] When the terminal device is at the beam overlap position, in addition to the currently accessed second beam, other beams (such as the first beam) can also provide communication services, and the terminal device can change to communicate through the other beams based on the active time of the at least one beam.

[0239] The terminal device can determine whether the terminal device is at the beam overlap position through measurement. In a case where the terminal device is at the beam overlap position, the terminal device can change to communicate through the first beam.

[0240] Alternatively, the network device can determine whether the terminal device is at the beam overlap position based on the location of the terminal device and the coverage areas of the beams, and in a case where the terminal device is at the beam overlap position, the network device can instruct the terminal device to change to communicate through the first beam, i.e., the network device specifies the behavior of the terminal device in a case where the terminal device is at the beam overlap position.

[0241] In a specific implementation, the terminal device can change to communicate through the first beam based on the active time of the at least one beam before the currently accessed second beam fails.

[0242] The terminal device can change to the first beam indicated in the beam change indication. Alternatively, the terminal device can select the first beam based on a CHO configuration decision. Alternatively, the terminal device can select the first beam from the at least one beam based on an activation time of the at least one beam, for example, select the first beam with the longest activation time from the at least one beam, so that the communication service can be stably provided through the first beam after changing to the first beam, and frequent changes can be avoided.

[0243] For example, the terminal device can perform beam change or cell switching in the activation time of the first beam from the at least one beam, and communicate through the first beam after the change or the first beam corresponding to the cell after the switching. In this way, the terminal device can change to the first beam that can provide a communication service, and avoid the need to change again after a change failure, thereby reducing meaningless changes.

[0244] Further, in the case where the currently accessed second beam is equal to a cell, the terminal device can change to the first beam in the cell after the switching through cell switching. Thus, the terminal device can change from the second beam in the current serving cell (i.e., the cell corresponding to the second beam) to the first beam in the target cell.

[0245] Further, in the case where the currently accessed second beam is not equal to a cell, the terminal device can change to the first beam through beam change. Thus, the terminal device can change from the second beam in the current serving cell (i.e., the cell corresponding to the second beam) to the first beam in the serving cell, i.e., implement intra-cell beam change.

[0246] In another specific implementation, the terminal device can change to the first beam for communication based on the activation time of the at least one beam after the currently accessed second beam fails.

[0247] In example one, after the currently accessed second beam fails (e.g., detected through beam failure detection (BFD)), the terminal device can trigger BFR, select the first beam, and perform BFR in the activation time of the first beam. For example, the terminal device initiates a random access channel (RACH) request to the first beam, and sends BFR signaling (e.g., BFR MAC CE) to apply corresponding configurations to implement BFR. That is, the terminal device performs BFR in the activation time of the first beam. In this way, the terminal device will not fail in BFR due to the inactivation of the first beam.

[0248] In Example Two, after the second beam currently accessed fails (e.g., detected by BFD), the terminal device can trigger BFR, select the first beam in the activation time, and perform BFR. In this way, the first beam in the activation time is selected at the time of selection, so that the terminal device can quickly access the first beam in the activation time after the second beam fails.

[0249] Further, in a case where the second beam currently accessed is not equal to the cell, the terminal device can use the above-mentioned Example One or Example Two to implement beam change. In this way, after the second beam fails, the terminal device can change to the first beam in the cell through BFR.

[0250] In Example Three, after failure (e.g., after RLF), the terminal device triggers reestablishment (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) reestablishment), selects the first cell, and performs reestablishment in the activation time of the first beam included in the first cell. In this way, the terminal device will not fail to change to the first beam because the first beam is not activated.

[0251] In Example Four, after failure (e.g., after RLF), the terminal device triggers reestablishment (e.g., RRC reestablishment), selects the first cell corresponding to the first beam in the activation time, and performs reestablishment. In this way, the terminal device selects the first cell corresponding to the first beam in the activation time when selecting the first cell, so that the terminal device can quickly access the first beam in the activation time after the second beam fails.

[0252] Further, the reestablishment includes reestablishing to the first cell, or applying a CHO configuration, or performing a cell change procedure triggered by L1 / L2 layer mobility management (LTM).

[0253] Further, in a case where the second beam currently accessed is equal to the cell, the terminal device can use the above-mentioned Example Three or Example Four to implement beam change. It can be understood that, in a case where the second beam currently accessed is equal to the cell, after the second beam currently accessed fails, the terminal device cannot recover communication through BFR because there is no other beam in the serving cell (i.e., the cell corresponding to the second beam). In this case, the terminal device can change to the first beam through the above-mentioned Example Three or Example Four, so as to recover communication.

[0254] In S1305, in a case where the terminal device is located in a beam coverage hole, after the second beam fails, the terminal device recovers communication with the network device through the second beam based on the activation time of at least one beam.

[0255] For example, after the second beam (i.e., the original serving beam) fails, the terminal device resumes the communication through the second beam within the activation time of the second beam. That is, the target beam in S1204 is the second beam that is resumed, i.e., the original serving beam.

[0256] The beam coverage hole refers to a coverage area of a single beam, and when the single beam fails, no beam can cover the area.

[0257] It should be noted that the beam coverage hole can also be referred to as a beam coverage hole position, a cell center, a coverage hole, a beam non-coverage position, and the like, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations thereto.

