Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus. In the method, a network device may indicate a plurality of reference positions to a terminal device by means of first configuration information, and the terminal device may send a first report to the network device to indicate a first reference position close to the terminal device. In this way, the network device can perform reasonable measurement configuration on the terminal device on the basis of information reporting of the terminal device, thereby improving the mobility performance of the terminal device.

Description

Communication methods and communication devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510081313.2, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on January 16, 2025, entitled "Communication Method, Apparatus and System", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to a communication method and a communication device. Background Technology

[0003] Mobility management is a crucial component of wireless mobile communications. It refers to the collective measures taken to ensure that the communication link between the network and terminal devices is not interrupted due to the movement of the terminal devices. Mobility management is based on the measurement results of the terminal devices. The terminal devices perform measurements according to a measurement configuration, which includes the necessary information for the measurement. For example, to avoid high power consumption caused by unnecessary searches by the terminal devices, the measurement configuration typically includes a measurement window configuration, such as a synchronization signal block (SSB), measurement timing configuration (SMTC), SMTC occasion, or measurement gap. The measurement window configuration is used to configure the measurement window, which is the time window within which the terminal device performs measurements; that is, the terminal device only needs to perform measurements within the measurement window and does not need to perform measurements outside the measurement window.

[0004] To ensure the mobility performance of terminal devices, network devices want to obtain more information about the terminal devices in order to measure and configure them appropriately. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and a communication device, which aims to perform reasonable measurement and configuration of the terminal device based on the auxiliary information reported by the terminal device, thereby improving the mobility performance of the terminal device.

[0006] Firstly, a communication method is provided, applicable to a first device. This first device can be a terminal device, or a module, circuit, or chip configured within the terminal device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, or a system-in-package (SIP) chip, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the terminal device. This application does not limit this aspect.

[0007] For example, the method includes: receiving first configuration information, the first configuration information indicating a plurality of reference locations (RLs); sending a first report, the first report indicating a first reference location, the first reference location being K reference locations among the plurality of reference locations, and the distance between the K reference locations and the first device being less than the distance between the other reference locations and the first device, the other reference locations being reference locations among the plurality of reference locations other than the first reference location, where K is a positive integer.

[0008] Based on the above scheme, the first device can send a first report to the second device (such as a network device) according to its distance from the reference location, so as to indicate one or more reference locations that are close to it to the second device. Thus, the second device can obtain more information about the first device, which is beneficial for the second device to make reasonable measurements and configurations of the first device, thereby improving the mobility performance of the first device.

[0009] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving first indication information, the first indication information including SMTC and / or measurement interval configuration; and performing a measurement based on the first indication information.

[0010] The SMTC (Segmented Measurement Control Module) can be used to indicate the window for performing SSB-based measurements (hereinafter referred to as the SMTC window). The first device only needs to perform SSB measurements within the window indicated by the SMTC, and does not need to perform SSB measurements outside the window indicated by the SMTC. The measurement interval configuration can be used to configure the measurement interval, which is the time period during which the terminal device can perform measurements.

[0011] Based on the above scheme, after receiving the first report from the first device, the second device can configure the SMTC window and / or measurement interval for the first device for measurement. Since the first report indicates a first reference position close to the terminal device, the network device can roughly understand the approximate location of the first device based on the first report. Thus, the second device can obtain information about the terminal device, which is beneficial for the second device to make reasonable measurement configurations for the first device, thereby improving the mobility performance of the first device.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the first configuration information further includes multiple sets of configurations for measurement associated with the plurality of reference locations, each of the multiple sets of configurations including an identifier of an SMTC configuration and / or a measurement interval configuration; the first reference location indicated by the first report is associated with a first configuration among the multiple sets of configurations to be activated by the first device.

[0013] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the first configuration information indicates multiple reference locations: the first configuration information includes multiple sets of configurations for measurement, and a reference location associated with each of the multiple sets of configurations, each of the multiple sets of configurations including an identifier of a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or a measurement interval configuration; the first reference location indicated by the first report is associated with a first configuration among the multiple sets of configurations to be activated by the first device.

[0014] The first device can determine the association between multiple reference positions and multiple sets of configurations used for measurement based on the first configuration information.

[0015] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: activating the first configuration; and performing measurements based on the first configuration.

[0016] Based on the above scheme, the second device can configure multiple reference positions and multiple configurations associated with the first device. The first device can automatically activate the first configuration associated with the first reference position based on its distance from the reference position, thereby reducing measurement latency caused by network configuration. Furthermore, since the first reference position associated with the automatically activated first configuration is a reference position close to the first device, the first device can measure reference signals of nearby neighboring cells based on the first configuration. Especially in NTN networks, due to the use of beam hopping, when it is impossible to guarantee that reference signals from multiple neighboring cells arrive within a single SMTC window, the first device can selectively measure reference signals of nearby neighboring cells based on the first configuration. Therefore, this improves the mobility performance of the first device.

[0017] Furthermore, since the first device reports a nearby first reference position to the second device via a first report, the second device can also determine the first configuration activated by the first device, thereby determining the time period during which the first device performs measurements. If the first configuration includes SMTC but does not include a measurement interval configuration, or if the first configuration includes a first measurement interval configuration but does not include SMTC, the second device can configure one of the first configurations for the first device, thereby adapting the measurement interval to the SMTC window.

[0018] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending a second report indicating the changed first reference position in the event that the first reference position has changed.

[0019] Based on the above scheme, the second device can obtain more and more up-to-date information about the first device. This facilitates the second device in making reasonable measurements and configurations of the first device, thereby improving the mobility performance of the first device.

[0020] Optionally, before sending the second report, the method further includes: determining a timer timeout, the timer being started based on the sending of the first report.

[0021] This avoids the frequent reporting by the first device due to the small distance between some reference positions.

[0022] Secondly, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a second device. The second device can be a network device, or a module, circuit, or chip configured inside the network device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the network device, etc. This application does not limit it in this regard.

[0023] For example, the method includes: sending first configuration information to a first device, the first configuration information indicating a plurality of reference positions; receiving a first report from the first device, the first report indicating a first reference position, the first reference position being K reference positions among the plurality of reference positions, and the distance between the K reference positions and the first device being less than the distance between the other reference positions and the first device, the other reference positions being reference positions among the plurality of reference positions other than the first reference position, where K is a positive integer.

[0024] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending first indication information to the first device, the first indication information including SMTC and / or measurement interval configuration, the measurement interval configuration being used to configure the time period for the terminal device to perform measurements.

[0025] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the first configuration information further includes multiple sets of configurations associated with the plurality of reference locations for measurement, each of the multiple sets of configurations including an identifier of the SMTC and / or measurement interval configuration; the first reference location indicated by the first report is associated with a first configuration among the multiple sets of configurations to be activated by the first device.

[0026] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the first configuration information indicates multiple reference locations, including: the first configuration information includes multiple sets of configurations for measurement, and a reference location associated with each of the multiple sets of configurations, each of the multiple sets of configurations including an identifier of a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or a measurement interval configuration; the first reference location indicated by the first report is associated with a first configuration among the multiple sets of configurations to be activated by the first device.

[0027] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving a second report from the first device, the second report indicating a changed first reference position.

[0028] It should be understood that the technical solution of the second aspect corresponds to the technical solution of the first aspect and has the same technical effect as the first aspect. For the technical effect of the second aspect, please refer to the relevant description of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0029] In conjunction with the first or second aspect, in some possible implementations, the first configuration information is further used to configure one or more of the following: a first threshold or the value of K, wherein the first threshold is used to determine the first reference position, and the distance between the first reference position and the first device is less than the first threshold.

[0030] By configuring a first threshold, the first device can more quickly determine the first reference position. By configuring the value of K, the first device can determine the number of reference positions that need to be reported.

[0031] Thirdly, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a first device. The first device can be a terminal device, or a module, circuit, or chip configured inside the terminal device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the terminal device, etc. This application does not limit this.

[0032] For example, the method includes: receiving a plurality of third configuration information, the plurality of third configuration information being used to configure a plurality of location-based measurement events, the plurality of measurement events corresponding to a plurality of reference locations; and sending a third report, the third report being used to indicate a first measurement event among the plurality of measurement events.

[0033] Based on the above scheme, the first device can send a third report to the second device (such as a network device) according to the measurement events configured by the second device, in order to indicate the first measurement event, that is, to indicate the first reference position that is closer to itself to the second device. As a result, the second device can obtain more information about the first device, which is conducive to the second device making reasonable measurement configurations for the first device, thereby improving the mobility performance of the first device.

[0034] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some possible implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: receiving first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate SSB measurement timing configuration and / or measurement interval configuration, the measurement interval configuration being used to configure the time period for the terminal device to perform measurements; and performing measurements according to the first indication information.

[0035] Based on the above scheme, after receiving a third report from the first device, the second device can configure an SMTC window and / or measurement interval for the first device for measurement. Since the third report indicates the first measurement event, the second device can roughly understand the approximate location of the first device based on the third report. Thus, the second device can obtain information about the first device, which is beneficial for the second device to make reasonable measurement configurations for the first device, thereby improving the mobility performance of the first device.

[0036] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some possible implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: receiving fourth configuration information, the fourth configuration information being used to configure multiple sets of configurations for measurement, and a reference position associated with each of the multiple sets of configurations, each of the multiple sets of configurations including an identifier of SMTC and / or measurement interval configuration; the reference position corresponding to the first measurement event being associated with a first configuration to be activated by the first device, the first configuration being one or more of the multiple sets of configurations.

[0037] Optionally, the method further includes: activating the first configuration; and performing measurements according to the synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or measurement interval configuration configured in the first configuration.

[0038] The first device can determine the association between multiple reference locations and multiple sets of configurations used for measurement based on third and fourth configuration information. The first device can automatically activate the first configuration associated with the first reference location based on its distance from the reference location. This reduces measurement latency caused by network configuration. Furthermore, since the first reference location associated with the automatically activated first configuration is a reference location close to the first device, the first device can measure reference signals from nearby neighboring cells based on the first configuration. Especially in NTN, where beam skipping is used, and it's impossible to guarantee that reference signals from multiple neighboring cells arrive within a single SMTC window, the first device can selectively measure reference signals from nearby neighboring cells based on the first configuration. This improves the mobility performance of the first device.

[0039] Fourthly, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a second device. The second device can be a network device, or a module, circuit, or chip configured inside the network device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the network device, etc. This application does not limit this.

[0040] For example, a plurality of third configuration information is sent to a first device, the plurality of third configuration information being used to configure a plurality of location-based measurement events, the plurality of measurement events corresponding to a plurality of reference locations; a third report is received from the first device, the third report being used to indicate a first measurement event among the plurality of measurement events.

[0041] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some possible implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: sending first indication information to the first device, the first indication information being used to indicate an SMTC and / or a measurement interval configuration, the SMTC and / or the measurement interval configuration being used for measurements by the first device.

[0042] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some possible implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: sending fourth configuration information to the first device, the fourth configuration information being used to configure multiple sets of configurations for measurement, and a reference position associated with each of the multiple sets of configurations, each of the multiple sets of configurations including an identifier of SMTC and / or measurement interval configuration; the reference position corresponding to the first measurement event being associated with a first configuration to be activated by the first device, the first configuration being one or more of the multiple sets of configurations.

[0043] It should be understood that the technical solution in the fourth aspect corresponds to the technical solution in the third aspect and has the same technical effect as the third aspect. For details on the technical effect of the fourth aspect, please refer to the relevant explanations in the third aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0044] In conjunction with the third or fourth aspect, in some possible implementations, the plurality of reference positions are reference positions of neighboring cells; each of the plurality of measurement events is: the distance between the corresponding reference position and the first device is less than a second threshold.

[0045] By mapping measurement events to reference locations, the reporting of measurement events implicitly indicates the reference location closest to the first device. Since the first device needs to perform neighboring cell measurements, these multiple reference locations can serve as reference locations for neighboring cells.

[0046] In conjunction with the third or fourth aspect, in some possible implementations, the plurality of reference locations include the reference locations of neighboring cells and the reference location of the serving cell; each of the plurality of measurement events is: the distance between the reference location of the corresponding neighboring cell and the first device is less than a third threshold, and the distance between the reference location of the corresponding serving cell and the first device is greater than a fourth threshold.

[0047] By associating measurement events with reference positions, the reporting of measurement events implicitly indicates a reference position closer to the first device. Existing measurement events can be reused, thereby reducing the signaling overhead associated with configuring measurement events.

[0048] In conjunction with the third or fourth aspect, in some possible implementations, the plurality of reference positions are ground moving reference positions or ground stationary reference positions.

[0049] Fifthly, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a first device. The first device can be a terminal device, or a module, circuit, or chip configured inside the terminal device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the terminal device, etc. This application does not limit this.

[0050] For example, the method includes: receiving fifth configuration information, the fifth configuration information including: a plurality of SMTCs and a reference location associated with each of the plurality of SMTCs; sending a fourth report, the fourth report indicating a first SMTC to be activated by a first device, the first SMTC being one or more of the plurality of SMTCs.

[0051] Based on the above scheme, the first device can send a fourth report to the second device according to the association between multiple SMTCs and multiple reference positions configured by the second device, to indicate the first SMTC to be activated. Thus, the second device can obtain more information about the first device, which facilitates the second device in making reasonable measurement and configuration of the first device, thereby improving the mobility performance of the first device.

[0052] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some possible implementations of the fifth aspect, the method further includes: activating the first SMTC.

[0053] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a measurement interval configuration; and performing a measurement according to the first SMTC and the measurement interval configuration.

[0054] Based on the above scheme, the second device (such as a network device) can configure multiple associations between SMTCs and multiple reference locations for the first device. The first device can automatically activate the first SMTC associated with the first reference location based on its distance from the reference location, thereby reducing measurement latency caused by network configuration. Furthermore, since the first reference location associated with the automatically activated first SMTC is a reference location close to the first device, the first device can measure reference signals of nearby neighboring cells based on the first SMTC. Especially in NTN networks, due to the use of beam hopping, when it is impossible to guarantee that reference signals from multiple neighboring cells arrive within a single SMTC window, the first device can selectively measure reference signals of nearby neighboring cells based on the first SMTC. Therefore, this improves the mobility performance of the first device.

[0055] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some possible implementations of the fifth aspect, the fifth configuration information further indicates multiple measurement interval configurations associated with the plurality of SMTCs; the method further includes: activating the first synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and the associated measurement interval configuration; and performing measurements according to the first synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and the measurement interval configuration.

[0056] Based on the above scheme, the second device can configure multiple SMTCs, multiple measurement interval configurations, and multiple reference positions associated with the first device. The first device can automatically activate the first SMTC associated with the first reference position and the first measurement interval configuration associated with the first SMTC based on the distance to the reference position, thereby further reducing the measurement latency caused by network configuration. Furthermore, since the first reference position associated with the first SMTC automatically activated by the first device is a reference position close to the first device, the first device can measure the reference signals of nearby neighboring cells based on the first SMTC. Especially in NTN networks, due to the use of beam hopping, when it is impossible to guarantee that the reference signals of multiple neighboring cells arrive within one SMTC window, the first device can selectively measure the reference signals of nearby neighboring cells based on the first SMTC. Therefore, this is beneficial to improving the mobility performance of the first device.

[0057] Sixthly, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a second device. The second device can be a network device, or a module, circuit, or chip configured inside the network device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the network device, etc. This application does not limit this.

[0058] For example, the method includes: sending fifth configuration information to a first device, the fifth configuration information including: a plurality of SMTCs and a reference location associated with each of the plurality of SMTCs; receiving a fourth report from the first device, the fourth report indicating a first SMTC to be activated by the first device, the first SMTC being one or more of the plurality of SMTCs.

[0059] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in some possible implementations of the sixth aspect, the method further includes: sending second indication information to the first device, the second indication information being used to indicate a measurement interval configuration.

