Non-terrestrial network communication method, base station and user equipment

Abstract

A non-terrestrial network communication method, a base station, and user equipment, relating to the field of wireless communications. A base station determining the gain of each beam position in a first beam hopping position period; according to the gain of each beam position in the first beam hopping position period, allocating a beam hopping pattern for each beam position in a second beam hopping position period, wherein the first beam hopping position period is the beam hopping position period preceding the second beam hopping position period; and sending the beam hopping pattern of each beam position in the second beam hopping position period to user equipment. A "beam hopping position" activation mode is used in an activated beam, and on the basis of the beam hopping pattern, more refined activation control at the granularity of beam positions within the beam is achieved, satellite transmit power is further concentrated, and satellite coverage and service performance are improved.

Description

Non-terrestrial network communication methods, base stations and user equipment

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This disclosure claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411471643.4, filed on October 21, 2024, entitled “Non-terrestrial network communication method, base station and user equipment”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure relates to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly to non-terrestrial network communication methods, base stations, and user equipment. Background Technology

[0004] In NTN (Non-terrestrial Network) communication scenarios, satellite transmission power is limited, and the maximum number of beams a satellite can transmit simultaneously is constrained by device limitations. Beam hopping technology, through phased array technology, controls the spatial pointing of satellite beams, generating different beam patterns and is one of the effective means to improve satellite resource utilization. In a beam hopping pattern, only some beams are active, concentrating energy on the active beams and improving coverage performance. By continuously updating the beam hopping pattern and changing the beam direction, coverage of the entire satellite coverage area can be achieved.

[0005] Currently, activation control is performed at the beam level. If a beam is in an active state, all positions within that beam are also in an active state. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In this embodiment, a "hopping position" activation method is adopted within the activation beam. Based on the hopping position pattern, more refined activation control is achieved with the position in the beam as the granularity, which further concentrates the satellite transmission power and improves satellite coverage and service performance.

[0007] This disclosure provides a non-terrestrial network communication method applied to a base station, comprising: determining the gain of each position of a beam within a first hopping position period; allocating hopping position patterns of each position of the beam within a second hopping position period based on the gain of each position of the beam within the first hopping position period, wherein the first hopping position period is the preceding hopping position period of the second hopping position period; and sending the hopping position patterns of each position of the beam within the second hopping position period to a user equipment.

[0008] In some embodiments, determining the revenue of each beam within the first hop beam period includes: determining the revenue of each beam within the first hop beam period based on at least one of the number of users, total transmitted data, and unmet service quality requirements of each beam within the first hop beam period.

[0009] In some embodiments, determining the revenue of each position of the beam within the first hop position period includes: using the revenue factors of each set item, performing a weighted summation calculation on at least one of the number of users, total transmitted data, and unmet service quality requirements of each position of the beam within the first hop position period to obtain the revenue of each position of the beam within the first hop position period, wherein the unmet service quality requirements are determined based on the priority and traffic volume of each unmet service.

[0010] In some embodiments, if the number of users, total transmitted data, and unmet service quality requirements of each position of the beam are not saved during the first hop period, or if the second hop period is located within the first hop pattern, the number of users, total transmitted data, and unmet service quality requirements of each position of the beam during the first hop period are set to preset values.

[0011] In some embodiments, allocating the hopping pattern of each position of the beam within the second hopping period includes: determining the activation duration of each position based on the benefit ratio of each position of the beam within the first hopping period; and determining the hopping pattern of each position of the beam based on the activation duration of each position.

[0012] In some embodiments, determining the activation duration of each wave position includes: allocating the beam activation time according to the benefit ratio of each wave position of the beam within the first hop wave position period, taking the maximum value between the activation duration allocated to each wave position and the activation duration of 1 unit, and determining the maximum value or the integer of the maximum value as the activation duration of each wave position.

[0013] In some embodiments, determining the hopping pattern of each wave position of the beam according to any of the following design rules includes: a first design rule includes: each wave position is sorted according to its wave position number, and each wave position is activated once within the hopping pattern period; a second design rule includes: each wave position is sorted according to its wave position number, and each wave position is periodically activated within the hopping pattern period.