[0258] In the case where the terminal device is at the beam coverage hole, after the currently accessed second beam fails, no other beam can provide communication services. Based on this, the terminal device can not perform the operation of resuming communication (such as not performing BFR or not performing reestablishment) outside the activation time of the second beam. The communication through the second beam is resumed again within the activation time of the second beam, so that the communication can be resumed again after the second beam is activated again. In this way, repeated attempts to communicate through other beams and repeated failures outside the activation time of the second beam can be avoided, and access failure due to the inactivation of the second beam can also be avoided.

[0259] Similar to the determination of whether the terminal device is at the beam overlap, the terminal device can determine whether the terminal device is at the beam coverage hole through measurement. In the case where the terminal device is at the beam coverage hole, after the currently accessed second beam fails, the terminal device can resume the communication through the second beam. Alternatively, the network device can determine whether the terminal device is at the beam coverage hole based on the position of the terminal device and the coverage area of each beam, and in the case where the terminal device is at the beam coverage hole, the network device can instruct the terminal device to resume the communication through the second beam after the currently accessed second beam fails, i.e., the network device specifies the behavior of the terminal device in the case where the terminal device is at the beam coverage hole.

[0260] In a specific implementation, the terminal device can resume the communication through the second beam through BFR.

[0261] In Example 1, after the currently accessed second beam fails (e.g., detected through BFD), the second beam is selected, and BFR is performed within the activation time of the second beam to resume the communication through the second beam. That is, the failed second beam is still selected, and BFR is performed after the activation time of the second beam is reached. Thus, in the case where no other beam is available, the second beam is continued to be used after the second beam is activated.

[0262] Example 2, after the second beam currently accessed fails (as detected by BFD), a second beam within the activation time is selected, BFR is performed, and communication is resumed through the second beam. In this way, the second beam that is activated is selected at the time of selection, and BFR can be directly performed after selection without waiting.

[0263] In the above examples 1 and 2, the terminal device does not perform BFR outside the activation time of the second beam. It should be noted that not performing BFR includes not performing BFR to resume to the second beam or other beams. It can be understood that since the terminal device is located at the beam coverage hole, there is no other beam available in addition to the second beam, and it is impossible to successfully resume to other beams through BFR. Therefore, not performing BFR outside the activation time of the second beam can avoid repeated recovery failures.

[0264] Further, the specific implementation of not triggering BFR includes at least one of the following:

[0265] Implementation 1, the BFR timer is not started.

[0266] When the beam (such as the second beam) failure is detected, the BFR timer is started to trigger the BFR. Then, when the beam failure is detected, the terminal device does not start the BFR timer, so that the BFR can not be triggered.

[0267] Exemplarily, the condition for starting the BFR timer can be added: the terminal device is at the beam overlap, or the terminal device is at the beam coverage hole and within the activation time of the failed beam (such as the second beam). In this way, even if the beam failure is detected, if the terminal device is at the beam coverage hole and outside the activation time of the failed beam, the BFR timer will not be started, thereby avoiding triggering the BFR.

[0268] Of course, within the activation time of the failed beam, the condition for starting the BFR timer is met, so that the BFR timer can be started, the BFR is triggered to be performed, and the BFR within the activation time of the failed beam is realized.

[0269] Implementation 2, the BFR timer is stopped.

[0270] If the beam is successfully recovered, the BFR timer will be reset or stopped, so that the BFR can be stopped.

[0271] In implementation 2, the terminal device can stop the BFR timer after starting the BFR timer, so that the BFR is stopped.

[0272] Exemplarily, a condition for stopping the BFR timer can be added: the terminal device is in a beam coverage hole and outside the activation time of the failed beam (e.g., the second beam). In this way, even if the beam failure is detected and the BFR timer is started, if the terminal device is in a beam coverage hole and outside the activation time of the failed beam, the BFR timer will be stopped, thereby stopping the BFR.

[0273] Of course, within the activation time of the failed beam, the BFR timer can also be resumed, thereby resuming the execution of the BFR, and achieving the execution of the BFR within the activation time of the failed beam.

[0274] Implementation 3: Stop increasing the beam failure instance count.

[0275] Upon detecting the beam (e.g., the second beam) failure, the beam failure instance count will be increased, thereby triggering the BFR.

[0276] In implementation 3, upon detecting the beam failure, the increase of the beam failure instance count can be stopped, thereby not triggering the BFR.

[0277] Exemplarily, a condition for increasing the beam failure instance count can be added: the terminal device is in a beam overlap, or the terminal device is in a beam coverage hole and within the activation time of the failed beam (e.g., the second beam). In this way, even if the beam failure is detected, if the terminal device is in a beam coverage hole and outside the activation time of the failed beam, the beam failure instance count will not be increased, thereby avoiding triggering the BFR.

[0278] Of course, within the activation time of the failed beam, the condition for increasing the beam failure instance count is met, thereby the beam failure instance count can be increased, triggering the execution of the BFR, and achieving the execution of the BFR within the activation time of the failed beam.

[0279] Further, when executing the BFR, the terminal device can indicate the same-beam recovery. Exemplarily, the terminal device can initiate RACH to the second beam and send BFR signaling (e.g., BFR MAC CE), and the BFR signaling can indicate the same-beam recovery.

[0280] Further, the terminal device can use the above-mentioned example 1 or example 2 to recover to the second beam through BFR in the case that the second beam is not equal to the cell.

