Communication method and device

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus enable a second communication device to receive n downlink beams from a first communication device, where the i-th downlink beam carries a signal and directional information about the i-th downlink beam. The second communication device then determines a target uplink beam based on the directional information of the target downlink beam among the n downlink beams and transmits data to the first communication device via the target uplink beam. The target downlink beam is the downlink beam with the best signal quality received by the second communication device. Because the process of determining the target uplink beam does not require the second communication device to perform beam scanning, the preparation time for communication between the second and first communication devices can be shortened.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0002] The rapid development of Internet multimedia services is driving the demand for increasingly high transmission rates in wireless communications. Consequently, research in this field is focusing on millimeter-wave frequency band communications. Millimeter-wave frequency bands offer transmission rates of up to gigabits per second (Gbps), making them the most promising carrier frequency band for future short-range wireless communications.

[0003] Because millimeter-wave frequency bands experience significant path loss during communications, the current solution to this path loss is to have transmitting and receiving devices operating in this frequency band employ large-scale antenna arrays for communication. These arrays focus the signal at a specific angle, compensating for path loss through antenna gain. However, when using large-scale array antennas, the transmitting and receiving devices must align their beams through beam scanning and communicate using the aligned beams. This requires both the transmitting and receiving devices to perform beam alignment separately, which is time-consuming and results in lengthy preparation times for millimeter-wave frequency band communications. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for reducing the preparation time for millimeter wave frequency band communications.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method is performed by a second communication device. The second communication device includes a second communication device or a component of the second communication device. The second communication device may be a terminal device, such as a station (STA) that is establishing a connection with an access point (AP). The second terminal device supports millimeter wave frequency band communication.

[0006] The method provided in the first aspect includes a second communication device receiving n downlink beams from a first communication device. Wherein, 1≤n≤m, m is the number of downlink beams of the first communication device, the i-th downlink beam carries a signal and the direction information of the i-th downlink beam, and 1≤i≤n. The second communication device can also determine a target downlink beam among the n downlink beams based on the quality of the signal received by the second communication device, and the target downlink beam is the downlink beam with the best signal quality received by the second communication device. The second communication device can also determine a target uplink beam based on the direction information of the target downlink beam, and send data to the first communication device through the target uplink beam.

[0007] Using the above method, the second communication device can determine the target uplink beam based on the directional information of the target downlink beam and implement uplink transmission via the target uplink beam. Because the process of determining the target uplink beam in the method provided by the first aspect does not require the second communication device to perform beam scanning, the preparation time for communication between the second communication device and the first communication device can be shortened.

[0008] In one possible design, the second communication device may determine the direction of the target uplink beam based on the direction information of the second communication device and the direction information of the target downlink beam.

[0009] In a possible design, the direction information of the i-th downlink beam is carried in the sector scanning information corresponding to the i-th downlink beam.

[0010] In one possible design, the first communication device and the second communication device are located in the same coordinate system, and the direction information of the target downlink beam indicates an angle in the coordinate system.

[0011] In one possible design, the first communication device and the second communication device are located in the same coordinate system, and the identifier of the target downlink beam indicates direction information of the target downlink beam.

[0012] In a second aspect, the present application provides another communication method. The method is performed by a first communication device. The first communication device includes a first communication device or a component of the first communication device. The first communication device may be a network device, such as an AP that is establishing a connection with a STA. The first terminal device supports millimeter wave frequency band communication.

[0013] The method provided in the second aspect includes a first communication device sending n downlink beams of the first communication device, where 1≤n≤m, m is the number of downlink beams of the first communication device, the i-th downlink beam carries a signal and directional information of the i-th downlink beam, and 1≤i≤n. The first communication device may also receive data sent from the second communication device via a target uplink beam. The target uplink beam is an uplink beam determined by the second communication device based on the directional information of the target downlink beam among the n downlink beams, and the target downlink beam is the downlink beam with the best signal quality received by the second communication device.

[0014] In a possible design, the direction information of the i-th downlink beam is carried in the sector scanning information corresponding to the i-th downlink beam.

[0015] In one possible design, the first communication device and the second communication device are located in the same coordinate system, and the direction information of the target downlink beam indicates an angle in the coordinate system.

[0016] In one possible design, the first communication device and the second communication device are located in the same coordinate system, and the identifier of the target downlink beam indicates direction information of the target downlink beam.

