A communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

The embodiment of the application discloses a communication method and related device, the method comprises the following steps: a network device receives first information from a terminal device, the first information comprises times information or a first time length; wherein, the times information is used for indicating the number of times that a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within a preset time fall into each preset range; the first time length is obtained based on the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within the preset time; and the network device determines a scanning time of a sounding reference signal (SRS) according to the first information. Through the scheme of the application, the scanning time of the SRS can be determined, and more accurate SRS measurement results can be obtained, which can assist the network device to better perform uplink resource scheduling and other operations, and improve the performance of the air interface.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of wireless communication, and in particular, to a communication method and related apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the field of wireless communication, a base station can obtain channel information of an uplink channel by using sounding reference signals (SRS) sent by a terminal device, and then perform uplink scheduling, or obtain channel information of a downlink channel by using channel reciprocity, and then perform downlink scheduling and transmission.

[0003] Generally, the base station obtains channel information of an uplink channel by using SRS with a first received signal quality exceeding a preset threshold. However, because SRS is transmitted in the form of electromagnetic waves in a wireless channel, and different components arrive at the base station at different times after propagating through different paths, the channel information determined by the above method can be inaccurate. SUMMARY

[0004] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus, which can improve the accuracy of SRS measurement, and then assist the base station to better perform uplink resource scheduling and improve the performance of the air interface.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which includes: a network device receiving first information from a terminal device, the first information including time information or a first time length; wherein the time information is used to indicate the number of times that a plurality of signal reception time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within a preset time fall into each preset range; the plurality of downlink signals include a first downlink signal, and the signal reception time difference corresponding to the first downlink signal is the time difference between a first time and a second time, the first time is the time when the terminal device first receives the first downlink signal with a signal quality exceeding a preset threshold, and the second time is the time when the terminal device receives the first downlink signal with the strongest signal quality, or the time when the terminal device last receives the first downlink signal with a signal quality exceeding the preset threshold; the first time length is obtained based on a plurality of signal reception time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within the preset time; and the network device determines a scanning time of a sounding reference signal (SRS) according to the first information. Through the method, the scanning time of the SRS can be determined, and more accurate SRS measurement results can be obtained, which can assist the network device to better perform uplink resource scheduling and other operations, and improve the performance of the air interface.

[0006] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first information comprises time length information, and the network device determines the scanning time of the SRS according to the first information, including: the network device determines that the scanning time of the SRS at least comprises a first time and a second time, and the second time is a time after the first time length is added to the second time.

[0007] The signal receiving time difference represented by the second range is relatively large, which indicates that the degree of multipath phenomenon in the current environment is relatively strong, the multipath phenomenon has a relatively large impact on the communication quality, or it indicates that the downlink signal is rich in multipath. Therefore, the measurement result obtained by the network device by scanning the SRS once is likely to be inaccurate, and therefore the network device determines that the scanning time of the SRS at least comprises the first time and the second time.

[0008] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first information comprises time length information, and the network device determines the scanning time of the SRS according to the first information, including: the network device determines that the scanning time of the SRS at least comprises a first time and a second time, and the second time is a time after the first time length is added to the second time.

[0009] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further comprises: the network device scans the SRS according to the first time and the second time to obtain a first channel quality and a second channel quality; the network device selects a measurement result with the strongest channel quality from the first channel quality and the second channel quality; and the network device determines a modulation and coding strategy (MCS) of the terminal device based on the measurement result with the strongest channel quality. It should be noted that the network device can also perform other uplink resource scheduling, calculate a TA value corresponding to the terminal device, perform uplink channel estimation, beam management, and the like according to the measurement result with the strongest channel quality.

[0010] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first time length is an average value, a median value, or a mode value of the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals; or the first time length is a time length of a preset range in which the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals fall most frequently.

[0011] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further comprises: the network device sends configuration information to the terminal device, where the configuration information is used to indicate the preset ranges.

[0012] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, before the network device receives the first information from the terminal device, the method further includes: the network device sends first indication information to the terminal device, where the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to send the first information. In this way, the network device can send the first indication information to the terminal device when the first information is needed, so as to obtain the first information.

[0013] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to send capability information, and the capability information is used to indicate whether the terminal device has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference; the network device receives the capability information from the terminal device; and the network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device, including: if the capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference, the network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device. In this way, the network device can detect the capability of the terminal device, and then perform subsequent operations after the terminal device has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference, so as to avoid the problem of resource waste caused by insufficient capability of the terminal device.

[0014] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the network device receives the first information from the terminal device, including: the network device receives the first information from the terminal device through a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). In this way, the uplink and downlink overhead of the air interface can be saved.

[0015] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the network device sends third indication information to the terminal device, where the third indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to send the first information at a sending period.

[0016] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first downlink signal is one or more of the following signals: a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), and data signals in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0017] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, comprising: determining, by a terminal device, a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within a preset time; the plurality of downlink signals comprising a first downlink signal, the signal receiving time difference corresponding to the first downlink signal being a time difference between a first time and a second time, the first time being a time when the terminal device first receives the first downlink signal with signal quality exceeding a preset threshold, the second time being a time when the terminal device receives the first downlink signal with the strongest signal quality, or a time when the terminal device last receives the first downlink signal with signal quality exceeding the preset threshold; sending, by the terminal device, first information to a network device; wherein the first information comprises time information or a first time length, the time information being used to indicate a number of times that the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals fall into each preset range, the first time length being obtained based on the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within the preset time.

[0018] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first time length is an average value, a median value or a mode value of the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals; or the first time length is a time length of a preset range into which the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals fall most frequently.

[0019] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method further comprises: receiving, by the terminal device, configuration information from the network device, the configuration information being used to indicate the preset ranges; or the terminal device pre-stores the configuration information.

[0020] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the terminal device sending the first information to the network device comprises: receiving, by the terminal device, first indication information from the network device, the first indication information being used to indicate the terminal device to send the first information; and sending, by the terminal device, the first information to the network device according to the first indication information.

[0021] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, before the terminal device receives the first indication information sent by the network device, the method further comprises: receiving, by the terminal device, second indication information from the network device, the second indication information being used to indicate the terminal device to send capability information, the capability information being used to indicate whether the terminal device has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference; and sending, by the terminal device, the capability information to the network device according to the second indication information.

[0022] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the terminal device sends the first information to the network device, including: in a case that a sending period is reached at a current moment, the terminal device sends the first information to the network device through a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). In this way, uplink and downlink overheads of an air interface can be saved.

[0023] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the terminal device receives third indication information from the network device, the third indication information being used to indicate a sending period of the terminal device for the first information.

