Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Disclosed in the embodiments of the present application are a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: receiving coverage configuration information from a network device, wherein the coverage configuration information comprises a coverage multiplicity, which is used for indicating at least one of the following: the number of beams covering each geographical location among a plurality of geographical locations, the number of cells serving each geographical location, or the number of reference signals that can be received by a terminal device at each geographical location; and performing communication on the basis of the coverage configuration information. A network device configures a coverage multiplicity in coverage configuration information, such that a terminal device can perform communication by using the coverage multiplicity. For example, before entering an uncovered geographical location, the terminal device requests coverage for the geographical location in advance, or the terminal device requests an increase in the coverage multiplicity when the coverage multiplicity is relatively small, or the terminal device requests a reduction in the coverage multiplicity at a geographical location with significant signal interference. Therefore, the coverage performance is ensured, and the system capacity is increased.

Description

A communication method and apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202411348036.9, filed on September 25, 2024, with the State Intellectual Property Office of China, and the Chinese patent application No. 202411348036.9, entitled “A communication method and apparatus”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

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

[0003] Non-terrestrial networks (NTN) include satellite networks, high-altitude platforms, and unmanned aerial vehicles, etc. nodes, with global coverage, long-distance transmission, flexible networking, easy deployment, and no geographical restrictions, etc. significant advantages, has been widely used in marine communication, positioning and navigation, disaster relief, scientific experiments, video broadcasting and earth observation, etc. many fields. The ground 5th-generation (5G) mobile communication technology network and satellite network, etc. are integrated, complement each other's advantages, and jointly constitute a global seamless coverage of sea, land, air, sky, and earth integrated comprehensive communication network, to meet the user's ubiquitous demand for various services.

[0004] As an important part of NTN, the next generation of satellite networks generally show a super dense and heterogeneous trend: first, the scale of satellite networks has developed from 66 Iridium satellites to 720 OneWeb satellites, and eventually extended to 12000+ Starlink super-dense low earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations; second, satellite networks show heterogeneous characteristics, from traditional single-layer communication networks to multi-layer communication networks, and the functions of communication satellite networks tend to be complex and diversified, gradually compatible and supporting navigation enhancement, earth observation, multi-dimensional information on-orbit processing, etc. It is worth noting that for a typical constellation of thousands of satellites, the number of satellites visible to a single geographic area / terminal can reach dozens or even hundreds.

[0005] In a LEO constellation NTN scenario, a single geographic location or terminal device can see a large number of satellites. If the idea of "visible coverage" is adopted, that is, if a satellite i (i belongs to I_z, I_z is the set of all visible satellites in the region) is visible in a region z, the satellite i needs to provide coverage in the region, such as scheduling / planning a broadcast beam, such as an SSB beam, to cover the geographic region z. It can be foreseen that, due to the large number of visible satellites in a single region, full SSB planning will affect the SSB coverage performance (such as SSB SINR), and using more SSBs can improve coverage performance, but will reduce system capacity. SUMMARY

[0006] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and device, which can guarantee coverage performance and improve system capacity.

[0007] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which can be applied to a terminal side, such as a terminal device or a communication module in a terminal device, or a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions in a terminal device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system on chip (SoC) chip or system in package (SIP) chip containing a modem core). Taking the case of applying the method to a terminal device, the method comprises:

[0008] receiving coverage configuration information from a network device, the coverage configuration information comprising a coverage multiplicity, the coverage multiplicity being used to indicate at least one of the following: a number of beams covering each geographic location in a plurality of geographic locations, a number of cells serving the each geographic location, or a number of reference signals receivable by a terminal device in the each geographic location; and communicating according to the coverage configuration information.

[0009] The network device configures the coverage multiplicity in the coverage configuration information, so that the terminal device can use the coverage multiplicity related information for communication. For example, before entering a geographic location without coverage, the terminal device can request coverage for the geographic location in advance. Or, in the case of a small coverage multiplicity, the terminal device can request an increase in the coverage multiplicity. Or, in a geographic location with large signal interference, the terminal device can request a decrease in the coverage multiplicity. Thus, the coverage performance is guaranteed and the system capacity is improved.

[0010] In a possible design, the number of the coverage redundancy is N, and the coverage configuration information further includes M measurement configuration information corresponding to each geographic location, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 0, and M is an integer less than or equal to N. By configuring M measurement configuration information for each geographic location, coverage performance is guaranteed, and system capacity is improved.

[0011] In a possible design, the measurement configuration information includes measurement timing configuration and a time offset, and the time offset includes a first offset and a second offset, where the first offset is used to adjust a difference in propagation delay between two satellites, and the second offset is used to adjust a signal transmission time between the two satellites serving the terminal device. By configuring measurement timing configuration and a time offset, interference between signals is reduced, and communication quality is improved.

[0012] In a possible design, the coverage configuration information further includes at least one of the following: an identifier of each geographic location, an identifier of a beam covered by each geographic location, an identifier of a cell serving each geographic location, a valid time of coverage configuration information corresponding to each geographic location, or ephemeris information corresponding to each geographic location.

[0013] In a possible design, when the terminal device is about to enter a second geographic location from a first geographic location in the plurality of geographic locations, and the coverage redundancy of the first geographic location is greater than 0 and the coverage redundancy of the second geographic location is equal to 0, a first request is sent to the network device, where the first request is used to request at least one of the following operations performed on the second geographic location: beam coverage on the second geographic location, cell service provided to the second geographic location, or reference signal sent to the second geographic location. When entering a geographic location with a coverage redundancy of 0, the terminal device requests service in advance, thereby guaranteeing uninterrupted service and improving communication quality.

[0014] In a possible design, when the terminal device is powered on in a third geographic location in the plurality of geographic locations, and the coverage redundancy of the third geographic location is equal to 0, a predefined signal is sent to the network device, where the predefined signal is used to request at least one of the following operations performed on the third geographic location: beam coverage on the third geographic location, cell service provided to the third geographic location, or reference signal sent to the third geographic location. The terminal device actively requests the network device to provide service in a geographic location without coverage (with a coverage redundancy of 0), thereby reducing energy consumption of the network device.

[0015] In a possible design, when a coverage redundancy of a fourth geographic location among the multiple geographic locations where the terminal device is located is greater than 0 and smaller than a first threshold, a second request is sent to the network device, where the second request is used to request increasing the coverage redundancy of the fourth geographic location. By requesting to increase the coverage redundancy of a geographic location, the terminal device is provided with a multi-star coordination or multi-connection service, thereby improving throughput of the terminal device and improving communication efficiency.

[0016] In a possible design, when a coverage redundancy of a fifth geographic location among the multiple geographic locations where the terminal device is located is greater than 0 and smaller than a second threshold during a cell switching process, a third request is sent to the network device, where the third request is used to request re-executing at least one of the following operations on the fifth geographic location: performing beam coverage on the fifth geographic location, providing cell service to the fifth geographic location, or sending a reference signal to the fifth geographic location. By requesting to re-cover during the cell switching process, it is ensured that the cell switching process is not interrupted, and a mobile interruption delay is reduced, thereby improving communication quality.

[0017] In a possible design, when an interference value of a signal of a sixth geographic location among the multiple geographic locations where the terminal device is located is greater than a first threshold, or a signal quality is smaller than a second threshold, measurement information is sent to the network device, where the measurement information is used to indicate adjusting a coverage redundancy of the sixth geographic location, or re-executing at least one of the following operations on the sixth geographic location: performing beam coverage on the sixth geographic location, providing cell service to the sixth geographic location, or sending a reference signal to the sixth geographic location. By interference coordination and resource optimization, communication efficiency and communication quality are improved.

[0018] In a possible design, the network device sends auxiliary information, and the auxiliary information includes at least one of the following: resource configuration information used for sending the first request, the predefined signal, the first threshold, the second threshold, the first threshold, or the second threshold.

[0019] In a possible design, when the terminal device moves out of an effective area, a fourth request is sent to the network device, where the fourth request is used to request updating the coverage configuration information, and the effective area includes at least one geographic location among the multiple geographic locations. By updating the coverage configuration information, validity of the coverage configuration information is maintained, thereby improving efficiency of communication based on the coverage configuration information.

[0020] In a possible design, when the valid time of the coverage configuration information corresponding to any one of the plurality of geographic locations expires, a fourth request is sent to the network device, where the fourth request is used to request updating the coverage configuration information. By updating the coverage configuration information, the validity of the coverage configuration information is maintained, thereby improving the efficiency of communication based on the coverage configuration information.

[0021] In a possible design, when the number of times that the signal quality of any one of the plurality of geographic locations is measured to be less than a third threshold in a preset time period is greater than a third threshold value, a fifth request is sent to the network device, where the fifth request is used to request updating the coverage configuration information. By updating the coverage configuration information, the signal quality of each geographic location is guaranteed, thereby improving the communication efficiency.

