Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and provide a communication method and apparatus, used for satisfying the positioning requirements of a terminal device. In the method, a terminal device can determine, on the basis of first indication information sent by a network device, that a first SSB period is associated with a positioning service type; when determining that the service type of a first positioning service is the positioning service type associated with the first SSB period, the terminal device can directly use the first SSB period to receive a first SSB, and use the received first SSB to position the terminal device. On the basis that the service type of the first positioning service is the positioning service type associated with the first SSB period, the first SSB period can satisfy the positioning requirements of the first positioning service of the terminal device, thereby ensuring that the terminal device can efficiently access the network device, and improving the random access performance.

Description

Communication method and apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202411390973.0 filed on September 30, 2024, and entitled "Communication method and apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

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

[0003] In a new radio (NR) initial access process, a network device side can periodically send a synchronization signal block (SSB), and a terminal device side can receive the SSB and perform downlink synchronization with the network device according to the SSB to select a suitable cell for camping. Then, the terminal device initiates a random access process in the camped cell to achieve uplink synchronization between the terminal device and the camped cell. In this process, the terminal device needs to obtain an uplink timing advance (TA) for subsequent sending of a physical random access channel (PRACH) to the network device. The terminal device needs to calculate the TA according to its own position information and the position information of the network device, that is, the position information of the terminal device is a necessary factor affecting the calculation of the TA.

[0004] However, the existing positioning process may not meet the positioning needs of the terminal device, thereby affecting the random access performance. SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus to meet the positioning needs of the terminal device.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a terminal device side, such as a terminal device or a communication module in the terminal device, or a circuit or chip (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system on chip (SoC) chip or a system in package (SIP) chip containing a modem core) responsible for communication functions in the terminal device. For convenience of description, the method is introduced below by taking the application to the terminal device as an example. The method comprises: receiving first indication information from a network device, and when it is determined that a service type of a first positioning service is a positioning service type associated with a first synchronization signal block (SSB) period, receiving a first SSB using the first SSB period; and positioning the terminal device according to the first SSB to obtain position information of the terminal device. The first indication information is used to indicate a first synchronization signal block (SSB) period associated with the positioning service type, and the first SSB period is used for positioning of the terminal device.

[0008] Based on the method of the first aspect, the terminal device can determine that the first SSB period is associated with the positioning service type according to the first indication information sent by the network device, that is, different positioning service types of the positioning service can be configured with respective SSB periods for positioning of the terminal device. In this way, the period of the SSB (such as the first SSB described above) used for positioning can be flexibly configured to meet the positioning requirements of different service types of the positioning service of the terminal device. Taking the first SSB period described above as an example, when it is determined that the service type of the first positioning service is the positioning service type associated with the first SSB period, the terminal device can directly receive the first SSB using the first SSB period and position the terminal device using the received first SSB. Based on the service type of the first positioning service being the positioning service type associated with the first SSB period, the first SSB period can meet the positioning requirements of the first positioning service of the terminal device, and can ensure that the terminal device can efficiently access the network device and improve the random access performance.

[0009] In a possible design, the method of the first aspect further comprises: determining that the number of received first SSBs is N. N is greater than or equal to 3, and the number of first SSBs is determined according to the positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service. That is, the terminal device can flexibly select the number of first SSBs to be received according to the positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service. In this way, the number of received first SSBs can be reduced to reduce resource overhead while meeting the positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service.

[0010] In a possible design, the method in the first aspect further includes: receiving second indication information from the network device, and receiving a second SSB from the network device using a second SSB period. The second indication information is used to indicate the second SSB period, and the second SSB period is used for downlink synchronization of the terminal device. The second SSB can be understood as a synchronization SSB, and the first SSB can be understood as a positioning SSB. When the network supports the coexistence of the synchronization SSB and the positioning SSB, the period of the synchronization SSB and the period of the positioning SSB can be indicated separately, to meet the downlink synchronization requirement of the terminal device and the positioning requirement of the positioning service (for example, the first positioning service).

[0011] In a possible design, the second indication information is carried in a system message, for example, can be carried in a system information block (SIB) 1, a master information block (MIB), or another SIB, that is, is carried in an existing information element, to reduce implementation difficulty, or can be carried in a new information element, to improve implementation flexibility, without limitation.

[0012] In a possible design, the first indication information is carried in a system message, for example, can be carried in a SIB 1, a MIB, or another SIB, that is, is carried in an existing information element, to reduce implementation difficulty, or can be carried in a new information element, to improve implementation flexibility, without limitation. It should be understood that the first indication information and the second indication information are carried in the same system message.

[0013] In a possible design, the terminal device is positioned according to the first SSB to obtain the location information of the terminal device, including: the terminal device is positioned according to the arrival time of the first SSB to obtain the location information of the terminal device. For example, the terminal device can use a time-related measurement-based positioning method, for example, a time difference of arrival (TDOA)-based positioning method, to position the terminal device, which has strong anti-interference capability, does not need additional synchronization hardware, and has relatively low cost.

[0014] In a possible design, the method in the first aspect further includes: calculating a timing advance according to the location information of the terminal device and the location information of the network device, and performing random access according to the timing advance. It can be understood that the terminal device needs to send a physical random access channel (PRACH) to the network device according to the timing advance, so that the network device can receive the PRACH (preamble) sent uplink in a specific time, to ensure that the terminal device can efficiently access the network device, and improve the random access performance and user experience.

[0015] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a network device, or by a module (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the network device, or by a logic node, a logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions. For the convenience of description, the method is introduced below by taking the example of being executed by the network device. The method includes: sending first indication information to a terminal device, and sending a first synchronization signal block (SSB) to the terminal device according to a first SSB period. The first indication information is used to indicate a first SSB period associated with a positioning service type, and the first SSB period is used for the terminal device to perform positioning.

[0016] In a possible design, the method in the second aspect further includes: sending second indication information to the terminal device, and sending a second SSB to the terminal device according to a second SSB period. The second indication information is used to indicate the second SSB period, and the second SSB period is used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization.

[0017] In a possible design, the second indication information is carried in a system message.

[0018] In a possible design, the first indication information is carried in a system message.

[0019] Other technical effects of the method in the second aspect can refer to the technical effects of the method in the first aspect, which are not described herein again.

[0020] In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication apparatus includes a module for performing the method in the first aspect. For example, a transceiver module and a processing module.

[0021] The transceiver module is configured to receive first indication information from the network device, and receive a first synchronization signal block (SSB) from the network device using a first SSB period when it is determined that the service type of the first positioning service is a positioning service type associated with the first SSB period. The processing module is configured to perform positioning on the terminal device based on the first SSB, and obtain position information of the terminal device. The first indication information is used to indicate a first SSB period associated with the positioning service type, and the first SSB period is used for positioning of the terminal device.

[0022] In a possible design, the processing module is further configured to determine that the number of the first SSBs is N, where N is greater than or equal to 3, and the number of the first SSBs is determined according to a positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service.

[0023] In a possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to receive second indication information from the network device, and receive a second SSB from the network device using a second SSB period. The second indication information is used to indicate the second SSB period, and the second SSB period is used for downlink synchronization of the terminal device.

[0024] In a possible design, the second indication information is carried in a system message.

[0025] In a possible design, the first indication information is carried in a system message.

[0026] In a possible design, the processing module is further configured to perform positioning on the terminal device according to a time of arrival of the first SSB, and obtain the position information of the terminal device.

[0027] In a possible design, the processing module is further configured to calculate a timing advance according to the position information of the terminal device and position information of the network device, and perform random access according to the timing advance.

[0028] Optionally, the transceiver module can include a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module is configured to implement the sending function of the communication apparatus in the seventh aspect, and the receiving module is configured to implement the receiving function of the communication apparatus in the third aspect.

[0029] Optionally, the communication apparatus in the third aspect can further include a storage module that stores a program or an instruction. When the processing module executes the program or the instruction, the communication apparatus can execute the communication method in the first aspect.

[0030] It should be noted that the communication apparatus in the third aspect can be a terminal device, a chip (system) or other components or assemblies in the terminal device, or an apparatus including the terminal device, and the present application does not limit the communication apparatus.

[0031] In addition, the technical effects of the communication apparatus in the third aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method in the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0032] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication apparatus includes modules for performing the method in the second aspect, for example, a transceiver module and a processing module.

[0033] The transceiver module is configured to send first indication information to a terminal device. The processing module is configured to send a first synchronization signal block (SSB) to the terminal device according to a first SSB period. The first indication information is used to indicate a first SSB period associated with a positioning service type, and the first SSB period is used for positioning of the terminal device.

[0034] In a possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to send second indication information to the terminal device. The processing module is further configured to send a second SSB to the terminal device according to a second SSB period. The second indication information is used to indicate the second SSB period, and the second SSB period is used for downlink synchronization of the terminal device.

[0035] In a possible design, the second indication information is carried in a system message.

[0036] In a possible design, the first indication information is carried in a system message.

[0037] Optionally, the transceiver module can include a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module is configured to implement the sending function of the communication apparatus in the fourth aspect, and the receiving module is configured to implement the receiving function of the communication apparatus in the fourth aspect.

[0038] Optionally, the communication apparatus in the fourth aspect can further include a storage module that stores a program or instructions. When the processing module executes the program or instructions, the communication apparatus can perform the method in the second aspect.

[0039] It can be understood that the communication apparatus in the fourth aspect can be a network device, a chip (system) or other components or assemblies in the network device, or an apparatus containing the network device, which will not be limited in the present application.

