Satellite communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the embodiments of the present application are a satellite communication method and a related apparatus. The satellite communication method is applied to a network device, and beams which can be activated by the network device comprise first-type beams and second-type beams. The method comprises: on the basis of a plurality of second-type beams, the network device sends a plurality of first messages to a terminal, one first message corresponding to one second-type beam, and the first messages being used for indicating different transmission resources; the network device receives second messages, the second messages being sent on the basis of the transmission resources indicated by at least one first message; and the network device activates second-type beams associated with the second messages to provide a service for the terminal, the second-type beams associated with the second messages referring to second-type beams corresponding to the first messages for indicating transmission resources of the second messages. The network device supports the activation of beams having a wide coverage range, such that the increased coverage range of said beams can enhance the coverage area of the network device.

Description

Satellite communication method and related apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202411398031.7, filed on September 30, 2024, and entitled "Satellite communication method and related apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

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

[0003] Satellite communication is one of non-terrestrial network (NTN) communications. Compared with terrestrial network communication, satellite communication has the characteristics of wide coverage and not being easily damaged by natural disasters or external forces, and can be used to provide communication services for areas that cannot be covered by terrestrial networks.

[0004] An important component in satellite communication is that satellites work in space, and the power supply system is a solar panel, which results in that the satellite can only use limited energy storage to realize network coverage during communication. In general, in a satellite communication system, a satellite covers the ground using a high-gain beam, and one beam covers an area on the ground. A satellite can provide thousands of beams to cover the ground area, but due to the limitation of the finiteness of energy storage, the satellite cannot activate all beams for communication at the same time, which leads to the inability to realize the coverage of a large area of the satellite coverage area, and even more unable to realize full coverage. Therefore, how to realize the enhancement of the satellite coverage area is a problem to be solved. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a satellite communication method and related apparatus, aiming to realize the enhancement of the satellite coverage area.

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application provides the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a satellite communication method, which can be executed by a network device, or can also be executed by a component (such as a circuit, a chip or a chip system, etc.) configured in the network device, and can also be realized by a logic module or software which can realize all or part of the function of the network device. The present application does not make any limitation in this regard. Hereinafter, the network device is taken as an example for description, which supports an activated beam including a first type of beam and a second type of beam, the coverage range of the first type of beam is greater than that of the second type of beam, or the coverage range of the first type of beam is greater than a threshold value, and the coverage range of the second type of beam is less than the threshold value.

[0008] The satellite communication method comprises: a network device sending a plurality of first messages to a terminal based on a plurality of second type beams, one first message corresponding to one second type beam, each first message being used for indicating different transmission resources; the network device receiving a second message, the second message being sent based on the transmission resource indicated by at least one first message; and the network device activating the second type beam associated with the second message to provide service for the terminal, the second type beam associated with the second message referring to the second type beam corresponding to the first message used for indicating the transmission resource of the second message.

[0009] In the technical solution, the coverage of the first type beam is larger than that of the second type beam, the first type beam can also be referred to as a wide beam, and the second type beam can also be referred to as a narrow beam. The network device supports activating beams including two types of beams with different coverage ranges. Since the network device supports activating beams with wide coverage, the increased coverage of the beams can enhance the coverage area of the network device. The network device sends first messages to the terminal based on a plurality of narrow beams, then receives a second message sent based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message, which indicates that there is a terminal in the coverage range of the narrow beam sending the first message, and the network device activates the second type beam corresponding to the first message used for indicating the transmission resource of the second message to provide service for the terminal, which can realize the network device activating two types of beams with different coverage ranges, and can also ensure that the narrow beam capable of covering the location of the terminal is used to provide service for the terminal, and the data transmission between the network device and the terminal based on the channel can be correctly decoded.

[0010] In one possible implementation, before the network device sends a plurality of first messages to the terminal based on a plurality of second type beams, the network device further receives a third message. In some embodiments, the network device receives the third message based on a first type beam. It can be understood that the network device receives the third message as a trigger condition for the operation of the network device sending the first message based on the second type beam, receiving the second message sent based on the transmission resource of the first message, and then determining the second type beam corresponding to the first message used for indicating the transmission resource of the second message to provide service for the terminal.

[0011] In some embodiments, the terminal has a service demand, and the network device can receive the third message.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the network device receiving the second message comprises: the network device receiving a plurality of second messages, one second message being sent based on the transmission resource indicated by one first message. In some application scenarios, the first message sent by the network device is received by a plurality of terminals or repeatedly received by one or more terminals, and the terminal then sends a second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by each first message, and the network device can receive a plurality of second messages.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the network device activating the one or more second-type beams associated with the second message to serve the terminal comprises: the network device activating the one or more second-type beams associated with the second message to serve the terminal based on a distribution position of the terminal.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the network device activating the one or more second-type beams associated with the second message to serve the terminal comprises: the network device activating the one or more second-type beams associated with the second message to serve the terminal based on a distribution position of the terminal.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the number of the second-type beams activated by the network device associated with the second message is less than a threshold.

[0016] In a possible implementation, each first message comprises control information, and the control information in the plurality of first messages indicates different transmission resources.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the first message comprises Msg2 in 4-step random access, the second message comprises Msg3 in 4-step random access, and the third message comprises Msg1 in 4-step random access.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the first message comprises common information, and the second message comprises MsgA in 2-step random access.

[0019] In a second aspect, a satellite communication method is provided. The satellite communication method can be executed by a terminal or a component (such as a circuit, a chip, or a chip system) configured in the terminal, or can be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal. The present application does not make any limitation in this regard. Hereinafter, the terminal is taken as an example for description.

[0020] The satellite communication method comprises: receiving, by the terminal, a first message, one first message corresponding to one second-type beam, the first message being used to indicate a transmission resource; sending, by the terminal, a second message to a network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message, the second message being used to instruct the network device to activate a second-type beam associated with the second message to serve the terminal, the second-type beam associated with the second message referring to a second-type beam corresponding to the first message used to indicate the transmission resource of the second message; and the network device supporting an activated beam comprising a first-type beam and a second-type beam, the coverage range of the first-type beam being greater than the coverage range of the second-type beam, or the coverage range of the first-type beam being greater than a threshold, and the coverage range of the second-type beam being less than the threshold.

[0021] In the technical solution, the network device supports two types of beams with different coverage ranges, and since the network device supports the beams with wide coverage range, the increased coverage range of the beams can enhance the coverage area of the network device. The terminal receives the first message and sends the second message based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message, which can realize the sending of the second message through the transmission resource indicated by the first message, and the first message can explicitly indicate the used transmission resource. Since one first message corresponds to one second type of beam, the second type of beam required by the terminal, i.e., the second type of beam capable of covering the location of the terminal, can be explicitly indicated. In this way, when the network device activates two types of beams with different coverage ranges, the terminal is provided with services based on the second type of beam capable of covering the location of the terminal, and the network device and the terminal can correctly decode the data transmitted based on the channel.