[0022] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a network side, for example, a network device or a communication module in the network device, or a circuit or chip responsible for a communication function in the network device. Taking the case where the method is applied to the network device as an example, the method includes the following steps.

[0023] sending, to a terminal device, coverage configuration information, where the coverage configuration information includes a coverage repetition number, and the coverage repetition number is used to indicate at least one of the following: a number of beams covering each geographic location in a plurality of geographic locations, a number of cells serving the each geographic location, or a number of reference signals that the terminal device can receive in the each geographic location; and performing, according to the coverage configuration information, at least one of the following operations on the each geographic location: beam coverage on the each geographic location, cell service provision to the each geographic location, or reference signal transmission to the each geographic location.

[0024] The network device configures the coverage repetition number in the coverage configuration information, so that the terminal device can use the coverage repetition number for communication. For example, before entering a geographic location without coverage, the network device requests coverage for the geographic location in advance. Or, in the case where the coverage repetition number is small, the network device requests to increase the coverage repetition number. Or, in the case where the signal interference in a geographic location is large, the network device requests to reduce the coverage repetition number. In addition, the network device provides service to each geographic location based on the coverage repetition number, thereby guaranteeing the coverage performance and improving the system capacity.

[0025] In a possible design, the number of the coverage repetition numbers is N, and the coverage configuration information further includes M measurement configuration information corresponding to the each geographic location, where N is a non-negative integer, and M is an integer less than or equal to N. By configuring M measurement configuration information for each geographic location, the coverage performance is guaranteed, and the system capacity is improved.

[0026] In a possible design, the measurement configuration information includes a measurement timing configuration and a time offset, the time offset includes a first offset and a second offset, the first offset is used to adjust a difference in propagation delay between two satellites, and the second offset is used to adjust a difference in signal transmission time between the two satellites, the two satellites serving the terminal device. By configuring the measurement timing configuration and the time offset, interference between signals is reduced, and communication quality is improved.

[0027] In a possible design, the coverage configuration information further includes at least one of the following: an identifier of each of the geographic locations, an identifier of a beam covered by each of the geographic locations, an identifier of a cell served by each of the geographic locations, a validity time of coverage configuration information corresponding to each of the geographic locations, or ephemeris information corresponding to each of the geographic locations.

[0028] In a possible design, the terminal device is sent assistance information, and the assistance information includes at least one of the following: resource configuration information used to send the first request, a predefined signal, the first threshold, the second threshold, the first threshold, or the second threshold.

[0029] In a possible design, the coverage configuration information is updated when a validity time of coverage configuration information corresponding to a first geographic location in the plurality of geographic locations expires. By updating the coverage configuration information, validity of the coverage configuration information is maintained, and efficiency of communication based on the coverage configuration information is improved.

[0030] In a possible design, update information is added to coverage configuration information corresponding to the first address location, or the update information is used to replace the coverage configuration information corresponding to the first address location. The coverage configuration information is updated in an incremental manner, and signaling overhead is reduced.

[0031] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which has the functions of the first aspect, for example, the communication apparatus includes a module or unit or means corresponding to the operations of the first aspect, which can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The apparatus includes:

[0032] The receiving module is configured to receive, from a network device, coverage configuration information, the coverage configuration information including a coverage multiplicity, the coverage multiplicity being used to indicate at least one of the following: a number of beams covered by each of a plurality of geographic locations, a number of cells served by each of the geographic locations, or a number of reference signals receivable by a terminal device in each of the geographic locations.

[0033] The processing module is configured to perform communication according to the coverage configuration information.

[0034] In a possible design of the present application, the number of the coverage redundancy is N, the coverage configuration information further comprises M measurement configuration information corresponding to each geographical location, N is an integer greater than or equal to 0, and M is an integer less than or equal to N.

[0035] In a possible design of the present application, the measurement configuration information comprises a measurement timing configuration and a time offset, the time offset comprises a first offset and a second offset, the first offset is used to adjust the difference in propagation delay between two satellites, and the second offset is used to adjust the signal transmission time between the two satellites.

[0036] In a possible design of the present application, the coverage configuration information further comprises at least one of the following: an identifier of each geographical location, an identifier of a beam covered by each geographical location, an identifier of a cell served by each geographical location, a valid time of coverage configuration information corresponding to each geographical location, or ephemeris information corresponding to each geographical location.

[0037] In a possible design of the present application, the sending module is configured to send a first request to the network device when the terminal device is about to enter a second geographical location from a first geographical location in the plurality of geographical locations, the coverage redundancy of the first geographical location is greater than 0, and the coverage redundancy of the second geographical location is equal to 0, the first request being used to request at least one of the following operations performed on the second geographical location: beam coverage on the second geographical location, cell service provided to the second geographical location, or reference signal sent to the second geographical location.

[0038] In a possible design of the present application, the sending module is configured to send a predefined signal to the network device when the terminal device is powered on in a third geographical location in the plurality of geographical locations, and the coverage redundancy of the third geographical location is equal to 0, the predefined signal being used to request at least one of the following operations performed on the third geographical location: beam coverage on the third geographical location, cell service provided to the third geographical location, or reference signal sent to the third geographical location.

[0039] In a possible design of the present application, the sending module is configured to send a second request to the network device when the coverage redundancy of a fourth geographical location in the plurality of geographical locations where the terminal device is located is greater than 0 and less than a first threshold, the second request being used to request an increase in the coverage redundancy of the fourth geographical location.

[0040] In a possible design, the sending module is configured to send, to the network device, a third request when a coverage redundancy of a fifth geographic location among the multiple geographic locations where the terminal device is located is greater than 0 and smaller than a second threshold during a cell switching process, where the third request is used to request that at least one of the following operations be performed on the fifth geographic location again: beam coverage on the fifth geographic location, cell service provision to the fifth geographic location, or reference signal sending to the fifth geographic location.

[0041] In a possible design, the sending module is configured to send, to the network device, measurement information when a signal interference value of a sixth geographic location among the multiple geographic locations where the terminal device is located is greater than a first threshold or a signal quality is smaller than a second threshold, where the measurement information is used to indicate that a coverage redundancy of the sixth geographic location is adjusted or at least one of the following operations is performed on the sixth geographic location again: beam coverage on the sixth geographic location, cell service provision to the sixth geographic location, or reference signal sending to the sixth geographic location.

[0042] In a possible design, the receiving module is further configured to receive assistance information sent by the network device, where the assistance information includes at least one of the following: resource configuration information used for sending the first request, the predefined signal, the first threshold, the second threshold, the first threshold, or the second threshold.

[0043] In a possible design, the sending module is configured to send, to the network device, a fourth request when the terminal device moves out of an effective area, where the fourth request is used to request that the coverage configuration information be updated, and the effective area includes at least one geographic location among the multiple geographic locations.

[0044] In a possible design, the sending module is configured to send, to the network device, a fourth request when a valid time of coverage configuration information corresponding to any one of the multiple geographic locations expires, where the fourth request is used to request that the coverage configuration information be updated.

[0045] In a possible design, the sending module is configured to send, to the network device, a fifth request when a number of times that a signal quality of any one of the multiple geographic locations is measured to be smaller than a third threshold within a preset time period is greater than a third threshold, where the fifth request is used to request that the coverage configuration information be updated.

[0046] The operations and advantages of the communication apparatus can be refer to the method and advantages of the first aspect, and details are not described herein.

[0047] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which has the function of the second aspect, for example, the communication apparatus includes a module or unit or means corresponding to the operation of the second aspect, which can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The apparatus includes:

[0048] The sending module is configured to send, to the terminal device, coverage configuration information, the coverage configuration information including a coverage repetition number, the coverage repetition number being used to indicate at least one of the following: a number of beams covering each of a plurality of geographic locations, a number of cells serving the each of the geographic locations, or a number of reference signals receivable by the terminal device in the each of the geographic locations;

[0049] The processing module is configured to perform, according to the coverage configuration information, at least one of the following operations on the each of the geographic locations: beam coverage on the each of the geographic locations, cell service provision to the each of the geographic locations, or reference signal transmission to the each of the geographic locations.

[0050] In a possible design, the coverage repetition number is of a number N, the coverage configuration information further includes M measurement configuration information corresponding to the each of the geographic locations, the N being an integer greater than or equal to 0, and the M being an integer less than or equal to N.

[0051] In a possible design, the measurement configuration information includes a measurement timing configuration and a time offset, the time offset including a first offset and a second offset, the first offset being used to adjust a difference in propagation delay between two satellites, and the second offset being used to adjust a signal transmission time between the two satellites, the two satellites serving the terminal device.

[0052] In a possible design, the coverage configuration information further includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the each of the geographic locations, an identifier of a beam covering the each of the geographic locations, an identifier of a cell serving the each of the geographic locations, a validity time of the coverage configuration information corresponding to the each of the geographic locations, or ephemeris information corresponding to the each of the geographic locations.