[0060] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in some possible implementations of the sixth aspect, the fifth configuration information also indicates multiple measurement interval configurations associated with the multiple SMTCs.

[0061] It should be understood that the technical solution in the sixth aspect corresponds to the technical solution in the fifth aspect and has the same technical effect as the fifth aspect. For details on the technical effect of the sixth aspect, please refer to the relevant description in the fifth aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0062] In a seventh aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a first device. The first device can be a terminal device, or a module, circuit, or chip configured inside the terminal device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the terminal device, etc. This application does not limit this aspect.

[0063] For example, the method includes: receiving sixth configuration information, the sixth configuration information being used to indicate the correspondence between at least one SMTC and at least one measurement interval configuration, each of the at least one SMTC corresponding to one of the at least one measurement interval configurations; receiving third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate a first SMTC among the at least one SMTC; and performing a measurement according to the first SMTC and its corresponding first measurement interval configuration.

[0064] Based on the above scheme, the second device (such as a network device) can configure a correspondence between at least one SMTC and at least one measurement interval configuration for the first device, and can indicate the first SMTC used for the current measurement through third indication information. The first device can determine the first measurement interval configuration corresponding to the first SMTC based on the correspondence between the at least one SMTC and at least one measurement interval configuration, and then perform measurements according to the first SMTC and the first measurement configuration. Thus, the second device dynamically selects the SMTC used for the first device's measurements through signaling, providing greater flexibility. Especially in NTN, due to the mobility of satellites, the second device can adjust the SMTC used for the first device's measurements in real time, thereby improving the mobility performance of the first device.

[0065] Eighthly, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a second device. The second device can be a network device, or a module, circuit, or chip configured inside the network device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the network device, etc. This application does not limit it in this regard.

[0066] For example, the method includes: sending sixth configuration information, the sixth configuration information being used to indicate the correspondence between at least one SMTC and at least one measurement interval configuration, each of the at least one SMTC corresponding to one of the at least one measurement interval configurations; and sending third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate a first SMTC among the at least one SMTC.

[0067] It should be understood that the technical solution in aspect eight corresponds to the technical solution in aspect seven and has the same technical effect as aspect seven. For details on the technical effect of aspect eight, please refer to the relevant description in aspect seven, which will not be repeated here.

[0068] In conjunction with the seventh or eighth aspect, in some possible implementations, the sixth configuration information includes: at least one SMTC and an identifier of the measurement interval configuration corresponding to the at least one SMTC; the third indication information includes the identifier of the first SMTC.

[0069] In conjunction with the seventh or eighth aspect, in some possible implementations, the sixth configuration information includes: at least one combination of SMTC and measurement interval configuration, each of the at least one combination including an identifier of an SMTC and an identifier of a measurement interval configuration; the third indication information includes a combination identifier, the combination identifier indicating a combination including the first SMTC and the first measurement interval configuration.

[0070] The above illustrates two possible ways for the sixth configuration information to configure the correspondence between at least one SMTC and at least one measurement interval configuration.

[0071] Ninthly, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus may include functional modules corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in any of the first to eighth aspects, and in any possible implementation of any of the aspects. The module may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuitry and software implementation.

[0072] In one design, the apparatus may include a receiving unit and a transmitting unit, and optionally further include a processing unit. The receiving unit and the transmitting unit are configured to perform the transmitting and receiving actions performed by the first apparatus as described in any one of the first, third, fifth, or seventh aspects, and any possible implementation thereof. The processing unit is configured to perform the processing-related actions performed by the first apparatus in the methods described in any one of the first, third, fifth, or seventh aspects, and any possible implementation thereof.

[0073] In one design, the device can be a terminal device, or a device, module, circuit, or chip configured in the terminal device.

[0074] When the device is used to perform the method of the third aspect, the receiving unit is used to receive a plurality of third configuration information, the plurality of third configuration information being used to configure a plurality of location-based measurement events, the plurality of measurement events corresponding to a plurality of reference locations; the sending unit is used to send a third report, the third report being used to indicate a first measurement event among the plurality of measurement events.

[0075] Optionally, the receiving unit is further configured to receive first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate the timing configuration and / or measurement interval configuration of the synchronization signal block measurement, the measurement interval configuration being used to configure the time period for the terminal device to perform measurement; the device further includes a processing unit, configured to perform measurement according to the first indication information.

[0076] Optionally, the receiving unit is further configured to receive fourth configuration information, which is used to configure multiple sets of configurations for measurement, and a reference position associated with each of the multiple sets of configurations. Each of the multiple sets of configurations includes an identifier of a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or a measurement interval configuration. The reference position corresponding to the first measurement event is associated with a first configuration to be activated by the first device. The first configuration is one or more of the multiple sets of configurations.

[0077] Optionally, the device processing unit is configured to activate the first configuration and to perform measurements according to the reference signal measurement timing configuration and / or measurement interval configuration configured in the first configuration.

[0078] When the apparatus is used to perform the method of the fifth aspect, the receiving unit is used to receive fifth configuration information, the fifth configuration information including: a plurality of synchronization signal block measurement timing configurations and a reference position associated with each of the plurality of synchronization signal block measurement timing configurations; the sending unit is used to send a fourth report, the fourth report indicating a first synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration to be activated by the first apparatus, the first synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration being one or more of the plurality of synchronization signal block measurement timing configurations.

[0079] Optionally, the processing unit is used to activate the measurement timing configuration of the first synchronization signal block.

[0080] Optionally, the receiving unit is further configured to receive second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a measurement interval configuration; the processing unit is further configured to perform measurements according to the measurement timing configuration of the first synchronization signal block and the measurement interval configuration.

[0081] Optionally, the fourth configuration information also indicates multiple measurement interval configurations associated with the multiple synchronization signal block measurement timing configurations;

[0082] The processing unit is configured to: activate the measurement timing configuration of the first synchronization signal block and the associated measurement interval configuration; and perform measurements according to the measurement timing configuration of the first synchronization signal block and the measurement interval configuration.

[0083] When the apparatus is used to perform the method of the seventh aspect, the receiving unit is configured to receive sixth configuration information, which indicates the correspondence between at least one synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and at least one measurement interval configuration, wherein each synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration in the at least one synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration corresponds to one of the at least one measurement interval configurations; it is also configured to receive third indication information, which indicates a first synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration in the at least one synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration; the processing unit is configured to perform a measurement based on the first synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and its corresponding first measurement interval configuration.

[0084] In one design, the apparatus may include a receiving unit and a transmitting unit, and optionally a processing unit. The receiving and transmitting units are configured to perform transmitting and receiving actions performed by the second apparatus as described in any one of the second, fourth, sixth, or eighth aspects, and any possible implementation thereof. The processing unit is configured to perform processing-related actions performed by the second apparatus in any one of the second, fourth, sixth, or eighth aspects, and any possible implementation thereof.

[0085] In one design, the device can be a network device, or a device, module, circuit, or chip configured in the network device.

[0086] When the device is used to perform the method of the fourth aspect, the sending unit is used to send a plurality of third configuration information to the first device, the plurality of third configuration information being used to configure a plurality of location-based measurement events, the plurality of measurement events corresponding to a plurality of reference locations; the receiving unit is used to receive a third report from the first device, the third report being used to indicate a first measurement event among the plurality of measurement events.

[0087] Optionally, the transmitting unit is further configured to send first indication information to the first device, the first indication information being used to indicate the timing configuration and / or interval configuration of the synchronization signal block measurement.

[0088] Optionally, the sending unit is further configured to send fourth configuration information to the first device. The fourth configuration information is used to configure multiple sets of configurations for measurement, and a reference position associated with each set of configurations. Each set of configurations includes an identifier of a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or a measurement interval configuration. The reference position corresponding to the first measurement event is associated with a first configuration to be activated by the first device. The first configuration is one or more sets of configurations.

[0089] When the device is used to perform the method of the sixth aspect, the transmitting unit is used to send fifth configuration information to the first device, the fifth configuration information including: a plurality of synchronization signal block measurement timing configurations and a reference position associated with each of the plurality of synchronization signal block measurement timing configurations; the receiving unit is used to receive a fourth report from the first device, the fourth report indicating a first synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration to be activated by the first device, the first synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration being one or more of the plurality of synchronization signal block measurement timing configurations.

[0090] Optionally, the sending unit is further configured to send second indication information to the first device, the second indication information being used to indicate the measurement interval configuration.

[0091] When the device is used to perform the method of the eighth aspect, the transmitting unit is used to transmit sixth configuration information, which indicates the correspondence between at least one synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and at least one measurement interval configuration, wherein each synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration in the at least one synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration corresponds to one of the at least one measurement interval configurations; and is also used to transmit third indication information, which indicates the first synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration in the at least one synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration.

[0092] A tenth aspect provides an apparatus including a processor and a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause a method as described in any of the first to seventh aspects, and in any possible implementation thereof, to be implemented.

[0093] Eleventhly, an apparatus is provided, including processing circuitry for processing data and / or information such that methods as described in any of the first to eighth aspects, and in any possible implementation thereof, are implemented.

[0094] The processing circuit may include one or more processors, or all or part of the circuitry in one or more processors used for control or processing functions.

[0095] Optionally, the apparatus may further include a memory for storing programs or instructions, and the processor for running the programs or instructions to implement methods such as any one of the first to eighth aspects, and any possible implementation of any one aspect.

[0096] Optionally, the device may also include the transceiver circuit, or an input / output interface.

[0097] In a twelfth aspect, a chip is provided, including processing circuitry for running a program or instructions to implement a method as described in any of the first to seventh aspects, and in any possible implementation thereof.

[0098] Optionally, the chip may further include a memory for storing programs or instructions.

[0099] Optionally, the chip may also include transceiver circuitry, or input / output interfaces.

[0100] In a thirteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, the computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a method as described in any of the first to seventh aspects, and in any possible implementation of any of the aspects, to be implemented.

[0101] In a fourteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising computer program code or instructions that, when the computer program code or instructions are executed, cause a method as described in any of the first to seventh aspects, and in any possible implementation thereof, to be implemented.

[0102] In a fifteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, the communication system comprising a first device and a second device.

[0103] Optionally, the first device is used to perform the method in any one of the first, third, fifth, or seventh aspects, and in any possible implementation of any one of the aspects, and the second device is used to perform the method in any one of the second, fourth, sixth, or eighth aspects, and in any possible implementation of any one of the aspects.

[0104] It should be understood that aspects nine to fifteen of this application correspond to the technical solutions of aspects one to eight of this application, and the beneficial effects achieved by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation are similar, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0105] Figures 1 to 4 are schematic diagrams of several possible system architectures applicable to embodiments of this application;

[0106] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the relationship between measurement identifiers, measurement objects, and report configurations;

[0107] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a skip beam;

[0108] Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0109] Figure 8 is another schematic flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0110] Figure 9 is another schematic flowchart of the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0111] Figure 10 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0112] Figure 11 is another schematic flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0113] Figure 12 is another schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0114] Figure 13 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0115] Figure 14 is another schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0116] Figure 15 is another schematic flowchart of another communication method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0117] Figure 16 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0118] Figures 17 to 19 are schematic block diagrams of the communication device provided in the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0119] The technical solutions in this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0120] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the following points will be explained first:

[0121] First, in this application, the terminal side can also be referred to as the user equipment (UE) side, terminal-side equipment, etc., including: terminal equipment (or user equipment, terminal, etc.), components deployed in the terminal equipment (such as circuits or chips inside the terminal equipment), equipment deployed outside the terminal equipment (such as the host or cloud server of an OTT system, hereinafter referred to as the OTT system server), or components deployed in equipment outside the terminal equipment (such as circuits or chips inside the equipment). The network side (NW side) can also be referred to as network-side equipment, including: network equipment communicating with the terminal equipment, components deployed in the network equipment (such as circuits or chips inside the network equipment with near real-time radio access network (RAN) intelligent control functions), equipment deployed outside the network equipment (such as intelligent network elements, for example, intelligent network elements with near real-time RAN intelligent control functions), or components deployed in the intelligent network element (such as circuits or chips inside the intelligent network element). Among them, network equipment can include: access network equipment, core network equipment, or operation administration and maintenance (OAM).

[0122] Second, in this application, the indication includes direct indication (also known as explicit indication) and indirect indication (also known as implicit indication). Directly indicating information A means including information A; indirectly indicating information A can mean indicating information A through the correspondence between information A and information B and by directly indicating information B; or by indicating information A through a preset rule that can be used to determine A based on B and by directly indicating information B. The correspondence between information A and information B, and the preset rule, can be predefined, pre-stored, pre-burned, or pre-configured.

[0123] Third, in this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between the preceding and following related objects, but it does not exclude the possibility of indicating an "and" relationship; the specific meaning can be understood in context. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Here, a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0124] Fourth, the use of prefixes such as "first" and "second" in this application is merely for the purpose of distinguishing and describing different things belonging to the same name category, and does not constrain the order, size, or quantity of things. For example, "first dataset" and "second dataset" are simply different datasets, and do not limit the number, size, or priority of the datasets; similarly, "first model" and "second model" are simply different models, and do not limit the number, size, or priority of the models; furthermore, "first information" and "second information" are simply different indicative information, and do not limit the quantity, chronological order, size, or priority of the information.

[0125] Fifth, in this application, "send" and "receive" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to a terminal device" can be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal device, which may include direct transmission via the air interface or indirect transmission by other units or modules via the air interface. "Receive information from a network device" can be understood as the source of the information being the network device, which may include direct reception from the network device via the air interface or indirect reception from the network device by other units or modules via the air interface. "Send" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can occur between devices, such as between a terminal device and a computing node, or within a device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device via a bus, wiring, or interface.

[0126] Sixth, in the embodiments of this application, "when," "if," and "if" all refer to the device making corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, and are not limited to a time, nor do they require the device to make a judgment action when it is implemented, nor do they mean that there are other limitations.

[0127] Seventh, in this application, the words "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design described as "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of the words "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0128] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as 5th generation (5G) or new radio (NR) systems, frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, time division duplex (TDD) systems, wireless local area network (WLAN) systems, satellite communication systems, future communication systems, or integrated systems of multiple systems. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), and Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems or other communication systems.

[0129] In a communication system, one network element can send signals to or receive signals from another network element. These signals can include information, signaling, or data. The term "network element" can also be replaced by an entity, network entity, device, communication equipment, communication module, node, communication node, etc. This disclosure uses a network element as an example. For instance, a communication system can include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. The network device can send downlink signals to the terminal device, and / or the terminal device can send uplink signals to the network device. It is understood that the terminal device in this disclosure can be replaced by a first network element, and the network device can be replaced by a second network element, both performing the corresponding methods described in this disclosure.

[0130] Because traditional terrestrial networks (TN) cannot provide seamless coverage for users, especially in areas where base stations cannot be deployed, such as oceans, deserts, and the air, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) have been introduced into the architectures of IoT, 5G systems, and subsequent evolutionary systems. They provide seamless coverage for terminal devices and improve system reliability by deploying base stations or parts of their functions on high-altitude platforms or satellites—non-terrestrial network equipment.

[0131] In this embodiment, satellites are used as an example. Based on their operating modes, satellites are generally divided into two main categories: The first is transparent relay, where the satellite relays the radio frequency signals of a ground-based base station. The satellite's role is to filter, convert, and amplify radio frequencies, regenerating the physical layer signals. The second is regenerative relay, where the satellite possesses all or some of the functions of a base station; that is, the base station or some of its functions are deployed on the satellite. Based on satellite altitude, i.e., satellite orbital altitude, satellite systems can be divided into the following two categories:

[0132] High-orbit satellites, also known as geostationary satellites, move at the same speed as the Earth's rotation system, thus remaining stationary relative to the ground. Correspondingly, the cell coverage of a geostationary orbit (GEO) satellite is also stationary. GEO satellite cells have a relatively large coverage area, typically with a diameter of 500 km.

