Communication method, apparatus, system, and medium

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications, and discloses a communication method, an apparatus, a system, and a medium. In the embodiments of the present application, a network side device sends a downlink packet to a terminal via a downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the downlink packet carrying ephemeris information of a satellite. The PDSCH belongs to a user-plane communication channel. The present application provides a solution of enabling a satellite to send ephemeris information of the satellite to a terminal via a user plane packet. Compared with the solution in the prior art of sending ephemeris information of a satellite in the frequency domain where CORESET#0 is located, in which since BWPs allocated to some RedCap terminals do not comprise CD-SSB and CORESET#0, a SIB message needs to be acquired by means of a control plane signaling message so as to acquire the ephemeris information of the satellite, the solution provided by the present application avoids the problem of a control plane signaling storm caused by acquiring ephemeris information on a control plane, and improves the performance of communication systems.

Description

A communication method, apparatus, system and medium

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411587738.2, filed on November 7, 2024, entitled "A Communication Method, Apparatus, System and Medium", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, apparatus, system and medium. Background Technology

[0004] In satellite communication systems, terminals need to periodically acquire satellite ephemeris information, including geographical location and velocity information, for frequency offset and beam azimuth calculations. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard specification, in Release 17, introduced System Information Block (SIB19) messages carrying ephemeris information for the local and neighboring satellites. After reading the SIB19 information, the terminal starts / restarts the T430 timer. After the timer expires, it rereads the SIB19 information. The timer duration is the NTN-UlSyncValidityDuration (NTN Uplink Synchronization Validity Duration) cell in the SIB19 information, with a minimum value of 5 seconds.

[0005] The 3GPP standard introduced Reduced Cap (RedCap) technology in Release 17. RedCap only allows the configuration of a single Bandwidth Part (BWP), with a maximum bandwidth of 20MHz. The satellite transmits a Cell-Defining Synchronization Signal Block (CD-SSB) and Control Resource Set (CORESET) #0 within the configured BWP. Cell SIB messages are carried in the frequency domain of CORESET #0. For cells with large bandwidths (exceeding 20MHz), to fully utilize the cell's frequency domain resources, some RedCap-allocated BWPs will inevitably lack CD-SSB and CORESET #0. Since the active BWP of a connected UE (User Equipment) does not contain CORESET #0, the connected UE cannot directly read SIB messages. The 3GPP standard addresses the issue of missing CD-SSBs in BWPs through Non-Cell-Defining Synchronization Signal Block (NCD-SSB) technology. The 3GPP standard provides a method for obtaining SIB messages via signaling plane signaling messages. A problem with existing technology is that in non-terrestrial network (NTN) scenarios, connected RedCap terminals need to periodically read SIB19 messages. If obtained via control plane signaling messages, the signaling interaction frequency is 3 signaling messages / 5 seconds in scenarios with the minimum update cycle. Frequent control plane signaling interactions, especially when obtaining SIB19 messages and ephemeris information via signaling messages in the control plane, can cause signaling storms, impacting the performance of the communication system. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method, apparatus, system, and medium to solve the problem of signaling storms caused by existing technologies in the control plane.

[0007] In a first aspect, this application provides a communication method applied to a network-side device, the method comprising:

[0008] Downlink messages are sent to the terminal via the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), and the downlink messages carry satellite ephemeris information.

[0009] In one possible implementation, sending downlink messages to the terminal via the downlink shared channel (PDSCH) includes:

[0010] According to a preset transmission period, the downlink message is sent to the terminal via the downlink shared channel (PDSCH); wherein the transmission period is less than a preset duration.

[0011] In one possible implementation, before sending the downlink message to the terminal via the downlink shared channel (PDSCH) according to a preset transmission period, the method further includes:

[0012] The preset duration is determined based on the value of the non-terrestrial network-uplink synchronization validity period (ntn-UlSyncValidityDuration) information element in system message SIB19.

[0013] In one possible implementation, before the downlink shared channel (PDSCH) sends downlink messages to the terminal, the method further includes:

[0014] Receive the uplink message sent by the terminal.

[0015] In one possible implementation, receiving the uplink message sent by the terminal includes:

[0016] The uplink message sent by the terminal is received on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

[0017] In one possible implementation, the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) information element in the downlink message is set to a first value; wherein, the first value is used to characterize the ephemeris information of the satellite carried in the downlink message.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the downlink message is configured with an ephemerisType information element; wherein the value of the ephemerisType information element is used to characterize the format of the satellite's ephemeris information.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) element in the uplink message is set to a second value; wherein the second value is used to indicate that the uplink message is used to request the ephemeris information of the satellite.

