WO2025223251A1 - Communication method and related apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a related apparatus. In the communication method provided in the present application, a same access resource multiplexed by a plurality of terminal devices is divided into a plurality of resource groups, each resource group among the plurality of resource groups is used for accessing terminal devices within different received power ranges, and received powers corresponding to the plurality of terminal devices multiplexing a same resource group are within a same received power range, avoiding the occurrence of power imbalance, thereby improving the access probability of the terminal devices, and improving the access capacity of an NTN communication system.

Description

Communication methods and related devices

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410508634.1, filed on April 25, 2024, entitled "Communication Method and Related Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to a communication method and related apparatus.

Background Technology

In non-terrestrial networks (NTN) communication systems, multiple communication devices can employ orthogonal cover code (OCC) multiplexing technology to overlay multiple preambles on the same resource, achieving random access on the same resource through code division multiplexing. This allows more communication devices to connect to the NTN system, thereby increasing the access capacity of the NTN communication system. Examples of other communication devices include Internet of Things (IoT) devices with poor coverage.

However, the above method of reusing resources is prone to the phenomenon of satellites missing IoT devices, which prevents IoT devices from accessing the NTN communication system, and ultimately leads to a decrease in the access capacity of the NTN communication system.

Summary of the Invention

This application provides a communication method and related apparatus, which aims to increase the access probability when multiple terminal devices reuse the same resource and improve the access capacity of the NTN communication system.

In a first aspect, this application provides a communication method applied to a first communication device. The first communication device can be a terminal device or a communication module in the terminal device, or a circuit or chip in the terminal device responsible for communication functions (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, or a system-in-package (SIP) chip). Taking the application of this method to a first terminal device as an example, the method includes:

The device receives first indication information, which indicates at least one resource group, and at least one resource group corresponds one-to-one with at least one receive power range; and first access request information, which is carried in the first resource group of the at least one resource group, and the receive power of the first communication device is located within the receive power range of the first resource group.

The first indication information is broadcast to indicate at least one resource group, and at least one resource group corresponds one-to-one with at least one receiving power range. That is, different resource groups in at least one resource group correspond to different receiving power ranges. The receiving power of different terminal devices using the same resource group to access the network is within the same receiving power range. Therefore, power imbalance can be avoided, thereby increasing the access probability of terminal devices and increasing the access capacity of the NTN communication system.

In some implementations, the method further includes the following steps before sending the first access request information:

Receive second indication information, which indicates each of at least one receive power interval.

By directly indicating each of the at least one received power intervals through the second indication information, compared with the method agreed upon in the protocol, the received power interval corresponding to each resource group in at least one resource group can correspond to a more flexible range of changes.

In some implementations, the resource granularity of each resource group in at least one resource group is a subcarrier.

In some implementations, the first indication information indicates at least one of the following: the subcarrier start position of each resource group, the number of subcarriers contained in each resource group, or the subcarrier end position of each resource group.

When the resource granularity of each resource group in at least one resource group is a subcarrier, dividing the reused resources of multiple terminal devices into finer-grained groups can further refine the resource groups used by the terminal devices, thereby increasing the access probability of the terminal devices.

In some implementations, each resource group includes a first sub-resource group and a second sub-resource group. The first sub-resource group is used to carry the first message 1, and the second sub-resource group is used to carry the second message 1. The first message 1 is message 1 sent by a terminal device that supports multi-subcarrier transmission when sending message 3, and the second message 1 is message 1 sent by a terminal device that supports single-subcarrier transmission when sending message 3.

Dividing each resource group into a first sub-resource group and a second sub-resource group helps to distinguish whether the terminal device supports multi-subcarrier transmission in the subsequent random access process, thereby improving the access efficiency of random access.

In some implementations, the resource granularity of each resource group in at least one resource group is random access timing (RO).

In some implementations, the first indication information indicates at least one of the following: the starting position of the RO in each resource group, the time interval between two temporally adjacent ROs in each resource group, or the ending position of the RO in each resource group.

When the resource granularity of each resource group in at least one resource group is RO, the reuse of resources for multiple terminal devices can be divided with coarse granularity to avoid the waste of reused resources.

In some implementations, the first indication information indicates the number of resource groups in at least one resource group.

By specifying a particular grouping method in the agreement, the number of resource groups in at least one resource group can be indicated only through the first indication information, which can reduce the overhead of the first indication information.

Secondly, this application provides a communication method applied to a second communication device, which can be a server on the network side or a component within the server (e.g., a circuit, a chip, or a chip system). Taking the application of this method to a network device as an example, the method includes:

Send a first indication message, which indicates at least one resource group, and the at least one resource group corresponds one-to-one with at least one receive power range; receive access request information according to at least one resource group.

In some implementations, the method also includes:

Send a second indication message, which indicates each of at least one receive power interval.

In some implementations, the resource granularity of each resource group in at least one resource group is a subcarrier.

In some implementations, the first indication information indicates at least one of the following: the subcarrier start position of each resource group, the number of subcarriers contained in each resource group, or the subcarrier end position of each resource group.

In some implementations, each resource group includes a first sub-resource group and a second sub-resource group. The first sub-resource group is used to carry the first message 1, and the second sub-resource group is used to carry the second message 1. The first message 1 is message 1 sent by a terminal device that supports multi-subcarrier transmission when sending message 3, and the second message 1 is message 1 sent by a terminal device that supports single-subcarrier transmission when sending message 3.

In some implementations, the resource granularity of each resource group in at least one resource group is random access timing (RO).

In some implementations, the first indication information indicates at least one of the following: the starting position of the RO in each resource group, the time interval between two temporally adjacent ROs in each resource group, or the ending position of the RO in each resource group.

In some implementations, the first indication information indicates the number of resource groups in at least one resource group.

Thirdly, this application provides a communication device, including modules or units for implementing the methods of the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or including modules for implementing the methods of the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Each module or unit can implement its corresponding function by executing a computer program.

For example, the communication device in the third aspect is a terminal device or a component configured in a terminal device, such as a chip, chip system, processor, etc.; or, the communication device in the third aspect is a network device or a component configured in a network device, such as a chip, chip system, processor, etc.

Fourthly, this application provides a communication device, including a processor, which is configured to execute the communication method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or to execute the communication method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

Optionally, the apparatus may further include a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to a processor, which, when executing the instructions stored in the memory, can implement the methods described in the foregoing aspects.

