Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus. In the method, a terminal located in a first area determines, on the basis of a first parameter, a first time-domain position for monitoring a downlink PDCCH, wherein the first parameter comprises the number of radio frames included in an SSB extension period; a satellite base station sends a first PDCCH to the first area at the first time-domain position in the SSB extension period, and sends a second PDCCH to a second area at a second time-domain position in the SSB extension period; and the terminal monitors the first PDCCH at the first time-domain position. By means of the method, a terminal determines, on the basis of the number of radio frames included in an SSB extension period, a time-domain position for monitoring a PDCCH. Because the number of radio frames included in the SSB extension period increases, the terminal can determine, on the basis of a time-domain length in a later stage of SSB extension, a corresponding position for monitoring the PDCCH, thereby avoiding unnecessary monitoring, and further reducing the power consumption of a terminal device.

Description

A communication method and apparatus

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510391231.8, filed on March 28, 2025, entitled "A Communication Method and Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

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

[0004] Compared to terrestrial communications, non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) offer advantages such as wider coverage and more flexible network deployment. Currently, various research institutes, communication organizations, and companies are involved in researching NTN communication technologies and standards, striving to build a unified communication network encompassing air, space, and ground communications.

[0005] As shown in Figure 1, the satellite has N active beams, meaning it can transmit N beams simultaneously. Each beam corresponds to a coverage area, which can be called a spectral position. However, the satellite's coverage area can contain a larger number of spectral positions. For example, if the number of active beams N = 16, meaning 16 spectral positions can be scanned at once, and the satellite's coverage area contains a total of 1058 spectral positions, then when transmitting synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel blocks (SSBs), the satellite can extend one SSB cycle, increasing its duration by one SSB cycle. This provides sufficient time to switch active beams to transmit SSBs, ensuring that every spectral position within the coverage area receives the SSB, thereby improving coverage.

[0006] However, after extending the SSB period, how the UE can monitor the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) within one extended SSB period is a technical problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0007] This application provides a communication method and apparatus to solve the problem of how terminal devices monitor PDCCH during the SSB extension period.

[0008] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method that can be applied to the terminal device side, such as the terminal device or the communication module in the terminal device, or the circuit or chip in the terminal device responsible for communication functions (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).

[0009] Taking the application of this method to a terminal device as an example, the method includes: determining a first time-domain location for monitoring the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) based on a first parameter, wherein the first parameter includes a synchronization signal and the number of radio frames contained in the Physical Broadcast Channel Block (SSB) extension period; and monitoring the PDCCH at the first time-domain location.

[0010] Compared to the traditional SSB period, the SSB extension period is longer and contains more radio frames. Therefore, if the terminal device still uses the traditional PDCCH monitoring method when using the SSB extension period, it will repeatedly monitor the PDCCH even when non-terrestrial network devices are not sending PDCCHs to the terminal device's area, resulting in wasted power consumption for ineffective monitoring. However, with the above communication method, the terminal device determines the time-domain location for PDCCH monitoring based on the number of radio frames contained in an SSB extension period. Because the number of radio frames in the SSB extension period is increased, the terminal device can determine the corresponding PDCCH monitoring location based on the time-domain length of the later stages of the SSB extension, thus avoiding ineffective monitoring and saving power consumption.

[0011] In one possible implementation, determining the first time-domain location of the monitored physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the first parameter includes: determining the first time-domain location of the monitored PDCCH based on the first parameter, the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and configuration parameters.

[0012] In one possible implementation, determining the first temporal location of the monitored PDCCH based on the first parameter, the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and configuration parameters includes: if Then SFN c mod T = 0; if Then SFN c mod T = 1; where SFN c The system frame number of the radio frame containing the PDCCH is indicated, T represents the number of radio frames contained in one SSB period, O and M are constants, and μ is used to indicate the subcarrier spacing. This indicates the number of time slots contained in a radio frame.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the first parameter further includes an offset parameter corresponding to a first region, the first region being the region where the terminal device is located, the offset parameter corresponding to the first region being different from the offset parameter corresponding to the second region, the first region and the second region being regions supported by the same non-terrestrial network device, and the non-terrestrial network device sending SSBs to the first region and the second region respectively within one SSB extension cycle.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the first area and the second area belong to the same cell or different cells; or, the first area is the first cell and the second area is the second cell.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving a first message, the first message including the bias parameter.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the first message is an SSB.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the bias parameter is indicated by bits in the physical broadcast channel PBCH payload of the SSB.

[0018] In one possible implementation, determining the first time-domain location of the monitored physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the first parameter includes: determining the first time-domain location of the monitored PDCCH based on the number of radio frames contained in one SSB extension period, the offset parameter, the number of time slots contained in one radio frame, and configuration parameters.

[0019] In one possible implementation, determining the first time-domain location for monitoring the PDCCH based on the number of radio frames contained in the SSB extended period, the offset parameter, the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and configuration parameters includes: if Then SFN c mod T = 0 + 2K; if Then SFN c mod T = 1 + 2K; where SFN c The system frame number of the radio frame containing the PDCCH is indicated, T represents the number of radio frames contained in one SSB period, O and M are constants, and μ is used to indicate the subcarrier spacing. This indicates the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and K represents the offset parameter.

[0020] In one possible implementation, determining the first time-domain location of the monitored physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the first parameter includes: determining the first time-domain location of the monitored PDCCH based on the number of radio frames contained in the one SSB extension period, the offset parameter, and dwell time indication information, wherein the dwell time indication information is used to indicate the dwell time of the active beam of the non-terrestrial network device in the first area.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the first time-domain position is the starting time-domain position of the PDCCH in the PDCCH monitoring cycle.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the PDCCH monitoring period is equal to the SSB extension period.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the bias parameter corresponding to the first region is the index value of the first region.

[0024] In one possible implementation, determining the first temporal location of the monitored PDCCH based on the number of radio frames contained in the one SSB extended period, the offset parameter, and the dwell time indication information includes:

[0025] The first time-domain position is determined according to the following formula: Where n′0 represents the starting time slot of the PDCCH, O and M are constants, μ represents the subcarrier spacing, K represents the offset parameter corresponding to the first region, and T g This indicates the number of time slots corresponding to the dwell time, where μ is used to indicate the subcarrier spacing. This indicates the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and T indicates the number of radio frames contained in an SSB period.

[0026] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method that can be executed by a non-terrestrial network device, or by a module (e.g., a chip, chip system, or processor) applied to a non-terrestrial network device, or by a logical node, logical module, or software that implements all or part of the functions of a non-terrestrial network device.