[0281] In another specific implementation, the terminal device can recover to continue communication through the second beam through reestablishment.

[0282] Example 3, after failure (e.g. after RLF), not triggering reestablishment or not entering idle state outside the activation time of the second beam, performing reestablishment or recovery within the activation time of the second beam.

[0283] In this way, on the one hand, the terminal device will not attempt to recover communication outside the activation time of the second beam, thereby avoiding repeated attempts to fail, and will not fail to access the second beam due to the inactivation of the second beam.

[0284] On the other hand, performing reestablishment or recovery within the activation time of the second beam, the terminal device can successfully recover to the second beam in the case of the activation of the second beam.

[0285] Further, the specific implementation of not triggering reestablishment includes at least one of the following:

[0286] Implementation 4, not starting the RLF timer (i.e. T310).

[0287] After detecting RLF, the terminal device can start the RLF timer, and after the RLF timer expires, trigger reestablishment. Then, after detecting RLF, the terminal device does not start the RLF timer, and can not trigger reestablishment.

[0288] Exemplarily, the condition for starting the RLF timer can be added: the terminal device is at the beam overlap, or the terminal device is at the beam coverage hole and within the activation time of the failed beam (such as the second beam). In this way, even if RLF is detected, if the terminal device is at the beam coverage hole and outside the activation time of the failed beam, the RLF timer will not be started, thereby avoiding triggering reestablishment.

[0289] Of course, within the activation time, the condition for starting the RLF timer is met, so that the RLF timer can be started, triggering reestablishment to be performed within the activation time of the failed beam.

[0290] Implementation 5, stopping the RLF timer from running.

[0291] If the RLF timer expires, reestablishment will be triggered. Then, after starting the RLF timer, stopping the RLF timer, the RLF timer will not expire, thereby avoiding triggering reestablishment.

[0292] Exemplarily, the condition for ending the RLF timer can be added: the terminal device is at the beam coverage hole and outside the activation time of the failed beam (such as the second beam). In this way, even if RLF is detected and the RLF timer is started, if the terminal device is at the beam coverage hole and outside the activation time of the failed beam, the RLF timer can be stopped, thereby avoiding triggering reestablishment.

[0293] Of course, during the entering of the active time, the running of the RLF timer can be resumed, so that the reestablishment can be resumed after the expiration of the RLF timer.

[0294] Further, when performing the reestablishment, the terminal device can indicate for recovery. For example, the terminal device can initiate RACH to the cell of the second beam and indicate for recovery.

[0295] Further, the terminal device can resume to the second beam through the reestablishment in the case that the second beam is equal to the cell, by using the example 3 described above.

[0296] In another specific implementation, the terminal device can resume to continue to communicate through the second beam by a predefined behavior.

[0297] Example 4, after the current accessed second beam fails (e.g. detected by BFD), the access stratum (AS) function can be suspended outside the active time of the second beam. The AS function is resumed within the active time of the second beam to communicate through the second beam.

[0298] In this way, on the one hand, the terminal device can stop the behavior related to the cell outside the active time of the second beam, such as stopping the cell measurement, so as to avoid the invalid behavior outside the active time of the second beam.

[0299] On the other hand, the terminal device can resume the AS function within the active time of the second beam, so as to realize the cell measurement, access, and successfully resume the communication through the second beam within the active time of the second beam.

[0300] It should be noted that the examples 1-4 can also be applied in the case that the terminal device is at the beam overlap, in which case, after the current accessed second beam fails, the reestablishment is not triggered, the BFR is not triggered, or the AS function is suspended, and within the active time of the first beam, the reestablishment can be performed, the BFR can be performed, or the AS function can be resumed.

[0301] Example 2, the first information is the CHO configuration of the candidate cell. Referring to FIG. 14, the communication method of example 2 includes the following steps:

[0302] S1401, the network device sends the CHO configuration of at least one candidate cell to the network device, and the CHO configuration of each candidate cell is used to configure the execution condition of the candidate cell, at least one beam in the candidate cell, and the active time of each beam in the at least one beam.

[0303] It can be seen that, compared with the traditional CHO configuration, the CHO configuration in example 2 can also configure the active time of the beam.

[0304] The at least one beam in the candidate cell can be all beams in the candidate cell, or can be part of the beams in the candidate cell.

[0305] The network device can configure at least one candidate cell for the terminal device, and configure execution conditions of each candidate cell. For example, the execution conditions include a service time of the candidate cell, within which the terminal device can access the candidate cell.

[0306] For determination of the activation time of the beam, refer to the foregoing related description, which will not be repeated here.

[0307] S1403. The terminal device receives CHO configuration of the at least one candidate cell.

[0308] After receiving the CHO configuration of the at least one candidate cell, the terminal device can not only obtain the execution conditions of the candidate cell, but also obtain the at least one beam in the candidate cell and the activation time of the at least one beam, so as to obtain the time at which each beam in the candidate cell can provide communication service.

[0309] For parts not described in detail in S1401-S1403, refer to the related description of S1201-S1203 in the foregoing, which will not be repeated here.

[0310] S1404. The terminal device accesses a first cell in the at least one candidate cell according to the CHO configuration of the at least one candidate cell, and communicates through a third beam in the first cell.

[0311] That is, the target beam in the foregoing S1204 is the third beam.

[0312] In a specific implementation, the terminal device can select and access the first cell based on the execution conditions of the candidate cell in the CHO configuration.