Optionally, the device may also include a communication interface for communicating with other communication devices. For example, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, pin, or other type of communication interface.

For example, the communication device provided in the fourth aspect is a chip or chip system.

Fifthly, this application provides a communication device, including a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is used to receive signals from other communication devices besides the communication device described in the fifth aspect and transmit them to the processor, or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices besides the communication device. The processor implements the communication method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect through logic circuits or executing code instructions, or implements the communication method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, pin, or other type of communication interface.

Optionally, the apparatus further includes a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to a processor, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, it can implement the communication method of the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or implement the communication method of the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

In a sixth aspect, this application provides a communication device, including a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store instructions and data, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, it can implement the communication method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or implement the communication method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

Optionally, the device further includes a communication interface for communicating with other communication devices. For example, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, pin, or other type of communication interface.

For example, the communication device in the fifth and sixth aspects is a terminal device or a network device.

In a seventh aspect, this application provides a chip system including at least one processor for supporting the implementation of the functions involved in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or for supporting the implementation of the functions involved in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect, such as receiving or processing data and/or information involved in the above methods.

In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory for storing program instructions and data, which may be located inside or outside the processor.

The chip system can consist of chips or include chips and other discrete components.

Eighthly, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium including a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to implement the methods of the first or second aspect and any possible implementation of the first or second aspect.

Ninthly, this application provides a computer program product comprising: a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when run, causes a computer to perform the methods of the first or second aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, including the aforementioned terminal device and network device. The terminal device can be used to implement the methods of the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, and the network device can be used to implement the methods of the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

The third to tenth aspects of this application correspond to the technical solutions of the first and second aspects of this application. The beneficial effects achieved by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation are similar, and will not be described again.

Attached Figure Description

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible terrestrial network communication system architecture;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an NTN communication system;

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a 5G satellite communication system that integrates an NTN network system;

Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application;

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of grouping the first resource at the subcarrier granularity according to an embodiment of this application;

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of grouping the first resource at the subcarrier granularity according to another embodiment of this application;

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of grouping the first resource at the subcarrier granularity according to another embodiment of this application;

Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of grouping the first resource into groups based on RO granularity according to an embodiment of this application;

Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of grouping the first resource into groups with RO as the granularity according to another embodiment of this application;

Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application.

The accompanying drawings illustrate specific embodiments of this application, which will be described in more detail below. These drawings and descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the concept in any way, but rather to illustrate the concept of this application to those skilled in the art through reference to particular embodiments.

Detailed Implementation

Exemplary embodiments will now be described in detail, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description relates to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings denote the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of this application as detailed in the appended claims.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible terrestrial network communication system architecture. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 may include at least one wireless access network device (110a and 110b in the figure), and may also include at least one terminal (120a-120h in the figure). The terminal is wirelessly connected to the wireless access network device, and the terminals and the wireless access network devices can be interconnected by wired or wireless means.

Wireless access network (RAN) equipment can be devices with wireless transceiver capabilities. In this embodiment of the application, the wireless access network device can be a device that provides wireless communication function services, and is usually located on the network side, including but not limited to: next-generation base stations (gNodeB, gNB) in 5th generation (5G) communication systems, next-generation base stations in 6th generation (6G) mobile communication systems, base stations in future mobile communication systems, or access nodes in WiFi systems, etc., evolved node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), base band unit (BBU), transmission reception point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), base transceiver station (BTS), etc. in long term evolution (LTE) systems. In one network architecture, the access network equipment may include centralized unit (CU) nodes, distributed unit (DU) nodes, RAN equipment including CU and DU nodes, or RAN equipment including control plane CU nodes, user plane CU nodes, and DU nodes. The access network equipment provides services to cells. Terminal devices communicate with base stations through the transmission resources (e.g., frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources) used by the cell. The cell can be a cell corresponding to a base station (e.g., a base station). The cell can belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell. Small cells can include metro cells, micro cells, pico cells, femto cells, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage area and low transmission power, making them suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services. The wireless access network equipment can be a macro base station (as shown in Figure 1, 110a), a micro base station or indoor station (as shown in Figure 1, 110b), a relay node or donor node, a device providing wireless communication services to terminal devices in a V2X communication system, a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, a relay station, vehicle-mounted equipment, wearable devices, and network equipment in future evolved networks, etc. In this embodiment, the access network equipment can also be an open-radio access network (O-RAN) device, which can include open-distributed units (O-DU) and open-central units (O-CU). In the embodiments of this application, the base station's functions can be executed by modules (such as chips) within the base station, or by a control subsystem containing base station functions. This control subsystem containing base station functions can be a control center in the aforementioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the wireless access network equipment. For ease of description, the following description uses a base station as an example of a wireless access network equipment.

A terminal can also be called a terminal device, user equipment, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc., and can be an entity on the user side used to receive or transmit signals, such as a mobile phone. Terminal devices include handheld devices, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, or computing devices with wireless communication capabilities. For example, a UE can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, or computer with wireless transceiver capabilities. Terminal devices can also be virtual reality (VR) terminal devices, augmented reality (AR) terminal devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in autonomous driving, wireless terminals in telemedicine, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, and so on. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, and smart cities. In this application embodiment, the device used to implement the terminal's functions can be the terminal itself; it can also be a device capable of supporting the terminal in implementing these functions, such as a chip system, a communication module, or a modem, which can be installed in the terminal. In this application embodiment, the chip system can consist of chips or include chips and other discrete components. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the terminal device.

Based on the description of the terrestrial network communication architecture shown in Figure 1, integrating the NTN communication system with the terrestrial network communication system can construct a three-dimensional, all-round, and all-weather information network covering the globe. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an NTN communication system. As shown in Figure 2, the NTN communication system includes a satellite 201 and terminals 202. The satellite 201 scans multiple areas through signaling beams, with each scanned area corresponding to a wave position. Each wave position can contain multiple terminals 202, which can be referred to as the terminal devices 120a-120h in Figure 1. The satellite 201 can be called a high-altitude platform, a high-altitude aircraft, or a satellite base station. Relating the NTN communication system to the terrestrial network communication system, the satellite 201 can be considered as one or more wireless access network devices in the terrestrial network communication system architecture. The satellite 201 provides communication services to the terminal devices and can also connect to core network equipment. The communication method between the satellite 201 and the terminals 202 can also be referred to the description in Figure 1, and will not be repeated here.

