Communication methods, apparatuses and system, storage medium and program product

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to communication methods, apparatuses and system, a storage medium and a program product. A method comprises: receiving a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), wherein system frame number (SFN) indication information of the PBCH comprises at least two bits that are not scrambled, the at least two bits are used for indicating the number of times that a network device repeatedly sends the PBCH to a terminal device within the maximum duration in which the terminal device performs PBCH combined reception, and the at least two bits comprise bits having an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least two bits are used for indicating the number of times that the network device repeatedly sends the PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration in which the terminal device performs PBCH combined reception, and the at least two bits comprise bits having an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information, such that the purpose of increasing the period in which the terminal device expects to receive the PBCH is achieved, thereby improving the reception quality of the terminal device.

Description

Communication methods, devices, systems, storage media and software products Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, apparatus, system, storage medium, and program product. Background Technology

[0002] A synchronization signal block (SSB) is a signal block periodically sent by network devices to terminal devices to assist them in cell search, timing, and frequency synchronization. The SSB includes the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), which can carry System Frame Number (SFN) indication information.

[0003] Currently, the second and third bits in the SFN indication information are not scrambled. These second and third bits are used by the terminal device to distinguish and combine the four PBCHs within 80 milliseconds (ms). Summary of the Invention

[0004] This disclosure provides a communication method, apparatus, system, storage medium, and program product for improving the reception quality of terminal devices.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method performed by a terminal device, the method comprising: receiving a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH); wherein the PBCH System Frame Number (SFN) indication information includes at least two unscrambled bits, the at least two bits being used to indicate the number of times the network device repeatedly transmits the PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration of the terminal device performing PBCH merging reception, and the at least two bits including bits with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information.

[0006] In this embodiment of the disclosure, at least two unscrambled bits in the SFN indication information indicate the number of times the network device will repeatedly send PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration of PBCH combined reception by the terminal device, and at least two bits include bits with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information, which can increase the expected PBCH reception period of the terminal device, thereby improving the reception quality of the terminal device.

[0007] Secondly, embodiments of this disclosure propose a method performed by a network device, the method comprising: transmitting a PBCH; wherein, the SFN indication information of the PBCH includes at least two unscrambled bits, the at least two bits being used to indicate the number of times the network device repeatedly transmits the PBCH to the terminal device within a maximum duration for the terminal device to perform PBCH merging reception, and the at least two bits including bits with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information.

[0008] In this embodiment of the disclosure, at least two unscrambled bits in the SFN indication information indicate the number of times the network device will repeatedly send PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration of PBCH combined reception by the terminal device, and at least two bits include bits with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information, which can increase the expected PBCH reception period of the terminal device, thereby improving the reception quality of the terminal device.

[0009] Thirdly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication device, including: a transceiver module for receiving a PBCH; wherein, the SFN indication information of the PBCH includes at least two unscrambled bits, the at least two bits being used to indicate the number of times the network device repeatedly transmits the PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration of the terminal device performing PBCH merging reception, and the at least two bits including bits with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information.

[0010] Fourthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication device, including: a transceiver module for transmitting a PBCH; wherein, the SFN indication information of the PBCH includes at least two unscrambled bits, the at least two bits being used to indicate the number of times the network device repeatedly transmits the PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration of the terminal device performing PBCH merging reception, and the at least two bits including bits with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information.

[0011] Fifthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a terminal device, including: one or more processors; wherein the terminal device is configured to execute the communication method of any one of the first aspects.

[0012] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a network device comprising: one or more processors; wherein the network device is configured to perform the communication method of any of the second aspects.

[0013] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication system, including: a terminal device and a network device; wherein the terminal device is configured to implement the communication method of any one of the first aspects; and the network device is configured to implement the communication method of any one of the second aspects.

[0014] Eighthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a communication device, implement a communication method as described in either the first or second aspect.

[0015] In a ninth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a program product comprising a program and / or instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, implement the communication method as described in the first or second aspect. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings required for the description of the embodiments are introduced below. The following drawings are only some embodiments of this disclosure and do not impose specific limitations on the protection scope of this disclosure.

[0017] Figure 1a is an exemplary architecture diagram of a beam-hopping mechanism according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0018] Figure 1b is a schematic diagram of an exemplary architecture for supporting beam skipping mechanism using SSB periodicity according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0019] Figure 2 is an exemplary flowchart of a communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 3a is an exemplary structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 3b is another exemplary structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 4a is an exemplary structural diagram of a communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 4b is an exemplary structural diagram of a chip provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0024] This disclosure provides a communication method, apparatus, system, storage medium, and program product for increasing the expected PBCH period of a terminal device, thereby improving the reception quality of the terminal device.

[0025] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method, which includes: receiving a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH); wherein the PBCH System Frame Number (SFN) indication information includes at least two unscrambled bits, the at least two bits being used to indicate the number of times the network device repeatedly transmits the PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration of the terminal device performing PBCH merging reception, and the at least two bits including bits with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information.

[0026] In this embodiment of the disclosure, at least two unscrambled bits in the SFN indication information indicate the number of times the network device repeatedly sends the PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration, and at least two bits have an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information. This can increase the period during which the terminal device expects to receive the PBCH, thereby improving the reception quality of the terminal device.

[0027] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits are indexed in the SFN indication information to indicate the maximum duration.

[0028] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits include a first bit, wherein the first bit is an index in the SFN indication information used to indicate the maximum duration; the first bit is the highest bit of the at least two bits.

[0029] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the maximum duration is 2. K ×T, where K is the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information, K is a positive integer; T is the unit duration, T is a positive integer.

[0030] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the maximum duration is M×N, where M is the maximum number of times the terminal device expects to perform PBCH merging reception, M is a positive integer, and N is the period for which the terminal device expects to receive PBCH, N is a positive integer.

[0031] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, M is 4 and N is greater than 20 milliseconds (ms).