[0133] Medium and low Earth orbit satellites: Satellites move relatively fast relative to the ground, so the service coverage area provided by medium and low Earth orbit satellites also moves accordingly.

[0134] Therefore, for low and medium Earth orbit satellites, the coverage areas provided by the satellites can be divided into two types:

[0135] Quasi-earth-fixed cell: A moving satellite forms a cell by adjusting its beam, and the cell remains stationary on the ground for a certain period of time.

[0136] Earth-moving cell: The satellite does not dynamically adjust its beam direction; the cell covered by the satellite's beam moves as the satellite moves.

[0137] Figures 1 to 4 are schematic diagrams illustrating several possible system architectures applicable to embodiments of this application. Figures 1 to 4 respectively illustrate various possible system architectures using network elements in a 5G system as examples. These system architectures are merely examples and should not constitute any limitation on this application.

[0138] The system architecture shown in Figure 1 includes a RAN architecture with transparent satellite. In the transparent transmission scenario, the satellite's role is radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification. That is, the satellite primarily acts as a Layer 1 (L1) relay, regenerating physical layer signals, and does not involve any higher protocol layers. As shown, terminal devices and gNBs can transmit data via the NR Uu interface. The satellite and NTN gateway can act as remote radio units (RRUs) to forward data between the terminal devices and gNBs. The gNB communicates with the core network via the NG interface. The core network connects to the data network (DN) via the N6 interface. Terminal devices can connect to the required data network through the connected gNB and core network.

[0139] The system architecture shown in Figure 2 includes a RAN architecture with a regenerative satellite. This regenerative satellite is a regenerative satellite without an inter-satellite link (ISL) and has base station processing capabilities. In this architecture, the satellite can act as a base station. As shown, terminal devices can transmit data with the satellite via the NR Uu interface. The satellite can connect to the core network via the NG interface. The interface between the satellite and the NTN gateway can be referred to as the NG interface on the satellite radio interface (SRI). The core network connects to the DN via the N6 interface. Terminal devices can connect to the required data networks through the accessed satellite and core network.

[0140] The system architecture shown in Figure 3 includes a RAN architecture with a regenerative satellite. This regenerative satellite is an inter-satellite link (ISL) satellite with base station processing capabilities. In this architecture, the satellite can function as a base station. For details regarding the satellite's functionality and its connections with other devices, please refer to the description above in conjunction with Figure 2; further elaboration will not be repeated here.

[0141] The system architecture shown in Figure 4 includes a RAN architecture with a regenerative satellite, which is a regenerative satellite with distributed unit (DU) processing capabilities for base stations. This RAN architecture can be referred to as NG-RAN with a regenerative satellite based on gNB-DU. In this scenario, the satellite acts as a DU.

[0142] In the embodiments of this application, the terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station (MS), mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile terminal (MT), mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device.

[0143] Terminal devices can be devices that provide users with childcare and / or data connectivity, such as handheld devices with wireless connectivity, in-vehicle devices, etc. Currently, examples of terminals include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving vehicles, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks, or future public land mobile communication networks. Terminal devices in a network (PLMN), etc., are not limited to this in the embodiments of this application.

[0144] By way of example and not limitation, in this embodiment, the terminal device can also be a wearable device. Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for devices that utilize wearable technology to intelligently design and develop everyday wearables, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not merely hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are feature-rich, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smartwatches or smart glasses, as well as those that focus on a specific type of application function and require the use of other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0145] In this embodiment, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device itself, or it can be any device capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing those functions, such as a chip system. This device can be installed in or used in conjunction with the terminal device. In this embodiment, the chip system can be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete components. This embodiment only uses the terminal device as an example to illustrate the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device, and does not constitute a limitation on the solution of this embodiment.

[0146] In the embodiments of this application, the access network device refers to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects the terminal to the wireless network, and can also be called a base station. Currently, some examples of RAN nodes include: Node B (NB), Next Generation Node B (gNB), Evolved Node B (eNB), Transmission Reception Point (TRP), Radio Network Controller (RNC), Base Station Controller (BSC), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), Home Base Station (e.g., Home Evolved Node B, or Home Node B, HNB), Base Band Unit (BBU), or Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) Access Point (AP), Transmission Node, Transceiver Node, Base Band Unit (BBU), RRU, Active Antenna Unit (AAU), Remote Radio Head (RRH), Central Unit (CU), Distributed Unit (DU), Radio Unit (RU), Location Node, etc. A base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof.

[0147] In some deployments, the network devices mentioned in the embodiments of this application may be devices including CUs, devices including DUs, devices including both CUs and DUs, or devices including control plane CU nodes (central unit-control plane (CU-CP)), user plane CU nodes (central unit-user plane (CU-UP)) and DU nodes.

[0148] In some deployments, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist terminal devices in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes each implementing some of the base station's functions. For example, RAN nodes can be CUs, DUs, CU-CPs, CU-UPs, or RUs. CUs and DUs can be configured separately or included in the same network element, such as a BBU. RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as RRUs, AAUs, or RRHs.

[0149] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, a radio access network can also be an open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture. In an O-RAN system, CU can also be called an open CU (open CU, O-CU), DU can also be called an open DU (open DU, O-DU), CU-CP can also be called an open CU-CP (O-CU-CP), CU-UP can also be called an open CU-UP (O-CU-UP), and RU can also be called an open RU (open RU, O-RU). Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules.

[0150] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the terms involved will be briefly explained below.

[0151] 1. Synchronization signal block:

[0152] The SSB includes the primary synchronization signal (PSS), the secondary synchronization signal (SSS), the physical broadcasting channel (PBCH), and the PBCH-demodulation reference signal (DMRS) required for demodulating the PBCH.

[0153] The functions of PSS and SSS include, but are not limited to: downlink synchronization of terminal equipment, including clock synchronization, frame synchronization, and symbol synchronization; obtaining cell ID; measuring cell signal quality; initial beam selection; and radio resource management (RRM) measurements. Cell signal quality includes, but is not limited to, reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR).

[0154] The PBCH carries the master information block (MIB).

[0155] 2. Measurement:

[0156] Mobility management is a crucial component of wireless mobile communications. It refers to the collective measures taken to ensure that the communication link between network devices and terminal devices is not interrupted due to the movement of the terminal devices.

[0157] Based on the terminal device's state, mobility management can be broadly divided into two parts: idle state (or radio resource control (RRC)_IDLE state) / inactive state (or RRC_INACTIVE state) mobility management, and connected state (or RRC_CONNECTED state) mobility management. In the idle / inactive state, mobility management mainly refers to the cell selection / reselection process. In the connected state, mobility management mainly refers to cell handover. Both cell selection / reselection and cell handover are based on measurement results. Therefore, mobility measurement is the foundation of mobility management.

[0158] As an example, measurements can be divided into two parts based on the layers involved: physical layer measurements (i.e., layer 1 (L1) measurements) and RRC layer measurements (i.e., layer 3 (L3) measurements). At the physical layer, the terminal device performs specified types of measurements on the configured measurement resources.

[0159] For SSB-based measurements, the terminal device merges the measurement results obtained from multiple SSBs with the same SSB index and PCI to obtain the beam-level layer 1 measurement result of the SSB corresponding to the SSB index of the cell corresponding to the PCI, and reports it to layer 3.

[0160] For measurements based on channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), the terminal device merges the measurement results obtained on multiple CSI-RS resources with the same CSI-RS resource identifier and PCI to obtain the beam layer 1 measurement result of the CSI-RS resource corresponding to the CSI-RS resource identifier of the cell corresponding to the PCI, and reports it to layer 3.

[0161] The process of merging measurement results from multiple measurement resources described above can be referred to as Layer 1 filtering. The specific merging method can be implemented using terminal devices; no limitation is imposed on this.

[0162] After receiving the beam-level measurement results reported by Layer 1, Layer 3 selects or merges the Layer 1 measurement results from various beams within the same cell to derive the cell-level Layer 3 measurement results. Then, Layer 3 filtering is applied to the obtained cell-level Layer 3 measurement results. The filtered Layer 3 measurement results are used to verify whether the reporting trigger conditions are met and for the final reporting.

[0163] In addition, terminal devices may also need to report beam-level layer 3 measurement results. In this case, the terminal device can directly perform layer 3 filtering on the layer 1 measurement results of each beam, and then select the measurement results to be reported from the filtered measurement results. The specific selection method is not limited.

[0164] When the reporting trigger condition is met, the terminal device sends a measurement report to the network.

[0165] It is understood that the above measurement process is an example, and the embodiments of this application do not limit the specific measurement method.

[0166] 3. Measurement configuration:

[0167] During the measurement configuration phase, the network device sends the necessary measurement information to the terminal device via signaling. Specifically, in the connected state, the signaling sent by the network device can be RRC Reconfiguration, in which the measurement configuration (measConfig) information element contains the measurement configuration information to be sent to the terminal device.

[0168] As an example, the measurement configuration information includes the following aspects.

[0169] 1) Measurement Object (MO): This can be frequency information, such as a frequency point or frequency band. Taking a frequency point as an example, one measurement object corresponds to one frequency point. In the configuration information of the measurement object, the network device will inform the terminal device of the necessary information required to perform measurements on that frequency point. This necessary information includes, but is not limited to, the configuration of measurement resources on that frequency point, the list of cells on that frequency point, etc. In NR, for in-frequency and out-of-frequency measurements, the measurement object indicates some parameters of the reference signal to be measured, such as, but not limited to, the frequency domain position of the reference signal, the time domain position of the reference signal, and the subcarrier spacing.

[0170] In short, the measurement object can be a certain frequency point. For example, a terminal device can measure the signal quality of a cell corresponding to that frequency point.

[0171] 2) Reporting configuration (ReportConfig): In the reporting configuration, the network device informs the terminal device of the details of the specific measurements to be performed. As an example, the reporting configuration includes, but is not limited to: the type of measurement, the method of triggering the reporting, the format of the report, etc.

[0172] 3) Measurement Identity (measID): A measurement identity can be considered a combination of a measurement object and a reporting configuration. In other words, a measurement identity can associate a measurement object with a reporting configuration; that is, a measurement identity can represent its associated measurement object and reporting configuration. The combination of the measurement object and the reporting configuration determines the details of the measurement for a measurement object. Any measurement object / reporting configuration can be associated with any / many / zero reporting configurations / measurement objects that share the same radio access technology (RAT). Figure 5 shows an example illustrating the relationship between measurement identities, measurement objects, and reporting configurations. As shown, each measurement identity can be associated with a measurement object and a reporting configuration. For example, measurement identity ID1 can be associated with measurement object ID1 and reporting configuration ID1, measurement identity 2 can be associated with measurement object ID2 and reporting configuration ID1, measurement identity 3 can be associated with measurement object ID2 and reporting configuration ID2, and measurement identity 4 can be associated with measurement object ID4 and reporting configuration ID4.

[0173] 4) Quantity configuration: This refers to the configuration of the Layer 3 filter coefficients. Layer 3 filtering must be performed before triggering the measurement to verify whether the reporting trigger conditions are met, and before the final reporting of the measurement. The Layer 3 filter coefficients can be communicated to the terminal device through the quantity configuration.

[0174] 5) Measurement gap configuration: This can be used to configure the measurement gap, which can be a time period for the terminal device. For example, the measurement gap can be a period of time during which the terminal device is not required to receive the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and Physical Downlink Share Channel (PDSCH), or transmit the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and Physical Uplink Share Channel (PUSCH).

[0175] In some cases, such as when same-frequency / different-frequency / different-system measurements involve switching the center frequency, measurement and data transmission cannot be performed simultaneously, requiring network equipment to configure measurement intervals for terminal devices.

[0176] 4. Measurement window configuration:

[0177] This can also be referred to as measurement timing configuration. For example, the measurement window configuration can be the synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration (SMTC).

[0178] The measurement window configuration can be used to indicate the time-domain location where the terminal device performs measurements, for example, to indicate the time-domain location where the terminal device measures a downlink reference signal. The measurement window configuration can also be used to indicate the window within which the terminal device performs measurements. The terminal device can perform measurements within the window indicated by the measurement window configuration; measurements can be omitted outside the window.

[0179] For example, the measurement window configuration may include configurations for one or more of the following: the window period, the window offset, or the window duration. The window offset may be referenced to the timing of the serving cell (e.g., the primary cell) of the terminal device.

[0180] The following is a detailed explanation of SMTC.

[0181] Currently, SSBs in a cell are concentrated in a 5ms half-frame. In the time domain, one SSB occupies four orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols (OS), and the first OS of an SSB can exist in many different positions in the time domain. To avoid high power consumption caused by unnecessary searching by terminal devices, SMTC (Segmented Time Control Module) is introduced. SMTC is a window, or time period, configured by the network device for terminal devices to perform SSB-based measurements. Simply put, the SMTC window can be a time-domain window configured by the network device based on the time-domain location of the SSB transmission. Terminal devices only need to perform SSB measurements within the SMTC window; they do not need to perform SSB measurements outside the SMTC window. For example, for same-frequency measurements in connected mode, the network device can configure up to two SMTC windows for the terminal device on one frequency point. For different-frequency measurements in connected mode and measurements in idle mode, the network device can configure up to one SMTC window for the terminal device on one frequency point. In the NTN project of release 17R17, the number of SMTC windows per frequency point was expanded to a maximum of 4.

[0182] For example, the configuration parameters of an SMTC window include one or more of the following:

[0183] 1) SMTC window period: The SMTC window period can be 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, 80ms, 160ms, etc., without limitation.

[0184] 2) SMTC window offset: For each cycle of the SMTC window, the offset value is set in 1ms increments from 0 to (T... period The value of T is between -1)ms. period This indicates the period of the SMTC window. The offset can be used to determine the starting position of the SMTC window.

[0185] 3) Duration of SMTC window: refers to the length of SMTC window. The granularity of SMTC window length can be 1ms, and the SMTC window length can be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5ms, etc., without limitation.

[0186] 5. Beam skipping:

[0187] One scenario for NTN downlink coverage enhancement is that, in this scenario, only a small fraction of the multiple beams covered by network equipment (such as satellites) can be activated simultaneously. Figure 6 illustrates beam hopping. As shown, each ellipse represents a beam position, which is the coverage area of ​​one beam. As can be seen from the figure, because only a small number of beams are activated, only the beams indicated by the gray ellipse are covered within the satellite's coverage area. That is, reference signal transmission or data transmission occurs in the beams indicated by the gray ellipse. This can lead to reference signals (such as SSBs) from neighboring cells around the serving cell arriving at the terminal device at different times when the terminal device is performing measurements. Taking SSB as an example, due to the effect of beam hopping, the SSB period of neighboring cells may be lengthened and arrive at the terminal device at different times, making it difficult for reference signals from multiple neighboring cells on the same frequency point to arrive within the same SMTC window configured by the SMTC.

[0188] To ensure the mobility performance of terminal devices, network devices want to obtain more information about the terminal devices in order to measure and configure them appropriately.

[0189] The communication method provided in the embodiments of this application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0190] It should be noted that, for ease of understanding and explanation, the following text uses a terminal device as an example of the first device and a network device as an example of the second device, illustrating the method provided in this application from the perspective of interaction between the terminal device and the network device. However, this should not constitute any limitation on this application. The first device can be a terminal device, or a module, circuit, or chip configured inside the terminal device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the terminal device, etc. The second device can be a network device, or a module, circuit, or chip configured inside the network device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the network device, etc. This application does not limit this.

[0191] Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method 700 shown in Figure 7 may include steps 710 to 720, and optionally, one or more steps 730 to 750. The various steps in method 700 are described in detail below.

[0192] In step 710, the network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device, which indicates multiple reference locations. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first configuration information from the network device.