[0022] In one possible implementation, before the terminal receives the first message, the terminal further sends a third message to the network device. In some embodiments, the third message sent by the terminal can be used as a trigger condition for the network device to screen the second type of beam for providing services to the terminal.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the terminal receiving the first message includes that the terminal receives a plurality of first messages, and the control information in the plurality of first messages indicates different transmission resources.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the terminal sending the second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message includes that the terminal sends the second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by one first message.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the terminal sending the second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message includes that the terminal determines a first message with the maximum signal strength from the plurality of first messages, and sends the second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message with the maximum signal strength. This can ensure the communication quality and efficiency of the communication between the terminal and the network device based on the second type of beam.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the terminal sending the second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message includes that the terminal determines one or more first messages with the signal strength greater than a threshold value from the plurality of first messages, and sends the second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the one or more first messages with the signal strength greater than the threshold value. This can also ensure the communication quality and efficiency of the communication between the terminal and the network device based on the second type of beam.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the terminal determining the first message with the largest signal strength from the plurality of first messages comprises: the terminal determining the first message with the largest signal strength from the plurality of first messages based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) on which the plurality of first messages are located.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the terminal determining the first message with the largest signal strength from the plurality of first messages comprises: the terminal determining the first message with the largest signal strength from the plurality of first messages based on a signal strength measurement result of a plurality of measurement reference signals, the plurality of measurement reference signals corresponding to the plurality of first messages one by one and being associated based on the same identifier.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the terminal determining one or more first messages with a signal strength greater than a threshold value from the plurality of first messages comprises: the terminal determining the one or more first messages with the signal strength greater than the threshold value from the plurality of first messages based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) on which the plurality of first messages are located.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the terminal determining one or more first messages with a signal strength greater than a threshold value from the plurality of first messages comprises: the terminal determining the one or more first messages with the signal strength greater than the threshold value from the plurality of first messages according to a signal strength measurement result of a plurality of measurement reference signals, the plurality of measurement reference signals corresponding to the plurality of first messages one by one and being associated based on the same identifier.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the network device transmits frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources of the DMRS, which are more than frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources of the first message.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the measurement reference signal is an L1-RSRP measurement reference signal.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the L1-RSRP measurement reference signal comprises: a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a cell reference signal.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the measurement reference signal is configured by the network device to the terminal based on signaling.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the signaling comprises: a broadcast message or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0036] In a possible implementation, the threshold value is configured by the network device to the terminal through signaling.

[0037] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, comprising a processing module and a transceiver module, the transceiver module being configured to send a plurality of first messages to a terminal based on a plurality of second type beams and receive a second message, one first message corresponding to one second type beam, each first message being used to indicate a different transmission resource, the second message being sent based on the transmission resource indicated by at least one first message, and the processing module being configured to activate the second type beam associated with the second message to provide service for the terminal, the second type beam associated with the second message referring to the second type beam corresponding to the first message used to indicate the transmission resource of the second message.

[0038] In some possible implementation manners, the transceiver module can further perform the receiving or sending operations proposed in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, and the processing module can perform all operations proposed in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect except the transceiving operations.

[0039] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, comprising a processing module and a transceiver module, the transceiver module being configured to receive a first message and send a second message to a network device based on a transmission resource indicated by the first message, wherein the first message is used to indicate the transmission resource, the second message is used to instruct the network device to activate a second type beam associated with the second message to provide service for the terminal, the second type beam associated with the second message referring to the second type beam corresponding to the first message used to indicate the transmission resource of the second message, the network device supporting the activated beams including first type beams and second type beams, the coverage of the first type beams being greater than the coverage of the second type beams, or the coverage of the first type beams being greater than a threshold value and the coverage of the second type beams being less than the threshold value, and the first message corresponding to one second type beam.

[0040] In some possible implementation manners, the transceiver module can further perform the receiving or sending operations proposed in any possible implementation manner of the second aspect, and the processing module can perform all operations proposed in any possible implementation manner of the second aspect except the transceiving operations.

[0041] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, comprising a processor coupled with a memory, and configured to execute instructions or data in the memory to implement the method in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

[0042] In one possible implementation manner, the communication apparatus further comprises the memory.

[0043] In one possible implementation manner, the communication apparatus further comprises a communication interface, and the processor is coupled with the communication interface. In one implementation manner, the communication interface can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0044] In another implementation, the communication apparatus is a chip configured in a satellite. When the communication apparatus is a chip configured in a satellite, the communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0045] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, comprising a processor coupled with a memory, and configured to execute instructions or data in the memory to implement the method in any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the communication apparatus further comprises the memory.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the communication apparatus further comprises a communication interface, and the processor is coupled with the communication interface. In one implementation, the communication interface can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0048] In another implementation, the communication apparatus is a chip configured in a terminal. When the communication apparatus is a chip configured in a terminal, the communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0049] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a processor, comprising an input circuit, an output circuit and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit, and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that the processor executes the method in any possible implementation of any aspect.

[0050] In the implementation process, the processor can be one or more chips, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the processing circuit can be a transistor, a gate circuit, a flip-flop and various logic circuits, etc. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example but not limited to, a receiver, the output signal output by the output circuit can be output to and transmitted by, for example but not limited to, a transmitter, and the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit which is used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. The present application does not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

[0051] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, comprising a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions), which, when executed, causes a computer to execute the method in any possible implementation of any aspect.

[0052] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions), which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method in any possible implementation of any aspect.

[0053] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a chip system, which comprises one or more processors for invoking and running instructions stored in a memory, so that the method in any one of the above aspects or possible implementation manners of the aspects is executed. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can comprise a chip and other discrete devices. The chip system can comprise an input circuit or interface for sending information or data, and an output circuit or interface for receiving information or data.

[0054] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which comprises the terminal and the network device as described above.

[0055] In a possible implementation manner, the communication system can further comprise other devices in communication with the terminal and / or the network device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0056] FIG. 1 is an example diagram of a scenario in which a base station communicates with a terminal;

[0057] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a satellite communication method disclosed by an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing coverage of a plurality of beams activated by a network device and a terminal position disclosed by an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing coverage of a plurality of beams activated by a network device and a terminal position disclosed by an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of another satellite communication method disclosed by an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG. 6 is an example diagram of a structure of a communication apparatus disclosed by an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG. 7 is an example diagram of a structure of another communication apparatus disclosed by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely in the following with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. The terms used in the following embodiments are only for the purpose of describing the specific embodiments and are not intended to be limiting to the present application. As used in the specification and the appended claims of the present application, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “one or more,” “and / or,” when used in the present application, mean that there are three possible relations including A alone, A and B, and B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural.

[0064] In this specification, reference to “one embodiment” or “some embodiments” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the application. The appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in some embodiments,” “in other embodiments,” “in additional embodiments,” and so on, in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, unless otherwise specifically stated. The terms “including,” “containing,” “having,” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to,” unless expressly specified otherwise.

[0065] The plurality of embodiments of the present application refers to greater than or equal to two. It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of the present application, the terms “first,” “second,” and the like are used only for the purpose of distinguishing the described embodiments, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor can they be understood as indicating or implying order.

[0066] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the concepts involved in the embodiments will be described first.

[0067] 1、Satellite communication

[0068] Satellite communication currently mainly includes two mainstream communication modes: a relay mode and a regenerative mode. In the relay mode, the satellite is responsible for relaying the uplink data of the terminal to the base station, or relaying the downlink data from the base station to the terminal, and does not include coding and decoding and other related operations; in the regenerative mode, part of the functions of the base station are on the satellite, that is, the satellite assumes part of the functions of the base station, such as coding and decoding functions, and the satellite receives the uplink data from the terminal and performs coding and decoding operations. Hereinafter, the satellite and the base station with all or part of the functions of the base station can be collectively referred to as network equipment.

[0069] 2、Beamforming

[0070] The network device can interact with the terminal through the beamforming technology. The network device can usually form multiple downlink (DL) transmission beams. In one or more DL transmission beams, the downlink signal can be transmitted to the terminal in the coverage range of the beam, and the terminal in the coverage range of the beam can receive the downlink signal through the beam.

[0071] 3、SSB, SSB opportunity, slot, half frame, SSB period

[0072] In the NR system, a synchronization signal block (SS / PBCH block, SSB) includes a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), which is used to realize cell initial access, time-frequency synchronization, and measurement functions. Transmitting an SSB occupies a certain time domain symbol, so the resource for transmitting an SSB is called a candidate SSB opportunity, which is referred to as an SSB opportunity.

[0073] A slot can include multiple groups of time domain symbols, and each group of time domain symbols can include multiple time domain symbols. A slot can support at most two SSBs, which are located in different groups of time domain symbols in the slot. That is, a slot includes at most 2 SSB opportunities.