[0053] In a possible design, the sending module is further configured to send, to the terminal device, assistance information, the assistance information including at least one of the following: resource configuration information used to send the first request, a predefined signal, a first threshold, a second threshold, a first threshold, or a second threshold.

[0054] In a possible design, the processing module is further configured to update the coverage configuration information when a validity time of coverage configuration information corresponding to a first geographic location of the plurality of geographic locations expires.

[0055] In a possible design, the processing module is further configured to add the update information to the coverage configuration information corresponding to the first address location, or replace the coverage configuration information corresponding to the first address location with the update information.

[0056] The operations and beneficial effects of the communication apparatus can be refer to the method and beneficial effects of the method in the second aspect, and the repeated parts will not be described herein.

[0057] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which includes a memory and one or more processors. The memory is configured to store part or all of the computer programs or instructions necessary for implementing the functions related to the first aspect. The one or more processors are configured to execute the computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication apparatus implements the method in any possible design or implementation manner of the first aspect.

[0058] In a possible design, the communication apparatus can further include an interface circuit, and the processor is configured to communicate with other apparatuses or components through the interface circuit.

[0059] In a possible design, the communication apparatus can further include the memory.

[0060] The communication apparatus can be a terminal device, a communication module in a terminal device, or a chip responsible for communication functions in a terminal device, such as a modem chip (also referred to as a baseband chip) or a SoC or SIP chip containing a modem module.

[0061] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which includes a memory and one or more processors. The memory is configured to store part or all of the computer programs or instructions necessary for implementing the functions related to the second aspect. The one or more processors are configured to execute the computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication apparatus implements the method in any possible design or implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0062] In a possible design, the communication apparatus can further include an interface circuit, and the processor is configured to communicate with other apparatuses or components through the interface circuit.

[0063] In a possible design, the communication apparatus can further include the memory.

[0064] The communication device can be a network device, a communication module in the network device, or a chip responsible for communication function, such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip) or a SoC or SIP chip containing a modem module.

[0065] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed, the method according to any one of the first aspect to the second aspect is implemented.

[0066] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes a computer program. When the computer program is executed, the method according to any one of the first aspect to the second aspect is implemented.

[0067] In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a terminal device and a network device. The terminal device is configured to perform the steps in the first aspect. The network device is configured to perform the steps in the second aspect.

[0068] In a tenth aspect, a chip or chip system is provided, which includes at least one processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is configured to communicate with an external device or an internal device. The processor is configured to implement the method in the various aspects.

[0069] In a possible design, the chip can further include a memory. The memory stores a computer program or instructions. The processor is configured to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory or other programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the processor is configured to implement the method in the various aspects.

[0070] In a possible design, the chip can be integrated in a terminal device or a network device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0071] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a satellite communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a non-gazing satellite communication system;

[0073] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a gazing satellite communication system;

[0074] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of coverage performance under different SSB numbers;

[0075] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of beam coverage;

[0077] FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram of an offset amount;

[0078] FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram of another offset amount;

[0079] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an effective area;

[0080] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of communication based on coverage configuration information;

[0081] FIG. 10 is another schematic diagram of communication based on coverage configuration information;

[0082] FIG. 11 is another schematic diagram of communication based on coverage configuration information;

[0083] FIG. 12 is another schematic diagram of communication based on coverage configuration information;

[0084] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0085] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a structure of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0086] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0087] FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0088] The following explains main terms related to the present application:

[0089] Wave position: A service area of a satellite network is divided into multiple small geographical areas according to geographical positions, each of which is referred to as a wave position. A wave position can be represented in different shapes, such as a circle, an ellipse, a square, a rectangle, a polygon (e.g., a pentagon or a hexagon), etc.

[0090] The technical solutions of the present application can be applied to satellite communication systems, high altitude platform (HAPS) communication, unmanned aerial vehicle, and other non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems, such as integrated communication and navigation (IcaN) systems, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), and ultra-dense low-orbit satellite communication systems. The satellite communication system can be integrated with a traditional mobile communication system. For example, the mobile communication system can be a fourth generation (4G) communication system (for example, a long term evolution (LTE) system), a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, a fifth generation (5G) communication system (for example, a new radio (NR) system), and a future mobile communication system.

[0091] As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a satellite communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application. The satellite communication system can include a terminal device and a network device. The terminal device can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, etc. The network device can include one or more satellites and ground station devices, which can also be referred to as core network devices. The satellite can be a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a non-geostationary earth orbit (NGEO) satellite, etc. The satellite communication system includes a satellite 101, a satellite 102, and a satellite 103. Each satellite can provide communication services, navigation services, positioning services, etc. to a terminal device through multiple beams. The satellite in this scenario is a LEO satellite, and the satellite 103 is connected to a ground station device. The satellite covers a service area using multiple beams, and different beams can communicate through one or more of time division, frequency division, and space division. The satellite communicates with the terminal device through broadcast communication signals and navigation signals, etc. The satellite can communicate with the ground station device wirelessly. The satellite mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be a satellite base station, and can also include an orbit receiver or a repeater for relaying information, or a network side device carried on the satellite.

[0092] Satellite communication systems include transparent satellite architectures and non-transparent satellite architectures. Transparent is also referred to as bent-pipe: i.e., the signal is only frequency converted on the satellite, and the signal is amplified, etc. The satellite is transparent to the signal, as if it does not exist. Non-transparent is also referred to as regenerative (onboard access / processing): i.e., the satellite has partial or full base station functionality. For example, satellites 101, 102 in FIG. 1 are non-transparent satellite architectures, and satellite 103 is a transparent satellite architecture. In addition, satellites can operate in earth-fixed, quasi earth-fixed, or earth-moving modes.

[0093] The terminal device mentioned in the embodiments of the present application includes various handheld devices, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to wireless modems with wireless communication functions, and can specifically refer to a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user apparatus. The terminal device can also be a satellite phone, a cellular phone, a smartphone, a wireless data card, a wireless modem, a machine type communication device, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication functions, a computing device, or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, a vehicle-mounted device, or a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical treatment, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, a terminal device in a 5G network or a future communication network, etc.

[0094] The ground station device is, for example, a device in a core network (CN) of an existing mobile communication architecture (such as a 3GPP access architecture of a 5G network) or a device in a core network of a future mobile communication architecture. The core network provides an interface to a data network as a bearer network, provides a communication connection, authentication, management, policy control, and bearer for data service for a user equipment (UE). The CN can further include an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a policy control function (PCF), a user plane function (UPF), and the like. The AMF is used to manage access and mobility of the UE, and is mainly responsible for functions such as authentication of the UE, mobility management of the UE, and paging of the UE.

[0095] The network device can also include, but is not limited to, an evolved node B (eNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WIFI) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP), or a transmission reception point (TRP), and the like. The network device can also be a gNB or a TRP or a TP in a 5G system, or one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system. In addition, the network device can also be a network node constituting a gNB or a TP, such as a BBU, a distributed unit (DU), and the like. Alternatively, the network device can also be a device that undertakes a network side function in a device-to-device (D2D) communication system, a machine to machine (M2M) communication system, an Internet of Things (IoT), a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system, or other communication systems.

[0096] Satellite communication system beam operation mode:

[0097] Satellite communication is taken as an example. According to the working mode of the load (such as a beam), it can be generally divided into a fixed (earth-fixed or quasi-earth fixed) and non-fixed (earth-moving) satellite communication system.

[0098] As shown in FIG. 2, which is a schematic diagram of a non-fixed satellite communication system. In a period of time (such as time T1, T2 and T3), the satellite beam coverage range moves with the satellite. As shown in FIG. 3, which is a schematic diagram of a fixed satellite communication system. In a period of time (such as time T1, T2 and T3), the satellite adjusts the beam pointing dynamically, so that the beam approximately covers the same area on the ground.

[0099] In the existing ground network, generally speaking, there is no problem of multiple coverage (which can be understood as a terminal device can be served by multiple network devices at the same time) except for the cell edge and hotspot area. In addition, the ground network adopts a static and scenario-based coverage (such as broadcast beam SSB coverage, data beam channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) coverage) scheme, that is, different numbers of SSBs are deployed in different scenarios to realize differentiated demands for coverage or capacity. For example, in a suburban coverage scenario, more SSBs can be used to ensure coverage (such as using 16 SSBs), and for hotspot areas such as stadiums and pedestrian streets, fewer SSBs (such as 8 or 12 SSBs) can be used to improve the capacity of the system by reducing the number of SSBs.