[0020] Secondly, this application provides a communication method applied to a terminal, the method comprising:

[0021] Receive downlink messages sent by network-side devices on the downlink shared channel (PDSCH);

[0022] Obtain the ephemeris information of the satellite carried in the downlink message.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the downlink message received by the network-side device on the downlink shared channel (PDSCH) includes:

[0024] The downlink message is received from the network-side device on the downlink shared channel (PDSCH) according to a preset transmission period; wherein the transmission period is less than the preset duration.

[0025] In one possible implementation, before receiving downlink messages sent by network-side devices on the downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the method further includes:

[0026] Send uplink messages to the network-side device.

[0027] In one possible implementation, sending an uplink message to the network-side device includes:

[0028] Uplink messages are sent to the network-side device via the uplink shared channel PUSCH.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) cell in the downlink message is set to a first value; wherein, the first value is used to characterize the ephemeris information of the satellite carried in the downlink message.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the downlink message is configured with an ephemerisType information element; wherein the value of the ephemerisType information element is used to characterize the format of the satellite's ephemeris information.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) element in the uplink message is set to a second value; wherein the second value is used to indicate that the uplink message is used to request the ephemeris information of the satellite.

[0032] In one possible implementation, after obtaining the satellite ephemeris information carried in the downlink message, the method further includes:

[0033] Based on the value of the configured ephemerisType information element in the downlink message, the format of the satellite's ephemeris information is determined, and the satellite's ephemeris information carried in the acquired downlink message is converted into an ephemeris data structure in the specified format.

[0034] Thirdly, this application provides a communication device, including a unit or module configured to perform the method as described in any of the first aspects, or including a unit or module configured to perform the method as described in any of the second aspects.

[0035] Wherein, when the communication device performs the method as described in any of the first aspects, the communication device includes:

[0036] The first transmitting module is configured to transmit downlink messages to the terminal via the downlink shared channel PDSCH, and the downlink messages carry satellite ephemeris information.

[0037] In one possible implementation, the first sending module is specifically configured to send the downlink message to the terminal on the downlink shared channel (PDSCH) according to a preset sending period; wherein the sending period is less than a preset duration.

[0038] In one possible implementation, the first sending module is further configured to determine the preset duration based on the value of the non-terrestrial network-uplink synchronization validity period (ntn-UlSyncValidityDuration) information element in system message SIB19.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0040] The first receiving module is configured to receive uplink messages sent by the terminal.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the first receiving module is specifically configured to receive uplink messages sent by the terminal on the uplink shared channel PUSCH.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) cell in the downlink message is set to a first value; wherein the first value is used to characterize the ephemeris information of the satellite carried in the downlink message.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the downlink message is configured with an ephemerisType information element; wherein the value of the ephemerisType information element is used to characterize the format of the satellite's ephemeris information.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) element in the uplink message is set to a second value; wherein the second value is used to indicate that the uplink message is used to request the ephemeris information of the satellite.

[0045] Wherein, when the communication device performs the method as described in any of the second aspects, the communication device includes:

[0046] The second receiving module is configured to receive downlink messages sent by network-side devices on the downlink shared channel PDSCH;

[0047] The acquisition module is configured to acquire the ephemeris information of the satellites carried in the downlink message.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the second receiving module is specifically configured to receive downlink messages sent by network-side devices according to a preset transmission period on the downlink shared channel (PDSCH); wherein the transmission period is less than a preset duration.

[0049] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0050] The second sending module is configured to send uplink messages to the network-side device.

[0051] In one possible implementation, the second sending module is specifically configured to send uplink messages to the network-side device via the uplink shared channel PUSCH.

[0052] In one possible implementation, the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) cell in the downlink message is set to a first value; wherein the first value is used to characterize the ephemeris information of the satellite carried in the downlink message.

[0053] In one possible implementation, the downlink message is configured with an ephemerisType information element; wherein the value of the ephemerisType information element is used to characterize the format of the satellite's ephemeris information.

[0054] In one possible implementation, the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) element in the uplink message is set to a second value; wherein the second value is used to indicate that the uplink message is used to request the ephemeris information of the satellite.