[0027] Taking the application of this method to a non-terrestrial network device as an example, the method includes: transmitting a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to a first region at a first time domain location, the first time domain location being determined according to a first parameter, the first parameter including a synchronization signal and the number of radio frames contained in a Physical Broadcast Channel Block (SSB) extension period; transmitting a second PDCCH to a second region at a second time domain location, the second time domain location being determined according to a second parameter, the second parameter including the number of radio frames contained in the SSB extension period; the first region and the second region are regions supported by the same non-terrestrial network device, and the non-terrestrial network device transmits SSBs to the first region and the second region respectively within one SSB extension period.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the first time-domain position is determined based on the first parameter, the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and configuration parameters; the second time-domain position is determined based on the second parameter, the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and configuration parameters.

[0029] In one possible implementation, if Then SFN c mod T = 0; if Then SFN c mod T = 1; where SFN c This indicates the system frame number of the radio frame containing the first or second PDCCH, T represents the number of radio frames contained in one SSB period, O and M are constants, and μ is used to indicate the subcarrier spacing. This indicates the number of time slots contained in a radio frame.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the first parameter further includes a first bias parameter corresponding to the first region; the second parameter further includes a second bias parameter corresponding to the second region; the first bias parameter is different from the second bias parameter.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the first area and the second area belong to the same cell or different cells; or, the first area is the first cell and the second area is the second cell.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending a first message to the first region, the first message including the first bias parameter; and sending a second message to the second region, the second message including the second bias parameter.

[0033] In one possible implementation, the first message is a first SSB; and / or, the second message is a second SSB.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the first bias parameter is indicated by a bit in the PBCH load of the first SSB; and / or, the second bias parameter is indicated by a bit in the PBCH load of the second SSB.

[0035] In one possible implementation, the first time-domain position is determined based on the number of radio frames included in one SSB extension period, the first offset parameter, the number of time slots included in one radio frame, and the first configuration parameter; and / or, the second time-domain position is determined based on the number of radio frames included in one SSB extension period, the second offset parameter, the number of time slots included in one radio frame, and the second configuration parameter.

[0036] In one possible implementation, if Then SFN c mod T = 0 + 2K; if Then SFN c mod T = 1 + 2K; where SFN c This indicates the system frame number of the radio frame containing the first or second PDCCH, T represents the number of radio frames contained in one SSB period, O and M are constants, and μ is used to indicate the subcarrier spacing. This indicates the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and K represents either the first bias parameter or the second bias parameter.

[0037] In one possible implementation, the first time-domain location is determined based on the number of radio frames included in the one SSB extension period, the first offset parameter, and the first dwell time indication information, wherein the first dwell time indication information is used to indicate the dwell time of the active beam of the non-terrestrial network device in the first area; the second time-domain location is determined based on the number of radio frames included in the one SSB extension period, the second offset parameter, and the second dwell time indication information, wherein the second dwell time indication information is used to indicate the dwell time of the active beam of the non-terrestrial network device in the second area.

[0038] In one possible implementation, the first time-domain position is the starting time-domain position of the first PDCCH in the PDCCH monitoring period; the second time-domain position is the starting time-domain position of the second PDCCH in the PDCCH monitoring period.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the PDCCH monitoring period is equal to the SSB extension period.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the first bias parameter is the index value of the first region; the second bias parameter is the index value of the second region.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the first time-domain position and the second time-domain position are determined according to the following formula: Where n′0 represents the starting time slot of the first PDCCH or the second PDCCH, O and M are constants, μ represents the subcarrier spacing, K represents the first offset parameter or the second configuration parameter, and T g The dwell time is indicated by μ, which is used to indicate the subcarrier spacing. This indicates the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and T indicates the number of radio frames contained in an SSB period.

[0042] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide an apparatus capable of implementing the methods described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The apparatus includes corresponding units or modules for performing the described methods. The units or modules included in the apparatus can be implemented in software and / or hardware. The apparatus can be, for example, a terminal device, a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the implementation of the described methods in the terminal device, or a logic node, logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0043] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide an apparatus capable of implementing the methods described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. The apparatus includes corresponding units or modules for performing the described methods. The units or modules included in the apparatus can be implemented in software and / or hardware. The apparatus can be, for example, a non-terrestrial network device, or a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the implementation of the described methods in a non-terrestrial network device, or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the non-terrestrial network functions.

[0044] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device comprising: a processor coupled to a memory for storing programs or instructions, wherein when the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the device performs a method as described in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0045] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication device comprising: a processor coupled to a memory for storing programs or instructions, wherein when the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the device performs a method as described in the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0046] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication system, including the communication device described in the third aspect and the communication device described in the fourth aspect.

[0047] Eighthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication system including the communication device described in the fifth aspect and the communication device described in the sixth aspect.

[0048] Ninthly, embodiments of this application provide a chip, including: at least one processor coupled to a memory for storing instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the chip to implement the methods described in the first to second aspects and any of their implementations.

[0049] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods described in the first to second aspects and any of their implementations.

[0050] Eleventhly, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods described in the first aspect to the second aspect and any of their implementations. Attached Figure Description

[0051] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the satellite coverage area provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the satellite active beam switching dwell area provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0053] Figures 3a and 3b are schematic diagrams of the network architecture of the communication system provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0054] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0055] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of system frame numbers in different regions provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0056] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the system frame number for terminal devices monitoring PDCCH in different regions according to an embodiment of this application;

[0057] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the time slots for terminal devices to monitor the PDCCH in different regions according to the embodiments of this application;

[0058] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0059] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0060] When a terminal monitors the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of type 0, it needs to determine the system frame number (SFN) of the radio frame being monitored and the time slot index (n0) within that radio frame according to the parameters specified in the protocol and the SSB index of the beam. This time slot index is the starting time slot of the PDCCH.

[0061] The existing protocol stipulates that when the multiplexing mode of SSB / control-resource set (CORESET) 0 is 1 (generally used when the bandwidth is small), the terminal determines the time slot n0 and time slot n0+1 of monitoring type 0 PDCCH by looking up the fourth bit (4LSB) of the field "pdcchConfigSIB1" in the master information block (MIB) of the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) in the SSB.

[0062] Specifically, for the no-shared spectrum channel access operation and the SS / PBCH block and CORESET multiplexing mode 1, the terminal monitors the PDCCH in two time slots in the type0-PDCCH-CSS set. For the SS / PBCH block with index i, the terminal can determine the system frame number SFNc of the radio frame for monitoring the PDCCH according to formulas (1) and (2), and monitor the PDCCH in time slots n0 and n0+1 in the determined radio frame. Time slot n0 can be determined according to formula (3).

[0063] Among them, SFN c This indicates the system frame number of the radio frame in which the PDCCH is monitored; O and M are constants; i represents the SSB index; μ is used to indicate the subcarrier spacing. This indicates the number of time slots contained in a radio frame.

[0064] This shows that the terminal monitors the PDCCH within two possible consecutive radio frames determined by the above formula.