Taking 5G networks as an example, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a 5G satellite communication system integrating an NTN network system. As shown in Figure 3, 5G base stations are deployed on satellites and connected to the ground core network via wireless links. The terminal UE accesses the network through the 5G New Radio (NR). Simultaneously, wireless links exist between satellites to complete signaling interaction and user data transmission between base stations. The devices and interfaces in Figure 3 are described below:

The 5G core network is divided into two functional entities: the 5G control plane and the 5G data plane. The 5G control plane includes the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) unit and the Session Management Function (SMF) unit. The AMF unit is responsible for user access management and security authentication, while the SMF unit, together with the AMF unit, supports customized mobility management schemes. The 5G data plane includes the User Plane Function (UPF) unit and the data network. The UPF unit is responsible for managing user plane data transmission, traffic statistics, and other functions.

Ground station: Responsible for forwarding signaling and service data between satellite base stations and the 5G core network.

5G New Radio: The wireless link between a terminal and a base station.

Xn interface: The interface between 5G base stations, mainly used for signaling interactions such as handover.

NG interface: The interface between 5G base stations and 5G core networks, mainly used for exchanging non-access stratum (NAS) signaling of the core network and user service data.

For terrestrial terminal equipment to use the network services provided by the 5G satellite communication system, it first needs to complete a random access procedure to synchronize with the network. Compared with terrestrial network communication systems, the 5G satellite communication system has a wider coverage area and more access requirements. Therefore, the terminal equipment places higher demands on access resources during the random access process to the NTN.

To ensure that access resources meet the needs of terminal devices, multiple terminal devices can reuse the same access resource. Among them, IoT devices, as a type of low-power terminal device, adopt orthogonal cover code (OCC) multiplexing technology, which superimposes multiple preambles on the same resource to achieve random access through code division multiplexing.

In the random access procedure, multiple terminal devices reuse the same resources to send random access request information to the satellite. Correspondingly, the satellite receives multiple random access request messages from these terminal devices, with each terminal device corresponding to one of the multiple random access request messages. When the satellite receives random access request messages from each of the multiple terminal devices, each random access request message corresponds to a power level. This power is equivalent to the power at which the random access request message sent by the terminal device arrives at the satellite. Therefore, this application defines this power as the arrival and reception power corresponding to the terminal device.

When multiple terminal devices share the same resource, a power imbalance can be considered to exist between any two terminal devices if there is a significant difference in their received power. In this case, when a satellite detects one terminal device, the other terminal device with a significantly different received power acts as an interfering device. This interference may cause the terminal device with the lower received power to miss detection, preventing it from achieving random access and resulting in a decrease in access capacity.

To address the aforementioned issues, this application provides a communication method and related apparatus, aiming to increase the access probability when multiple terminal devices reuse the same resource and improve the access capacity of the NTN communication system.

The technical concept of this application is to divide the same access resource reused by multiple terminal devices into multiple resource groups. Each resource group is used to access terminal devices with different receiving power ranges. The receiving power of multiple terminal devices reusing the same resource group is within the same receiving power range, avoiding power imbalance, thereby increasing the access probability of terminal devices and increasing the access capacity of the NTN communication system.

Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application. Exemplarily, the communication method shown in Figure 4 can be applied to the 5G satellite communication system shown in Figure 3 or a next-generation related communication system, and the method may include steps S401 to S402.

S401, the network device sends first indication information, which indicates at least one resource group, and the at least one resource group corresponds one-to-one with at least one received power range. Accordingly, the first terminal device receives the first indication information.

This application assumes that the first resource is an access resource reused by multiple terminal devices during random access. That is, when multiple terminal devices implement random access, they reuse the first resource through OCC, and multiple preambles are superimposed on the time-frequency domain position corresponding to the first resource by multiple terminal devices.

It should be noted that in 5G satellite communication systems, existing protocols divide the coverage level of terminal devices into three different coverage levels. These different coverage levels can meet the communication requirements under different scenarios and needs. Each coverage level is configured with corresponding access resources, and the number of times a terminal device is allowed to initiate random access is also different under each coverage level.

As an example, the first resource can be configured as an access resource in one of the three coverage levels. When multiple terminal devices under this coverage level implement random access, the multiple terminal devices reuse the first resource through OCC.

In 5G satellite communication systems, the network equipment involved in this application is a non-terrestrial network device, typically used to refer to satellites. The first resource can be viewed as a collection of multiple resource groups, equivalent to the first resource containing multiple resource groups. As one possible implementation, in this step, before broadcasting the first indication information, the network equipment first further divides the first resource reused by multiple terminal devices, thereby obtaining multiple resource groups, each resource group corresponding to a different time-frequency domain location in the first resource.

In the subsequent random access procedure, for the multiple resource groups included in the first resource above, each resource group is used to access terminal devices within the same received power range. It should be noted that the received power above can be understood as the received power received when the random access request information sent by the aforementioned terminal device reaches the satellite side. In addition, the received power can also be understood as the narrowband reference signal received power (NRSRP) corresponding to the terminal device. In this application, the received power received above and NRSRP are uniformly described as received power.

It is understandable that the above-mentioned receiving power range is a power range that specifies a lower limit and an upper limit for receiving power. The difference between the upper limit and the lower limit of receiving power does not exceed a preset threshold. That is, when the receiving power of any two terminal devices falls within this power range, the possibility of power imbalance between the two terminal devices is reduced.

In this step, after determining the resource groups contained in the first resource, the network device can determine the indication information used to indicate the resource groups and send the indication information in the form of broadcast. It can be understood that the network device can directly send the information of multiple grouped resource groups at once through a single indication message, or it can send the information of multiple resource groups multiple times through multiple indication messages.

Therefore, when the network device sends the first indication information in step S401, the first indication information indicates at least one resource group, and at least one resource group corresponds one-to-one with at least one received power range. That is, the first indication information can be used to indicate the information of multiple resource groups at once, or it can indicate the information of some resource groups.

In this configuration, at least one resource group corresponds one-to-one with at least one receiving power interval. That is, the receiving power of the terminal devices used for access in each resource group is within the same receiving power interval. The receiving power interval of the terminal devices used for access in each resource group is the receiving power interval corresponding to each resource group. Different resource groups correspond to different receiving power intervals.