[0313] For example, if the execution conditions of the first cell in the at least one candidate cell are met, such as the time-related conditions in the execution conditions of the first cell, the first cell is accessed. For specific implementation of selecting a cell based on the execution conditions of the candidate cell in the CHO configuration, refer to the description in related technologies, which will not be introduced here.

[0314] In this implementation, the third beam is one of the at least one beam in the CHO configuration of the first cell. For example, the CHO configuration of the first cell configures a beam B5, a beam B6 and a beam B7, and the third beam is one of the beam B5, the beam B6 and the beam B7. The terminal device can access the third beam within the activation time of the third beam, so as to successfully access the third beam and communicate through the third beam.

[0315] Further, the terminal device can select the third beam communication based on the activation time of at least one beam in the CHO configuration of the first cell.

[0316] For example, the third beam with the longest activation time among the at least one beam is selected, so that the communication service can be continuously and stably provided through the third beam, and frequent change of the service beam is avoided.

[0317] For another example, the third beam with the fastest activation among the at least one beam is selected, so that the third beam can be quickly accessed, and the communication service can be provided through the third beam.

[0318] In another specific implementation, the terminal device can select and access the first cell based on the execution condition of the candidate cell in the CHO configuration and the activation time of at least one beam in the candidate cell.

[0319] For example, if the execution condition of the first cell in the CHO configuration of the at least one candidate cell is met, and the activation time of at least one beam in the CHO configuration of the first cell also meets the condition, the first cell is accessed.

[0320] That is, not only the execution condition of the first cell is met, but also the activation time of at least one beam in the first cell meets the condition. For example, the activation time of at least one beam meets the following condition: the start time of the activation time is before the current time or within the first time length after the current time, and the time interval between the end time of the activation time and the current time exceeds the second time length, that is, there is a beam in the first cell that can be quickly activated or has been activated, and the beam can provide the communication service for a long time.

[0321] In the implementation, the third beam is one beam in the first cell whose activation time meets the condition. The terminal device can access the third beam within the activation time of the third beam, so that the third beam can be successfully accessed, and the communication is performed through the third beam.

[0322] In embodiment 3, the first information is the beam activation related information, and the beam activation related information is used to indicate the configuration of the target beam and the activation time of the configuration. Referring to FIG. 15, the communication method of embodiment 3 includes the following steps:

[0323] S1501, the network device sends the beam activation related information to the terminal device, and the beam activation related information is used to indicate the target beam and / or the configuration of the target beam, and the activation time of the configuration of the target beam.

[0324] The beam activation related information can be used to activate the configuration of the target beam.

[0325] The target beam can be indicated by a cell index and / or an SSB index. The target beam can be a currently accessed second beam (i.e., an original serving beam), or a beam other than the original serving beam. Embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0326] The configuration of the target beam can be an SSB configuration, such as a period of the SSB, a location of the SSB, an SSB block power, etc. The configuration of the target beam can be a complete set of SSB configurations.

[0327] The activation time of the configuration of the target beam is a time after the activation of the target beam, so that the configuration of the target beam can be applied after the activation of the target beam. It should be noted that in Embodiment 3, the network device indicates the configuration of the target beam in the beam activation related information, so as to avoid unsuccessful configuration delivery, it is usually necessary to obtain and deliver the beam activation related information before the activation time of the configuration, therefore, the activation time of the configuration needs to be indicated in the beam activation related information, so that the terminal device can determine the activation time of the configuration after obtaining the beam activation related information.

[0328] In a specific implementation, the network device can obtain the beam activation related information when the beam is changed. In this way, the changed target beam can be indicated, and the configuration of the target beam and the activation time of the configuration can also be indicated.

[0329] In another specific implementation, the network device can obtain the beam activation related information after the configuration of the currently accessed second beam is updated. In this way, the updated configuration and the activation time of the configuration can be indicated by the beam activation related information after the configuration of the second beam is updated.

[0330] For example, the network device can transmit the beam activation related information through L1 / L2 signaling, such as a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state or an LTM MAC CE.

[0331] S1503. The terminal device receives the beam activation related information.

[0332] After receiving the configuration activation related information, the terminal device can obtain the configuration of the target beam and the activation time of the configuration, so as to determine the time when the configuration of the target beam is used.

[0333] For parts not described in detail in S1501-S1503, please refer to the related description of S1201-1203 in the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0334] S1504, the terminal device applies the configuration of the target beam at the activation time indicated by the beam activation related information.

[0335] For example, the terminal device can apply the configuration change of the target beam to the target beam, such as applying the configuration to implement SSB detection, target beam access, etc.

[0336] In this way, the terminal device can apply the configuration of the target beam within the configured activation time, so that it can correctly access and use the target beam, and will not fail to access or communicate through the target beam due to configuration errors.

[0337] Embodiment 4, the first information is beam activation related information, the beam activation related information is used to indicate target configuration information of at least one configuration item in the configuration of the target beam, and the beam activation related information can not indicate the activation time of the configuration. Referring to FIG. 16, the communication method of embodiment 4 includes the following steps:

[0338] S1601, the network device sends the configuration of at least one beam to the terminal device, and at least one configuration item in the configuration of each beam includes multiple configuration values.

[0339] Among them, the configuration of the beam can be the SSB configuration, and for each beam, at least one configuration item includes multiple configuration values, that is, there are multiple candidate configuration values.