[0014] In some embodiments, determining the hopping pattern of each wave position of the beam includes: keeping the position idle or randomly selecting a wave position to activate during periods when the activation duration of each wave position is not covered.

[0015] In some embodiments, the unit of activation duration for each wave position includes at least one of the following: time slot, frame, symbol, second, millisecond, and minute.

[0016] In some embodiments, sending the hopping pattern of each beam position within the second hopping period to the user equipment includes: sending the hopping pattern of each beam position within the second hopping period to the user equipment within the beam coverage area via higher-layer signaling, downlink control information, or media access control (MAC) control element (CE) information.

[0017] In some embodiments, the jumping wave pattern includes at least one of the following: activation wave number, activation wave duration, and design rule number of the jumping wave pattern.

[0018] This disclosure provides some embodiments of a non-terrestrial network communication method applied to a user equipment, including: receiving hopping pattern of each wave position of a beam within a hopping period sent by a base station; and transmitting information based on the hopping pattern of each wave position of the beam within the hopping period.

[0019] In some embodiments, receiving the hopping pattern of each beam within a hopping period sent by the base station includes: receiving higher-layer signaling, downlink control information, or Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) information sent by the base station, and obtaining the hopping pattern of each beam within a hopping period from them.

[0020] In some embodiments, the jumping wave pattern includes at least one of the following: activation wave number, activation wave duration, and design rule number of the jumping wave pattern.

[0021] Some embodiments of this disclosure provide a base station, including: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to execute a non-terrestrial network communication method on the base station side based on instructions stored in the memory.

[0022] Some embodiments of this disclosure provide a user equipment including: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to execute a non-terrestrial network communication method on the user equipment side based on instructions stored in the memory.

[0023] Some embodiments of this disclosure provide a computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of a non-terrestrial network communication method.

[0024] Some embodiments of this disclosure provide a computer program product including computer instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement steps of a non-terrestrial network communication method. Attached Figure Description

[0025] The accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments or related technologies will be briefly introduced below. This disclosure can be more clearly understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are merely some embodiments of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any creative effort.

[0027] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a jump wave bit pattern according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a non-terrestrial network communication method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of the new MAC CE format in some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0030] Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of a jump wave bit pattern according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of a jump wave bit pattern according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a base station according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a user equipment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0035] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangement, numerical expressions, and values ​​of the components and steps set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0036] Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms "first," "second," etc., in the embodiments of this disclosure are only used to distinguish different steps, devices, or modules, and do not represent any specific technical meaning, nor do they indicate a necessary logical order between them.

[0037] It should also be understood that in the embodiments disclosed herein, "a plurality of" may refer to two or more, and "at least one" may refer to one, two or more.

[0038] It should also be understood that any component, data or structure mentioned in the embodiments of this disclosure can generally be understood as one or more unless expressly defined or given to the contrary in the context.

[0039] Furthermore, the term "and / or" in this disclosure is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this disclosure generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0040] It should also be understood that the description of the various embodiments in this disclosure emphasizes the differences between the various embodiments, and the similarities or similarities can be referred to each other. For the sake of brevity, they will not be described in detail.

[0041] At the same time, it should be understood that, for ease of description, the dimensions of the various parts shown in the accompanying drawings are not drawn according to actual scale.

[0042] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative and is in no way intended to limit this disclosure or its application or use.

[0043] Techniques, methods, and equipment known to those skilled in the art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, such techniques, methods, and equipment should be considered part of the specification.

[0044] It should be noted that similar labels and letters in the following figures indicate similar items; therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be discussed further in subsequent figures.

[0045] Furthermore, to avoid obscuring this disclosure with unnecessary detail, only processing steps and / or apparatus structures closely related to at least the solutions according to this disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings, while other details not closely related to this disclosure are omitted. It should also be noted that similar reference numerals and letters in the drawings indicate similar items, and therefore once an item is defined in one drawing, it need not be discussed again in subsequent drawings.