[0040] In addition, the technical effects of the communication apparatus in the fourth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the method in the second aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0041] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication apparatus includes a processor configured to perform the method in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0042] In one possible design, the communication device described in the fifth aspect may further include a transceiver. This transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver can be used for communication between the communication device described in the fifth aspect and other communication devices.

[0043] In one possible design, the communication device described in the fifth aspect may further include a memory. This memory may be integrated with the processor or disposed separately. The memory may be used to store computer programs and / or data involved in the methods described in the first or second aspect.

[0044] In the embodiments of this application, the communication device described in the fifth aspect may be the terminal device described in the first aspect, or a chip (system) or other component or assembly disposed in the terminal device, or a device comprising the terminal device; or, the communication device described in the fifth aspect may be the network device described in the second aspect, or a chip (system) or other component or assembly disposed in the network device, or a device comprising the network device.

[0045] Furthermore, the technical effects of the communication device described in the fifth aspect can be referred to the technical effects of the method described in the first or second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0046] A sixth aspect provides a communication device. The communication device includes a processor coupled to a memory, the processor being configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory, such that the communication device performs the method described in the first or second aspect.

[0047] In one possible design, the communication device described in the sixth aspect may further include a transceiver. This transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver can be used for communication between the communication device described in the sixth aspect and other communication devices.

[0048] In the embodiments of this application, the communication device described in the sixth aspect may be the terminal device described in the first aspect, or a chip (system) or other component or assembly disposed in the terminal device, or a device comprising the terminal device; or, the communication device described in the sixth aspect may be the network device described in the second aspect, or a chip (system) or other component or assembly disposed in the network device, or a device comprising the network device.

[0049] Furthermore, the technical effects of the communication device described in the sixth aspect can be referred to the technical effects of the method described in the first or second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0050] In a seventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processor is configured to execute the computer program to enable the communication apparatus to perform the method in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0051] In a possible design, the communication apparatus in the seventh aspect can further include a transceiver. The transceiver can be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver can be configured to enable the communication apparatus in the seventh aspect to communicate with another communication apparatus.

[0052] In embodiments of the present application, the communication apparatus in the seventh aspect can be the terminal device in the first aspect, or a chip (system) or other component or assembly that can be arranged in the terminal device, or an apparatus including the terminal device; or the communication apparatus in the seventh aspect can be the network device in the second aspect, or a chip (system) or other component or assembly that can be arranged in the network device, or an apparatus including the network device.

[0053] In addition, the communication apparatus in the seventh aspect can have the technical effects of the method in any of the implementation manners of the first aspect or the second aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0054] In an eighth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises: a processor; the processor is configured to be coupled with a memory, and to read a computer program in the memory and execute the computer program to perform the method in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0055] In a possible design, the communication apparatus in the eighth aspect can further include a transceiver. The transceiver can be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver can be configured to enable the communication apparatus in the eighth aspect to communicate with another communication apparatus.

[0056] In embodiments of the present application, the communication apparatus in the eighth aspect can be the terminal device in the first aspect, or a chip (system) or other component or assembly that can be arranged in the terminal device, or an apparatus including the terminal device; or the communication apparatus in the eighth aspect can be the network device in the second aspect, or a chip (system) or other component or assembly that can be arranged in the network device, or an apparatus including the network device.

[0057] In addition, the communication apparatus in the eighth aspect can have the technical effects of the method in the first aspect or the second aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0058] In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes the terminal device in the first aspect and the network device in the second aspect.

[0059] In a tenth aspect, a communication chip is provided, wherein instructions are stored in the chip, and when the chip is run on a communication device, the communication method as described in the first aspect or the second aspect is implemented.

[0060] In an eleventh aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, comprising a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method as described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0061] In a twelfth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method as described in the first aspect or the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0062] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a TA of a terminal device;

[0063] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an initial access procedure;

[0064] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a SSB time domain location;

[0065] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a NR common positioning procedure;

[0066] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture one to which a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application is applicable;

[0067] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture two to which a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application is applicable;

[0068] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application one;

[0070] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application two. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0071] For the convenience of understanding, the technical terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are introduced first.

[0072] 1. Non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication

[0073] Currently, new radio (NR) technology has entered the commercial deployment stage from the standardization stage. The initial intention of the NR standard protocol research is to design a wireless communication technology for a ground cellular network scenario, which can provide users with ultra-low latency, ultra-reliability, ultra-high rate, and ultra-quantity connection wireless communication services. However, the cellular network cannot achieve global seamless coverage. For example, the sea area, polar region, rainforest, and other areas without ground base stations cannot provide voice and data services for these areas without cellular network coverage.

[0074] An NTN can be a general term referring to a network involving flying objects, including satellite communication networks, high-altitude platform systems (HAPS), and air-to-ground networks. Key value scenarios for NTN mainly include areas with poor terrestrial coverage, ocean communication, public safety needs, inter-aircraft communication, railways, and the like, aiming to provide mobile broadband services for users. A HAPS is carried on an airborne platform, mainly including an airplane, a balloon, and an airship. The HAPS is used as a mobile communication base station to provide mobile services using the same frequency band as the ground mobile network.

[0075] Compared with a ground cellular network (for example, a 5th generation (5G) communication system), NTN communication has the characteristics of wider coverage, higher path loss, larger delay, faster speed, and lower cost. As a supplement and extension of the ground network, NTN can achieve the purpose of wide-area seamless coverage that cannot be achieved by wired telephone networks and ground mobile communication networks, effectively solving the problem of Internet access in areas with insufficient communication infrastructure. NTN communication includes networking using unmanned aerial vehicles, high-altitude platforms, satellites, and the like to provide data transmission, voice communication, and the like for user equipment (UE). The high-altitude platform device is generally 8-50 km above the ground. A satellite communication network relies on a spaceborne platform. According to the orbital height of the satellite, the satellite communication system can be divided into three types: a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite communication system, also known as a synchronous orbit satellite system; a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite communication system; and a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication system.

[0076] Exemplarily, when a large number of satellites are arranged in LEO, seamless coverage of the ground can be achieved through reasonable constellation construction, and the round-trip transmission delay of data between the satellite and the ground terminal can also be greatly reduced to tens of milliseconds relative to GEO satellites. With the use of high-frequency bands, multi-point beams, and frequency multiplexing and other technologies, the communication capacity of the satellite has been significantly improved, while the unit wideband cost has been reduced, thus meeting the demand of high information rate services. Compared with ground 5G networks and submarine optical fiber cables and other communication infrastructure, NTN also has a significant cost advantage. The modern small satellite research and development process is gradually mature, and the manufacturing cost is slowly reduced, and the software-defined technology can further extend the on-orbit satellite service life. In addition to global coverage (such as remote areas, ocean-going ships, etc.), NTN can also be used in emergency rescue (such as disaster monitoring, emergency communication), Internet of Everything, high-speed movement (such as high-speed rail, aircraft), etc. Therefore, it has attracted widespread attention from the industry and academia.

[0077] 2. Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

[0078] GNSS is a system that uses satellite technology to provide positioning, navigation, and timing services for global users, and can provide users with three-dimensional coordinates and speed and time information at any location on the earth's surface or near space. The GNSS constellation can be composed of three parts: space segment, control segment, and user segment. The space segment can be composed of satellites or spacecraft, which can provide various information required for positioning, including ephemeris (such as satellite orbit parameters and other information), transmission of ranging signals, etc.; the control segment can refer to the ground monitoring station master control center, which mainly acts on the calculation of satellite ephemeris and satellite clock correction parameters according to the monitored GNSS observation data, and feeds back to the satellite, while also controlling and issuing instructions to the satellite, etc.; the user segment can refer to the GNSS receiver, which can obtain its own position and time information by receiving satellite signals and performing certain calculations.

[0079] The basic principle of GNSS positioning is based on distance measurement, that is, according to the distance measured between the satellite and the user, the position of the user is calculated. The user can generally obtain two types of distance measurement information, one is pseudo-range measurement, and the other is carrier phase measurement. First, pseudo-range, the user receives the signal transmitted by the satellite and records the current user time at the same time, the satellite transmission time is known, so the time of signal propagation in space can be obtained, considering the propagation speed of light, the measured distance of the satellite and the user can be obtained, because of the error, the measured distance is not the true distance, so it is called pseudo-range; another distance measurement method is carrier phase measurement, which is not based on signal space propagation time to complete the measurement, but uses the periodicity of electromagnetic wave phase to complete the measurement; since GNSS signal is electromagnetic wave, the phase has periodicity, so the true phase should be N integer cycles plus a non-integer phase, the non-integer part can be accurately obtained by phase-locked loop and other methods, and the integer part N is uncertain and needs to be determined by auxiliary information. Finally, GNSS can obtain the position and velocity of the satellite at each time by combining the ephemeris information. GNSS can determine the user's position by least squares method or extended Kalman filter according to the satellite position and the distance between the satellite and the user.

[0080] In combination with the positioning capability provided by GNSS, the terminal device can first rely on GNSS to obtain its own position before initial access, and then in the initial access process, the terminal device side can calculate the timing advance (TA) according to its own position and the ephemeris information of the access satellite to make timing advance adjustment, so as to be used for subsequent random access. Exemplarily, the specific process can be divided into two steps: first, the terminal device can side through PSS / SSS detection to complete timing estimation, complete downlink synchronization, obtain cell information and ephemeris information from SIB1 / SIB19, and select a cell to reside; then, based on the position information of the terminal device obtained from GNSS, the terminal device can calculate TA according to the formula specified by the protocol, make timing advance, and send physical random access channel (PRACH) according to the TA, so as to execute the subsequent random access process. Next, TA is introduced.