It should be noted that the first resource can be an access resource configured on a narrowband physical random access channel (NPRACH), which includes multiple random access channel occasions (ROs).

RO (Access Window) is the time window during which a terminal device initiates random access, equivalent to access resources in the time domain. When a terminal device sends a random access preamble on a selected RO, it needs to modulate the preamble onto a specific subcarrier (SC) and transmit the preamble to the network device through the subcarrier. Therefore, each of the multiple ROs can contain multiple subcarriers, which are equivalent to access resources in the frequency domain.

Considering that the first resource may include multiple ROs, and each RO may include multiple subcarriers, the RO can be understood as a coarse-grained resource allocation under the first resource, and the subcarrier can be understood as a fine-grained resource allocation under the first resource.

In some implementations, the first resource is divided at the subcarrier level, meaning that the resource granularity of each resource group in at least one resource group is a subcarrier.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of grouping a first resource at the subcarrier granularity according to an embodiment of this application. Exemplarily, as shown in Figure 5, the entire spectrum bandwidth on NPRACH is divided into multiple non-overlapping orthogonal sub-bands. Each sub-band is sequentially labeled with a numerical sequence number according to its low-to-high order. In Figure 5, each cell labeled with a numerical sequence number represents a subcarrier.

In the contention-based random access process, the first resource is allocated on the NPRACH used for contention, corresponding to subcarriers numbered "2" to "40" in Figure 5. As shown in Figure 5, the first resource partition includes two resource groups: a first resource group and a second resource group. The resources in the first resource group correspond to subcarriers numbered "2" to "25", and the resources in the second resource group correspond to subcarriers numbered "26" to "40".

In the above two resource groups, each resource group contains subcarriers with consecutive sequence numbers. That is, when the network device divides the first resource, it divides at least one consecutive subcarrier in the frequency domain into the same resource group.

When a network device divides a first resource into subcarrier groups, the first indication information indicates the location of the grouped resource groups. In some implementations, the first indication information indicates at least one of the following: the starting position of the subcarriers in each resource group, the number of subcarriers in each resource group, or the ending position of the subcarriers in each resource group.

When the first indication information indicates the start position and end position of the subcarrier in each resource group, the specific position of the subcarriers contained in each resource group in the frequency domain can be determined based on the start and end positions of the subcarriers.

It should be noted that the "position" in the start and end positions here refers to the frequency domain position corresponding to the subcarrier. As an example, the above positions can be indicated by the numerical sequence shown in Figure 5. In another example, the above positions can also be indicated by specific frequency values.

For example, the first indication information can indicate the subcarrier with the starting position of the first resource group being the subcarrier with the sequence number "2" and the subcarrier with the ending position of the first resource group being the subcarrier with the sequence number "25". By using the above starting and ending positions of the subcarriers of the first resource group, it can be determined that the resources contained in the first resource group correspond to the subcarriers with the sequence number "2" to the subcarriers with the sequence number "25".

When the first indication information indicates the starting position of the subcarrier in each resource group and the number of subcarriers contained in each resource group, since the bandwidth of the frequency band corresponding to each subcarrier in the frequency domain is fixed, and the subcarriers in each resource group are non-overlapping continuous subcarriers in the frequency domain, the ending position of the subcarrier can be determined based on the number of subcarriers, thus determining the specific position of the subcarriers contained in each resource group in the frequency domain.

For example, the first indication information can indicate that the starting position of the subcarrier of the first resource group is the subcarrier with sequence number "2" and that the first resource group contains 24 subcarriers. Then, the 24 consecutive subcarriers starting from the subcarrier with sequence number "2" are the subcarriers in the first resource group, and the ending position of the subcarrier of the first resource group is the subcarrier with sequence number "25". Thus, it is determined that the resources contained in the first resource group correspond to the subcarriers with sequence number "2" to the subcarriers with sequence number "25".

Similarly, when the first indication information indicates the end position of the subcarrier in each resource group and the number of subcarriers contained in each resource group, the starting position of the subcarrier can be determined by counting backward from the end position of the subcarrier based on the number of subcarriers. Thus, the specific position of the subcarriers contained in each resource group in the frequency domain can be determined.

For example, the first indication information can indicate that the subcarrier ending position of the first resource group is the subcarrier with sequence number "25" and that the first resource group contains 24 subcarriers. Then, the 24 consecutive subcarriers starting from the subcarrier with sequence number "25" are the subcarriers in the first resource group. The subcarrier starting position of the first resource group is the subcarrier with sequence number "2". Thus, it is determined that the resources contained in the first resource group correspond to the subcarriers with sequence number "2" to the subcarriers with sequence number "25".

As one possible implementation, the protocol can specify the number of subcarriers contained in each resource group. When the first indication information indicates either the start position of the subcarriers in each resource group or the end position of the subcarriers in the first resource group, the specific position of the subcarriers contained in each resource group in the frequency domain can be determined.

As another possible implementation, the protocol can specify the starting position of the subcarriers in each resource group or the ending position of the subcarriers in each resource group. When the first indication information indicates the number of subcarriers contained in each resource group, the specific position of the subcarriers contained in each resource group in the frequency domain can be determined.

It should be noted that the contention-based random access procedure can be divided into four steps. The first step is for the terminal device to send a random access request to the network device. The existing protocol defines the first step as the terminal device sending message 1 (Msg 1) to the network device. The operation of multiple terminal devices reusing the first resource and superimposing multiple preambles corresponds to the first step in the random access procedure.

In the third step, the terminal device sends uplink scheduling information to the network device. The existing protocol defines the third step as the terminal device sending message 3 (Msg 3) to the network device.

When multiple terminal devices reuse the first resource, existing protocols stipulate that the first resource can be divided into two parts. When a terminal device uses the first part of the resource to send Msg 1, in the third step of the subsequent random access procedure, the terminal device using the first part of the resource to send Msg 1 supports multi-subcarrier transmission when sending Msg 3 to the network device. The terminal device using the second part of the resource to send Msg 1 supports single-subcarrier transmission when sending Msg 3 to the network device. Multi-subcarrier transmission is also known as multi-tone transmission, and single-subcarrier transmission is also known as single-tone transmission.