[0100] As mentioned earlier, in the LEO constellation NTN scenario, the number of satellites visible to a single geographic location / terminal device is extremely large. If the idea of “visible coverage” is adopted, that is, if a satellite i is visible in a region z (i belongs to I_z, I_z is the set of all visible satellites in the region), satellite i needs to provide coverage in the region (such as scheduling / planning SSB beams to cover the geographic region z). It can be predicted that due to the large number of satellites visible to a single region, SSB planning for all of them will affect SSB coverage (such as SSB SINR), and using a larger number of SSBs can improve the performance of coverage, but at the expense of system capacity. As shown in FIG. 4, which is a schematic diagram of coverage performance under different numbers of SSBs. Taking the maximum of 9 satellites visible to the target region as an example, when 8-SSB / 12-SSB / 16-SSB (N-SSB refers to the maximum number of SSBs used in planning) planning is performed, the coverage performance of the SSB is poor (that is, the probability of SSB SINR being less than -6 is large), and when 64-SSB planning is performed, the coverage performance of the SSB is improved to a certain extent (that is, the probability of SSB SINR being less than -6 is about 20%), but more system capacity is sacrificed.

[0101] Therefore, under the typical constellation configuration, the "visible coverage strategy" limits the coverage performance of the network. And when the network size is further increased, the interference of SSBs becomes uncontrollable, and the SSB SINR performance drops seriously.

[0102] To solve the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application provide the following solutions.

[0103] As shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application, which mainly includes the following steps:

[0104] S501, the terminal device receives coverage configuration information from the network device, wherein the coverage configuration information includes coverage redundancy.

[0105] The coverage redundancy is used to indicate at least one of the following: the number of beams covering each geographical location in a plurality of geographical locations, the number of cells serving the each geographical location, or the number of reference signals receivable by the terminal device in the each geographical location.

[0106] The coverage configuration information can also be referred to as coverage map information. Covering a geographical location can be understood as that the loss of the terminal device in the geographical location is less than a predetermined threshold (such as 164 dB). Alternatively, covering a geographical location can be understood as that the signal quality received by the terminal device in the geographical location is greater than a predetermined threshold, and the signal quality can be reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), or SINR, etc. For example, the predetermined threshold can be -6 dB or other values. The beam can be a broadcast beam (such as SSB beam) or a data beam (such as CSI-RS beam). The beam coverage can be SSB coverage or CSI-RS coverage, etc.

[0107] For example, as shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of beam coverage. The target area is divided into a plurality of geographical locations, each geographical location can be represented by a reference location and a distance threshold, and the area within the distance threshold from the reference location can be regarded as a geographical location. The coverage redundancy of each geographical location is different, and different color depths represent different coverage repetitions. No color indicates that the coverage redundancy of a certain geographical location is 0, that is, the number of beams covering the geographical location is 0, or the number of cells serving the geographical location is 0, or the number of reference signals receivable by the terminal device in the geographical location is 0.

[0108] Optionally, the number of the coverage duplication is N, and N corresponds to different cells or transmission reception points (TRPs). The coverage configuration information further includes M measurement configuration information corresponding to each geographical location, N is a non-negative integer, and M is an integer less than or equal to N. The measurement configuration information can be SSB measurement configuration information. If the number of coverage duplications of a geographical location is N, it means that the geographical location has N duplications (for example, N duplications of SSB coverage), each duplication can correspond to one or more beams covered, or each duplication can correspond to one or more cells served, or each duplication can correspond to one or more TRPs served, or each duplication can correspond to one or more reference signals that can be received.

[0109] Further, the measurement configuration information includes measurement timing configuration and time offset, the time offset includes a first offset and a second offset, the first offset is used to adjust the difference in propagation delay between two satellites, and the second offset is used to adjust the signal transmission time between the two satellites serving the terminal device. The measurement timing configuration can be SSB-based measurement timing configuration (SMTC).

[0110] The first offset can represent the difference in propagation delay between two different satellites to a preset location (a point in a certain geographical location). By adjusting the difference in propagation delay between the two satellites, signal synchronization is ensured. If the number of coverage duplications of a geographical location is greater than or equal to 1, the signal transmission time of SSB needs to be coordinated with the network device. The second offset can represent the time adjustment amount of the signal transmission time of a target satellite relative to the signal transmission time of a reference satellite. If the number of coverage duplications of the current geographical location of the terminal device is 1, the reference satellite can be a satellite serving the current geographical location, and the target satellite can be a satellite serving a geographical location adjacent to the current geographical location. If the number of coverage duplications of the current geographical location is greater than 1, the reference satellite can be a satellite serving the current geographical location, and the target satellite can be another satellite serving the current geographical location or a satellite serving a geographical location adjacent to the current geographical location. The signal transmission time can be at least one of a predefined time slot, a symbol, a frame, a subframe, or a reference time.

[0111] As shown in FIG. 7A, which is a schematic diagram of a first offset. Satellite 1 (SAT-1) and satellite 2 (SAT-2) can provide services to the same geographical location at the same time. The propagation delay of SAT-1 to a terminal device at a preset location is delay 1, the propagation delay of SAT-2 to the terminal device at the preset location is delay 2, and the first offset is delay 1 minus delay 2. As shown in FIG. 7B, which is a schematic diagram of a second offset. Satellite 1 (SAT-1) and satellite 2 (SAT-2) can provide services to the same geographical location at the same time, or satellite 1 provides services to one geographical location and satellite 2 provides services to another geographical location. SAT-2 is a reference satellite, the signal transmission time of SAT-2 is T1, SAT-1 is a target satellite, the signal transmission time of SAT-1 is T2, and the first offset is T2 minus T1.

[0112] Optionally, the coverage configuration information further includes at least one of the following: an identifier of each geographical location, an identifier of a beam covered by each geographical location, an identifier of a cell served by each geographical location, a valid time of coverage configuration information corresponding to each geographical location, or ephemeris information corresponding to each geographical location. The geographical location can also be referred to as a wave position, and the identifiers of multiple geographical locations can be represented by wave position B1, wave position B2, or wave position B3, and the like. Each geographical location can include N-fold coverage, and each fold of coverage can correspond to one or more beams, and the identifier of the beam can be an SSB index. The identifier of the cell can be a physical cell identifier (PCI). The coverage configuration information can include one or more valid times, and the valid time can be a time point. When the time point is not exceeded, the coverage configuration information is valid, and when the time point is exceeded, the coverage configuration information automatically expires. Alternatively, the valid time of the coverage configuration information can be a time period (including a first time and a second time point). The coverage configuration information starts to take effect when the first time point is reached, and the coverage configuration information automatically expires when the second time point is exceeded. Each geographical location can include N-fold coverage, and each fold of coverage can correspond to one or more satellite identifiers or one or more ephemeris information. The ephemeris information can be timing advance (TA) information, valid service time, scheduling offset information, polarization configuration information, and the like, and can be extended to system information block (SIB) 19.

[0113] As shown in Table 1, Table 1 is a coverage configuration information table. The plurality of geographic locations can include wave position B1, wave position B2, wave position B3, …, and the coverage configuration information corresponding to each geographic location includes coverage redundancy and SSB coverage configuration, and the SSB coverage configuration includes SSB index, SMTC, offset, PCI and valid time. Wherein, the coverage redundancy of wave position B1 is 2, and the corresponding SSB coverage configuration is: SSB N1: SMTC1, offset1, PCI1, valid time1 and SSB N2: SMTC2, offset2, PCI2, valid time2. The coverage redundancy of wave position B2 is 3, and the corresponding SSB coverage configuration is: SSB N3: SMTC3, offset3, PCI3, valid time3; SSB N4: SMTC4, offset4, PCI4, valid time4 and SSB N5: SMTC5, offset5, PCI5, valid time5. The coverage redundancy of wave position B3 is 1, and the corresponding SSB coverage configuration is: SSB N6: SMTC6, offset6, PCI6, valid time6.

[0114] Table 1

[0115] Optionally, the terminal device can update the coverage configuration information. The terminal device updating the coverage configuration information can include the following ways:

[0116] The first way is that when the terminal device moves out of the effective area, a fourth request is sent to the network device, and the fourth request is used to request to update the coverage configuration information, and the effective area includes at least one geographic location in the plurality of geographic locations. The network device can configure the effective area for the terminal device, and the effective area can be issued in the form of a reference location and a preset distance threshold, or in the form of a geographic location identifier set (such as a wave position set), which is not limited in the present application. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an effective area. An effective area (circular area) is represented by a reference location and a preset distance threshold, and within the effective area, the coverage configuration information is not updated, and when moving out of the effective area, the coverage configuration information is updated. Further, the coverage configuration information of all geographic locations can be updated, or only the coverage configuration information of the geographic locations outside the effective area can be updated.

[0117] The second way is to send a fourth request to the network device when the valid time of the coverage configuration information corresponding to any one of the plurality of geographic locations expires, and the fourth request is used to request updating the coverage configuration information. Further, the coverage configuration information whose valid time expires can be updated, or all coverage configuration information can be updated. For example, as shown in Table 1, if the valid time 1 of the coverage configuration information corresponding to the wave position 1 expires, the coverage configuration information corresponding to the wave position 1 can be updated, or all coverage configuration information corresponding to the wave position B1, the wave position B2 and the wave position B3 can be updated.

