CN116325641A

CN116325641A - TDW length determining method and device, communication equipment and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN116325641A
Application number: CN202380007910.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘敏; 朱亚军
Original assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd
Priority date: 2023-02-01
Filing date: 2023-02-01
Publication date: 2023-06-23

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a TDW length determination method and apparatus, a communication device, and a storage medium. The method comprises the following steps: receiving configuration information from access network equipment, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one TDW length value, and each TDW length value corresponds to at least one characteristic value; and determining a first TDW length value from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information. By the method and the device, the power consistency and the phase continuity of the terminal equipment in the TDW can be ensured.

Description

TDW length determining method and device, communication equipment and storage medium

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for determining a TDW (time-domain window) length, a communication device, and a storage medium.

Background

In NTN (non-terrestrial network ) systems, an air device such as a satellite may be used as an access network device or as a transparent relay device for terminal devices to connect and enable NR (new radio) communications. The signal coverage of some channels is limited due to the large distance between the satellite or other aerial device and the ground terminal and the large path loss. For example, coverage of PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel ) is limited. In a related scenario, channel coverage may be improved by DMRS (Demodulation Reference Signal ) bundling. DMRS bonding defines a nominal (nominal) TDW and an actual (actual) TDW, within which the terminal maintains power consistency and phase continuity.

However, in the NTN system, the continuous movement of the air devices such as the satellite causes the continuous change of the distance between the terminal device and the air devices such as the satellite, and in order to meet the accuracy requirement of the uplink timing, the terminal device needs to continuously adjust the TA (timing advance). However, the adjustment of the TA may break the power consistency and phase continuity of the terminal device within the TDW. Therefore, the length of time that the terminal device can report to maintain power consistency and phase continuity will also change over time.

How to have the terminal device modify the TDW length over time is a challenge.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for determining a TDW length, a communication device, and a storage medium, so as to ensure power consistency and phase continuity of a terminal device in a TDW.

In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a TDW length determination method. The method is applied to terminal equipment in the NTN system. The method comprises the following steps: receiving configuration information from access network equipment, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one TDW length value, and each TDW length value corresponds to at least one characteristic value; and determining a first TDW length value from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, at least one TDW length value may be used for DMRS (demodulation reference signal ) bundling for multiple transmissions of one uplink channel.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the configuration information further comprises at least one characteristic value corresponding to the at least one TDW length value.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the characteristic value may comprise one of: the length of the timer, the angle between the terminal device and the satellite, the position of the satellite.

According to one or more possible embodiments, when the characteristic value includes a position of a satellite, determining a first TDW length value from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information may include: determining a first position of the satellite according to the ephemeris information; and determining a TDW length value corresponding to the first position as a first TDW length value according to the configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, before determining the first position of the satellite from the ephemeris information, the method further comprises: and receiving the ephemeris information sent by the access network equipment.

According to one or more possible embodiments, when the characteristic value includes a timer length, the operation of determining a first TDW length value from at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information may include: triggering at least one timer according to a preset sequence; and determining a TDW length value corresponding to the currently triggered timer as a first TDW length value.

According to one or more possible embodiments, when the characteristic value includes an angle between the terminal device and the satellite, the operation of determining the first TDW length value from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information may include: determining a first angle value between the terminal equipment and the satellite according to the position information of the terminal equipment and the position information of the satellite; and determining a TDW length value corresponding to the first angle value as a first TDW length value according to the configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, before the operation of determining the first angle between the terminal device and the satellite according to the position information of the terminal device and the position information of the satellite, the method may further include: receiving ephemeris information sent by access network equipment; and determining the position information of the satellite according to the ephemeris information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the operation of receiving configuration information from the access network device may comprise: a broadcast message is received from an access network device. The broadcast message carries configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the operation of receiving configuration information from the access network device may comprise: terminal device specific RRC (radio resource control ) signaling is received from the access network device. The terminal equipment dedicated RRC signaling carries configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the above method may further comprise, prior to the operation of receiving configuration information from the access network device: and sending the capability information to the access network equipment. The capability information is used to indicate the capability of the terminal device to support autonomous determination of TDW.

In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides a TDW length determination method. The method is applied to access network equipment in the NTN system. The method comprises the following steps: and sending configuration information to the terminal equipment, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one TDW length value, and each TDW length value corresponds to at least one characteristic value.

According to one or more possible embodiments, after sending the configuration information to the terminal device, the method may further include: a first TDW length value is determined from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, at least one TDW length value may be used for DMRS bonding for multiple transmissions of one uplink channel.

According to one or more possible embodiments, when the characteristic value includes a timer length, the operation of determining a first TDW length value from at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information may include: triggering at least one timer corresponding to the length of the timer according to a preset sequence; and determining a TDW length value corresponding to the currently triggered timer as a first TDW length value.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the operation of sending configuration information to the terminal device may comprise: and sending the broadcast message to the terminal equipment. The broadcast message carries configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the operation of sending configuration information to the terminal device may comprise: and sending the special RRC signaling of the terminal equipment to the terminal equipment. The terminal equipment dedicated RRC signaling carries configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, before the operation of sending the configuration information to the terminal device, the method may further include: capability information is received from the terminal device. The capability information is used to indicate the capability of the terminal device to support autonomous determination of TDW.

In a third aspect, the present disclosure provides a TDW length determination apparatus. The device is arranged at a terminal device in the NTN system. The device comprises a receiving module and a determining module. The receiving module is configured to receive configuration information from the access network device. The configuration information includes at least one TDW length value. Each TDW length value corresponds to at least one characteristic value. The determining module is configured to determine a first TDW length value from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the configuration information may further include at least one characteristic value corresponding to the at least one TDW length value.

According to one or more possible implementations, the determining module may be configured to: determining a first position of the satellite according to the ephemeris information when the characteristic value comprises the position of the satellite; and determining a TDW length value corresponding to the first position as a first TDW length value according to the configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the receiving module may be configured to receive ephemeris information transmitted by the access network device.

According to one or more possible implementations, the determining module may be configured to: when the characteristic value comprises the timer length, triggering at least one timer corresponding to the timer length according to a preset sequence; and determining a TDW length value corresponding to the currently triggered timer as a first TDW length value.

According to one or more possible implementations, the determining module may be configured to: determining a first angle between the terminal device and the satellite according to the position information of the terminal device and the position information of the satellite when the characteristic value comprises the angle between the terminal device and the satellite; and determining a TDW length value corresponding to the first angle as a first TDW length value according to the configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the receiving module may be configured to receive ephemeris information sent by the access network device; the determining module may be configured to determine position information of the satellites based on the ephemeris information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the receiving module may be configured to: a broadcast message is received from an access network device. The broadcast message carries configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the receiving module may be configured to: terminal device specific RRC signaling from the access network device is received. The terminal equipment dedicated RRC signaling carries configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the above apparatus may further comprise a transmitting module. The transmitting module may be configured to: and sending the capability information to the access network equipment. The capability information is used to indicate the capability of the terminal device to support autonomous determination of TDW.

In a fourth aspect, the present disclosure provides a TDW length determination apparatus. The device is arranged in access network equipment in the NTN system. The device comprises a sending module. The transmitting module is configured to transmit the configuration information to the terminal device. The configuration information includes at least one TDW length value, each TDW length value corresponding to at least one characteristic value.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the above apparatus may further comprise a determining module. The determining module is configured to determine a first TDW length value from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the sending module may be configured to: and sending the broadcast message to the terminal equipment. The broadcast message carries configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the sending module may be configured to: and sending the special RRC signaling of the terminal equipment to the terminal equipment. The terminal equipment dedicated RRC signaling carries configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the above-mentioned device may further comprise a receiving module. The receiving module is configured to: capability information is received from the terminal device. The capability information is used to indicate the capability of the terminal device to support autonomous determination of TDW.