[0193] These multiple reference locations can be represented, for example, by their coordinates (or latitude and longitude). These coordinates can refer to the coordinates of the reference locations in a global coordinate system, which includes, but is not limited to, geographic coordinate systems and geodetic coordinate systems. A geographic coordinate system uses a three-dimensional sphere to define the location on the Earth's surface, enabling the reference of points on the Earth's surface via latitude and longitude. A geodetic coordinate system is a coordinate system established in geodesy using a reference ellipsoid as a reference surface. For relevant explanations of location coordinates, please refer to existing technologies; they will not be detailed here.

[0194] For example, the network device can configure multiple reference locations for the terminal device based on the cell that the terminal device is currently connected to, such as configuring multiple reference locations near the cell (i.e., the serving cell) that the terminal device is currently connected to to the terminal device.

[0195] One possible design is that the reference location is the center point of the cell coverage. In this embodiment, the multiple reference locations configured by the network device for the terminal device can be the reference locations of neighboring cells (hereinafter referred to as neighboring cells) of the serving cell of the terminal device. These multiple reference locations can correspond to multiple neighboring cells.

[0196] Optionally, the first configuration information may also indicate the identification of the plurality of reference locations.

[0197] These multiple reference locations can also be distinguished by different identifiers, which can be used to indicate different reference locations. For example, these multiple reference locations can be associated with multiple cells; therefore, they can be identified by the physical cell identifiers (PCIs) of these multiple cells. That is, the identifiers of these multiple reference locations can be the PCIs of the multiple cells to which they are associated. It should be understood that the identifiers of reference locations are not limited to the PCIs of the cells to which they are associated. This application does not limit the identifiers of reference locations, as long as they can distinguish the multiple reference locations.

[0198] Optionally, the first configuration information is also used to indicate the content to be reported. In this embodiment, the first configuration information can be used to configure the reporting of a reference location that is close to the terminal device. Therefore, the first configuration information can also be regarded as an enable indication, based on which the terminal device can determine that a nearby reference location needs to be reported.

[0199] Optionally, the first configuration information is also used to indicate the number K of reported reference locations.

[0200] Where K can be a positive integer. For example, K can be 1 or 2, without limitation. In other words, this first configuration information can be used to indicate the reporting of K reference locations that are closest to the terminal device. It should be understood that these K reference locations are determined from multiple reference locations. The K reference locations that are closest to the terminal device can refer to the K reference locations that are closest to the terminal device in order of distance from the terminal device.

[0201] Optionally, the number K of reference locations can also be predefined, such as by the protocol.

[0202] Optionally, the first configuration information may also be used to indicate a first threshold.

[0203] Here, the first threshold can be a distance threshold value, which can be used to determine the first reference position. That is, the first reference position can be a reference position whose distance from the terminal device is less than the first threshold. In other words, if the first configuration information also indicates the first threshold, the reference position reported by the terminal device should meet the following two conditions: 1) the distance from the terminal device is less than the first threshold; 2) the distance from the terminal device is the Kth reference position ranked from nearest to farthest among multiple reference positions.

[0204] In another possible implementation, the first reference position is one or more reference positions whose distance from the terminal device is less than a first threshold. That is, the first reference position satisfies condition 1) above. In one possible design, the measurement configuration can be an element in an RRC reconfiguration message, for example, it can be included in other configurations in the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0205] In step 720, the terminal device sends a first report to the network device, the first report indicating a first reference position. Accordingly, the network device receives the first report from the terminal device.

[0206] In response to the received first configuration information, the terminal device can determine that it needs to report the nearest reference positions to the network device. The terminal device can determine K reference positions that are closest to it from among these multiple reference positions, and report them to the network device. In this embodiment, for ease of distinction and explanation, the K reference positions determined by the terminal device that are closest to it are denoted as the first reference positions. That is, the first reference positions include K reference positions. When K is 1, the first reference positions can also be referred to as the reference positions closest to the terminal device.

[0207] Since the first reference position is one of the K reference positions that is relatively close to the terminal device, the distance between the first reference position and the terminal device is greater than the distance between the other reference positions and the terminal device. The other reference positions refer to any reference position other than the first reference position (or, the aforementioned K reference positions).

[0208] In one possible implementation, the terminal device can determine the distance to each of a plurality of reference locations, sort the distances to these reference locations in ascending order of proximity, and thus determine the top K reference locations. The distance between the terminal device and the reference locations can be determined using existing ranging methods, which will not be detailed in this paper.

[0209] As mentioned above, optionally, the first configuration information also indicates a first threshold. In another possible implementation, the terminal device can obtain a circle with its own location as the center and the first threshold as the radius. The terminal device can determine the K reference positions within this circle that are the closest to the terminal device as the first reference positions. In this way, the terminal device does not need to determine the distance to each of the multiple reference positions, but only the distance to each reference position within the circle, thereby reducing the computational load on the terminal device.

[0210] It should be noted that in some cases, the terminal device may not be able to determine K reference locations, and the above two conditions may not be met simultaneously. In such cases, the terminal device can determine the first reference location based on the priority of the two conditions, according to the condition with higher priority. For example, if condition 2) has higher priority than condition 1), the first reference location that the terminal device can determine includes the K reference locations ranked from closest to furthest from the terminal device, that is, the K reference locations that are closest to the terminal device. If condition 1) has higher priority than condition 2), the first reference location that the terminal device can determine includes one or more reference locations whose distance from the terminal device is less than a first threshold. In this case, the number of reference locations included in the first reference location may be less than K.

[0211] The terminal device can indicate the determined first reference position to the network device through a first report, so that the network device can determine the reference position near the terminal device and thus understand the approximate position of the terminal device.

[0212] One possible implementation of the first report indicating the first reference location is that the first report includes an identifier of the first reference location, such as the PCI associated with the first reference location, or other information that can be used to indicate the first reference location. Another possible implementation of the first report indicating the first reference location is that the first report includes a bitmap, which may include multiple bits that correspond one-to-one with multiple reference locations configured by the network device for the terminal device. The terminal device can set the value of the bit corresponding to the first reference location to "1" and the value of the other bits to "0". It should be understood that the implementation of the first report indicating the first reference location is not limited.

[0213] In one possible design, the first report can be included in the UE assistance information, and more specifically, for example, in the closest reference location reporting within the UE assistance information.

[0214] Based on the above scheme, the terminal device can send a first report to the network device according to its distance from the reference location, so as to indicate one or more reference locations that are relatively close to it to the network device. This allows the network device to obtain more information about the terminal device, which is beneficial for the network device to make reasonable measurements and configurations of the terminal device, thereby improving the mobility performance of the terminal device.

[0215] Optionally, the method further includes step 730, in which, if the first reference position changes, the terminal device sends a second report to the network device, the second report indicating the changed first reference position. Accordingly, the network device receives the second report from the terminal device.

[0216] Due to the mobility of satellites, the distance between the terminal device and various reference positions changes over time. When the terminal device detects that the K nearest reference positions are different from the first reference position previously reported in the first report, the terminal device can send a second report to indicate the changed first reference position to the network device. It should be understood that the changed first reference position refers to the K nearest reference positions to the terminal device. The second report can be understood as a report resent by the terminal device to indicate the K nearest reference positions. A more detailed explanation of the second report can be found in the description of the first report in step 720 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0217] Because there may be multiple reference positions that are close to each other, this could cause the K reference positions closest to the terminal device (i.e., the first reference position) to change frequently. To avoid frequent reporting by the terminal device, the terminal device can also set a timer. If the timer has not expired, no further reporting will be made; if the timer expires, the next reporting will be made.

[0218] Optionally, the method further includes: step 740, starting the timer; and step 750, determining that the timer has timed out. Accordingly, the terminal device sending the second report in step 730 may be performed if it is determined that the timer is not running (e.g., the timer has timed out or has not been started).

[0219] The terminal device can start a timer based on the transmission of the first report. For example, the terminal device can start the timer at the same time as sending the first report or after sending the first report. The duration of the timer can be configured by the network device or determined by the terminal device itself, without limitation.

[0220] If the terminal device determines that the first reference position has changed, it can first determine whether the timer has expired. If the timer expires, it sends a second report; if the timer has not expired, it does not send a second report.

[0221] Based on the above scheme, network devices can obtain more and more up-to-date information about terminal devices. This facilitates the network devices in making reasonable measurements and configurations of the terminal devices, thereby improving the mobility performance of the terminal devices.

[0222] In one possible design, the network device can send a configuration for measurement to the terminal device, enabling the terminal device to perform measurements based on that configuration. This process can be illustrated below in conjunction with Figure 8.

[0223] As an example, Figure 8 is another schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method 800 shown in Figure 8 may include steps 810 to 840, and optionally also includes one or more steps 730 to 750 of method 700. The various steps of method 800 are described in detail below.

[0224] In step 810, the network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device, which indicates multiple reference locations. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first configuration information from the network device.

[0225] In step 820, the terminal device sends a first report to the network device based on the first reference position. Accordingly, the network device receives the first report from the terminal device.

[0226] It should be understood that the specific processes of steps 810 and 820 are the same as those of steps 710 and 720 in method 700 above. Please refer to the relevant description in method 700 above, and it will not be repeated here.

[0227] In step 830, the network device sends a first indication message to the terminal device, the first indication message including SMTC and / or measurement interval configuration.

[0228] For a more detailed explanation of SMTC and measurement interval configuration, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the terminology explanation above, which will not be repeated here.

[0229] In this embodiment, the first indication information may include an SMTC, through which the network device configures a reference signal measurement timing window for the terminal device; or, the first indication information may include a measurement interval configuration, through which the network device configures a measurement interval for the terminal device; or, the first indication information may include an SMTC and a measurement interval configuration, respectively configuring a reference signal measurement timing window and a measurement interval for the terminal device. Therefore, the first indication information can also be referred to as indicating the reference signal measurement timing window and / or measurement interval configured for the terminal device.

[0230] Upon receiving the first report, the network device can send the first instruction information to the terminal device. Therefore, the first report can also be regarded as a message requesting the network device to configure a reference signal measurement timing window and / or measurement interval.

[0231] Optionally, prior to step 830, the method further includes: the network device determining a reference signal measurement timing window configuration and / or a measurement interval configuration based on a first reference position.

[0232] In one possible implementation, the network device may pre-store the correspondence between reference locations and measurement configurations. The network device can determine the corresponding measurement configuration based on the first reference location indicated by the first report. The measurement configuration includes SMTC and / or measurement interval configurations, which can be used to configure the SMTC window and / or measurement interval.

[0233] In another possible implementation, the network device can determine the associated cell based on a first reference location. The cell associated with this first reference location may, for example, be a neighboring cell associated by the network device in the configuration of multiple reference locations in the first configuration information. The network device can configure a corresponding SMTC window and / or measurement interval for the terminal device based on the transmission time of the reference signal from the neighboring cell.

[0234] In step 840, the terminal device performs a measurement based on the first instruction information.

[0235] As previously described, the first indication information may indicate the SMTC and / or measurement interval configuration, configuring the SMTC window and / or measurement interval for the terminal device. The terminal device can perform measurements according to the SMTC window and / or measurement interval configured through the first indication information.

[0236] Specifically, if the first indication information indicates SMTC, the terminal device can perform measurements within the SMTC window configured by the SMTC. If the first indication information indicates measurement interval configuration, for measurements requiring a measurement interval, the terminal device can perform measurements within the measurement interval configured by the measurement interval configuration. If the first indication information indicates both SMTC and measurement interval configuration, for measurements requiring a measurement interval, the terminal device can perform measurements during the overlapping period between the SMTC window configured by the SMTC and the measurement interval configured by the measurement interval configuration.

[0237] Based on the above scheme, after receiving the first report from the terminal device, the network device can configure the SMTC window and / or measurement interval for the terminal device for measurement. Since the first report indicates a first reference position close to the terminal device, the network device can roughly understand the approximate location of the terminal device based on the first report. Thus, the network device can obtain information about the terminal device, which is beneficial for the network device to make reasonable measurement configurations for the terminal device, thereby improving the mobility performance of the terminal device.

[0238] Furthermore, the network device can configure the SMTC window and / or measurement interval for the terminal device based on the first reference position indicated by the first report. This allows for greater consideration of the transmission time of reference signals from neighboring cells near the terminal device, resulting in a more suitable SMTC window and / or measurement interval that aligns with the transmission time of reference signals from neighboring cells. Especially in NTN networks, due to the use of beam hopping, when it's impossible to guarantee that reference signals from multiple neighboring cells arrive within a single SMTC window or measurement interval, targeted measurements of reference signals from nearby neighboring cells can be performed. This improves the mobility performance of the terminal device.

[0239] Optionally, the method 800 further includes step 730, in which, if the first reference position changes, the terminal device sends a second report to the network device, the second report indicating the changed first reference position. Accordingly, the network device receives the second report from the terminal device.

[0240] Due to the mobility of satellites, the distance between the terminal device and each reference position changes over time. When the terminal device detects that the K nearest reference positions are different from the first reference position previously reported in the first report, the terminal device can send a second report to indicate the changed first reference position to the network device.

[0241] Optionally, the method further includes: step 740, starting a timer; and step 750, determining that the timer has timed out. Accordingly, the terminal device sending the second report in step 730 may be performed if the timer has timed out.

[0242] To avoid frequent reporting by terminal devices, a timer can be set on the terminal device. If the timer has not expired, no further reporting will be made; if the timer expires, the next reporting will be made.

[0243] For a more detailed explanation of steps 730 to 750, please refer to the relevant description in method 700 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0244] Although steps 730 to 750 are not shown in Figure 8, it can be understood that step 740 can be executed simultaneously with step 820, or after step 820; steps 730 and 750 can be executed after step 820.

[0245] In another possible design, the terminal device can automatically activate the measurement configuration associated with the first reference position and perform measurements based on that configuration. This process can be illustrated below in conjunction with Figure 9.

[0246] As an example, Figure 9 is another schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method 900 shown in Figure 9 may include steps 910 to 950, and optionally may also include one or more steps 730 to 750 of method 700. The various steps of method 900 are described in detail below.

[0247] In step 910, the network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device, which indicates multiple reference locations. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first configuration information from the network device.

[0248] For a more detailed explanation of the first configuration information indicating multiple reference locations, please refer to the relevant description in step 710 of method 700 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0249] In this embodiment, the network device can associate multiple sets of configurations and multiple reference locations for measurement using configuration information. The network device can associate the multiple sets of configurations and multiple reference locations using first configuration information and second configuration information, or it can associate the multiple sets of configurations and multiple reference locations using only the first configuration information.

[0250] Optionally, the method further includes step 920, in which the network device sends second configuration information to the terminal device, the second configuration information including multiple sets of configurations for measurement. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the second configuration information from the network device.

[0251] In one possible design, the second configuration information can be carried in the RRC reconfiguration message, more specifically, for example, in the measurement configuration (measConfig) of the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0252] Each of the multiple configurations used for measurement may include an SMTC and / or a measurement interval configuration. The SMTC is used to configure the SMTC window, and the measurement interval configuration is used to configure the measurement interval. For a more detailed explanation of the SMTC window and measurement interval, please refer to the detailed description in the terminology explanation above; it will not be repeated here.

[0253] The following details several possible implementations of how configuration information associates multiple sets of configurations and multiple reference locations used for measurement.

[0254] In one possible implementation, the first configuration information further includes identifiers of multiple sets of configurations associated with multiple reference locations for measurement. For example, the network device may carry identifiers of one or more sets of configurations in the configuration of each reference location included in the first configuration information. Since the identifier of each set of configurations can be used to uniquely indicate a set of configurations, the first configuration information can associate multiple reference locations with multiple sets of configurations. Furthermore, since each set of configurations may include SMTC and / or measurement interval configurations, one reference location is associated with one or more sets of configurations; that is, one reference location is associated with one or more SMTC and / or one or more measurement interval configurations. Each of the multiple reference locations may be associated with one or more sets of configurations. In other words, the reference locations associated with the multiple sets of configurations can be completely different or partially the same; this application does not limit this.