[0024] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first downlink signal is one or more of the following signals: a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), and a data signal in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0025] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, including a processor coupled with a memory, the memory is configured to store program codes, and the processor is configured to invoke the program codes from the memory to execute the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, or execute the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0026] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, including a logic circuit and an input-output interface, the input-output interface is configured to input first information from a terminal device, the logic circuit is configured to determine a scanning time of a sounding reference signal (SRS) according to the first information, and the logic circuit is further configured to process the first information and execute the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

[0027] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, including a logic circuit and an input-output interface, the logic circuit is configured to determine a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the communication apparatus within a preset time, the input-output interface is configured to send first information to a network device, and the logic circuit is configured to process the plurality of signal receiving time differences and execute the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0028] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, configured to store instructions, when the instructions are executed, causing the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, or causing the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect to be implemented.

[0029] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which comprises computer programs or instructions, when the computer programs or instructions are run on a computer, cause the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, or cause the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect to be implemented.

[0030] Through the scheme of the present application, the terminal device can observe the multipath phenomenon through the received downlink signal, and send the observation result (i.e. the first information) to the network device. The network device can determine the scanning time of the SRS based on the observation result, and then obtain more accurate SRS measurement results, which can assist the network device to better perform the scheduling of the uplink resource and other operations, and improve the performance of the air interface. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0031] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or prior art description will be briefly introduced as follows.

[0032] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a wireless communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a multipath phenomenon provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 3 is a flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of some first time and second time provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 5 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 6 is a structural schematic diagram of another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 7 is a structural schematic diagram of a chip provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described in more detail below.

[0040] The terminology used in the following description of the embodiments herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. As used in the description of the embodiments and the appended claims herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It also will be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The term "multiple" as used herein means two or more.

[0041] It is noted that the description and the claims herein can use the terms "first", "second", "third", and the like to refer to particular objects, but these terms can not necessarily be construed to limit the scope of the application to particular orders or sequences. It is understood that these terms are used to distinguish between similar objects, but can be used interchangeably to describe the same object. It is further understood that the use of the terms "and / or" can include any or all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The term "multiple" as used herein means two or more.

[0042] The embodiments of the present application can be applied to Figure 1 the network architecture shown in FIG. 1, Figure 1 The network architecture shown in FIG. 1 is a network architecture of a wireless communication system, which generally includes terminal devices and network devices, and the number and form of each device does not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present application.

[0043] It should be noted that the wireless communication system mentioned in the embodiments of the present application includes but is not limited to: an internet of things (internet of things, IoT), a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system, a 5th-generation (5th-generation, 5G) system, a 6th-generation (6th-generation, 6G) system and a future mobile communication system. In some embodiments, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to a wireless local area network (Wireless Local Area Network, WLAN) network, can also be applied to a vehicle-to-X (Vehicle-to-X, V2X) network, can also be applied to a non-terrestrial network (non-terrestrial networks, NTN), a satellite and a high-altitude platform (satellites and High-Altitude Platforms, HAP), an enhanced MTO (LTE enhanced MTO, eMTC), and can also be applied to other networks, etc. In another embodiment, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to communication radar integration, terahertz, and higher frequency communication systems, etc., which are not specifically limited by the present application.

[0044] The network device related to the embodiments of the present application can be a base station (BS). The base station can provide communication services for a plurality of terminal devices, and a plurality of base stations can also provide communication services for the same terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the base station is a device deployed in a wireless access network to provide wireless communication functions for terminal devices. The base station device can be a base station, a relay station or an access point. The base station can be an eNB or eNodeB (Evolutional NodeB) in long term evolution (LTE). The base station device can also be a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. The base station device can also be a base station device in a future 5G network or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network. The base station device can also be a wearable device or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the network device can be a network device; or a device capable of supporting the network device to implement the functions, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the network device. For example, the network device can be a central unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The CU here completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete the functions of part of the physical layer or the entire physical layer. For specific descriptions of the above-mentioned various protocol layers, reference can be made to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP).

[0045] The terminal device involved in the embodiments of the present application can also be referred to as a terminal, which can be a device with wireless transceiving function. The terminal device involved in the embodiments of the present application can include various user equipment (user equipment, UE) with wireless communication function, access terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, UE terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, UE agent or UE device, etc. The access terminal can be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an unmanned aerial vehicle (or simply referred to as a drone) (unmanned aerial vehicle / drones, UVA), a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a future 5G network or a terminal device in a future evolved PLMN network, etc. In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the terminal can be a terminal; it can also be a device capable of supporting the terminal to implement the function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the terminal. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0046] The embodiments of the present application can be applied to a device to device (device to device, D2D) system, a machine to machine (machine to machine, M2M) system, a vehicle to everything (vehicle to everything, V2X) system for vehicle communication with any thing, etc.

[0047] The embodiments of the present application can be applied to a next-generation microwave scenario, a microwave scenario based on NR or an integrated access backhaul (integrated access backhaul, IAB) scenario, etc.

[0048] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device and the terminal device can be fixed in position or movable. The network device and the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface; can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons and artificial satellites in the air. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the network device and the terminal device.

[0049] The network architecture and service scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are used to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of network architecture and the appearance of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0050] Next, some concepts related to the embodiments of the present application are introduced.

[0051] 1. Multipath phenomenon

[0052] The multipath phenomenon generally refers to the propagation phenomenon that a signal transmitted by a network device reaches a terminal device through different paths. There are various influences in the environment of signal transmission (in the form of electromagnetic waves), for example, scattering of the atmosphere on electromagnetic waves, reflection and refraction of the ionosphere on electromagnetic waves, reflection of vehicles, buildings, mountains and other surface objects on electromagnetic waves, which may all cause the multipath phenomenon. See Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a multipath phenomenon provided by the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 2 indicated, a network device transmits a signal to a terminal device, and the signal is transmitted through path 1 (reflection of a building), path 2 (direct transmission) and path 3 (reflection of a vehicle), and finally reaches the terminal device. The three transmission paths may have different transmission delays, and the signal strengths (or signal qualities) of the signals received through the three transmission paths also differ. The multipath phenomenon at different signal receiving ends is different, the more paths detected by the signal receiving end through channel measurement, the more serious the multipath phenomenon; since the superposition of signals may be destructive (superposition of wave peaks and wave troughs), it is more likely to cause problems such as bit error or call drop.

[0053] 2. Guard interval (GI) and cyclic prefix (CP)

[0054] In order to reduce the inter symbol interference (ISI) caused by multipath transmission (which can also be referred to as inter-code interference), the concept of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is proposed in the art, and the OFDM technology is one of the key technologies adopted by the long term evolution (LTE) technology. The basic idea of the OFDM technology is to divide a data stream into a plurality of independent low-speed bit streams, which are then sent out in parallel from the frequency domain. In order to eliminate the inter-code interference caused by the multipath effect and other factors to the greatest extent, the OFDM technology sets a free transmission period in each OFDM symbol, which is referred to as a guard interval. A cyclic prefix is filled in the guard interval of the OFDM symbol to ensure that the number of waveform periods contained in the time delay copy of the OFDM symbol within the fast Fourier transform (FFT) period is also an integer. In this way, the signal with a time delay less than the guard interval will not cause inter symbol interference in the demodulation process.