[0081] TA can generally be used for terminal device uplink transmission, and TA is essentially a negative offset between the start time of the received downlink subframe and the time of transmitting the uplink subframe. The network device can control the time of uplink signals from different terminal devices reaching the base station by properly controlling the offset of each terminal device. For terminal devices far away from the network device, due to the larger transmission delay, the uplink data needs to be sent earlier than terminal devices close to the base station.

[0082] For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the TA can be the time difference between the starting time of a downlink frame (for downlink transmission) of the terminal device and the starting time of an uplink frame (for uplink transmission), taking downlink frame #i and uplink frame #i as examples, the downlink frame #i timing is advanced by T TA The uplink frame #i can be obtained. The terminal device can calculate the TA according to the formula stipulated in the protocol:

[0083] Wherein, T TA may be the value of the TA; N TA may be the TA adjustment amount, which is calculated by the network device according to the time of the actually received uplink data and the TA value reported by the terminal device; N TA,offset may be a fixed value that varies according to different frequency bands and subcarrier spacings, N TA,offset may be configured in the timing advance offset (n-TimingAdvanceOffset) of the radio resource control (RRC), and the value can be 0, 25600 and 39936. It can be understood that if N TA,offset is not configured in the timing advance offset, N TA,offset may refer to a default value determined according to the protocol, without limitation; may be the transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point (RP), represented by the common TA, which is calculated by the network device and delivered to the terminal device; may be the transmission delay from the terminal device to the satellite, which is the service link transmission delay, calculated by the terminal device according to the GNSS information and ephemeris information; T c is the basic time unit, T c = 1 / (Δf max ·N f ), Δf max = 480×10 3 Hz, N f = 4096, and the specific introduction of the TA can refer to the introduction of the related content in the technical specification (TS) 38.211, which is not repeated here.

[0084] 3. Initial access process

[0085] ​In the initial access stage of a user, the location information of a terminal device is very important, and accurate location information of the terminal device can effectively improve the access performance. In the initial access, the terminal device needs to search for a network that serves itself and then access the network, which involves cell search and random access procedures. These two procedures are the basis for the interaction between the terminal device and the network device, and without these two procedures, the terminal device cannot access the network and cannot realize wireless communication. During the cell search, the terminal device and the cell achieve downlink (time-frequency) synchronization, and decode the necessary system information (SI) of the cell, such as the master information block (MIB), the system information block (SIB) (such as SIB1), etc. Then, the terminal device can select a suitable cell, such as the cell with the best signal quality, for camping. During the random access, the terminal device initiates a random access procedure in the camping cell, so that the terminal device and the camping cell achieve uplink synchronization, and the terminal device obtains the uplink transmission TA. The two procedures are described in detail as follows, as shown in FIG. 2, the initial access process can include the following steps:

[0086] In S201, the network device sends a synchronization signal block (SSB) to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the SSB from the network device.

[0087] The network device can periodically send the SSB to the terminal device, and the SSB can be used for downlink time-frequency synchronization. The SSB used for synchronization is referred to as a synchronization SSB. The SSB can include a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), etc. The PBCH can carry the MIB, which is used to indicate the related information of the time-frequency resource carrying the SIB1.

[0088] The SSB period that the network device can configure can be 5 milliseconds (ms), 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, 160 ms, etc., and the period is indicated in SIB1. In NR, the transmission of an SSB in each SSB period is completed within 5 ms, that is, within a half frame. It should be understood that the transmission of an SSB is not necessarily in the first half frame of an SSB period, but can also occur in the second half frame of an SSB period, without limitation. An SSB has multiple formats or transmission modes, which depend on parameters such as sub-carrier spacing (SCS). As shown in FIG. 3, within a half frame, the network device can transmit SSBs at multiple time domain (time) locations. Specifically, a plurality of SSBs are periodically transmitted by each cell in the time domain. In each SSB period, each SSB has a unique index, that is, an SSB index, and each SSB beam can correspond to an SSB index. The SSBs of each cell are configured with the same frequency domain location in the frequency domain. Generally, one SSB can refer to one SSB resource block or one SSB beam corresponding to one SSB index.

[0089] In order to facilitate the terminal device to receive the SSB and increase the coverage range of a single SSB, the network device performs beamforming transmission on each SSB. The SSB supports single-port transmission only, and the SSB index is encapsulated into the SSB and transmitted with the SSB beam, so that the terminal device can obtain the corresponding SSB index by analyzing the SSB. At present, based on the higher frequency in NR and the reduced coverage range of a single beam in a cell served by the network device after beamforming, the network device no longer uses the coverage form when transmitting some broadcast information, but uses the beam scanning form. In combination with the multi-antenna technology, the energy is concentrated in a certain direction at a certain moment, so that the signal can be transmitted farther in this direction, but cannot be received in other directions. In the next moment, the signal is transmitted in another direction, and finally the coverage and resource utilization of the entire cell are realized by continuously changing the direction of the beam.

[0090] That is, the network device completes the coverage scanning of the entire cell within 5 ms in each SSB period, which can also be referred to as a scanning period of the SSB. For example, the SSB index set is (for example, M = 16), the network device uses SSB B i The corresponding beam transmits the i th (i = 0, 1,...) SSB, so that each direction of the cell has an SSB, to complete the SSB beam coverage of the cell and ensure that the terminal devices at different positions in the communication system can receive the SSB broadcast.

[0091] Correspondingly, the terminal device can receive the SSB through beam sweeping, and the terminal device can select one SSB according to the signal strength of the received SSB, for example, the terminal device selects SSB B1.

[0092] It can be understood that according to the above introduction, the SSB period can be 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, 80ms, 160ms, etc., but when the initial cell search is performed, the terminal device has not received SIB1, so the terminal device searches for the SSB according to the default SSB period of 20ms. This makes the terminal device need to know how long to stay on each frequency point when searching for the SSB in the frequency domain to conclude that the PSS and / or SSS do not exist, and then go to the next frequency point in the synchronization raster (Sync-Raster). It should be noted that since the terminal device searches according to the 20ms defined in the 3GPP protocol by default, in this case, if the SSB period of the cell is greater than 20ms, this part of the cell is very likely to be unable to be searched by the terminal device, but if the terminal device changes the search duration of each frequency point to be longer, it will affect the access delay, resulting in an increase in the total delay of the initial access. Therefore, the current terminal device defaults to a search duration of 20ms for each frequency point, and the SSB period of the cell used for initial access is usually also recommended to be 20ms.

[0093] S202, the network device sends SIB1 to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives SIB1 from the network device.

[0094] Similar to the network device sending the SSB, the network device sends the corresponding SIB1 using the beam corresponding to each SIB1, to ensure that the terminal device in different positions of the communication system can receive the SIB1. The MIB carried in each SSB is used to indicate the related information of the time-frequency resource carrying the SIB1. Since the direction of the beam used by the network device to send the SSB is one-to-one corresponding to the direction of the beam used to send the SIB1, the terminal device can indicate the related information of the time-frequency resource carrying the SIB1 in the selected SSB to receive the SIB1 on the corresponding time-frequency resource, for example, the terminal device selects SSB B1, and the terminal device can use the beam used to receive SSB B1 to receive the corresponding SIB1.

[0095] S203, the terminal device completes random access.

[0096] The SIB1 includes related information indicating a mapping relationship of time-frequency resources of the SSB and the PRACH, and the terminal device can determine the time-frequency resources of the PRACH corresponding to the SSB according to the related information indicating the mapping relationship of time-frequency resources of the SSB and the PRACH, and send a preamble from the PRACH on the time-frequency resources of the PRACH. The direction of the beam used by the network device to receive the PRACH is consistent with the direction of the beam used by the network device to send the corresponding SSB, and the direction of the beam used by the terminal device to send the PRACH is consistent with the direction of the beam used by the terminal device to receive the corresponding SSB, so the network device and the terminal device can be aligned to complete the downlink synchronization and random access process of the terminal device. It can be understood that the specific introduction of the initial access process can refer to the prior art, and will not be repeated here.

[0097] 4. Verification of user location in a satellite communications network

[0098] In daily life, more than 80% of information belongs to relevant information with spatial location characteristics, and the demand for quickly and accurately obtaining the location information of the UE and providing location services is becoming increasingly urgent. In the 5G scenario, positioning is increasingly in demand, such as intelligent navigation, warehouse logistics, hospital equipment management, etc. In the ground communication network, 5G positioning can be based on radio access technology (RAT) to measure some parameters of the wireless signal, and the measurement parameters generally include the transmission time, signal strength, angle of arrival, angle of departure, etc. of the radio wave, and then determine the location of the UE according to a specific positioning technology or positioning method. For example, the enhanced cell-identifier (ECID) positioning method, the uplink time difference of arrival (TOA) positioning method (such as the uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning method, the downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning method, etc.), the signal strength-based positioning method, the uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AOA) positioning method, the downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AOD) positioning method, the multi-round trip time (RTT) positioning method, etc. are not limited. It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application are applicable to the TOA-based positioning method.