In some implementations, referring to the existing protocol's division of the first resource, the above resource group can be further divided into a first sub-resource group and a second sub-resource group, that is, each of the above resource groups includes a first resource group and a second resource group. The first sub-resource group is used to carry the first message 1, and the second sub-resource group is used to carry the second message 1. The first message 1 is message 1 sent by a terminal device supporting multi-subcarrier transmission when sending message 3, and the second message 1 is message 1 sent by a terminal device supporting single-subcarrier transmission when sending message 3.

In the contention-based random access procedure, the terminal device accessing the network through the first sub-resource group sends the first message 1 in the first step, that is, the first sub-resource group carries the first Msg 1. The terminal device sending the first Msg 1 is equivalent to the terminal device corresponding to the first sub-resource group. The terminal device corresponding to the first sub-resource group supports multi-tone transmission when sending Msg 3 to the network device in the third step of the subsequent random access procedure.

Similarly, in the first step, the terminal device that accesses the network through the second sub-resource group sends the second message 1, that is, the second sub-resource group carries the second Msg 1. The terminal device that sends the second Msg 1 is equivalent to the terminal device corresponding to the second sub-resource group. In the third step of the subsequent random access procedure, the terminal device corresponding to the second sub-resource group supports single-tone transmission when sending Msg 3 to the network device.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of grouping the first resource at the subcarrier granularity according to another embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 6, based on the division of the first resource shown in Figure 5, the first resource group and the second resource group shown in Figure 5 are further divided into a first sub-resource group and a second sub-resource group.

As shown in Figure 6, the subcarriers from number "2" to number "10" in the first resource group correspond to the first subcarrier group in the first resource group, and the subcarriers from number "11" to number "25" correspond to the second subcarrier group in the first resource group.

Therefore, subcarriers numbered "2" to "10" are used to carry the first Msg 1. When a terminal device accessing the network via subcarriers numbered "2" to "10" sends Msg 3 to the network device, multi-tone transmission is supported. Subcarriers numbered "11" to "25" are used to carry the second Msg 1. When a terminal device accessing the network via subcarriers numbered "11" to "25" sends Msg 3 to the network device, single-tone transmission is supported.

Similarly, as shown in Figure 6, the subcarriers from number "26" to number "35" in the first resource group correspond to the first subcarrier group in the second resource group, and the subcarriers from number "36" to number "40" correspond to the second subcarrier group in the second resource group. This will not be elaborated further here.

It should be noted that in the grouping diagrams shown in Figures 5 and 6, the subcarriers contained in each of the above two resource groups are subcarriers with consecutive sequence numbers. That is, when the network device divides the first resource, it divides at least one subcarrier that is consecutive in the frequency domain into the same resource group.

In some implementations, multiple subcarriers with uniform frequency spacing in the frequency domain can be divided into the same resource group. It is understood that, referring to the grouping shown in Figures 5 and 6, when multiple subcarriers with uniform frequency spacing in the frequency domain are divided into the same resource group, the interval between adjacent subcarriers in the same resource group is a fixed number of subcarriers.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of grouping the first resource at the subcarrier granularity according to another embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 7, the first resource is configured on the NPRACH for contention, corresponding to subcarriers numbered "2" to "40" in Figure 5.

The first resource comprises two resource groups: a first resource group and a second resource group. In each resource group, adjacent subcarriers are spaced one subcarrier apart, meaning the difference in index between adjacent subcarriers in each resource group is 2. As shown in Figure 7, the resources in the first resource group correspond to subcarriers with indices "2", "4", "6", ..., "40", and the resources in the second resource group correspond to subcarriers with indices "3", "5", "7", ..., "39".

Considering that in the grouping method shown in Figure 7, the subcarriers contained in the same resource group are no longer consecutive subcarriers, correspondingly, when at least one resource group is indicated by the first indication information, the first indication information indicates at least one of the following: the starting position of the subcarriers in each resource group, the number of subcarriers contained in each resource group, the number of interval subcarriers between the subcarriers in each resource group, or the ending position of the subcarriers contained in each resource group.

In the embodiments shown in Figures 5 to 7, the first resource is divided at the subcarrier granularity. When the resource granularity of each resource group in at least one resource group is the subcarrier, the first resource can be reused by multiple terminal devices with fine granularity. This can make the resource groups used by the terminal devices more granular, thereby improving the access probability of the terminal devices.

In some implementations, the first resource can be divided at the granularity of RO, that is, the resource granularity of each resource group in at least one resource group is a subcarrier.

Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of grouping the first resource with RO as the granularity according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 8, under coverage level 0, the first resource is configured as an access resource multiplexed by multiple terminal devices. The first resource includes 5 RO resources, RO 0 to RO 4.

As shown in Figure 8, the first resource includes two resource groups: the first resource group and the second resource group. The first resource group contains three RO resources, namely RO 0, RO 2 and RO 4. The second resource group contains two RO resources, namely RO 1 and RO 3.

It is understandable that the ROs contained in each of the above two resource groups are non-contiguous ROs in the time domain. That is, when the network device divides the first resource, it divides the ROs that are time-interval to a certain length into the same resource group.

Accordingly, when the network device divides the first resource into ROs at the granularity, the first indication information indicates at least one of the following: the starting position of the RO in each resource group, the time interval between two temporally adjacent ROs in each resource group, or the ending position of the RO in each resource group.

Figure 8 shows that when ROs with a certain time interval in the time domain are divided into the same resource group, for example, RO 0 and RO 2 are resources included in the first resource group. For the first resource as a whole, there is an interval of RO 1 between RO 0 and RO 2. For the first resource group, RO 0 is the first resource included in the first resource group, and RO 2 is the second resource included in the first resource group. In this application, the two resources with the closest time interval in the same resource group are defined as two ROs that are adjacent in the time domain in the same resource group.

Therefore, RO 0 and RO 2 are two ROs that are temporally adjacent in the first resource group, RO 2 and RO 4 are two ROs that are temporally adjacent in the first resource group, and RO 1 and RO 3 are two ROs that are temporally adjacent in the second resource group.

It should be noted that the existing protocol specifies the duration of each RO in a coverage level and the interval duration between two consecutive ROs in the time domain. Therefore, when the first indication information indicates the interval duration between two adjacent ROs in the time domain in a resource group, it can directly indicate the interval duration between two adjacent ROs in the same resource group. The number of ROs between two adjacent ROs in the time domain indicated by the first indication information can be determined.