[0055] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0056] The format conversion module is configured to determine the format of the satellite's ephemeris information based on the value of the configured ephemerisType information element in the downlink message, and convert the satellite's ephemeris information carried in the acquired downlink message into an ephemeris data structure in the specified format.

[0057] Fourthly, this application provides a communication device comprising: one or more processors configured to perform the method as described in any one of the first aspects, or to perform the method as described in any one of the second aspects.

[0058] Fifthly, this application provides a communication system comprising: a satellite performing the method as described in any one of the first aspects, and a terminal performing the method as described in any one of the second aspects.

[0059] In a sixth aspect, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed by a communication device, implement the method as described in any one of the first aspects, or implement the method as described in any one of the second aspects.

[0060] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a computer program product that, when invoked by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of the first aspects, or to perform the method as described in any one of the second aspects.

[0061] In this embodiment, the network-side device sends downlink messages to the terminal via the downlink shared channel (PDSCH), carrying satellite ephemeris information within the downlink messages. Since the PDSCH is a user plane communication channel, this application provides a scheme where the satellite sends its ephemeris information to the terminal via user plane messages. Compared to existing technologies that send satellite ephemeris information in the frequency domain of CORESET#0, this solution addresses the issue that some RedCap terminals, whose allocated BWPs do not include CD-SSB and CORESET#0, require obtaining SIB messages via control plane signaling messages to acquire satellite ephemeris information. This avoids the control plane signaling storm problem caused by acquiring ephemeris information in the control plane, thus improving the performance of the communication system. Attached Figure Description

[0062] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0063] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of BWP allocation in a cell in the prior art;

[0064] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of obtaining SIB messages through the control plane in the prior art;

[0065] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the first type of communication process provided in this application;

[0066] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the second communication process provided in this application;

[0067] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the third communication process provided in this application;

[0068] Figure 6 is a first type of communication flowchart provided in this application;

[0069] Figure 7 is a second communication flowchart provided in this application;

[0070] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the fourth communication process provided in this application;

[0071] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the ephemeris information request message structure provided in this application;

[0072] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the ephemeris information message structure provided in this application;

[0073] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the SI structure provided in this application;

[0074] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in this application;

[0075] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of another communication device structure provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0076] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of another communication device structure provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0077] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of a communication system structure provided in this application. Detailed Implementation

[0078] To make the objectives and implementation methods of this application clearer, the exemplary implementation methods of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the exemplary embodiments of this application. Obviously, the exemplary embodiments described are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments.

[0079] It should be noted that the brief descriptions of terms in this application are only for the convenience of understanding the embodiments described below, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of this application. Unless otherwise stated, these terms should be understood in their ordinary and common meaning.

[0080] The terms "first," "second," "third," etc., used in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish similar or related objects or entities, and do not necessarily imply a specific order or sequence, unless otherwise specified. It should be understood that such terms are interchangeable where appropriate.

[0081] The terms “comprising” and “having”, and any variations thereof, are intended to cover but not exclude inclusion, for example, a product or device that includes a range of components is not necessarily limited to all of the components that are clearly listed, but may include other components that are not clearly listed or that are inherent to such product or device.

[0082] The term "module" refers to any known or subsequently developed hardware, software, firmware, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, or combination of hardware and / or software code that is capable of performing the functions associated with that element.

[0083] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

[0084] For ease of explanation, the above description has been provided in conjunction with specific embodiments. However, the above exemplary discussion is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the specific forms disclosed above. Various modifications and variations can be obtained based on the above teachings. The selection and description of the above embodiments are for the purpose of better explaining the principles and practical applications, thereby enabling those skilled in the art to better utilize the described embodiments and various different variations of embodiments suitable for specific use considerations.

[0085] To facilitate understanding of the communication process for acquiring satellite ephemeris information, the existing communication process for acquiring satellite ephemeris information will first be explained with reference to the accompanying diagram.

[0086] Figure 1 illustrates the BWP allocation in a cell using existing technology. As shown in Figure 1, the 3GPP standard introduced RedCap technology in Release 17. RedCap terminals support only 20MHz of bandwidth for some BWPs and are only allowed to configure one BWP. For high-bandwidth cells, to fully utilize the cell's frequency domain resources, some RedCap terminals (users) will inevitably have BWPs that do not include CD-SSB and CORESET0. The 3GPP standard addresses this issue by using NCD-SSB technology. Since the cell's SIB messages are carried in the frequency domain where CORESET#0 resides, the active BWP of a connected UE does not include CORESET#0, preventing the connected UE from directly reading the SIB message.