In a fifth aspect, the present disclosure provides a communication device. The communication device includes a processor and a memory. The memory is connected to the processor and configured to store computer-executable instructions. The processor is configured to execute computer-executable instructions to implement the method as described in the first aspect, the second aspect and possible implementations thereof.

In a sixth aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium has stored thereon computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions, when executed by a processor, implement the method as described in the first aspect, the second aspect and possible implementations thereof.

In a seventh aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer-executable instructions. Computer-executable instructions, when executed by a processor, implement the method as described in the first aspect, the second aspect, and possible implementations thereof.

In the present disclosure, an access network device in an NTN system transmits configuration information including at least one TDW length value and at least one corresponding characteristic value to a terminal device, so that the terminal device can determine a length value of a current TDW according to the characteristic value. In this way, as the position of the satellite changes, the length of the determined TDW also changes, and the TA has a constant value within any one TDW and no adjustment of the TA is required. In this way, the terminal equipment can modify the length of the TDW along with time while meeting the requirement of uplink timing accuracy, thereby ensuring the power consistency and the phase continuity of the terminal equipment in the TDW.

It should be understood that, the third aspect to the seventh aspect of the present disclosure are consistent with the technical solutions of the first aspect to the second aspect of the present disclosure, and the advantages obtained by each aspect and the corresponding possible embodiments are similar, and are not repeated.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic architecture diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a scenario of an NTN system in an embodiment of the disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a TDW length determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of another TDW length determination method in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a TDW length determination method in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart of another exemplary embodiment of a TDW length determination method in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart of still another exemplary embodiment of a TDW length determination method in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart of still another exemplary embodiment of a TDW length determination method in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a TDW length determination apparatus in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural view of another TDW length determination apparatus in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device in an embodiment of the disclosure.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device in an embodiment of the disclosure.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device in an embodiment of the disclosure.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, the same numbers in different drawings refer to the same or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated. The implementations described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of methods, apparatus, devices, etc. that are consistent with aspects of embodiments of the disclosure, as detailed in the accompanying claims.

The terminology used in the embodiments of the disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the embodiments of the disclosure. As used in this disclosure of embodiments and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Further, in the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, "and/or" is merely one association relationship describing the association object, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, a and/or B may represent the following three cases: a alone, B alone, and both a and B. In addition, in the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, "plurality" may refer to two or more than two.

It should be understood that although the terms "first," "second," "third," etc. may be used in embodiments of the present disclosure to describe various information, these information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one type of information from another. For example, the "first information" may also be referred to as "second information" without departing from the scope of embodiments of the present disclosure. Similarly, "second information" may also be referred to as "first information". The word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "if … …", "at … …", "when … …", "in response to … … determination" or "in … …" depending on the context.

The disclosed embodiments provide a communication system. The communication system may be, for example, a communication system employing cellular mobile communication technology. In particular, the communication system may be a 5G access technology communication system, a 6G access technology communication system, or a further evolved access technology communication system. Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 1, the communication system 10 may include: terminal device 11 and access network device 12.

In an embodiment, the terminal device 11 may be a device that provides voice or data connectivity to a user. In some embodiments, the terminal device may also be referred to as a User Equipment (UE), a mobile station (mobile station), a subscriber unit (subscriber unit), a station, a terminal, or the like. The terminal device may be a cellular phone (cellular phone), a personal digital assistant (personal digital assistant, PDA), a wireless modem (modem), a hand-held device (handheld), a laptop computer (laptop computer), a cordless phone (cord phone), a wireless local loop (wireless local loop, WLL) station, or a tablet computer (tablet), etc. With the development of wireless communication technology, devices that can access a communication system, communicate with a network side of the communication system, or communicate with other devices through the communication system are all terminal devices in the embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, terminals and automobiles in intelligent transportation, household equipment in intelligent homes, power meter reading instruments in smart grids, voltage monitoring instruments, environment monitoring instruments, video monitoring instruments in intelligent complete networks, cash registers, etc. In the embodiment of the disclosure, the terminal device may communicate with the network device, and a plurality of terminal devices may also communicate with each other. The terminal device may be stationary or mobile. The following embodiments are described by taking a terminal device as an example.

The network device 12 may be a device on the access network side for supporting access of a terminal to a communication system. Access network device 12 may include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also may be described as small stations), relay stations, access points, and the like. The name of access network device 12 may vary in systems employing different radio access technologies. For example, a next generation base station (gcb), a transmission reception point (transmission reception point, TRP), a relay node (relay node), an Access Point (AP), and the like in a 5G access technology communication system.

The communication system includes a TN (terrestrial network ) system and an NTN system. In NTN (non-terrestrial network ) systems, an air device such as a satellite may be used as an access network device or as a transparent relay device for terminal devices to connect and enable NR (new radio) communications. In this way, the NTN system is able to network cover areas (e.g., oceans, deserts) where the TN system cannot reach.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a scenario of an NTN system in an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in fig. 2, the NTN system 20 may include a UE 21 and a satellite 22. A service link 23 is implemented between the UE 21 and the satellite 22 through NR. In general, the satellite 22 may be a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (medium earth orbit, MEO), a geosynchronous orbit (geostationary earth orbiting, GEO) satellite, or the like.

Since the distance between the UE 21 and the satellite 22 tends to be relatively large, the propagation loss (or referred to as path loss) of the signal between the two is relatively large. To improve the coverage capability of an uplink channel such as PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel ), DMRS bonding (DMRS bundling) is introduced for joint channel estimation. For this reason, the UE 21 needs to maintain power consistency and phase continuity within the TDW.

However, in the NTN system 20, the constant movement of the satellite 22 causes the distance between the UE 21 and the satellite 22 to change continuously, and in order to meet the accuracy requirement of the uplink timing, the UE 21 needs to continuously adjust the TA. However, adjustment of the TA may break the power consistency and phase continuity of the UE 21 within the TDW. Therefore, the length of time that UE 21 can maintain power consistency and phase continuity will also vary over time.

How to implement the modification of the TDW length with time by the terminal device is a problem to be solved.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a TDW length determination method.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a TDW length determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method can be applied to terminal equipment in an NTN system. As shown in fig. 3, the above method includes steps S310 and S320.

In step S310, the terminal device receives configuration information from the access network device.

In an embodiment, the configuration information comprises at least one TDW length value, each TDW length value corresponding to at least one characteristic value. For example, the access network device may send at least one TDW length value and at least one characteristic value carried in the same or different configuration information to the terminal device, where the terminal device receives one or more configuration information, and determines, according to a mapping rule configured or preconfigured by the access network, that each TDW length maps to at least one characteristic value, so as to obtain a correspondence between the TDW length and the characteristic.

In another embodiment, the configuration information includes at least one TDW length value and at least one characteristic value, each TDW length value corresponding to the at least one characteristic value. The access network device sends at least one TDW length value and the corresponding characteristic value carried in the same configuration information to the terminal device. The terminal device receives the configuration information to obtain a correspondence between the TDW length and the characteristic.