[0255] In this implementation, the network device can associate multiple reference locations with multiple sets of configurations using first and second configuration information. Based on the first and second configuration information, the terminal device can determine the measurement configuration associated with each of the multiple reference locations, and further determine the SMTC window and / or measurement interval associated with each reference location.

[0256] In another possible implementation, the second configuration information also includes an identifier of a reference location associated with each of the multiple configurations. For example, the second configuration information may carry an identifier of a reference location in each of the included multiple configurations. Since the identifier of each reference location can be used to uniquely indicate a reference location, the second configuration information can associate multiple configurations with multiple reference locations. Each of the multiple configurations may be associated with one reference location. The reference locations associated with the multiple configurations may be completely different or partially the same, and this application does not limit this.

[0257] In this implementation, network devices can associate multiple reference locations with multiple configurations using first and second configuration information. Based on the first and second configuration information, terminal devices can determine the reference location associated with each of the multiple configurations.

[0258] In another possible implementation, the first configuration information further includes multiple sets of configurations and a reference location associated with each set of configurations. For example, the first configuration information may indicate the associated reference location in each of the included multiple sets of configurations. Each set of configurations may include SMTC and / or measurement interval configurations; therefore, the first configuration information can be used to indicate the association between multiple SMTCs and multiple reference locations, or the association between multiple measurement interval configurations and multiple reference locations, or the association between multiple SMTCs, multiple measurement interval configurations, and multiple reference locations.

[0259] In this implementation, network devices can associate multiple reference locations with multiple configurations using first configuration information. Based on the first configuration information, terminal devices can determine the reference location associated with each of the multiple configurations.

[0260] In another possible implementation, the first configuration information includes a list (e.g., list 1) of multiple (e.g., N, where N is a positive integer greater than 1) reference locations, where each reference location is an entry in list 1. The second configuration information is a list (e.g., list 2) of multiple (e.g., N) configurations, where each configuration is an entry in list 2. The network device can associate multiple entries (i.e., multiple reference locations) in list 1 with multiple entries (i.e., multiple configurations) in list 2 by sending these two lists. For example, the nth entry in list 1 is associated with the nth entry in list 2, where n is a positive integer from 1 to N.

[0261] In this implementation, network devices can associate multiple reference locations with multiple configurations using first and second configuration information. Based on the first and second configuration information, terminal devices can determine the reference location associated with each of the multiple configurations.

[0262] In another possible implementation, the first configuration information further includes multiple sets of configurations associated with multiple reference locations for measurement, each of which includes an SMTC and / or a measurement interval configuration (or an identifier for the measurement interval). For example, the first configuration information may include multiple combinations of reference locations and configurations, each combination including a reference location and a set of configurations; each combination can be viewed as a reference location and its associated set of configurations. In one possible design, these multiple combinations may be represented as a list, where each entry in the list includes a reference location and a set of configurations.

[0263] In this implementation, the network device can associate multiple reference locations with multiple sets of configurations using first configuration information. Based on this first configuration information, the terminal device can determine the association relationship between the multiple reference locations and the multiple sets of configurations. The possible implementations exemplified above are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting this application in any way. This application does not limit the specific implementation method by which the network device associates multiple reference locations with multiple sets of configurations.

[0264] It should be understood that since each configuration includes an SMTC and / or a measurement interval configuration (or a measurement interval identifier), associating multiple configurations with multiple reference locations may include one or more of the following: multiple SMTCs associated with multiple reference locations; multiple measurement interval configurations associated with identifiers of multiple reference locations; or multiple SMTCs, multiple measurement interval configurations associated with multiple reference locations.

[0265] It should also be understood that the first configuration information and the second configuration information illustrated above can be carried in the same signaling or in different signaling. This application does not limit this. When the first configuration information and the second configuration information are carried in the same signaling, for the network device, steps 910 and 920 can be combined into a single sending step; for the terminal device, steps 910 and 920 can be combined into a single receiving step.

[0266] In step 930, the terminal device sends a first report to the network device, the first report indicating a first reference position. Accordingly, the network device receives the first report from the terminal device.

[0267] It should be understood that the specific process of step 930 is the same as that of step 720 in method 700. Please refer to the relevant description in method 700 above, and it will not be repeated here.

[0268] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the first reference location indicated by the terminal device through the first report is the reference location associated with the first configuration that the terminal device wants to activate. In other words, the terminal device indicating the first reference location through the first report can also be regarded as the terminal device implicitly notifying the network device of the configuration to be activated through the first report. For ease of distinction and explanation, the configuration associated with the first reference location is referred to as the first configuration in this document. Corresponding to the first reference location, the first configuration can be one or more of the aforementioned multiple configurations.

[0269] In step 940, the terminal device activates the first configuration associated with the first reference position among multiple configurations.

[0270] As mentioned earlier, the first reference positions are the K reference positions that are relatively close to the terminal device. Using the above configuration information, the terminal device can associate different reference positions with different configurations. Therefore, the terminal device can activate the associated first configuration based on the first reference position.

[0271] Since each configuration may include SMTC and / or measurement interval configuration, activating the first configuration means activating the SMTC and / or measurement interval configuration in the first configuration. For ease of distinction and explanation, the SMTC included in the first configuration is referred to as the first SMTC, and the measurement interval configuration included in the first configuration is referred to as the first measurement interval configuration.

[0272] It should be understood that the terminal device may activate the first configuration after sending the first report, or it may activate the first configuration at the same time as sending the first report. This application does not limit this.

[0273] Upon receiving the first report, the network device can determine the first configuration activated by the terminal device. Based on this, the network device can determine the time period during which the terminal device performs measurements. The network device can then perform corresponding operations. For example, the network device can adjust the scheduling of the terminal device according to the first configuration, such as not scheduling it during the first measurement interval. Alternatively, the network device can determine scheduling limits within the SMTC window based on the first configuration and other information (such as the capabilities of the terminal device), and so on, without limitation.

[0274] In step 950, the terminal device performs measurements according to the first configuration.

[0275] The terminal device performs measurements according to a first configuration, that is, according to the first SMTC and / or first measurement interval configuration included in the first configuration. A more detailed description of the terminal device performing measurements according to the first SMTC and / or first measurement interval configuration can be found in the relevant description of step 840 in method 800 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0276] Based on the above scheme, network devices can configure multiple reference locations and associated configurations for terminal devices. The terminal device can automatically activate the first configuration associated with the first reference location based on its distance from the reference location, thereby reducing measurement latency caused by network configuration. Furthermore, since the first reference location associated with the automatically activated first configuration is a reference location close to the terminal device, the terminal device can measure reference signals from nearby neighboring cells based on the first configuration. Especially in NTN networks, where beam hopping is used, and it's impossible to guarantee that reference signals from multiple neighboring cells arrive within a single SMTC window or measurement interval, the terminal device can selectively measure reference signals from nearby neighboring cells based on the first configuration. Therefore, this improves the mobility performance of the terminal device.

[0277] Furthermore, since the terminal device reports a nearby first reference position to the network device via a first report, the network device can also determine one or more of the multiple configurations activated by the terminal device (i.e., the first configuration), thereby determining the time period for the terminal device to perform measurements. If the first configuration includes SMTC but does not include a measurement interval configuration, or if the first configuration includes a first measurement interval configuration but does not include SMTC, the network device can configure another configuration for the terminal device based on one of the configurations in the first configuration, thereby adapting the measurement interval to the SMTC window.

[0278] Optionally, the method 900 further includes step 730, in which, if the first reference position changes, the terminal device sends a second report to the network device, the second report indicating the changed first reference position. Accordingly, the network device receives the second report from the terminal device.

[0279] Due to the mobility of satellites, the distance between the terminal device and each reference position changes over time. When the terminal device detects that the K nearest reference positions are different from the first reference position previously reported in the first report, the terminal device can send a second report to indicate the changed first reference position to the network device.

[0280] Optionally, the method 900 further includes: step 740, starting a timer; and step 750, determining that the timer has timed out. Accordingly, the terminal device sending the second report in step 730 can be performed if the timer has timed out.

[0281] To avoid frequent reporting by terminal devices, a timer can be set on the terminal device. If the timer has not expired, no further reporting will be made; if the timer expires, the next reporting will be made.

[0282] For a more detailed explanation of steps 730 to 750, please refer to the relevant description in method 700 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0283] Although steps 730 to 750 are not shown in Figure 9, it can be understood that step 740 can be executed simultaneously with step 930, or after step 930; steps 730 and 750 can be executed after step 930.

[0284] In the embodiments described above with reference to Figures 7 to 9, the terminal device can report a nearby first reference position to the network device via a first report. The method by which the terminal device reports a nearby first reference position to the network device is not limited to this. In another implementation, the network device can also configure a measurement event corresponding to the reference position for the terminal device, and the terminal device can indicate the nearby first reference position by triggering the measurement event. This implementation will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 10 to 12.

[0285] Figure 10 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method 1000 shown in Figure 10 may include steps 1010 to 1020. The various steps in method 1000 are described in detail below.

[0286] In step 1010, the network device sends multiple third configuration information to the terminal device, which is used to configure multiple location-based measurement events. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the multiple third configuration information from the network device.

[0287] Each of these multiple third configuration pieces of information can be used to configure one measurement event. In other words, each of these multiple third configuration pieces of information corresponds one-to-one with a multiple measurement event.

[0288] These multiple measurement events can correspond to multiple reference locations, with each measurement event potentially corresponding to one or more reference locations. The measurement event is a location-based event; more specifically, it is related to the distance between the terminal device and the corresponding reference location. The terminal device can report the measurement event if the entry conditions for the measurement event are met at one or more reference locations.

[0289] For example, the third configuration information for the measurement event includes: configuration of the reference position and configuration of the entering condition; optionally, it also includes configuration of the leaving condition; optionally, it also includes configuration of the hysteresis value.

[0290] In one possible implementation, the measurement event can be correlated with the distance between the terminal device and the reference location.

[0291] Optionally, the reference position is a quasi-earth-fixed reference. Accordingly, the measurement event can be related to the distance between the terminal device and the quasi-earth-fixed reference position, such as denoted as event D3.

[0292] Optionally, the reference position is an earth-moving reference. Accordingly, the measurement event can be related to the distance between the terminal device and the earth-moving reference, such as denoted as event D4.

[0293] It should be understood that the difference between event D3 and event D4 lies in whether the reference position moves relative to the ground.

[0294] For example, when the third configuration information is used to configure the reference position corresponding to the measurement event, the specific reference position can be configured, and optionally, an identifier for the reference position can also be configured. For details on the configuration of the reference position and identifier, please refer to the relevant description in step 710 of method 700, which will not be repeated here.

[0295] For event D3 or event D4, the entry condition for this measurement event could be, for example, that the distance between the terminal device and the reference position is less than a second threshold. The third configuration information configures the entry condition for this measurement event, including the second threshold.

[0296] Optionally, the third configuration information for the measurement event also includes the configuration of a departure condition. The departure condition for this measurement event is that the distance between the terminal device and the reference position is greater than a fifth threshold. This fifth threshold is included in the configuration of the departure condition for the measurement event in the third configuration information. It should be understood that this fifth threshold may be the same as or different from the second threshold, and this application does not limit this.

[0297] Optionally, the third configuration information for the measurement event configuration also includes the configuration of the hysteresis value.

[0298] To avoid the ping-pong effect (where rapid fluctuations in signal strength of terminal devices cause them to repeatedly switch between meeting entry and exit conditions), network devices can configure hysteresis values ​​in measurement events. If the distance between the terminal device and the reference location plus the hysteresis value is less than a second threshold, the entry condition for the measurement event is considered met; if the distance between the terminal device and the reference location minus the hysteresis value is greater than a fifth threshold, the exit condition for the measurement event is considered met. It is easy to see that configuring hysteresis values ​​makes the entry and exit conditions more difficult to meet, thus avoiding the ping-pong effect on terminal devices.

[0299] Since the terminal device can perform not only neighbor cell measurements but also serving cell measurements, the multiple reference locations can include the reference location of the serving cell and the reference location of the neighbor cell.

[0300] In another possible implementation, the measurement event may be related to, for example, the distance between the terminal device and reference location 2, and also to the distance between the terminal device and reference location 1. Therefore, the reference location corresponding to the measurement event may include reference location 1 and reference location 2; that is, each measurement event may correspond to multiple reference locations. Reference location 1 may be the reference location of the serving cell, and reference location 2 may be the reference location of a neighboring cell.

[0301] Optionally, the reference location is a ground stationary reference location. Accordingly, the measurement event can be related to the distance between the terminal device and the ground stationary reference location of the serving cell, and also to the distance between the terminal device and the ground stationary reference location of neighboring cells, as denoted as event D1 (evnet D1).

[0302] Optionally, the reference location is a ground motion reference location. Accordingly, the measurement event can be related to the distance between the terminal device and the ground motion reference location of the serving cell, and also to the distance between the terminal device and the ground motion reference location of the neighboring cell, as denoted as event D2.

[0303] It should be understood that the difference between event D1 and event D2 lies in whether the reference position has moved relative to the ground.

[0304] For example, when the third configuration information is used to configure the reference location, it can specifically configure the reference location and identifier of the neighboring cell, as well as the reference location and identifier of the serving cell. For details on the configuration of the reference location and identifier, please refer to the relevant description in step 710 of method 700, which will not be repeated here.

[0305] For event D1 or event D2, the entry condition for this measurement event is that the distance between the terminal device and the reference location of the serving cell is greater than the third threshold, and the distance between the terminal device and the reference location of the neighboring cell is less than the fourth threshold. The third configuration information configures the entry conditions including the third threshold and the fourth threshold.

[0306] Optionally, the third configuration information for the measurement event also includes the configuration of departure conditions. The departure condition for this measurement event is: the distance between the terminal device and the reference location of the serving cell is less than a sixth threshold, or the distance between the terminal device and the reference location of a neighboring cell is greater than a seventh threshold. The configuration of the departure condition for the measurement event in the third configuration information includes both the sixth and seventh thresholds. It should be understood that the sixth threshold may be the same as or different from the third threshold; the seventh threshold may be the same as or different from the fourth threshold, and this application does not impose any limitations on this.

[0307] Optionally, the third configuration information for the measurement event also includes the configuration of hysteresis values. More detailed information regarding hysteresis values ​​can be found in the relevant description above and will not be repeated here.

[0308] In one possible design, the aforementioned third configuration information is included in the reporting configuration of the measurement configuration. Further, this measurement configuration can be an information element in an RRC reconfiguration message, for example, it can be included in the measurement configuration (measConfig) within an RRC reconfiguration message. Multiple pieces of third configuration information can be included in multiple reporting configurations, which can be contained in one RRC reconfiguration message or multiple RRC reconfiguration messages; this application does not limit this.

[0309] This third configuration information can also be regarded as an enable indication. Based on this enable indication, the terminal device can determine whether it needs to report measurement events.

[0310] In step 1020, the terminal device sends a third report, which indicates the first measurement event among a plurality of measurement events.

[0311] The terminal device can determine multiple reference locations corresponding to multiple measurement events based on the third configuration information, and then determine the distance between the terminal device and each reference location. For event D3 or event D4, the terminal device can report the measurement event to the network device via a third report if the reference locations of one or more neighboring cells meet the entry conditions for the corresponding measurement event. For event D1 or event D2, the terminal device can report the measurement event to the network device via a third report if the reference location of the serving cell and the reference locations of one or more neighboring cells meet the entry conditions for the measurement event.

[0312] Corresponding to the first implementation in step 1110, when the distance between the terminal device and one or more of the multiple reference locations is less than the second threshold, the terminal device can be triggered to report an event.

[0313] For event D3, the terminal device can determine the distance between itself and the ground stationary reference position based on the configuration of the ground stationary reference position in the third configuration information, and then determine whether the entry conditions for event D3 are met.