[0099] The location service request can be initiated by different network element modules, such as a UE, a gateway mobile location center (GMLC), or an access and mobility management function (AMF), and the like. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a general location procedure in NR, as shown in FIG. 4, the procedure can include:

[0100] S401a, the UE sends a location service request to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the location service request from the UE.

[0101] S401b, the GMLC sends a location service request to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the location service request from the GMLC.

[0102] S401c, the AMF initiates a location service request.

[0103] Based on the above steps S401a-S401c, the location service request can be used to request to obtain the location information of the UE. The location service request can include an identity of the UE, quality of service (QoS) information of the location service, and the like, without limitation. The identity of the UE can be a generic public subscription identity (GPSI) or a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI). The QoS information of the location service can include a location accuracy required by the location service, indicating a requirement for the location accuracy or the location precision of the UE, such as a horizontal precision, a time delay, and the like, of the location QoS required by the application service.

[0104] The initiator of the location service request can be the UE, the GMLC, or the AMF, which respectively correspond to three types of location procedures defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) protocol, i.e., a mobile originating location request (MO-LR) procedure, a mobile terminating location request (MT-LR) procedure, and a network induced location request (NI-LR) procedure.

[0105] S402, the AMF sends a positioning service request to a location management function (LMF). Correspondingly, the LMF receives the positioning service request from the AMF.

[0106] For example, the AMF can forward the positioning service request from the UE or the GMLC to the LMF, or the AMF can forward the positioning service request triggered by itself to the LMF.

[0107] S403, the UE sends positioning capability information to the LMF. Correspondingly, the LMF receives the positioning capability information from the UE.

[0108] The positioning capability information can indicate the positioning methods that the terminal device can support, such as the ECID positioning method and the downlink (DL) -TDOA positioning method described above. It can be understood that this step S403 is an optional step, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0109] S404, the LMF selects a positioning method.

[0110] The LMF can select a suitable positioning method according to the positioning service request, the positioning method configured by the LMF, and the positioning capability information (when the UE reports the positioning capability information to the LMF).

[0111] S405, the LMF obtains positioning measurement values and assistance data.

[0112] The LMF can obtain the positioning measurement values and the assistance data from the UE and the base station.

[0113] S406, the LMF sends a positioning service response to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the positioning service response from the LMF.

[0114] The LMF can calculate the location information of the UE using the selected positioning method according to the positioning measurement values and the assistance data obtained from the UE and the base station, and send the location information of the UE to the AMF through the positioning service response. For example, the positioning service response can be used to indicate the positioning result, and can include positioning success, positioning failure, location information of the UE, error information, etc., without limitation.

[0115] S407a, the AMF sends a positioning service response to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives the positioning service response from the AMF.

[0116] S407b, the AMF sends a positioning service response to the GMLC. Correspondingly, the GMLC receives the positioning service response from the AMF.

[0117] It can be understood that step S407a corresponds to step S401a described above, that is, for the UE-initiated positioning service request, the AMF can feed back the positioning service response returned by the LMF to the UE, so that the UE can obtain the location information of the UE according to the positioning service response; step S407b corresponds to step S401b described above, that is, for the GMLC-initiated positioning service request, the AMF can feed back the positioning service response returned by the LMF to the GMLC, so that the GMLC can obtain the location information of the UE according to the positioning service response; based on step S401c described above, for the AMF-initiated positioning service request, the AMF can directly obtain the location information of the UE according to the positioning service response returned by the LMF.

[0118] It can be understood that the specific introduction of the positioning process shown in FIG. 4 described above can refer to the prior art, and will not be repeated here.

[0119] In the 3GPP Release (R) 18 protocol, it is proposed to enhance the NTN function based on the next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) by verifying the location of the terminal device by the network device, and the network device is required to perform cross-checking on the location information reported by the terminal device. If the location information reported by the terminal device is consistent with the evaluation of the network device, it is within 5-10 kilometers (km), similar to the size of a macrocell on the ground network, then the location information of the terminal device is considered to be verified, so as to be able to distinguish the country and select the appropriate core network to support all regulatory services, that is, emergency calls, lawful interception, public warning, and charging / billing. In addition, it is further required that the proposed solution cannot significantly affect the latency of the target service, and cannot violate the privacy requirements applicable to the location of the terminal device.

[0120] Considering NTN-specific issues can limit the use and performance of some RAT-dependent positioning methods. Since the cell coverage of satellites reaches several hundred kilometers, cell identification information is not sufficient to verify the accuracy requirements of the location reported by the terminal device; in addition, since the reflector antenna is a common assumption for satellites in 3GPP NTN, the satellite is too far away from the ground location, so angle-based positioning methods are not currently suitable for discussion; and in time-dependent measurements, such as RTT-based positioning and TDOA-based positioning, considering the number of satellites used for verification, both methods can be applied to multi-satellite-based terminal device location verification and single-satellite multi-time-based terminal device location verification. For single-satellite-based RTT positioning, the terminal device can measure the time interval of downlink reception and uplink transmission from the same satellite at different times, which corresponds to different locations of the same satellite. The corresponding downlink reception and uplink transmission on the satellite side can also be measured by measuring the uplink and downlink signals sent by the ground network device (such as the next generation node-B (gNB)) at different times.

[0121] For the single-satellite-based DL-TDOA method, the terminal device needs to report the time difference of downlink signal reception from the same satellite at different times (i.e., the time difference between the terminal device receiving downlink signals at different times) to the LMF; for the UL-TDOA-based method, the satellite needs to report the time difference of uplink signal reception at different times (i.e., the time difference between the satellite receiving uplink signals at different times) to the LMF. Since time-dependent measurement-based positioning methods can also be used under the constraints of NTN characteristics, in the non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) NTN deployment RAT-dependent positioning method, 3GPP recommends multi-RTT, DL-TDOA, UL-TDOA, and other positioning methods to study the problem of network verifying the location of the terminal device.

[0122] 5、Precision dilution factor (DOP)

[0123] In the field of satellite positioning, DOP can be used to measure the influence of the spatial geometric distribution of observation satellites on positioning accuracy, also referred to as DOP value or accuracy factor. The size of the DOP value depends on the distribution of each navigation satellite in the user's field of view, and reflects the amplification effect of the geometric figure composed of the user and the satellite on the ranging error: under the condition of the same ranging accuracy, the lower the DOP value, the more robust the geometric figure composed of the user and the satellite, the smaller the amplification effect of the ranging error, and the higher the navigation accuracy provided by the GNSS service. The following takes DOP as an example to introduce geometric dilution precision (GDOP) and position dilution of precision (PDOP).

[0124] Among them, the geometric dilution precision (GDOP) is a very important coefficient for measuring positioning accuracy, which represents the distance vector amplification factor between the receiver and the space satellite caused by the ranging error of the global positioning system (GPS), including longitude, latitude, altitude and time factors. The volume of the unit vector figure outlined from the receiver to the space satellite participating in the positioning solution is inversely proportional to GDOP, so it is also called geometric dilution precision. The larger the value of GDOP, the smaller the volume of the unit vector figure, that is, the result of the similar angle between the receiver and the space satellite, which will lead to poor positioning accuracy. Good GDOP means small value, representing large unit vector figure volume, leading to high positioning accuracy. Good geometric factor actually means that the satellites are not concentrated in one area in space, and are evenly distributed in different areas.

[0125] PDOP represents a parameter of the relationship between three-dimensional position positioning accuracy and navigation station geometry, which can be understood as "accuracy strength" or "relative error". Its specific meaning is: since the quality of observation results and the geometric shape between the measured artificial satellites and the receiver have a great influence, the error caused by the above calculation is called the strength of accuracy. The better the distribution of satellites in the sky, the higher the positioning accuracy (the smaller the value, the higher the accuracy). PDOP represents a parameter of the relationship between three-dimensional position positioning accuracy and navigation station geometry. PDOP is the square root value of the sum of the squares of the latitude, longitude and altitude errors.

[0126] It can be understood that GDOP can be obtained by calculating PDOP, or PDOP can be understood as part of GDOP. For specific introduction, please refer to the prior art, which is not repeated here. For easy understanding, the following takes GDOP as an example to introduce the subsequent positioning accuracy.

[0127] In a TOA-based positioning scenario, the positioning accuracy of the terminal device is related to the geometric distribution of the satellites and the actual positions of the satellites. The positioning performance evaluation formula can be as follows: σ P = PDOP x σ UERE ;

[0128] wherein σ P represents the positioning accuracy of the terminal device, σ P may be an angle resolution, a distance resolution, a time delay resolution, etc., without limitation; σ UERE may represent a user equivalent range error (UERE).

[0129] 6, Positioning SSB

[0130] With the rapid development of mobile communication, the positioning of terminal devices is widely used in vehicle networking, automatic driving, intelligent manufacturing, smart logistics, unmanned aerial vehicles and other scenarios. In NR, a downlink positioning reference signal is defined, which can be transmitted by the network device side in the data transmission stage, and the terminal device side receives the positioning reference signal and reports the measurement results to the network device side. The network device side estimates the position of the terminal device according to the reported results to obtain the positioning information or position information of the terminal device.

[0131] For example, in a DL-TDOA positioning scenario, multiple TRPs can transmit positioning reference signals (PRSs) to a UE, and the UE can receive the PRSs transmitted by the multiple TRPs. The UE can perform downlink reference signal time difference (DL RSTD) measurements on the PRS signals transmitted by each of the multiple TRPs, and then report the DL RSTD measurement information to the LMF. The LMF can use known TRP positions and DL RSTD measurement information to calculate the specific position of the UE.