In an embodiment, at least one TDW length value may be used for DMRS bonding for multiple transmissions of one uplink channel. The uplink channels may include PUSCH, PUCCH (physical uplink control channel ), or other uplink channels. It will be appreciated that the multiple transmissions of one uplink channel may include: PUSCH transmission of PUSCH repetition type a scheduled by DCI format 0_1or0_2 (PUSCH transmissions of PUSCH repetition Type A scheduled by DCI format 0 _1or0_2), PUSCH transmission of PUSCH repetition type a with configuration grant (PUSCH transmissions of PUSCH repetition Type A with a configured grant), PUSCH transmission of PUSCH repetition type B (PUSCH transmissions of PUSCH repetition Type B), PUSCH transmission of one TB (transmission block, transport block) transmitted in a plurality of slots (PUSCH transmissions of TB processing over multiple slots, TBoMS), and PUCCH transmission of PUCCH repetition (PUCCH transmissions of PUCCH repetition).

It will be appreciated that the above characteristics relate to the position of the satellites. Thus, in some cases, this characteristic may be understood as a location characteristic. The location characteristic may be used to characterize the location of the satellite. In one embodiment, this characteristic may directly characterize the position of the satellite. For example, the characteristic may be satellite location information. In one embodiment, the characteristic may indirectly characterize the position of the satellite. For example, the characteristic may be timer information. As another example, the characteristic may be angle information between the terminal device and the satellite. Correspondingly, the at least one characteristic value may comprise one of: timer length), the angle between the terminal device and the satellite, the position of the satellite. Of course, the above characteristic values may also be other parameters, which are not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In an embodiment, the correspondence between the at least one TDW length value and the at least one characteristic value may be one-to-one, many-to-one, or one-to-many. Further, the correspondence between the at least one TDW length value and the at least one characteristic value may be expressed in various ways. The at least one TDW length value may include TDW1, TDW2, … …, TDWn. The at least one characteristic value may include a characteristic value 1, a characteristic value 2, … …, a characteristic value n. Here, n is a positive integer. In an embodiment, at least one information pair is formed between at least one TDW length value and at least one characteristic value. The correspondence between TDW length and characteristics may be expressed in terms of pairs of information. For example, the configuration information includes at least one TDW length value and at least one characteristic value, and then the configuration information may be expressed in the form of: { TDW1, characteristic value 1; TDW2, characteristic value 2, … …, TDWn, characteristic value n }. In an embodiment, the at least one TDW length value and the at least one characteristic value are respectively represented, and the TDW length value and the characteristic value at the corresponding position are corresponding. For example, the configuration information includes at least one TDW length value and at least one characteristic value, and the configuration information may be expressed in the form of: { TDW1, TDW2, … …, TDWn; characteristic value 1, characteristic value 2, … …, characteristic value n }. In this case, it should be noted that, the correspondence between the TDW length and the characteristics may be other mapping manners, and the configuration information may also be other expression manners, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

In an embodiment, in response to the characteristic value including a timer length, the configuration information may include a correspondence between the TDW length and the timer information. Specifically, each TDW length value in the configuration information corresponds to at least one timer length. Each timer length may be a numerical value. For example, at least one timer length may be represented as timer 1, timer 2, … …, timer n, n being a positive integer. For example, the configuration information may be expressed as: { TDW1, timer 1; TDW2, timers 2, … …, TDWn, timer n } or { TDW1, TDW2, … …, TDWn; timer 1, timer 2, … …, timer n }. In an embodiment, the timer length may be in units of seconds (second), milliseconds (millisecond), slots (slots), frames (frames), sub-frames (sub-frames), symbols (symbols), and the like.

In an embodiment, the configuration information may include a correspondence between the TDW length and the angle between the terminal device and the satellite in response to the characteristic value including the angle between the terminal device and the satellite. Specifically, each TDW length value in the configuration information corresponds to at least one angle (which may also be understood as an angle value). Each of the at least one angle value may be an angle value or a range of angle values. For example, at least one angle value may be represented as an angle value range 1, angle value ranges 2, … …, angle value range n. For example, the configuration information may be expressed as: { TDW1, angular value Range 1; TDW2, angle value range 2; … …; TDWn, angle value range n } or { TDW1, TDW2, … …, TDWn; angle value range 1, angle value range 2, … …, angle value range n.

In one embodiment, the configuration information may include a correspondence between the TDW length and the location of the satellite in response to the characteristic value including the location of the satellite. Specifically, each TDW length value in the configuration information corresponds to at least one position (may be understood as coordinate values, longitude and latitude, etc.). Each of the at least one location may be a location point or a location range. For example, at least one position may be represented as position range 1, position ranges 2, … …, position range n. For example, the configuration information may be expressed as: { TDW1, position Range 1; TDW2, position range 2; … …; TDWn, location range n } or { TDW1, TDW2, … …, TDWn; position range 1, position range 2, … …, position range n.

In an embodiment, the configuration information may be carried in signaling by the access network device for transmission to the terminal device. For example, the terminal device may receive terminal device specific (UE-specific) RRC signaling from the access network device. The configuration information may be carried in terminal device specific RRC signaling. The terminal equipment specific RRC signaling is applicable in the case where the characteristics are position information of the satellites, timer information, and angle information between the terminal equipment and the satellites. As another example, the terminal device may receive a broadcast message from the access network device. The configuration information may be carried in a broadcast message. The broadcast message is applicable in the case where the characteristic is angle information. It should be noted that, the terminal device may also receive the configuration information through other signaling or messages, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In step S320, the terminal device determines a first TDW length value from among the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information.

Here, after receiving the configuration information in step S310, the terminal device determines a first TDW length value based on the configuration information. The first TDW length value is the current TDW value.

In an embodiment, in case the characteristic is timer information, the terminal device may determine the first TDW length value according to at least one timer length in the configuration information. In an embodiment, the timer length of at least one timer in the configuration information may be arranged in a preset order. In this case, the terminal device may trigger the timers corresponding to the at least one timer length in a preset order according to the configuration information, and determine a TDW length value corresponding to an active timer (i.e., a currently triggered timer) of the at least one timer as the first TDW length value. For example, the terminal device may trigger the timers corresponding to the at least one timer length in sequence according to the configuration information. In an example, at least one timer may be arranged in the order of timer 1, timer 2, timers 3, … …, timer n. After the configuration information is validated, the terminal device may first trigger the timer 1 and determine the TDW1 corresponding to the timer 1 as the first TDW length value. When the timer 1 expires, the timer 2 is triggered and the TDW2 corresponding to the timer 2 is determined as the first TDW length value. When the timer 2 expires, the timer 3 is triggered and the TDW3 corresponding to the timer 3 is determined as the first TDW length value. And so on until the timer n is triggered and the TDWn corresponding to the timer n is determined as the first TDW length value. Therefore, the terminal equipment can determine the length value of the current TDW according to the triggered timer length without adjusting TA, so that the power consistency and the phase continuity of the terminal equipment in the TDW are ensured.

In an embodiment, in case the characteristic is an angle between the terminal device and the satellite, the terminal device may determine the first TDW length value according to at least one angle value in the configuration information. Specifically, the terminal device may acquire a position of the terminal device and a position of the satellite, and determine a first angle value between the terminal device and the satellite according to the position of the terminal device and the position of the satellite. The first angle value may be, for example, a current angle value between the terminal device and the satellite, or an angle value to be formed between the terminal device and the satellite. Thereafter, the terminal device may determine a TDW length value corresponding to the first angle value as the first TDW length value based on the configuration information. In one embodiment, the terminal device may obtain the position of the satellite based on ephemeris information. The ephemeris information may be pre-stored by the terminal device or may be received from the access network device and/or satellite. The terminal device may obtain the ephemeris information through SIB (system information block ) message. The SIB message may be a SIB-19 message. In an example, the at least one angle value may include an angle value range 1, an angle value range 2, … …, an angle value range n. At this time, after determining the first angle value, the terminal device may find an angle value range in which the first angle value is located from at least one angle value, and determine a TDW length value corresponding to the angle value range as the first TDW length value. Therefore, the terminal equipment can determine the length value of the current TDW according to the angle between the terminal equipment and the satellite without adjusting TA, so that the power consistency and the phase continuity of the terminal equipment in the TDW are ensured.