[0017] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device that implements the functionality of the second communication device in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect. The functionality can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software, wherein the hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functionality. The communication device can be used to implement STA.

[0018] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processing module and a communication module, and the processing module is configured to support the communication device to perform the corresponding functions in the above-mentioned first aspect or any one of the designs of the first aspect. The communication module is used to support communication between the communication device and other communication devices (such as the first communication device). The communication module may include a receiving module and / or a sending module. The communication device may also include a storage module, which is coupled to the processing module and stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. As an example, the processing module may be a processor, the communication module may be a transceiver, and the storage module may be a memory.

[0019] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device having the functionality of implementing the first communication device in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect. The functionality can be implemented through hardware or through hardware executing corresponding software, wherein the hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functionality. The communication device can be used to implement an AP.

[0020] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processing module and a communication module, and the processing module is configured to support the communication device to perform the corresponding functions in the above-mentioned first aspect or any one of the designs of the first aspect. The communication module is used to support communication between the communication device and other communication devices (such as the first communication device). The communication module may include a receiving module and / or a sending module. The communication device may also include a storage module, which is coupled to the processing module and stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. As an example, the processing module may be a processor, the communication module may be a transceiver, and the storage module may be a memory.

[0021] In a fifth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the communication device shown in the third aspect and the fourth aspect.

[0022] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which is used to store computer instructions or programs. When the computer instructions or programs are run on a computer, the computer executes the methods described in the first to second aspects or any possible designs thereof.

[0023] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the first to second aspects above or any possible design thereof.

[0024] In an eighth aspect, a circuit is provided, the circuit being coupled to a memory, and configured to execute the method described in the first to second aspects above, or any possible design thereof. The circuit may include a chip circuit, an interface circuit, a chip, or a chip system.

[0025] The beneficial effects of the above second to eighth aspects and their possible designs can refer to the beneficial effects of the first aspect and its possible designs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a communication scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of beam training;

[0029] Figure 4 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of beam direction information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another beam direction information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a beam training process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of an SSW frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0037] The following explains some of the terms used in the embodiments of the present application to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0038] (1) Network equipment:

[0039] For example, it includes access network (AN) equipment, such as a base station (e.g., access point), which may refer to a device in the access network that communicates with a terminal device through one or more cells at an air interface, or, for example, a network device in a V2X technology is a road side unit (RSU). RSU may be a fixed infrastructure entity that supports V2X applications and may exchange messages with other entities that support V2X applications. For another example, the network device may be an access point (AP). AP may be a communication device with wireless transceiver capabilities, which may provide wireless LAN (WLAN) services to a station (STA), and may be a device for communicating with a STA. AP is specifically an optical network terminal (ONT) device in a fiber to the room (FTTR) home network solution, such as a wireless-fidelity (WIFI) device. As Figure 1 The example shown is an FTTR scenario, where the network equipment may include Figure 1 The AP shown is the main optical modem router at the entrance, and Wi-Fi devices are placed in the master bedroom, guest room, living room, study, kitchen, balcony, bathroom and other areas.

[0040] In addition, the network device can be a base transceiver station (BTS) in a global system of mobile communication (GSM) system or a code division multiple access (CDMA) system, or a base station (nodeB, NB) in a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, or an evolved base station (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE system, the 5th generation mobile communication technology (5G), the next generation node B (gNB) in a new radio (NR) system (also referred to as an NR system), or it can also include a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) in a cloud radio access network (Cloud RAN) system, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. Alternatively, the network device may be a relay station, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a network device in a future 5G network, or a network device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN) network.

[0041] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device supports millimeter wave frequency band communication. For example, the network device uses receiving elements such as large-scale antenna arrays to obtain antenna gain by performing beamforming (BF) technology to overcome signal attenuation in millimeter wave antenna communication.

[0042] In an embodiment of the present application, the entity used to implement the function of the network device can be a network device, or it can be a device that can support the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system and / or a transceiver, etc., which can be installed in the network device.

[0043] Hereinafter, the second communication device may be used to represent a network device and / or a chip system and / or a transceiver component in the network device. In other words, the actions performed by the first communication device herein may be performed by the network device and / or a chip system and / or a transceiver component in the network device as described above.