[0074] A half frame or SSB time window includes at most L SSB opportunities, that is, an SSB time window supports at most L SSBs, and L is a positive integer. Different beams can be used to transmit SSBs in different SSB opportunities, and multiple terminals can receive SSBs.

[0075] The network device can periodically transmit SSBs, that is, the SSB time window can periodically appear. The network device periodically transmits SSBs with a configured time length as a period, and only transmits SSBs in the SSB time window in the SSB transmission period. The configured time length can be referred to as the SSB transmission period length, and the period between the start of one period and the start of the next period is referred to as the SSB period.

[0076] Among them, the related introduction of beamforming, SSB, SSB opportunity, slot, half frame, SSB period and the like for satellite communication is only for the convenience of understanding the technical solutions of the present application, and does not constitute any limitation on the present application.

[0077] The technical solutions of the present application can be applied to satellite communication systems, high altitude platform station (HAPS) communication, air-to-ground (A2G) communication and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and the like non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems. For example, integrated communication and navigation (ICaN) systems, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and the like.

[0078] The satellite communication system can be integrated with the traditional mobile communication system. For example: the mobile communication system can be a 4th generation (4G) communication system (for example, a long term evolution (LTE) system), a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, a 5th generation (5G) communication system (for example, a new radio (NR) system), and a future mobile communication system and the like.

[0079] The communication system provided by the present application can include: a first device and a second device, the first device can be a network side device for providing network communication function, can be a network side device carried on a satellite, that is, a satellite and a base station with all or part of the function of a base station, the base station can refer to an evolutional Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE; or a base station in a 5G network or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), a broadband network gateway (BNG), a convergence switch or a non-3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) access device, etc., the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitation.

[0080] The base station can also include various forms, such as a macro base station, a micro base station (also known as a small station), a relay station, an access point, a next-generation base station (gNodeB, gNB), a baseband unit (BBU), a transmitting and receiving point (TRP), a transmitting point (TP), a mobile switching center, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations thereto.

[0081] The second device can be a device accessing the network, which can generally be a terminal. The terminal can be various forms, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a vehicle-mounted terminal device, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical treatment, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a wearable terminal device, etc. The terminal can also be referred to as a terminal device, a user equipment (UE), an access terminal device, a vehicle-mounted terminal, an industrial control terminal, a UE unit, a UE station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal device, a mobile device, a UE terminal device, a wireless communication device, a UE agent, or a UE apparatus, etc. The terminal can also be a fixed terminal or a mobile terminal.

[0082] In some embodiments, the communication system can also include other devices in communication with the first device and / or the second device, which are not limited by the present application.

[0083] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a satellite communication system according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0084] As shown in FIG. 1, the network device provides network coverage for a plurality of terminals on the ground. The terminals in the coverage area of the network device can receive downlink data sent by the network device, and can also send uplink data to the network device.

[0085] Due to the very severe path loss in high frequency communication, beamforming technology is usually used to concentrate signals in one direction for transmission, thereby compensating for the severe path loss. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a network device transmits beams B1, B2 and B3 in different directions, and different beams cover different ground areas. The area covered by any beam can include one or more cells. In FIG. 1, each cell is represented by a hexagon.

[0086] In practice, in order to meet the requirement of covering a larger area, each satellite provides thousands of beams. Unlike ground base stations, satellites are mainly powered by solar energy, which determines that the available energy of the satellite is limited, and it is impossible to activate a large number of beams at the same time (in the same time period). For example, the total number of beams in the coverage area of a satellite is 1058, in some cases, the total number of beams activated by the satellite at the same time is limited to 106, and in other cases, the number of beams activated by the satellite at the same time is limited to 16.

[0087] In addition, based on the requirement of compatibility, the 20 ms SSB period and SSB structure are usually required to remain unchanged, but the 20 ms SSB period cannot meet the coverage requirement of the total number of beams activated by the satellite. For example, when the total number of beams activated by the satellite is 1058 and the total number of beams activated by the satellite at the same time is 106, the 20 ms SSB period only supports 4 SSB opportunities, that is, the number of beams that can be activated in the 20 ms period is 424, which can only meet 40% (424 / 1058≈40%) of the coverage requirement. Therefore, it is urgent to improve the function of the satellite in activating multiple beams.

[0088] In order to complete the network coverage in the coverage area of the satellite on the limited SSB opportunities, it is explored to switch the narrow beam coverage of the satellite to wide beam coverage. That is, in an implementation manner, it is explored that the network device supports activating a beam with a wide coverage range, for example, the coverage diameter of the beam is increased from 50 km to 79 km, that is, the coverage range of a single beam is increased by 2.5 times.

[0089] However, the increase of the coverage diameter from 50 km to 79 km will cause a decrease of 4 dB in the effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP), and the wide beam will cause part of the channels to not meet the required SNR requirement, which will cause the data transmitted by the channel to be unable to be correctly decoded.

[0090] Therefore, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method of a satellite, which can realize enhanced coverage of the coverage area of the satellite, and can also realize avoiding the data transmitted by the channel to be unable to be correctly decoded on the premise of ensuring the enhanced coverage of the coverage area of the satellite.

[0091] In the communication method of the satellite provided in the embodiments of the present application, the network device supports activating two types of beams, the coverage range of the first type of beam is greater than the coverage range of the second type of beam, and in the case of using the coverage diameter of a beam to indicate the coverage range, the coverage diameter of the first type of beam can be 79 km, and the coverage diameter of the second type of beam can be 50 km; or, the coverage range of the first type of beam is greater than a threshold, and the coverage range of the second type of beam is less than the threshold, and in the case of using the coverage diameter of a beam to indicate the coverage range, the threshold can be, for example, 80 km.

[0092] It can be understood that the threshold can be obtained by adding a change amount to the basic coverage diameter of the beam activated by the satellite, the basic coverage diameter of the beam activated by the satellite is a preset value, for example, 50 km, and the change amount can be determined based on the difference between the link budget CNR (carrier-to-noise ratio) and the required SNR, and the greater the difference, the greater the change amount.

[0093] It should be noted that the above numerical values are only examples and do not limit the coverage range of the first type of beam and the second type of beam.

[0094] In some embodiments, the first type of beam and the second type of beam can each include a plurality of beams, and the directions of different beams can be different. For ease of introduction, the first type of beam includes a first beam and a second beam, and the second type of beam includes a third beam, a fourth beam, and a fifth beam, which are described in the form of examples below.

[0095] Before introducing the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, the purposes of the first type of beam (also referred to as a wide beam) and the second type of beam (also referred to as a narrow beam) supported by the network device to be activated are introduced.

[0096] In some embodiments, the network device transmits common information through the wide beam, which can ensure the transmission of the common information in the coverage area of the network device, and ensure that all terminals in the coverage area can receive the common information, thereby implementing cell camping, channel measurement, time-frequency domain synchronization, and the like. That is, the first type of beam is used to support the network device to transmit common information. For example, the wide beam is the first beam, and the network device transmits common information based on the first beam, and the terminals in the coverage range of the first beam can receive the common information.

[0097] In some embodiments, the common information can include: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, a synchronization signal / physical broadcast block (SSB), a system information block (SIB), common control information carried by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and the like.

[0098] In some embodiments, the network device can activate multiple first-type beams at the same time, for example, the network device activates a first beam and a second beam at the same time, the coverage ranges of the multiple first-type beams can be completely different or partially the same, the network device transmits common information based on the multiple first-type beams, and terminals in the coverage ranges of the multiple first-type beams can all receive the common information. In some embodiments, the number of first-type beams activated by the network device at the same time can also be limited.

[0099] In some embodiments, the second-type beams, i.e., narrow beams, are used to support traffic transmission. The network device and the terminal can transmit relevant data of traffic transmission, such as control information and traffic data of the terminal, through the narrow beams. It can be understood that the traffic data of the terminal is uplink / downlink traffic data, and the control information is uplink / downlink control information. That is, the second-type beams are used to support transmission of control information and traffic data of the terminal. The uplink / downlink traffic data is, for example, data of services such as voice calls and data transmission, and the uplink / downlink control information is, for example, control information of a synchronization signal, a random access process, and scheduling information.