In an embodiment, the terminal device may further receive ephemeris information sent by the access network device, and determine a current angle between the terminal device and the satellite, i.e. the first angle, according to the ephemeris information and the current position of the terminal device.

In an embodiment, in case the characteristic is position information of the satellite, the terminal device may determine the first TDW length value according to at least one position in the configuration information. Specifically, the terminal device may acquire a first position of the satellite. The first location may be, for example, the current location of the satellite or the location where the satellite is about to arrive. Thereafter, the terminal device may determine a TDW length value corresponding to the first location as the first TDW length value based on the configuration information. In an example, the at least one location may include a location range 1, a location range 2, … …, a location range n. At this time, after acquiring the first location, the terminal device may find a location range in which the first location is located from at least one location, and determine a TDW length value corresponding to the location range as the first TDW length value. Therefore, the terminal equipment can determine the length value of the current TDW according to the position of the satellite without adjusting the TA, so that the power consistency and the phase continuity of the terminal equipment in the TDW are ensured.

In an embodiment, the terminal device may further receive ephemeris information sent by the access network device, and determine the current position of the satellite, i.e. the first position, according to the ephemeris information.

It can be appreciated that, after the terminal device receives the configuration information, the effective time of the configuration information can be set according to needs. In an embodiment, the configuration information may be validated immediately after being received by the terminal device. For example, for timer information, angle information, and location information, the configuration information may be immediately validated. In an embodiment, the configuration information may be delayed in effect after being received by the terminal device. For example, for timer information, configuration information may be validated according to predefined rules. In an example, after the terminal device receives the configuration information, the configuration information is validated after a preset period of time. In an example, after the terminal device receives the configuration information, the terminal device may feed back an Acknowledgement (ACK) message to the access network device. The configuration information is validated after a specific time period after the terminal device sends the confirmation message. The specific time length may be in units of seconds, milliseconds, slots, frames, subframes, symbols, and the like, for example. For example, the particular time period may be one or more time slots. In an example, the configuration information takes effect immediately after the terminal device sends the acknowledgement message. It should be noted that the effective time of the configuration information may also be determined in other manners, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure. In the embodiment of the disclosure, by setting the effective time of the configuration information, flexible configuration of the length of the TDW is realized, so that the terminal device does not need to adjust the TA, and the power consistency and the phase continuity in the TDW can be ensured.

In an embodiment, before step S310, the method may further include step S330. In step S330, the terminal device sends capability information to the access network device.

Here, the capability information may be used to indicate the capability of the terminal device to support autonomous determination of TDW. For example, the capability information may indicate that the terminal device supports the capability to autonomously determine the TDW. This also means that the terminal device supports the reception and processing of configuration information. It will be appreciated that in some cases, the capability information may indicate that the terminal device does not support the capability of autonomously determining the TDW. In an embodiment, the capability information may also be used to indicate parameter information of the terminal device. For example, the capability information may include at least one of the following parameters: the number of supported TDW lengths, the positioning capability of the terminal device, the supported timer length. The terminal device may send the capability information to the access network information for the access network information to determine and send configuration information. It should be noted that the capability information may also be used to indicate other information, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In some cases, the configuration information may be determined by the access network device based on capability information reported by the terminal device. For example, after the terminal device sends the capability information to the access network device, the access network device may determine that the terminal device supports autonomous determination of TDW according to the capability information, and then configure at least one TDW length value and corresponding at least one characteristic value for the terminal device. For another example, after the terminal device sends the capability information to the access network device, the access network device may determine that the terminal device supports autonomous determination of the TDW according to the capability information, and configure at least one TDW length value and corresponding at least one characteristic value for the terminal device according to parameter information included in the capability information. In some cases, the configuration information may be self-determined by the access network device. For example, the access network device may configure the terminal device with at least one TDW length value and corresponding at least one characteristic value without being based on capability information from the terminal device.

In an embodiment, the method may further include: and the terminal equipment reports the position information of the terminal equipment to the access network equipment. In the case that the characteristic in the configuration information is angle information, the location information reported by the terminal device may be used by the access network device to determine a first angle value between the satellite and the terminal device, and further determine a first TDW length value.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, the terminal device in the NTN system receives the configuration information including at least one TDW length value and at least one corresponding characteristic value, so that the terminal device can determine the length value of the current TDW according to the characteristic value. In this way, as the position of the satellite changes, the length of the determined TDW also changes, and the TA has a constant value within any one TDW and no adjustment of the TA is required. In this way, the terminal equipment can modify the length of the TDW along with time while meeting the requirement of uplink timing accuracy, thereby ensuring the power consistency and the phase continuity of the terminal equipment in the TDW.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of another TDW length determination method in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method can be applied to access network equipment in an NTN system. As shown in fig. 4, the above method includes step S410.

In step S410, the access network device sends configuration information to the terminal device.

In an embodiment, at least one TDW length value may be used for DMRS bonding for multiple transmissions of one uplink channel. The uplink channels may include PUSCH, PUCCH, or other uplink channels. It will be appreciated that the multiple transmissions of one uplink channel may include: PUSCH transmission of PUSCH repetition type a scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or 0_2, PUSCH transmission of PUSCH repetition type a with configuration grant, PUSCH transmission of PUSCH repetition type B, PUSCH transmission of one TB transmitted in a plurality of slots, and PUCCH transmission of PUCCH repetition.

It will be appreciated that the above characteristics relate to the position of the satellites. Thus, in some cases, this characteristic may be understood as a location characteristic. The location characteristic may be used to characterize the location of the satellite. In one embodiment, this characteristic may directly characterize the position of the satellite. For example, the characteristic may be satellite location information. In one embodiment, the characteristic may indirectly characterize the position of the satellite. For example, the characteristic may be timer information. As another example, the characteristic may be angle information between the terminal device and the satellite. Correspondingly, the at least one characteristic value may comprise one of: the length of the timer, the angle between the terminal device and the satellite, the position of the satellite. Of course, the above characteristic values may also be other parameters, which are not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In practice, the correspondence between the at least one TDW length value and the at least one characteristic value may be one-to-one, many-to-one, or one-to-many. Further, the correspondence between the at least one TDW length value and the at least one characteristic value may be expressed in various ways. The at least one TDW length value may include TDW1, TDW2, … …, TDWn. The at least one characteristic value may include a characteristic value 1, a characteristic value 2, … …, a characteristic value n. Here, n is a positive integer. In an embodiment, at least one information pair is formed between at least one TDW length value and at least one characteristic value. The correspondence between TDW length and characteristics may be expressed in terms of pairs of information. For example, the configuration information includes at least one TDW length value and at least one characteristic value, and then the configuration information may be expressed in the form of: { TDW1, characteristic value 1; TDW2, characteristic value 2, … …, TDWn, characteristic value n }. In an embodiment, at least one TDW length value and at least one characteristic value in the configuration information are respectively represented, and the TDW length value and the characteristic value at the corresponding position are corresponding. For example, the configuration information includes at least one TDW length value and at least one characteristic value, and the configuration information may be expressed in the form of: { TDW1, TDW2, … …, TDWn; characteristic value 1, characteristic value 2, … …, characteristic value n }. In this case, it should be noted that, the correspondence between the TDW length and the characteristics may be other mapping manners, and the configuration information may also be other expression manners, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