[0044] (2) Terminal equipment:

[0045] Terminal devices are entities used to receive or transmit signals. For example, they may include handheld devices with wireless connection capabilities, or processing devices connected to wireless modems. The terminal device can communicate with the core network or with the RAN via a radio access network (RAN). In addition, the terminal device may be a wireless communication STA, which can access the network through an AP. Specific examples of STAs include Figure 1 The devices connected to the AP in the FTTR home network solution shown in the figure include virtual reality (VR) devices, personal computers (PCs), portable Android devices (PADs), mobile phones, sweeping robots, humidity and temperature sensors, cameras, networked air conditioners, or other home appliances.

[0046] The terminal device can also be a user equipment (UE), a wireless terminal device, a mobile terminal device, a device-to-device communication (D2D) terminal device, a V2X terminal device, a machine-to-machine / machine-type communication (M2M / MTC) terminal device, or an Internet of Things (IoT) terminal device.

[0047] As an example and not a limitation, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be referred to as wearable smart devices or smart wearable devices, etc., which are a general term for the application of wearable technology to intelligently design and develop wearable devices for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not only hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. In a broad sense, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as:

[0048] Smart watches or smart glasses, etc., as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smart phones, such as various smart bracelets, smart helmets, smart jewelry, etc. for vital sign monitoring.

[0049] The various terminal devices introduced above, if located on a vehicle (eg, placed in or installed in a vehicle), can be considered as vehicle-mounted terminal devices, which are also called onboard units (OBUs).

[0050] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device supports millimeter wave frequency band communication. For example, the terminal device uses receiving elements such as a large-scale antenna array and obtains antenna gain through BF technology to overcome signal attenuation in millimeter wave antenna communication.

[0051] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may further include a relay. Alternatively, it can be understood that any device capable of performing data communication with an AP can be regarded as a terminal device.

[0052] In an embodiment of the present application, the entity used to implement the function of the terminal device can be the terminal device, or it can be a device that can support the terminal device to implement the function, such as a chip system and / or a transceiver, etc., which can be installed in the terminal device.

[0053] Hereinafter, the actions performed by the terminal device in the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application will be described using the second communication device as the terminal device. In other words, the actions performed by the second communication device herein may be performed by the terminal device and / or components such as a chip system and / or a transceiver in the terminal device as exemplified above.

[0054] (3) Beam:

[0055] A beam is a communication resource that can correspond to one or more of time resources, space resources, and frequency domain resources.

[0056] The beam can be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or other types of beams. The technology for forming the beam can be BF technology or other technical means. The beamforming technology can specifically be digital beamforming technology, analog beamforming technology, and hybrid digital / analog beamforming technology. Different beams can be considered as different resources. The same information or different information can be sent through different beams. Optionally, multiple beams with the same or similar communication characteristics can be regarded as a beam. A beam can include one or more antenna ports (that is, a beam can be formed by one or more antenna ports) for transmitting data channels, control channels, and detection signals. For example, a transmit beam can refer to the distribution of signal strength formed in different directions in space after the signal is transmitted by the antenna, and a receive beam can refer to the signal strength distribution of the wireless signal received from the antenna in different directions in space. It can be understood that one or more antenna ports forming a beam can also be regarded as an antenna port set.

[0057] For a wireless communication scenario between a first communication device and a second communication device, the beams may include a transmit beam and a receive beam of the first communication device, and a transmit beam and a receive beam of the second communication device.

[0058] It should be understood that in this application, when a first communication device communicates with a second communication device, the uplink beam refers to the transmitting beam of the second communication device and / or the receiving beam of the first communication device, and the downlink beam refers to the transmitting beam of the second communication device and / or the receiving beam of the first communication device.

[0059] like Figure 2 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 In the example, the first communication device is an AP and the second communication device is an STA. It should be understood that this application does not limit the number of APs and STAs in the communication system. Here, taking the indoor communication scenario as an example, the number of APs is 1 and the number of STAs is multiple.