[0340] For example, the period of the SSB has multiple configuration values, such as 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, 80ms, 160ms, etc.

[0341] For example, the SSB block power has multiple configuration values, such as -60, -59, …, 50, etc.

[0342] That is, the network device can configure all possible configuration values in the SSB configuration of each beam for subsequent selection and use.

[0343] Further, for the beams (NR beams) in the above selection 1 and selection 3, the beam can be switched between activation and inactivation at different time points, and the network device can configure multiple configuration values for the period of the SSB in the SSB configuration of the beam to adapt to different scenarios of beam activation and inactivation.

[0344] Further, for the beam (NR beam) in the above selection 2, the power, position, etc. of the beam can change at different time points, and the network device can configure multiple configuration values for these possible changing configuration items (such as configuration items other than the period of the SSB) in the SSB configuration of the beam to adapt to the changes of the beam.

[0345] Exemplarily, the network device can send the configuration of at least one beam of the serving cell to the terminal device after the terminal device accesses the serving cell.

[0346] S1603, the terminal device receives the configuration of at least one beam.

[0347] In this way, the terminal device can obtain all possible configurations of each beam in advance, such as the period of multiple SSBs.

[0348] S1604, the network device sends beam activation related information to the terminal device, the beam activation related information being used to indicate target beam and / or target configuration information of at least one configuration item in the configuration of the target beam.

[0349] Different from S1501, in S1604, the beam activation related information can indicate the target configuration information of at least one configuration item in the configuration of the target beam, that is, the configuration value used by at least one configuration item is indicated.

[0350] In a specific implementation, the target configuration information is used to indicate one value in multiple configuration values of at least one configuration item. For example, multiple configuration values of the period of SSBs include 20ms, 40ms and 80ms, and can be indicated by 1, 2 and 3 respectively, and the target configuration information can be 1 or 2 or 3, thereby indicating one in multiple configuration values of the period of SSBs. In this way, it is convenient for the terminal device to select one value from multiple configuration values of at least one configuration item of the target beam.

[0351] In another specific implementation, the target configuration information can indicate a configuration value that is not in any configuration item.

[0352] Exemplarily, the target configuration information can indicate a value that is not included in multiple configuration values of at least one configuration item. For example, multiple configuration values of the period of SSBs include 20ms, 40ms and 80ms, and 160ms can be included in the target configuration information, thereby indicating a configuration value outside multiple configuration values of the period of SSBs, such as 160ms. In this way, it is convenient for the terminal device to obtain a configuration value outside multiple configuration values of at least one configuration item.

[0353] Exemplarily, the target configuration information can indicate a configuration value of a configuration item that lacks a configuration value. For example, in S1601, the configuration of at least one beam sent by the network device to the terminal device does not configure the power of SSB, and the target configuration value can indicate the power of SSB of the target beam. In this way, it is convenient for the terminal device to obtain the configuration value of the configuration item that lacks the configuration value.

[0354] And, different from S1501, in S1604, the beam activation related information can not indicate the configured activation time. It should be noted that, in embodiment 4, the configuration of the beam has been previously issued to the network device, such as issued to the terminal device through the aforementioned S1601-S1603, accordingly, the network device indicates the target configuration value of at least one configuration item in the beam activation related information, instead of the complete configuration of the target beam. Therefore, S1604 can issue the beam activation related information when the target configuration value is needed, and the terminal device can apply it immediately after receiving it, so as to not need to indicate the configured activation time in the beam activation related information.

[0355] In a specific implementation, the network device can obtain the beam activation related information when the beam is changed. In this way, the changed target beam can be indicated, and the target value, such as the first value or the second value, used in the configuration of the target beam can also be indicated.

[0356] In another specific implementation, the network device can obtain the beam activation related information after the currently accessed second beam is changed, so as to indicate the target value, such as the first value or the second value, matching the actual situation of the beam.

[0357] For the part not described in detail in S1604, please refer to the description of S1501, which will not be repeated here.

[0358] S1606, the terminal device receives the beam activation related information.

[0359] S1607, the terminal device applies the configuration of the target beam based on the target configuration information indicated by the beam activation related information.

[0360] For example, the terminal device can determine the target value of at least one configuration item in the configuration of the target beam based on the target configuration information indicated by the beam activation related information, such as the target value being the first value or the second value indicated by the target configuration information. Then, the terminal device can apply the target value of at least one configuration item and the configuration value of other configuration items (except at least one configuration item), such as applying the configuration change to the target beam.

[0361] In this way, the terminal device can obtain and apply the configuration of the target beam matching the actual situation of the target beam, so as to correctly access and use the target beam, and not cause access failure or unable to communicate through the target beam due to configuration error.

[0362] It should be noted that in the above embodiments 3 and 4, the network device can indicate the terminal device to apply a set of configurations of the target beam, such as sending the configurations in S1501 in embodiment 3, or sending the configurations including multiple configuration values in S1601 in embodiment 4, and then indicating the target configuration information in S1604, so as to indicate the application of the configurations matching the current or imminent situation of the target beam. Subsequently, the terminal device uses the indicated configurations, which can successfully detect and access the target beam, thereby avoiding meaningless reconstruction and ping-pong. That is, in embodiments 3 and 4, the network device indicates the application of the configurations matching the actual situation of the beam, and the indicated configurations can reflect the activation time corresponding to the beam, such as the period of SSB in the configurations.