[0046] Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) are wireless communication systems operating above the Earth's surface. They utilize components such as satellites, High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS), and drones to achieve comprehensive network coverage, especially in remote areas where traditional terrestrial networks are unavailable. NTNs are an important supplement to terrestrial cellular communication technologies. By integrating satellite and terrestrial networks, they provide ubiquitous coverage, connecting air, space, land, and sea to form an integrated, ubiquitous access network, enabling on-demand access in all scenarios.

[0047] Beam hopping, a technology in satellite communications, dynamically adjusts the direction and shape of a beam to cover a specific ground area as a point beam. These point beams offer a narrower coverage area but higher gain compared to traditional fixed beams. The beam hopping pattern refers to the distribution and switching of these point beams within the satellite's coverage area. The beam hopping pattern may include information such as beam direction and duration.

[0048] A beam typically includes multiple positions. A hopping position refers to a jump in the position. A hopping position pattern refers to the distribution and switching pattern of these positions within the beam's coverage area. A hopping position pattern may include information such as the cell the position points to and the duration of that pointing. The hopping position period refers to the duration of a hopping position pattern for a beam, equal to the time the beam remains active.

[0049] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of hopping beam patterns according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1, a satellite currently has, for example, active beam 1, active beam 2, active beam 3, dormant beam 4, and dormant beam 5. Taking active beam 2 as an example, active beam 2 includes, for example, beam position 1, beam position 2, and beam position 3. Within one hopping beam period, the hopping beam pattern of active beam 2 is, for example, beam position 1, beam position 1, beam position 2, beam position 3, ..., beam position 1, beam position 1, beam position 2, and beam position 3.

[0050] Figure 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a non-terrestrial network communication method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2, the non-terrestrial network communication method includes, for example, the following steps. For ease of description, the previous hop wave period and the current hop wave period are respectively named the first hop wave period and the second hop wave period.

[0051] In step 210, the base station determines the gain of each beam position within the first hop position period.

[0052] In non-terrestrial network communication scenarios, base stations can be located at ground stations or at satellites. Base stations include, but are not limited to, gNB (next generation Node B, i.e., 5G base stations).

[0053] In some embodiments, the revenue of each beam position within the first hop beam position period is determined based on at least one of the following: the number of users, total transmitted data, and unmet Quality of Service (QoS) requirements for each beam position within the first hop beam position period. The number of users, total transmitted data, and unmet QoS requirements can all represent the level of service demand for that beam position. This allows for prioritizing the allocation of more time and power resources to beam positions with higher potential service demand during subsequent resource allocation.

[0054] An exemplary calculation method: Using the set revenue factors, at least one of the following is calculated by weighted summation for each position of the beam within the first hop position period: the number of users, total transmitted data, and unmet service quality requirements. The revenue for each position of the beam within the first hop position period is then obtained. The unmet service quality requirements are determined based on the priority and volume of each unmet service.

[0055] An exemplary formula is expressed as follows: η i =αN1+βN2+γN3

[0056] Where, η i N1 represents the revenue of wave position i, N2 represents the number of users, N3 represents the total amount of data transmitted, and N3 = ∑ε j N j This indicates unmet service QoS requirements within this period, ε j N represents the priority of business j. j Let α represent the business volume of business j; α, β, and γ are positive numbers, representing the revenue factors, for example, satisfying α+β+γ=1.

[0057] Furthermore, if the number of users, total transmitted data, and unmet service quality requirements for each position of the beam during the first hop period are not saved, or if the second hop period is located within the first hop beam pattern, the number of users, total transmitted data, and unmet service quality requirements for each position of the beam during the first hop period are set to preset values; that is, N1, N2, and N3 in the above formula are set to preset values. For example, these preset values ​​are 1.

[0058] In step 220, the base station allocates the hopping pattern of each beam in the second hopping period according to the revenue of each beam in the first hopping period. The first hopping period is the previous hopping period of the second hopping period.

[0059] In some embodiments, determining the hopping pattern of each wave position of the beam includes: determining the activation duration of each wave position based on the gain ratio of each wave position of the beam within a first hopping period; and determining the hopping pattern of each wave position of the beam based on the activation duration of each wave position.