[0060] when Figure 2 When the AP and STA communicate in the millimeter wave frequency band, beam training is required. In the process of beam training, a sector-level sweep (SLS) process and a beam refinement phase (BRP) process need to be performed. In the SLS process, the AP and STA respectively scan and send beams in units of one or more beams. Figure 3As shown, in the SLS phase, the AP transmits sector sweep (SSW) frames in multiple beam directions in the beacon transmission interval (BTI) time slot to perform initiator-transmit sector sweep (I-TXSS), and the AP can therefore be called the initiator. The SSW frame contains a beam identification (ID), such as a sector identifier. The STA performs pseudo-omnidirectional reception and records the AP's transmit beam information (such as the sector ID and / or the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the received AP transmit beam), and selects the AP's best transmit beam based on the SNR. For example, the best transmit beam is the transmit beam with the highest SNR received by the STA. In the association beamforming training (A-BFT) time slot, the STA will compete for access to the channel. After accessing the channel, the STA sends SSW frames in multiple beam directions to perform responder-transmit sector sweep (R-TXSS), that is, beam scanning. Therefore, the STA can be called a responder. The SSW frame carries the beam identifier sent by the STA, such as the sector ID. The SSW frame also carries information about the AP's optimal transmit beam, such as the sector ID of the AP's optimal transmit beam. At this time, the AP performs pseudo-omnidirectional reception and records the STA's transmit beam information, such as the sector ID and / or the SNR of the received STA's transmit beam. After the STA's SSW is sent, the AP will send an SSW feedback frame to the STA on the AP's optimal transmit beam based on the optimal transmit beam information fed back by the STA. The SSW feedback frame carries information about the STA's optimal transmit beam, such as the sector ID of the STA's optimal transmit beam. The STA then sends an SSW acknowledgment (ack) frame to the AP using the AP's optimal transmit beam in the data transfer interval (DTI) time slot. At this point, the AP and STA each know their own and each other's optimal transmit beams, and can subsequently further refine the optimal transmit beam through the BRP process.

[0061] Optionally, an announcement transmission interval (ATI) may exist between the DTI and A-BFT. The ATI is the polling management access period between the AP and STA based on requests and / or responses. If the STA has data to transmit, the AP can allocate transmission time for the STA within the DTI based on the response information sent by the STA within the ATI indicating the data transmission.

[0062] Based on the above training process, it can be seen that in the preparation process (or online process) of millimeter wave spectrum communication, the first communication device and the second communication device need to perform beam scanning (such as sector scanning) respectively, which takes a long time. In addition, in scenarios where there are multiple second communication devices, such as point-to-multipoint (P2MP) master stations, different second communication devices need to compete for resources to perform uplink beam scanning. In other words, multiple STAs need to perform uplink beam scanning one after another, further resulting in excessively long communication preparation time.

[0063] In order to reduce the communication preparation time, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method that can be executed by a first communication device and a second communication device.

[0064] like Figure 4 As shown, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps:

[0065] S101: A first communication device transmits n downlink beams of the first communication device. Where 1≤n≤m, m is the number of downlink beams of the first communication device. The i-th downlink beam of the n downlink beams carries a signal and directional information for the i-th downlink beam, and 1≤i≤n. In other words, when performing downlink beam scanning, the first communication device transmits a signal and directional information for each downlink beam.

[0066] The present application does not specifically limit the signal carried by the downlink beam, and it may be, for example, a reference signal such as a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0067] It should be understood that the direction information of the beam in the present application may indicate the beam angle. Specifically, the direction information may indicate an absolute angle and / or a relative angle.

[0068] like Figure 5As shown, taking n=m as an example, the downlink beam sent by the first communication device includes downlink beam #0, downlink beam #1...downlink beam #m, wherein the direction information of the downlink beam may be the angle of the downlink beam in the coordinate system where the first communication device is located. The angle is, for example, the angle between the downlink beam and the reference direction in the coordinate system, the reference direction is, for example, the north direction, and when the angle is zero, the downlink beam direction is the reference direction. Taking the reference direction as the north direction as an example, assuming that the width of each downlink beam is θ, β is the angle between the normal direction of the receiving element (such as the array antenna) of the first communication device and the north direction, and the beam index of the downlink beam is k, then the angle of the downlink beam with the beam index k in the coordinate system is expressed as α=β+k·θ, where α means the angle between the north direction and the downlink beam. It should be understood that at this time, the direction information may indicate α to represent the absolute angle of the downlink beam.

[0069] Optionally, the normal direction of the receiving element is related to the structure of the receiving element. For example, if the receiving element is a uniform linear array, the normal direction of the receiving element is the direction carried by the receiving element. Figure 5 The beam index of the downlink beam aligned in the normal direction is defined as #0, and the downlink beam is downlink beam #0. In actual applications, other downlink beams can also be defined as downlink beam #0.