[0055] 3. Super-CP phenomenon

[0056] In a wireless communication system, a terminal device (for example, a UE) performs timing according to a reference signal (a synchronization signal and PBCH block (SSB), or a tracking reference signal (TRS)) issued by a network device (for example, a base station). The super-CP phenomenon refers to a phenomenon in which the timing difference between a first path (a reference signal whose signal quality is first received and exceeds a preset threshold value) and a last path (the reference signal whose signal quality is last received and exceeds the preset threshold value) in a signal measured by using the reference signal (SSB / TRS) exceeds a CP length.

[0057] The super-CP phenomenon is a relatively serious multipath phenomenon. This is because the occurrence of the super-CP phenomenon indicates that the timing points determined by the first path and the last path of the signal have a large difference. Since the timing point is selected according to the first path in the received reference signal in the process of measuring the channel by the UE, it is likely to cause the UE to select an incorrect timing point, resulting in errors and dropped calls. A serious super-CP phenomenon can even cause the multipath difference to exceed the measurement range of the measurement channel, causing the measurement channel to measure a "false path" and to adjust the timing bias.

[0058] 4. Timing advance (TA)

[0059] In a wireless communication system, in order to ensure normal communication between a terminal device (e.g., a UE) and a network device (e.g., a base station), guarantee the orthogonality of transmission, and avoid intra-cell interference, uplink and downlink time synchronization is required. Uplink and downlink time synchronization includes the following meanings: the downlink synchronization frame sent by the base station to all UEs accessing the base station needs to be aligned in the air interface, the uplink random access signal frame sent by all UEs accessing the base station to the base station also needs to be aligned in the air interface, and all the above uplink frames and downlink frames also need to be aligned in the air interface of the base station. Among them, the downlink time synchronization of all UEs accessing the same base station can be completed when the UE performs cell search, that is, after the completion of cell search, the base station can ensure that the downlink data of all UEs accessing the base station are aligned in the air interface of the base station; the uplink time synchronization is that the base station measures and then issues a TA value corresponding to each UE to each UE, which is used to adjust the time of sending uplink data by the UE, so as to achieve the purpose of the UE sending uplink data in advance, and finally realize the uplink data of each UE aligned in the air interface of the base station.

[0060] 5. Channel sounding reference signal (SRS)

[0061] The SRS is an uplink signal sent by the UE to the base station, which can help the base station obtain the channel state information (CSI) of the UE, and provide a reference for the uplink resource scheduling of the base station. Channel state information describes how a communication signal propagates from the UE to the base station, and represents the combined effects of scattering, fading, and power decay with distance. In a wireless communication system, the base station can use SRS for uplink channel estimation, select the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of the UE, perform uplink resource scheduling, link adaptation, massive multiple-in multiple-out (MIMO) and beam management, etc. For example, the base station can calculate the TA value corresponding to the UE according to the measurement result of the SRS. In a time division duplexing (TDD) system, the base station can also use SRS to estimate the uplink channel matrix for downlink beamforming.

[0062] The SRS can include reference signal received power (RSRP), signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR), and the like. The RSRP is the average of the signal power received on all resource elements (REs) carrying reference signals within a symbol, that is, the subcarrier power. The SINR is the ratio of the strength of the received useful signal to the strength of the received interference signal (noise and interference); it can be simply understood as the "signal-to-noise ratio".

[0063] 6. TA phenomenon generated by cutting surface / cutting beam

[0064] In high-frequency communication, the base station performs beam scanning, and the UE performs reception surface switching. In the process of UE movement, the service beam (or transmission beam, which is used to provide communication services for the UE) of the base station or the reception beam (antenna surface) of the UE will be switched. The distances from different transmission beams (for example, different transmission angles) of the base station to the same antenna surface of the UE can be different, and the UE triggering the service beam switching of the base station can be accompanied by different degrees of timing difference; the UE switching the reception antenna surface is equivalent to changing the path of the service beam of the base station to the UE, and can also be accompanied by different degrees of timing difference.

[0065] When the timing difference caused by the cutting surface (that is, switching the reception antenna surface of the UE) and the cutting beam (that is, switching the transmission beam of the base station) is large, the UE has a probability of triggering the Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) enhancement algorithm to adjust the timing to the normal position. However, in the high-frequency communication scenario, the length of each slot is very low, which can cause the length of the CP to be very short. For example, in some embodiments, the length of each slot of high frequency is 1 / 4 of that of low frequency, and is 1 / 8 of that of LTE. Similarly, for the CP length, high frequency is also 1 / 4 of low frequency, and is 1 / 8 of LTE, only 570ns, and the propagation distance is only 170m; in this case, it is easy to cause the CP phenomenon. Since the base station measures the SRS according to the first path in the received SRS as the measurement result to perform uplink resource scheduling, in this case, the corresponding uplink TA of the UE cannot be accurately determined, which can cause uplink and downlink errors or call drop. In view of this, the scheme in the embodiments of the present application is proposed.

[0066] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can observe the multipath phenomenon through the downlink signals and send the observation result to the network device, and the network device can determine the scanning time of the SRS based on the observation result. Optionally, when the observation result indicates that the multipath phenomenon is serious, the network device can increase the measurement times of the SRS, and then obtain more accurate SRS measurement results. Through the communication method and device provided in the present application, the accuracy of SRS measurement can be improved, and then the network device can better perform uplink resource scheduling and improve the performance of the air interface.

[0067] Referring to Figure 3 , a flowchart of a communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application, which can be implemented based on the system shown in Figure 1 . The method includes but is not limited to the following steps.

[0068] S101, the network device sends a plurality of downlink signals to the terminal device.

[0069] Among them, the downlink signal is one or more of the following signals: synchronization signal block (SSB), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), tracking reference signal (TRS), data signal in physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). Among them, the PDSCH is used to carry data from the transport channel (DSCH).

[0070] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the PDSCH, the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) are an example of the downlink data channel, the downlink control channel and the uplink data channel. In different systems and different scenarios, the data channel and the control channel may have different names, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. Similarly, SSB, CSI-RS and TRS are an example of downlink reference signal. In different systems and different scenarios, the downlink reference signal may have different names, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0071] S102, after receiving the plurality of downlink signals from the network device, the terminal device determines the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within a preset time.

[0072] The preset time can be determined by indication information sent by the network device to the terminal device, or the terminal device pre-stores the preset time. For example, the preset time can be 1 second, 2 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, etc. It should be noted that the value of the preset time can be set according to the needs of the actual application scenario, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0073] Specifically, each of the plurality of downlink signals corresponds to a signal reception time difference. The plurality of downlink signals includes a first downlink signal. Taking the first downlink signal as an example, the signal reception time difference corresponding to the first downlink signal is the time difference between the first time and the second time. Specifically, the first time is the time when the terminal device first receives the first downlink signal with a signal quality exceeding a preset threshold, and the second time is the time when the terminal device receives the first downlink signal with the strongest signal quality, or the time when the terminal device last receives the first downlink signal with a signal quality exceeding the preset threshold. In another way, the first downlink signal received by the terminal device for the first time with a signal quality exceeding the preset threshold can be referred to as the first path of the first downlink signal, the first downlink signal received by the terminal device with the strongest signal quality can be referred to as the strongest path of the first downlink signal, and the first downlink signal last received by the terminal device with a signal quality exceeding the preset threshold can be referred to as the last path of the first downlink signal. That is, the signal reception time difference corresponding to the first downlink signal is the reception time difference between the first path and the last path of the first downlink signal, or the reception time difference between the first path and the strongest path of the first downlink signal.