The first indication information can also indicate the number of ROs between two adjacent ROs. Based on the duration of each RO indicated in the protocol and the duration of the interval between two consecutive ROs, the duration of the interval between two adjacent ROs in the same resource group can be determined.

When the first indication information indicates the starting position of the RO in each resource group and the time interval between two adjacent ROs in the time domain in each resource group, the specific position of the RO in the time domain in each resource group can be determined based on the starting position of the RO and the time interval between two adjacent ROs.

For example, the first indication information can indicate that the starting position of the RO of the first resource group is RO 0 and that there is a 1 RO between two adjacent ROs in the time domain in the first resource group. Then, starting from RO 0 and skipping one RO, there are ROs in the first resource group. Since the first resource includes 5 RO resources from RO 0 to RO 4, it can be determined that the resources contained in the first resource group are 3 RO resources, namely RO 0, RO 2 and RO 4.

Similarly, when the first indication information indicates the end position of the RO in each resource group and the time interval between two adjacent ROs in the time domain in each resource group, the specific position of the RO in the time domain can be determined based on the start position of the RO and the time interval between two adjacent ROs.

For example, the first indication information can indicate that the end position of the RO in the first resource group is RO 4 and that there is a 1 RO between two adjacent ROs in the time domain in the first resource group. Then, starting from RO 4 and skipping one RO forward, there are ROs in the first resource group. Since the first resource includes 5 RO resources from RO 0 to RO 4, it can be determined that the resources contained in the first resource group are 3 RO resources, namely RO 0, RO 2 and RO 4.

In some implementations, the protocol can specify the interval between two adjacent ROs in the same resource group. When the first indication information indicates the start position of the RO in each resource group or the end position of the RO in each resource group, the specific position of the RO in the time domain is determined by combining the number of ROs contained in the first resource configured under the corresponding coverage level.

In another possible implementation, the protocol can specify the starting position of the RO in each resource group or the ending position of the RO in each resource group. When the first indication information indicates the time interval between two temporally adjacent ROs in a resource group, the specific temporal position of the ROs in each resource group is determined by combining the number of ROs contained in the first resource configured under the corresponding coverage level.

It should be noted that when the first indication information indicates at least one resource group, if the granularity of the resource group is RO, for example, the first indication information can indicate the RO contained in each resource group in the form of a bitmap. Each different RO is mapped to a different bit. When it is necessary to indicate a specific RO, its corresponding bit is set to 1, otherwise it is set to 0.

For example, under coverage level 0, the first resource is configured with 5 ROs (ROs) from RO0 to RO4. These 5 ROs are mapped to 5 bits, with RO0 mapped to the first bit, RO1 to the second bit, and so on. In Figure 8, after the network device divides the first resource, the first resource group contains 3 RO resources (RO0, RO2, and RO4). The first indication information can be represented by 5 bits ("10101") indicating the first resource group. The second resource group contains 2 RO resources (RO1 and RO3). The first indication information can be represented by 5 bits ("01010") indicating the second resource group.

The above method of dividing the primary resource into coarse-grained ROs for multiple terminal devices can avoid the waste of the primary resource when multiple terminal devices reuse the primary resource.

In some implementations, referring to the partitioning method at the subcarrier level, multiple consecutive ROs in the time domain can also be divided into the same resource group.

Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of grouping the first resource with RO as the granularity according to another embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 9, under coverage level 0, the first resource is configured as an access resource multiplexed by multiple terminal devices. The first resource includes 5 RO resources, RO 0 to RO 4.

As shown in Figure 9, the first resource includes two resource groups: the first resource group and the second resource group. The first resource group contains three RO resources, RO 0 to RO 2, which are consecutive in the time domain. The second resource group contains two RO resources, RO 3 and RO 4, which are consecutive in the time domain.

Considering that the resources contained in the same resource group are consecutive ROs in the grouping method shown in Figure 9, when at least one resource group is indicated by the first indication information, the first indication information may indicate at least one of the following: the starting position of the ROs in each resource group, the number of ROs contained in each resource group, or the ending position of the ROs contained in each resource group.

The location of each resource group in at least one resource group can be determined based on the information indicated in the first instruction information above. For details, please refer to the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

It should be noted that when the existing protocol divides the coverage level of the terminal equipment into three different coverage levels, the existing protocol stipulates that the satellite sends a maximum of two reference signal received power (RSRP) levels to the terminal equipment through the system information block (SIB). The two RSRP levels divide the RSRP into three different RSRP intervals, thereby determining three different coverage levels, that is, each coverage level corresponds to one RSRP interval.

Furthermore, the network device can further divide the RSRP interval corresponding to each coverage level to obtain a finer-grained RSRP interval division. The finer-grained RSRP interval is matched with the received power interval corresponding to the resource group. Therefore, the number of groups after dividing the multiplexed first resource can be determined based on the finer-grained RSRP interval.

As an example, the first indication information may indicate the number of resource groups in at least one resource group. It is understood that existing protocols broadcast the location of multiplexed access resources under each coverage level via SIB. As a possible implementation, the protocol may also specify that the first resource is grouped evenly. Then, regardless of whether the grouping is at the subcarrier granularity or the RO granularity, when the first indication information indicates the number of resource groups in at least one resource group, the resources contained in each resource group can be determined under the even grouping condition.

The above-mentioned method, which is agreed upon through the protocol, indicates the number of resource groups of at least one resource group only through the first instruction information, which can reduce the overhead of the first instruction information.

S402, the first terminal device sends a first access request message to the network device. The first access request message is carried in a first resource group within at least one resource group, and the receiving power of the first terminal device is within the receiving power range of the first resource group. Accordingly, the network device receives the first access request message according to the first resource group.

After receiving the first instruction information broadcast by the network device, the first terminal device can determine the receive power range corresponding to each resource group in at least one resource group by combining the protocol agreement.

As one possible implementation, as shown in step S402-0 of Figure 10, before step S402, the network device may also send second indication information, which indicates each of the at least one received power interval. Accordingly, the first terminal device receives the second indication information.

Beyond the protocol-defined approach, network devices can directly broadcast a second indication message, specifying the receive power range corresponding to each resource group in at least one resource group. By directly indicating each receive power range within at least one receive power range using the second indication message, compared to the protocol-defined approach, the receive power range corresponding to each resource group in at least one resource group can accommodate more flexible variations.