[0065] Since the number of active beams of a satellite may be less than the total number of beams in the satellite's coverage area, in order to expand the satellite's coverage of beams, the SSB period can be extended, and time-division multiplexing (TDM) technology can be used to switch the active beam within one extended SSB period, thereby improving the satellite's coverage of beams.

[0066] SSB period extension is a system-level enhancement strategy. In existing protocols, for initially accessing terminals, the protocol stipulates that the terminal searches using a default SSB period of 20ms. After extension, the terminal searches using either a default SSB period of 20ms or 160ms (or other values). For example, as shown in Figure 2, the satellite's active beam 1 resides in region 1 (including wavelets 1 to N) for 0–20ms; within 20–40ms, active beam 1 leaves region 1 via a hopping beam and resides in region 2 (including wavelets N+1 to 2N); within 40–60ms, active beam 1 leaves region 2 via a hopping beam and resides in region 3 (including wavelets 2N+1 to 3N); and so on, leaving region 7 via a hopping beam and residing in region 8 (including wavelets 7N+1 to 8N) within 140–160ms, thus achieving signal coverage across the eight regions encompassed by the satellite's coverage area.

[0067] The protocol states that the terminal will detect the PDCCH every 20ms. After the SSB is extended, if the terminal's PDCCH monitoring strategy is not adjusted, the terminal will frequently perform invalid monitoring, wasting power.

[0068] For example, before the SSB period is extended, it is 20ms. Assuming that the system frame number of the radio frame for monitoring PDCCH is 0 or 1 as determined by formulas (1) and (2), the terminal will monitor PDCCH in radio frames with frame numbers 0 and 1 within one SSB period. After the SSB period is extended, the SSB extension period is 160ms. If terminal A located in area 1 still monitors PDCCH in the traditional way, the terminal will monitor PDCCH in radio frames with frame numbers 0 and 1 within 0 to 20ms, in radio frames with frame numbers 0 and 1 within 20 to 40ms, in radio frames with frame numbers 0 and 1 within 40 to 60ms, ..., in radio frames with frame numbers 0 and 1 within 140 to 160ms. However, the satellite's active beam only resides in region 1 for 0-20ms, and in regions 2-8 for 20-160ms. Therefore, terminal A's monitoring of the PDCCH for 20-160ms is ineffective and wastes terminal A's power consumption.

[0069] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this application provides a communication method for transmitting and monitoring PDCCH during the SSB extended period, which helps reduce the power consumption of the UE monitoring PDCCH.

[0070] The technical solutions of this application embodiment can be applied to various communication systems, such as terrestrial communication systems and NTN communication systems (e.g., satellite communication systems). Satellite communication systems can be integrated with mobile communication systems. For example, mobile communication systems can be 4th generation (4G) communication systems (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication systems, 5G communication systems (e.g., New Radio (NR) systems), and future mobile communication systems. Mobile communication systems can also be vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, etc.

[0071] Figures 3a and 3b exemplarily illustrate network architecture diagrams of several communication systems applicable to embodiments of this application. The communication system may include satellites, network devices, and terminal devices, etc. The communication system may also include gateways and core network devices. Figures 3a and 3b exemplarily illustrate a converged network architecture of NTN and terrestrial networks. A description is provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0072] The satellite can be a HEO satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, or a very low earth orbit (VLEO) satellite. This application does not limit the satellite's operating mode; for example, the satellite can operate in transparent mode or regenerative mode. Figure 3a illustrates the satellite operating in transparent mode, and Figure 3b illustrates the satellite operating in regenerative mode.

[0073] When a satellite operates in transparent mode, it provides transparent relay functionality. A gateway functions as a network device (e.g., a base station) or partially functions as one; in this case, the gateway can be considered a network device (e.g., a base station). Alternatively, the network device (e.g., the base station) can be deployed separately from the gateway. In this case, the feeder link latency includes both the latency from the satellite to the gateway and the latency from the gateway to the ground base station. The transparent mode discussed later assumes the gateway and the ground base station are located together or close to each other. For cases where the gateway and the ground base station are far apart, the feeder link latency is simply the sum of the latency from the satellite to the gateway and the latency from the gateway to the ground base station.

[0074] When a satellite operates in regenerative mode, it has data processing capabilities and functions as a network device (such as a base station) or partially functions as a network device (such as a base station). In this case, the satellite can be regarded as a network device (such as a base station).

[0075] Satellites can communicate wirelessly with terminal devices via broadcast communication signals and navigation signals. Optionally, each satellite can provide communication, navigation, and positioning services to terminal devices through multiple beams. For example, each satellite uses multiple beams to cover the service area, and the relationship between different beams can be one or more of time-division, frequency-division, and space-division.

[0076] A gateway (also known as a ground station, earth station, or gateway) is a network device used to connect satellites and ground-based devices (such as ground base stations). One or more satellites can connect to one or more ground-based network devices (such as ground base stations) through one or more gateways; this is not a limitation. The link between the satellite and the terminal device is called a service link, and the link between the satellite and the gateway is called a feeder link. Network devices can be deployed separately from gateways; therefore, the latency of the feeder link can include both the latency from the satellite to the gateway and the latency from the gateway to the network device.

[0077] The network devices in this application embodiment may include network devices deployed on non-terrestrial surfaces (such as satellites or satellite base stations), network devices deployed on gateways, or network devices deployed on the ground (such as terrestrial base stations). For example, radio access network (RAN) nodes in mobile communication systems, RAN nodes in open access network (O-RAN or ORAN) systems, etc.

[0078] In this application embodiment, the terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities, capable of sending and / or receiving signals. Terminal devices include, but are not limited to, terminal equipment, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, and mobile terminals. Terminal devices can be widely applied in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, and smart cities. Specifically, terminal devices can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, aircraft, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies or device forms used in the terminal devices.

[0079] The core network (CN) primarily provides functions such as user access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, and accounting. The core network can consist of multiple functional units, categorized into control plane and data plane functional entities. For example, the core network may include the access and mobility management function (AMF), user plane function (UPF), and session management function (SMF). The AMF entity is responsible for user access management, security authentication, and mobility management. The UPF entity is responsible for managing user plane data transmission and traffic statistics. The SMF entity is responsible for managing protocol data unit (PDU) sessions of terminal devices.

[0080] Air interface: refers to the wireless link between the terminal device and the base station.

[0081] Xn interface: This refers to the interface between satellite base stations, mainly used for signaling interactions such as handover.

[0082] NG interface: This refers to the interface between the base station and the core network, or the interface between the ground station and the core network, or the interface between the satellite base station and the ground station (in this case, the interface is a wireless link). It mainly exchanges signaling such as NAS of the core network and user service data.

[0083] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in the figure, the communication method may include the following steps:

[0084] Step 401: The first terminal device determines the first time domain position for monitoring the first PDCCH based on the first parameter.