[0118] The third way is to send a fifth request to the network device when the number of times that the signal quality of any one of the plurality of geographic locations is less than a third threshold in a preset time period is greater than a third threshold value, and the fifth request is used to request updating the coverage configuration information. Further, the network device can be requested to adjust the coverage number of the geographic location, or the network device can be requested to re-perform at least one of the following operations on the geographic location: beam coverage on the geographic location, cell service to the geographic location or reference signal transmission to the geographic location. The third threshold and the third threshold value can be pre-set or configured by the network device to the terminal device.

[0119] Optionally, the network device can update the coverage configuration information. Specifically, the network device can configure one or more valid times of the coverage configuration information corresponding to each geographic location, and different updating methods can be used in different valid times. When the valid time of the coverage configuration information corresponding to any one of the plurality of geographic locations expires, the coverage configuration information can be updated.

[0120] Further, if the valid time of the coverage configuration information corresponding to the geographic location k of the plurality of geographic locations expires, the network device can update the coverage configuration information corresponding to the geographic location k stored by itself. The update information is added to the coverage configuration information corresponding to the geographic location k, or the update information is used to replace or cover the coverage configuration information corresponding to the geographic location k. Further, the network device can downlink the update information to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can also add the update information to the coverage configuration information corresponding to the geographic location k, or use the update information to replace or cover the coverage configuration information corresponding to the geographic location k. The update information is the updated coverage configuration information corresponding to part of the geographic locations (the geographic location k), rather than the coverage configuration information corresponding to all geographic locations, that is, the coverage configuration information is updated in an incremental manner (such as candidate configuration or delta configuration), which can reduce signaling overhead.

[0121] For example, as shown in Table 1, the coverage configuration information corresponding to the wave position B1 includes two different valid times: time T1 and time T2. If time T1 is reached, the update information corresponding to the wave position B1 can be added to the coverage configuration information corresponding to the wave position B1 in Table 1. As shown in Table 2, the update information (SSB N7: SMTC7, offset7, PCI7, valid time7) is added to the SSB coverage configuration corresponding to the wave position B1, and the coverage redundancy is increased, and the coverage configuration information corresponding to other wave positions remains unchanged.

[0122] Table 2

[0123] If time T2 is reached, the update information corresponding to the wave position B1 can replace the coverage configuration information corresponding to the wave position B1 in Table 1. As shown in Table 3, the update information (SSB N8: SMTC8, offset8, PCI8, valid time8) can replace the SSB coverage configuration (SSB N1: SMTC1, offset1, PCI1, valid time1 and SSB N2: SMTC2, offset2, PCI2) corresponding to the wave position B1, and the coverage redundancy is reduced. The coverage configuration information corresponding to other wave positions remains unchanged.

[0124] Table 3

[0125] S502, the network device can perform at least one of the following operations on each geographical location according to the coverage configuration information: beam coverage on each geographical location, providing cell service to each geographical location, or sending a reference signal to each geographical location.

[0126] S503, the terminal device communicates according to the coverage configuration information.

[0127] In the first case, when the terminal device is about to enter a second geographical location from a first geographical location in the plurality of geographical locations, and the coverage redundancy of the first geographical location is greater than 0, and the coverage redundancy of the second geographical location is equal to 0, a first request is sent to the network device, the first request is used to request to perform at least one of the following operations on the second geographical location: beam coverage on the second geographical location, providing cell service to the second geographical location, or sending a reference signal to the second geographical location. When entering a geographical location with a coverage redundancy of 0, the service is guaranteed not to be interrupted by requesting to provide service to the geographical location in advance.

[0128] Further, whether the terminal device is about to leave the first geographic location can be determined according to a reference location in the first geographic location and a current location of the terminal device, and when a distance between the current location of the terminal device and the reference location in the first geographic location exceeds a preset threshold, it is determined that the terminal device is about to leave the first geographic location. Further, whether the terminal device is about to enter the second geographic location can be determined according to a reference location in the second geographic location and the current location of the terminal device, and when a distance between the current location of the terminal device and the reference location in the second geographic location is less than the preset threshold, it is determined that the terminal device is about to enter the second geographic location. The reference location and the preset threshold can be pre-set or configured by the network device to the terminal device.

[0129] The network device can pre-configure resource configuration information for sending the first request to the terminal device, such as radio resource control (RRC) reporting, medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) reporting, physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), uplink control information (UCI), physical uplink sharing channel (PUSCH) reporting, etc. The terminal device can send the first request to the network device based on the resource configuration information.

[0130] For example, as shown in FIG. 9, FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of communication based on coverage configuration information. The multiple geographic locations include geographic location B1 and geographic location B2, satellite 1 (SAT-1) provides service to geographic location B1, the coverage beam is SSB#3, and the coverage redundancy of geographic location B1 is 1; no satellite provides service to geographic location B2, and the coverage redundancy of geographic location B2 is 0. When the terminal device is about to move out of geographic location B1 and enter geographic location B2, a request can be sent to SAT-1 in advance, requesting to provide service to geographic location B2. After receiving the request, SAT-1 can notify satellite 2 (SAT-2) to provide service to geographic location B2. The service can include beam coverage to geographic location B2, providing cell service to geographic location B2, or sending a reference signal to geographic location B2.

[0131] In a second case, when the terminal device is powered on in a third geographic location of the plurality of geographic locations and the coverage redundancy of the third geographic location is equal to 0, the terminal device sends a predefined signal to the network device, the predefined signal being used to request the network device to perform at least one of the following operations on the third geographic location: beam coverage on the third geographic location, cell service provision to the third geographic location, or reference signal transmission to the third geographic location. The network device can periodically detect the predefined signal, and if the predefined signal is successfully detected, the network device starts to perform at least one of the following operations on the third geographic location: beam coverage (broadcasting SSB and system message SIB1, etc.), cell service provision, or reference signal transmission. The predefined signal can be pre-configured or pre-configured by the network device to the terminal device. The predefined signal can be a chirp signal, a pulse signal, a predefined preamble format, etc. The terminal device actively requests the network device to provide services through the predefined signal in the geographic location with the coverage redundancy of 0, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the network device.

[0132] For example, as shown in FIG. 10, which is a schematic diagram of another communication based on coverage configuration information. The plurality of geographic locations include geographic location B1 and geographic location B2. At the last time point, the terminal device is in a powered-off state, and none of the satellites (SAT-1, SAT-2, and SAT-N) provides services to geographic location B1 and geographic location B2. At the current time point, the terminal device is powered on and detects no services, and thus sends a predefined signal. After detecting the predefined signal, SAT-2 simultaneously performs at least one of the following operations on geographic location B1 and geographic location B2: beam coverage, cell service provision, or reference signal transmission. In this way, the terminal device can obtain the services provided by SAT-2.

[0133] In a third case, when a fourth geographic location of the plurality of geographic locations in which the terminal device is located has a coverage redundancy greater than 0 and less than a first threshold, the terminal device sends a second request to the network device, the second request being used to request an increase in the coverage redundancy of the fourth geographic location. Optionally, the terminal device can report a supported connection number to the network device, and the network device can reconfigure the coverage redundancy of the fourth geographic location according to the supported connection number of the terminal device. Further, the network device can re-perform at least one of the following operations on the fourth geographic location according to the supported connection number: beam coverage, cell service provision, or reference signal transmission. The coverage redundancy of the fourth geographic location reconfigured by the network device can be less than or equal to the supported connection number of the terminal device. The first threshold can be pre-configured or pre-configured by the network device to the terminal device. By requesting an increase in the coverage redundancy of the geographic location, the terminal device is provided with multi-satellite coordination or multi-connection services, thereby improving the throughput of the terminal device and improving the communication efficiency.

[0134] For example, as shown in FIG. 11, FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of another communication based on coverage configuration information. The plurality of geographic locations includes geographic location B1 and geographic location B2. The terminal device is located at geographic location B1. At the last time point, the coverage redundancy of geographic location B1 is 1, and only satellite 1 (SAT-1) provides services to the terminal device. Therefore, the terminal device sends a request to SAT-1, requesting to increase the coverage redundancy of geographic location B1 and reporting the supported connection number N1. At the current time point, satellite 1 (SAT-1), satellite 2 (SAT-2), and satellite N (SAT-N) provide services to geographic location B1, and the coverage redundancy of geographic location B1 is N1. In this way, satellite 1 (SAT-1), satellite 2 (SAT-2), and satellite N (SAT-N) can provide multi-satellite cooperation or multi-connection services to the terminal device.