[0087] To address the above situation, the 3GPP standard provides a method to obtain SIB messages through control plane signaling messages, thereby acquiring satellite ephemeris information. Figure 2 illustrates the prior art of obtaining SIB messages through the control plane. As shown in Figure 2, the terminal UE sends a DedicatedSIBRequest to the network-side device, the network-side device sends RRC_Recfg (RRC reconfiguration) to the terminal UE, and the terminal UE then sends RRC_RecfgCmp (RRC reconfiguration complete) to the network-side device. The SIB message is obtained through these three signaling interactions in the control plane. In non-terrestrial NTN scenarios, connected RedCap terminals need to periodically read SIB19 messages. If obtained through signaling messages, the signaling interaction frequency is 3 signaling messages / 5 seconds in scenarios with the minimum update cycle, which can lead to a signaling storm in the control plane.

[0088] This application addresses the aforementioned issues by providing a communication method for obtaining satellite ephemeris information via the user plane. The network-side device sends satellite ephemeris information to the terminal via downlink messages from the user plane, thereby enabling the terminal to obtain the satellite ephemeris information.

[0089] It should be noted that the user plane (data plane) transmits the actual service data, such as voice data or packet service data. The control plane (signaling plane or management plane) transmits signaling, which is used to control the establishment, maintenance, and release of a call process.

[0090] In this embodiment, the network-side device sends downlink messages to the terminal via the downlink shared channel (PDSCH), carrying satellite ephemeris information within the downlink messages. The PDSCH is a user plane communication channel. This application provides a scheme where the network-side device sends satellite ephemeris information to the terminal via user plane messages. Compared to existing technologies that send satellite ephemeris information in the frequency domain of CORESET#0, this scheme avoids the problem of control plane signaling storms caused by obtaining ephemeris information in the control plane, especially since some RedCap terminals' allocated BWPs do not include CD-SSB and CORESET#0. This improves the performance of the communication system. Network-side devices include, for example, satellites and network-side eNBs (Evolved NodeBs, wireless base stations).

[0091] In an optional embodiment, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a first communication process provided by this application, including the following steps:

[0092] S101: Network-side devices acquire satellite ephemeris information;

[0093] S102: The network-side device sends a downlink message to the terminal on the downlink shared channel PDSCH, and the downlink message carries the ephemeris information of the satellite;

[0094] S103: The terminal obtains the ephemeris information of the satellite carried in the downlink message.

[0095] In one optional embodiment, the network-side device sends downlink messages to the connected terminal via the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). The downlink messages can be user plane MAC CE (Medium Access Control Element) messages. MAC CE is an abbreviation for MAC Control Element, a concept unique to Long Term Evolution (LTE). MAC CE is a pathway for exchanging control information between the UE and the network, in addition to RRC (Radio Resource Control) messages and NAS (Non-Access Stratum) messages; it exchanges control information regarding the Media Access Control (MAC) layer.

[0096] This application provides two methods for obtaining satellite ephemeris information. Method 1: The network-side device periodically and proactively sends ephemeris information; Method 2: The terminal proactively requests satellite ephemeris information on demand. In Method 1, considering the pre-configured T430 timer duration for the terminal to obtain satellite ephemeris information, for example, 5 seconds, the sending period when the network-side device periodically and proactively sends ephemeris information is shorter than the pre-configured T430 timer duration for the terminal to obtain satellite ephemeris information. Optionally, the network-side device determines the preset duration based on the value of the non-terrestrial network-uplink synchronization validity period (ntn-UlSyncValidityDuration) information element in system message SIB19. This preset duration is the pre-configured T430 timer duration for the terminal to obtain satellite ephemeris information. In Method 2, the terminal proactively requests satellite ephemeris information on demand. In an optional embodiment, when the terminal moves quickly, the period for the terminal to proactively request satellite ephemeris information is relatively short; when the terminal moves slowly, the period for the terminal to proactively request satellite ephemeris information is relatively long.

[0097] In an optional embodiment, Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a second communication process provided in this application, including the following steps:

[0098] S201: Network-side devices acquire satellite ephemeris information;

[0099] S202: The downlink message is sent to the terminal via the downlink shared channel PDSCH according to a preset transmission period; wherein the transmission period is less than a preset duration.