[0085] The first parameter includes the number of radio frames contained in one SSB spread period. For example, if the SSB spread period is 160ms and the time domain length of one radio frame is 10ms, then one SSB spread period includes 16 radio frames.

[0086] The first time-domain location is the position of the first PDCCH in the time domain. The first time-domain location determined by the first terminal device may include the system frame number SFNc of the radio frame in which the first PDCCH is located, and may also include the time slot index (such as n0, n0+1) in the radio frame.

[0087] Step 402a: The non-terrestrial network device sends the first PDCCH to the first area at the first time domain location.

[0088] The first region is the region where the first terminal device is located. The coverage area of ​​the non-terrestrial network equipment may include multiple regions, and the first region is one of these multiple regions. A region may include one or more wavelengths. A region may be a cell; or, a cell may include multiple regions.

[0089] Non-terrestrial network devices can also determine the first time domain location for sending the first PDCCH based on the first parameter, and send the first PDCCH to the first area at the first time domain location.

[0090] Step 402b: The first terminal device monitors the first PDCCH at the first time domain location.

[0091] After determining the first time domain location based on the first parameter, the terminal device monitors the PDCCH at the first time domain location, thereby receiving the first PDCCH sent by the non-terrestrial network device, and then communicating with the non-terrestrial network device.

[0092] The communication method may also include:

[0093] Step 403a: The non-terrestrial network device sends the second PDCCH to the second area from the second time domain location.

[0094] The second region and the first region both belong to the regions supported by the non-terrestrial network device. The non-terrestrial network device sends SSBs to the first region and the second region respectively within the same SSB extension cycle.

[0095] Area 1 and Area 2 can belong to the same residential community. For example, Community 1 includes Area 1, Area 2, Area 3, and Area 4. Alternatively, Area 1 and Area 2 can belong to different residential communities. For example, Community 1 includes Area 1 and Area 3, and Community 2 includes Area 2 and Area 4. Or, Area 1 can be Community 1, and Area 2 can be Community 2.

[0096] Furthermore, the time-domain location at which the non-terrestrial network device sends the first SSB to the first area is different from the time-domain location at which it sends the second SSB to the second area, and they do not overlap. For example, if the coverage area of ​​the non-terrestrial network device includes 8 areas and the SSB extension period is 160ms, the non-terrestrial network device can send the first SSB to the first area in the first radio frame within 0-20ms of this period, send the second SSB to the second area in the first radio frame within 20-40ms of this period, and send the third SSB to the third area in the first radio frame within 40-60ms of this period, and so on.

[0097] Step 403b: The second terminal device monitors the second PDCCH at the second time domain location.

[0098] The second terminal device is a terminal device located in the second area. The second terminal device can determine the second time-domain location of the second PDCCH based on the second parameters. The second parameters also include the number of radio frames contained in one SSB extension period.

[0099] Although both the first and second parameters include the number of radio frames contained in one SSB extension period, this does not mean that the first time-domain location determined by the first terminal device is the same as the second time-domain location determined by the second terminal device. For example, in different cells, the time-domain locations of system frame number 0 determined according to the SSB are different. Therefore, even if the system frame number of the first radio frame carrying the first PDCCH determined by the first terminal device according to the first parameter is the same as the system frame number of the second radio frame carrying the second PDCCH determined by the second terminal device according to the second parameter, the time-domain locations of radio frames with the same system frame number can be different in different cells. Furthermore, if the first and second parameters also include other parameters, and these parameters are different for different cells, then the first time-domain location determined by the first terminal device and the second time-domain location determined by the second terminal device will also be different. The specific implementation will be explained in detail later.

[0100] Compared to the traditional SSB period, the SSB extended period is longer and contains more radio frames. Therefore, if the terminal device still uses the traditional PDCCH monitoring method when using the SSB extended period, the terminal device will monitor the PDCCH multiple times when the non-terrestrial network device does not send the PDCCH to the area where the terminal device is located, resulting in the terminal device wasting power on ineffective monitoring.

[0101] After adopting the above communication method, the terminal device determines the time domain position of the monitored PDCCH based on the number of radio frames contained in an SSB extension period. Since the number of radio frames contained in the SSB extension period increases, the terminal device can determine the corresponding monitoring PDCCH position based on the time domain length in the later stage of SSB extension, thereby avoiding invalid monitoring and saving the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0102] In one possible implementation, the number of radio frames within one SSB extension period included in the first parameter can be pre-configured in the terminal device or sent to the terminal device by a non-terrestrial network device. For example, the non-terrestrial network device can send indication information indicating the first number to the terminal device before step 401 above, where the first number is the number of radio frames included in one SSB extension period.

[0103] In step 401 above, when the terminal device determines the first time-domain location of the first PDCCH based on the first parameter, it can do so using one of the following methods:

[0104] Method 1: The first terminal device determines the first time domain position for monitoring the first PDCCH based on the first parameter, the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and configuration parameters.

[0105] The second terminal device then determines the second time domain location for monitoring the second PDCCH based on the second parameter, the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and the configuration parameters.

[0106] In this implementation, the first parameter corresponding to the first region is the same as the second parameter corresponding to the second region. Therefore, if the number of time slots and configuration parameters contained in a radio frame in the first region are the same as the number of implementation time slots and configuration parameters contained in a radio frame in the second region, then the system frame number of the first radio frame carrying the first PDCCH determined by the first terminal device is also the same as the system frame number of the second radio frame carrying the second PDCCH determined by the second terminal device.

[0107] When using an SSB extended cycle, non-terrestrial network devices need to switch their camping areas within one SSB extended cycle. Therefore, the camping time periods are not the same in different areas. That is, the first time domain position of the first radio frame is different from the second time domain position of the second radio frame. If the system frame numbers carrying the first and second radio frames are the same, then the time domain positions corresponding to radio frames with the same system frame number must be different in different areas, so that the first terminal device determines a different first time domain position than the second terminal device determines a different second time domain position.

[0108] For example, if the first and second parameters are the same, the number of time slots in a radio frame in the first region is the same as the number of time slots in a radio frame in the second region, and the configuration parameters corresponding to the first and second regions are also the same, then the system frame number of the first radio frame determined by the first terminal device is the same as the system frame number of the second radio frame determined by the second terminal device. Assume that the system frame number of the radio frame used to monitor the PDCCH determined by both the first and second terminal devices is SFN=0. As shown in Figure 5, in the first region, radio frames with SFN=0 are located between 0 and 10 ms, and radio frames with SFN=1 are located between 10 and 20 ms; in the second region, radio frames with SFN=0 are located between 20 and 30 ms, and radio frames with SFN=1 are located between 30 and 40 ms. Therefore, although the system frame numbers of the first and second radio frames are the same, the first time domain position of the first radio frame is different from the second time domain position of the second radio frame. The first terminal device will not monitor the PDCCH within 20–40 ms, and the second terminal device will not monitor the PDCCH within 0–20 ms.