Since at least one resource group corresponds one-to-one with at least one received power range, before random access, the first terminal device needs to determine the first resource group from at least one resource group. When the received power of the first terminal device is within the received power range of the first resource group, the first resource group can be used to carry the first access request information sent by the first terminal device to the network device.

In some implementations, the first terminal device can determine the received power of the satellite when it initiates a random access request based on the measured RSRP value and its own actual transmission power. Based on the received power of the first terminal device and the received power interval corresponding to each resource group in at least one resource group, it can be determined that the received power of the first terminal device falls within the received power interval corresponding to the first resource group, where the first resource group is a resource group among at least one resource group.

In some implementations, the first terminal device can also directly determine the received power range of the NRSRP based on its measured NRSRP, thereby identifying a first resource group within at least one resource group, where the NRSRP falls within the received power range corresponding to the first resource group. According to the aforementioned definition of received power, the NRSRP measured by the first terminal device falling within the received power range corresponding to the first resource group is equivalent to the first terminal device's received power being within the received power range of the first resource group.

After the first terminal device determines the first resource group, in the first step of the contention-based random access procedure, the first terminal device sends a first access request information to the network device, which is carried in the first resource group.

It is understandable that the first terminal device is one of the multiple terminal devices that reuse the first resource. When other terminal devices, such as the second terminal device and the third terminal device, determine that their corresponding receiving power is within the receiving power range of the first resource group, the random access requests sent by the other terminal devices are also carried in the first resource group.

In this embodiment, the same access resource shared by multiple terminal devices is divided into multiple resource groups. Different resource groups correspond to different receive power ranges. The receive power of different terminal devices that initiate random access requests using the same resource group is similar, which avoids the power imbalance between terminal devices that use the same resource group to access the network, thereby increasing the access probability of terminal devices and improving the access capacity of the NTN communication system.

Figures 11 and 12 are schematic diagrams of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of this application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of terminal devices or network devices in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of this application, the communication device can be the terminal device or network device in the method embodiments shown in Figure 4 or Figure 10, or it can be a component (such as a chip, chip system, processor, etc.) configured in the terminal device or network device, or it can be a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the terminal device or network device.

Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 1100 provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 11, the communication device 1100 includes a processing module 1101 and a transceiver module 1102.

The transceiver module 1102 can implement corresponding communication functions and can also be referred to as an input/output interface or communication unit. The processing module 1101 can be used to perform processing operations. It should be understood that if the device 1100 is a component configured in a network device or terminal device, such as a chip, the transceiver module 1102 can be an input/output interface.

Optionally, the transceiver module 1102 may include a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module is used to perform the sending operation of the network device or terminal device in Figure 4 or Figure 10, and the receiving module is used to perform the receiving operation of the network device or terminal device in Figure 4 or Figure 10.

It should be understood that when the device 1100 is a component configured in a network device or terminal device, such as a chip, the transmitting module can be an output interface, and the transmitting operation involved in the embodiments of this application can be performed by the output interface; the receiving module can be an input interface, and the receiving operation involved in the embodiments of this application can be performed by the input interface.

Optionally, the device 1100 may further include a storage module for storing instructions and/or data, and the processing module 1101 may read the instructions and/or data in the storage module to enable the device to implement the method embodiment shown in FIG4 or FIG10.

In one possible design, the device 1100 can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG4 or FIG10. Alternatively, the device 1100 may include a unit for implementing any function or operation of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG4 or FIG10. This unit may be implemented wholly or partially by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof.

When device 1100 is used to implement the function of the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG4 or FIG10, transceiver module 1102 (specifically, receiving module) can be used to execute step S401 in FIG4 to receive first indication information; processing module 1101 can be used to execute step S402 in FIG4 to determine the receiving power range of NRSRP based on the NRSRP measured by the terminal device, thereby determining the first resource group in at least one resource group; transceiver module 1102 (specifically, sending module) can also be used to execute step S402 in FIG4 to send first access request information to network device.

In another possible design, the device 1100 can be used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG4 or FIG10. Alternatively, the device 1100 may include a unit for implementing any function or operation of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG4 or FIG10. This unit may be implemented wholly or partially by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof.

When device 1100 is used to implement the function of network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG4 or FIG10, transceiver module 1102 (specifically, it can be a sending module) can be used to execute step S401 in FIG6 to send first indication information; transceiver module 1102 (specifically, it can be a receiving module) can be used to execute step S402 in FIG4 to receive first access request information from first terminal device.

A more detailed description of the above-mentioned processing module 1101 and transceiver module 1102 can be obtained directly from the relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown in Figure 4 or Figure 10, and will not be repeated here.

It should be noted that the transceiver module can also be called a transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver machine, or transceiver device, etc. The processing module can also be called a processor, processing board, processing unit, or processing device, etc. Optionally, the transceiver module is used to perform the sending and receiving operations on the terminal device or network device side in the above method. The device in the communication module used to implement the receiving function can be considered as the receiving module, and the device in the communication module used to implement the sending function can be considered as the sending module; that is, the transceiver module includes both a receiving module and a sending module.

In another possible design, the aforementioned transceiver module and/or processing module can be implemented using virtual modules. For example, the processing module can be implemented using software functional modules or virtual devices, and the transceiver module can also be implemented using software functional modules or virtual devices. In another possible design, the processing module or transceiver module can also be implemented using physical devices. For example, if the device is implemented using a chip/chip circuit, the transceiver module can be an input/output circuit and/or a communication interface, performing input operations (corresponding to the aforementioned receiving operation) and output operations (corresponding to the aforementioned sending operation); the processing module is an integrated processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit.

It should be understood that the module division in the embodiments of this application is illustrative and only represents a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into a single processor, exist as separate physical entities, or be integrated into a single module. The integrated modules described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules.

Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. The device 1200 can be a chip system, or it can be a device configured with a chip system to implement the above-described method embodiments. In this embodiment, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices.

As shown in FIG12, the device 1200 may include a processor 1202, which can be used to execute computer programs or instructions in memory to implement the steps executed by the terminal device or the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG4 or FIG10.

Optionally, the device 1200 further includes a communication interface 1203. The communication interface 1203 can be used to communicate with other devices via a transmission medium, thereby enabling the device 1200 to communicate with other devices. The communication interface 1203 may be, for example, a transceiver, interface, bus, circuit, or a device capable of transmitting and receiving functions. The processor 1202 can use the communication interface 1203 to input and output data and to implement the communication method of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 10. Specifically, the device 1200 can be used to implement the functions of the network device or terminal device of the above-described method embodiments.