[0100] It should be noted that when the network-side device sends satellite ephemeris information to the terminal, if the satellite ephemeris information changes, it will send the latest ephemeris information obtained at the moment.

[0101] In an optional embodiment, Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a third communication process provided in this application, including the following steps:

[0102] S301: The network-side device receives the uplink message sent by the terminal on the uplink shared channel PUSCH; PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel).

[0103] S302: The network-side device sends downlink messages to the terminal on the downlink shared channel PDSCH, and the downlink messages carry satellite ephemeris information.

[0104] In the communication method provided in this application embodiment, two MAC CE message types are added: an uplink message Ephemeris Request, used to request ephemeris information; and a downlink message Ephemeris Info, used to send ephemeris information.

[0105] Figure 6 is a first communication flowchart provided in this application. As shown in Figure 6, the network-side device sends a downlink message Ephemeris Info to the terminal, which carries the satellite's ephemeris information.

[0106] Figure 7 is a second communication flowchart provided in this application. As shown in Figure 7, the terminal sends an uplink message Ephemeris Request to the network-side device to request ephemeris information; the network-side device sends a downlink message Ephemeris Info to the terminal, which carries the satellite's ephemeris information.

[0107] In an optional embodiment, the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) element in the downlink message is set to a first value. Optionally, the first value may be a first preset reserved value; wherein, the first preset reserved value is used to characterize the ephemeris information of the satellite carried in the downlink message. The first preset reserved value may be any value between the reserved value 35 and 46. Taking a first preset reserved value of 46 as an example, the LCID values ​​of the Downlink Shared Channel (DL-SCH) in the downlink message are shown in Table 1 below:

[0108] Table 1

[0109] In one optional embodiment, the downlink message is configured with an `ephemerisType` element; wherein the value of the `ephemerisType` element is used to characterize the format of the satellite's ephemeris information. After receiving the MAC CE downlink message, the terminal converts the satellite's ephemeris information carried in the acquired downlink message into an ephemeris data structure of the corresponding format according to the value of the `ephemerisType` element.

[0110] In an optional embodiment, the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) element in the uplink message is a second value. Optionally, the second value can be a second preset reserved value; wherein, the second preset reserved value is used to characterize that the uplink message is used to request ephemeris information from the satellite. The second preset reserved value can be any value between the reserved value 37 and 42. Taking a second preset reserved value of 42 as an example, the LCID value of the Uplink Shared Channel (UL-SCH) in the uplink message is shown in Table 2 below:

[0111] Table 2

[0112] In an optional embodiment, Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a fourth communication process provided in this application, including the following steps:

[0113] S401: The terminal receives downlink messages sent by network-side devices on the downlink shared channel PDSCH;

[0114] S402: The terminal obtains the satellite ephemeris information carried in the downlink message.

[0115] In an optional embodiment, the downlink message received by the network-side device on the downlink shared channel (PDSCH) includes:

[0116] The downlink message is received from the network-side device on the downlink shared channel (PDSCH) according to a preset transmission period; wherein the transmission period is less than the preset duration.

[0117] In an optional embodiment, before receiving downlink messages sent by network-side devices on the downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the method further includes:

[0118] Send uplink messages to the network-side device.

[0119] In one optional embodiment, sending an uplink message to the network-side device includes:

[0120] Uplink messages are sent to the network-side device via the uplink shared channel PUSCH.

[0121] In one optional embodiment, the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) cell in the downlink message is set to a first value; wherein the first value is used to characterize the ephemeris information of the satellite carried in the downlink message.

[0122] In one optional embodiment, the downlink message is configured with an ephemerisType information element; wherein the value of the ephemerisType information element is used to characterize the format of the satellite's ephemeris information.

[0123] In one optional embodiment, the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) element in the uplink message is a second value; wherein the second value is used to indicate that the uplink message is used to request the ephemeris information of the satellite.

[0124] In an optional embodiment, after obtaining the ephemeris information of the satellite carried in the downlink message, the method further includes:

[0125] Based on the value of the configured ephemerisType information element in the downlink message, the format of the satellite's ephemeris information is determined, and the satellite's ephemeris information carried in the acquired downlink message is converted into an ephemeris data structure in the specified format.