[0100] Taking a narrow beam as a third beam as an example, the network device transmits traffic data of a terminal based on the third beam, the terminal is in the coverage range of the third beam, and based on this, the terminal can receive the traffic data. Moreover, since the coverage range of the third beam is small, after receiving the traffic data of the terminal transmitted by the network device, the terminal can correctly decode the traffic data, thereby ensuring normal operation of the service.

[0101] In some embodiments, the network device can activate multiple second-type beams at the same time, for example, the network device activates a third beam, a fourth beam, and a fifth beam at the same time, the coverage ranges of the multiple second-type beams can be completely different or partially the same. In some embodiments, the number of second-type beams activated by the network device at the same time can also be limited.

[0102] Figure 2 shows a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the network device implements switching of two types of beams with different coverage ranges, and can also implement the scenario of switching from a wide beam to a narrow beam, to ensure that the terminal is provided with services by a narrow beam capable of covering the location of the terminal.

[0103] In some embodiments, the manner in which the network device determines the narrow beam capable of covering the location of the terminal is that the network device transmits different first messages through different narrow beams, the different first messages indicating different transmission resources; the terminal receives the first message transmitted by the network device, transmits a second message based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message, and the network device receives the second message, so that the network device can determine that the narrow beam corresponding to the first message indicating the transmission resource of the second message is capable of covering the location of the terminal. This is described in detail below in combination with Figure 2.

[0104] As shown in Figure 2, the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application comprises:

[0105] S201, the network device transmits a first message based on a plurality of second type beams, and correspondingly, the terminal receives the first message; wherein: one first message corresponds to one second type beam, and each first message includes control information, and the control information in the plurality of first messages indicates different transmission resources.

[0106] The network device activates a plurality of second type beams and transmits the first message through the activated plurality of second type beams. The terminal in the coverage range of the activated second type beam can receive the first message. The first message is used to indicate the transmission resource of the message, and the transmission resource of the message indicated by different first messages is different.

[0107] In some embodiments, the first message includes control information, and the control information is used to indicate the transmission resource of the message. The network device transmits the first message based on the plurality of second type beams, that is, the network device transmits a plurality of first messages, and of course, the control information in each first message indicates a unique transmission resource, that is, the transmission resources indicated by the control information in the plurality of first messages are different. It can be understood that the transmission resource is an uplink transmission resource, which can include the time domain resource and / or frequency domain resource of the uplink message sent by the terminal to the network device. The second message proposed below is an uplink message.

[0108] The network device can be configured with a plurality of second type beams and a corresponding relationship of a plurality of transmission resources indicated by the first message. For example, the second type beam includes a third beam, a fourth beam and a fifth beam, and the corresponding relationship indicates that the third beam corresponds to transmission resource 1, the fourth beam corresponds to transmission resource 2, and the fifth beam corresponds to transmission resource 3; of course, the transmission resources 1, 2 and 3 are only examples and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the present application.

[0109] In some embodiments, the second type of beams used by the network device to send the first message are limited in number, i.e., the network device activates a limited number of second type of beams at the same time.

[0110] In some embodiments, the network device can send the first message based on the plurality of first type of beams at an agreed time or with an agreed period.

[0111] In some other embodiments, the network device can send the first message based on the plurality of second type of beams triggered by the terminal sending the third message. That is, the terminal sends the third message, and the network device receives the third message, and then the network device sends the first message based on the plurality of second type of beams.

[0112] In some embodiments, the third message can refer to Msg1 in the 4-step random access procedure, or a preamble sequence, the first message can refer to Msg2, i.e., RAR (random access response) in the 4-step random access procedure, and the second message can refer to Msg3 in the 4-step random access procedure. Alternatively, the first message refers to common information, and the second message refers to MsgA in the 2-step random access procedure.

[0113] 4-step random access refers to that the terminal and the network device complete the random access procedure through four steps of MSG1, MSG2, MSG3 and MSG4. 2-step random access refers to that the terminal and the network device complete the random access procedure through two steps of Msg A and Msg B. Wherein: MSG1, MSG2, MSG3 and Msg A can refer to the definition of relevant protocol specification, which is not expanded here.

[0114] In some embodiments, the network device receives the third message based on the first type of beams. That is, the network device activates one or more first type of beams, the terminal in the coverage of the activated first type of beams sends the third message, and the network device receives the third message based on the first type of beams. The network device receives the third message based on the first type of beams can ensure that more terminals can send the third message.

[0115] S202, the terminal sends the second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message, and the network device receives the second message correspondingly, the second message is sent based on the transmission resource indicated by the control information in the at least one first message.

[0116] The terminal in the coverage of the activated second type of beams can receive the first message, and after receiving the first message, the terminal can send the second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message.

[0117] In some embodiments, the control information of the first message is used to indicate the transmission resource, based on which, after the terminal receives the first message, the terminal sends the second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the control information in the first message.

[0118] As can be seen from the foregoing steps and the present step, the network device sends the first message by using multiple second-type beams, each first message indicates a unique transmission resource, after the terminal receives the first message, the terminal sends the second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message, and the network device receives the second message, and based on the transmission resource of the second message, it can be determined that the terminal is in the coverage range of which second-type beam. Then, the network device can perform the following step S203, activates the second-type beam capable of covering the location of the terminal to provide services to the terminal, which can realize the scenario of switching from the first-type beam (i.e. wide beam) to the second-type beam (i.e. narrow beam), and ensure that the narrow beam capable of covering the location of the terminal is used to provide services to the terminal. Moreover, based on the narrow beam to provide services to the terminal, the network device and the terminal can correctly decode the data transmitted based on the channel.

[0119] In the present embodiment, the network device supports the activated beams including two types of beams with different coverage ranges. Since the network device supports the activated beams with wide coverage range, the increased coverage range of such beams can achieve enhanced coverage of the coverage area of the network device.

[0120] As can be seen from the foregoing content, in some embodiments, the third message can refer to Msg1 in the 4-step random access procedure, or called preamble sequence; the first message can refer to Msg2 in the 4-step random access procedure, i.e. RAR (random access response); and the second message can refer to Msg3 in the 4-step random access procedure.

[0121] In one application scenario, after the terminal is powered on, it performs cell search and uses random access to access the cell after searching for a suitable cell. In this application scenario, the terminal can perform the foregoing steps S201 and S202 based on the 4-step random access procedure, which will be described below in combination with FIG. 3.

[0122] 1. The network device activates one or more first-type beams, and the terminal is in the coverage range of the activated first-type beam, and the terminal can send Msg1 to the network device. Referring to FIG. 3, the first beam is a first-type beam, the network device activates the first beam, and the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 are in the coverage range of the first beam, and the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 send Msg1 to the network device.

[0123] 2、The network device receives the Msg1 sent by the terminal, and sends Msg2, i.e., RAR, based on multiple second-type beams; in the Msg2, the network device sends downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal through a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and the DCI contains an UL grant, which is used to indicate the uplink resource that can be used by the terminal in the Msg3. The uplink resource can also be referred to as a transmission resource or a message transmission resource.

[0124] In some embodiments, the UL grants in the multiple Msg2s can be used to indicate different Msg3 transmission resources.

[0125] Referring to FIG. 3, the third beam, the fourth beam, and the fifth beam are second-type beams, and the network device sends three Msg2s, i.e., Msg2-1, Msg2-2, and Msg2-3, through the third beam, the fourth beam, and the fifth beam; that is, the network device sends the Msg2-1 based on the third beam, the third beam corresponds to the Msg2-1; sends the Msg2-2 based on the fourth beam, the fourth beam corresponds to the Msg2-2; and sends the Msg2-3 based on the fifth beam, the fifth beam corresponds to the Msg2-3. The UL grants in the Msg2-1, the Msg2-2, and the Msg2-3 indicate different transmission resources, i.e., different time-domain resources and / or frequency-domain resources.