[0060] An exemplary method for determining the activation duration of a beam position includes: allocating beam activation time according to the revenue ratio of each beam position within a first hop beam position period; taking the maximum value between the allocated activation duration for each beam position and one unit of activation duration; and determining the maximum value or an integer fraction of the maximum value as the activation duration of each beam position. The unit of the activation duration of each beam position includes at least one of the following: time slot, frame, symbol, second, millisecond, and minute. Specifically, for integer units such as time slot, frame, and symbol, the integer fraction of the maximum value (e.g., rounding down the maximum value) is used to determine the activation duration of each beam position, ensuring that the activation duration of each beam position is a positive integer; for non-integer units such as second, millisecond, and minute, the maximum value is used to determine the activation duration of each beam position. Thus, the activation duration is determined according to the revenue ratio, while ensuring that each beam position has at least one unit of duration.

[0061] For integer units such as time slots, frames, and symbols, an exemplary formula is as follows:

[0062] Among them, T i ∑η represents the activation duration of wave position i, and ∑η represents the sum of the gains of all wave positions under the current beam. i T represents the profit at position i. beam This indicates the beam activation time, i.e., the duration of the hopping beam pattern. 1 indicates rounding down, and max indicates taking the maximum value.

[0063] For non-integer units such as seconds, milliseconds, and minutes, an exemplary formula is as follows:

[0064] The meanings of each symbol are as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0065] In some embodiments, determining the hopping pattern of each wave position of the beam according to any of the following design rules includes: a first design rule: each wave position is sorted according to its wave position number, and each wave position is activated once within the hopping pattern period. In this case, the activation time of each wave position is concentrated together, and after the activation time expires and it becomes inactive, it will not be activated again; a second design rule: each wave position is sorted according to its wave position number, and each wave position is periodically activated within the hopping pattern period. In this case, the activation, inactivity, activation, and inactivity states of each wave position will change multiple times.

[0066] Determining the hopping pattern of each wave position of the beam also includes: keeping the wave position idle or randomly selecting a wave position to activate during the time when the activation duration of each wave position is not covered.

[0067] In step 230, the base station sends the hopping pattern of each beam position within the second hopping phase to the user equipment.

[0068] The hopping pattern of each beam position within the second hopping period is transmitted to user equipment within the beam coverage area via higher-layer signaling, DCI (Downlink Control Information) or MAC (Media Access Control)-CE (Control Element) information. Higher-layer signaling includes Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, etc.

[0069] The hopping beam bit pattern includes at least one of the following: the active beam position ID, the active beam position duration (which can be at least one or a combination of time slot, frame, symbol, second, millisecond, and minute), and the design rule index of the hopping beam bit pattern (which is set as the principle index).

[0070] For example, a new higher-layer signaling, NTN-Beam position-Config, is added to indicate the hopping beam position pattern information for the current cycle. The new signaling content includes: beam position ID, active duration, and hopping beam position pattern design rule index.

[0071] The following is an example format for the newly added high-level signaling:

[0072] Where INTEGER represents an integer, BIT STRING represents a bit string, and OPTIONAL represents optional.

[0073] A new type of downlink control information is added to indicate the hopping bit pattern information of the current cycle. The message content of the downlink control information includes at least one of the following: the active bit sequence number, the active bit duration, which can be any one or a combination of time slot, frame, symbol, second, millisecond, and minute, and the hopping bit pattern design rule sequence number.

[0074] Add a message field to the existing downlink control information to indicate the hopping bit pattern information for the current period. The message field includes at least one of the following: the active bit sequence number, the active bit duration (which can be any one or a combination of time slot, frame, symbol, second, millisecond, and minute), and the hopping bit pattern design rule number.

[0075] A new MAC CE is added to indicate the hopping bit pattern information of the current period. The new MAC CE message content includes at least one of the following: active bit sequence number, active bit duration, which can be any one or a combination of time slot, frame, symbol, second, millisecond, and minute, and hopping bit pattern design rule sequence number.

[0076] The newly added MAC CE format is shown in Figure 3. The TAG Identity (TAG ID) represents the identifier of the addressing TAG (Timing Advance Group), occupying 2 bits. The design rule numbers for the activation bit sequence number, activation bit duration, and skip bit pattern are the first length, second length, and third length, respectively. The first length, second length, and third length are integer bit values; for example, the first length is 5 bits, the second length is 8 bits, and the third length is 1 bit.