[0074] It should be noted that the signal reception time difference corresponding to the first downlink signal can reflect the strength of the multipath phenomenon in the current environment, or be understood as reflecting whether the multipath of the first downlink signal is rich. If the signal reception time difference corresponding to the first downlink signal is small, it indicates that the degree of multipath phenomenon in the current environment is weak, the influence of multipath phenomenon on communication quality is small, or it indicates that the multipath of the first downlink signal is not rich. If the signal reception time difference corresponding to the first downlink signal is large, it indicates that the degree of multipath phenomenon in the current environment is strong, the influence of multipath phenomenon on communication quality is large, or it indicates that the multipath of the first downlink signal is rich.

[0075] S103, the terminal device sends first information to the network device.

[0076] The first information includes time information or a first time length, the time information is used to indicate the number of times that the plurality of signal reception time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals fall into each preset range, and the first time length is obtained based on the plurality of signal reception time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within the preset time.

[0077] Firstly, the selection manner of each preset range is further introduced.

[0078] For example, for high frequency communication, the range can be divided by {75, 250, 500, 586} as the demarcation points. Each preset range can be as follows: the first preset range: the signal receiving time difference is less than or equal to 75ns; the second preset range: the signal receiving time difference is greater than or equal to 75ns and less than 250ns; the third preset range: the signal receiving time difference is greater than or equal to 250ns and less than 500ns; the fourth preset range: the signal receiving time difference is greater than or equal to 500ns and less than 586ns; the fifth preset range: the signal receiving time difference is greater than or equal to 586ns.

[0079] In another example, for low frequency communication, the range can be divided by {300, 1000, 2000, 2343} as the demarcation points. Each preset range can be as follows: the first preset range: the signal receiving time difference is less than or equal to 300ns; the second preset range: the signal receiving time difference is greater than or equal to 300ns and less than 1000ns; the third preset range: the signal receiving time difference is greater than or equal to 1000ns and less than 2000ns; the fourth preset range: the signal receiving time difference is greater than or equal to 2000ns and less than 2343ns; the fifth preset range: the signal receiving time difference is greater than or equal to 2343ns.

[0080] It should be noted that the selection of the demarcation points is only an example, and in actual application, the values and number of the demarcation points can be adjusted according to actual conditions. Different communication systems or different application scenarios can correspond to different values and number of demarcation points, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. It can be clearly understood that the each preset range at least includes the first range and the second range, and the maximum value in the first range is not greater than the minimum value in the second range.

[0081] In a possible implementation, the network device sends configuration information to the terminal device, and the configuration information is used to indicate the each preset range. After receiving the configuration information from the network device, the terminal device determines the each preset range based on the configuration information. In another possible implementation, the terminal device pre-stores the configuration information.

[0082] In some embodiments, the terminal device determines the receiving time difference of each downlink signal in the received multiple downlink signals within a preset time, and then counts the number of times that the multiple signal receiving time differences corresponding to the multiple downlink signals fall into each preset range, to generate the number of times information.

[0083] Next, the first time length is further introduced.

[0084] In one possible implementation, the first time length is the average, median, or mode of the multiple signal reception time differences corresponding to the multiple downlink signals.

[0085] The average (or mean, the value of the average) is a measure of the central tendency of a set of data. It is calculated by summing all the data points in the set and dividing by the number of data points. It is an indicator reflecting the central tendency of the data. Optionally, the average can be an arithmetic average or a weighted average. When the average is a weighted average, different preset ranges can correspond to different weights.

[0086] The median (or median value, the middle value) is the middle value in a set of data arranged in numerical order, representing a value in a sample, population, or probability distribution. For a finite set of data, the median can be found by sorting all observations (i.e., the multiple signal reception time differences in this embodiment) and identifying the middle value. If there are an even number of observations, the median is usually the average of the two middle values.

[0087] The mode (also called the mode number, mode value, norm, or density number) refers to a value that has a clear central tendency in its statistical distribution, representing the general level of the data; it can be understood as the value that appears most frequently in a set of data. In some cases, there may be several modes in a set of data. In the embodiments of this application, if there are multiple modes, optionally, the terminal device can send all of the multiple modes as the first time length to the network device, or the terminal device can send the average of the multiple modes (arithmetic mean, or weighted average) as the first time length to the network device.

[0088] In another possible implementation manner, the first time length is a time length of a preset range in which a quantity of times of falling of the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals is the largest. The preset range can be selected according to the description in the foregoing content, and details are not described herein again. In some cases, there can be a plurality of preset ranges in which the quantity of times of falling is the largest. In the embodiment of the present application, if there are a plurality of preset ranges in which the quantity of times of falling is the largest, optionally, the terminal device can send, to the network device, the time lengths of the plurality of preset ranges in which the quantity of times of falling is the largest, or the terminal device can select one preset range (arbitrary one or one with the largest preset range value) from the plurality of preset ranges in which the quantity of times of falling is the largest, and send, to the network device, the time length of the one preset range as the first time length. For example, if the preset ranges in which the quantity of times of falling is the largest are [250, 500) (ns) and [500, 586) (ns), the first time length can be [500, 586) (ns), which is the one with the largest preset range value.

[0089] In S104, after receiving the first information from the terminal device, the network device determines a scanning time of a sounding reference signal (SRS) according to the first information.

[0090] The scanning time of the SRS is a time of starting to scan the SRS. The scanning time of the SRS includes a first time, which is determined based on a time of sending the SRS by the terminal device configured by the network device, and can be regarded as a basic time of scanning the SRS. In a possible implementation manner, the SRS sent by the terminal device is a periodic SRS, a sending period of the periodic SRS can be configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling sent by the network device to the terminal device, and the network device can determine the first time based on the configured sending period. In another possible implementation manner, the SRS sent by the terminal device is an aperiodic SRS, a sending time of the aperiodic SRS can be configured by downlink control information (DCI) sent by the network device to the terminal device, and the network device can determine the first time based on the configured sending time.

[0091] In some embodiments, the first information comprises time information. The time information can refer to the description in step S103 above, which will not be repeated here. The respective preset ranges comprise a first range and a second range, the maximum value in the first range being not greater than the minimum value in the second range. Optionally, the network device can determine the scanning time of the SRS according to the first information in the following manner: if the ratio of the number of times that the signal receiving time difference falls into the second range to the total number of times is greater than a preset threshold, the network device determines that the scanning time of the SRS comprises at least a first time and a second time, and the first time and the second time have a time difference; wherein the time difference between the first time and the second time is included in the second range.