[0363] It should be noted that each embodiment of the present application can be implemented independently or in combination, and is not limited. If there is no special description and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions provided in different embodiments of the present application are consistent and can be mutually referred to. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0364] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the execution subject can execute part or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application, and these steps or operations are only examples, and the embodiments of the present application can also execute other operations or various modifications of the operations. In addition, each step can be executed in a different order as presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiments of the present application are executed.

[0365] The above mainly introduces the scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of interaction between devices. It can be understood that each device includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to the execution of each function in order to achieve the above functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the present application can be realized in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in hardware or computer software driven hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0366] The embodiments of the present application can divide the functional modules of each device according to the above method examples. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated in one processing module. The above integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module. It should be noted that the division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical functional division. Actual implementation can have another division manner.

[0367] In the case of dividing each functional module according to each function, FIG. 17 shows a communication apparatus 170 that can perform the actions performed by the terminal device or the network device in the methods shown in FIGS. 12 to 16. All related contents of each step involved in the above method embodiments can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and the technical effects that can be obtained are referred to the above method embodiments, which will not be described here again.

[0368] The communication apparatus 170 can include a transceiver module 1701 and a processing module 1702. Illustratively, the communication apparatus 170 can be a communication device, or a chip or other combination device or component having the above communication apparatus function applied in the communication device. When the communication apparatus 170 is a communication device, the transceiver module 1701 can be a transceiver, which can include an antenna and a radio frequency circuit, etc. The processing module 1702 can be a processor (or processing circuit), for example, a baseband processor, which can include one or more CPUs. When the communication apparatus 170 is a component having the above communication apparatus function, the transceiver module 1701 can be a radio frequency unit. The processing module 1702 can be a processor (or processing circuit), for example, a baseband processor. When the communication apparatus 170 is a chip system, the transceiver module 1701 can be an input and output interface of a chip (for example, a baseband chip). The processing module 1702 can be a processor (or processing circuit) of the chip system, which can include one or more central processing units. It should be understood that the transceiver module 1701 in the embodiments of the present application can be realized by a transceiver or a transceiver related circuit component. The processing module 1702 can be realized by a processor or a processor related circuit component (or processing circuit).

[0369] For example, the transceiver module 1701 can be used to perform all transceiver operations performed by the communication apparatus in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 12 to 16, and / or for other processes supporting the technologies described herein. The processing module 1702 can be used to perform all operations performed by the communication apparatus in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 12 to 16, except for the transceiver operations, and / or for other processes supporting the technologies described herein.

[0370] As a further implementation manner, the transceiver module 1701 in FIG. 17 can be replaced by a transceiver which can integrate the functions of the transceiver module 1701; and the processing module 1702 can be replaced by a processor which can integrate the functions of the processing module 1702. Further, the communication device 170 shown in FIG. 17 can further include a memory.

[0371] In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0372] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product which, when executed by a computer, can implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0373] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program which, when executed by a computer, can implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0374] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer readable storage medium. All or part of the flow of the above method embodiments can be instructed by a computer program to relevant hardware to complete, and the program can be stored in the above computer readable storage medium. When the program is executed, the program can include the flow of the above method embodiments. The computer readable storage medium can be an internal storage unit of the terminal (including a data sending terminal and / or a data receiving terminal) of any of the above embodiments, such as a hard disk or a memory of the terminal. The computer readable storage medium can also be an external storage device of the terminal, such as a plug-in hard disk, a smart media card (SMC), a secure digital (SD) card, a flash card, etc. Further, the computer readable storage medium can include both the internal storage unit and the external storage device of the terminal. The computer readable storage medium is used to store the above computer program and other programs and data required by the terminal. The computer readable storage medium can also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or will be output.

[0375] It should be noted that the terms "first" and "second" and the like in the specification, claims and drawings of the present application are used to distinguish different objects, and are not used to describe a specific order. "First", "second" are only for description purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined with "first", "second" can explicitly or implicitly include one or more features. In the description of the embodiments, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "multiple" is two or more.

[0376] Furthermore, the term "comprising" and "including" and their variants are intended to be broad and not to exclude other features or steps. For example, a process, method, system, product or apparatus that comprises or includes a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements but can include additional steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, system, product or apparatus.

[0377] It should be understood that, in the present application, "at least one" means one or more. "Multiple" means two or more. "At least two" means two or three and more. "And / or", used to describe the relationship between the associated objects, means that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can mean that there are three cases: only A, only B and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents that the associated objects before and after are "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b or c, can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple. "When" and "if" both mean that under certain objective circumstances, the corresponding processing will be made, not limited to time, and also does not require the implementation to have the judgment action, nor means that there are other limitations.

[0378] In the embodiments of the present application, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design scheme described in the embodiments of the present application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Rather, the use of "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner in order to facilitate understanding.

[0379] In the present application, "sending information to (a terminal)" can be understood as that the destination of the information is the terminal. It can include directly or indirectly sending information to the terminal. "Receiving information from (a terminal)" can be understood as that the source of the information is the terminal, and it can include directly or indirectly receiving information from the terminal. The information between the source and the destination of the information sending can be processed as necessary, such as format change, etc., but the destination can understand the valid information from the source.