[0109] Optionally, the first terminal device (or the second terminal device) may determine the system frame number of the first wireless frame (or the second wireless frame) according to formula (4) and formula (5).

[0110] Among them, SFN c The system frame number of the first (or second) radio frame is represented; T represents the number of radio frames contained in one SSB period; O and M are constants, which are the configuration parameters mentioned above. The O and M corresponding to the first region and the O and M corresponding to the second region can be the same, different, or partially the same; i represents the SSB index; μ is used to indicate the subcarrier spacing. This indicates the number of time slots contained in a radio frame.

[0111] After determining the system frame number of the radio frame for monitoring PDCCH, the terminal device can also determine the time slots n0 and n0+1 for monitoring PDCCH in the corresponding radio frame according to formula (3).

[0112] In the above method one, the first area can be the first community, and the second area can be the second community.

[0113] Method 2: The first terminal device determines the first time domain position for monitoring the first PDCCH based on the number of radio frames contained in an SSB extension period in the first parameter and the first offset parameter in the first parameter.

[0114] The second terminal device determines the first time-domain location for monitoring the second PDCCH based on the number of radio frames contained in one of the second parameters, the SSB extension period, and the second bias parameter in the second parameters.

[0115] In this implementation, the first parameter further includes a first offset parameter corresponding to the first region, and the second parameter further includes a second offset parameter corresponding to the second region, wherein the first offset parameter and the second offset parameter are different. Because the first offset parameter and the second offset parameter are different, the first time-domain position determined by the first terminal device based on the first offset parameter is different from the second time-domain position determined by the second terminal device based on the second offset parameter.

[0116] In one possible implementation, the first bias parameter may be sent by a non-terrestrial network device to the first terminal device. For example, before step 401, the non-terrestrial network device sends a first message to a first area, which includes the aforementioned first bias parameter; the non-terrestrial network device may also send a second message to a second area, which may include the aforementioned second bias parameter.

[0117] Optionally, the first message can be a first SSB, and the second message can be a second SSB. For example, a non-terrestrial network device can send a first SSB to a first area within 0-20ms. The first SSB contains a first offset parameter corresponding to the first area. A first terminal device located in the first area determines a first time-domain position based on the first offset parameter and the number of radio frames included in one SSB extension period, and monitors a first PDCCH at the first time-domain position. A non-terrestrial network device can send a second SSB to a second area within 20-40ms. The second SSB contains a second offset parameter corresponding to the second area. A second terminal device located in the second area determines a second time-domain position based on the second offset parameter and the number of radio frames included in one SSB extension period, and monitors a second PDCCH at the second time-domain position.

[0118] Furthermore, the first bias parameter can be indicated by bits in the PBCH payload in the first SSB. For example, the 6th bit in the "PBCH payload" field. and the 7th bit Reserved bits can be used to indicate the first bias parameter. Furthermore, k ssb k represents the frequency offset value between the common resource block (N_SSB_CRB) and the lowest frequency domain position of the SSB. ssb The highest bit is the 5th bit in the "PBCH payload" field. When the SSB subcarrier spacing is 15kHz Even in an idle state, it can be used to indicate the first offset parameter, so 3 bits can be used to indicate the first offset parameter. Especially when the bandwidth is 3 GHz and the SSB subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz, 3 bits can be used to indicate the first offset parameter in more cases.

[0119] Similarly, the second bias parameter can also be indicated by bits in the PBCH payload of the second SSB.

[0120] Optionally, the first bias parameter can be the region index corresponding to the first region, and the second bias parameter can be the region index corresponding to the second region. For example, the first bias parameter can be the region index K=0 of the first region, and the second bias parameter can be the region index K=1 of the second region.

[0121] In one possible design, the first terminal device can determine the first time-domain location for monitoring the first PDCCH based on the number of radio frames contained in an SSB extended period, a first bias parameter, the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and configuration parameters.

[0122] The second terminal device can determine the second time domain position for monitoring the second PDCCH based on the number of radio frames contained in an SSB extended period, the second bias parameter, the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and configuration parameters.

[0123] In a specific example, the first terminal device (or the second terminal device) can determine the system frame number of the first wireless frame (or the second wireless frame) according to formulas (6) and (7).

[0124] Among them, SFN c The first radio frame number is represented by T, the number of radio frames contained in one SSB period is represented by O and M, i represents the SSB index, and μ is used to indicate the subcarrier spacing. This indicates the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and K represents the offset parameter.

[0125] In Method 2 above, a cell can include one or more areas, and an area can include one or more beam positions. Optionally, each beam position can correspond to a unique SSB index. For example, if area 1 includes 8 beam positions, then when a non-terrestrial network device sends an SSB to area 1, it can activate beam 1 to scan across the 8 beam positions in area 1, sending SSB1 to beam position 1, SSB2 to beam position 2, ..., and SSB8 to beam position 8; and the SSB indices corresponding to SSB1, SSB2, ..., SSB8 are all different.

[0126] On the NTN S-band, the current protocol stipulates that each cell can have a maximum of 4 SSB indices. Therefore, when there are many positions in a cell, the 4 limited SSB indices need to be multiplexed among multiple positions. However, the type 0 PDCCH monitoring process in the protocol is a cell-level configuration, meaning that all terminals in the cell will follow the calculation rules of SFN and n0 defined by the protocol. The calculation of these two important parameters is related to the SSB index of the position where the terminal device is located. Therefore, when multiple positions reuse the same SSB index, the multiple positions reusing the same SSB index belong to different "areas", thereby avoiding interference problems when the terminal device receives SSBs caused by multiple positions in the same area using the same SSB index. When the SSB period is extended, terminal devices within the same SSB index will calculate the same time domain position (SFNc and n0). However, only one terminal device in a region can detect the type0 PDCCH at the time domain position corresponding to SFNc and n0. Terminal devices in other regions cannot detect the type0 PDCCH at the time domain position corresponding to SFNc and n0 because the active beam of the non-terrestrial network device has not yet camped in other regions.

[0127] Therefore, by adopting the above method and configuring different bias parameters for each region, terminal devices in different regions can determine different time-domain location monitoring PDCCHs.

[0128] For example, as shown in Figure 6, the SSB extension period is 160ms, which means the SSB extension period includes 16 radio frames (parameter T = 16rf). Assume that one active beam is responsible for scanning cell 1, and the dwell time of this active beam in each area of ​​cell 1 is 20ms (i.e., 2 radio frames). Cell 1 contains a total of 8 areas. And assume that the type0 PDCCH search space parameters O = 2 and M = 1 indicated by the "pdcchConfigSIB1" field in the master information block (MIB).