In an embodiment, in response to the characteristic value including a timer length, the configuration information may include a correspondence between the TDW length and the timer information. Specifically, each TDW length value in the configuration information corresponds to at least one timer length. Each timer length may be a numerical value. For example, at least one timer length may be represented as timer length 1, timer lengths 2, … …, timer length n, and in an embodiment, the timer length may also be represented by a timer corresponding to the timer length, e.g., at least one timer length may be represented as timer 1, timer 2, … …, timer n. For example, the configuration information may be expressed as: { TDW1, timer 1; TDW2, timer 2 … …, TDWn, timer n } or { TDW1, TDW2, … …, TDWn; timer 1, timer 2, … …, timer n }. In an embodiment, the timer length may be in units of seconds, milliseconds, slots, frames, subframes, symbols, and the like.

In an embodiment, the configuration information may include a correspondence between the TDW length and the angle between the terminal device and the satellite in response to the characteristic value including the angle between the terminal device and the satellite. Specifically, each TDW length value in the configuration information corresponds to at least one angle value (which may also be understood as an angle value). Each of the at least one angle value may be an angle value or a range of angle values. For example, at least one angle value may be represented as an angle value range 1, angle value ranges 2, … …, angle value range n. For example, the configuration information may be expressed as: { TDW1, angular value Range 1; TDW2, angle value range 2, … …, TDWn, angle value range n } or { TDW1, TDW2, … …, TDWn; angle value range 1, angle value range 2, … …, angle value range n.

In one embodiment, the configuration information may include a correspondence between the TDW length and the location of the satellite in response to the characteristic value including the location of the satellite. Specifically, each TDW length value in the configuration information is for at least one location (may be understood as coordinate values, longitude and latitude, etc.). Each of the at least one location may be a location point or a location range. For example, at least one position may be represented as position range 1, position ranges 2, … …, position range n. Further, the configuration information may be expressed as: { TDW1, position Range 1; TDW2, location range 2, … …, TDWn, location range n } or { TDW1, TDW2, … …, TDWn; position range 1, position range 2, … …, position range n.

In an embodiment, the configuration information may be carried in signaling by the access network device for transmission to the terminal device. For example, the access network device may send terminal device specific RRC signaling to the terminal device. The configuration information may be carried in terminal device specific RRC signaling. The terminal equipment specific RRC signaling is applicable in the case where the characteristics are position information of the satellites, timer information, and angle information between the terminal equipment and the satellites. As another example, the access network device may send a broadcast message to the terminal device. The configuration information may be carried in a broadcast message. The broadcast message is applicable in the case where the characteristic is angle information. It should be noted that, the access network device may also send configuration information through other signaling or messaging, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In an embodiment, the method may further include step S420. In step S420, the access network device determines a first TDW length value from the at least one TDW length value according to the configuration information.

It is understood that, in addition to transmitting the configuration information to the terminal device in step S410, the access network device may determine the first TDW length value according to the configuration information. The first TDW length value is the current TDW value.

It should be noted that, the execution process of S420 may refer to the description of S320 in the embodiment of fig. 3, and for brevity of description, details are not repeated here. The terminal device and the access network device determine the first TDW length value in the same way such that both agree on the TDW length (common understanding).

In an embodiment, in case the characteristic is timer information, the access network device may determine the first TDW length value according to at least one timer length in the configuration information. In an embodiment, at least one timer length in the configuration information may be arranged in a preset order. In this case, the access network device may trigger timers corresponding to at least one timer length in sequence according to the configuration information, and determine a TDW length value corresponding to an active timer (i.e., a currently triggered timer) of the at least one timer as the first TDW length value. In an example, the timers corresponding to at least one timer length may be arranged in the order of timer 1, timer 2, timers 3, … …, timer n. After the configuration information is validated, the access network device may first trigger the timer 1 and determine the TDW length value 1 corresponding to the timer 1 as the first TDW length value. When the timer 1 expires, the timer 2 is triggered and the TDW length value 2 corresponding to the timer 2 is determined as the first TDW length value. When the timer 2 expires, the timer 3 is triggered and the TDW length value 3 corresponding to the timer 3 is determined as the first TDW length value. And so on until the timer n is triggered and the TDW length value n corresponding to the timer n is determined as the first TDW length value.

In an embodiment, in case the characteristic is an angle between the terminal device and the satellite, the access network device may determine the first TDW length value based on at least one angle value in the configuration information. Specifically, the access network device may obtain the position of the terminal device and the position of the satellite, and determine a first angle value between the terminal device and the satellite according to the position of the terminal device and the position of the satellite. The first angle value may be, for example, a current angle value between the terminal device and the satellite, or an angle value to be formed between the terminal device and the satellite. The access network device may then determine a TDW length value corresponding to the first angle value as the first TDW length value based on the configuration information. In one embodiment, the access network device may obtain the position of the satellite based on ephemeris information. The ephemeris information may be pre-stored by the access network device or may be received from a satellite. The location of the terminal device may be reported by the terminal device to the access network device. In an embodiment, the method may further include: and the access network equipment receives the position information of the terminal equipment reported by the terminal equipment. In an example, the at least one angle value may include an angle value range 1, an angle value range 2, … …, an angle value range n. At this time, after determining the first angle value, the access network device may find an angle value range in which the first angle value is located from at least one angle value, and determine a TDW length value corresponding to the angle value range as the first TDW length value.

In an embodiment, where the characteristic is location information of a satellite, the access network device may determine the first TDW length value from at least one location in the configuration information. Specifically, the access network device may acquire a first location of the satellite. The first location may be, for example, the current location of the satellite or the location where the satellite is about to arrive. The access network device may then determine a TDW length value corresponding to the first location as the first TDW length value based on the configuration information. In an example, the at least one location may include a location range 1, a location range 2, … …, a location range n. At this time, after acquiring the first location, the access network device may find a location range where the first location is located from at least one location, and determine a TDW length value corresponding to the location range as the first TDW length value.

In practice, the execution order of step S410 and step S420 may be set as needed. For example, step S420 may be performed before step S410, after step S410, or simultaneously with step S410.

Furthermore, it should be noted that the time of validity of the configuration information at the terminal device is known to the access network device. Thus, the access network device may determine the first TDW length value based on the configuration information according to the time of validity of the configuration information on the terminal device.

In an embodiment, before step S410, the method may further include step S430. In step S430, the access network device receives capability information from the terminal device.