[0135] In the fourth case, when the coverage redundancy of the fifth geographic location among the plurality of geographic locations where the terminal device is located during the cell handover process is greater than 0 and less than a second threshold, a third request is sent to the network device, and the third request is used to request to re-perform at least one of the following operations on the fifth geographic location: beam coverage on the fifth geographic location, cell service provision to the fifth geographic location, or reference signal transmission to the fifth geographic location. After receiving the third request, the network device can re-perform beam coverage on the fifth geographic location, re-provide cell service to the fifth geographic location, or re-transmit a reference signal to the fifth geographic location. Further, the network device can provide non-cell-defined synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) coverage or handover synchronization signal block (HO-SSB) coverage to the fifth geographic location. The second threshold can be pre-set or pre-configured by the network device to the terminal device. By requesting re-coverage during the cell handover process, the communication quality is improved by ensuring that the handover process does not interrupt and reducing the mobile interruption delay.

[0136] For example, as shown in FIG. 12, FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of another communication based on coverage configuration information. The plurality of geographic locations includes geographic location B1 and geographic location B2. The terminal device is located at geographic location B1. At the last time instant, the coverage redundancy of geographic location B1 is 1, only satellite 1 (SAT-1) provides service to the terminal device, and the coverage beam is SSB #4. At the current time instant, the terminal device performs cell switching, and thus sends a request to satellite 1, requesting satellite 1 to re-perform beam coverage on geographic location B1, or to re-provide cell service to geographic location B1, or to re-send a reference signal to geographic location B1. After receiving the request, SAT-1 notifies satellite 2 (SAT-2) to provide service to geographic location B1, and thus satellite 2 provides NCD-SSB coverage to geographic location B1, and geographic location B1 switches from SSB #4 coverage to NCD-SSB coverage.

[0137] In a fifth case, when an interference value of a signal of a sixth geographic location in the plurality of geographic locations where the terminal device is located is greater than a first threshold, or a signal quality is less than a second threshold, the terminal device sends measurement information to the network device, the measurement information being used to instruct to adjust a coverage redundancy of the sixth geographic location, or to re-perform at least one of the following operations on the sixth geographic location: beam coverage on the sixth geographic location, cell service provision to the sixth geographic location, or reference signal sending to the sixth geographic location. The measurement information can include a measurement value of SSB SINR or a zero-power channel state information interference measurement value (CSI-IM). The first threshold and the second threshold can be pre-set or pre-configured by the network device to the terminal device. Through interference coordination and resource optimization, communication efficiency and communication quality are improved.

[0138] The adjustment of the coverage redundancy of the sixth geographic location can include reduction of the coverage redundancy of the sixth geographic location or increase of the coverage redundancy of the sixth geographic location. For example, too many coverage redundancies can cause signal interference, and too few coverage redundancies can cause poor signal quality. Therefore, when the interference value of the signal of the sixth geographic location is greater than the first threshold, the coverage redundancy of the sixth geographic location can be reduced. When the signal quality of the sixth geographic location is less than the second threshold, the coverage redundancy of the sixth geographic location can be increased.

[0139] Optionally, the network device can send auxiliary information to the terminal device. The terminal device can receive the auxiliary information sent by the network device, and the auxiliary information includes at least one of the following: resource configuration information used to send the first request, the predefined signal, the first threshold, the second threshold, the first threshold, or the second threshold.

[0140] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device configures the coverage redundancy in the coverage configuration information, so that the terminal device can use the coverage redundancy related information for communication. For example, before entering a geographic location without coverage, the terminal device can request to cover the geographic location in advance. Or in the case of less coverage redundancy, the terminal device can request to increase the coverage redundancy. Or in the case of large signal interference, the terminal device can request to reduce the coverage redundancy. Thus, the coverage performance is guaranteed, and the system capacity is improved.

[0141] It can be understood that, in each of the above method embodiments, the method and operation implemented by the terminal device can also be implemented by a component (such as a chip or circuit) available for the terminal device, and the method and operation implemented by the network device can also be implemented by a component (such as a chip or circuit) available for the network device.

[0142] The embodiments of the present application can divide the terminal device or the network device into functional modules according to the above method examples. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, another division mode can be used. The following will be described by taking the division of each functional module corresponding to each function as an example.

[0143] The above describes the method provided by the embodiments of the present application in detail in combination with FIG. 5. The following describes the communication apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application in combination with FIG. 13 to FIG. 14. It should be understood that the description of the apparatus embodiments corresponds to the description of the method embodiments, and therefore, the content not described in detail can be referred to the above method embodiments, and will not be described here again for the sake of brevity.

[0144] Please refer to FIG. 13, which is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application. The communication apparatus can implement the steps or processes performed by the terminal device corresponding to the above method embodiments. In a possible design, the communication apparatus can include a receiving module 1301, a processing module 1302, and a sending module 1303. Optionally, the communication apparatus can further include a storage module for storing apparatus program code and / or data.

[0145] The communication apparatus can be a terminal side apparatus in the above embodiments, such as a terminal device or a communication module in the terminal device, or a circuit or chip responsible for the communication function in the terminal device.

[0146] The receiving module 1301 is configured to receive coverage configuration information from a network device, wherein the coverage configuration information comprises a coverage multiplicity, and the coverage multiplicity is used to indicate at least one of the following: a number of beams covering each of a plurality of geographical locations, a number of cells serving the each of the geographical locations, or a number of reference signals receivable by a terminal device in the each of the geographical locations.

[0147] The processing module 1302 is configured to perform communication according to the coverage configuration information.

[0148] Optionally, the coverage multiplicity has a number N, and the coverage configuration information further comprises M measurement configuration information corresponding to the each of the geographical locations, wherein N is an integer greater than or equal to 0, and M is an integer less than or equal to N.

[0149] Optionally, the measurement configuration information comprises a measurement timing configuration and a time offset, and the time offset comprises a first offset and a second offset, wherein the first offset is used to adjust a difference in propagation delay between two satellites, and the second offset is used to adjust a signal transmission time between the two satellites serving the terminal device.

[0150] Optionally, the coverage configuration information further comprises at least one of the following: an identifier of the each of the geographical locations, an identifier of the beams covering the each of the geographical locations, an identifier of the cells serving the each of the geographical locations, a validity time of the coverage configuration information corresponding to the each of the geographical locations, or ephemeris information corresponding to the each of the geographical locations.

[0151] Optionally, the sending module 1303 is configured to send a first request to the network device when the terminal device is about to enter a second geographical location from a first geographical location in the plurality of geographical locations, and the coverage multiplicity of the first geographical location is greater than 0 and the coverage multiplicity of the second geographical location is equal to 0, wherein the first request is used to request at least one of the following operations performed on the second geographical location: beam coverage on the second geographical location, cell service provided to the second geographical location, or reference signal transmission to the second geographical location.

[0152] Optionally, the sending module 1303 is configured to send a predefined signal to the network device when the terminal device is powered on in a third geographical location in the plurality of geographical locations, and the coverage multiplicity of the third geographical location is equal to 0, wherein the predefined signal is used to request at least one of the following operations performed on the third geographical location: beam coverage on the third geographical location, cell service provided to the third geographical location, or reference signal transmission to the third geographical location.

[0153] Optionally, the sending module 1303 is configured to send a second request to the network device when a coverage redundancy of a fourth geographic location in the multiple geographic locations where the terminal device is located is greater than 0 and less than a first threshold, the second request being used to request increasing the coverage redundancy of the fourth geographic location.

[0154] Optionally, the sending module 1303 is configured to send a third request to the network device when a coverage redundancy of a fifth geographic location in the multiple geographic locations where the terminal device is located is greater than 0 and less than a second threshold during a cell switching process, the third request being used to request re-performing at least one of the following operations on the fifth geographic location: beam coverage on the fifth geographic location, cell service provision to the fifth geographic location, or reference signal transmission to the fifth geographic location.

[0155] Optionally, the sending module 1303 is configured to send measurement information to the network device when an interference value of a signal of a sixth geographic location in the multiple geographic locations where the terminal device is located is greater than a first threshold or a signal quality is less than a second threshold, the measurement information being used to indicate adjusting a coverage redundancy of the sixth geographic location or re-performing at least one of the following operations on the sixth geographic location: beam coverage on the sixth geographic location, cell service provision to the sixth geographic location, or reference signal transmission to the sixth geographic location.

[0156] Optionally, the receiving module 1301 is further configured to receive auxiliary information sent by the network device, the auxiliary information including at least one of the following: resource configuration information used for sending the first request, the predefined signal, the first threshold, the second threshold, the first threshold, or the second threshold.

[0157] Optionally, the sending module 1303 is configured to send a fourth request to the network device when the terminal device moves out of an effective area, the fourth request being used to request updating the coverage configuration information, and the effective area including at least one of the multiple geographic locations.