[0380] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand the above-mentioned technical solutions from the description of the above-mentioned embodiments. For the convenience and brevity of description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional modules is taken as an example. In actual application, the above-mentioned functions can be completed by different functional modules according to the needs, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0381] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, the division of the modules or units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, another division mode can be used. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0382] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as units can be one physical unit or multiple physical units, that is, they can be located in one place or distributed in multiple different places. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment.

[0383] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. The integrated unit can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit.

[0384] The integrated unit, if realized in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, can be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be essentially embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes a plurality of instructions for causing an apparatus (which can be a single-chip microcomputer, a chip, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in the embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various storage media that can store program codes.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is applied to a non-terrestrial communication network (NTN), and the method comprises: obtaining first information, the first information being used to indicate an activation time corresponding to each of at least one cellular beam; communicating through a target beam in the at least one cellular beam according to the first information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first information comprises an activation time of a cellular beam, or the first information comprises a configured activation time of a cellular beam.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The activation time corresponding to each cellular beam is obtained based on a periodic configuration of a reference signal corresponding to the cellular beam.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The activation time corresponding to each cellular beam is a period of a reference signal corresponding to the cellular beam; or The activation time corresponding to each cellular beam is a time including a transmission time of a reference signal corresponding to the cellular beam.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The obtaining of the first information comprises at least one of the following: The first information is obtained through radio resource control signaling; The first information is obtained through reception of a system broadcast message; The first information is obtained through reception of a configuration of cell switching; The first information is obtained through reception of a command of cell switching; The first information is obtained through reception of a configuration of a beam; And The first information is obtained through reception of an indication of beam change.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The communicating through the target beam in the at least one cellular beam according to the first information comprises: performing beam change or cell switching within an activation time of a first beam in the at least one cellular beam, and communicating through the first beam after the change or a cell after the switching, the target beam being the first beam.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The communicating through the target beam in the at least one cellular beam according to the first information comprises: after a failure of a cellular beam, selecting a first beam, and performing beam failure recovery within an activation time of the first beam; or after a failure of a cellular beam, selecting a first beam within an activation time, and performing beam failure recovery; after a radio link failure, selecting a first cell, and performing reestablishment within an activation time of a first beam included in the first cell; or after a radio link failure, selecting a first cell corresponding to a first beam within an activation time, and performing reestablishment; wherein the target beam is the first beam, and the first beam is different from an original serving cellular beam.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The communicating through the target beam in the at least one cellular beam according to the first information comprises: after a failure of a cellular beam, selecting a second beam, and performing beam failure recovery within an activation time of the second beam; or after a failure of a cellular beam, selecting a second beam within an activation time, and performing beam failure recovery; wherein the target beam is the second beam, and the second beam is the original serving cellular beam.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, No beam failure recovery related operation is performed outside the activation time. The not performing of the beam failure recovery related operation comprises: starting no beam failure recovery timer or stopping increasing a beam failure instance count or stopping a beam failure recovery timer from running.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The communicating through the target beam in the at least one cellular beam according to the first information comprises: After the radio link failure, performing the reestablishment or the recovery within an activation time of a second beam; The target beam is the second beam, and the second beam is an original serving cell beam.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, Outside the activation time of the second beam, the reestablishment is not triggered or the idle state is not entered. The reestablishment not being triggered includes: Starting or stopping a radio link failure timer.

12. The method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein, The communication through the target beam in the at least one cell beam according to the first information includes: After the cell beam failure, resuming an access layer function within an activation time of a second beam, and communicating through the second beam.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, Outside the activation time of the second beam, suspending the access layer function.

14. The method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein, The first information includes a conditional handover configuration of at least one candidate cell, and the conditional handover configuration of each candidate cell is used to configure an execution condition of the candidate cell, at least one cell beam of the candidate cell, and an activation time of the at least one cell beam of the candidate cell. The communication through the target beam in the at least one cell beam according to the first information includes: Accessing a first cell in the at least one candidate cell according to the conditional handover configuration of the at least one candidate cell; Accessing a third beam within an activation time of the third beam in the first cell, and the target beam is the third beam.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The accessing the first cell in the at least one candidate cell according to the conditional handover configuration of the at least one candidate cell includes: Selecting and accessing the first cell based on the execution condition of the at least one candidate cell; or Selecting and accessing the first cell based on the execution condition of the at least one candidate cell and the activation time of the at least one cell beam in each candidate cell.

16. The method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein, The first information includes beam activation related information, the beam activation related information is used to indicate a target beam and / or a configuration of the target beam, and an activation time of the configuration of the target beam.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein, The communication through the target beam in the at least one cell beam according to the first information includes: Within the activation time indicated by the beam activation related information, applying the configuration of the target beam.

18. The method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein, The first information includes beam activation related information, the activation related information is used to indicate a target beam and / or target configuration information of a configuration of the target beam, and the activation time corresponding to each cell beam includes a time of obtaining the first information.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein, The method further includes: Obtaining a configuration of at least one cell beam, and the at least one configuration item in the configuration of each cell beam includes a plurality of configuration values; The communication through the target beam in the at least one cell beam according to the first information includes: Based on the target configuration information indicated by the beam activation related information, applying the configuration of the target beam.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, The target configuration information can indicate at least one of the following configuration values: One configuration value in the plurality of configuration values of the at least one configuration item; One configuration value other than the plurality of configuration values of the at least one configuration item; or One configuration item of a configuration item lacking a configuration value.