[0132] It can be understood that the DL-TDOA positioning procedure requires multiple network devices, such as the above-mentioned multiple TRPs cooperating positioning, and assuming that the network devices are completely synchronized, the higher the synchronization accuracy of the multiple network devices, the better the performance, and vice versa. In the DL-TDOA positioning procedure, the UE needs to report the positioning capability information to the LMF. The LMF needs to provide the UE with NR GCI, TRP identity (ID), PRS configuration of the TRP, time and frequency domain occupation of the SSB, and other assistance data, and the LMF needs to provide the network device with NR GCI, TRP ID, PRS configuration of the TRP, and other assistance data. The LMF can return the positioning result to the AMF, and the AMF forwards the positioning result to the UE, and the specific introduction can refer to the positioning procedure shown in the above-mentioned FIG. 2, which will not be described here.

[0133] Based on the above introduction, SSB can be used for positioning in the initial access process, that is, SSB replaces the above-mentioned PRS. The SSB used for positioning is called positioning SSB. The positioning SSB can be a large bandwidth comb structure, a frequency domain multi-SSB structure, etc. Therefore, positioning the terminal device based on the positioning SSB can improve the positioning accuracy. For example, the terminal device can receive multiple large bandwidth comb SSBs for synchronization and positioning in the initial access process to obtain its own position information. The terminal device can calculate the TA according to its own position information and the position information of the network device to send the physical random access channel (PRACH). It can be understood that based on the introduction in the above-mentioned “2, global navigation satellite system” part, the terminal device obtains its own position information through GNSS, and here the terminal device is through receiving large bandwidth comb SSB to do synchronization and positioning.

[0134] At present, in the NR initial access process, the network device side can periodically send SSB, and the terminal device side can receive the SSB and perform downlink synchronization with the network device according to the SSB to select a suitable cell for camping. Then, the terminal device will initiate a random access process in the camping cell to make the terminal device and the camping cell achieve uplink synchronization. In this process, the terminal device needs to obtain the uplink transmission time advance TA so that the network device side can receive the uplink transmitted PRACH, i.e. preamble, within a certain time. The terminal device needs to calculate the distance and transmission delay between the terminal device and the network device according to its own position information and the position information of the network device. The terminal device then calculates the TA according to the distance and transmission delay between the terminal device and the network device. That is, the position information of the terminal device is a necessary factor affecting the calculation of TA, is the main problem faced in the initial access stage, and is the key information affecting the random access performance.

[0135] However, the existing positioning procedure may not meet the positioning requirements of the terminal device, thereby affecting the random access performance.

[0136] For example, in a satellite communication scenario, the communication mechanism designed for the terminal device and the ground network device (such as a ground base station) in the current mobile communication system cannot be directly applied to the terminal device and the satellite. Compared with the ground communication system, the coverage area of a single satellite is wider, and the transmission distance is far. Providing services to the terminal device through wide coverage is a significant feature of the satellite communication system. In the satellite communication scenario, the distance between the terminal device and the satellite is very far, so the two-way transmission delay is large; and the satellite moves at a high speed, so the frequency offset is large. Therefore, the terminal device needs to calculate the time-frequency offset based on its own position and the position of the satellite, and compensate for the Doppler frequency offset caused by the satellite operation, so as to access the satellite network.

[0137] Based on the above introduction, it can be known that the services and functions provided by the positioning SSB and the synchronization SSB are different. The periodic configuration (such as 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, 160 ms, etc.) of the synchronization SSB cannot meet the requirements of the positioning SSB. For example, the terminal device uses the DL-TOA positioning method for positioning. The PDOP caused by the position change of the satellite movement directly affects the positioning accuracy or the positioning result. If the periodic configuration of the positioning SSB is too small (such as the periodicity of the positioning SSB is less than the first value), the positioning accuracy will be directly affected. For example, the positioning SSB and the synchronization SSB use the same SSB periodic configuration, such as 20 ms. The GDOP caused by the satellite distance change corresponding to the satellite movement within 20 ms cannot meet the positioning requirements. If the terminal device receives the SSB once every several periods, the SSB sending resource will be wasted. If the periodic configuration of the positioning SSB is too large (such as the periodicity of the positioning SSB is greater than the second value), the sending time of the positioning SSB will be increased, the total time delay of the initial access will be increased, and the user experience will be affected. Therefore, the periodicity of the positioning SSB needs to be flexibly configured to meet the positioning requirements of the terminal device, or in other words, the positioning SSB can meet the constraint conditions of the positioning system. The first value and the second value can be the same or different, and are not limited. The specific values of the first value and the second value are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0138] Therefore, how to meet the positioning requirements of the terminal device is a problem to be solved.

[0139] In summary, in order to meet the positioning requirements of the terminal device, the embodiments of the present application propose the following technical solutions.

[0140] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0141] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example, a Bluetooth system, a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a long range radio (LoRa), a vehicle to everything (V2X) communication system, a device-to-device (D2D) communication system, a machine to machine (M2M) communication system, machine type communication (MTC), an internet of things (IoT) communication system, a 4th generation (4G) communication system such as a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, a 5th generation (5G) communication system such as an NR system, and the like. The method provided by the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to inter-satellite communication and satellite communication, and the like NTN system.

[0142] A device in a communication system can transmit or receive a signal to or from another device. The signal can include information, signaling, or data, and the like. The device can also be replaced by an entity, a network entity, a communication device, a communication module, a node, a communication node, and the like.

[0143] The present application will present various aspects, embodiments or features around a system that can include a plurality of devices, components, modules, and the like. It should be understood and appreciated that each system can include additional devices, components, modules, and the like, and / or can not include all of the devices, components, modules, and the like discussed in conjunction with the attached drawings. Moreover, combinations of these schemes can also be used.

[0144] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the words “example”, “for example”, and the like are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design presented as “example” in the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design solutions. Rather, the word “example” is used to present concepts in a concrete manner.

[0145] In the embodiments of the present application, "information", "signal", "message", "channel", and "signaling" can be used interchangeably, and it should be noted that when the distinction is not emphasized, the meanings are matched. "Of", "corresponding", and "corresponding" can be used interchangeably, and it should be noted that when the distinction is not emphasized, the meanings are matched. In addition, " / " mentioned in the present application can be used to represent the relationship of "or". It can be understood that in the present application, "indication" can include direct indication, indirect indication, display indication, and implicit indication. When describing that certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0146] In the embodiments of the present application, the information indicated by the indication information is referred to as to-be-indicated information. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the to-be-indicated information, for example but not limited to, the to-be-indicated information can be directly indicated, such as the to-be-indicated information itself or an index of the to-be-indicated information, or the to-be-indicated information can be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, wherein the other information and the to-be-indicated information have an association relationship. It can also only indicate a part of the to-be-indicated information, and the other part of the to-be-indicated information is known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of a specific information can also be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (for example, the protocol stipulates), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent.

[0147] The to-be-indicated information can be sent together as a whole, or can be sent separately into multiple sub-information, and the sending period and / or sending occasion of the sub-information can be the same or different. The specific sending method is not limited by the present application. The sending period and / or sending occasion of the sub-information can be pre-defined, for example, pre-defined according to the protocol, or configured by the transmitting end device by sending configuration information to the receiving end device.

[0148] In the embodiments of the present application, "sending" and "receiving" represent the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to XX" can be understood as that the destination of the information is XX, which can include direct sending through the air interface, and also includes indirect sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from YY" can be understood as that the source of the information is YY, which can include direct receiving from YY through the air interface, and also can include indirect receiving from YY through the air interface by other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as "input" of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can be carried out between devices, for example, between network devices and terminal devices, or can be carried out within a device, for example, between components, between modules, between chips, between software modules or hardware modules in the device through a bus, a wire or an interface.

[0149] The network architecture and service scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are used to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. It can be known by those skilled in the art that, with the evolution of network architecture and the appearance of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0150] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, first, a communication system shown in FIG. 5 is taken as an example to explain the communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application in detail. For example, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0151] As shown in FIG. 5, the communication system mainly includes a network device and a terminal device.

[0152] The network device can be a device with wireless transceiving function, or can also be a chip or chip system arranged in the device, located in an access network (AN) of a communication system, and used to provide access services for terminals. For example, the network device can be referred to as a radio access network (RAN) device, and specifically can be an access network device in a future communication system, or in a future mobile communication system, the network device can also have other naming manners, which are all included in the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application, and the embodiments of the present application do not make any limitation on this. Alternatively, the network device can also include a gNB in a 5G, such as a new radio (NR) system, or one or a group (including multiple antenna panels) of antenna panels of a base station in a 5G, or can also be a network node constituting a gNB, a transmission and reception point (TRP or transmission point, TP) or a transmission measurement function (TMF), such as a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), an RSU with base station function, or a wired access gateway, or a core network element of a 5G, and the like. Alternatively, the network device can also include an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also referred to as small stations), relay stations, access points, wearable devices, vehicle-mounted devices, and the like.

[0153] The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can also be included in the same network element, for example, a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, for example, included in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU) or a remote radio head (RRH). It can be understood that the network device can be a CU node, or a DU node, or a device including a CU node and a DU node. In addition, the CU can be divided into a network device in an access network RAN, or the CU can be divided into a network device in a core network CN, which is not limited here.