[0126] 3、After receiving the Msg2, the terminal can send the Msg3 to the network device according to the transmission resource indicated by the UL grant in the Msg2.

[0127] In this case, the terminal can be in the coverage of one or more second-type beams activated by the network device, and correspondingly, the terminal can receive one or more Msg2s. In the case where the terminal receives one Msg2, the terminal sends the Msg3 to the network device by using the transmission resource indicated by the UL grant in the Msg2; in the case where the terminal receives multiple Msg2s, the terminal can send the Msg3 to the network device by using the transmission resource indicated by the UL grant in one or more Msg2s.

[0128] The specific implementation manner in which the terminal receives multiple Msg2s, and sends the Msg3 to the network device by using the transmission resource indicated by the UL grant in one or more Msg2s can be referred to the content of the following embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0129] Referring to FIG. 3, the terminal 2 is in the coverage of the fifth beam, and can receive the Msg2-3 sent by the network device based on the fifth beam. The terminal sends the Msg3 to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the UL grant in the Msg2-3.

[0130] The terminal 1 is in the coverage of the third beam and the fourth beam, and can receive the Msg2-1 sent by the network device based on the third beam and the Msg2-2 sent by the network device based on the fourth beam. The terminal 1 sends the Msg3 to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the UL grant in the Msg2-1 and / or the Msg2-2. In one example, the terminal sends the Msg3 to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the UL grant in the Msg2-2.

[0131] In some other embodiments, the first message can refer to common information, and the second message can refer to MsgA in the 2-step random access procedure. The terminal can perform the foregoing steps S201 and S202 based on the 2-step random access procedure, and can perform the following steps:

[0132] 1. The network device activates one or more second-type beams, and sends common information such as SIB, RRC signaling, etc. based on the activated one or more second-type beams. The common information indicates the uplink resource that can be used by the terminal in the MsgA. In some embodiments, the common information sent by different second-type beams can indicate different transmission resources of the MsgA.

[0133] 2. The terminal is in the coverage of the activated first-type beam, and can receive the common information and send the MsgA to the network device according to the transmission resource indicated by the common information.

[0134] In the foregoing steps, the terminal can be in the coverage of one or more second-type beams activated by the network device, and correspondingly, the terminal can receive one or more common information. In the scenario where the terminal receives one common information, the terminal sends the MsgA to the network device by using the transmission resource indicated by the common information. In the scenario where the terminal receives multiple common information, the terminal can send the MsgA to the network device by using the transmission resource indicated by one or more common information.

[0135] The specific implementation manner of the terminal receiving multiple common information and sending the MsgA to the network device by using the transmission resource indicated by one or more common information can be referred to the content of the following embodiments, which is not described here.

[0136] S203. The network device activates the second-type beam associated with the second message, where the second-type beam associated with the second message refers to the second-type beam corresponding to the first message used for indicating the transmission resource of the second message.

[0137] The network device can determine the first message indicating the transmission resource of the second message based on the transmission resource of the second message after receiving the second message, and activate the second type of beam corresponding to the first message to provide services for the terminal. In some embodiments, the network device blindly detects the second message in different transmission resources, and after receiving the second message in a transmission resource indicated by a certain first message, the network device determines the second type of beam corresponding to the first message indicating the transmission resource, and activates the second type of beam to provide services for the terminal.

[0138] The second type of beam corresponding to the first message indicating the transmission resource of the second message can be referred to as the second type of beam associated with the second message. Of course, the network device closes other second type of beams except the second type of beam associated with the second message among the multiple second type of beams activated by the network device in step S201.

[0139] In some embodiments, the network device can receive one second message, that is, the network device blindly detects the second message in one transmission resource. The network device activates the second type of beam associated with the second message to provide services for the terminal. In some embodiments, the second message can include the identity of the sending terminal, and the network device can determine the object based on the identity of the terminal based on the second type of beam associated with the second message to provide services, or can determine the service data to be transmitted based on the identity of the terminal based on the second type of beam associated with the second message.

[0140] In another embodiment, the network device receives multiple second messages, and of course, each second message is sent by a terminal based on a transmission resource indicated by a first message, that is, the transmission resource of each second message is unique. And the terminal sending multiple second messages can be the same terminal or different terminals.

[0141] The network device receives multiple second messages, and the network device activates one or more second type of beams associated with the second message to provide services for the terminal. One implementation of the network device activating one or more second type of beams associated with the second message to provide services for the terminal is that the network device activates one or more second type of beams associated with the second message to provide services for the terminal.

[0142] In some embodiments, the network device activates one or more second type of beams associated with the second message to provide services for the terminal according to the implementation. It can be understood that the network device determines to activate one or more second type of beams associated with the second message to provide services for the terminal based on an algorithm.

[0143] In some embodiments, the network device activates one or more second type of beams associated with the second message to provide services for the terminal based on the distribution position of the terminal.

[0144] It can be understood that, based on the distribution position of the terminal, one principle for the network device to activate one or more second type beams associated with the second message to provide services for the terminal is that the network device needs to ensure that each terminal sending the second message is able to be in the coverage range of the activated second type beam, that is, to ensure that the activated second type beam is able to cover the positions of multiple terminals sending the second message, and the number of the activated second type beams can also be required to be as small as possible.

[0145] Referring to FIG. 3, the network device receives the Msg3 in the transmission resource indicated by the UL grant in the Msg2-3, and the network device receives the Msg3 in the transmission resource indicated by the UL grant in the Msg2-2; the network device determines that the Msg2-3 sent by the fifth beam and the Msg2-2 sent by the fourth beam indicate the transmission resources of two Msg3s, in order to ensure that the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 are both in the coverage range of the second type beam activated by the network device, the network device can simultaneously activate the fifth beam and the fourth beam, the network device can provide services for the terminal 2 based on the fifth beam, and provide services for the terminal 1 based on the fourth beam.

[0146] In an example shown in FIG. 4, the example also takes the foregoing steps S201 and S202 as an example for description, which are performed in a 4-step random access procedure.

[0147] The first beam is a first type beam, the network device activates the first beam, the terminal 3 and the terminal 4 are both in the coverage range of the first beam, and the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 send the Msg1 to the network device.

[0148] The third beam, the fourth beam and the fifth beam are second type beams, the network device sends the Msg2-1 based on the third beam, the third beam corresponds to the Msg2-1; sends the Msg2-2 based on the fourth beam, the fourth beam corresponds to the Msg2-2; and sends the Msg2-3 based on the fifth beam, the fifth beam corresponds to the Msg2-3. The transmission resources indicated by the UL grant in the Msg2-1, the Msg2-2 and the Msg2-3 are different, that is, the time domain resources and the frequency domain resources indicated are different.

[0149] The terminal 3 and the terminal 4 are both in the coverage range of the fourth beam, and both can receive the Msg2-2 sent by the network device based on the fourth beam, the terminal 3 and the terminal 4 send the Msg3 to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the UL grant in the Msg2-2, respectively. The terminal 4 is also in the coverage range of the fifth beam, and the terminal 4 can receive the Msg2-3 sent by the network device based on the fifth beam. The terminal can send the Msg3 to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the UL grant in the Msg2-3.

[0150] The network device can receive two Msg3s in the transmission resource indicated by the UL grant in Msg2-2, or receive one Msg3 in the transmission resource indicated by the UL grant in Msg2-3. The network device determines that the Msg2-2 sent by the fourth beam and the Msg2-3 sent by the fifth beam indicate the transmission resource of three Msg3s. In some embodiments, the network device can activate the fourth beam and the fifth beam; in other embodiments, the network device determines that two Msg3s come from the same terminal based on the identity of the terminal included in the Msg3, and further determines that the transmission resource indicated by the UL grant in the Msg2-2 sent by the fourth beam is used to send Msg3 by two terminals, i.e., both terminals are in the coverage range of the fourth beam, and then the network device can only activate the fourth beam to reduce the number of simultaneously activated second-type beams.