[0070] Alternatively, the directional information may indicate a relative angle. For example, the directional information indicates α'=k·θ, representing the relative angle between the downlink beam and the normal direction of the receiving element of the first communication device. The definitions of k and θ are described above. The directional information for the normal direction (e.g., β) may be indicated separately or may take a default value.

[0071] In the implementation of S101, the first communication device may collect and store the direction information of the downlink beam in advance, without having to re-determine the direction information of the downlink beam each time beam scanning is performed.

[0072] Optionally, in S101, the first communication device may transmit the directional information of n downlink beams in a set order. For example, the directional information may be transmitted in order of the angle between the downlink beam and the reference direction from small to large (or from large to small); or the directional information may be transmitted in order of the downlink beam index from small to large (or from large to small), for example, the directional information of the downlink beams may be transmitted in the order of downlink beam #0, downlink beam #1, ... downlink beam #m (downlink beam #m ... downlink beam #1, downlink beam #0). Furthermore, the first communication device may also transmit the directional information of the n downlink beams in a random order.

[0073] Correspondingly, the second communication device receives n downlink beams and obtains signals and direction information of the n downlink beams, where 1≤n≤m.

[0074] It should be understood that the amount of downlink beam direction information received by the second communication device may be less than or equal to the amount of downlink beam direction information sent by the first communication device. In other words, the number of downlink beams sent by the first communication device may be n1, and the number of downlink beams received by the second communication device may be n2, where 1≤n2≤n1≤m.

[0075] S102: The second communication device determines a target beam among the n downlink beams based on the quality of the signal received by the second communication device, wherein the target downlink beam is the downlink beam with the best quality of the signal received by the second communication device.

[0076] It should be understood that the second communication device may determine the target downlink beam based on the signal quality parameters of the n received downlink beams. Signal quality parameters include parameters such as the number of interference sources, interference intensity, and / or signal-to-noise ratio of the downlink signal, which can be obtained by the second communication device through measurement or other means when receiving the downlink beam signal. Exemplarily, the second communication device may determine the downlink beam with the best signal quality as the target downlink beam based on parameters such as the number of interference sources, interference intensity, and / or signal-to-noise ratio of the signals received from the n downlink beams.

[0077] S103: The second communication device determines a target uplink beam according to the direction information of the target downlink beam.

[0078] Exemplarily, after determining the target downlink beam, the second communication device determines the direction information of the target uplink beam based on the direction information of the target downlink beam, thereby determining the target uplink beam. Specifically, the second communication device may determine the direction information of the target uplink beam based on the direction information of the second communication device itself and the direction information of the target downlink beam.

[0079] The direction information of the second communication device may indicate an angle of the second communication device, for example, an angle between a normal direction of a receiving element of the second communication device and a reference direction (such as north) in a coordinate system.

[0080] It should be understood that the second communication device and the first communication device are in the same coordinate system, and the direction information of the target uplink beam indicates the angle of the target uplink beam in the coordinate system.

[0081] Optionally, take the reference direction in the coordinate system as north as an example, such as Figure 6 As shown, the angle δ between the second communication device and the north direction, the angle α between the target downlink beam and the north direction, and the angle γ of the target uplink beam satisfy:

[0082] γ=360-δ+180+α

[0083] S104: The second communication device sends data to the first communication device via the target uplink beam.

[0084] Accordingly, the first communication device receives data from the second communication device through the target uplink beam.

[0085] Using the above method, the second communication device can determine the target uplink beam based on the directional information of the target downlink beam and perform uplink transmission based on the target uplink beam. Because the process of determining the target uplink beam does not require the second communication device to perform beam scanning, the preparation time for communication between the second communication device and the first communication device can be shortened.

[0086] For example, in the traditional beam training scheme, assuming that the number of STA uplink scanning beams is M, and the time interval between each scan is T0, the time for a single STA to go online is at least M*T0. Figure 4 In the method shown, STAs do not need to perform beam scanning, so the time it takes for a single STA to go online is shortened by at least M*T0, thereby achieving rapid beam alignment. Going online refers to the STA successfully connecting to the AP.