[0032] In this embodiment, N is greater than 20ms, which can achieve the goal of increasing the period during which the terminal device expects to receive PBCH.

[0033] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits include two bits.

[0034] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits are composed of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 3 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 4 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0035] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0036] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 40ms.

[0037] The maximum duration is 160ms.

[0038] In this embodiment, the index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 3, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 4. This can increase the period during which the terminal device expects to receive PBCH to 40ms, thereby achieving the goal of receiving 4 PBCH in 160ms, and thus improving the reception quality of the terminal device.

[0039] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit having an index of 4 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit having an index of 5 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0040] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0041] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 80ms.

[0042] The maximum duration is 320ms.

[0043] In this embodiment, the index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 4, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 5. This can increase the period during which the terminal device expects to receive PBCH to 80ms, thereby achieving the goal of receiving 4 PBCH in 320ms, and thus improving the reception quality of the terminal device.

[0044] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 5 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 6 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0045] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0046] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 160ms.

[0047] The maximum duration is 640ms.

[0048] In this embodiment, the index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 5, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 6. This can increase the period during which the terminal device expects to receive the PBCH to 160ms, thereby achieving the goal of receiving 4 PBCHs in 640ms, and thus improving the reception quality of the terminal device.

[0049] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit having an index of 6 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit having an index of 7 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0050] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0051] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 320ms.

[0052] The maximum duration is 1280ms.

[0053] In this embodiment, the index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 6, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 7. This can increase the period during which the terminal device expects to receive PBCH to 320ms, thereby achieving the goal of receiving 4 PBCH in 1280ms, and thus improving the reception quality of the terminal device.

[0054] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits are carried in the payload information of the PBCH.

[0055] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits are consecutive bits in the SFN indication information.

[0056] Secondly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method, the method comprising: transmitting a PBCH; wherein the SFN indication information of the PBCH includes at least two unscrambled bits, the at least two bits being used to indicate the number of times the network device repeatedly transmits the PBCH to the terminal device within a maximum duration, the maximum duration being the maximum duration for the terminal device to perform PBCH merging and reception, and at least one of the at least two bits having an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information.

[0057] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits in the SFN indication information are used to indicate the maximum duration.

[0058] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits include the first bit, wherein,

[0059] The index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is used to indicate the maximum duration;

[0060] The first bit is the highest bit among at least two bits.

[0061] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the maximum duration is 2. K ×T, where

[0062] K is the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information, and K is a positive integer;

[0063] T represents the unit duration, and T is a positive integer.

[0064] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the maximum duration is M×N, where,

[0065] M represents the maximum number of PBCH combining receptions that the terminal device expects to perform, and M is a positive integer.

[0066] N is the period of the PBCH that the terminal device expects to receive, and N is a positive integer.

[0067] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, M is 4 and N is greater than 20ms.

[0068] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits include two bits.

[0069] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 3 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 4 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0070] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0071] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 40ms.

[0072] The maximum duration is 160ms.

[0073] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 4 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 5 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0074] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0075] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 80ms.

[0076] The maximum duration is 320ms.

[0077] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 5 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 6 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0078] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0079] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 160ms.

[0080] The maximum duration is 640ms.

[0081] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 6 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 7 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0082] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0083] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 320ms.

[0084] The maximum duration is 1280ms.

[0085] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits are carried in the payload information of the PBCH.

[0086] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits are consecutive bits in the SFN indication information.

[0087] Thirdly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication device, the communication device comprising:

[0088] The transceiver module is used to receive the PBCH.

[0089] The SFN indication information of the PBCH includes at least two unscrambled bits. These at least two bits are used to indicate the number of times the network device retransmits the PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration of the terminal device's PBCH merging reception. These at least two bits include bits with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information.

[0090] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits in the SFN indication information are used to indicate the maximum duration.

[0091] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits include the first bit, wherein,

[0092] The index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is used to indicate the maximum duration;

[0093] The first bit is the highest bit among at least two bits.

[0094] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the maximum duration is 2. K ×T, where

[0095] K is the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information, and K is a positive integer;

[0096] T represents the unit duration, and T is a positive integer.

[0097] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the maximum duration is M×N, where,

[0098] M is the maximum number of PBCH combining receptions that the terminal device expects to perform, and M is a positive integer.

[0099] N is the period of the PBCH that the terminal device expects to receive, and N is a positive integer.

[0100] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, M is 4 and N is greater than 20 milliseconds (ms).

[0101] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits include two bits.

[0102] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 3 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 4 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0103] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0104] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 40ms.

[0105] The maximum duration is 160ms.

[0106] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 4 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 5 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0107] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0108] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 80ms.

[0109] The maximum duration is 320ms.

[0110] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 5 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 6 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0111] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0112] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 160ms.

[0113] The maximum duration is 640ms.

[0114] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 6 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 7 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0115] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0116] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 320ms.

[0117] The maximum duration is 1280ms.

[0118] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits are carried in the payload information of the PBCH.

[0119] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits are consecutive bits in the SFN indication information.

[0120] Fourthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication device, the communication device comprising:

[0121] The transceiver module is used to send PBCH.

[0122] The SFN indication information of the PBCH includes at least two unscrambled bits. These at least two bits are used to indicate the number of times the network device retransmits the PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration of the terminal device's PBCH merging reception. These at least two bits include bits with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information.

[0123] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits in the SFN indication information are used to indicate the maximum duration.

[0124] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits include the first bit, wherein,

[0125] The index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is used to indicate the maximum duration;

[0126] The first bit is the highest bit among at least two bits.

[0127] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the maximum duration is 2. K ×T, where

[0128] K is the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information, and K is a positive integer;

[0129] T represents the unit duration, and T is a positive integer.

[0130] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the maximum duration is M×N, where,

[0131] M represents the maximum number of PBCH combining receptions that the terminal device expects to perform, and M is a positive integer.