[0154] The CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU can also have different names in different systems, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, the CU can also be referred to as O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as O-RU. For the convenience of description, the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU are taken as examples for description in this application. Any one of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0155] In the embodiments of the present application, the form of the network device is not limited, and the device for implementing the function of the network device can be the network device; or can be a device capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the network device or used in matching with the network device.

[0156] The terminal device can be an access terminal device having a corresponding communication function or a module. The terminal device can be a terminal device having a transceiver function, or can also be a chip or chip system provided in the terminal device. The terminal device can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), an access terminal device, a subscriber unit, a user station, a mobile station (MS), a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal device, a mobile device, a user terminal device, a terminal device, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user apparatus. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a tablet computer (Pad), a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant computer (PDA), a wireless modem, a handset, a laptop computer, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal device, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a smart home device (e.g., a refrigerator, a television, an air conditioner, an electricity meter, etc.), a smart robot, a mechanical arm, a workshop device, a wireless terminal device in a self driving vehicle, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical treatment, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, a wireless terminal device in a smart home, a vehicle-mounted terminal device, a road side unit (RSU) with terminal device function, etc., a flight device (e.g., a smart robot, a hot air balloon, a drone, an airplane), etc. The terminal device of the present application can also be a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted component, a vehicle-mounted chip or a vehicle-mounted unit built into a vehicle as one or more components or units, a transport carrier with wireless communication function, a communication module. The terminal device can also be other devices with terminal device function, for example, the terminal device can also be a device with terminal device function in D2D communication.

[0157] Embodiments of the present application do not limit the form of the terminal device, and the device for implementing the function of the terminal device can be a terminal device, or can be a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal device or used with the terminal device. In embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices. The terminal device is usually provided with a communication module, circuit or chip for performing corresponding communication functions. The terminal device also has program instructions configured to perform corresponding communication functions.

[0158] In the communication system, the terminal device can determine that the first SSB period is associated with the positioning service type according to the first indication information sent by the network device, that is, different positioning service types of positioning services can be configured with respective SSB periods for the terminal device to perform positioning, so that the period of the SSB (such as the first SSB described above) used for positioning can be flexibly configured to meet the positioning needs of different service types of positioning services of the terminal device. Taking the first SSB period as an example, when the terminal device determines that the service type of the first positioning service is the positioning service type associated with the first SSB period, the terminal device can directly use the first SSB period to receive the first SSB, and use the received first SSB to perform positioning on the terminal device. Based on the service type of the first positioning service being the positioning service type associated with the first SSB period, the first SSB period can meet the positioning needs of the first positioning service of the terminal device, and can ensure that the terminal device can efficiently access the network device, thereby improving the random access performance.

[0159] For example, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture two applicable to the communication method provided by the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the communication system is a satellite communication system, and the communication system mainly includes a terminal device, a gateway (also referred to as a ground station, a gateway station, or a gateway), and a satellite (also referred to as a satellite base station).

[0160] The link between the satellite and the terminal device can be referred to as a service link, the link between the satellite and the gateway can be referred to as a feeder link, and the link between the satellites can be referred to as an inter-satellite link. The satellites can be divided into transparent mode and regenerative mode according to the working mode. When the satellite works in the transparent mode, the satellite works in the transparent mode, and the satellite only needs to be responsible for signal forwarding without data processing capability. The base station (gNB) is located on the ground, the satellite is connected with the base station through the gateway on the ground, and the signal between the UE and the base station is transmitted through the satellite. The data processing function is still located at the base station. When the satellite works in the regenerative mode, the satellite has the ability to process digital signals, and the satellite has all or part of the functions of the base station. Specifically, the complete base station is located in the satellite, and the base station DU is located in the satellite. At this time, the satellite can be regarded as a base station. In addition, the base station can be connected with the core network device. Multiple satellites cooperate to provide services for the terminal devices in the overlapping coverage area.

[0161] It can be understood that FIGS. 5 and 6 are simplified schematic diagrams for ease of understanding, and other devices in the communication system can also be included, which are not shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

[0162] For ease of understanding, the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below in combination with FIG. 7.

[0163] Exemplarily, FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. It can be understood that the embodiment of the present application is exemplified by taking the network device and the terminal device shown in FIG. 5 as the execution subject of the interaction, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited to the execution subject of the interaction. For example, the method executed by the network device in the embodiment of the present application can also be implemented by a module (such as a circuit, a processor, a chip or a chip system, etc.) in the network device, or a logic node, a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the network device. The method executed by the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application can also be implemented by a communication module in the terminal device or a circuit or chip (such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or a SoC chip containing a modem core, or a SIP chip) responsible for the communication function in the terminal device.

[0164] It can be understood that based on the related introduction of the above technical terms, the positioning performance evaluation formula can be P = PDOP x UERE, and the embodiments of the present application are applicable to TOA-based positioning scenarios (such as single-satellite-based DL-TDOA positioning scenarios). Since the satellite is mobile, the positions of the satellite corresponding to the positioning SSBs (such as the first SSB described below) sent at different times are different, in other words, the positions of the satellite at different times are changing, and the satellite sends the positioning SSBs at different times for the terminal device to perform positioning. Therefore, the period of the positioning SSB (denoted as T SSB ) will directly affect the positioning accuracy of the terminal device based on the positioning SSB, that is, σ P ∝T SSB . Therefore, by flexibly configuring the period of the positioning SSB, the positioning needs of different types of positioning services of the terminal device can be met. Details are described below.

[0165] As shown in FIG. 7, the flow of the communication method is as follows:

[0166] S701, the network device sends first indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information from the network device.

[0167] The first indication information can be used to indicate a first SSB period associated with a positioning service type. The first SSB period can be understood as the SSB period of the first SSB, or the period of the first SSB. The first SSB period can be used for the terminal device to perform positioning, and the first SSB can be referred to as a positioning SSB. The first SSB period is specifically associated with a positioning service type (which can be denoted as a first positioning service type) as follows: the first SSB period is associated with the positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service type, that is, the first SSB period is in granularity of the positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service type.

[0168] For example, assuming that the first positioning service type is a positioning service type#a, the positioning accuracy requirement of the positioning service type#a is a positioning accuracy#a, and the first SSB period can be a period#a; the first positioning service type is a positioning service type#b, the positioning accuracy requirement of the positioning service type#b is a positioning accuracy#b, and the first SSB period can be a period#b. The positioning accuracy#a and the positioning accuracy#b can be the same or different, and are not limited; the period#a and the period#b can be the same or different, and are not limited.

[0169] The service type of the positioning service can include low-altitude positioning, high-altitude positioning, or deep-space positioning (or high-orbit positioning), without limitation. Low-altitude positioning generally refers to precise position tracking near the ground or in urban areas, and can be applied to scenarios such as mobile phone GPS navigation, obtaining unmanned aerial vehicle position information, post-disaster reconstruction, and timely communication needs to understand terminal device distribution and position information, and the like. Low-altitude positioning relies on satellite signals (such as GPS), Wi-Fi, base station signals, or geomagnetic data, and can achieve an accuracy of tens of meters. High-altitude positioning mainly focuses on the aviation and aerospace fields, and can meet a variety of positioning service types due to the large number of geostationary satellites and the short distance between geostationary satellites. High-altitude positioning uses NTN communication satellites for positioning, and can provide basic positioning services such as navigation, precision agriculture, and shared bicycle positioning, with a precision requirement of meters. Deep-space positioning: High-orbit satellites use specific frequency bands and stable visible satellites, and can provide high-precision positioning, meeting the needs of automatic driving, smart port, and the like, with a precision requirement of sub-meters.

[0170] The positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service type is a basic positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service type, and can be applied to all positioning services of the first positioning service type. For example, the first positioning service type is high-altitude positioning, and the positioning accuracy requirement of the high-altitude positioning can meet the basic positioning accuracy requirement of positioning services such as navigation, precision agriculture, and shared bicycle positioning. Different positioning service types can have their own basic positioning accuracy requirements, and the network device can flexibly configure the first SSB period according to the basic positioning accuracy requirement of each type of positioning service type, so that the first SSB period can meet the positioning system constraint condition.

[0171] In a possible design, the first indication information can be carried in a system message.

[0172] For example, the first indication information can be carried in SIB1, MIB, or other SIBs (such as SIB19 and the like), that is, in an existing information element, to reduce the implementation difficulty, or can be carried in a new information element to improve the implementation flexibility, without limitation. For ease of understanding, the following is described below with the first indication information carried in SIB1 as an example.

[0173] It can be understood that before the terminal device receives the SIB1, the network device periodically broadcasts the first SSB to the terminal device in the form of beam sweeping, and the terminal device can receive the first SSB through beam sweeping. The terminal device can select one of the received first SSB (such as the one with the best signal strength) according to the signal strength of the received first SSB (or first SSBs), and receive the SIB1 according to the related information of the time-frequency resource of the SIB1 carried by the selected first SSB, to obtain the first SSB period. The following is described in detail with the following case as an example.

[0174] Case 1: the network device directly uses the first SSB period to send the first SSB to the terminal device.

[0175] In case 1, the terminal device does not know the first SSB period before receiving the SIB1, therefore, the terminal device can use a longer search duration (such as a search duration greater than the third value) to search for the first SSB on each frequency point, so that the terminal device can receive the first SSB sent by the network device. The terminal device can select one of the received first SSBs to obtain the related information of the time-frequency resources of the SIB1. The specific value of the third value is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0176] Case 2: the network device uses a predefined or preconfigured initial positioning SSB period to send the first SSB to the terminal device.