[0077] In step 240, the user equipment receives the hopping pattern of each beam position within the hopping period sent by the base station, and performs information transmission based on the hopping pattern of each beam position within the hopping period. For example, based on the hopping pattern, the user equipment transmits information with the network equipment within the cell pointed to by the beam position and the duration.

[0078] In this embodiment, a "hopping position" activation method is adopted within the activation beam. Based on the hopping position pattern, more refined activation control is achieved with the position in the beam as the granularity, which further concentrates the satellite transmission power and improves satellite coverage and service performance.

[0079] Here are some application examples.

[0080] Assume a beam contains three positions: position 1, position 2, and position 3. The beam activation time is one frame (containing 10 time slots, totaling 10ms). The base station has not previously stored information on the number of users at each position, the total amount of data transmitted, or unmet service QoS requirements within this period. When the new beam activation time arrives, the following operations are performed.

[0081] (1-1) The base station calculates the revenue for each wavelength according to the revenue calculation formula: Since the base station did not save the number of users, the total amount of data transmitted, and the QoS requirements of services that were not met in the period for each wavelength, the parameters N1, N2, and N3 are set to the default value of 1. The revenues of wavelength 1, wavelength 2, and wavelength 3 are calculated to be η1 = 1, η2 = 1, and η3 = 1, respectively.

[0082] (1-2) The base station determines the activation duration of the wavelet according to the wavelet activation duration calculation formula: the activation durations of wavelet 1, wavelet 2, and wavelet 3 are calculated to be T1 = 1 / 3T. beam T2 = 1 / 3T beam T2 = 1 / 3T beam .

[0083] (1-3) The base station determines the hopping pattern of the beam: Assuming that the first design rule is used to determine the hopping pattern, the activation time unit of each beam is a time slot, and the last remaining time slot is set to an idle state, the hopping pattern is shown in Figure 4.

[0084] (1-4) The base station sends the hopping beam bitmap information to the UEs within the beam coverage area. Assume that the newly added higher-layer signaling NTN-Beam position-Config is used to indicate the hopping beam bitmap information for the current period. The format of the newly added higher-layer signaling is as follows:

[0085] Among them, beam position ID represents the beam position identifier, active duration represents the activation duration, and principle index represents the design rule.

[0086] (1-5) After the current hopping phase ends, the base station counts the number of users, the total amount of data transmitted, and the unmet service QoS requirements within each phase.

[0087] Assume that after the hop phase period ends, the base station counts the number of users in phase 1 as 2, the total amount of data transmitted as 4, and the number of unmet service QoS requirements as 0; the number of users in phase 2 as 4, the total amount of data transmitted as 4, and the number of unmet service QoS requirements as 1; and the number of users in phase 3 as 4, the total amount of data transmitted as 4, and the number of unmet service QoS requirements as 4.

[0088] When the next beam activation time arrives, the base station will perform the following operations.

[0089] (2-1) The base station calculates the revenue of each wavelet according to the wavelet revenue calculation formula: Based on the statistical results of the previous period, the revenues of wavelet 1, wavelet 2 and wavelet 3 are calculated as η1=2, η2=3 and η3=4 respectively, where α, β and γ=1 / 3.

[0090] (2-2) The base station determines the activation duration of the wavelet according to the wavelet activation duration calculation formula: The activation durations of wavelet 1, wavelet 2, and wavelet 3 are calculated to be T1 = 2 / 9T. beam T2 = 3 / 9T beam T2 = 4 / 9T beam .

[0091] (2-3) The base station determines the hopping pattern of the beam: The second design rule is used to determine the hopping pattern. The activation time unit of each wave position is a time slot, and the last time slot is randomly determined as wave position 2. The hopping pattern is shown in Figure 5.

[0092] (2-4) The base station sends the hopping beam bitmap information to the UEs within the beam coverage area. Assume a new higher-layer signaling message, NTN-Beam position-Config, is added to indicate the hopping beam bitmap information for the current period. The format of the new higher-layer signaling message is as follows:

[0093] Among them, beam position ID represents the beam position identifier, active duration represents the activation duration, and principle index represents the design rule.