[0132] N is the period of the PBCH that the terminal device expects to receive, and N is a positive integer.

[0133] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, M is 4 and N is greater than 20ms.

[0134] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits include two bits.

[0135] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 3 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 4 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0136] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0137] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 40ms.

[0138] The maximum duration is 160ms.

[0139] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 4 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 5 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0140] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0141] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 80ms.

[0142] The maximum duration is 320ms.

[0143] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 5 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 6 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0144] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0145] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 160ms.

[0146] The maximum duration is 640ms.

[0147] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit having an index of 6 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit having an index of 7 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0148] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0149] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 320ms.

[0150] The maximum duration is 1280ms.

[0151] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits are carried in the payload information of the PBCH.

[0152] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, at least two bits are consecutive bits in the SFN indication information.

[0153] Fifthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a terminal device, including: one or more processors; wherein the terminal device is configured to execute the communication method of any one of the first aspects.

[0154] In a sixth aspect, a network device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the network device is used to perform the communication method of any of the second aspects.

[0155] In the seventh aspect, a communication system is proposed, including: terminal equipment and / or network equipment;

[0156] The terminal device is configured to implement the communication method of any one of the first aspects; the network device is configured to implement the communication method of any one of the second aspects.

[0157] Eighthly, a storage medium is proposed, which stores instructions that, when executed on a communication device, implement a communication method as described in either the first or second aspect.

[0158] In the ninth aspect, a program product is proposed, comprising a program and / or instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, implement a communication method as described in either the first or second aspect.

[0159] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform a communication method as described in either the first or second aspect.

[0160] Eleventhly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a chip or chip system. The chip or chip system includes processing circuitry configured to perform the communication method described in either the first or second aspect.

[0161] It is understood that the aforementioned communication devices, terminal equipment, network equipment, communication systems, storage media, program products, computer programs, chips, or chip systems are all used to perform the methods proposed in the embodiments of this disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can be referred to the beneficial effects in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0162] This disclosure provides a communication method, apparatus, system, storage medium, and program product. In some embodiments, the terms "communication method" and "bearer processing method," "information transmission method," etc., can be used interchangeably; the terms "communication method apparatus" and "bearer processing apparatus," "communication apparatus," etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0163] This disclosure is not exhaustive, but merely illustrative of some embodiments, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this disclosure. Unless otherwise specified, each step in a particular embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a particular embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily interchanged. Furthermore, the optional implementation methods in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; moreover, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, for example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments.

[0164] In each of the disclosed embodiments, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0165] The terminology used in the embodiments of this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0166] The following explains the terminology used in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0167] In this embodiment of the disclosure, unless otherwise stated, elements expressed in the singular form, such as "a," "an," "the," "the aforementioned," "the," "this," etc., can mean "one and only one," or "one or more," "at least one," etc. For example, when using articles such as "a," "an," "the," etc. in translation, the noun following the article can be understood as either a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0168] In the embodiments of this disclosure, "multiple" refers to two or more.

[0169] In the embodiments disclosed herein, the terms “at least one of”, “one or more”, “a plurality of”, “multiple”, etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0170] In the embodiments of this disclosure, the notation "at least one of A and B", "A and / or B", "A in one case, B in another", "in response to one case A, in response to another case B", etc., may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execute A regardless of B); in some embodiments, B (execute B regardless of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); in some embodiments, both A and B are executed. The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0171] In the embodiments of this disclosure, the notation "A or B" may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execute A regardless of B); in some embodiments, B (execute B regardless of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0172] In the embodiments of this disclosure, prefixes such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish different descriptive objects and do not impose restrictions on the position, order, priority, quantity, or content of the descriptive objects. The description of the descriptive objects is based on the claims or the context of the embodiments, and the use of prefixes should not constitute unnecessary restrictions. For example, if the descriptive object is a "field," the ordinal numbers preceding "field" in "first field" and "second field" do not restrict the position or order of the "fields." "First" and "second" do not restrict whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they restrict the order of "first field" and "second field." Similarly, if the descriptive object is a "level," the ordinal numbers preceding "level" in "first level" and "second level" do not restrict the priority between "levels." Furthermore, the number of descriptive objects is not limited by ordinal numbers and can be one or more. For example, in "first device," the number of "devices" can be one or more. Furthermore, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the object being described is "device", then "first device" and "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different. Similarly, if the object being described is "information", then "first information" and "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their content can be the same or different.

[0173] In the embodiments disclosed herein, "including A", "containing A", "for indicating A", and "carrying A" can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0174] In the embodiments disclosed herein, terms such as “greater than”, “greater than or equal to”, “not less than”, “more than”, “more than or equal to”, “not less than”, “higher than”, “higher than or equal to”, “not lower than”, and “above” can be substituted for each other, and terms such as “less than”, “less than or equal to”, “not greater than”, “less than”, “less than or equal to”, “not more than”, “lower than”, “lower than or equal to”, “not higher than”, and “below” can be substituted for each other.

[0175] In the embodiments of this disclosure, the apparatus and device can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments. In some cases, they can also be understood as "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", "body", etc.

[0176] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the acquisition of data, information, etc., may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the location is situated.

[0177] In this embodiment of the disclosure, data, information, etc., can be obtained after obtaining the user's consent.

[0178] Furthermore, each element, each row, or each column in the table of this disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and any combination of any element, any row, or any column can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0179] The following explains the terminology used in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0180] Terminal devices include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: mobile phone, wearable device, Internet of Things device, car with communication function, smart car, tablet, computer with wireless transceiver function, virtual reality (VR) terminal device, augmented reality (AR) terminal device, wireless terminal device in industrial control, wireless terminal device in self-driving, wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal device in smart grid, wireless terminal device in transportation safety, wireless terminal device in smart city, and wireless terminal device in smart home.