[0177] In case 2, the terminal device also uses the predefined or preconfigured initial first SSB period to receive the first SSB, and the terminal device can select one of the received first SSBs to obtain the related information of the time-frequency resources of the SIB1. It can be understood that in case 2, the terminal device has accessed the network (such as the first cell served by the network device) through the initial access process. Since the location of the terminal device in the first cell can change, the terminal device needs to reinitiate the random access procedure. At this time, the terminal device can receive the first SSB broadcast by the network device using the initial positioning SSB. Based on the fact that the terminal device has accessed the network device through the initial access process before, the terminal device can feed back a response message to the network device after receiving the SIB1, which can indicate that the terminal device has obtained the first SSB period associated with the first positioning service type.

[0178] It can be understood that the network device can send the positioning SSB periods associated with different positioning service types (such as K) to the terminal device, and the implementation principles are similar and will not be repeated. The K positioning SSB periods can be carried in the same information, such as the first indication information described above, or can be carried in different information, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The naming of the first indication information and the first SSB is only an example, and the first indication information and the first SSB can also be replaced by any other possible naming, which is not limited.

[0179] S702, the network device sends the first SSB to the terminal device according to the first SSB period. Correspondingly, the terminal device uses the first SSB period to receive the first SSB when determining that the service type of the first positioning service is the positioning service type associated with the first SSB period.

[0180] It can be understood that based on the above case 1, the network device directly sends the first SSB to the terminal device according to the first SSB period (sent through beam sweeping) before the terminal device obtains the first SSB period, at this time, step S702 is executed before the above step S701; based on the above case 2, the network device can trigger the use of the first SSB period to send the first SSB to the terminal device (sent through beam sweeping) after receiving the response message fed back by the terminal device, at this time, step S702 is executed after the above step S701.

[0181] When the terminal device has subsequent positioning needs, such as needing to perform a first positioning service, the terminal device can determine a positioning SSB period corresponding to the first positioning service according to the service type of the first positioning service. Then, the terminal device can receive a positioning SSB (received through beam sweeping) using the positioning SSB period corresponding to the first positioning service to perform the first positioning service. For example, when the terminal device determines that the service type of the first positioning service is a positioning service type (i.e., a first service type) associated with the first SSB period, the terminal device can determine that the first positioning service corresponds to the first SSB period. Then, the terminal device can receive the first SSB using the first SSB period.

[0182] S703, the terminal device performs positioning on the terminal device according to the first SSB to obtain the position information of the terminal device.

[0183] Before introducing step S703, in a possible design, the above method further includes:

[0184] The terminal device determines that the number of received first SSBs is N.

[0185] The number of first SSBs is determined according to the positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service. That is, the terminal device can determine or judge the number or quantity of first SSBs that need to be received according to the positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service, so that the terminal device can guarantee to meet the positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service while reducing the number of received first SSBs to reduce resource consumption. The positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service can be understood as a high-precision positioning accuracy requirement, and the positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service is greater than or equal to the positioning accuracy requirement (i.e., the basic accuracy requirement) of the first positioning service type.

[0186] It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application are applicable to a single-satellite positioning scenario based on TOA, for example, the terminal device performs a first positioning service using a DL-TDOA positioning method, and the terminal device needs at least three first SSBs to implement positioning of the terminal device, that is, N is greater than or equal to 3, and the specific value is related to the positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service, which is not limited by the embodiments of the present application. It can be understood that the terminal device can determine or judge the number or quantity of first SSBs that need to be received according to the positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service, that is, it can be understood as a positioning solving method of the positioning system, and the network device configures the first SSB period according to the positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service type, that is, it can be understood as a constraint condition of the positioning system.

[0187] The step S703 will be introduced below.

[0188] In a possible design scheme, the terminal device can perform positioning on the terminal device according to the arrival time of the first SSB, and obtain the position information of the terminal device.

[0189] The terminal device can use a TOA-based positioning method to perform positioning on the terminal device through N first SSBs. For example, the terminal device performs a first positioning service using a DL-TDOA positioning method, assuming that the network device is satellite #1, N=3, and three first SSBs can be denoted as first SSB#a, first SSB#b, and first SSB#c. The terminal device receives the first SSB#a from satellite #1 at time#a, receives the first SSB#b from satellite #1 at time#b, and receives the first SSB#c from satellite #1 at time#c. The first SSB#a, the first SSB#b, and the first SSB#c can be transmitted by satellite #1 in different SSB periods. The terminal device can obtain the position information of the terminal device according to the time difference T1 between time#a and time#b, and the time difference T2 between time#a and time#c. The position information of the terminal device can include geographic position information of the terminal device, which can be represented in the form of latitude and longitude coordinates, geographic coordinates, or grid reference system, without limitation.

[0190] For example, the terminal device can calculate the position information of the terminal device according to T1 and T2 by itself, or the terminal device can obtain the position information of the terminal device through other network elements or devices, such as the terminal device can send T1 and T2 to the LMF, and the LMF calculates the position information of the terminal device according to T1 and T2, and the LMF feeds back the position information of the terminal device to the terminal device, and the like, without limitation. The implementation process can refer to the existing DL-TDOA positioning method, and will not be repeated. It can be understood that the terminal device calculates the position information of the terminal device according to T1 and T2 is only an example, and the terminal device can also calculate the position information of the terminal device according to the time difference T1 between time #a and time #b, and the time difference T3 between time #b and time #c, or according to the time difference T2 between time #a and time #c, and the time difference T3 between time #b and time #c, and the implementation principle is similar, which can be understood by reference, and will not be repeated. It can be understood that the terminal device can also use any other possible positioning method to obtain its own position information through N first SSBs, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0191] In summary, the terminal device can determine that the first SSB period is associated with the positioning service type according to the first indication information sent by the network device, that is, different positioning service types of positioning services can be configured with respective SSB periods for terminal devices to perform positioning. In this way, the period of the SSB used for positioning (such as the first SSB described above) can be flexibly configured to meet the positioning needs of different service types of positioning services of the terminal device. Taking the first SSB period described above as an example, when the terminal device determines that the service type of the first positioning service is a positioning service type associated with the first SSB period, the terminal device can directly use the first SSB period to receive the first SSB and use the received first SSB to position the terminal device. Based on the service type of the first positioning service being a positioning service type associated with the first SSB period, the first SSB period can meet the positioning needs of the first positioning service of the terminal device, and can ensure that the terminal device can efficiently access the network device and improve the random access performance.

[0192] In combination with the above embodiments, the following takes two scenarios as examples to specifically introduce the implementation of the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization.

[0193] Scenario 1: The network device can be compatible with both synchronization SSB and positioning SSB.

[0194] In the scenario 1, the network device can configure the period of the synchronization SSB (i.e., the second SSB described below) and the positioning SSB (i.e., the first SSB described above) respectively. The implementation process of the network device configuring the period of the positioning SSB (e.g., the first SSB period described above) can refer to the description of the related content in the step S701 described above, and will not be described herein. The implementation process of the network device configuring the period of the synchronization SSB will be described in detail below.

[0195] In a possible design, the method can further include:

[0196] The network device sends the second indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second indication information from the network device.

[0197] The network device sends the second SSB to the terminal device according to the second SSB period. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second SSB from the network device using the second SSB period.

[0198] The second indication information can be used to indicate the second SSB period, which can be understood as the SSB period of the second SSB or the period of the second SSB. The second SSB period can be used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization, that is, the second SSB period can be used to perform downlink time-frequency synchronization between the terminal device and the network device, and the second SSB can be referred to as a synchronization SSB. When the terminal device has a synchronization requirement, the terminal device can receive the second indication information to obtain the second SSB period. The terminal device can receive the second SSB using the second SSB period to achieve downlink time-frequency synchronization with the network device. It can be understood that the terminal device can use one second SSB to achieve downlink synchronization, or the terminal device can use multiple second SSBs to achieve downlink synchronization, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The specific implementation of the terminal device performing downlink synchronization can refer to the prior art, and will not be described herein.

[0199] The network device can configure the second SSB period according to the period of the synchronization SSB in the NR protocol, such as 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, 160 ms, etc., which can be understood and will not be described herein. The specific implementation of the network device indicating the second SSB period to the terminal device, the network device sending the second SSB to the terminal device according to the second SSB period, and the terminal device receiving the second SSB from the network device using the second SSB period can refer to the prior art, and will not be described herein.

[0200] In a possible design, the second indication information can be carried in a system message.

[0201] For example, the second indication information can be carried in SIB1, MIB or other SIBs, that is, in existing information elements, to reduce the implementation difficulty, or can be carried in a new information element to improve the implementation flexibility, without limitation. For convenience of understanding, the following is introduced as an example that the second indication information is carried in SIB1. The second indication information and the first indication information are carried in the same system message, such as the same SIB1, and the terminal device can obtain the first SSB period and the second SSB period according to the SIB1, to realize the compatible existence of the synchronization SSB and the positioning SSB in the network.

[0202] It can be understood that the above-mentioned second indication information and the second SSB are only examples, and the second indication information and the second SSB can also be replaced by any other possible naming, without limitation.

[0203] Scenario 2: The positioning SSB has both synchronization and positioning functions.