[0126] In an optional embodiment, the uplink message Ephemeris Info Request involved in this application is described as follows:

[0127] The LCID cell value in the MAC subheader defined in Table 6.2.1-2 of TS 38.321, with the reserved value 42 enabled, is used to identify that the data portion of this message, the MAC PDU (MAC Protocol Data Unit), is a MAC CE message used to request ephemeris information. Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the ephemeris information request message structure provided in this application. As shown in Figure 9, the uplink message uses the standard R / LCID / (eLCID) (Reserved Bit / Logical Channel Identity / (Extended Logical Channel Identity)) format, with a fixed length. The definition of the NR Cell Identity (New Radio Cell Identity) cell is consistent with the definition in TS 38.331.

[0128] In an optional embodiment, the downlink message Ephemeris Info involved in this application is described as follows:

[0129] The LCID cell value in the MAC subheader defined in Table 6.2.1-1 of TS 38.321, with the reserved value 46 enabled, is used to identify that the MAC PDU in the data portion of this message is a MAC CE message sending ephemeris information. Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the ephemeris information message structure provided in this application. As shown in Figure 10, the message uses the standard R / LCID / (eLCID) / L(Reserved Bit / Logical Channel Identity / (Extended Logical Channel Identity) / Length Field) format, and adopts a variable length to support subsequent expansion. The 3GPP standard supports providing two formats of ephemeris information: six-root number format (cell orbital-r17) and position and velocity format (cell positionVelocity-r17). Both formats of ephemeris information are represented by six integer variables, and one of the formats is broadcast in the SIB19 message. The MAC CE message transmits ephemeris information in the same format as that broadcast in the SIB19 message. The definitions and values ​​of the ephemeris and epoch time cells in the MAC CE message are consistent with the EphemerisInfo and EpochTime cells in SIB19. To reduce the data size of the MAC CE message, the ephemerisType cell is used to indicate the ephemeris format type. A value of 0 indicates a six-root format, and a value of 1 indicates a position and velocity format. The ephemerisInfoContainer is 24 bytes long and records the ephemeris information. After receiving the MAC CE message, the UE converts the ephemerisInfoContainer into an ephemeris data structure of the corresponding format according to the ephemerisType cell value.

[0130] This application provides a method for requesting and transmitting cell ephemeris information via user plane MAC CE messages. The cell ephemeris information notification methods include on-demand request by the terminal and periodic transmission by the network-side equipment. This improves the efficiency of ephemeris information notification and solves the signaling storm problem caused by notification via signaling messages.

[0131] In an alternative embodiment, if only the terminal can receive data on the active BWP, the ephemeris information can be obtained by reading the SIB19 information in the following manner.

[0132] The connected terminal, based on the SIB1 message obtained in the idle state, determines the broadcast period and transmission timing of SIB19. At the corresponding time, it automatically tunes its radio frequency to the initial downlink BWP frequency domain position and reads the SIB19 data according to the SearchSpaceOSI (Other System Information Search Space) indication of the PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel). After reading, it retunes to the active BWP frequency domain position. During this period, all data transmitted in the active BWP is lost and retransmitted using the retransmission mechanism of the RLC (Radio Link Control) layer. The SFN (System Frame Number) and Slot number for transmitting SIB19 are calculated according to the TS38.331 protocol.

[0133] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the SI structure provided in this application. Based on the above method, further optimization is possible. When the satellite transmits SIB19 in a slot, it activates the BWP and does not schedule data transmission to the terminal, thus solving the data loss problem. Because the SI (System Information) period is generally shorter than the time required to reread SIB19, and the satellite cannot determine which Si-Window (System Information Window) of SIB19 data the terminal is actually reading, it cannot schedule data transmission to the terminal in the SIB19 transmission slot. This results in wasted opportunities to transmit data in these time slots. The above method has obvious drawbacks compared to the scheme proposed in this application where the network-side equipment sends downlink messages to the terminal via the downlink shared channel, carrying the satellite's ephemeris information in the downlink messages. The above method violates 3GPP protocol regulations.

[0134] Based on the same technical concept, this application provides a communication device that may include a unit or module configured to perform the method corresponding to the satellite described above, or a unit or module configured to perform the method corresponding to the terminal described above.

[0135] Referring to Figure 12, which is a schematic diagram of a communication device structure provided in this application, when the communication device performs the method corresponding to the satellite described above, the communication device includes:

[0136] The first transmitting module 121 is configured to transmit downlink messages to the terminal via the downlink shared channel PDSCH, and the downlink messages carry satellite ephemeris information.