[0181] Network equipment includes, for example, nodes or devices that connect terminal devices to a wireless network. Network equipment can be satellites, spaceborne base stations, or base stations. Base stations can be at least one of the following in 5G communication systems: evolved NodeB (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), next-generation NodeB (gNB), node B (NB), home node B (HNB), home evolved node B (HeNB), radio backhaul equipment, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), base band unit (BBU), mobile switching center, base station in 6G communication systems, open RAN, cloud RAN, base stations in other communication systems, and access nodes in Wi-Fi systems, but are not limited to these.

[0182] Beam hopping is a technique that adjusts the beam direction at different times to improve the coverage and efficiency of satellite communications. Addressing the imbalance between supply and demand in satellite coverage areas is a current research direction in the evolution of Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs). By adjusting the duration of beam coverage (or beam position) and the beam period, different capacity values ​​are provided to balance the requirements of different coverage areas.

[0183] A synchronization signal block (SSB) is a signal block periodically sent by network devices to terminal devices. It assists terminal devices in cell search, timing and frequency synchronization, location and mobility management, and other functions. The SSB includes primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), and the physical broadcast channel (PBCH).

[0184] Currently, related technologies use SSB cycles to support public information (such as SSB, PBCH, etc.) to achieve wide coverage of the target ground area. That is, within one SSB cycle (e.g., 20ms), only some coverage areas of multiple coverage areas of the network device have beams to provide services to the terminal device.

[0185] The following explanation, with reference to Figure 1a, illustrates the use of SSB periodicity to support the beam skipping mechanism.

[0186] Figure 1a is an exemplary architecture diagram of a beam-hopping mechanism according to an embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 1a, the network device has multiple coverage areas, including coverage areas 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d.

[0187] For example, based on the beam hopping mechanism, the network device sends SSB 1 to coverage area 10a in the first SSB cycle, SSB 2 to coverage area 10b in the second SSB cycle, SSB 3 to coverage area 10c in the third SSB cycle, and SSB 4 to coverage area 10d in the fourth SSB cycle.

[0188] In related technologies, the SSB period is 20 milliseconds (ms). It is understood that when the terminal device is located in coverage area 10a, it receives SSB 1 from the network device within the SSB period. To receive SSB 1 again from the network device, it must wait until the next SSB period.

[0189] The SSB sent by network devices to terminal devices includes the PBCH. The PBCH can be used to carry the Master Information Block (MIB), which includes System Frame Number (SFN) indication information. The PBCH has 32 bits, of which 24 bits are provided by higher-layer parameters and are related to the MIB, and the remaining 8 bits are provided by the physical layer.

[0190] Of these 32 bits, 10 bits (SFN indication information) are related to the SFN, the 6 most significant bits (MSB) of these 10 bits are in the MIB-related bits, and the 4 least significant bits (LSB) of these 10 bits are in the bits provided by the physical layer. These 10 bits can indicate 1024 frames.

[0191] After receiving the PBCH, the network device will perform operations such as interleaving, scrambling, channel coding, rate matching, rescrambling, and modulation on the PBCH.

[0192] The scrambling rules for this 32-bit sequence are explained below: In the bit sequence a0, a1, a2...aA-1 The scrambling is a′0, a′1, a′2……a′ A-1 , where a′ i =(a i +S i ) mod 2, where i = 0, 1, ..., A-1. S i Generate according to the following rules: in a i =a1 or a i When = a2, S i =0; in a i ≠ a1 or a i When ≠a2, j is an integer that varies with i, and v is obtained from Table 1 below based on the second (2nd) and third (3rd) bits of the four least significant bits in the 10 bits related to SFN. or When, m = A - 3; in When, m = A - 4; in When, m = A - 5; in At that time, m = A - 6; where, This represents the number of candidate SSBs in a half-frame.

[0193] Table 1

[0194] From the above scrambling process, it can be concluded that for the second bit (2) of the four least significant bits in the 10 bits related to SFN, nd ) and the third bit (3 rd No scrambling is performed. In this way, when the terminal device needs to decode, it can receive the four PBCHs sent by the network device within 80ms in a combined manner, and determine the scrambling sequence based on the second bit, the third bit and the identifier (ID) of the cell where the terminal device is located, and then descramble it according to the sequence.

[0195] In order for the terminal device to receive 4 PBCHs within 80ms, the lower 3 bits of the 10 bits related to SFN are usually used to indicate these 80ms (2 3 ×10ms, where 10ms represents the duration of a frame), and the second and third bits of the lower 3 bits are used to indicate these 4 PBCHs without scrambling.

[0196] The following, with reference to Figure 1b, explains how to merge the four received PBCHs within 80ms.

[0197] Figure 1b is a schematic diagram of an exemplary architecture for supporting beam hopping mechanisms using SSB cycles according to an embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 1b, exemplaryly, the lower 3 bits are 000 (where 2 nd 0, 3 rd(0) Receive the 0th frame at 0ms, the lower 3 bits are 010 (where, 2) nd For 1, 3 rd The second frame is received in 20ms (where 2 is 0), and the lower 3 bits are 100 (where 2 is 0). nd 0, 3 rd 1) The 4th frame is received in 40ms, and the lower 3 bits are 110 (where, 2 nd For 1, 3 rd 1) Receive the 6th frame in 60ms.

[0198] Among them, the 0th frame, the 2nd frame, the 4th frame and the 6th frame are four frames received by merging within 80ms. Each frame includes one PBCH, that is, four PBCHs received by merging within 80ms.

[0199] Therefore, in the above-mentioned related technologies, the second and third bits are not scrambled, and only support the terminal device to combine and receive 4 PBCHs within 80ms. To improve the reception quality of the terminal device (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio, SNR), it is usually necessary to increase the SSB period. For example, in NTN, the SSB period needs to be increased from 20ms to 40ms. How to enable the terminal device to combine and receive 4 or more PBCHs has become an urgent technical problem to be solved.