[0314] For event D4, the terminal device can predict the movement of the ground mobile reference position based on the ephemeris and, in conjunction with the configuration of the ground mobile reference position in the third configuration information, determine the distance between itself and the ground mobile reference position, and thus determine whether the entry condition for event D4 is met. The ephemeris can be, for example, the ephemeris of the serving cell or the ephemeris of a neighboring cell associated with the ground mobile reference position.

[0315] Corresponding to the latter implementation in step 1110, when the distance between the terminal device and the reference location of the serving cell is greater than the third threshold, and the distance between the terminal device and the reference location of a certain neighboring cell is less than the fourth threshold, the terminal device can be triggered to report an event.

[0316] For event D1, the terminal device can determine the distance between itself and the ground stationary reference position based on the configuration of the ground stationary reference position in the third configuration information, and then determine whether the entry conditions of event D1 are met.

[0317] For event D2, the terminal device can predict the movement of the ground mobile reference position based on the ephemeris and, in conjunction with the configuration of the ground mobile reference position in the third configuration information, determine the distance between itself and the ground mobile reference position, and thus determine whether the entry condition for event D2 is met. The ephemeris can be, for example, the ephemeris of the serving cell or the ephemeris of a neighboring cell associated with the ground mobile reference position.

[0318] For ease of distinction and explanation, in this embodiment, the reference position of one or more neighboring cells that meet the entry conditions of a measurement event among multiple reference positions is designated as the first reference position. Since the reference position corresponds to the measurement event, the third report indicates the first measurement event, which implicitly indicates the first reference position.

[0319] In one possible design, the first report can be included in a MeasurementReport message. More specifically, when the first report is used to indicate that the first reference position satisfies event D3 or event D4, the triggered event can be determined as D3 or D4, or D1 or D2, based on the measurement ID (measId) that triggered the measurement reporting in the MeasurementReport message.

[0320] Based on the above scheme, the terminal device can send a third report to the network device according to the measurement events configured by the network device, indicating the first measurement event, that is, indicating the first reference position that is closer to itself to the network device. Thus, the network device can obtain more information about the terminal device, which is beneficial for the network device to make reasonable measurement configurations for the terminal device, thereby improving the mobility performance of the terminal device.

[0321] It should be understood that events D1, D2, D3, and D4 exemplified above can be considered as four different types of measurement events. A network device can configure one type of measurement event using multiple third-party configuration information, or it can configure multiple types of measurement events using multiple configuration information similar to third-party configuration information. This application does not limit this.

[0322] In one possible design, the network device can send a configuration for measurement to the terminal device, enabling the terminal device to perform measurements based on that configuration. This process can be illustrated below in conjunction with Figure 11.

[0323] As an example, Figure 11 is another schematic flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method 1100 shown in Figure 11 may include steps 1110 to 1140, and the various steps of method 1100 are described in detail below.

[0324] In step 1110, the network device sends third configuration information to the terminal device, which is used to configure multiple location-based measurement events. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the third configuration information from the network device.

[0325] In step 1120, the terminal device sends a third report, which indicates the first measurement event among a plurality of measurement events.

[0326] It should be understood that the specific processes of steps 1110 and 1120 are the same as those of steps 1010 and 1020 in method 1000 above. Please refer to the relevant description in method 1000 above, and it will not be repeated here.

[0327] In step 1130, the network device sends a first indication message to the terminal device, the first indication message including SMTC and / or measurement interval configuration.

[0328] It should be understood that the network device may send the first instruction information to the terminal device after receiving the third report. Therefore, the third report can also be regarded as a message requesting the network device to configure a reference signal measurement timing window and / or measurement interval.

[0329] In step 1140, the terminal device performs a measurement based on the first instruction information.

[0330] It should be understood that the specific processes of steps 1130 and 1140 are the same as those of steps 830 and 840 in method 800 above. Please refer to the relevant description in method 1100 above, and it will not be repeated here.

[0331] Based on the above scheme, after receiving a third report from the terminal device, the network device can configure an SMTC window and / or measurement interval for the terminal device for measurement. Since the third report indicates the first measurement event, the network device can roughly understand the approximate location of the terminal device based on the third report. Thus, the network device can obtain information about the terminal device, which facilitates reasonable measurement configuration of the terminal device and improves its mobility performance.

[0332] Furthermore, the network device can configure the SMTC window and / or measurement interval for the terminal device based on the first reference position corresponding to the first measurement event indicated by the third report. Therefore, it can better consider the transmission time of reference signals from neighboring cells near the terminal device, and the configured SMTC window and / or measurement interval can be more adapted to the transmission time of reference signals from neighboring cells near the terminal device. Especially in NTN networks, due to the use of beam hopping, when it is not possible to guarantee that reference signals from multiple neighboring cells arrive within one SMTC window, targeted measurements of reference signals from nearby neighboring cells can be performed. This is beneficial for improving the mobility performance of the terminal device.

[0333] In another possible design, the terminal device can automatically activate the measurement configuration associated with the first reference position corresponding to the first measurement event, and perform the measurement based on that configuration. This process can be illustrated below in conjunction with Figure 12.

[0334] As an example, Figure 12 is another schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method 1200 shown in Figure 12 may include steps 1210 to 1250. The various steps of method 1200 are described in detail below.

[0335] In step 1210, the network device sends fourth configuration information to the terminal device, which indicates the association between multiple reference locations and multiple sets of configurations used for measurement. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the fourth configuration information from the network device.

[0336] Network devices can use fourth configuration information to configure the association between multiple reference locations and multiple sets of configurations used for measurement for terminal devices.

[0337] The fourth configuration information will be explained in detail below.

[0338] In one possible design, the association between these multiple reference locations and multiple sets of configurations used for measurement can be configured within a single measurement object.

[0339] That is, a measurement object may include multiple configurations for measurement, and a reference location associated with each of these configurations. Each configuration includes an SMTC and / or a measurement interval configuration (or an identifier for the measurement interval configuration). In other words, within a measurement object, multiple configurations for measurement can be associated with multiple reference locations.

[0340] Another possible design is that the association between the multiple reference locations and multiple configurations used for measurement can be configured across multiple measurement objects. Each measurement object includes a configuration for measurement and an associated reference location. Each of these multiple configurations includes an SMTC and / or a measurement interval configuration (or an identifier for the measurement interval configuration).

[0341] Based on the two different designs described above, network devices can associate multiple sets of configurations for measurement with multiple reference locations. Since each configuration includes an SMTC and / or a measurement interval configuration (or an identifier for the measurement interval configuration), associating multiple sets of configurations with multiple reference locations can include one or more of the following: multiple SMTCs associated with multiple reference locations; multiple measurement interval configurations associated with identifiers of multiple reference locations; or multiple SMTCs, multiple measurement interval configurations, and multiple reference locations.

[0342] In step 1220, the network device sends multiple third configuration information to the terminal device, which is used to configure multiple location-based measurement events. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the third configuration information from the network device.

[0343] It should be understood that the specific process of step 1220 is the same as that of step 1010 in method 1000 above. Please refer to the relevant description in method 1000 above, and it will not be repeated here.

[0344] As mentioned above, when a network device configures multiple location-based measurement events through third configuration information, these multiple measurement events correspond to multiple reference locations. When the third configuration information is used to configure these multiple reference locations, it can configure the multiple reference locations and their identifiers.

[0345] In the fourth configuration information in step 1210 above, multiple configurations can be associated with the identifiers of multiple reference locations by configuring the measurement object. In step 1220, the network device can configure multiple reference locations and identifiers using the third configuration information. Thus, the network device can associate multiple configurations with multiple reference locations using both the third and fourth configuration information.

[0346] In step 1230, the terminal device sends a third report, which indicates the first measurement event among a plurality of measurement events.

[0347] It should be understood that the specific process of step 1230 is the same as that of step 1020 in method 1000 above. Please refer to the relevant description in method 1000 above, and it will not be repeated here.

[0348] In this embodiment, since multiple configurations are associated with multiple reference locations, the terminal device can select the configuration associated with the nearest first reference location for measurement. Furthermore, since multiple reference locations correspond to multiple measurement events, the first reference location corresponding to the first measurement event indicated in the third report is also associated with the configuration the terminal device wants to activate. For ease of distinction and explanation, the configuration associated with the first reference location corresponding to the first measurement event is referred to as the first configuration. The first configuration corresponds to the first reference location, or in other words, to the first measurement event; it is one or more of the aforementioned multiple configurations.

[0349] In step 1240, the terminal device activates the first configuration among multiple configurations.

[0350] Since each configuration may include SMTC and / or measurement interval configuration, activating the first configuration means activating the SMTC and / or measurement interval configuration in the first configuration. For ease of distinction and explanation, the SMTC included in the first configuration is referred to as the first SMTC, and the measurement interval configuration included in the first configuration is referred to as the first measurement interval configuration.

[0351] It should be understood that the terminal device may activate the first configuration after sending the third report, or it may activate the first configuration at the same time as sending the third report. This application does not limit this.

[0352] Upon receiving the third report, the network device can determine the first configuration activated by the terminal device. Based on this, the network device can determine the time period during which the terminal device performs measurements. The network device can then perform corresponding operations. For example, the network device can adjust the scheduling of the terminal device according to the first configuration, such as not scheduling it during the first measurement interval. Alternatively, the network device can determine scheduling limits within the SMTC window based on the first configuration and other information (such as the terminal device's capabilities), and so on, without limitation.

[0353] Optionally, the time for the terminal device to activate the first configuration can be determined according to a preset rule. This preset rule may be, for example, the period of the next measurement reference measurement timing configuration or the period of the next measurement interval, or a certain system frame number (SFN), such as the SFN of the third report reported by the terminal device, etc. This application does not limit this.

[0354] The preset rules can be predefined, such as protocol predefined rules, or network device configuration rules; this application does not limit them.

[0355] Accordingly, in step 1250, the terminal device performs measurements according to the first configuration.

[0356] The terminal device performs measurements according to a first configuration, that is, according to the first SMTC and / or first measurement interval configuration included in the first configuration. A more detailed description of the terminal device performing measurements according to the first SMTC and / or first measurement interval configuration can be found in the relevant description of step 840 in method 800 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0357] It is understandable that when each measurement object includes a set of configurations for measurement and its associated reference location, activating the first configuration among multiple sets of configurations can also be referred to as activating the first measurement object among multiple measurement objects. The first measurement object is one or more measurement objects among the multiple measurement objects, and is the measurement object containing the first configuration.

[0358] Upon receiving the third report, the network device can determine the first measurement object activated by the terminal device. Therefore, the network device can determine the time period during which the terminal device performs measurements. Based on this, the network device can perform corresponding operations. For example, the network device can adjust the scheduling of the terminal device according to the first configuration in the first measurement object, such as not scheduling during the first measurement interval. Alternatively, the network device can determine scheduling limits within the SMTC window based on the first configuration and other information (such as the terminal device's capabilities). Furthermore, the network device can release other measurement objects based on the first measurement object, and so on, without limitation.

[0359] Optionally, when the first measurement event includes multiple measurement events, the terminal device and the network device can determine which configuration or measurement object associated with the measurement event to activate based on preset activation rules. These activation rules could be, for example, activating the configuration or measurement object associated with the earliest triggered (i.e., the earliest to meet the entry condition) measurement event but not yet met the exit condition; or activating the configuration or measurement object corresponding to the earliest arriving SMTC window in the time domain; or activating the measurement interval configuration with the smallest identifier and its associated SMTC; or activating the measurement object with the smallest identifier, etc. This application does not limit this. It is easy to understand that, based on the above activation rules, the terminal device can also select a portion of the time period for measurement from the SMTC window configured in the first SMTC and the measurement interval configured in the first measurement interval configuration.

[0360] The activation rule can be predefined, such as the definition of the AND protocol, or it can be pre-configured by the network device; this application does not limit this.

[0361] Based on the above scheme, network devices can configure multiple reference locations and multiple configurations associated with terminal devices. The terminal device can automatically activate the first configuration associated with the first reference location, or activate the first measurement object containing that first configuration, based on its distance from the reference location. This reduces measurement latency caused by network configuration. Furthermore, since the first reference location associated with the automatically activated first configuration is a reference location close to the terminal device, the terminal device can measure reference signals from nearby neighboring cells based on the first configuration. Especially in NTN, due to the use of beam hopping, when it is impossible to guarantee that reference signals from multiple neighboring cells arrive within a single SMTC window or measurement interval, the terminal device can selectively measure reference signals from nearby neighboring cells based on the first configuration. Therefore, this improves the mobility performance of the terminal device.

[0362] Furthermore, since the terminal device reports a first measurement event corresponding to the first reference position to the network device via a third report, the network device can also determine the first configuration or first measurement object activated by the terminal device, thereby determining the time period during which the terminal device performs measurements. If the first configuration includes a reference signal measurement configuration but does not include a measurement interval configuration, or if the first configuration includes a first measurement interval configuration but does not include a reference signal measurement configuration, the network device can configure one of the first configurations for the terminal device, thereby adapting the measurement interval to the SMTC window.

[0363] In the embodiments shown above in conjunction with Figures 7 to 9, the terminal device can report a nearby first reference position to the network device via a first report. In the embodiments shown above in conjunction with Figures 10 to 12, the terminal device can report a first measurement event corresponding to the first reference position to the network device via a third report. In another implementation, the terminal device can directly report the automatically activated configuration to the network device; this implementation will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 13 to 15.

[0364] Figure 13 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method 1300 shown in Figure 13 may include steps 1310 and 1320. The various steps of step 1300 are described in detail below.

[0365] In step 1310, the network device sends fifth configuration information to the terminal device, which includes multiple SMTCs and a reference location associated with each SMTC. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the fifth configuration information from the network device.

[0366] This fifth configuration information can also be regarded as an enable indication. Based on this enable indication, the terminal device can determine that the first SMTC to be activated needs to be reported.

[0367] In step 1320, the terminal device sends a fourth report to the network device, which indicates that the terminal device wants to activate the first SMTC. Accordingly, the network device receives the fourth report from the terminal device.

[0368] In response to the received fifth configuration information, the terminal device can determine the SMTC that needs to be activated. The terminal device can determine the SMTC that needs to be activated based on the distance to each reference location. For ease of distinction and explanation, the SMTC that the terminal device needs to activate is referred to as the first SMTC in this document.

[0369] The terminal device can determine the SMTC associated with the K nearest reference locations (i.e., the first reference locations mentioned above) as the first SMTC to be activated. Corresponding to the first reference location, the first SMTC can be one or more of a plurality of SMTCs.

[0370] For example, the terminal device may directly include the first SMTC to be activated in the fourth report, or it may include the identifier of the first SMTC in the fourth report, or it may include the offset of the first SMTC in the fourth report. This application does not limit the specific method by which the terminal device indicates the first SMTC through the fourth report.

[0371] In one possible design, the fourth report could be included in the UE assistance information, and more specifically, for example, in the preferred SMTC within the UE assistance information.

[0372] The terminal device can send this fourth report for each frequency point or band to indicate the SMTC to be activated.

[0373] The terminal device may activate the first SMTC after sending the fourth report, or it may activate the first SMTC at the same time as sending the fourth report, or it may wait for instructions from the network device before activating the first SMTC, etc. This application does not limit this.

[0374] Upon receiving the fourth report, the network device determines the first SMTC activated by the terminal device. From this, the network device can determine the time period during which the terminal device performs measurements. Based on this, the network device can perform corresponding operations. For example, the network device can configure or adjust the measurement interval for the terminal device based on the first SMTC. Or, the network device can release other SMTCs based on the first SMTC, and so on, without limitation.

[0375] Based on the above scheme, the terminal device can send a fourth report to the network device according to the association between multiple SMTCs and multiple reference locations configured by the network device, to indicate the first SMTC to be activated. This allows the network device to obtain more information about the terminal device, which facilitates the network device in making reasonable measurements and configurations of the terminal device, thereby improving the mobility performance of the terminal device.