[0129] For terminal devices within region 1, the network side can indicate that the bias parameter K = 0 (e.g., '000' if using 3 bits to indicate bias information). Then, the four SSB indices within region 1 (0, 1, 2, 3) can be used by the terminal to calculate the SFN according to the above formulas (6) and (7). c =0, 16, 32, 64, ... Therefore, terminal devices in region 1 will be in SFN c The corresponding radio frames can detect type 0 PDCCH, and only in SFN. c These monitoring actions within the corresponding wireless frames do not waste power.

[0130] For terminal devices in region 2, the network side can indicate the bias parameter K=1 (e.g., '001' if using 3 bits to indicate bias information). Then, the four SSB indices in region 2 (0, 1, 2, 3) can be used to calculate the SFN by the terminal according to the above formulas (6) and (7). c =3, 18, 34, 66, ... Therefore, terminal devices in region 2 will be in SFN c The corresponding radio frames can detect type 0 PDCCH, and only in SFN. c These monitoring actions within the corresponding wireless frames do not waste power.

[0131] For terminal devices within region 8, the network side can indicate the bias parameter K=7 (e.g., '111' if using 3 bits to indicate bias information). Then, the four SSB indices within region 8 (0, 1, 2, 3) can be used to calculate the SFN by the terminal according to the above formulas (6) and (7). c =14, 30, 62, 78, ... Therefore, terminal devices in region 8 will be in SFN c The corresponding radio frames can detect type0PDCCH, and only in SFN. c These monitoring actions within the corresponding wireless frames do not waste power.

[0132] After determining the system frame number of the radio frame for monitoring PDCCH, the terminal device can also determine the time slot n0 for monitoring PDCCH in the corresponding radio frame according to formula (3).

[0133] Method 3: The first terminal device determines the first time-domain location of the first radio frame monitoring the PDCCH based on the number of radio frames contained in an SSB extension period, the first offset parameter, and the dwell time indication information. The dwell time indication information is used to indicate the dwell time of the active beam of the non-terrestrial network device in the first area.

[0134] The second terminal device determines the second time-domain location of the second radio frame monitoring the PDCCH based on the number of radio frames contained in an SSB extension period, the second offset parameter, and the dwell time indication information. The dwell time indication information is used to indicate the dwell time of the active beam of the non-terrestrial network device in the second area.

[0135] In this implementation, the first parameter may also include a first bias parameter and dwell time indication information, and the second parameter may also include a second bias parameter and dwell time indication information.

[0136] The first bias parameter is different from the second bias parameter, so the first time domain position determined by the first terminal device based on the first bias parameter is different from the second time domain position determined by the second terminal device based on the second bias parameter.

[0137] The dwell time indication information in the first parameter and the dwell time indication information in the second parameter can be the same or different. Generally, the dwell time of non-terrestrial network devices is equal in all areas; for example, the dwell time in each area is 20ms. However, the dwell time can be flexibly configured for each area according to the application scenario and actual communication environment, and the dwell time in each area can also be unequal. For example, the dwell time can be associated with a frequency band; when a terminal device searches for an SSB, if the GSCN frequency point it retrieves belongs to frequency group 1, the dwell time is Tg1; if the GSCN frequency point belongs to frequency group 2, the dwell time is Tg2.

[0138] The dwell indication information can be the dwell duration, the number of radio frames corresponding to the dwell duration, or the number of time slots corresponding to the dwell duration. This application does not limit this.

[0139] In the aforementioned Method 1 and Method 2, the terminal device determines the system frame number of the radio frame for monitoring PDCCH based on the first parameter, and then determines the time slot n0 for monitoring PDCCH in the corresponding radio frame according to existing methods.

[0140] In method three, the terminal device does not need to determine the system frame number of the radio frame monitoring the PDCCH, but instead determines the time slot for monitoring the PDCCH within the PDCCH monitoring period. Therefore, the first time-domain position determined by the first terminal device can include the starting time-domain position of the first PDCCH, such as the starting time slot position.

[0141] Optionally, the PDCCH monitoring period can be equal to the SSB spreading period. For example, if the SSB spreading period is 160ms, and the subcarrier spacing is 15kHz, then one SSB spreading period includes 160 time slots, and the PDCCH monitoring period also includes 160 time slots.

[0142] In one possible implementation, the first bias parameter may be sent by a non-terrestrial network device to the first terminal device. For example, before step 401, the non-terrestrial network device sends a first message to a first area, which includes the aforementioned first bias parameter; the non-terrestrial network device may also send a second message to a second area, which may include the aforementioned second bias parameter.

[0143] Optionally, the first message can be a first SSB, and the second message can be a second SSB. For example, a non-terrestrial network device can send a first SSB to a first area within 0 to 20 ms, the first SSB containing a first offset parameter corresponding to the first area; the non-terrestrial network device can send a second SSB to a second area within 20 to 40 ms, the second SSB containing a second offset parameter corresponding to the second area.

[0144] Furthermore, the first bias parameter can be indicated by bits in the PBCH payload field of the first SSB. Similarly, the second bias parameter can also be indicated by bits in the PBCH payload of the second SSB.

[0145] Optionally, the first bias parameter can be the region index corresponding to the first region, and the second bias parameter can be the region index corresponding to the second region. For example, the first bias parameter can be the region index K=1 of the first region, and the second bias parameter can be the region index K=2 of the second region.

[0146] In one possible design, the first terminal device can determine the first time domain location for monitoring the first PDCCH based on the number of radio frames contained in an SSB extended period, a first bias parameter, dwell time indication information, the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and configuration parameters.

[0147] The second terminal device can determine the second time domain location for monitoring the second PDCCH based on the number of radio frames contained in an SSB extended period, the second bias parameter, the dwell time indication information, the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and the configuration parameters.

[0148] In a specific example, the first terminal device (or the second terminal device) can determine the index of the starting time slot n′0 of the first PDCCH according to formula (8).

[0149] Where n′0 represents the start time slot of the first radio frame, O and M are constants, i represents the SSB index, K represents the bias parameter corresponding to the first region, and T g The number of time slots corresponding to the dwell time (i.e., duration indication information), μ is used to indicate the subcarrier spacing. This indicates the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and T indicates the number of radio frames contained in an SSB period.

[0150] For example, as shown in Figure 7, the SSB extension period is 160ms, which means the SSB extension period includes 16 radio frames (parameter T = 16rf). Assume that one active beam is responsible for scanning cell 1, and the dwell time of this active beam in each area of ​​cell 1 is 20ms (i.e., 2 radio frames). Cell 1 contains a total of 8 areas. And assume that the type0 PDCCH search space parameters O = 2 and M = 1 indicated by the "pdcchConfigSIB1" field in the master information block (MIB).