[0200] To address the aforementioned issues, this disclosure provides a communication method, apparatus, system, storage medium, and program product. In this method, the PBCH is received in a manner with a longer SSB period by not scrambling other bits in the SFN, instead of the second and third bits.

[0201] The communication methods, apparatus, systems, storage media, and program products provided in this disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0202] Referring to Figure 2, which is an exemplary flowchart of a communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication method includes the following steps:

[0203] In step S2101, the network device sends the PBCH to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the PBCH.

[0204] In some embodiments, the network device sends an SSB to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives the SSB, which includes a PBCH.

[0205] In some embodiments, the SFN indication information of the PBCH includes at least two unscrambled bits.

[0206] In some embodiments, at least two bits are carried in the payload information of the PBCH. This payload information is provided by the physical layer.

[0207] In some embodiments, at least two bits are consecutive bits in the SFN indication information.

[0208] In some embodiments, the number of at least two bits is related to the number of bits in the SFN indication information. For example, the number of at least two bits is less than the number of bits in the SFN indication information. For example, when the number of bits in the SFN indication information is 10, the number of at least two bits can be 2, 3, or 4, etc.

[0209] In some embodiments, at least two bits are used to indicate the number of times the network device retransmits the PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration of the terminal device's PBCH merge reception.

[0210] In some embodiments, the maximum duration is the maximum duration for the terminal device to perform PBCH merging and reception.

[0211] In some embodiments, at least two bits are indexed in the SFN indication information to indicate the maximum duration.

[0212] In some embodiments, at least two bits include a first bit. The first bit is the most significant bit of the at least two bits. The index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is used to indicate the maximum duration.

[0213] In some embodiments, the maximum duration is 2 K ×T. Where K is the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information, and T is the unit duration. K is a positive integer, and T is a positive integer.

[0214] In some embodiments, K is related to the number of bits in the SFN indication information. In some embodiments, K is less than or equal to the number of bits in the SFN indication information. For example, if the number of bits in the SFN indication information is 10, K can be 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. For example, if the number of bits in the SFN indication information is 11, K can be 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 11.

[0215] For example, T can be 10ms or 20ms, etc.

[0216] In some embodiments, at least two bits contain a bit with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information.

[0217] In some embodiments, when the number of bits in the SFN indication information is 10 and at least two bits include two bits, if the at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, then the index of the first bit and the second bit is as shown in Examples 1A to 1G below.

[0218] Example 1A: The index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 3, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 4.

[0219] In Example 1B, the index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 4, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 5.

[0220] Example 1C: The index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 5, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 5.

[0221] In Example 1D, the index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 6, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 7.

[0222] In Example 1E, the index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 7, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 8.

[0223] In Example 1F, the index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 8, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 9.

[0224] In Example 1G, the index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 9, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 10.

[0225] The first bit and the maximum duration are explained below with reference to Examples 2A to 2D.

[0226] Example 2A, based on Example 1A, has the first bit indexed as 4 in the SFN indication information, and the maximum duration is 160ms.

[0227] Example 2B, based on Example 1B, has the first bit indexed as 5 in the SFN indication information, and the maximum duration is 320ms.

[0228] Example 2C, based on Example 1C, has the first bit indexed as 6 in the SFN indication information, and the maximum duration is 640ms.

[0229] Example 2D, based on Example 1D, has the first bit indexed as 7 in the SFN indication information, and the maximum duration is 1280ms.

[0230] In some embodiments, at least two bits comprise C bits, where C is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0231] In some embodiments, the "C" in the C bits is used to indicate the maximum number of PBCH merge receptions that the terminal device expects to perform.

[0232] In some embodiments, the "C" in the C bits satisfies the following condition with respect to the maximum number M of PBCH combining receptions expected by the terminal: 2 C =M, where M is a positive integer.

[0233] In some embodiments, C = 2, M = 4.

[0234] In some embodiments, C = 3 and M = 8.

[0235] In some embodiments, C = 4 and M = 16.

[0236] When the maximum number of PBCH merging receptions is M, the network device sends M PBCHs to the terminal device, and the terminal device merges and receives M PBCHs.

[0237] In some embodiments, the maximum duration is M×N, where N is the period during which the terminal device expects to receive the PBCH, and N is a positive integer. For example, N may also be referred to as the SSB period or the SSB extended period, etc.

[0238] In some embodiments, M is 4 and N is greater than 20ms. For example, M is 4 and N can be 40ms, 80ms, 160ms, 320ms, 640ms, or 1280ms, etc.

[0239] The following describes the number of times the terminal device expects to receive PBCH in combination (or the maximum number of times the terminal device expects to receive PBCH in combination), the period during which the terminal device expects to receive PBCH, and the maximum duration, when the number of at least two bits is 2, in conjunction with Examples 3A to 3G.

[0240] Example 3A: At least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 3 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 4 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following: the terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner (the maximum number of PBCHs the terminal device expects to receive in a combined manner is 4) (i.e., C=4), the terminal device expects the PBCH period to be 40ms (i.e., N=40ms), and the maximum duration is 160ms (2 4 ×10ms).

[0241] Example 3B: At least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 4 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 5 in the SFN indication information, satisfying at least one of the following: the terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner (the maximum number of PBCHs the terminal device expects to receive in a combined manner is 4) (i.e., C = 4), the terminal device expects the PBCH period to be 80ms (i.e., N = 80ms), and the maximum duration is 320ms (2 5 ×10ms).

[0242] Unlike related technologies, where the SFN indicates information in 10 bits, with 6 bits (6 MSBs) in the MIB-related bits and 4 bits (4 LSBs) provided by the physical layer, Example 3B reduces the number of bits in the SFN indication information from 10 to 5 bits, and increases the physical layer provision from 4 bits to 5 bits.

[0243] Example 3C: At least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 5 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 6 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following: the terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner (the maximum number of PBCHs the terminal device expects to receive in a combined manner is 4) (i.e., C=4), the terminal device expects the PBCH period to be 160ms (i.e., N=160ms), and the maximum duration is 640ms (2 6 ×10ms).