[0137] In one possible implementation, the first sending module 121 is specifically configured to send the downlink message to the terminal on the downlink shared channel PDSCH according to a preset sending period; wherein the sending period is less than a preset duration.

[0138] In one possible implementation, the first sending module 121 is further configured to determine the preset duration based on the value of the non-terrestrial network-uplink synchronization validity period (ntn-UlSyncValidityDuration) information element in system message SIB19.

[0139] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0140] The first receiving module 122 is configured to receive uplink messages sent by the terminal.

[0141] In one possible implementation, the first receiving module 122 is specifically configured to receive uplink messages sent by the terminal on the uplink shared channel PUSCH.

[0142] In one possible implementation, the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) cell in the downlink message is set to a first value; wherein the first value is used to characterize the ephemeris information of the satellite carried in the downlink message.

[0143] In one possible implementation, the downlink message is configured with an ephemerisType information element; wherein the value of the ephemerisType information element is used to characterize the format of the satellite's ephemeris information.

[0144] In one possible implementation, the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) element in the uplink message is set to a second value; wherein the second value is used to indicate that the uplink message is used to request the ephemeris information of the satellite.

[0145] Referring to Figure 13, which is a schematic diagram of another communication device structure provided in an embodiment of this application, wherein when the communication device executes the method corresponding to the terminal described above, the communication device includes:

[0146] The second receiving module 131 is configured to receive downlink messages sent by network-side devices on the downlink shared channel PDSCH;

[0147] The acquisition module 132 is configured to acquire the ephemeris information of the satellite carried in the downlink message.

[0148] In one possible implementation, the second receiving module 131 is specifically configured to receive downlink messages sent by network-side devices according to a preset transmission period on the downlink shared channel (PDSCH); wherein the transmission period is less than a preset duration.

[0149] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0150] The second sending module 133 is configured to send uplink messages to the network-side device.

[0151] In one possible implementation, the second sending module 133 is specifically configured to send uplink messages to the network-side device via the uplink shared channel PUSCH.

[0152] In one possible implementation, the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) cell in the downlink message is set to a first value; wherein the first value is used to characterize the ephemeris information of the satellite carried in the downlink message.

[0153] In one possible implementation, the downlink message is configured with an ephemerisType information element; wherein the value of the ephemerisType information element is used to characterize the format of the satellite's ephemeris information.

[0154] In one possible implementation, the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) element in the uplink message is set to a second value; wherein the second value is used to indicate that the uplink message is used to request the ephemeris information of the satellite.

[0155] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0156] The format conversion module 134 is configured to determine the format of the satellite's ephemeris information based on the value of the configured ephemerisType information element in the downlink message, and convert the satellite's ephemeris information carried in the acquired downlink message into an ephemeris data structure in the specified format.

[0157] Based on the same technical concept, and on the basis of the above embodiments, this application also provides a communication device. Please refer to FIG14. FIG14 is a schematic diagram of another communication device structure provided by this application embodiment. The communication device includes: processor 141, communication interface 142, memory 143 and communication bus 144, wherein the processor 141, communication interface 142 and memory 143 complete communication with each other through communication bus 144.

[0158] The memory 143 stores a computer program. When the program is executed by the processor 141, the processor 141 performs any of the communication methods described above, and the repetitions will not be repeated.

[0159] The communication bus mentioned in the above-mentioned communication device (electronic device) can be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. This communication bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is used to represent it in the diagram, but this does not indicate that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0160] The communication interface 142 is configured for communication between the aforementioned communication device (electronic device) and other devices.

[0161] The memory may include random access memory (RAM) or non-volatile memory (NVM), such as at least one disk storage device. Optionally, the memory may also be at least one storage device located remotely from the aforementioned processor.

[0162] The processors mentioned above can be general-purpose processors, including central processing units, network processors (NPs), etc.; they can also be digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc.

[0163] Based on the same technical concept, this application also provides a communication system. Referring to Figure 15, Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system provided by this application. The communication system may include the aforementioned network-side device 151 and terminal 152. Since the principle of the communication system in solving the problem is similar to that of the aforementioned communication method, the implementation of the above-mentioned communication system can be referred to the implementation of the method, and the repeated parts will not be described again.