[0151] In some embodiments, the number of second-type beams activated by the network device at a time can be limited, for example, the number of second-type beams associated with multiple second messages activated by the network device at a time is less than a threshold value.

[0152] FIG. 5 shows a communication method provided by another embodiment of the present application, in which the network device implements switching between two types of beams with different coverage ranges, and can also implement the scenario of switching from a wide beam to a narrow beam, to ensure that the terminal is provided with services by a narrow beam that can cover the location of the terminal, and also introduces the specific implementation of the terminal receiving multiple first messages and sending second messages to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by one or more first messages.

[0153] As shown in FIG. 5, the communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0154] S501. The network device sends multiple first messages based on multiple second-type beams, and the first messages are multiple, and correspondingly, the terminal receives multiple first messages; wherein: one first message corresponds to one second-type beam, and the multiple first messages are used to indicate different transmission resources.

[0155] The specific implementation of step S501 can refer to the content of step S201 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0156] It can be understood that the terminal is in the coverage of multiple second-type beams, and the network device sends the first message based on the multiple second-type beams, so that the terminal can receive multiple first messages. In some application scenarios, the terminal is outside the coverage of a certain second-type beam, but close to the boundary position of the coverage of the second-type beam, the network device sends the first message based on the second-type beam, and the terminal can also receive the first message. Therefore, among the multiple first messages received by the terminal, there can be a first message with poor signal quality. The terminal can filter the received first messages and select one or more transmission resources indicated by the first messages to send the second message. In general, the number of first messages filtered by the terminal is less than or equal to the number of received first messages.

[0157] In some embodiments, the terminal receives multiple first messages, and the terminal can select one or more transmission resources indicated by the first messages to send the second message based on implementation.

[0158] In some embodiments, the terminal receives multiple first messages, and the terminal can select one or more transmission resources indicated by the first messages to send the second message based on implementation.

[0159] S502a, the terminal determines the first message with the maximum signal strength in the multiple first messages.

[0160] In some embodiments, the network device sends multiple first messages based on multiple second-type beams, and the terminal receives multiple first messages. Of course, the number of first messages received by the terminal can be less than or equal to the number of first messages sent by the network device. The first message with the maximum signal strength determined by the terminal from the multiple first messages indicates that the position of the terminal is closer to a specific area of the second-type beam with the maximum signal strength used by the network device to send the first message with the maximum signal strength. The specific area can be understood as the area with the maximum signal strength of the second-type beam, which is usually the central area. The network device provides services for the terminal based on the second-type beam, which can ensure the communication quality and efficiency between the network device and the terminal.

[0161] In some embodiments, one implementation of the terminal determining the first message with the maximum signal strength in the multiple first messages includes that the terminal determines the first message with the maximum signal strength in the multiple first messages based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) of the multiple first messages.

[0162] The network device and the terminal can measure the signal strength of the first message sent by the multiple second-type beams based on the DMRS. The network device sends the DMRS on a specific time-frequency resource based on each second-type beam sending the first message. After receiving the DMRS, the terminal measures the DMRS, including channel quality indication (CQI), precoding matrix indication (PMI), and other key information. The measurement result can reflect the channel condition of each second-type beam. Based on the measurement result of the channel condition of each second-type beam, the terminal can determine the second-type beam with the best channel condition, and then obtain the first message sent by the second-type beam as the first message with the strongest signal strength.

[0163] In some embodiments, the specific time-frequency resource can be the time-frequency resource on which the network device sends the first message. In order to improve the reliability of the measurement of the signal strength of the first message, the DMRS can be an enhanced DMRS, that is, the specific time-frequency resource can be more than the time-frequency resource on which the network device sends the first message, that is, the frequency domain resource and / or the time domain resource on which the network device sends the DMRS is more than the frequency domain resource and / or the time domain resource on which the network device transmits the first message. This can refer to that the frequency domain resource on which the network device sends the DMRS is wider than the frequency domain resource on which the network device sends the first message, or the time domain resource on which the network device sends the DMRS is longer than the time domain resource on which the network device sends the first message, or the frequency domain resource on which the network device sends the DMRS is wider than the frequency domain resource on which the network device sends the first message, and the time domain resource on which the network device sends the DMRS is longer than the time domain resource on which the network device sends the first message.

[0164] In another implementation of the terminal determining the first message with the strongest signal strength from the multiple first messages, the terminal determines the first message with the strongest signal strength from the multiple first messages based on the signal strength measurement results of the multiple measurement reference signals, the multiple measurement reference signals correspond to the multiple first messages one by one and are associated based on the same identifier.

[0165] The network device and the terminal can also measure the signal strength of the first message sent by the multiple second-type beams based on the measurement reference signal. In some embodiments, the network device configures the measurement reference signal to the terminal based on signaling, and completes the agreement of the measurement reference signal used by the network device and the terminal to measure the signal strength of the first message. The signaling can be RRC signaling, broadcast message (SIB), etc., and the present application does not limit this.

[0166] In some embodiments, the measurement reference signal is a measurement reference signal of L1-RSRP (reference signal receiving power). The measurement reference signal of L1-RSRP can include a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), or the like, and the present application is not limited thereto.

[0167] The network device configures the measurement reference signal of L1-RSRP to the terminal through signaling. The network device can associate the measurement reference signal of L1-RSRP based on the first message sent by the second type of beam. The association manner can be that the first message and the measurement reference signal of L1-RSRP are associated based on the same identifier (or index), for example, the first message includes an identifier of a measurement reference signal of L1-RSRP, one measurement reference signal of L1-RSRP is configured for the first message, or the first message and the measurement reference signal of L1-RSRP are associated based on the same identifier to build a corresponding relationship.

[0168] The network device sends the first message based on multiple second type of beams, and also sends the measurement reference signal of L1-RSRP. The terminal determines the signal strength of the first message based on the L1-RSRP measurement result of the measurement reference signal when receiving the first message and the measurement reference signal of L1-RSRP. The measurement result of multiple L1-RSRP indicates that the measurement reference signal of L1-RSRP with the maximum signal strength is associated with the first message with the maximum signal strength.

[0169] S503a, the terminal sends a second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message with the maximum signal strength.

[0170] The terminal sends a second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message with the maximum signal strength, and the network device can provide services for the terminal based on the second type of beam associated with the second message, so as to ensure the communication quality and efficiency of the terminal and the network device.

[0171] S502b, the terminal determines one or more first messages with a signal strength greater than a threshold value in multiple first messages.

[0172] The terminal receives multiple first messages, and can filter out one or more first messages with a signal strength greater than a threshold value in multiple first messages, and sends a second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the filtered one or more first messages.

[0173] In some embodiments, the network device configures the terminal with the threshold value through signaling, which can be RRC signaling, a broadcast message (SIB), etc., and the present application does not limit this.

[0174] In some embodiments, the network device can determine the signal strength in the plurality of first messages based on the DMRS on the PDSCH where the plurality of first messages are located, or based on the signal strength measurement results of the plurality of measurement reference signals, and then compare the signal strength in the plurality of first messages with the threshold value to obtain one or more first messages with signal strength greater than the threshold value. Wherein, the implementation of the network device determining the signal strength in the plurality of first messages based on the DMRS on the PDSCH where the plurality of first messages are located, or based on the signal strength measurement results of the plurality of measurement reference signals, can refer to the content of step S502a, which will not be repeated here.

[0175] S503b, the terminal sends a second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the one or more first messages with signal strength greater than the threshold value.

[0176] If the terminal determines that there is only one first message with signal strength greater than the threshold value, it sends a second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message. If the terminal determines that there are multiple first messages with signal strength greater than the threshold value, it sends a second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by each first message. Therefore, the terminal sends multiple second messages to the network device, which is more convenient for the network device to determine the second type of beam to provide services to the terminal.