Here, the capability information may be used to indicate the capability of the terminal device to support autonomous determination of TDW. For example, the capability information may indicate that the terminal device supports the capability to autonomously determine the TDW. This also means that the terminal device supports the reception and processing of configuration information. It will be appreciated that in some cases, the capability information may indicate that the terminal device does not support the capability of autonomously determining the TDW. In an embodiment, the capability information may also be used to indicate parameter information of the terminal device. For example, the capability information may include at least one of the following parameters: the number of supported TDW lengths, the positioning capability of the terminal device, the supported timer length. The access network device may determine and send configuration information based on the capability information. It should be noted that the capability information may also be used to indicate other information, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In some cases, the configuration information may be determined by the access network device based on capability information reported by the terminal device. For example, after the access network device receives the capability information, the access network device may determine that the terminal device supports autonomous determination of TDW according to the capability information, and then configure the terminal device with at least one TDW length value and corresponding at least one characteristic value. For another example, after the access network device receives the capability information, the access network device may determine that the terminal device supports autonomous determination of TDW according to the capability information, and configure at least one TDW length value and corresponding at least one characteristic value for the terminal device according to parameter information included in the capability information. In some cases, the configuration information may be self-determined by the access network device. For example, the access network device may configure the terminal device with at least one TDW length value and corresponding at least one characteristic value without being based on capability information from the terminal device.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, the access network device in the NTN system sends configuration information including at least one TDW length value and at least one corresponding characteristic value to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can determine the length value of the current TDW according to the characteristic value. In this way, as the position of the satellite changes, the length of the determined TDW also changes, and the TA has a constant value within any one TDW and no adjustment of the TA is required. In this way, the terminal equipment can modify the length of the TDW along with time while meeting the requirement of uplink timing accuracy, thereby ensuring the power consistency and the phase continuity of the terminal equipment in the TDW.

Furthermore, since the configuration information is sent by the access network device to the terminal device, the access network device is also able to determine the length value of the current TDW from the characteristic value. In this way, the terminal device and the access network device can quickly agree on the length value of the current TDW.

To further enhance understanding of the TDW length determination method in the embodiments of the present disclosure, specific embodiments of the TDW length determination method are described herein by way of example embodiments. In these exemplary embodiments, a terminal device is taken as a UE, and an access network device is taken as a gNB as an example.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a TDW length determination method in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 5, the method includes steps S510 and S520.

In step S510, the gNB sends configuration information to the UE.

Here, the configuration information includes n TDW length values and n timer lengths. Here, n is a positive integer. The configuration information may be configured by the gNB for the terminal device. Specifically, the configuration information may be represented as { TDW1, timer 1; TDW2, timer 2; … …; TDWn, timer n }. In the configuration information, n timer lengths are sequentially arranged in time order. That is, in the time domain, timer 1 is the timer corresponding to the first timer length, timer 2 is the timer corresponding to the second timer length, and so on.

In step S520, the UE determines a first TDW length value.

After the UE receives the configuration information, the configuration information may be delayed by k slots to take effect. After the configuration information is validated, the UE first triggers timer 1 and determines TDW1 as a first TDW length value within the timer length of timer 1; after the timer length of timer 1 is over, the UE triggers timer 2 and determines TDW2 as a first TDW length value within the timer length of timer 2; and so on until the UE triggers timer n and determines TDWn as the first TDW length value for the timer length of timer n. In this way, the UE may sequentially determine TDW1, TDW2, … …, TDWn as the first TDW length value according to the configuration information in order.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart of another exemplary embodiment of a TDW length determination method in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 6, the method includes steps S610 to S630.

In step S610, the gNB sends configuration information to the UE.

In step S620, the UE sends an acknowledgement message to the gNB.

Here, after receiving the configuration information from the gNB in step S610, the UE may transmit an acknowledgement message to the gNB in response to the configuration information. The acknowledgement message may be used to acknowledge receipt of the configuration information by the UE.

In step S630, the UE determines a first TDW length value.

The configuration information may be validated immediately after the UE transmits the response message. After the configuration information is validated, the UE first triggers timer 1 and determines TDW1 as a first TDW length value within the timer length of timer 1; after the timer length of timer 1 is over, the UE triggers timer 2 and determines TDW2 as a first TDW length value within the timer length of timer 2; and so on until the UE triggers timer n and determines TDWn as the first TDW length value for the timer length of timer n. In this way, the UE may sequentially determine TDW1, TDW2, … …, TDWn as the first TDW length value according to the configuration information in order.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart of still another exemplary embodiment of a TDW length determination method in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 7, the method includes steps S710 to S730.

In step S710, the gNB sends configuration information to the UE.

Here, the configuration information includes n TDW length values and n angle value ranges. Here, n is a positive integer. The configuration information may be configured by the gNB for the terminal device. Specifically, the configuration information may be represented as { TDW1, angle value range 1; TDW2, angle value range 2; … …; TDWn, angle value range n }. The configuration information may be validated immediately after the UE receives the configuration information.

In step S720, the UE determines a first angle value.

Specifically, the UE may determine the position of the satellite from the ephemeris information and determine the first angle value from the position of the satellite and the position of the UE itself.

In step S730, the UE determines a first TDW length value.

Specifically, the UE determines that the first angle value is within an angle value range k according to the configuration information, and determines a TDWk corresponding to the angle value range k as a first TDW length value. Here, k is a positive integer, and k is less than or equal to n.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart of still another exemplary embodiment of a TDW length determination method in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 8, the method includes steps S810 to S830.

In step S810, the gNB transmits configuration information to the UE.

Here, the configuration information includes n TDW length values and n location ranges. Here, n is a positive integer. The configuration information may be configured by the gNB for the terminal device. Specifically, the configuration information may be represented as { TDW1, location range 1; TDW2, position range 2; … …; TDWn, location range n }. The configuration information may be validated immediately after the UE receives the configuration information.

In step S820, the UE determines a first position of a satellite.

Specifically, the UE may determine a position of the satellite as the first position according to the ephemeris information.

In step S830, the UE determines a first TDW length value.

Specifically, the UE determines that the first location is within a location range k according to the configuration information, and determines a TDWk corresponding to the location range k as a first TDW length value. Here, k is a positive integer, and k is less than or equal to n.

Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a TDW length determination apparatus. The TDW length determining device may be an access network device or a terminal device in the above communication system, or may be a chip or a system on a chip in the access network device or the terminal device, or may be a functional module in the access network device or the terminal device for implementing the method described in the above embodiments. The TDW length determining device may implement the functions performed by the access network device or the terminal device in the above embodiments, and these functions may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. Such hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a TDW length determination apparatus in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 9, the TDW length determination apparatus 900 may include a reception module 901 and a determination module 902. The receiving module 901 is configured to receive configuration information from an access network device. The configuration information includes at least one TDW length value, each TDW length value corresponding to at least one characteristic value. The determining module 902 is configured to determine a first TDW length value from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the configuration information may further comprise at least one characteristic value.

According to one or more possible implementations, the determining module 902 may be configured to: determining a first position of the satellite according to ephemeris information when each TDW length value in the configuration information corresponds to at least one satellite position in response to the characteristic value including the satellite position; and determining a TDW length value corresponding to the first position as a first TDW length value according to the configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the receiving module 901 may be configured to receive ephemeris information sent by the access network device.

According to one or more possible implementations, the determining module 902 may be configured to: responding to the characteristic value comprising timer length, wherein each TDW length value in the configuration information corresponds to at least one timer length, and triggering the timers corresponding to the at least one timer length according to a preset sequence; and determining a TDW length value corresponding to the currently triggered timer as a first TDW length value.

According to one or more possible implementations, the determining module 902 may be configured to: delaying a preset time length after receiving the configuration information, and triggering a timer corresponding to at least one timer time length according to a preset sequence.

According to one or more possible implementations, the determining module 902 may be configured to: in response to the characteristic values including angles between the terminal device and the satellite, each TDW length value in the configuration information corresponds to at least one angle between the terminal device and the satellite, determining a first angle between the terminal device and the satellite based on the location information of the terminal device and the location information of the satellite; and determining a TDW length value corresponding to the first angle as a first TDW length value according to the configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the receiving module 901 may be configured to receive ephemeris information sent by the access network device; the determining module 902 may be configured to determine position information for satellites based on ephemeris information.