[0092] For example, the preset threshold can be 60%, 70%, etc., and there can be multiple possible values. If the ratio of the number of times that the signal receiving time difference falls into the second range to the total number of times is greater than the preset threshold, it indicates that the signal receiving time difference mostly falls into the second range. Since the signal receiving time difference represented by the second range is relatively large, it indicates that the degree of multipath phenomenon in the current environment is relatively strong, the influence of the multipath phenomenon on the communication quality is relatively large, or it indicates that the downlink signal is rich in multipath. Then, the measurement result obtained by the network device based on the first time to scan the SRS is likely to be inaccurate, and therefore the network device determines that the scanning time of the SRS comprises at least the first time and the second time.

[0093] The time difference between the first time and the second time is included in the second range. For example, the second range is [250, 500) (ns), and the time difference between the first time and the second time is included in the second range, for example, the time difference can be 250 ns, 300 ns, 350 ns, 400 ns, etc. Since the signal receiving time difference of the downlink signal mostly falls into the second range, according to the symmetry of the uplink and downlink signals, for the uplink signal, at the second time determined based on the second range and the first time, the network device has a high probability of detecting an SRS with strong signal quality.

[0094] In some possible implementations, the network device pre-stores the scanning time difference corresponding to the second range (i.e. the time difference between the first time and the second time), and the second time is the sum of the first time and the scanning time difference corresponding to the second range. Optionally, the respective preset ranges can be a larger number of preset ranges. For example, in S103 above, the respective preset ranges can comprise five preset ranges from a first preset range to a fifth preset range. The network device pre-stores the scanning time difference corresponding to each range.

[0095] Referring to Figure 4 FIGS. 1 to 4 are schematic diagrams of some first times and second times provided by the embodiments of the present application. In Figure 4In the various preset ranges, there are a first preset range, a second preset range and a third preset range. Each preset range has its corresponding scanning time difference.

[0096] In some embodiments, the first information comprises a first time length. The first time length can refer to the description in step S103 above, which will not be repeated here. Optionally, the first time length is a specific time value. In this case, the network device determines the scanning time of the SRS according to the first information in the following way: the network device determines that the scanning time of the SRS comprises at least a first time and a second time, the second time being the time obtained by adding the first time length to the second time.

[0097] Optionally, the first time length is a plurality of specific time values. The average value (arithmetic average, or weighted average) of the plurality of time values can be taken as the scanning time difference (i.e. the time difference between the first time and the second time). In this case, the network device determines the scanning time of the SRS according to the first information in the following way: the network device determines that the scanning time of the SRS comprises at least a first time and a second time, the second time being the time obtained by adding the scanning time difference to the second time, the scanning time difference being determined by the first time length.

[0098] Optionally, the first time length is one or more time ranges. For a time range, there can be a corresponding scanning time difference. For a plurality of time ranges, a plurality of scanning time differences can be determined from the first time length. The network device can select one scanning time difference at will, or select the scanning time difference with the largest value. Then, the network device can determine the second time based on the first time and the determined scanning time difference.

[0099] Since the first time length indicates the statistical characteristics of the signal receiving time difference of the downlink signal, according to the symmetry of the uplink and downlink signals, for the uplink signal, the network device has a high probability of detecting the SRS with strong signal quality at the second time determined based on the first time length and the first time.

[0100] In some embodiments, after performing step S104, the method may further include: the network device scanning the SRS according to the first time and the second time to obtain a first channel quality and a second channel quality; the network device selecting the measurement result with the strongest channel quality among the first channel quality and the second channel quality; and the network device determining the modulation and coding strategy (MCS) of the terminal device based on the measurement result with the strongest channel quality. The first channel quality and the second channel quality may be expressed as parameters describing channel quality such as RSRP and SINR. The measurement result with the strongest channel quality indicates that its corresponding channel quality is better than other measurement results; for example, it may be the measurement result with the highest RSRP or the highest SINR. It should be noted that for some parameters describing channel quality, a smaller value may indicate better channel quality; therefore, "strongest channel quality" here does not mean "the highest value of the parameter describing channel quality." In addition, the network device may also perform other uplink resource scheduling, calculate the TA value corresponding to the UE, perform uplink channel estimation, beam management, etc., based on the measurement result with the strongest channel quality. This application embodiment does not limit these operations.

[0101] In this way, when the degree of multipath phenomenon in the current environment is determined to be strong, the network device can adjust the SRS scan time to obtain more accurate SRS measurement results. This can help the network device to better perform uplink resource scheduling and other operations, and improve the performance of the air interface.

[0102] The following is about Figure 3 Based on the method embodiments shown, some possible solutions derived from them will be introduced.

[0103] In some possible implementations, before the network device receives the first information from the terminal device, the method further includes: the network device sending first indication information to the terminal device, the first indication information instructing the terminal device to send the first information. After the terminal device receives the first indication information from the network device, the terminal device sends the first information back to the network device according to the first indication information. In this way, the network device can send the first indication information to the terminal device to obtain the first information when needed.

[0104] Optionally, before the network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device, the network device can determine whether the terminal device has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference. After determining that the terminal device has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference, the network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device. In some possible implementation manners, the method further includes: the network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to send capability information, and the capability information is used to indicate whether the terminal device has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference; after the terminal device receives the second indication information from the network device, the terminal device sends the capability information to the network device according to the second indication information. Correspondingly, the network device receives the capability information from the terminal device. Specifically, the network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device in the following manner: if the capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference, the network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device. In this way, the network device can detect the capability of the terminal device, and then perform subsequent operations after the terminal device has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference, thereby avoiding resource waste caused by insufficient capability of the terminal device.

[0105] In some possible implementation manners, the network device receives the first information from the terminal device in the following manner: the network device receives the first information from the terminal device through a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). That is, the terminal device sends the first information to the network device together with a data signal. In this way, uplink and downlink overheads of the air interface can be saved.

[0106] Optionally, in this implementation manner, the method further includes: the network device sends third indication information to the terminal device, where the third indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to send the first information at a sending period. The terminal device sends the first information to the network device in the following manner: after the terminal device receives the third indication information from the network device, and in a case where the current time reaches the sending period, the terminal device sends the first information to the network device through a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0107] Exemplarily, the first indication information, the second indication information and the third indication information can be carried in at least one of the following signaling: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling, and downlink control information (DCI). It should be noted that the names of the signaling can change as the communication technology evolves. In other possible implementation manners, the first indication information, the second indication information and the third indication information can also be carried in other signaling.

[0108] It can be understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the network device and the terminal device include corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for performing various functions. Those skilled in the art should clearly understand that, in combination with the units and method steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is implemented in hardware or computer software driven hardware depends on the specific application scenarios and design constraints of the technical solutions.