[0244] Based on Example 3C, the number of bits for SFN indicating information is 10, the number of bits in MIB-related bits is reduced from 6 to 4, and the number of bits provided by the physical layer is increased from 4 to 6.

[0245] Example 3D: At least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 6 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 7 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following: the terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner (the maximum number of PBCHs the terminal device expects to receive in a combined manner is 4) (i.e., C=4), the terminal device expects the PBCH period to be 320ms (i.e., N=320ms), and the maximum duration is 1280ms (2 7 ×10ms).

[0246] Based on Example 3D, the number of bits for SFN indicating information is 10, the number of bits related to MIB is reduced from 6 to 3, and the number of bits provided by the physical layer is increased from 4 to 7.

[0247] Example 3E: The index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 7, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 8; at least one of the following must be satisfied: the terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner (the maximum number of PBCHs the terminal device expects to receive in a combined manner is 4) (i.e., C=4), the terminal device expects the PBCH period to be 640ms (i.e., N=640ms), and the maximum duration is 2560ms (2 8 ×10ms).

[0248] Based on Example 3E, the number of bits for SFN indicating information is 10, the number of bits related to MIB is reduced from 6 to 2, and the number of bits provided by the physical layer is increased from 4 to 8.

[0249] Example 3F: The index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 8, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 9; at least one of the following must be satisfied: the terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner (the maximum number of PBCHs the terminal device expects to receive in a combined manner is 4) (i.e., C=4), the terminal device expects the PBCH period to be 1280ms (i.e., N=1280ms), and the maximum duration is 5120ms (2 9 ×10ms).

[0250] Based on this embodiment, the number of bits for the SFN indication information is 10, the number of bits in the MIB-related bits is reduced from 6 bits to 1 bit, and the number of bits provided by the physical layer is increased from 4 bits to 9 bits.

[0251] Example 3G: The index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 9, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 10; at least one of the following must be satisfied: the terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner (the maximum number of PBCHs the terminal device expects to receive in a combined manner is 4) (i.e., C=4), the terminal device expects the PBCH period to be 2560ms (i.e., N=2560), and the maximum duration is 10240ms (2 10 ×10ms).

[0252] Based on Example 3G, the number of bits for SFN indicating information is 10, the number of bits related to MIB is reduced from 6 to 0, and the number of bits provided by the physical layer is increased from 4 to 10.

[0253] The following description, in conjunction with Examples 4A to 4C, explains the maximum number of PBCH merge receptions that the terminal device expects to perform, the period during which the terminal device expects to receive PBCHs, and the maximum duration when at least two bits, including the first bit, the second bit, and the third bit, are used.

[0254] Example 4A: The index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 3, the index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 4, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 5; satisfying at least one of the following: the terminal device expects to receive 8 PBCHs in a combined manner (the maximum number of PBCHs the terminal device expects to receive in a combined manner is 8) (i.e., C = 8), the terminal device expects the PBCH period to be 40ms (i.e., N = 40ms), and the maximum duration is 320ms (2 5 ×10ms).

[0255] Unlike related technologies, where the SFN indicates information in 10 bits, with 6 bits (6 MSBs) in the MIB-related bits and 4 bits (4 LSBs) provided by the physical layer, in Example 4A, the number of bits for the SFN indicates information is reduced from 6 bits in the MIB-related bits to 5 bits, and the 4 bits provided by the physical layer are increased to 5 bits.

[0256] Example 4B: The index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 4, the index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 5, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 6; satisfying at least one of the following: the terminal device expects to receive 8 PBCHs in a combined manner (the maximum number of PBCHs the terminal device expects to receive in a combined manner is 8) (i.e., C = 8), the terminal device expects the PBCH period to be 80ms (i.e., N = 80ms), and the maximum duration is 640ms (2 6 ×10ms).

[0257] Based on Example 4B, the number of bits for SFN indicating information is 10, the number of bits in MIB-related bits is reduced from 6 to 4, and the number of bits provided by the physical layer is increased from 4 to 6.

[0258] Example 4C: The index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 5, the index of the second bit in the SFN indication information is 6, and the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is 7; satisfying at least one of the following: the terminal device expects to receive 8 PBCHs in a combined manner (the maximum number of PBCHs the terminal device expects to receive in a combined manner is 8) (i.e., C = 8), the terminal device expects the PBCH period to be 160ms (i.e., N = 160ms), and the maximum duration is 1280ms (2 7 ×10ms).

[0259] Based on Example 4C, the number of bits for SFN indicating information is 10, the number of bits related to MIB is reduced from 6 to 3, and the number of bits provided by the physical layer is increased from 4 to 7.

[0260] In the embodiments of this application, at least two unscrambled bits, including bits with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information, can enable the terminal device to perform PBCH combining reception according to a longer SSB period (i.e., the period during which the terminal device expects to receive PBCH), thereby improving the reception quality of the terminal device (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)).

[0261] In the embodiments disclosed herein, some or all of the steps and their optional implementations may be arbitrarily combined with some or all of the steps in other embodiments, or may be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementations in other embodiments.

[0262] This disclosure also provides embodiments of an apparatus for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is provided that includes units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the terminal device in any of the above methods. Furthermore, another apparatus is provided that includes units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the network device in any of the above methods.

[0263] It should be understood that the division of units or modules in the above device is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into a single physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Furthermore, the units or modules in the device can be implemented by a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor connected to a memory containing instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or to implement the functions of the units or modules in the above device. The processor can be, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory can be internal or external to the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits. The functionality of some or all of the units or modules can be achieved through the design of these hardware circuits, which can be understood as one or more processors. For example, in one implementation, the hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The functionality of some or all of the units or modules is achieved through the design of the logical relationships between the components within the circuit. In another implementation, the hardware circuit can be implemented using a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gates. The connection relationships between the logic gates are configured through configuration files, thereby achieving the functionality of some or all of the units or modules. All units or modules of the above device can be implemented entirely through processor-called software, entirely through hardware circuits, or partially through processor-called software with the remaining parts implemented through hardware circuits.