According to one or more possible implementations, the receiving module 901 may be configured to: a broadcast message is received from an access network device. The broadcast message carries configuration information.

According to one or more possible implementations, the receiving module 901 may be configured to: terminal device specific RRC signaling from the access network device is received. The terminal equipment dedicated RRC signaling carries configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the apparatus 900 may further include a sending module 903. The transmitting module 903 may be configured to: and sending the capability information to the access network equipment. The capability information is used to indicate the capability of the terminal device to support autonomous determination of TDW.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural view of another TDW length determination apparatus in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 10, the TDW length determination apparatus 1000 may include a transmission module 1001. The sending module 1001 is configured to send configuration information to a terminal device, where the configuration information includes at least one TDW length value, each TDW length value corresponding to at least one characteristic value.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the apparatus 1000 described above may further comprise a determining module 1002. The determining module 1002 is configured to determine a first TDW length value from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information.

According to one or more possible implementations, the determining module 1002 may be configured to: determining a first position of the satellite according to ephemeris information when each TDW length value in the configuration information corresponds to at least one satellite position in response to the characteristic value including the satellite position; and determining a TDW length value corresponding to the first position as a first TDW length value according to the configuration information.

According to one or more possible implementations, the determining module 1002 may be configured to: responding to the characteristic value comprising timer length, wherein each TDW length value in the configuration information corresponds to at least one timer length, and triggering the timers corresponding to the at least one timer length according to a preset sequence; and determining a TDW length value corresponding to the currently triggered timer as a first TDW length value.

According to one or more possible implementations, the determining module 1002 may be configured to: delaying a preset time length after receiving the configuration information, and triggering a timer corresponding to at least one timer time length according to a preset sequence.

According to one or more possible implementations, the determining module 1002 may be configured to: in response to the characteristic values including angles between the terminal device and the satellite, each TDW length value in the configuration information corresponds to at least one angle between the terminal device and the satellite, determining a first angle between the terminal device and the satellite based on the location information of the terminal device and the location information of the satellite; and determining a TDW length value corresponding to the first angle as a first TDW length value according to the configuration information.

According to one or more possible implementations, the transmission module 1001 may be configured to: and sending the special RRC signaling of the terminal equipment to the terminal equipment. The terminal equipment dedicated RRC signaling carries configuration information.

According to one or more possible embodiments, the above-mentioned device may further comprise a receiving module 1003. The receiving module 1003 is configured to: capability information is received from the terminal device. The capability information is used to indicate the capability of the terminal device to support autonomous determination of TDW.

Note that the TDW length determination apparatus in the embodiment of the present disclosure corresponds to the TDW length determination method in the foregoing embodiment. Therefore, specific implementation details of the TDW length determination apparatus in the embodiments of the present disclosure may refer to the description of the foregoing embodiments of the TDW length determination method, which is not repeated herein.

It should be noted that, the specific implementation process of the determining module, the receiving module, and the transmitting module in the foregoing fig. 9 and fig. 10 may refer to the detailed descriptions of the terminal device and the access network device in the embodiments of fig. 3 to fig. 8, and are not repeated herein for brevity of the description.

The receiving module mentioned in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a receiving interface, a receiving circuit, a receiver, or the like; the transmitting module may be a transmitting interface, a transmitting circuit, a transmitter, or the like; the determination module may be one or more processors.

Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a communication device. The communication device may be a terminal device or a network device in one or more of the embodiments described above. Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device in an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in fig. 11, the communication device 1100 employs general-purpose computer hardware including a processor 1101, a memory 1102, a bus 1103, an input device 1104 and an output device 1105.

In some possible implementations, the memory 1102 may include a computer storage medium in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, such as read-only memory and/or random access memory. Memory 1102 may store an operating system, application programs, other program modules, executable code, program data, user data, and the like.

Input devices 1104 may be used to input commands and information into the communication device, input devices 1104 such as a keyboard or pointing device, such as a mouse, trackball, touch pad, microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These input devices may be connected to the processor 1101 through a bus 1103.

Output devices 1105 may be used for communication device output information, and in addition to a monitor, output devices 1105 may be provided for other peripheral output devices, such as speakers and/or printing devices, which may also be connected to the processor 1101 via the bus 1103.

The communication device may be connected to a network, for example, to a local area network (local area network, LAN) via an antenna 1106. In a networked environment, computer-executable instructions stored in the control device may be stored in a remote memory storage device, and are not limited to being stored locally.

When the processor 1101 in the communication device 1100 executes the executable code or the application program stored in the memory 1102, the communication device 1100 performs the method on the terminal device side and the access network device side in the above embodiment, and the specific execution process is referred to the above embodiment and will not be repeated herein.

Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a terminal device, which is consistent with the terminal device in one or more of the embodiments described above. In one embodiment, the terminal device may be a mobile phone, computer, digital broadcast terminal, messaging device, game console, tablet device, medical device, exercise device, personal digital assistant, or the like.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device in an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in fig. 12, the terminal device 1200 may include one or more of the following components: a processing component 1201, a memory 1202, a power supply component 1203, a multimedia component 1204, an audio component 1205, an input/output (I/O) interface 1206, a sensor component 1207, and a communication component 1208.

The processing unit 1201 generally controls overall operations of the terminal apparatus 1200, such as operations associated with display, telephone call, data communication, camera operations, and recording operations. The processing assembly 1201 may include one or more processors 1210 to execute instructions to perform all or part of the method steps described above. In addition, the processing assembly 1201 may include one or more modules to facilitate interactions between the processing assembly 1201 and other components. For example, the processing component 1201 may include a multimedia module to facilitate interactions between the multimedia component 1204 and the processing component 1201.

The memory 1202 is configured to store various types of data to support operations at the terminal device 1200. Examples of such data include instructions for any application or method operating on terminal device 1200, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, videos, and the like. The memory 1202 may be implemented by any type or combination of volatile or nonvolatile memory devices such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic or optical disk.

The power supply assembly 1203 provides power to the various components of the terminal apparatus 1200. The power supply component 1203 can include a power management system, one or more power supplies, and other components associated with generating, managing, and distributing power for the terminal device 1200.

The multimedia component 1204 includes a screen between the terminal device 1200 and the user that provides an output interface. In some embodiments, the screen may include a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and a Touch Panel (TP). If the screen includes a touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touch screen to receive input signals from a user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors to sense touches, swipes, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensor may sense not only the boundary of a touch or sliding action, but also the duration and pressure associated with the touch or sliding operation. In some embodiments, the multimedia component 1204 includes a front camera and/or a rear camera. When the terminal device 1200 is in an operation mode, such as a photographing mode or a video mode, the front camera and/or the rear camera may receive external multimedia data. Each front camera and rear camera may be a fixed optical lens system or have focal length and optical zoom capabilities.

The audio component 1205 is configured to output and/or input audio signals. For example, the audio component 1205 includes a Microphone (MIC) configured to receive external audio signals when the terminal device 1200 is in an operational mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a voice recognition mode. The received audio signals may be further stored in the memory 1202 or transmitted via the communication component 1208. In some embodiments, the audio component 1205 also includes a speaker for outputting audio signals.

I/O interface 1206 provides an interface between processing assembly 1201 and peripheral interface modules, which may be keyboards, click wheels, buttons, etc. These buttons may include, but are not limited to: homepage button, volume button, start button, and lock button.