[0094] (2-5) After the current hopping phase ends, the base station counts the number of users, the total amount of data transmitted, and the unmet service QoS requirements within each phase.

[0095] In this embodiment, a "hopping position" activation method is adopted within the activation beam. Based on the hopping position pattern, more refined activation control is achieved with the position in the beam as the granularity, which further concentrates the satellite transmission power and improves satellite coverage and service performance.

[0096] Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a base station according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 6, the base station 600 of this embodiment includes a memory 610 and a processor 620 coupled to the memory 610. The processor 620 is configured to execute non-terrestrial network communication methods on the base station side of each embodiment based on instructions stored in the memory 610. For example, the base station determines the gain of each beam position in a first hop position period; allocates hop position patterns of each beam position in a second hop position period according to the gain of each beam position in the first hop position period, wherein the first hop position period is the preceding hop position period of the second hop position period; and sends the hop position patterns of each beam position in the second hop position period to the user equipment.

[0097] The base station 600 may also include an input / output interface 630, a network interface 640, a storage interface 650, etc. These interfaces 630, 640, 650, as well as the memory 610 and the processor 620, can be connected, for example, via a bus 660.

[0098] The memory 610 may include, for example, system memory, fixed non-volatile storage media, etc. The system memory may store, for example, the operating system, application programs, boot loader, and other programs.

[0099] The processor 620 can be implemented using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates, or transistors, or other discrete hardware components.

[0100] The input / output interface 630 provides a connection interface for input / output devices such as monitors, mice, keyboards, and touchscreens. The network interface 640 provides a connection interface for various networked devices. The storage interface 650 provides a connection interface for external storage devices such as SD cards and USB flash drives. The bus 660 can use any bus architecture from a variety of bus structures. For example, bus architectures include, but are not limited to, Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus.

[0101] Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a user equipment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 7, the user equipment 700 of this embodiment includes a memory 710 and a processor 720 coupled to the memory 710. The processor 720 is configured to execute non-terrestrial network communication methods on the user equipment side of each embodiment based on instructions stored in the memory 710. For example, the user equipment receives the hopping bit pattern of each bit of the beam within a hopping bit period sent by the base station; and performs information transmission according to the hopping bit pattern of each bit of the beam within the hopping bit period.

[0102] User equipment 700 may also include input / output interfaces 730, network interfaces 740, storage interfaces 750, etc. These interfaces 730, 740, 750, as well as the memory 710 and processor 720, can be connected, for example, via a bus 770.

[0103] The memory 710 may include, for example, system memory, fixed non-volatile storage media, etc. The system memory may store, for example, the operating system, application programs, boot loader, and other programs.

[0104] The processor 720 can be implemented using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates, or transistors, or other discrete hardware components.

[0105] The input / output interface 730 provides a connection interface for input / output devices such as monitors, mice, keyboards, and touchscreens. The network interface 740 provides a connection interface for various networked devices. The storage interface 750 provides a connection interface for external storage devices such as SD cards and USB flash drives. The bus 770 can use any bus architecture from a variety of bus structures. For example, bus architectures include, but are not limited to, Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus.

[0106] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 8, the communication system 800 of this embodiment includes a base station 600 and user equipment 700. One base station 600 can serve one or more user equipments 700.

[0107] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this disclosure can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this disclosure can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this disclosure can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more (non-transitory) computer-readable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, cloud storage, etc.) containing computer program code. A computer program product should be understood as a software product that primarily implements its solution through a computer program.

[0108] This disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this disclosure. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowchart illustrations and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0109] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0110] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0111] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of this disclosure and is not intended to limit this disclosure. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this disclosure should be included within the protection scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A non-terrestrial network communication method, applied to a base station, comprising: Determine the gain of each position of the beam within the first hop position period; Based on the gains of each position of the beam within the first hop position period, the hop position pattern of each position of the beam within the second hop position period is allocated. The first hop position period is the hop position period preceding the second hop position period. The hopping pattern of each beam position within the second hopping phase is sent to the user equipment.