[0109] Referring to Figure 5 , Figure 5 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 50 includes a transceiver unit 501 and a processing unit 502, which are specifically introduced as follows.

[0110] In an embodiment,

[0111] The transceiver unit 501 is configured to receive first information from a terminal device, the first information including time information or a first time length; wherein the time information is used to indicate a number of times that a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within a preset time fall into each preset range; the plurality of downlink signals include a first downlink signal, a signal receiving time difference corresponding to the first downlink signal being a time difference between a first time and a second time, the first time being a time at which the terminal device first receives the first downlink signal with signal quality exceeding a preset threshold value, and the second time being a time at which the terminal device receives the first downlink signal with the strongest signal quality, or a time at which the terminal device last receives the first downlink signal with signal quality exceeding the preset threshold value; and the first time length is obtained based on a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within the preset time.

[0112] The processing unit 502 is configured to determine a scanning time of a sounding reference signal (SRS) according to the first information.

[0113] In a possible implementation, the first information includes time information, and the respective preset ranges include a first range and a second range, a maximum value in the first range being not greater than a minimum value in the second range. The processing unit 502 is specifically configured to: if a ratio of a number of times when the signal receiving time difference falls within the second range to a total number of times is greater than a preset threshold, determine that the scanning time of the SRS includes at least a first time and a second time, the first time and the second time having a time difference, and the scanning time of the SRS being a time of starting to scan the SRS; and wherein the time difference between the first time and the second time is included in the second range.

[0114] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 502 is further configured to: scan the SRS according to the first time and the second time to obtain a first channel quality and a second channel quality; select a measurement result with the strongest channel quality from the first channel quality and the second channel quality; and determine a modulation and coding strategy (MCS) of the terminal device based on the measurement result with the strongest channel quality.

[0115] In a possible implementation, the first time length is an average value, a median value, or a mode value of the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals; or the first time length is a time length of a preset range in which the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals fall most frequently.

[0116] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 501 is further configured to: send configuration information to the terminal device, the configuration information being used to indicate the respective preset ranges.

[0117] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is further configured to: send first indication information to the terminal device, the first indication information being used to instruct the terminal device to send the first information.

[0118] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 501 is further configured to: send second indication information to the terminal device, the second indication information being used to instruct the terminal device to send capability information, the capability information being used to indicate whether the terminal device has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference; and receive the capability information from the terminal device. The transceiver 501 is specifically configured to: if the capability information indicates that the terminal device has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference, send the first indication information to the terminal device.

[0119] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 501 is specifically configured to: receive the first information from the terminal device through a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0120] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 501 is further configured to send third indication information to the terminal device, where the third indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to send the first information at a sending period.

[0121] In a possible implementation, the first downlink signal is one or more of the following: a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), and a data signal in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0122] It should be noted that in the above embodiments, the communication apparatus 50 can be a network device, an apparatus in a network device, or an apparatus that can be used in matching with a network device. Specifically, Figure 5 The operations performed by the units of the communication apparatus 50 shown in the figure can be referred to the above Figure 3 The related content about the network device in the corresponding method embodiments is not described here. The above units can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. In an embodiment, the functions of the transceiver 501 and the processing unit 502 in the above content can be implemented by one or more processors in the communication apparatus 50.

[0123] In this embodiment, the communication apparatus 50 determines the scanning time of the SRS according to the first information sent by the terminal device. The first information can indicate the perception of the terminal device to the multipath phenomenon through the downlink signal. The communication apparatus 50 determines the scanning time of the SRS through the first information, which can improve the accuracy of the SRS measurement, obtain more accurate SRS measurement results, and assist the communication apparatus 50 to better perform the scheduling of the uplink resource, thereby improving the performance of the air interface.

[0124] In another embodiment,

[0125] The processing unit 502 is configured to determine a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the communication apparatus within a preset time. The plurality of downlink signals includes a first downlink signal. The signal receiving time difference corresponding to the first downlink signal is a time difference between a first time and a second time. The first time is a time when the communication apparatus first receives the first downlink signal with a signal quality exceeding a preset threshold value. The second time is a time when the communication apparatus receives the first downlink signal with the strongest signal quality, or a time when the communication apparatus last receives the first downlink signal with a signal quality exceeding the preset threshold value.

[0126] The transceiver 501 is configured to send first information to the network device, wherein the first information comprises time information or a first time length, the time information is used to indicate a number of times that a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals fall into each preset range, and the first time length is based on a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the communication apparatus within the preset time.

[0127] In a possible implementation, the first time length is an average value, a median value or a mode value of the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals, or the first time length is a time length in which the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals fall into a preset range with the most number of times.

[0128] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 501 is further configured to receive configuration information from the network device, and the configuration information is used to indicate the preset ranges.

[0129] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 501 is specifically configured to receive first indication information from the network device, the first indication information is used to indicate that the communication apparatus sends the first information, and the first information is sent to the network device according to the first indication information.

[0130] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 501 is further configured to receive second indication information from the network device, the second indication information is used to indicate that the communication apparatus sends capability information, and the capability information is used to indicate whether the communication apparatus has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference.

[0131] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 501 is specifically configured to send the first information to the network device through a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) in a case where a current time reaches a sending period.

[0132] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 501 is further configured to receive third indication information from the network device, and the third indication information is used to indicate a sending period of the communication apparatus for the first information.

[0133] In a possible implementation, the first downlink signal is one or more of the following signals: a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a tracking reference signal (TRS) and a data signal in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0134] It should be noted that in the above embodiments, the communication apparatus 50 can be a terminal device, can be an apparatus in a terminal device, and can also be an apparatus that can be used in matching with a terminal device. Specifically, Figure 5 The operations performed by the various units of the communication apparatus 50 shown in the above embodiments can be referred to the above Figure 3 The related content about the terminal device in the corresponding method embodiments will not be described here. The various units described above can be implemented in hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software. In an embodiment, the functions of the transceiver unit 501 and the processing unit 502 in the above content can be implemented by one or more processors in the communication apparatus 50.

[0135] In the present embodiment, the communication apparatus 50 determines a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the communication apparatus 50 within a preset time, and then determines first information according to the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals, and sends the first information to a network device. The first information can indicate the perception of the communication apparatus 50 to the multipath phenomenon through the downlink signal, and the first information can assist the network device in determining the scanning time of the SRS, and can improve the accuracy of the SRS measurement, and obtain a more accurate SRS measurement result.

[0136] Referring to Figure 6 FIG. 6 is a structural schematic diagram of another communication apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 60 can be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiments, and specific implementation can be referred to the description in the above method embodiments.

[0137] The communication apparatus 60 can include one or more processors 601. The processor 601 can be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, etc. The processor 601 can be used to control the communication apparatus (such as a network device, a network device chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, etc.), execute a software program, and process data of the software program.