The sensor assembly 1207 includes one or more sensors for providing status assessment of various aspects to the terminal device 1200. For example, the sensor assembly 1207 may detect an on/off state of the terminal device 1200, a relative positioning of the components, such as a display and keypad of the terminal device 1200, the sensor assembly 1207 may also detect a change in position of the terminal device 1200 or a component of the terminal device 1200, the presence or absence of a user's contact with the terminal device 1200, an orientation or acceleration/deceleration of the terminal device 1200, and a change in temperature of the terminal device 1200. The sensor assembly 1207 may include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of nearby objects in the absence of any physical contact. The sensor assembly 1207 may also include a light sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor assembly 1207 can also include acceleration sensors, gyroscopic sensors, magnetic sensors, pressure sensors, or temperature sensors.

The communication component 1208 is configured to facilitate communication between the terminal device 1200 and other devices, either wired or wireless. The terminal device 1200 may access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as Wi-Fi,2G or 3G or 4G or 5G or later evolved versions, or a combination thereof. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component 1208 receives broadcast signals or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component 1208 further includes a Near Field Communication (NFC) module to facilitate short range communications. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, infrared data association (IrDA) technology, ultra Wideband (UWB) technology, bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

In an exemplary embodiment, the terminal device 1200 may be implemented by one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), digital Signal Processors (DSPs), digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other electronic elements for executing the methods described above.

Based on the same inventive concept, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a network device consistent with the network device in one or more of the embodiments described above.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device in an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in fig. 13, network device 1300 may include a processing component 1301 that further includes one or more processors, and memory resources represented by memory 1302, for storing instructions, such as application programs, that may be executed by processing component 1301. The application programs stored in memory 1302 may include one or more modules each corresponding to a set of instructions. Further, processing component 1301 is configured to execute instructions to perform the aforementioned logical channel priority processing method applied on a network device.

The network device 1300 may also include a power component 1303 configured to perform power management of the network device 1300, a wired or wireless network interface 1304 configured to connect the network device 1300 to a network, and an input-output (I/O) interface 1305. The network device 1300 may operate based on an operating system stored in the memory 1302, such as Windows Server TM, mac OS XTM, unixTM, linuxTM, freeBSDTM, or the like.

Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer-readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium has instructions stored therein. The TDW length determination method on the access network device side or the terminal device side in one or more of the above embodiments may be performed when the instructions are run on a computer.

Based on the same inventive concept, the disclosed embodiments also provide a computer program or a computer program product. The computer program product, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to implement the TDW length determination method on the access network device side or the terminal device side in one or more of the embodiments described above.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the disclosure pertains. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the drawings, which have been described above, and that various modifications and changes may be effected without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the invention is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. The method for determining the length of the time domain window TDW is applied to terminal equipment in a non-ground network NTN system, wherein the method comprises the following steps:

Receiving configuration information from access network equipment, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one TDW length value, and each TDW length value corresponds to at least one characteristic value; and

a first TDW length value is determined from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one TDW length value is used for demodulation reference signal, DMRS, bonding for multiple transmissions of one uplink channel.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the configuration information further comprises at least one characteristic value corresponding to the at least one TDW length value.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the characteristic value comprises one of: the length of the timer, the angle between the terminal device and the satellite, the position of the satellite.

5. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein, when the characteristic value comprises a position of the satellite, the determining a first TDW length value from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information comprises:

determining a first position of the satellite based on ephemeris information; and

and determining a TDW length value corresponding to the first position as the first TDW length value according to the configuration information.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein prior to the determining the first position of the satellite based on ephemeris information, the method further comprises:

and receiving the ephemeris information sent by the access network equipment.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining a first TDW length value from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information when the characteristic value comprises the timer length comprises:

triggering timers corresponding to the at least one timer length according to a preset sequence; and

and determining a TDW length value corresponding to the currently triggered timer as the first TDW length value.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein when the characteristic value comprises an angle between the terminal device and the satellite, the determining a first TDW length value from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information comprises:

determining a first angle between the terminal equipment and the satellite according to the position information of the terminal equipment and the position information of the satellite; and

and determining a TDW length value corresponding to the first angle as the first TDW length value according to the configuration information.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein prior to said determining a first angle between the terminal device and the satellite based on the location information of the terminal device and the location information of the satellite, the method further comprises:

receiving ephemeris information sent by the access network equipment;

and determining the position information of the satellite according to the ephemeris information.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the receiving configuration information from an access network device comprises:

and receiving a broadcast message from the access network equipment, wherein the broadcast message carries the configuration information.

11. The method according to any of claims 4 to 10, wherein the receiving configuration information from an access network device comprises:

and receiving a special Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling of the terminal equipment from the access network equipment, wherein the special RRC signaling of the terminal equipment carries the configuration information.

12. The method of any of claims 1 to 11, wherein prior to the receiving configuration information from an access network device, the method further comprises:

and sending capability information to the access network equipment, wherein the capability information is used for indicating the capability of the terminal equipment for supporting autonomous determination of the TDW.

13. A method for determining the length of a time domain window TDW, which is applied to an access network device in a non-terrestrial network NTN system, wherein the method comprises the following steps:

and sending configuration information to the terminal equipment, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one TDW length value, and each TDW length value corresponds to at least one characteristic value.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein after the sending of the configuration information to the terminal device, the method further comprises:

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the at least one TDW length value is used for demodulation reference signal, DMRS, bundling of multiple transmissions of one uplink channel.

16. The method of any of claims 13 to 15, wherein the configuration information further comprises at least one characteristic value corresponding to the at least one TDW length value.

17. The method of any of claims 14 to 16, wherein the at least one characteristic value comprises one of: the length of the timer, the angle between the terminal device and the satellite, the position of the satellite.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the determining a first TDW length value from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information when the characteristic value comprises a location of the satellite comprises:

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the determining a first TDW length value from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information when the characteristic value comprises the timer length comprises:

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the determining a first TDW length value from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information when the characteristic value comprises an angle between the terminal device and the satellite comprises:

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the sending configuration information to a terminal device comprises:

and sending a broadcast message to the terminal equipment, wherein the broadcast message carries the configuration information.

22. The method according to any of claims 13 to 21, wherein the sending configuration information to a terminal device comprises:

and sending a terminal equipment special Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling to the terminal equipment, wherein the terminal equipment special RRC signaling carries the configuration information.

23. The method according to any of claims 14 to 24, wherein prior to said sending configuration information to a terminal device, the method further comprises:

and receiving capability information from the terminal equipment, wherein the capability information is used for indicating the capability of the terminal equipment for supporting autonomous determination of the TDW.

24. A time domain window TDW length determining apparatus, provided in a terminal device in a non-terrestrial network NTN system, wherein the apparatus comprises:

a receiving module configured to receive configuration information from an access network device, the configuration information including at least one TDW length value, wherein each TDW length value corresponds to at least one characteristic value; and

A determining module configured to determine a first TDW length value from the at least one TDW length value based on the configuration information.

25. A time domain window TDW length determining apparatus, provided in an access network device in a non-terrestrial network NTN system, wherein the apparatus comprises:

and the sending module is configured to send configuration information to the terminal equipment, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one TDW length value, and each TDW length value corresponds to at least one characteristic value.

26. A communication device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory connected to the processor and configured to store computer-executable instructions;

wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 23.

27. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions, wherein the computer executable instructions when executed by a processor implement the method of any of claims 1 to 23.

28. A computer program product comprising: one or more computer-executable instructions;

wherein the computer executable instructions, when executed by a processor, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 23.