[0264] In this embodiment, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction read and execute capabilities, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationships of hardware circuits. The logical relationships of the aforementioned hardware circuits are fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented using an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and configuring the hardware circuit can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. Furthermore, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a Neural Network Processing Unit (NPU), a Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), or a Deep Learning Processing Unit (DPU).

[0265] Figure 3a is an exemplary structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device can be software and / or hardware disposed in a terminal device. As shown in Figure 3a, the communication device 3100 may include:

[0266] Transceiver module 3101 is used to receive PBCH;

[0267] The SFN indication information of the PBCH includes at least two unscrambled bits. These at least two bits are used to indicate the number of times the network device retransmits the PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration of the terminal device's PBCH merging reception. These at least two bits include bits with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information.

[0268] Figure 3b is another exemplary structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This communication device can be software and / or hardware disposed in a network device. As shown in Figure 3b, the communication device 3200 may include:

[0269] Transceiver module 3201 is used to receive PBCH;

[0270] The SFN indication information of the PBCH includes at least two unscrambled bits. These at least two bits are used to indicate the number of times the network device retransmits the PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration of the terminal device's PBCH merging reception. These at least two bits include bits with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information.

[0271] In some embodiments, at least two bits are indexed in the SFN indication information to indicate the maximum duration.

[0272] In some embodiments, at least two bits include the first bit, wherein...

[0273] The index of the first bit in the SFN indication information is used to indicate the maximum duration;

[0274] The first bit is the highest bit among at least two bits.

[0275] In some embodiments, the maximum duration is 2 K ×T, where

[0276] K is the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information, and K is a positive integer;

[0277] T represents the unit duration, and T is a positive integer.

[0278] In some embodiments, the maximum duration is M×N, where,

[0279] M represents the maximum number of PBCH combining receptions that the terminal device expects to perform, and M is a positive integer.

[0280] N is the period of the PBCH that the terminal device expects to receive, and N is a positive integer.

[0281] In some embodiments, M is 4 and N is greater than 20ms.

[0282] In some embodiments, at least two bits include two bits.

[0283] In some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit has an index of 3 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 4 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0284] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0285] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 40ms.

[0286] The maximum duration is 160ms.

[0287] In some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit having an index of 4 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit having an index of 5 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0288] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0289] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 80ms.

[0290] The maximum duration is 320ms.

[0291] In some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit having an index of 5 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit having an index of 6 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0292] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0293] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 160ms.

[0294] The maximum duration is 640ms.

[0295] In some embodiments, at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit, the second bit having an index of 6 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit having an index of 7 in the SFN indication information; satisfying at least one of the following:

[0296] The terminal device expects to receive 4 PBCHs in a combined manner;

[0297] The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for 320ms.

[0298] The maximum duration is 1280ms.

[0299] In some embodiments, at least two bits are carried in the payload information of the PBCH.

[0300] In some embodiments, at least two bits are consecutive bits in the SFN indication information.

[0301] Figure 4a is an exemplary structural diagram of a communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device can be any of a terminal device or a network device, or it can be a chip, chip system, or processor, etc., that supports any of the terminal devices or network devices in implementing any of the above methods. It can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments, and for details, please refer to the description in the above method embodiments.

[0302] As shown in Figure 4a, the communication device 4100 includes one or more processors 4101. The processor 4101 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, such as a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The communication device 4100 is used to execute any of the above methods.

[0303] In some embodiments, the communication device 4100 further includes one or more memories 4102 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 4102 may also be located outside the communication device 4100.

[0304] In some embodiments, the communication device 4100 further includes one or more transceivers 4103. When the communication device 4100 includes one or more transceivers 4103, the transceivers 4103 perform communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method (e.g., step S2101).

[0305] In some embodiments, transceiver 4103 may include a receiver and / or a transmitter, which may be separate or integrated together. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver circuit, etc., can be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, transmitting circuit, etc., can be used interchangeably; and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, receiving circuit, etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0306] In some embodiments, the communication device 4100 may include one or more interface circuits 4104. Optionally, the interface circuit 4104 is connected to the memory 4102, and the interface circuit 4104 can be used to receive signals from the memory 4102 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory 4102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 4104 can read instructions stored in the memory 4102 and send the instructions to the processor 4101.

[0307] The communication device 4100 described in the above embodiments can be any of the terminal devices or network devices, but the scope of the communication device 4100 described in this disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 4100 may not be limited to FIG4a. The communication device can be an independent device or a part of a larger device. For example, the communication device can be at least one of the following: (1) an independent integrated circuit IC, or chip, or chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection having one or more ICs, optionally, the IC collection may also include storage components for storing data and programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, terminal device, network device, cellular phone, wireless device, handheld device, mobile unit, vehicle device, cloud device, artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0308] Figure 4b is an exemplary structural diagram of a chip provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For cases where the communication device can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to the structural diagram of chip 4200 shown in Figure 4b, but it is not limited thereto.

[0309] Chip 4200 includes one or more processors 4201, which are used to perform the above communication methods.

[0310] In some embodiments, chip 4200 further includes one or more interface circuits 4202. Optionally, the interface circuit 4202 is connected to memory 4203, and the interface circuit 4202 can be used to receive signals from memory 4203 or other devices, and the interface circuit 4202 can be used to send signals to memory 4203 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 4202 can read instructions stored in memory 4203 and send the instructions to processor 4201.

[0311] In some embodiments, the interface circuit 4202 performs the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method.

[0312] In some embodiments, the terms interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, transceiver, etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0313] In some embodiments, chip 4200 further includes one or more memories 4203 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 4203 may be located outside of chip 4200.