[0376] In one possible design, the network device can instruct the terminal device to configure the measurement interval based on the first SMTC to be activated by the terminal device, so that the terminal device can perform measurements according to the first SMTC and the measurement interval configuration. This process can be illustrated below in conjunction with Figure 14.

[0377] As an example, Figure 14 is another schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method 1400 shown in Figure 14 may include steps 1410 to 1450. The various steps of method 1400 are described in detail below.

[0378] In step 1410, the network device sends fifth configuration information to the terminal device, which includes multiple SMTCs and a reference location associated with each SMTC. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the fifth configuration information from the network device.

[0379] In step 1420, the terminal device sends a fourth report to the network device, which indicates that the terminal device wants to activate the first SMTC. Accordingly, the network device receives the fourth report from the terminal device.

[0380] For a more detailed explanation of steps 1410 and 1420, please refer to the relevant descriptions in steps 1310 and 1320 of method 1300 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0381] In step 1430, the terminal device activates the first SMTC.

[0382] The terminal device activates the first SMTC, meaning that the terminal device determines that it will perform the measurement within the SMTC window configured by the first SMTC. Therefore, step 1430 can also be regarded as the step in which the terminal device determines the time period for the measurement.

[0383] It should be understood that the terminal device may activate the first SMTC after sending the fourth report, or it may activate the first SMTC at the same time as sending the fourth report. This application does not limit this.

[0384] In step 1440, the network device sends a second indication message to the terminal device, which indicates the first measurement interval configuration.

[0385] In this embodiment, the second indication information can indicate the first measurement interval configuration, and the network device can configure the measurement interval for the terminal device through the first measurement interval configuration. Therefore, the second indication information can also be referred to as indicating the measurement interval configured for the terminal device.

[0386] For example, the network device can directly carry the first measurement interval configuration in the second indication information, that is, the second indication information includes the first measurement interval configuration. Alternatively, the network device can also carry multiple measurement interval configurations in advance through other configuration information, and include the identifier of the first measurement interval configuration in the second indication information. This application does not limit the specific manner in which the second indication information indicates the first measurement interval configuration.

[0387] Upon receiving the fourth report, the network device can send the second instruction information to the terminal device. Therefore, the fourth report can also be regarded as a message requesting the network device to configure the measurement interval.

[0388] Optionally, prior to step 1440, the method further includes: the network device determining a first measurement interval configuration based on the first SMTC.

[0389] In one possible implementation, the network device can pre-store the correspondence between SMTC and measurement interval configuration, and the network device can determine the corresponding measurement interval configuration as the first measurement interval configuration based on the first SMTC indicated by the fourth report.

[0390] In another possible implementation, the network device can determine the time period for the terminal device to perform measurements based on the first SMTC indicated by the fourth report, and then determine the appropriate measurement interval, i.e., determine the first measurement interval configuration. The measurement interval being compatible with the SMTC window configured by the first SMTC can mean that the measurement interval overlaps with the SMTC window, that is, the time period corresponding to the measurement interval intersects with the time period corresponding to the SMTC window. For example, the measurement interval can cover the SMTC window, meaning the time period corresponding to the measurement interval includes the time period corresponding to the SMTC window. This application does not limit this.

[0391] It should be understood that the execution order of steps 1430 and 1440 is not limited. Step 1430 can be executed before step 1440, simultaneously with step 1440, or after step 1440.

[0392] In step 1450, the terminal device performs a measurement based on the first SMTC and the measurement interval configuration.

[0393] The terminal device can perform measurements based on the activated first SMTC and the first measurement interval configuration indicated by the second indication information. For a more detailed explanation of how the terminal device performs measurements based on the first SMTC and the first measurement interval configuration, please refer to the relevant description in step 840 of method 800 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0394] Based on the above scheme, network devices can configure multiple SMTCs and multiple reference locations for terminal devices. The terminal device can automatically activate the first SMTC associated with the first reference location based on its distance from the reference location, thereby reducing measurement latency caused by network configuration. Furthermore, since the first reference location associated with the automatically activated first SMTC is a reference location close to the terminal device, the terminal device can measure reference signals from nearby neighboring cells based on the first SMTC. Especially in NTN networks, due to the use of beam hopping, when it is impossible to guarantee that reference signals from multiple neighboring cells arrive within a single SMTC window, the terminal device can selectively measure reference signals from nearby neighboring cells based on the first SMTC. Therefore, this improves the mobility performance of the terminal device.

[0395] Furthermore, since the terminal device reports the first SMTC to be activated to the network device through the fourth report, the network device can also configure an appropriate measurement interval for the terminal device, thereby making the measurement interval and SMTC window compatible.

[0396] In another possible design, the network device can also be configured to associate multiple SMTCs with multiple measurement interval configurations, and the terminal device can activate the associated first measurement interval configuration when it determines that the first SMTC is to be activated. This process can be illustrated by the description in Figure 15.

[0397] As an example, Figure 15 is another schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method 1500 shown in Figure 15 may include steps 1510 to 1550. The various steps of method 1500 are described in detail below.

[0398] In step 1510, the network device sends seventh configuration information to the terminal device, which includes multiple measurement interval configurations and their respective identifiers. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the seventh configuration information from the network device.

[0399] Network devices can also send multiple measurement interval configurations to terminal devices via the seventh configuration information. This seventh configuration information may include multiple measurement interval configurations and an identifier for each of the multiple measurement interval configurations.

[0400] For details on the specific methods of configuring measurement intervals, please refer to existing technologies; they will not be detailed in this article.

[0401] In one possible design, this seventh configuration information can be included in an RRC message.

[0402] In step 1520, the network device sends fifth configuration information to the terminal device, which includes identifiers for multiple SMTCs, multiple reference locations, and multiple measurement interval configurations. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the fifth configuration information from the network device.

[0403] For the relationship between multiple SMTCs and multiple reference locations, please refer to the relevant explanation in step 1310 of method 1300 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0404] Unlike the fifth configuration information in methods 1300 and 1400 above, the fifth configuration information in this embodiment may also include identifiers for multiple SMTCs and multiple measurement interval configurations. That is, the fifth configuration information can also be used to configure the association relationship between the identifiers of multiple reference signal measurement timing coordination and multiple measurement interval configurations. The association relationship between the identifiers of multiple SMTCs and multiple measurement interval configurations can be understood by referring to the association relationship between multiple SMTCs and multiple reference positions in step 1310 of method 1300 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0405] Network devices can associate the identifiers of multiple SMTCs, multiple reference locations, and multiple measurement interval configurations using the fifth configuration information. Terminal devices can obtain the association relationships of the identifiers of multiple SMTCs, multiple reference locations, and multiple measurement interval configurations based on the fifth configuration information, and further obtain the association relationships of multiple SMTCs, multiple reference locations, and multiple measurement interval configurations based on the seventh configuration information.

[0406] In step 1530, the terminal device sends a fourth report to the network device, which indicates that the terminal device wants to activate the first SMTC. Accordingly, the network device receives the fourth report from the terminal device.

[0407] For a more detailed explanation of step 1530, please refer to the relevant description in step 1320 of method 1300 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0408] It is understood that in this embodiment, since the network device has pre-associated multiple SMTCs and multiple measurement interval configurations through configuration information (such as the first configuration information, the seventh configuration information, and the fifth configuration information described above), the terminal device indicates the first SMTC to be activated through the fourth report, that is, it indicates the first SMTC to be activated and its associated measurement interval configuration. For ease of distinction and explanation, the measurement interval configuration associated with the first SMTC is referred to as the first measurement interval configuration. Corresponding to the first SMTC, the first measurement interval configuration can be one or more of the multiple measurement interval configurations.

[0409] In step 1540, the terminal device activates the first SMTC and the associated first measurement interval configuration.

[0410] The terminal device activates the first SMTC, meaning the terminal device determines that it will perform the measurement within the SMTC window configured by the first SMTC. The terminal device activates the first measurement interval configuration, meaning the terminal device determines that it will perform the measurement within the measurement interval configured by the first measurement interval configuration. Therefore, step 1550 can also be regarded as the step in which the terminal device determines the time period for the measurement.

[0411] It should be understood that the terminal device may activate the first SMTC and the first measurement interval configuration after sending the fourth report, or it may activate the first SMTC and the first measurement interval configuration at the same time as sending the fourth report. This application does not limit this.

[0412] In step 1550, the terminal device performs a measurement according to the first SMTC and the first measurement interval configuration.

[0413] The terminal device can perform measurements based on the activated first SMTC and its associated measurement interval configuration. For a more detailed explanation of how the terminal device performs measurements based on the first SMTC and the first measurement interval configuration, please refer to the relevant description in step 840 of method 800 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0414] Based on the above scheme, network devices can configure multiple SMTCs, multiple measurement interval configurations, and associations with multiple reference locations for terminal devices. The terminal device can automatically activate a first SMTC associated with a first reference location and a first measurement interval configuration associated with that first SMTC based on its distance from the reference location, thereby further reducing measurement latency caused by network configuration. Furthermore, since the first reference location associated with the automatically activated first SMTC is a reference location close to the terminal device, the terminal device can measure reference signals from nearby neighboring cells based on the first SMTC. Especially in NTN networks, due to the use of beam hopping, when it is impossible to guarantee that reference signals from multiple neighboring cells arrive within a single SMTC window, the terminal device can selectively measure reference signals from nearby neighboring cells based on the first SMTC. Therefore, this improves the mobility performance of the terminal device.

[0415] In the embodiments shown above with reference to Figures 7 to 15, the terminal device can directly or indirectly report a first reference position or information related to that first reference position, such as a first measurement event or a first SMTC, to the network device based on the distance between itself and the reference position. This facilitates the network device obtaining more information about the terminal device. The embodiments shown below mainly consider the relationship between the SMTC window and the measurement interval. The following description will elaborate on this with reference to Figure 16.

[0416] Figure 16 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method 1600 provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 16, method 1600 includes steps 1610 to 1630, and optionally includes one or more of steps 1640. The various steps in method 1600 are described in detail below.

[0417] In step 1610, the network device sends sixth configuration information to the terminal device, which indicates the correspondence between the identifiers of at least one SMTC and at least one measurement interval configuration. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the sixth configuration information from the network device.

[0418] For example, the network device can determine the correspondence between at least one SMTC and at least one measurement interval configuration based on the SMTC window configured by each SMTC and the measurement interval configured by each measurement interval configuration, such that there is an overlap between the measurement interval configured by each measurement interval configuration and the SMTC window configured by the corresponding SMTC. For example, the time period corresponding to the measurement interval includes the time period corresponding to the corresponding SMTC window.

[0419] Network devices can carry identifiers for measurement interval configurations corresponding to each SMTC in the configuration information used to configure SMTCs. This allows at least one SMTC to be associated with an identifier for at least one measurement interval configuration. That is, each of the at least one SMTC can correspond to one of the at least one measurement interval configurations.

[0420] In one possible design, the sixth configuration information is included in the RRC reconfiguration message, for example, in the measurement configuration (measConfig) of the RRC reconfiguration message, or more specifically, in the measurement object in the measurement configuration of the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0421] Optionally, the method further includes step 1640, in which the network device sends seventh configuration information to the terminal device, the seventh configuration information including at least one measurement interval configuration and its respective identifier. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the seventh configuration information from the network device.

[0422] For a more detailed explanation of step 1640, please refer to the relevant description in step 1520 of method 1500 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0423] Optionally, the configuration of the at least one measurement interval may also be predefined, such as a protocol predefined, or preset in the terminal device; this application does not limit this.

[0424] Network devices can use the sixth and seventh configuration information to associate at least one SMTC with at least one measurement interval configuration. Terminal devices can then determine the correspondence between the at least one SMTC and the at least one measurement interval configuration based on this information.

[0425] In step 1620, the network device sends third indication information to the terminal device, which is used to indicate the first SMTC. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the third indication information from the network device.

[0426] The network device can indicate a first SMTC for the terminal device to perform measurements. Since the terminal device can determine the correspondence between at least one SMTC and at least one measurement interval configuration based on the sixth and seventh configuration information, the terminal device can determine the corresponding first measurement interval configuration based on the first SMTC indicated by the third indication information.

[0427] In one possible implementation, the sixth configuration information in step 1610 includes: at least one SMTC and an identifier of the measurement interval configuration corresponding to the at least one SMTC; the third indication information in step 1620 includes the identifier of the first SMTC.

[0428] A possible example of the sixth configuration information is shown in Table 1:

[0429] Table 1

[0430] It should be understood that Table 1 is merely an example, illustrating one possible form of the correspondence between at least one SMTC and the identifiers of at least one measurement interval configuration, and should not be construed as limiting this application in any way. This application does not limit the specific form of the correspondence, the individual SMTCs, or their correspondence with the identifiers of each measurement interval configuration.

[0431] In this implementation, each SMTC and its corresponding measurement interval configuration identifier can be indicated by the SMTC or its index. The third indication information can indicate the first SMTC configured for the terminal device through the first SMTC or its index. Through the indication of the third indication information, the terminal device can determine the first SMTC and its corresponding first measurement interval configuration. The SMTC index can be determined, for example, according to the order of multiple SMTCs configured by the network device through a list; this can be understood as an implicit index.

[0432] In another possible implementation, the sixth configuration information includes: at least one SMTC and an identifier of the measurement interval configuration corresponding to the at least one SMTC; the third indication information includes a combination identifier, the combination of which indicates a combination including a first SMTC and a first measurement interval configuration.

[0433] A possible example of the sixth configuration information is shown in Table 2:

[0434] Table 2

[0435] It should be understood that Table 2 is merely an example, illustrating another possible form of the correspondence between at least one SMTC and the identifier of at least one measurement interval configuration, and should not be construed as limiting this application. For example, the second column of the table, SMTC, can also be replaced with an index of the SMTC, which can be determined by the network device through the order of multiple SMTCs configured in the list, or it can be replaced with the identifier of the SMTC, etc., without limitation.

[0436] It should also be understood that this application does not limit the specific form of the correspondence, the correspondence between each SMTC and its identifier with each measurement configuration interval.

[0437] In this implementation, each combined identifier can be used to indicate a set of corresponding SMTC and measurement interval configuration identifiers. The third indication information can indicate the first SMTC and first measurement interval configuration configured for the terminal device through the combined identifier corresponding to the first SMTC. Through the indication of the third indication information, the terminal device can determine the first SMTC and first measurement interval configuration.

[0438] The correspondence between at least one SMTC and at least one measurement interval configuration identifier shown in Tables 1 and 2 above is merely an example. In actual configuration, the network device may not necessarily assign a measurement interval configuration to each SMTC in the sixth configuration information. In this case, an SMTC without a corresponding measurement interval configuration can be considered to correspond to a default measurement interval configuration, or it may be assumed that no measurement interval configuration is required by default. The default measurement interval configuration may be configured through the seventh configuration information mentioned above, or through other signaling configurations, or it may be predefined, or it may be preset in the terminal device. This application does not limit this.

[0439] In one possible design, this third indication information may be included in an RRC reconfiguration message, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or downlink control information (DCI).

[0440] In step 1630, the terminal device performs measurements according to the first SMTC and its corresponding first measurement interval configuration.

[0441] For a more detailed description of the measurement performed by the terminal device according to the first SMTC and the first measurement interval configuration, please refer to the relevant description in step 840 of method 800 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0442] Based on the above scheme, the network device can configure a correspondence between at least one SMTC and at least one measurement interval configuration for the terminal device, and can indicate the first SMTC used for the current measurement through third indication information. The terminal device can determine the first measurement interval configuration corresponding to the first SMTC based on the correspondence between the at least one SMTC and at least one measurement interval configuration, and then perform measurements according to the first SMTC and the first measurement configuration. Thus, the network device dynamically selects the SMTC used for measurement by the terminal device through signaling, which is more flexible. Especially in NTN, due to the mobility of satellites, the network device can adjust the SMTC used for measurement by the terminal device in real time, thus improving the mobility performance of the terminal device.