[0138] Optionally, the communication apparatus 60 can include one or more memories 602, and the memories 602 can have program codes 603 stored thereon. The program codes can be run on the processor 601, so that the communication apparatus 60 executes the method described in the above method embodiments. Optionally, the memories 602 can also store data. The processor 601 and the memories 602 can be separately arranged, or can be integrated together. Optionally, the memories 602 can also be located outside the communication apparatus 60, and can be coupled with the communication apparatus 60 in some way.

[0139] Optionally, the communication apparatus 60 can further include a transceiver 604. The transceiver 604 can be referred to as a transceiving unit, a transceiver, or a transceiving circuit, etc., for realizing a transceiving function. The transceiver 604 can include a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver can be referred to as a receiver or a receiving circuit, etc., for realizing a receiving function. The transmitter can be referred to as a transmitter or a transmitting circuit, etc., for realizing a transmitting function.

[0140] In an embodiment,

[0141] The processor 601 is configured to receive, by the transceiver 604, first information from a terminal device, the first information including time information or a first time length. The time information is used to indicate a number of times that a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within a preset time fall into each preset range. The plurality of downlink signals include a first downlink signal. The signal receiving time difference corresponding to the first downlink signal is a time difference between a first time and a second time. The first time is a time when the terminal device first receives the first downlink signal with signal quality exceeding a preset threshold value. The second time is a time when the terminal device receives the first downlink signal with the strongest signal quality, or a time when the terminal device last receives the first downlink signal with signal quality exceeding the preset threshold value. The first time length is based on a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within the preset time.

[0142] The processor 601 is further configured to determine a scanning time of a sounding reference signal (SRS) according to the first information.

[0143] In a possible implementation, the first information includes time information, and each preset range includes a first range and a second range. A maximum value in the first range is not greater than a minimum value in the second range. The processor is specifically configured to: if a ratio of a number of times that the signal receiving time difference falls into the second range to a total number of times is greater than a preset threshold value, determine that the scanning time of the SRS includes at least a first time and a second time. The first time and the second time have a time difference. The scanning time of the SRS is a time of starting to scan the SRS. The time difference between the first time and the second time is included in the second range.

[0144] In a possible implementation, the processor 601 is further configured to: scan the SRS according to the first time and the second time to obtain a first channel quality and a second channel quality; select a measurement result with the strongest channel quality from the first channel quality and the second channel quality; and determine a modulation and coding strategy (MCS) of the terminal device based on the measurement result with the strongest channel quality.

[0145] In a possible implementation, the first time length is an average, a median or a mode of the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals; or the first time length is a time length in which the plurality of signal receiving time differences fall into a preset range with the most times.

[0146] In a possible implementation, the processor 601 is further configured to send, by the transceiver 604, configuration information to the terminal device, where the configuration information is used to indicate the preset ranges.

[0147] In a possible implementation, the processor 601 is further configured to send, by the transceiver 604, first indication information to the terminal device, where the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to send the first information.

[0148] In a possible implementation, the processor 601 is further configured to send, by the transceiver 604, second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to send capability information, and the capability information is used to indicate whether the terminal device has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference; and the processor 601 is specifically configured to: if the capability information indicates that the terminal device has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference, send the first indication information to the terminal device.

[0149] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 604 is specifically configured to receive, by a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the first information from the terminal device.

[0150] In a possible implementation, the processor 601 is further configured to send, by the transceiver 604, third indication information to the terminal device, where the third indication information is used to indicate a sending period of the first information by the terminal device.

[0151] In a possible implementation, the first downlink signal is one or more of the following signals: a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a tracking reference signal (TRS) and a data signal in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0152] It should be noted that, in the above embodiments, the communication apparatus 60 can be a network device, or a chip, a chip system, a processor or the like supporting the network device to implement the above method. Specifically, the operations performed by the communication apparatus 60 can be referred to the above method embodiments. Figure 3 The related content about the network device in the corresponding method embodiments is not described in detail here.

[0153] In the embodiment, the communication apparatus 60 determines the scanning time of the SRS according to the first information sent by the terminal device, which can indicate the perception of the terminal device to the multipath phenomenon through the downlink signal. The communication apparatus 60 determines the scanning time of the SRS through the first information, which can improve the accuracy of the SRS measurement, obtain more accurate SRS measurement results, and assist the communication apparatus 60 to better perform the scheduling of the uplink resource, thereby improving the performance of the air interface.

[0154] In another embodiment,

[0155] The processor 601 is configured to determine a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the communication apparatus within a preset time; the plurality of downlink signals include a first downlink signal, and the signal receiving time difference corresponding to the first downlink signal is a time difference between a first time and a second time, the first time is a time when the communication apparatus first receives the first downlink signal with a signal quality exceeding a preset threshold, and the second time is a time when the communication apparatus receives the first downlink signal with the strongest signal quality, or a time when the communication apparatus last receives the first downlink signal with a signal quality exceeding the preset threshold.

[0156] The processor 601 is further configured to send first information to a network device through the transceiver 604; wherein the first information includes time information or a first time length, the time information is used to indicate a number of times that the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals fall into each preset range, and the first time length is obtained based on the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals received by the communication apparatus within the preset time.

[0157] In a possible implementation, the first time length is an average value, a median value or a mode value of the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals; or the first time length is a time length in which the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals fall into a preset range with the most number of times.

[0158] In a possible implementation, the processor 601 is further configured to receive configuration information from the network device through the transceiver 604, and the configuration information is used to indicate the preset ranges; or the communication apparatus pre-stores the configuration information.

[0159] In a possible implementation, the processor 601 is further configured to receive first indication information from the network device through the transceiver 604, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the communication apparatus sends the first information; and the first information is sent to the network device according to the first indication information.

[0160] In a possible implementation, the processor 601 is further configured to receive, by the transceiver 604, second indication information from the network device, the second indication information being used to instruct the communication apparatus to send capability information, the capability information being used to indicate whether the communication apparatus has the capability to measure the signal reception time difference; and send the capability information to the network device according to the second indication information.

[0161] In a possible implementation, the processor 601 is further configured to, in a case where a sending period is reached at a current moment, send, by the transceiver 604, the first information to the network device through a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0162] In a possible implementation, the processor 601 is further configured to receive, by the transceiver 604, third indication information from the network device, the third indication information being used to instruct the communication apparatus to send the first information in a sending period.

[0163] In a possible implementation, the first downlink signal is one or more of the following signals: a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), and a data signal in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0164] It should be noted that, in the above embodiments, the communication apparatus 60 can be a terminal device, or can be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the terminal device to implement the above method. Specifically, the operations performed by the communication apparatus 60 can be referred to the above description of the method embodiments. Figure 3 The related content about the terminal device in the corresponding method embodiments is not described in detail here.

[0165] In this embodiment, the communication apparatus 60 determines a plurality of signal reception time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the communication apparatus 60 within a preset time, and then determines first information according to the plurality of signal reception time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals, and sends the first information to the network device. The first information can indicate the perception of the communication apparatus 60 to the multipath phenomenon through the downlink signal, and the first information can assist the network device to determine the scanning time of the SRS, and can improve the accuracy of the SRS measurement, and obtain a more accurate SRS measurement result.