[0087] In addition, if Figure 7 As described above, for the problem that multiple STAs in scenarios such as P2MP need to compete for uplink beam scanning resources, in traditional beam training schemes, when at least two STAs perform uplink scanning in an A-BFT time period, a collision may occur, thereby triggering a competitive access mechanism, which increases the total online time overhead. When N STAs are online at the same time, N STAs (respectively recorded as STA1, STA2...STAN) perform uplink beam scanning in succession. Assuming that the minimum duration of STA beam training is T, the total online time is greater than N*T. However, by adopting the solution of the present invention, multiple STAs do not need uplink scanning, and the competitive access mechanism will not be triggered. The PA only needs to perform one downlink beam scan. After obtaining the direction information of the target uplink beam, each STA can determine its own target downlink beam and achieve alignment. The total online time is less than T, which greatly reduces the time consumption of beam alignment.

[0088] In S101, the direction information of the downlink beam may be carried in the SSW frame.

[0089] Optional, such as Figure 8 As shown, the direction information of the downlink beam can be carried in the sector direction field in the SSW frame. Figure 8The following table shows the possible lengths and meanings of the various fields in the SSW frame. The Direction Indication field occupies one bit in the SSW frame and indicates whether the SSW frame is sent by the initiator or the responder. The CDOWN field occupies 9 bits and indicates a countdown timer, which is the number of directional multi-gigabit (DMG) frame transmissions remaining before the end of I-TXSS / R-TXSS. The Sector Identification field occupies 6 bits and indicates the sector number in which the beam is located. The Sector Direction field can occupy 9 bits and indicates the beam direction information of the beam. The DMG Antenna ID field can occupy 2 bits and indicates the DMG antenna used for the current transmit beam. The Receive Sector Sweep (RXSS) Length field can occupy 6 bits and indicates the time required for the first communication device to receive the sector sweep of the second communication device (e.g., the time domain resource length). In the case of multiple second communication devices competing, this time is the minimum time interval between sector sweeps of each second communication device.

[0090] It should be understood that the above description is made by taking the directional information of the downlink beam carried in the SSW frame as an example, and the present application does not limit the directional information to be carried in other information, messages or signaling other than the SSW frame.

[0091] Based on the same inventive concept, the present application also provides a communication device for executing the above method embodiment. It should be understood that the communication device can be used to implement the first communication device and / or the second communication device provided in the present application embodiment.

[0092] Figure 9 A possible structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. Figure 9 As shown, the communication device includes: a processing module 910 and a communication module 920. The communication module 920 may include a sending module and / or a receiving module.

[0093] Specifically, when implementing a first communication device, communication module 920 (or a transmitting module of communication module 920) may be configured to transmit n downlink beams of the first communication device. Communication module 920 (or a receiving module of communication module 920) may also receive data transmitted via a target uplink beam from a second communication device.

[0094] When implementing the second communication device, the communication module 920 (or the receiving module of the communication module 920) can be used to receive n downlink beams of the first communication device. The communication module 920 (or the transmitting module of the communication module 920) can also be used to send data via the target uplink beam.

[0095] Optionally, the processing module 910 may be used to generate information, signals or data sent by the communication module 920 (or the sending module of the communication module 920), and / or to process information, signals or data received by the communication module 920 (or the receiving module of the communication module 920).

[0096] Figure 10 This is another structural diagram of the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application, such as Figure 10 As shown, the communication device 1000 includes a processor 1010, a memory 1020, and a communication interface 1030. Optionally, the communication device 1000 also includes an input device 1040 and / or an output device 1050. The processor 1010, the memory 1020, the communication interface 1030, the input device 1040, and the output device 1050 can be interconnected via a bus or other connection medium. The memory 1020 stores instructions or programs, and the processor 1010 is used to execute the instructions or programs stored in the memory 1020. When the instructions or programs stored in the memory 1020 are executed, the processor 1010 is used to perform the operations performed by the processing module 910 in the above-mentioned method embodiment, or in other words, the processing module 910 can be implemented by the processor 1010. The communication interface 1030 is used to perform the operations performed by the communication module 920 in the above-mentioned embodiment, or in other words, the communication module 920 can be implemented by the communication interface 1030.

[0097] It should be noted that the communication device 900 and / or the communication device 1000 provided in the embodiments of the present application can be used to perform Figure 4 For the sake of brevity, the actions performed by the first communication device and / or the second communication device in steps S101 to S104 are not described here in detail, and reference may be made to the above description of the method embodiment.