[0443] It should be understood that in the embodiments shown above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the sequence number of each step does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each step should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0444] The methods provided by the embodiments of this application have been described in detail above with reference to Figures 7 to 16. The apparatus provided by the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 17 to 19. It should be understood that the descriptions of the apparatus embodiments correspond to the descriptions of the method embodiments; therefore, any content not described in detail can be referred to the method embodiments above, and for the sake of brevity, will not be repeated.

[0445] As an example, Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 1700 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 1700 includes a receiving unit 1710 and a transmitting unit 1720. The receiving unit 1710 and the transmitting unit 1720 can be used to implement corresponding communication functions. The receiving unit 1710 and the transmitting unit 1720 can also be referred to as a transceiver unit, a communication unit, etc.

[0446] In one possible design, the communication device 1700 may correspond to the terminal device in the method embodiments described above.

[0447] In one embodiment, the receiving unit 1710 can be used to receive first configuration information, which indicates a plurality of reference positions; the sending unit 1720 can be used to send a first report, which indicates a first reference position, which is K reference positions among the plurality of reference positions, and the distance between the K reference positions and the device 1700 is less than the distance between the other reference positions and the device 1700, where the other reference positions are reference positions other than the first reference position among the plurality of reference positions, and K is a positive integer.

[0448] A more detailed description of the receiving unit 1710 and the transmitting unit 1720 can be obtained directly from the relevant descriptions of the terminal equipment in the method embodiments shown in Figures 7 to 9, and will not be repeated here.

[0449] In another embodiment, the receiving unit 1710 may be used to receive a plurality of third configuration information for configuring a plurality of location-based measurement events, the plurality of measurement events corresponding to a plurality of reference locations; the sending unit 1720 may be used to send a third report for indicating a first measurement event among the plurality of measurement events.

[0450] A more detailed description of the receiving unit 1710 and the transmitting unit 1720 can be obtained directly from the relevant descriptions of the terminal equipment in the method embodiments shown in Figures 10 to 12, and will not be repeated here.

[0451] In another embodiment, the receiving unit 1710 can be used to receive fifth configuration information, which includes: a plurality of SMTCs and a reference position associated with each of the plurality of SMTCs; the sending unit 1720 can be used to send a fourth report, which indicates that the device 1700 should activate a first SMTC, which is one or more of the plurality of SMTCs.

[0452] A more detailed description of the receiving unit 1710 and the transmitting unit 1720 can be obtained directly from the relevant descriptions of the terminal equipment in the method embodiments shown in Figures 13 to 15, and will not be repeated here.

[0453] In another embodiment, the receiving unit 1710 may be used to receive sixth configuration information, which indicates the correspondence between at least one SMTC and at least one measurement interval configuration, wherein each of the at least one SMTC corresponds to one of the at least one measurement interval configurations; the receiving unit 1710 may also be used to receive third indication information, which indicates the first SMTC among the SMTCs; optionally, the device 1700 may further include a processing unit 1730, which may be used to perform measurements according to the first SMTC and its corresponding first measurement interval configuration.

[0454] A more detailed description of the receiving unit 1710, the transmitting unit 1720, and the processing unit 1730 can be obtained directly from the relevant description of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 16, and will not be repeated here.

[0455] In another possible design, the communication device 1700 may correspond to the network device in the method embodiments described above.

[0456] In one embodiment, the sending unit 1720 can be used to send first configuration information to the first device, the first configuration information indicating a plurality of reference positions; the receiving unit 1710 can be used to receive a first report from the first device, the first report indicating a first reference position, the first reference position being K reference positions out of a plurality of reference positions, and the distance between the K reference positions and the first device being less than the distance between the other reference positions and the first device, the other reference positions being reference positions other than the first reference position out of the plurality of reference positions, where K is a positive integer.

[0457] A more detailed description of the receiving unit 1710 and the transmitting unit 1720 can be obtained directly from the relevant descriptions of the network devices in the method embodiments shown in Figures 7 to 9, and will not be repeated here.

[0458] In another embodiment, the sending unit 1720 may be used to send a plurality of third configuration information to the first device, the plurality of third configuration information being used to configure a plurality of location-based measurement events, the plurality of measurement events corresponding to a plurality of reference locations; the receiving unit 1710 may be used to receive a third report from the first device, the third report being used to indicate a first measurement event among the plurality of measurement events.

[0459] A more detailed description of the receiving unit 1710 and the transmitting unit 1720 can be obtained directly from the relevant descriptions of the terminal equipment in the method embodiments shown in Figures 10 to 12, and will not be repeated here.

[0460] In another embodiment, the sending unit 1720 can be used to send fifth configuration information to the first device, the fifth configuration information including: a plurality of SMTCs and a reference position associated with each of the plurality of SMTCs; the receiving unit 1710 can be used to receive a fourth report from the first device, the fourth report indicating a first SMTC to be activated by the first device, the first SMTC being one or more of the plurality of SMTCs.

[0461] A more detailed description of the receiving unit 1710 and the transmitting unit 1720 can be obtained directly from the relevant descriptions of the network devices in the method embodiments shown in Figures 13 to 15, and will not be repeated here.

[0462] In another embodiment, the transmitting unit 1720 may be used to transmit sixth configuration information to the first device, the sixth configuration information being used to indicate the correspondence between at least one SMTC and at least one measurement interval configuration, each of the at least one SMTC corresponding to one of the at least one measurement interval configurations; the transmitting unit 1720 may also be used to transmit third indication information to the first device, the third indication information being used to indicate the first SMTC among the SMTCs.

[0463] A more detailed description of the receiving unit 1710 and the transmitting unit 1720 can be obtained directly from the relevant description of the network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 16, and will not be repeated here.

[0464] It should be understood that the device 1700 here is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" can refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), electronic circuitry, a processor (e.g., a shared processor, a proprietary processor, or a group processor, etc.) and memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, combined logic circuitry, and / or other suitable components supporting the described functions. In an alternative example, those skilled in the art will understand that the device 1700 can be specifically the communication device in the above embodiments, and can be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the communication device in the above method embodiments. To avoid repetition, these will not be described again here.

[0465] The apparatus 1700 of each of the above-described schemes has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the terminal device or network device in the above-described methods. The function can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions; for example, the receiving unit can be replaced by a receiver or receiving circuit, the transmitting unit can be replaced by a transmitter or transmitting circuit, and the receiving unit and transmitting unit can be collectively referred to as a transceiver unit, which can be replaced by a transceiver or transceiver circuit. Other units, such as processing units, can be replaced by processors or processing circuits, respectively executing the transceiver operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0466] It should be noted that the device in Figure 17 can be the communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device) in the foregoing embodiments, or it can be a circuit, chip, or chip system, such as a SoC or SIP system. The transceiver unit can be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processing unit is a processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. No limitations are imposed here.

[0467] As an example, Figure 18 is a schematic diagram of another communication device 1800 provided in an embodiment of this application. The device 1800 includes a processor 1810, which is coupled to a memory 1820. The memory 1820 is used to store computer programs or instructions and / or data. The processor 1810 is used to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 1820, or to read the data stored in the memory 1820, to perform the methods in the above method embodiments.

[0468] Optionally, there may be one or more processors 1810.

[0469] Optionally, the memory 1820 may be one or more.

[0470] Alternatively, the memory 1820 can be integrated with the processor 1810, or it can be set separately.

[0471] Optionally, as shown in FIG18, the device 1800 further includes a transceiver 1830 for receiving and / or transmitting signals. For example, a processor 1810 is used to control the transceiver 1830 to receive and / or transmit signals.

[0472] As an example, processor 1810 may have the functions of processing unit 1730 shown in FIG17, memory 1820 may have the functions of storage unit, and transceiver 1830 may have the functions of receiving unit 1710 and transmitting unit 1720 shown in FIG17.

[0473] As one option, the device 1800 is used to implement the operations performed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments.

[0474] For example, processor 1810 is used to execute computer programs or instructions stored in memory 1820 to implement the relevant operations of terminal devices or network devices in the various method embodiments described above.

[0475] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0476] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM). For example, RAM can be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM includes the following forms: static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0477] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0478] It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0479] As an example, Figure 19 is a schematic diagram of a chip system 1900 provided in an embodiment of this application. The chip system 1900 (or may also be referred to as a processing system) includes logic circuitry 1910 and an input / output interface 1920.

[0480] The logic circuit 1910 can be a processing circuit in the chip system 1900. The logic circuit 1910 can be coupled to a memory unit, calling instructions from the memory unit, enabling the chip system 1900 to implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of this application. The input / output interface 1020 can be an input / output circuit in the chip system 1900, outputting processed information from the chip system 1900, or inputting data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 1900 for processing.

[0481] As one option, the chip system 1900 is used to implement the operations performed by the terminal device or network device in the various method embodiments described above.

[0482] For example, logic circuit 1910 is used to implement processing-related operations performed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments; input / output interface 1920 is used to implement sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments.

[0483] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions for implementing the methods executed by a terminal device or network device in the above-described method embodiments. For example, when the computer program or instructions are run, any one of the method embodiments shown in FIG7 to FIG16 is executed.

[0484] This application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer, implement the methods performed by a terminal device or network device in the above-described method embodiments. For example, when the computer program or instructions are run, any one of the method embodiments shown in Figures 7 to 16 is executed.

[0485] This application also provides a communication system, which includes a terminal device and a network device. The terminal device can be used to execute the methods executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments, such as the methods executed by the terminal device in any of the method embodiments shown in Figures 7 to 16. The network device can be used to execute the methods executed by the network device in the above method embodiments, such as the methods executed by the network device in any of the method embodiments shown in Figures 7 to 16.

[0486] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working process and beneficial effects of the systems, devices and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0487] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of apparatus or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0488] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0489] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0490] In the above embodiments, the functions of each functional unit can be implemented entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. This computer program product includes one or more computer instructions (programs). When the computer program instructions (programs) are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks (SSDs)).

[0491] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0492] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive first configuration information, which indicates multiple reference positions; Send a first report, the first report indicating a first reference position, the first reference position being K reference positions out of the plurality of reference positions, and the distance between the K reference positions and the first device is less than the distance between the other reference positions and the first device, the other reference positions being reference positions other than the first reference position out of the plurality of reference positions, where K is a positive integer.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive first indication information, the first indication information including synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or measurement interval configuration; The measurement is performed according to the first instruction information.

3. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first configuration information also includes multiple sets of configurations for measurement associated with the plurality of reference locations, each of the multiple sets of configurations including an identifier for a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or a measurement interval configuration; the first reference location indicated by the first report is associated with a first configuration among the multiple sets of configurations to be activated by the first device.

4. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first configuration information indicates multiple reference locations, including: the first configuration information includes multiple sets of configurations for measurement, and a reference location associated with each of the multiple sets of configurations, each of the multiple sets of configurations including an identifier of a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or a measurement interval configuration; the first reference location indicated by the first report is associated with a first configuration among the multiple sets of configurations to be activated by the first device.

5. The method as described in claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: Activate the first configuration; Measurements are performed according to the first configuration.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the first reference position changes, a second report is sent, indicating the changed first reference position.

7. The method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, Prior to sending the second report, the method further includes: A timer timeout is determined, the timer being started based on the sending of the first report.

8. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Send first configuration information to the first device, wherein the first configuration information indicates multiple reference positions; A first report is received from the first device, the first report indicating a first reference position, the first reference position being K reference positions out of a plurality of reference positions, and the distance between the K reference positions and the first device is less than the distance between the other reference positions and the first device, the other reference positions being reference positions other than the first reference position out of the plurality of reference positions, where K is a positive integer.

9. The method as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a first instruction message to the first device. The first instruction message includes a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or a measurement interval configuration. The measurement interval configuration is used to configure the time period for the terminal device to perform measurements.

10. The method as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The first configuration information also includes multiple sets of configurations for measurement associated with the plurality of reference locations, each of the multiple sets of configurations including an identifier for a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or a measurement interval configuration; the first reference location indicated by the first report is associated with a first configuration among the multiple sets of configurations to be activated by the first device.

11. The method as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The first configuration information indicates multiple reference locations, including: the first configuration information includes multiple sets of configurations for measurement, and a reference location associated with each of the multiple sets of configurations, each of the multiple sets of configurations including an identifier of a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or a measurement interval configuration; the first reference location indicated by the first report is associated with a first configuration among the multiple sets of configurations to be activated by the first device.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that, The method further includes: A second report is received from the first device, the second report indicating the changed first reference position.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, The first configuration information is also used to configure one or more of the following: a first threshold or the value of K, wherein the first threshold is used to determine the first reference position, and the distance between the first reference position and the first device is less than the first threshold.

14. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A receiving unit is configured to receive first configuration information, wherein the first configuration information indicates multiple reference positions; A sending unit is configured to send a first report, the first report indicating a first reference position, the first reference position being K reference positions out of the plurality of reference positions, and the distance between the K reference positions and the first device being less than the distance between the other reference positions and the first device, the other reference positions being reference positions other than the first reference position out of the plurality of reference positions, where K is a positive integer.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that, The receiving unit is further configured to receive first indication information, the first indication information including synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or measurement interval configuration; The device further includes a processing unit for performing measurements based on the first indication information.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that, The first configuration information indicates multiple sets of configurations for measurement associated with the plurality of reference locations, each of the multiple sets of configurations including an identifier for a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or a measurement interval configuration; the first reference location indicated by the first report is associated with a first configuration among the multiple sets of configurations to be activated by the first device.

17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that, The first configuration information includes multiple configurations for measurement, and a reference position associated with each of the multiple configurations. Each of the multiple configurations includes an identifier for a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or a measurement interval configuration. The first reference position indicated by the first report is associated with a first configuration among the multiple configurations to be activated by the first device.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16 or 17, characterized in that, The device further includes a processing unit for activating the first configuration and for performing measurements according to the first configuration.

19. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 18, characterized in that, The sending unit is further configured to send a second report when the first reference position changes, the second report indicating the changed first reference position.

20. The apparatus as claimed in claim 19, characterized in that, The apparatus further includes a processing unit for determining a timer timeout before sending the second report, the timer being started based on the sending of the first report.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A sending unit is configured to send first configuration information, wherein the first configuration information indicates multiple reference positions; A receiving unit is configured to receive a first report, the first report indicating a first reference position, the first reference position being K reference positions out of a plurality of reference positions, and the distance between the K reference positions and the first device being less than the distance between the other reference positions and the first device, the other reference positions being reference positions other than the first reference position out of the plurality of reference positions, where K is a positive integer.

22. The apparatus as claimed in claim 21, characterized in that, The sending unit is also used to send first indication information, the first indication information including synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or measurement interval configuration, the measurement interval configuration being used to configure the time period for the terminal device to perform measurements.

23. The apparatus as claimed in claim 21, characterized in that, The first configuration information also includes multiple sets of configurations for measurement associated with the plurality of reference locations, each of the multiple sets of configurations including an identifier for a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or a measurement interval configuration; the first reference location indicated by the first report is associated with a first configuration among the multiple sets of configurations to be activated by the first device.

24. The apparatus as claimed in claim 21, characterized in that, The first configuration information includes multiple configurations for measurement, and a reference position associated with each of the multiple configurations. Each of the multiple configurations includes an identifier for a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration and / or a measurement interval configuration. The first reference position indicated by the first report is associated with a first configuration among the multiple configurations to be activated by the first device.

25. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 21 to 24, characterized in that, The receiving unit is also configured to receive a second report, the second report indicating the changed first reference position.

26. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 25, characterized in that, The first configuration information is also used to configure one or more of the following: a first threshold or the value of K, wherein the first threshold is used to determine the first reference position, and the distance between the first reference position and the first device is less than the first threshold.

27. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a processor configured to cause the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 17.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 17.

29. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 17.

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