[0158] Optionally, the sending module 1303 is configured to send a fourth request to the network device when an effective time of coverage configuration information corresponding to any one of the multiple geographic locations expires, the fourth request being used to request updating the coverage configuration information.

[0159] Optionally, the sending module 1303 is configured to send a fifth request to the network device when a number of times of measuring a signal quality of any one of the multiple geographic locations being less than a third threshold within a preset time period is greater than a third threshold, the fifth request being used to request updating the coverage configuration information.

[0160] In a possible design, when the communication apparatus is a terminal device or a communication module in a terminal device, the functions of the receiving module 1301 and the sending module 1303 can be implemented by a transceiver circuit. The function of the processing module 1302 can be implemented by one or more processors. Specifically, the processor can include a Modem chip, or a System on Chip (SoC) chip or a SIP chip including a Modem core.

[0161] In a possible design, when the communication apparatus is a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions in a terminal device, such as a Modem chip or a System on Chip (SoC) chip or a SIP chip including a Modem core, the functions of the receiving module 1301 and the sending module 1303 can be implemented by an interface circuit or a data transceiver circuit on the chip. The function of the processing module 1302 can be implemented by a circuit system including one or more processors or processor cores in the chip.

[0162] It should be noted that the implementation of each module can also correspond to the description of the corresponding method embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and the method and function performed by the terminal device in the above embodiments are executed.

[0163] Please refer to FIG. 14, which is a structural schematic diagram of another communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus can implement the steps or processes performed by the network device in the above method embodiments. In a possible design, the communication apparatus can include a sending module 1401 and a processing module 1402. Optionally, the communication apparatus can further include a storage module for storing device program code and / or data.

[0164] The communication apparatus can be the network side apparatus in the above embodiments, for example, a network device or a communication module in a network device, or a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions in a network device.

[0165] The sending module 1401 is configured to send, to a terminal device, coverage configuration information including a coverage repetition number, where the coverage repetition number is used to indicate at least one of the following: a number of beams covering each of a plurality of geographic locations, a number of cells serving the each of the geographic locations, or a number of reference signals receivable by the terminal device in the each of the geographic locations.

[0166] The processing module 1402 is configured to perform at least one of the following operations on the each of the geographic locations according to the coverage configuration information: performing beam coverage on the each of the geographic locations, providing cell service to the each of the geographic locations, or sending a reference signal to the each of the geographic locations.

[0167] Optionally, the number of the coverage multiplicity is N, and the coverage configuration information further comprises M measurement configuration information corresponding to each geographic location, N is an integer greater than or equal to 0, and M is an integer less than or equal to N.

[0168] Optionally, the measurement configuration information comprises a measurement timing configuration and a time offset, the time offset comprises a first offset and a second offset, the first offset is used to adjust a difference in propagation delay between two satellites, and the second offset is used to adjust a signal transmission time between the two satellites.

[0169] Optionally, the coverage configuration information further comprises at least one of the following: an identifier of each geographic location, an identifier of a beam covered by each geographic location, an identifier of a cell served by each geographic location, a valid time of coverage configuration information corresponding to each geographic location, or ephemeris information corresponding to each geographic location.

[0170] Optionally, the sending module 1401 is further configured to send, to the terminal device, assistance information comprising at least one of the following: resource configuration information used to send the first request, a predefined signal, the first threshold, the second threshold, the first threshold, or the second threshold.

[0171] Optionally, the processing module 1402 is further configured to update the coverage configuration information when a valid time of coverage configuration information corresponding to a first geographic location in the plurality of geographic locations expires.

[0172] Optionally, the processing module 1402 is further configured to add update information to the coverage configuration information corresponding to the first address location, or replace the coverage configuration information corresponding to the first address location with the update information.

[0173] In a possible design, when the communication apparatus is a network device or a communication module in a network device, the function of the processing module 1402 can be implemented by one or more processors. Specifically, the processor can include a Modem chip, or a System on Chip (SoC) chip or a SIP chip containing a Modem core. The function of the sending module 1401 can be implemented by a transceiver circuit.

[0174] In a possible design, when the communication apparatus is a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions in a network device, such as a Modem chip or a System on Chip (SoC) chip or a SIP chip containing a Modem core, the function of the processing module 1402 can be implemented by a circuit system including one or more processors or processor cores in the above-mentioned chip. The function of the sending module 1401 can be implemented by an interface circuit or a data transceiver circuit on the above-mentioned chip.

[0175] It should be noted that the implementation of each module can also correspond to the description of the corresponding method embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and the method and function performed by the network device in the above embodiments are executed.

[0176] FIG. 15 is a structural schematic diagram of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The terminal device can be applied in the system shown in FIG. 1, and performs the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments, or implements the steps or processes performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments.

[0177] As shown in FIG. 15, the terminal device includes a processor 1501 and a transceiver 1502. The transceiver 1502 includes a transmitter 1521, a receiver 1522 and an antenna 1523. The receiver 1522 can be configured to receive transmission control information through the antenna 1523, and the transmitter 1521 can be configured to send transmission feedback information to the network device through the antenna 1523. Optionally, the terminal device further includes a memory 1503. The processor 1501, the transceiver 1502 and the memory 1503 can communicate with each other through internal connection paths, and transfer control and / or data signals. The memory 1503 is configured to store a computer program, and the processor 1501 is configured to call and run the computer program in the memory 1503 to control the transceiver 1502 to transceive signals. Optionally, the terminal device can further include an antenna for transmitting uplink data or uplink control signaling output by the transceiver 1502 through wireless signals.

[0178] The processor 1501 and the memory 1503 can be integrated into one processing device, and the processor 1501 is configured to execute the program code stored in the memory 1503 to implement the above functions. In a specific implementation, the memory 1503 can also be integrated in the processor 1501, or independent of the processor 1501. Corresponding to the processing module in FIG. 13.

[0179] The transceiver 1502 can correspond to the receiving module and the sending module in FIG. 13, and can also be referred to as a transceiving unit or a transceiving module. The transceiver 1502 can include a receiver (or receiver, receiving circuit) and a transmitter (or transmitter, transmitting circuit). The receiver is configured to receive signals, and the transmitter is configured to transmit signals.

[0180] It should be understood that the terminal device shown in FIG. 15 can implement each process involving the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 5. The operation and / or function of each module in the terminal device is respectively to implement the corresponding process in the above method embodiment. For details, reference can be made to the description in the above method embodiment, and the detailed description is appropriately omitted here to avoid repetition.

[0181] The processor 1501 can be used to perform the actions described in the foregoing method embodiments that are implemented internally by the terminal device, and the transceiver 1502 can be used to perform the actions described in the foregoing method embodiments that are sent or received by the terminal device to or from the network device. For details, see the descriptions in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here again.

[0182] The processor 1501 can be a central processing unit, a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or other programmable logic device, transistor logic device, hardware component, or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute the various exemplary logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. The processor 1501 can also be a combination of computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, and the like. The terminal device can also include a communication bus, which can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. The communication bus is used to realize the connection communication between the components. The transceiver 1502 in the embodiments of the present application is used for signaling or data communication with other node devices. The memory 1503 can include volatile memory, such as non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), phase change RAM (PRAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), etc., and can also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory device, such as NOR flash memory or NAND flash memory, semiconductor device, such as solid state disk (SSD), etc. The memory 1503 can also be at least one storage device located away from the processor 1501. The memory 1503 can also optionally store a set of computer program codes or configuration information. Optionally, the processor 1501 can also execute the programs stored in the memory 1503. The processor can cooperate with the memory and the transceiver to perform any of the methods and functions of the terminal device described in the foregoing embodiments.

[0183] FIG. 16 is a structural schematic diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application. The network device can be applied in the system shown in FIG. 1, and perform the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments, or implement the steps or processes performed by the network device in the above method embodiments.

[0184] As shown in FIG. 16, the network device includes a processor 1601 and a transceiver 1602. The transceiver 1602 includes a transmitter 1621, a receiver 1622 and an antenna 1623. The transmitter 1621 can be configured to send transmission control information to a terminal device through the antenna 1623, and the receiver 1622 can be configured to receive transmission feedback information sent by the terminal device through the antenna 1623. Optionally, the network device further includes a memory 1603. The processor 1601, the transceiver 1602 and the memory 1603 can communicate with each other through internal connection paths, and transfer control and / or data signals. The memory 1603 is configured to store a computer program, and the processor 1601 is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory 1603 to control the transceiver 1602 to transceive signals. Optionally, the network device can further include an antenna configured to send uplink data or uplink control signaling output by the transceiver 1602 through wireless signals.

[0185] The processor 1601 described above can correspond to the processing module in FIG. 14. The processor 1601 can be integrated with the memory 1603 into a processing apparatus, and the processor 1601 is configured to execute program codes stored in the memory 1603 to implement the above functions. In specific implementation, the memory 1603 can also be integrated in the processor 1601, or be independent of the processor 1601.