[0151] For terminal devices within region 1, the network side can indicate an offset parameter K = 0 (e.g., '000' if using 3 bits to indicate offset information). Then, the four SSB indices within region 1 (0, 1, 2, 3) allow the terminal to calculate the starting time slot as n′0 = 0 using the formula (8). Therefore, terminal devices within region 1 will be in time slots n′0 and n′... 0+1 It can detect type0 PDCCH and only perform monitoring behavior within these time slots, thus avoiding wasted power consumption.

[0152] For terminal devices in region 2, the network side can indicate the bias parameter K=1 (e.g., '001' if using 3 bits to indicate bias information). Then, the four SSB indices in region 2 (0, 1, 2, 3) can be used to calculate the starting time slot n′0=20 according to the above formula (8). Therefore, the terminal devices in region 2 will be in time slots n′0 and n′ 0+1 It can detect type0 PDCCH and only perform monitoring behavior within these time slots, thus avoiding wasted power consumption.

[0153] For terminal devices within region 8, the network side can indicate an offset parameter K = 7 (e.g., '111' if using 3 bits to indicate offset information). Then, the four SSB indices within region 8 (0, 1, 2, 3) allow the terminal to calculate the starting time slot as n′0 = 140 using the formula (8). Therefore, terminal devices within region 8 will be in time slots n′0 and n′... 0+1 It can detect type0 PDCCH and only perform monitoring behavior within these time slots, thus avoiding wasted power consumption.

[0154] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. The communication device includes a processing module 801 and a transceiver module 802. The processing module 801 is used to process data by the communication device. The transceiver module 802 is used to receive content from the communication device and other units or network elements, or to send content from the communication device and other units or network elements. It should be understood that the processing module 801 in the embodiments of this application can be implemented by a processor or processor-related circuit components (or, referred to as processing circuitry), and the transceiver module 802 can be implemented by a receiver / transmitter or receiver / transmitter-related circuit components.

[0155] For example, the communication device may be a communication device equipment, or it may be a chip or other combination device or component that has the functions of the aforementioned communication device equipment applied in the communication device equipment.

[0156] When the communication device is a terminal device, the processing module 801 is used to determine the first time domain position of the first radio frame of the physical downlink control channel PDCCH based on the first parameter, the first parameter including a synchronization signal and the number of radio frames contained in the physical broadcast channel block SSB extension period; and to monitor the PDCCH at the first time domain position through the transceiver module 802.

[0157] Furthermore, the aforementioned modules can also be used to support other processes executed by the terminal device in the foregoing embodiments. The beneficial effects are described above and will not be repeated here.

[0158] When the communication device is a non-terrestrial network device, the processing module 801 is used to send a first radio frame corresponding to a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to a first region at a first time domain location via the transceiver module 802. The first time domain location is determined according to a first parameter, which includes a synchronization signal and the number of radio frames contained in a Physical Broadcast Channel Block (SSB) extension period. The transceiver module 801 also sends a second radio frame corresponding to a second PDCCH to a second region at a second time domain location via the transceiver module 802. The second time domain location is determined according to a second parameter, which includes the number of radio frames contained in the SSB extension period. The first region and the second region are regions supported by the same non-terrestrial network device, and the non-terrestrial network device sends SSBs to the first region and the second region respectively within one SSB extension period.

[0159] Furthermore, the modules described above can also be used to support other processes performed by non-terrestrial network devices in the aforementioned embodiments. The beneficial effects are described above and will not be repeated here.

[0160] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of this application. The communication device includes a processor 901, a communication interface 902, and may further include a memory 903 and a bus 904. The processor 901, communication interface 902, and memory 903 can be interconnected via the bus 904. The bus 904 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus 904 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, and a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one line is used in Figure 9, but this does not indicate that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0161] Processor 901 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), or a combination of CPU and NP. The processor may further include hardware chips. These hardware chips may be application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), or combinations thereof. The PLD may be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof. Memory 903 may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both. The non-volatile memory may 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), which is used as an external cache.

[0162] The processor 901 is used to implement the data processing operation of the communication device, and the communication interface 902 is used to implement the receiving and sending operations of the communication device.

[0163] When the communication device is a terminal device, the processor 901 is used to determine the first time domain position of the first radio frame of the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) based on the first parameters, the first parameters including a synchronization signal and the number of radio frames contained in the Physical Broadcast Channel Block (SSB) extension period; and to monitor the PDCCH at the first time domain position through the communication interface 902.

[0164] Furthermore, the aforementioned components can also be used to support other processes executed by the terminal device in the foregoing embodiments. The beneficial effects are described above and will not be repeated here.

[0165] When the communication device is a non-terrestrial network device, the processor 901 is used to send a first radio frame corresponding to a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to a first region via a communication interface 902 at a first time domain location. The first time domain location is determined according to a first parameter, which includes a synchronization signal and the number of radio frames contained in a Physical Broadcast Channel Block (SSB) extension period. The processor 901 also sends a second radio frame corresponding to a second PDCCH to a second region via the communication interface 902 at a second time domain location. The second time domain location is determined according to a second parameter, which includes the number of radio frames contained in the SSB extension period. The first region and the second region are regions supported by the same non-terrestrial network device, and the non-terrestrial network device sends SSBs to the first region and the second region respectively within one SSB extension period.

[0166] Furthermore, the aforementioned components can also be used to support other processes performed by the non-terrestrial network devices in the foregoing embodiments. The beneficial effects are described above and will not be repeated here.

[0167] Based on the same technical concept, embodiments of this application also provide a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the functions of the terminal device or the non-terrestrial network device in the above method embodiments to be performed.

[0168] Based on the same technical concept, this application also provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the functions of the terminal device or the non-terrestrial network device in the above method embodiments to be executed.

[0169] Based on the same technical concept, this application provides another chip, including: at least one processor coupled to a memory for storing instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the chip enables the chip to perform the functions of a terminal device or a non-terrestrial network device as described in the above method embodiments.

[0170] This application provides a communication system, including the above-described non-terrestrial network equipment and the above-described terminal equipment.

[0171] It should be understood that in the description of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used only for distinguishing purposes and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or order. References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" in this specification mean that one or more embodiments of this application include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment. Therefore, phrases such as "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," and "in still other embodiments" appearing in different parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more, but not all, embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0172] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0173] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this application. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowchart illustrations and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0174] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0175] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0176] Although preferred embodiments of this application have been described, those skilled in the art, upon learning the basic inventive concept, can make other changes and modifications to these embodiments. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments as well as all changes and modifications falling within the scope of this application.