[0098] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0099] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0100] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) is integrated into the processor.

[0101] It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but not be limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0102] It should be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0103] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0104] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0105] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0106] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0107] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0108] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0109] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The second communication device receives n downlink beams from the first communication device, where 1≤n≤m, m is the number of downlink beams of the first communication device, the i-th downlink beam carries a signal and direction information of the i-th downlink beam, the direction information of the i-th downlink beam is carried in sector scanning information corresponding to the i-th downlink beam, and 1≤i≤n; The second communication device determines, according to the quality of the signal received by the second communication device, a target downlink beam among the n downlink beams, wherein the target downlink beam is a downlink beam with the best quality of the signal received by the second communication device; The second communication device determines a target uplink beam according to the direction information of the target downlink beam; The second communication device sends data to the first communication device through the target uplink beam.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The second communication device determines a target uplink beam according to the direction information of the target downlink beam, including: The second communication device determines the direction of the target uplink beam according to the direction information of the second communication device and the direction information of the target downlink beam.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The first communication device and the second communication device are located in the same coordinate system, and the direction information of the target downlink beam indicates an angle in the coordinate system.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The first communication device and the second communication device are located in the same coordinate system, and the identification ID of the target downlink beam indicates direction information of the target downlink beam.

5. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The first communication device sends n downlink beams of the first communication device, where 1≤n≤m, m is the number of downlink beams of the first communication device, the i-th downlink beam carries a signal and direction information of the i-th downlink beam, the direction information of the i-th downlink beam is carried in sector scanning information corresponding to the i-th downlink beam, and 1≤i≤n; The first communication device receives data sent from the second communication device through a target uplink beam, where the target uplink beam is an uplink beam determined by the second communication device based on the direction information of the target downlink beam among the n downlink beams, and the target downlink beam is a downlink beam with the best signal quality received by the second communication device.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein The first communication device and the second communication device are located in the same coordinate system, and the direction information of the target downlink beam indicates an angle in the coordinate system.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein: The first communication device and the second communication device are located in the same coordinate system, and the identification ID of the target downlink beam indicates direction information of the target downlink beam.

8. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a communication module, configured to receive n downlink beams from a first communication device, where 1≤n≤m, m is the number of downlink beams of the first communication device, the i-th downlink beam carries a signal and directional information of the i-th downlink beam, the directional information of the i-th downlink beam is carried in sector scanning information corresponding to the i-th downlink beam, and 1≤i≤n; a processing module, configured to determine a target downlink beam among the n downlink beams based on the quality of the signal received by the communication device, the target downlink beam being the downlink beam with the best signal quality received by the communication device; and determining a target uplink beam based on the direction information of the target downlink beam; The communication module is further configured to send data to the first communication device via the target uplink beam.

9. The communication device according to claim 8, wherein The processing module is specifically used for: The direction of the target uplink beam is determined according to the direction information of the communication device and the direction information of the target downlink beam.

10. The communication device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein: The first communication device and the communication device are located in the same coordinate system, and the direction information of the target downlink beam indicates an angle in the coordinate system.

11. The communication device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein: The first communication device and the communication device are located in the same coordinate system, and the identification ID of the target downlink beam indicates direction information of the target downlink beam.

12. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a sending module, configured to send directional information of n downlink beams of the communication device, wherein 1≤n≤m, m is the number of downlink beams of the communication device, the i-th downlink beam carries a signal and the directional information of the i-th downlink beam, the directional information of the i-th downlink beam is carried in the sector scanning information corresponding to the i-th downlink beam, and 1≤i≤n; A receiving module is used to receive data sent from a second communication device through a target uplink beam, where the target uplink beam is an uplink beam determined by the second communication device based on the direction information of the target downlink beam among the n downlink beams, and the target downlink beam is a downlink beam with the best signal quality received by the second communication device.

13. The communication device according to claim 12, wherein: The communication device and the second communication device are located in the same coordinate system, and the direction information of the target downlink beam indicates an angle in the coordinate system.

14. The communication device according to claim 12 or 13, wherein: The communication device and the second communication device are located in the same coordinate system, and the identification ID of the target downlink beam indicates direction information of the target downlink beam.

15. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are called and executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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