[0186] The transceiver 1602 described above can correspond to the sending module in FIG. 14, and can also be referred to as a transceiving unit or a transceiving module. The transceiver 1602 can include a receiver (or receiver, receiving circuit) and a transmitter (or transmitter, transmitting circuit). The receiver is configured to receive signals, and the transmitter is configured to transmit signals.

[0187] It should be understood that the network device shown in FIG. 16 can implement each process involving the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 5. The operations and / or functions of each module in the network device are respectively implemented to implement the corresponding processes in the above method embodiments. For details, reference can be made to the description in the above method embodiments, and the detailed description is appropriately omitted here to avoid repetition.

[0188] The processor 1601 can be used for performing the actions described in the foregoing method embodiments and implemented by the network device, and the transceiver 1602 can be used for performing the actions described in the foregoing method embodiments and implemented by the network device to send or receive to / from the terminal device. For details, refer to the descriptions in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0189] The processor 1601 can be various types of processors mentioned above. The network device can further include a communication bus, which can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. The communication bus is used to realize the connection and communication between the components. In the embodiments of the present application, the transceiver 1602 of the device is used to communicate signaling or data with other devices. The memory 1603 can be various types of memories mentioned above. The memory 1603 can also be at least one storage device located away from the aforementioned processor 1601. The memory 1603 stores a set of computer program codes or configuration information, and the processor 1601 executes the program in the memory 1603. The processor can cooperate with the memory and the transceiver to execute any one of the methods and functions of the network device described above.

[0190] The embodiments of the present application also provide a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting the network device or the terminal device to implement the functions involved in any of the embodiments described above, such as generating or processing the coverage configuration information involved in the methods described above.

[0191] In a possible design, the chip system can further include a memory for storing the necessary computer programs and data of the network device or the terminal device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include the chip and other discrete devices. The input and output of the chip system correspond to the receiving and sending operations of the network device or the terminal device in the method embodiments, respectively.

[0192] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program. When the computer program runs on a computer, the computer program causes the computer to execute the method of any one of the embodiments shown in FIG. 5.

[0193] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the present application further provides a computer readable medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program runs on a computer, the computer program causes the computer to execute the method of any one of the embodiments shown in FIG. 5.

[0194] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media sets. The available media can be magnetic media (such as floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical media (such as high-density digital video disc (digital video disc, DVD)), or semiconductor media (such as solid state disc (solid state disc, SSD)) and the like.

[0195] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical range disclosed in the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: receiving coverage configuration information from a network device, the coverage configuration information comprising a coverage multiplicity, the coverage multiplicity being used to indicate at least one of the following: a number of beams covering each geographical location in a plurality of geographical locations, a number of cells serving the each geographical location, or a number of reference signals receivable by a terminal device in the each geographical location; communicating according to the coverage configuration information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The number of the coverage multiplicity is N, and the coverage configuration information further comprises M measurement configuration information corresponding to the each geographical location, the N being an integer greater than or equal to 0, and the M being an integer less than or equal to N.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The measurement configuration information comprises a measurement timing configuration and a time offset, the time offset comprising a first offset and a second offset, the first offset being used to adjust a difference in propagation delay between two satellites, and the second offset being used to adjust a signal transmission time between the two satellites serving the terminal device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The coverage configuration information further comprises at least one of the following: an identifier of the each geographical location, an identifier of a beam covering the each geographical location, an identifier of a cell serving the each geographical location, a validity time of the coverage configuration information corresponding to the each geographical location, or ephemeris information corresponding to the each geographical location.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The method of communicating according to the coverage configuration information comprises: when the terminal device is about to enter a second geographical location from a first geographical location in the plurality of geographical locations, and the coverage multiplicity of the first geographical location is greater than 0 and the coverage multiplicity of the second geographical location is equal to 0, sending a first request to the network device, the first request being used to request at least one of the following operations performed on the second geographical location: beam coverage on the second geographical location, cell service provided to the second geographical location, or reference signal transmission to the second geographical location.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The method of communicating according to the coverage configuration information comprises: when the terminal device is powered on in a third geographical location in the plurality of geographical locations, and the coverage multiplicity of the third geographical location is equal to 0, sending a predefined signal to the network device, the predefined signal being used to request at least one of the following operations performed on the third geographical location: beam coverage on the third geographical location, cell service provided to the third geographical location, or reference signal transmission to the third geographical location.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The method of communicating according to the coverage configuration information comprises: when the coverage multiplicity of a fourth geographical location in the plurality of geographical locations where the terminal device is located is greater than 0 and less than a first threshold, sending a second request to the network device, the second request being used to request an increase in the coverage multiplicity of the fourth geographical location.

8. The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The method of communicating according to the coverage configuration information comprises: When a coverage redundancy of a fifth geographic location among the multiple geographic locations where the terminal device is located is greater than 0 and less than a second threshold value in a cell handover process, a third request is sent to the network device, and the third request is used to request that at least one of the following operations is performed on the fifth geographic location again: beam coverage is performed on the fifth geographic location, cell service is provided to the fifth geographic location, or a reference signal is sent to the fifth geographic location.

9. The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The method for communicating according to the coverage configuration information comprises: When a signal interference value of a sixth geographic location among the multiple geographic locations where the terminal device is located is greater than a first threshold value or a signal quality is less than a second threshold value, measurement information is sent to the network device, and the measurement information is used to indicate that a coverage redundancy of the sixth geographic location is adjusted or at least one of the following operations is performed on the sixth geographic location again: beam coverage is performed on the sixth geographic location, cell service is provided to the sixth geographic location, or a reference signal is sent to the sixth geographic location.

10. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein, The method further comprises: The method further comprises:

11. The method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein, When the terminal device moves out of an effective area, a fourth request is sent to the network device, and the fourth request is used to request that the coverage configuration information is updated, and the effective area comprises at least one geographic location among the multiple geographic locations. The method further comprises:

12. The method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein, When a valid time of coverage configuration information corresponding to any one of the multiple geographic locations expires, a fourth request is sent to the network device, and the fourth request is used to request that the coverage configuration information is updated. The method further comprises:

13. The method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein, When a number of times that a signal quality of any one of the multiple geographic locations is measured to be less than a third threshold value within a preset time period is greater than a third threshold value, a fifth request is sent to the network device, and the fifth request is used to request that the coverage configuration information is updated. The method comprises:

14. A communication method, comprising: Coverage configuration information is sent to a terminal device, and the coverage configuration information comprises a coverage redundancy, and the coverage redundancy is used to indicate at least one of the following: a number of beams that cover each geographic location among multiple geographic locations, a number of cells that serve the each geographic location, or a number of reference signals that the terminal device can receive in the each geographic location; According to the coverage configuration information, at least one of the following operations is performed on the each geographic location: beam coverage is performed on the each geographic location, cell service is provided to the each geographic location, or a reference signal is sent to the each geographic location. The number of the coverage redundancies is N, the coverage configuration information further comprises M measurement configuration information corresponding to the each geographic location, the N is an integer greater than or equal to 0, and the M is an integer less than or equal to the N.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, ​ 16. The method of claim 15, wherein, The measurement configuration information includes a measurement timing configuration and a time offset, the time offset including a first offset and a second offset, the first offset being used to adjust a difference in propagation delay between two satellites, the second offset being used to adjust a signal transmission time between the two satellites, the two satellites serving the terminal device.

17. The method of any one of claims 14-16, wherein, The coverage configuration information further includes at least one of the following: an identity of each geographical location, an identity of a beam covered by each geographical location, an identity of a cell served by each geographical location, a validity time of the coverage configuration information corresponding to each geographical location, or ephemeris information corresponding to each geographical location.

18. The method of any one of claims 14-17, wherein, The method further includes: sending, to the terminal device, assistance information, the assistance information including at least one of the following: resource configuration information used to send the first request, a predefined signal, a first threshold, a second threshold, a first threshold or a second threshold.

19. The method of any one of claims 14-18, wherein, The method further includes: updating the coverage configuration information when a validity time of coverage configuration information corresponding to a first geographical location among the plurality of geographical locations expires.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, The updating the coverage configuration information includes: adding update information to the coverage configuration information corresponding to the first address location; or replacing the coverage configuration information corresponding to the first address location with update information.

21. A communications device, characterized by A communication device including a memory and a processor, the memory being used to store a computer program, the processor running the computer program to cause the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 1-13.

22. A communications device, characterized by A communication device including a memory and a processor, the memory being used to store a computer program, the processor running the computer program to cause the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 14-20.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium includes a computer program, when the computer program is run by a processor, causing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-13, or any one of claims 14-20 to be implemented.

24. A chip, characterized by The chip includes a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface being used to communicate with external devices or internal devices, the processor being used to implement the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-13, or any one of claims 14-20.

Images