21. The method of claim 19 or 20, wherein the at least one configuration comprises a periodicity of a reference signal; or the at least one configuration comprises one or more configurations in a configuration of the reference signal other than the periodicity of the reference signal. The method is applied to a non-terrestrial communication network (NTN), and the method comprises:

22. A method of communication, comprising: sending, to a terminal device, first information for causing the terminal device to communicate via a target beam of at least one cellular beam according to the first information, the first information being used to indicate an activation time corresponding to each of the at least one cellular beam; and communicating with the terminal device via the target beam. The first information comprises an activation time of a cellular beam, or the first information comprises an activation time of a configuration of a cellular beam.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein, The activation time corresponding to each cellular beam is obtained based on a periodicity configuration of a reference signal corresponding to the cellular beam.

24. The method of claim 22 or 23, wherein, The activation time corresponding to each cellular beam is a periodicity of a reference signal corresponding to the cellular beam; or 25. The method of any one of claims 22-24, wherein, The activation time corresponding to each cellular beam is a time including a transmission time of a reference signal corresponding to the cellular beam. The sending of the first information comprises at least one of:

26. The method of any one of claims 22-25, wherein, sending the first information via radio resource control signaling; sending the first information via a system broadcast message; sending the first information via configuration of cell switching; sending the first information via a command of cell switching; sending the first information via configuration of a beam; and sending the first information via an indication of beam change. The target beam is a beam accessed by the terminal device after performing beam change or cell switching within an activation time of a first beam of the at least one cellular beam. The target beam is a beam accessed by the terminal device after performing beam failure recovery within an activation time of a first beam after cellular beam failure; or 27. The method of any one of claims 22-26, wherein, The target beam is a beam accessed by the terminal device after performing reestablishment within an activation time of a first beam after radio link failure; 28. The method of any one of claims 22-26, wherein, wherein the first beam is different from an original serving cellular beam. The target beam is a beam accessed by the terminal device after performing beam failure recovery within an activation time of a second beam after cellular beam failure; wherein the second beam is the original serving cellular beam.

29. The method of any one of claims 22-26, wherein, No beam failure recovery related operation is performed outside the activation time; wherein the not performing of the beam failure recovery related operation comprises:

30. The method of claim 29, wherein, not starting a beam failure recovery timer or stopping increasing a beam failure instance count or stopping a beam failure recovery timer from running. The target beam is a beam accessed by the terminal device after performing reestablishment or recovery of reestablishment within an activation time of a second beam after radio link failure; wherein the second beam is the original serving cellular beam.

31. The method of any one of claims 22-26, wherein, No reestablishment is triggered or no idle state is entered outside the activation time of the second beam; wherein the not triggering of the reestablishment comprises:

32. The method of claim 31, wherein, not starting a radio link failure timer or stopping a radio link failure timer from running. The target beam is a beam accessed by the terminal device after recovering of radio link control functions within an activation time of a second beam after cellular beam failure. ​ 33. The method of any one of claims 22-26, wherein, ​ 34. The method of claim 33, wherein, suspend the access layer function outside the activation time of the second beam.

35. The method of any one of claims 22-26, wherein, The first information comprises a conditional handover configuration of at least one candidate cell, and each conditional handover configuration of the candidate cell is used for configuring an execution condition of the candidate cell, at least one cell beam of the candidate cell, and an activation time of the at least one cell beam of the candidate cell. The target beam is a third beam in a first cell accessed by the terminal device according to the conditional handover configuration of the at least one candidate cell.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein, The first cell is a cell in the at least one candidate cell that meets the execution condition; or, The first cell is a cell in the at least one candidate cell that meets the execution condition and at least one cell beam whose activation time meets the condition.

37. The method of any one of claims 22-26, wherein, The first information comprises beam activation related information, and the beam activation related information is used for indicating a target beam and / or a configuration of the target beam, and an activation time of the configuration of the target beam.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein, The target beam is a beam accessed by the terminal device within the activation time indicated by the beam activation related information by applying the configuration of the target beam.

39. The method of any one of claims 22-26, wherein, The first information comprises beam activation related information, and the activation related information is used for indicating a target beam and / or target configuration information of a configuration of the target beam, and the activation time corresponding to each cell beam comprises a time of obtaining the first information.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein, The method further comprises: sending, to the terminal device, a configuration of at least one cell beam, and each configuration of the at least one cell beam comprises a plurality of configuration values. The target beam is a beam accessed by the terminal device based on the target configuration information indicated by the beam activation related information by applying the configuration of the target beam.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein, The target configuration information can indicate at least one of the following configuration values: one of the plurality of configuration values of the at least one configuration item; one configuration value other than the plurality of configuration values of the at least one configuration item; or one configuration item of the at least one configuration item that lacks a configuration value.

42. The method of claim 40 or 41, wherein The at least one configuration item comprises a periodicity of a reference signal; or the at least one configuration item comprises one or more configuration items other than the periodicity of the reference signal in the configuration of the reference signal. comprising a processor and an interface circuit for receiving signals from other communication devices and transmitting signals to the processor or sending signals from the processor to other communication devices, the processor being used for implementing the method of any one of claims 1-21 or for implementing the method of any one of claims 22-42 by means of logic circuitry or executing code instructions.

43. A communications device, characterized by ​

Images