When the device 1200 is used to implement the method shown in FIG4 or FIG10, the communication interface 1203 is used to implement the function of the transceiver module 1120, for example, to execute steps S401 and S402 in FIG4, and optionally, to execute steps S402-0 in FIG10.

Optionally, the device 1200 further includes at least one memory 1201 for storing program instructions and/or data. The memory 1201 is coupled to the processor 1202. The coupling in this embodiment is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, and can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, used for information exchange between devices, units, or modules. The processor 1202 may operate in conjunction with the memory 1201. The processor 1202 may execute program instructions stored in the memory 1201. At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

It should be understood that the coupling in the embodiments of this application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, used for information interaction between devices, units, or modules. The processor 1202 may operate in conjunction with the memory 1201. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific connection medium between the processor 1202, communication interface 1203, and memory 1201. In Figure 8, the processor 1202, communication interface 1203, and memory 1201 are connected via a bus 1204. The bus 1204 is represented by a thick line in Figure 8. The connection methods between other components are only illustrative and not intended to be limiting. The bus can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. Buses can be divided into address buses, data buses, control buses, etc. For ease of representation, Figure 12 uses only one line with an arrow, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

It should be understood that when the communication device 1200 is a chip applied to a terminal device, the chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The chip of the terminal device receives signals from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the terminal device, and these signals may be sent to the terminal device by the network device; or, the chip of the terminal device sends signals to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the terminal device, and these signals may be sent to the network device by the terminal device.

When the communication device 1200 is a chip used in a network device, the chip implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. The chip of the network device receives signals from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the network device, and these signals may be sent by the terminal to the network device; or, the chip of the network device sends signals to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the network device, and these signals may be sent by the network device to the terminal.

It should be noted that when the communication device 1200 is a terminal device or a network device, the communication interface 1203 can be a transceiver, specifically including a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter is used to send signals, and the receiver is used to receive signals. When the communication device 1200 is a chip applied to a terminal device or a network device, the communication interface 1203 can be an input/output circuit, a bus, a module, a pin, or other types of communication interface input/output circuit. The input circuit in the input/output circuit can be used for receiving, and the output interface can be used for sending.

This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the methods described above.

This application also provides a computer program product, including computer instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the various steps in the methods described above.

This application also provides a communication system, which includes the aforementioned terminal device and network device.

It should be noted that the modules or components shown in the above embodiments can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more microprocessors, or one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Furthermore, when a module is implemented by a processing element calling program code, the processing element can be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or other processor capable of calling program code, such as a controller. Additionally, these modules can be integrated together and implemented as a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, software modules, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. A computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the flow or function according to the embodiments of this application is generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid-state disk (SSD)).

Other embodiments of this application will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this application that follow the general principles of this application and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The specification and examples are to be considered exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of this application are indicated by the following claims.

It should be understood that this application is not limited to the precise structure described above and shown in the accompanying drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of this application is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims (20)

A communication method, characterized in that it is applied to a first communication device, the method comprising: Receive first indication information, the first indication information indicating at least one resource group, the at least one resource group corresponding one-to-one with at least one received power range; Send a first access request message, the first access request message being carried in a first resource group in the at least one resource group, and the receiving power of the first communication device being within the receiving power range of the first resource group. According to the method of claim 1, the method further includes, before sending the first access request information: Receive second indication information, the second indication information indicating each of the at least one receive power interval. The method according to claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that the resource granularity of each resource group in the at least one resource group is a subcarrier. The method according to claim 3, wherein the first indication information indicates at least one of the following: the subcarrier start position of each resource group, the number of subcarriers contained in each resource group, or the subcarrier end position of each resource group. According to the method of claim 3 or 4, each resource group includes a first sub-resource group and a second sub-resource group, the first sub-resource group is used to carry a first message 1, the second sub-resource group is used to carry a second message 1, the first message 1 is message 1 sent by a terminal device that supports multi-subcarrier transmission when sending message 3, and the second message 1 is message 1 sent by a terminal device that supports single-subcarrier transmission when sending message 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that the resource granularity of each resource group in the at least one resource group is random access timing (RO). According to the method of claim 6, the first indication information indicates at least one of the following: the starting position of the RO in each resource group, the time interval between two temporally adjacent ROs in each resource group, or the ending position of the RO in each resource group. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first indication information indicates the number of resource groups of the at least one resource group. A communication method, characterized in that it is applied to a second communication device, the method comprising: Send a first indication message, the first indication message indicating at least one resource group, the at least one resource group corresponding one-to-one with at least one received power range; Receive access request information according to at least one resource group. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the method further comprises: Send a second indication message, the second indication message indicating each of the at least one receive power interval. The method according to claim 9 or 10 is characterized in that the resource granularity of each resource group in the at least one resource group is a subcarrier. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first indication information indicates at least one of the following: the subcarrier start position of each resource group, the number of subcarriers contained in each resource group, or the subcarrier end position of each resource group. According to the method of claim 11 or 12, each resource group comprises a first sub-resource group and a second sub-resource group, the first sub-resource group is used to carry a first message 1, the second sub-resource group is used to carry a second message 1, the first message 1 is message 1 sent by a terminal device that supports multi-subcarrier transmission when sending message 3, and the second message 1 is message 1 sent by a terminal device that supports single-subcarrier transmission when sending message 3. The method according to claim 9 or 10 is characterized in that the resource granularity of each resource group in the at least one resource group is random access timing (RO). The method according to claim 14, wherein the first indication information indicates at least one of the following: the starting position of the RO in each resource group, the time interval between two temporally adjacent ROs in each resource group, or the ending position of the RO in each resource group. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, wherein the first indication information indicates the number of resource groups of the at least one resource group. A communication device, characterized in that the communication device includes a functional module for implementing the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, or includes a functional module for implementing the communication method as described in any one of claims 9 to 16. A communication device, characterized in that it comprises: a processor and a memory; The memory stores computer-executed instructions; The processor executes computer execution instructions stored in the memory, causing the communication device to perform the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, or any one of claims 9 to 16. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, are used to implement the communication method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, or any one of claims 9 to 16. A computer program product, characterized in that it includes a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the communication method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, or any one of claims 9 to 16.