[0204] That is, the first SSB can be used for terminal device positioning and downlink synchronization, and is compatible with existing terminals. The first SSB period is both the period of the synchronization SSB and the period of the positioning SSB. When the terminal device has synchronization requirements, the terminal device can receive the first indication information to obtain the first SSB period. The terminal device can use the first SSB period to receive the first SSB to realize the downlink time-frequency synchronization with the network device. The terminal device can realize the first SSB downlink time-frequency synchronization according to one of the N first SSBs; or the terminal device can realize downlink synchronization according to n first SSBs in the N first SSBs, n is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to N, and the present application embodiment does not limit the value of n. The specific implementation of the terminal device for downlink synchronization can refer to the prior art, which is not described here.

[0205] Based on the above introduction of scenarios 1 and 2, in a possible design scheme, the above method can further include:

[0206] The terminal device calculates the timing advance based on the location information of the terminal device and the location information of the network device.

[0207] The terminal device performs random access according to the timing advance.

[0208] Exemplarily, a network device (such as a satellite) can provide satellite ephemeris information to a terminal device through SI or radio resource control (RRC) dedicated signaling, to provide the terminal device with position information of the network device. The terminal device can calculate a distance and a propagation delay between the terminal device and the network device based on the position information of the terminal device and the position information of the network device, and further calculate a TA for maintaining the TA. The terminal device can send a PRACH according to the TA, so that the network device side can receive the PRACH (preamble) sent in uplink within a specific time. The specific implementation principle can refer to the prior art, and will not be described here.

[0209] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail above in combination with FIG. 7. The communication apparatus for executing the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail below in combination with FIG. 8-FIG. 9.

[0210] FIG. 8 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application. Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 8, the communication apparatus 800 includes a transceiver module 801 and a processing module 802. For the convenience of description, FIG. 8 only shows the main components of the communication apparatus 800.

[0211] The transceiver module 801 is configured to perform the transceiving functions of the method shown in FIG. 7, and the processing module 802 is configured to perform other functions of the method shown in FIG. 7 except the transceiving functions.

[0212] Optionally, the transceiver module 801 can include a sending module (not shown in FIG. 8) and a receiving module (not shown in FIG. 8). The sending module is configured to implement the sending function of the communication apparatus 800, and the receiving module is configured to implement the receiving function of the communication apparatus 800.

[0213] Optionally, the communication apparatus 800 can further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 8), which stores a program or instructions. When the processing module 802 executes the program or instructions, the communication apparatus 800 can perform the functions of the terminal device and / or the network device in the method shown in FIG. 7 in the above method.

[0214] It can be understood that the communication apparatus 800 can be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that can be arranged in the terminal device, or an apparatus including the terminal device; or the communication apparatus 800 can be a network device, or a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that can be arranged in the network device, or an apparatus including the network device, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0215] In addition, the technical effects of the communication apparatus 800 can refer to the technical effects of the communication method shown in FIG. 7, which will not be described here.

[0216] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus can be a terminal device or a network device, or a chip (system) or other components or assemblies of the terminal device or the network device. As shown in Fig. 9, the communication apparatus 900 can include a processor 901. Optionally, the communication apparatus 900 can also include a memory 902 and / or a transceiver 903. The processor 901 is coupled to the memory 902 and the transceiver 903, for example, through a communication bus.

[0217] The components of the communication apparatus 900 will be described below in detail with reference to Fig. 9.

[0218] The processor 901 is the control center of the communication apparatus 900, which can be one processor or a plurality of processing elements. For example, the processor 901 can be one or more central processing units (CPUs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more integrated circuits configured to perform the functions of the embodiments of the present application, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

[0219] Optionally, the processor 901 can perform various functions of the communication apparatus 900 by running or executing software programs stored in the memory 902 and calling data stored in the memory 902, such as the communication method shown in Fig. 7.

[0220] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 901 can include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in Fig. 9.

[0221] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication apparatus 900 can also include a plurality of processors, such as the processor 901 and the processor 904 shown in Fig. 9. Each of the processors can be a single-CPU or a multi-CPU. The processor herein can refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (such as computer program instructions).

[0222] For example, the processor 901 can include communication and processing circuitry. The communication and processing circuitry can include one or more hardware components that provide the physical structure that performs various processes related to wireless communication (e.g., signal reception and / or signal transmission). The communication and processing circuitry can include two or more transmit / receive chains. The functions implemented by the communication and processing circuitry can also be processed on a computer-readable medium.

[0223] The processor 901 can perform the above steps S701-S703. That is, if the communication apparatus 900 is a terminal device, the processor 901 needs to receive the first indication information, and when it is determined that the service type of the first positioning service is the positioning service type associated with the first SSB period, the first SSB is received using the first SSB period. The processor 901 can perform positioning according to the first SSB to obtain the position information of the terminal device. If the communication apparatus 900 is a terminal device, the processor 901 needs to send the first indication information, and according to the first SSB period, the first SSB is sent to the terminal device.

[0224] The memory 902 is configured to store software programs for implementing the solutions of the present application, and the processor 901 controls the execution. The specific implementation can refer to the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0225] Alternatively, the memory 902 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, and can also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, an optical disc storage (including a compact disc, a laser disc, an optical disc, a digital versatile disc, a Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer, but not limited to this. The memory 902 can be integrated with the processor 901, or can exist independently and be coupled to the processor 901 through the interface circuit (not shown in FIG. 9) of the communication apparatus 900, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited in this regard.

[0226] The transceiver 903 is configured to communicate with other communication devices. For example, the communication device 900 is a terminal device, and the transceiver 903 can be configured to communicate with a network device or another terminal device. For another example, the communication device 900 is a network device, and the transceiver 903 can be configured to communicate with a terminal device or another network device.

[0227] Optionally, the transceiver 903 can include a receiver and a transmitter (not shown in FIG. 9). The receiver is configured to implement the receiving function, and the transmitter is configured to implement the transmitting function.

[0228] Optionally, the transceiver 903 can be integrated with the processor 901, or can exist independently and be coupled to the processor 901 through an interface circuit (not shown in FIG. 9) of the communication device 900. The embodiments of the present application do not make a limitation in this regard.

[0229] It should be noted that the structure of the communication device 900 shown in FIG. 9 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device. An actual communication device can include more or fewer components than those shown, or combine some components, or have different arrangement of components.

[0230] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 900 can refer to the technical effects of the communication method shown in FIG. 7, which will not be described here.

[0231] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication system. The communication system can include the terminal device and the network device in the method embodiments.

[0232] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor.

[0233] It should also be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. Among them, the nonvolatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM) used as an external cache. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of random access memory (RAM) are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0234] The above-described embodiments can be implemented in part or in whole through software, hardware (e.g., circuitry), firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the above-described embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When loaded and executed by a computer, the computer instructions or computer programs can cause the computer to perform the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. 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, such as from a website site, a computer, a server, or a data center to another website site, a computer, a server, or a data center through a wired (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that includes one or more collections of available media. The available media can be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium can be a solid-state hard disk.

[0235] It should be understood that the term "and / or" used herein is merely an association relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can mean that A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, the character " / " herein generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after it, but it can also represent an "and / or" relationship, which can be understood in the context before and after it.

[0236] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of the items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0237] It should be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of the above-described processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0238] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0239] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working processes of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0240] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are only schematic, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0241] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment.

[0242] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated into a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically independently, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0243] If the functions are implemented in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially or the parts that contribute to the prior art or parts of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a plurality of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

[0244] 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 scope 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: Comprising: receiving first indication information from a network device; wherein the first indication information is used to indicate a first synchronization signal block (SSB) period associated with a positioning service type, and the first SSB period is used for a terminal device to perform positioning; when determining that a service type of a first positioning service is the positioning service type associated with the first SSB period, receiving a first SSB using the first SSB period; performing positioning on the terminal device according to the first SSB to obtain position information of the terminal device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: determining that a number of the first SSBs received is N; wherein N is greater than or equal to 3, and the number of the first SSBs is determined according to a positioning accuracy requirement of the first positioning service.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving second indication information from the network device; wherein the second indication information is used to indicate a second SSB period, and the second SSB period is used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization; receiving a second SSB from the network device using the second SSB period.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The second indication information is carried in a system message.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The first indication information is carried in a system message.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The performing positioning on the terminal device according to the first SSB to obtain position information of the terminal device comprises: performing positioning on the terminal device according to a time of arrival of the first SSB to obtain position information of the terminal device.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further comprises: calculating a timing advance according to the position information of the terminal device and position information of the network device; performing random access according to the timing advance.

8. A communication method characterized by comprising: Comprising: sending first indication information to a terminal device; wherein the first indication information is used to indicate a first synchronization signal block (SSB) period associated with a positioning service type, and the first SSB period is used for the terminal device to perform positioning; sending a first SSB to the terminal device according to the first SSB period.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The method further comprises: sending second indication information to the terminal device; wherein the second indication information is used to indicate a second SSB period, and the second SSB period is used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization; sending a second SSB to the terminal device according to the second SSB period.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The second indication information is carried in a system message.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8-10, characterized in that, The first indication information is carried in a system message.

12. A communications device, characterized by Comprising a module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-11.

13. A communications device, characterized by Comprising: a processor; the processor is configured to run a computer program or instructions to enable the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-11 to be implemented.

14. A communication chip, comprising: instructions stored therein, when the chip is running on a communication device, enable the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-11 to be implemented.

15. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium comprises a computer program or instructions, when the computer program or instructions are running on a computer, enable the computer to execute the communication method as claimed in any one of claims 1-11.

16. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises a computer program or instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the communication method of any one of claims 1-11.

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