[0314] The modules and / or devices described in the various embodiments, such as virtual devices, physical devices, and chips, can be combined or separated arbitrarily as needed. Optionally, some or all steps can also be performed collaboratively by multiple modules and / or devices, which is not limited here.

[0315] This disclosure also proposes a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on the communication device 4100, cause the communication device 4100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but not limited thereto; it may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but not limited thereto; it may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0316] This disclosure also proposes a program product, including a program and / or instructions, which, when executed by the communication device 4100, cause the communication device 4100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the above program product is a computer program product.

[0317] This disclosure also proposes a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the above methods.

[0318] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this disclosure.

[0319] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes 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.

[0320] The above are merely specific embodiments of this disclosure, but the scope of protection of this disclosure is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this disclosure should be included within the scope of protection of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of this disclosure should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is executed by a terminal device, and the method includes: Receive physical broadcast channel PBCH; The SFN indication information of the PBCH includes at least two unscrambled bits, which are used to indicate the number of times the network device retransmits the PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration of the terminal device's PBCH merging reception. The at least two bits include bits with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The at least two bits are indices in the SFN indication information, used to indicate the maximum duration.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The at least two bits include the first bit, wherein, The first bit is the index in the SFN indication information, used to indicate the maximum duration; The first bit is the highest bit among the at least two bits.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The maximum duration is 2 K ×T, where K is the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information, and K is a positive integer; T is a unit duration and is a positive integer.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The maximum duration is M×N, where, M is the maximum number of PBCH merging receptions that the terminal device expects to perform, and M is a positive integer; N is the period during which the terminal device expects to receive the PBCH, and N is a positive integer.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, M is 4, and N is greater than 20 milliseconds.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The second bit has an index of 3 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 4 in the SFN indication information; at least one of the following is satisfied: The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH four times in a combined manner. The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH in a period of 40ms; The maximum duration is 160ms.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The second bit has an index of 4 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 5 in the SFN indication information; at least one of the following is satisfied: The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH four times in a combined manner. The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH in a period of 80ms; The maximum duration is 320ms.

10. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The second bit has an index of 5 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 6 in the SFN indication information; at least one of the following is satisfied: The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH four times in a combined manner. The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH within a period of 160ms; The maximum duration is 640ms.

11. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The second bit has an index of 6 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 7 in the SFN indication information; at least one of the following is satisfied: The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH four times in a combined manner. The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for a period of 320ms; The maximum duration is 1280ms.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, characterized in that, The at least two bits are carried in the payload information of the PBCH.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-12, characterized in that, The at least two bits are consecutive bits in the SFN indication information.

14. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is performed by a network device, and the method includes: Send PBCH; Receive physical broadcast channel PBCH; The SFN indication information of the PBCH includes at least two unscrambled bits, which are used to indicate the number of times the network device retransmits the PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration of the terminal device's PBCH merging reception. The at least two bits include bits with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The at least two bits are indices in the SFN indication information, used to indicate the maximum duration.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that, The at least two bits include the first bit, wherein, The first bit is the index in the SFN indication information, used to indicate the maximum duration; The first bit is the highest bit among the at least two bits.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The maximum duration is 2 K ×T, where K is the index of the first bit in the SFN indication information, and K is a positive integer; T is a unit duration and is a positive integer.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14-16, characterized in that, The maximum duration is M×N, where, M represents the maximum number of PBCH merging receptions that the terminal device expects to perform, and M is a positive integer. N is the period during which the terminal device expects to receive the PBCH, and N is a positive integer.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, M is 4, and N is greater than 20ms.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The at least two bits consist of a first bit and a second bit.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The second bit has an index of 3 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 4 in the SFN indication information; at least one of the following is satisfied: The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH four times in a combined manner. The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH in a period of 40ms; The maximum duration is 160ms.

22. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The second bit has an index of 4 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 5 in the SFN indication information; at least one of the following is satisfied: The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH four times in a combined manner. The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH in a period of 80ms; The maximum duration is 320ms.

23. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The second bit has an index of 5 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 6 in the SFN indication information; at least one of the following is satisfied: The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH four times in a combined manner. The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH within a period of 160ms; The maximum duration is 640ms.

24. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The second bit has an index of 6 in the SFN indication information, and the first bit has an index of 7 in the SFN indication information; at least one of the following is satisfied: The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH four times in a combined manner. The terminal device expects to receive the PBCH for a period of 320ms; The maximum duration is 1280ms.

25. The method according to any one of claims 14-24, characterized in that, The at least two bits are carried in the payload information of the PBCH.

26. The method according to any one of claims 14-25, characterized in that, The at least two bits are consecutive bits in the SFN indication information.

27. A communication device, characterized in that, include: The transceiver module is used to receive the PBCH. The SFN indication information of the PBCH includes at least two unscrambled bits, which are used to indicate the number of times the network device retransmits the PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration of the terminal device's PBCH merging reception. The at least two bits include bits with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information.

28. A communication device, characterized in that, include: The transceiver module is used to send PBCH. The SFN indication information of the PBCH includes at least two unscrambled bits, which are used to indicate the number of times the network device retransmits the PBCH to the terminal device within the maximum duration of the terminal device's PBCH merging reception. The at least two bits include bits with an index greater than 3 in the SFN indication information.

29. A terminal device, characterized in that, include: One or more processors; The terminal device is used to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1-13.

30. A network device, characterized in that, include: One or more processors; The network device is used to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 14-26.

31. A communication system, characterized in that, include: Terminal equipment and network equipment; The terminal device is configured to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1-13; The network device is configured to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 14-26.

32. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that, When the instruction is executed on the communication device, the communication device performs the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-13 or 14-26.

33. A program product comprising a program and / or instructions, characterized in that, When the program and / or instructions are executed by the communication device, they implement the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-13 or 14-26.

Images