[0164] Based on the same inventive concept, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer program code, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the communication methods discussed above. Since the principle by which the computer-readable storage medium solves the problem is similar to that of the communication method, the implementation of the computer-readable storage medium can be found in the implementation of the method; repeated details will not be elaborated further.

[0165] The aforementioned computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium or data storage device that can be accessed by the processor in the electronic device, including but not limited to magnetic storage such as floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes, magneto-optical disks (MO), optical storage such as CDs, DVDs, BDs, HVDs, etc., and semiconductor storage such as ROMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, non-volatile memory (NAND FLASH), solid-state drives (SSDs), etc.

[0166] Based on the same inventive concept, this application also provides a computer program product, which includes computer program code. When the computer program code is run on a computer, it causes the computer to execute any of the communication methods discussed above. Since the principle by which the above computer program product solves the problem is similar to that of the communication method, the implementation of the above computer program product can be referred to the implementation of the method, and repeated details will not be described again.

[0167] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0168] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to this application. 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 blocks of the flowchart illustrations and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0169] 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.

[0170] 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.

[0171] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method applied to a network-side device, the method comprising: Downlink messages are sent to the terminal via the downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and the downlink messages carry satellite ephemeris information.

2. The method as described in claim 1, wherein, The sending of downlink messages to the terminal via the downlink shared channel (PDSCH) includes: According to a preset transmission period, the downlink message is sent to the terminal via the downlink shared channel (PDSCH); wherein the transmission period is less than a preset duration.

3. The method as described in claim 2, wherein, Before sending the downlink message to the terminal via the downlink shared channel (PDSCH) according to a preset sending period, the method further includes: The preset duration is determined based on the value of the non-terrestrial network-uplink synchronization validity period (ntn-UlSyncValidityDuration) information element in system message SIB19.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, Before sending downlink messages to the terminal via the downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the method further includes: Receive the uplink message sent by the terminal.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The receiving of the uplink message sent by the terminal includes: The uplink message sent by the terminal is received on the uplink shared channel PUSCH.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, The Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) information element in the downlink message takes the value of a first value; wherein, the first value is used to characterize the ephemeris information of the satellite carried in the downlink message.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, The downlink message is configured with an ephemerisType information element; wherein, the value of the ephemerisType information element is used to characterize the format of the satellite's ephemeris information.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein, The Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) element in the uplink message takes the value of a second value; wherein the second value is used to indicate that the uplink message is used to request the ephemeris information of the satellite.

9. A communication method applied to a terminal, the method comprising: Receive downlink messages sent by network-side devices on the downlink shared channel (PDSCH); Obtain the ephemeris information of the satellite carried in the downlink message.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The downlink messages received by the network-side device in the downlink shared channel (PDSCH) include: The downlink message is received from the network-side device on the downlink shared channel (PDSCH) according to a preset transmission period; wherein the transmission period is less than the preset duration.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein, Before receiving downlink packets sent by network-side devices via the downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the method further includes: Send uplink messages to the network-side device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, Sending uplink messages to the network-side device includes: Uplink messages are sent to the network-side device via the uplink shared channel PUSCH.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein, The Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) information element in the downlink message takes the value of a first value; wherein, the first value is used to characterize the ephemeris information of the satellite carried in the downlink message.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein, The downlink message is configured with an ephemerisType information element; wherein, the value of the ephemerisType information element is used to characterize the format of the satellite's ephemeris information.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein, The Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) element in the uplink message takes the value of a second value; wherein the second value is used to indicate that the uplink message is used to request the ephemeris information of the satellite.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein, After obtaining the satellite ephemeris information carried in the downlink message, the method further includes: Based on the value of the configured ephemerisType information element in the downlink message, the format of the satellite's ephemeris information is determined, and the satellite's ephemeris information carried in the acquired downlink message is converted into an ephemeris data structure in the specified format.

17. A communication device comprising a unit or module configured to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-8, or comprising a unit or module configured to perform the method as described in any one of claims 9-16.

18. A communication device, wherein, include: One or more processors are configured to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-8, or to perform the method as described in any one of claims 9-16.

19. A communication system, the communication system comprising: A satellite performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-8, and a terminal performing the method as described in any one of claims 9-16.

20. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed by a communication device, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-8, or implement the method as described in any one of claims 9-16.

21. A computer program product, when invoked by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-8, or the method as described in any one of claims 9-16.

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