[0177] S504, the network device activates the second type of beam associated with the second message, which refers to the second type of beam corresponding to the first message used to indicate the transmission resource of the second message.

[0178] Wherein, the specific implementation of step S504 can refer to the content of the aforementioned step S203, which will not be repeated here.

[0179] In this embodiment, the third message can refer to Msg1 in the 4-step random access process, also known as the preamble sequence; or it can refer to MsgA in the 2-step random access process. The first message can refer to Msg2 in the 4-step random access process, i.e. RAR (random access response); or it can refer to MsgB in the 2-step random access process; the second message can refer to Msg3 in the 4-step random access process; or it can refer to MsgB in the 2-step random access process.

[0180] The network device and the terminal perform the foregoing step S501 based on a 4-step random access procedure or a 2-step random access procedure. The specific implementation manners of the step S502a or the step S502b can be referred to the embodiment content of the corresponding FIG. 2, and will not be described here again.

[0181] FIG. 6 is a constituent example of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus can be a terminal, including but not limited to a mobile phone, a smart wearable device (such as a smart watch), and the like. Taking a mobile phone as an example, the communication apparatus can include a processor 110, an internal memory 120, a display screen 130, an antenna 1, an antenna 2, a mobile communication module 140, and a wireless communication module 150, and the like.

[0182] It can be understood that the structure illustrated in the embodiment does not constitute a specific limitation on the communication apparatus. In other embodiments, the communication apparatus can include more or fewer components than those illustrated, or combine certain components, or split certain components, or different arrangement of components. The illustrated components can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0183] The processor 110 can include one or more processing units. For example, the processor 110 can include an application processor (AP), a modem processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), an image signal processor (ISP), a controller, a video codec, a digital signal processor (DSP), and / or a baseband processor, and the like.

[0184] The internal memory 120 can be used to store computer executable program codes, and the executable program codes include instructions. The processor 110 performs various functional applications and data processing of the electronic device by running the instructions stored in the internal memory 120.

[0185] The wireless communication function of the electronic device can be realized by the antenna 1, the antenna 2, the mobile communication module 140, the wireless communication module 150, the modem processor, and the baseband processor, and the like.

[0186] The antenna 1 and the antenna 2 are used to transmit and receive electromagnetic wave signals.

[0187] The mobile communication module 140 can provide a solution including 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G wireless communication applied to the electronic device.

[0188] In some embodiments, the mobile communication module 140 includes a communication interface coupled to the processor 110. The communication interface can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. In some embodiments, when the communication device is a chip configured in the terminal, the communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0189] The wireless communication module 150 can provide a wireless communication solution applied to the electronic device, including wireless local area networks (WLAN) (such as a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) network), Bluetooth (BT), a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), frequency modulation (FM), near field communication (NFC), infrared (IR) technology, and the like.

[0190] In addition, on the above components, an operating system is running. For example, an iOS operating system, an Android operating system, a Windows operating system, and the like. An application program can be installed and run on the operating system.

[0191] FIG. 7 is a constituent example of another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication device can be a network device, for example, a satellite. FIG. 7 shows a simplified structural diagram of a network device. The network device includes at least one processor 210, at least one memory 220, at least one transceiver 230, at least one network interface 240, and one or more antennas 250. The processor 210, the memory 220, the transceiver 230, and the network interface 240 are connected, for example, through a bus. In an embodiment of the present application, the connection can include various interfaces, transmission lines, or buses, etc., which are not limited in the present embodiment. The antenna 250 is connected to the transceiver 230. The network interface 240 is used to enable the network element to be connected to other communication devices through a communication link. For example, the network interface 240 can include a network interface between the network element and a network element in the core network, such as an S1 interface. The network interface can include a network interface between the network element and other network elements, such as an X2 or Xn interface.

[0192] The processor 210 shown in FIG. 7 can specifically complete the actions of the network device processing in the above satellite communication method. The memory 220 can complete the actions of storing in the above satellite communication method. The transceiver 230 and the antenna 250 can perform the actions of transmitting and receiving in the above satellite communication method. The network interface 240 can complete the actions of the network device and the terminal interacting with each other in the above method.

[0193] The processor 210 can include, but is not limited to, at least one of a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), or an artificial intelligence processor, and the like, each of which is a computing device running software, and each of which can include one or more cores for executing software instructions to perform calculations or processing. The processor can be a separate semiconductor chip, or can be integrated with other circuits as a semiconductor chip, for example, can be integrated with other circuits such as coding and decoding circuits, hardware acceleration circuits, or various bus and interface circuits, as a SoC (System on Chip), or can be integrated as a built-in processor in an ASIC. The processor, in addition to including cores for executing software instructions to perform calculations or processing, can further include necessary hardware accelerators such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), PLDs (programmable logic devices), or logic circuits implementing specialized logic operations.

[0194] The memory 220 can include, but is not limited to, at least one of 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, or an electrically erasable programmable-only memory (EEPROM).

[0195] The transceiver 230 can be configured to support the receiving or transmitting of radio frequency signals between the network element and other devices. The transceiver 230 can be connected to the antenna 250. The transceiver 230 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, the one or more antennas 250 can receive radio frequency signals, the receiver Rx of the transceiver 230 is configured to receive the radio frequency signals from the antenna and convert the radio frequency signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and provide the digital baseband signals or the digital intermediate frequency signals to the processor 210 for further processing, such as demodulation processing and decoding processing, by the processor 210. In addition, the transmitter Tx in the transceiver 230 is also configured to receive modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals from the processor 210, and convert the modulated digital baseband signals or the digital intermediate frequency signals into radio frequency signals, and transmit the radio frequency signals through the one or more antennas 250. Specifically, the receiver Rx can selectively perform one or more levels of down-mixing processing and analog-to-digital conversion processing on the radio frequency signals to obtain the digital baseband signals or the digital intermediate frequency signals, and the order of the down-mixing processing and the analog-to-digital conversion processing can be adjustable. The transmitter Tx can selectively perform one or more levels of up-mixing processing and digital-to-analog conversion processing on the modulated digital baseband signals or the digital intermediate frequency signals to obtain the radio frequency signals, and the order of the up-mixing processing and the digital-to-analog conversion processing can be adjustable. The digital baseband signals and the digital intermediate frequency signals can be collectively referred to as digital signals.

[0196] The transceiver 230 can also be referred to as an input / output interface, a communication interface, or the like. In some embodiments, when the communication device is a chip configured in a satellite, the transceiver 230 can be an input / output interface.

[0197] It should be understood that FIG. 7 is merely an example and is not limiting. The network device including the processor, the memory, and the transceiver described above can not rely on the structure shown in FIG. 7.

[0198] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the explanations and beneficial effects of the related content in any of the above communication devices are all explained in the corresponding method embodiments provided above for the convenience and brevity of description, and will not be repeated here.

[0199] The embodiments of the present application also provide a processor, including an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive signals through the input circuit and transmit signals through the output circuit, so that the processor performs the satellite communication method described in the above embodiments.

[0200] In the implementation process, the processor can be one or more chips, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the processing circuit can be a transistor, a gate circuit, a flip-flop, various logic circuits, and the like. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example but not limited to, a receiver, the output signal output by the output circuit can be output to and transmitted by, for example but not limited to, a transmitter, and the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit which is used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

[0201] The embodiments of the present application further provide a communication apparatus which can correspondingly implement the functions or steps implemented by the network device in the above-mentioned various method embodiments. The communication apparatus comprises a processing module and a transceiver module, and some embodiments can further comprise a storage module which can be used to store instructions (codes or programs) and / or data. The processing module and the transceiver module can be coupled with the storage module, for example, the processing module can read the instructions (codes or programs) and / or data in the storage module to implement the corresponding method. The above-mentioned various modules can be independently arranged, or partially or wholly integrated.