2. The non-terrestrial network communication method according to claim 1, wherein, The gains from determining each position of the beam within the first hop position period include: The revenue of each beam in the first hop beam period is determined based on at least one of the following: the number of users, total transmitted data, and unmet service quality requirements of each beam in the first hop beam period.

3. The non-terrestrial network communication method according to claim 2, wherein, The gains from determining each position of the beam within the first hop position period include: By using the set revenue factors, a weighted summation is performed on at least one of the following for each position of the beam within the first hop position period: the number of users, the total transmitted data, and the unmet service quality requirements. This yields the revenue for each position of the beam within the first hop position period. The unmet service quality requirements are determined based on the priority and volume of the unmet services.

4. The non-terrestrial network communication method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein, If the number of users, total transmitted data, and unmet service quality requirements of each position of the beam are not saved in the first hop beam period, or if the second hop beam period is located within the first hop beam pattern, the number of users, total transmitted data, and unmet service quality requirements of each position of the beam in the first hop beam period are set to preset values.

5. The non-terrestrial network communication method according to claim 1, wherein, The hopping pattern of each beam position within the second hopping phase period includes: The activation duration of each wave position is determined based on the revenue ratio of each wave position in the beam during the first hop wave position cycle. Based on the activation duration of each wave position, the jump wave pattern of each wave position of the beam is determined.

6. The non-terrestrial network communication method according to claim 5, wherein, Determining the activation duration of each wave position includes: The beam activation time is allocated according to the revenue ratio of each beam position within the first hop beam position cycle. The maximum value is taken between the activation duration allocated to each beam position and the activation duration of 1 unit. The maximum value or the integer of the maximum value is determined as the activation duration of each beam position.

7. The non-terrestrial network communication method according to claim 5, wherein, The skip pattern for each wave position of the beam is determined according to any of the following design rules: The first design rule includes: each wave position is sorted according to its wave position number, and each wave position is activated once within the wave position jumping cycle; The second design rule includes: each wave position is sorted according to its wave position number, and each wave position is periodically activated within the wave position jump period.

8. The non-terrestrial network communication method according to claim 5, wherein, The hopping pattern for determining each wave position of the beam includes: During periods when the activation duration of each wave position is not covered, either remain idle or randomly select a wave position for activation.

9. The non-terrestrial network communication method according to claim 5, wherein, The unit for the activation duration of each wave position includes at least one of the following: time slot, frame, symbol, second, millisecond, and minute.

10. The non-terrestrial network communication method according to any one of claims 1-3, 5-8, wherein, Sending the hopping pattern of each beam position within the second hopping phase to the user equipment includes: The hopping pattern of each beam position within the second hopping phase is sent to the user equipment within the beam coverage area via higher-layer signaling, downlink control information, or media access control (MAC)-control element (CE) information.

11. The non-terrestrial network communication method according to any one of claims 1-3, 5-8, wherein, Jumping wave patterns include at least one of the following: Activate wave position sequence, Activation wave duration, Design rule number for jump wave bitmap pattern.

12. A non-terrestrial network communication method, applied to user equipment, comprising: The hopping pattern of each wave position of the beam within the hopping wave position period transmitted by the base station; Information is transmitted based on the hopping pattern of each wave position of the beam within the hopping wave position period.

13. The non-terrestrial network communication method according to claim 12, wherein, The hopping pattern of each beam position within the hopping period transmitted by the receiving base station includes: The system receives high-layer signaling, downlink control information, or Media Access Control (MAC)-Control Element (CE) information sent by the base station, and obtains the hopping pattern of each beam position within the hopping period from these information.

14. The non-terrestrial network communication method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein, Jumping wave patterns include at least one of the following: Activate wave position sequence, Activation wave duration, Design rule number for jump wave bitmap pattern.

15. A base station, comprising: Memory; And a processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to execute the non-terrestrial network communication method of any one of claims 1-11 based on instructions stored in the memory.

16. A user equipment, comprising: Memory; And a processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to execute the non-terrestrial network communication method of any one of claims 12-14 based on instructions stored in the memory.

17. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the non-terrestrial network communication method according to any one of claims 1-14.

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