[0177] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the embodiments of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of this application. Therefore, if these modifications and variations to the embodiments of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method includes: The first time-domain location of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is determined based on the first parameter, which includes a synchronization signal and the number of radio frames contained in the physical broadcast channel block (SSB) extension period. The PDCCH is monitored at the first time domain location.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The step of determining the first time-domain location of the first radio for monitoring the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) based on the first parameter includes: The first time-domain location for monitoring the PDCCH is determined based on the first parameter, the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and the configuration parameters.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, Determining the first time-domain location of the monitored PDCCH based on the first parameter, the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and configuration parameters includes: If SFN c mod T = 0; If SFN c mod T = 1; wherein SFN c denotes the system frame number of the radio frame in which the PDCCH is located, T denotes the number of radio frames contained in one SSB period, O and M are constants, and μ is used to indicate the subcarrier spacing, This indicates the number of time slots contained in a radio frame.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first parameter also includes an offset parameter corresponding to the first region, which is the region where the terminal device is located. The offset parameter corresponding to the first region is different from the offset parameter corresponding to the second region. The first region and the second region are regions supported by the same non-terrestrial network device, and the non-terrestrial network device sends SSBs to the first region and the second region respectively within one SSB extension cycle.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The first area and the second area belong to the same residential community, or to different residential communities; or The first area is the first cell, and the second area is the second cell.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a first message, the first message including the bias parameter.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The first message is SSB.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The bias parameter is indicated by bits in the physical broadcast channel PBCH load of the SSB.

9. The method according to any one of claims 4-8, characterized in that, Determining the first time-domain position of the monitored physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the first parameter includes: The first time-domain location for monitoring the PDCCH is determined based on the number of radio frames contained in a single SSB extended period, the offset parameters, the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and the configuration parameters.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, Determining the first time-domain location for monitoring the PDCCH based on the number of radio frames contained in one SSB extension period, the offset parameter, the number of time slots contained in one radio frame, and configuration parameters includes: If SFN c mod T = 0 + 2K; If SFN c mod T = 1 + 2K; wherein SFN c denotes the system frame number of the radio frame in which the PDCCH is located, T denotes the number of radio frames contained in one SSB period, O and M are constants, and μ is used to indicate the subcarrier spacing, This indicates the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and K represents the offset parameter.

11. The method according to any one of claims 4-8, characterized in that, Determining the first time-domain position of the monitored physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the first parameter includes: The first time-domain location of the monitored PDCCH is determined based on the number of radio frames contained in the SSB extended period, the offset parameters, and the dwell time indication information, wherein the dwell time indication information is used to indicate the dwell time of the active beam of the non-terrestrial network device in the first area.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The first time domain position is the starting time domain position of the PDCCH in the PDCCH monitoring cycle.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The PDCCH monitoring cycle is equal to the SSB extended cycle.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that, Determining the first time-domain location of the monitored PDCCH based on the number of radio frames contained in the SSB extended period, the offset parameter, and the dwell time indication information includes: The first time domain position is determined according to the following formula: wherein n'0 represents a starting slot of the PDCCH, O and M are constants, μ represents a subcarrier spacing, K represents a bias parameter corresponding to the first region, T g represents a number of slots corresponding to the camping duration, μ is used to indicate a subcarrier spacing, This indicates the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and T indicates the number of radio frames contained in an SSB period.

15. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: A first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is transmitted to a first region at a first time domain location. The first time domain location is determined according to a first parameter, which includes a synchronization signal and the number of radio frames contained in the physical broadcast channel block (SSB) extension period. A second PDCCH is transmitted to a second area at a second time domain location, the second time domain location being determined according to a second parameter, the second parameter including the number of radio frames contained in one SSB extension period; The first region and the second region are regions supported by the same non-terrestrial network device, and the non-terrestrial network device sends SSBs to the first region and the second region respectively within one SSB extension cycle.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The first time-domain location is determined based on the first parameter, the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and configuration parameters; The second time-domain location is determined based on the second parameter, the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and configuration parameters.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, like Then SFN c mod T = 0; like SFN c mod T = 1; Among them, SFN c This indicates the system frame number of the radio frame containing the first or second PDCCH, T represents the number of radio frames contained in one SSB period, O and M are constants, and μ is used to indicate the subcarrier spacing. This indicates the number of time slots contained in a radio frame.

18. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The first parameter also includes a first bias parameter corresponding to the first region; The second parameter also includes a second bias parameter corresponding to the second region; The first bias parameter is different from the second bias parameter.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The first area and the second area belong to the same residential community, or to different residential communities; or The first area is the first cell, and the second area is the second cell.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a first message to the first region, the first message including the first bias parameter; A second message is sent to the second region, the second message including the second bias parameter.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The first message is the first SSB; And / or, the second message is the second SSB.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, The first bias parameter is indicated by a bit in the PBCH load of the first SSB; and / or The second bias parameter is indicated by a bit in the PBCH load of the second SSB.

23. The method according to any one of claims 18-22, characterized in that, The first time-domain location is determined based on the number of radio frames contained in one SSB extension period, the first offset parameter, the number of time slots contained in one radio frame, and the first configuration parameter; and / or The second time-domain position is determined based on the number of radio frames contained in one SSB extension period, the second offset parameter, the number of time slots contained in one radio frame, and the second configuration parameter.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, like Then SFN c mod T = 0 + 2K; like SFN c mod T = 1 + 2K; Among them, SFN c This indicates the system frame number of the radio frame containing the first or second PDCCH, T represents the number of radio frames contained in one SSB period, O and M are constants, and μ is used to indicate the subcarrier spacing. This indicates the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and K represents either the first bias parameter or the second bias parameter.

25. The method according to any one of claims 18-22, characterized in that, The first time domain location is determined based on the number of radio frames contained in the one SSB extension period, the first offset parameter, and the first dwell time indication information. The first dwell time indication information is used to indicate the dwell time of the active beam of the non-terrestrial network device in the first area. The second time-domain location is determined based on the number of radio frames contained in the one SSB extension period, the second offset parameter, and the second dwell time indication information. The second dwell time indication information is used to indicate the dwell time of the active beam of the non-terrestrial network device in the second area.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, The first time domain position is the starting time domain position of the first PDCCH in the PDCCH monitoring period; The second time domain position is the starting time domain position of the second PDCCH in the PDCCH monitoring cycle.

27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that, The PDCCH monitoring cycle is equal to the SSB extended cycle.

28. The method according to any one of claims 25-27, characterized in that, The first time-domain position and the second time-domain position are determined according to the following formula: Where n′0 represents the start time slot of the first PDCCH or the second PDCCH, O and M are constants, μ represents the subcarrier spacing, K represents the first offset parameter or the second configuration parameter, and T g The dwell time is indicated by μ, which is used to indicate the subcarrier spacing. This indicates the number of time slots contained in a radio frame, and T indicates the number of radio frames contained in an SSB period.

29. A communication device, characterized in that, include: At least one processor coupled to a memory for storing a program or instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-28.

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

Images