[0202] In some possible implementation manners, the communication apparatus can correspondingly implement the behaviors and functions of the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments. For example, the communication apparatus can be the network device, or can be a component (for example, a chip or a circuit) applied to the network device. The transceiver module can be used to perform all the receiving or transmitting operations performed by the network device in the embodiments of FIG. 2 or FIG. 5. The processing module is used to perform all the operations performed by the network device in the embodiments of FIG. 2 or FIG. 5, except for the transceiver operations.

[0203] The embodiments of the present application further provide a communication apparatus which can correspondingly implement the functions or steps implemented by the terminal in the above-mentioned various method embodiments. The communication apparatus comprises a processing module and a transceiver module, and some embodiments can further comprise a storage module which can be used to store instructions (codes or programs) and / or data. The processing module and the transceiver module can be coupled with the storage module, for example, the processing module can read the instructions (codes or programs) and / or data in the storage module to implement the corresponding method. The above-mentioned various modules can be independently arranged, or partially or wholly integrated.

[0204] In some possible implementation manners, the communication apparatus can correspond to the behavior and functions of the terminal in the above-mentioned method embodiments. For example, the communication apparatus can be a terminal, or a component (for example, a chip or a circuit) applied to the terminal. The transceiver module can be used to perform all receiving or transmitting operations performed by the terminal in the embodiments of FIG. 2 or FIG. 5. The processing module is used to perform all operations performed by the terminal in the embodiments of FIG. 2 or FIG. 5, except for the transceiver operations.

[0205] The embodiments of the present application further provide a chip system, which comprises one or more processors, and is used to call and run instructions stored in a memory, so that the satellite communication method in the above-mentioned embodiments is executed. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can comprise the chip and other discrete devices. The chip system can comprise an input circuit or an interface for transmitting information or data, and an output circuit or an interface for receiving information or data.

[0206] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores instructions, and when the instructions are run on one or more computing devices, the one or more computing devices execute the satellite communication method in the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0207] The computer readable storage medium can be a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, for example, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium can be a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, and an optical data storage device, etc.

[0208] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, and when the computer program product is executed by one or more computing devices, the one or more computing devices execute any one of the above-mentioned satellite communication methods. The computer program product can be a software installation package, and when any one of the above-mentioned satellite communication methods needs to be used, the computer program product can be downloaded and executed on a computer.

Claims

1. A method of satellite communication, characterized by, The method is applied to a network device supporting activated beams, the activated beams including first type beams and second type beams, a coverage range of the first type beams being greater than a coverage range of the second type beams, or a coverage range of the first type beams being greater than a threshold value, and a coverage range of the second type beams being less than the threshold value, and the method comprises the following steps of: The network device sends a plurality of first messages to a terminal based on a plurality of the second type beams, one first message corresponding to one second type beam, and each first message being used for indicating different transmission resources; The network device receives a second message, the second message being sent based on transmission resources indicated by at least one first message; The network device activates a second type beam associated with the second message to provide service for the terminal, the second type beam associated with the second message referring to a second type beam corresponding to a first message used for indicating transmission resources of the second message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, Before the network device sends a plurality of first messages to a terminal based on a plurality of second type beams, the method further comprises the following step of: The network device receives a third message.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The network device receives a second message, comprising the following steps of: The network device receives a plurality of second messages, one second message being sent based on transmission resources indicated by one first message.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The network device activates a second type beam associated with the second message to provide service for the terminal, comprising the following steps of: The network device activates one or more second type beams associated with one or more second messages to provide service for the terminal.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The network device activates one or more second type beams associated with one or more second messages to provide service for the terminal, comprising the following steps of: The network device activates one or more second type beams associated with one or more second messages to provide service for the terminal based on a distribution position of the terminal.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, A number of second type beams activated by the network device is less than a threshold value.

7. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that, Each first message comprises control information, and control information in a plurality of first messages indicates different transmission resources.

8. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that, The first message comprises Msg2 in 4-step random access, the second message comprises Msg3 in 4-step random access, and the third message comprises Msg1 in 4-step random access; or the first message comprises common information, and the second message comprises MsgA in 2-step random access.

9. A satellite communication method characterized by, Comprising the following steps of: A terminal receives a first message, one first message corresponding to one second type beam, and the first message being used for indicating transmission resources; The terminal sends a second message to the network device based on transmission resources indicated by the first message, the second message being used for instructing the network device to activate a second type beam associated with the second message to provide service for the terminal, and the second type beam associated with the second message referring to a second type beam corresponding to a first message used for indicating transmission resources of the second message; and the network device supports activated beams including first type beams and second type beams, a coverage range of the first type beams being greater than a coverage range of the second type beams, or a coverage range of the first type beams being greater than a threshold value, and a coverage range of the second type beams being less than the threshold value.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The terminal receives the first message further comprises: The terminal sends a third message to the network device.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, The terminal receives the first message comprises: the terminal receives a plurality of the first messages, and control information in the plurality of the first messages indicates different transmission resources.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The terminal sends a second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message, comprising: The terminal sends a second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by one of the first messages.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein, The terminal sends a second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message, comprising: The terminal determines a first message with the largest signal strength in the plurality of the first messages. The terminal sends a second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message with the largest signal strength.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein, The terminal sends a second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the first message, comprising: The terminal determines one or more first messages with a signal strength greater than a threshold value in the plurality of the first messages. The terminal sends a second message to the network device based on the transmission resource indicated by the one or more first messages with the signal strength greater than the threshold value.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein, The terminal determines a first message with the largest signal strength in the plurality of the first messages, comprising: The terminal determines a first message with the largest signal strength in the plurality of the first messages based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) where the plurality of the first messages are located.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein, The terminal determines a first message with the largest signal strength in the plurality of the first messages, comprising: The terminal determines a first message with the largest signal strength in the plurality of the first messages based on signal strength measurement results of a plurality of measurement reference signals, wherein the plurality of the measurement reference signals correspond one-to-one to the plurality of the first messages and are associated based on the same identifier.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein, The terminal determines one or more first messages with a signal strength greater than a threshold value in the plurality of the first messages, comprising: The terminal determines one or more first messages with a signal strength greater than a threshold value in the plurality of the first messages based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) where the plurality of the first messages are located.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein, The terminal determines one or more first messages with a signal strength greater than a threshold value in the plurality of the first messages, comprising: The terminal determines one or more first messages with a signal strength greater than a threshold value in the plurality of the first messages based on signal strength measurement results of a plurality of measurement reference signals, wherein the plurality of the measurement reference signals correspond one-to-one to the plurality of the first messages and are associated based on the same identifier.

19. The method of claim 15 or 17, wherein, The network device transmits frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources of the DMRS, which are more than frequency domain resources and / or time domain resources of the first message transmitted by the network device.

20. The method of claim 16 or 18, wherein, The measurement reference signal is an L1-RSRP measurement reference signal.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein, The L1-RSRP measurement reference signal comprises a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a cell reference signal.

22. The method of claim 18, 20 or 21, wherein, The measurement reference signal is configured by the network device to the terminal based on signaling.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein, The signaling comprises a broadcast message or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

24. The method of claim 14, 17 or 18, wherein, The threshold value is configured by the network device to the terminal through signaling.

25. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises a processing module and a transceiver module, and is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 8, or the method of any one of claims 9 to 24.

26. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises: a memory configured to store computer programs or computer instructions; a processor configured to execute the computer programs or computer instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device performs the method of any one of claims 1 to 8, or the method of any one of claims 9 to 24.

27. A communication system, characterized by The communication device comprises the communication device of claim 25.

28. A computer storage medium configured to store a computer program, which, when executed, is configured to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 8 or 9 to 24.

29. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program, when executed, causes the method of any one of claims 1 to 8 or 9 to 24 to be performed.

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