[0166] In another possible design, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit, or an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, the interface, or the interface circuit used to implement the receiving and sending functions can be separate or integrated together. The transceiver circuit, the interface, or the interface circuit can be used for reading and writing of codes / data, or the transceiver circuit, the interface, or the interface circuit can be used for transmission or transfer of signals.

[0167] In another possible design, the communication device 60 may include circuitry that can perform the functions of sending, receiving, or communicating as described in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0168] The processors and transceivers described in this application can be implemented on integrated circuits (ICs), analog ICs, radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), mixed-signal ICs, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), printed circuit boards (PCBs), electronic devices, etc.

[0169] The communication device described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal device, but the scope of the communication device described in this application is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device may vary. Figure 6 The communication device can be a standalone device or part of a larger device. For example, the communication device could be:

[0170] (1) Independent integrated circuit IC, or chip, or chip system or subsystem;

[0171] (2) A collection of one or more ICs, optionally including storage components for storing data and program code;

[0172] (3) ASIC, such as modem;

[0173] (4) Modules that can be embedded in other devices;

[0174] (5) Receivers, smart terminals, wireless devices, handheld devices, mobile units, vehicle-mounted devices, cloud devices, artificial intelligence devices, etc.;

[0175] (6) Others, etc.

[0176] For cases where the communication device can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 7 The diagram shows the structure of the chip. Figure 7 The chip 70 shown includes logic circuits 701 and input / output interfaces 702. The number of logic circuits 701 can be one or more, and the number of input / output interfaces 702 can be multiple.

[0177] For cases where the chip is used to implement the functions of the network device in the embodiments of this application:

[0178] The input / output interface 702 is configured to receive first information from the terminal device, where the first information includes time information or a first time length; the time information is used to indicate a number of times that a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within a preset time fall into each preset range; the plurality of downlink signals include a first downlink signal, and a signal receiving time difference corresponding to the first downlink signal is a time difference between a first time and a second time, the first time is a time when the terminal device first receives the first downlink signal with signal quality exceeding a preset threshold, the second time is a time when the terminal device receives the first downlink signal with the strongest signal quality, or a time when the terminal device last receives the first downlink signal with signal quality exceeding the preset threshold; and the first time length is obtained based on a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within the preset time.

[0179] The logic circuit 701 is configured to determine a scanning time of a sounding reference signal (SRS) according to the first information.

[0180] The logic circuit 701 is further configured to process the first information, and operations performed by the logic circuit 701 can refer to descriptions of the network device in the above Figure 3

[0181] For a case where a chip is used to implement functions of the terminal device in the embodiments of the present application:

[0182] The logic circuit 701 is configured to determine a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within a preset time; the plurality of downlink signals include a first downlink signal, and a signal receiving time difference corresponding to the first downlink signal is a time difference between a first time and a second time, the first time is a time when the terminal device first receives the first downlink signal with signal quality exceeding a preset threshold, the second time is a time when the terminal device receives the first downlink signal with the strongest signal quality, or a time when the terminal device last receives the first downlink signal with signal quality exceeding the preset threshold.

[0183] The input / output interface 702 is configured to send first information to the network device; where the first information includes time information or a first time length, the time information is used to indicate a number of times that a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals fall into each preset range, and the first time length is obtained based on a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within the preset time.

[0184] The logic circuit 701 is further configured to process a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals, and operations performed by the logic circuit 701 can refer to descriptions of the network device in the above Figure 3 ​The description of the terminal device is given in the corresponding embodiment.

[0185] Those skilled in the art can understand that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps listed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. Whether the functions are implemented by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design requirements of the overall system. Those skilled in the art can implement the functions described in various ways for each specific application, but such implementation should not be construed as beyond the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0186] The present application also provides a computer readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the method embodiments described above.

[0187] The present application also provides a computer program product, which, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the method embodiments described above.

[0188] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed by a computer, the computer instructions generate the processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present application in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transferred from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) manner. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a high-density digital video disc (digital video disc, DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state drive (solid state drive, SSD)), etc.

[0189] Those skilled in the art can understand that various numbers such as first, second, etc. involved in the present application are only for convenient differentiation and do not limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application, and the order.

[0190] The predefinition in the present application can be understood as definition, predefinition, storage, prestorage, prenegotiation, preconfiguration, solidification, or pre-burning.

[0191] Those skilled in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are realized in hardware or software manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. The skilled person can use different methods to realize the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0192] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: The network device receives first information from the terminal device, the first information comprising time information or a first time length; The time information is used to indicate the number of times that a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within a preset time fall into each preset range; the first time length is based on a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within the preset time; the plurality of downlink signals comprise a first downlink signal, and the signal receiving time difference corresponding to the first downlink signal is the time difference between a first time and a second time, the first time being the time when the terminal device first receives the first downlink signal with signal quality exceeding a preset threshold, and the second time being the time when the terminal device receives the first downlink signal with the strongest signal quality or the time when the terminal device last receives the first downlink signal with signal quality exceeding the preset threshold; The network device determines the scanning time of a sounding reference signal (SRS) according to the first information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first information comprises time information, and each preset range comprises a first range and a second range, the maximum value in the first range being not greater than the minimum value in the second range; The network device determines the scanning time of the SRS according to the first information, comprising: If the ratio of the number of times that the signal receiving time difference falls into the second range to the total number of times is greater than a preset threshold, the network device determines that the scanning time of the SRS at least comprises a first time and a second time, the first time and the second time having a time difference, and the scanning time of the SRS being the time of starting to scan the SRS; The time difference between the first time and the second time is contained in the second range.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The method further comprises: The network device scans the SRS according to the first time and the second time, obtaining a first channel quality and a second channel quality; The network device selects the measurement result with the strongest channel quality from the first channel quality and the second channel quality; The network device determines the modulation and coding strategy (MCS) of the terminal device based on the measurement result with the strongest channel quality.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first time length is the average value, median value or mode value of a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals; Or, the first time length is the time length of the preset range with the most falling times of a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further comprises: The network device sends configuration information to the terminal device, the configuration information being used to indicate each preset range.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, Before the network device receives the first information from the terminal device, the method further comprises: The network device sends first indication information to the terminal device, the first indication information being used to instruct the terminal device to send the first information.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The method further comprises: The network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, the second indication information being used for instructing the terminal device to send capability information, the capability information being used for indicating whether the terminal device has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference; The network device receives the capability information from the terminal device; The network device sends first indication information to the terminal device, including: If the capability information is used for indicating that the terminal device has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference, the network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The network device receives first information from the terminal device, including: The network device receives the first information from the terminal device through a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The method further includes: The network device sends third indication information to the terminal device, the third indication information being used for instructing the terminal device to send the first information at a sending period.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first downlink signal is one or more of the following signals: a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), and data signals in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

11. A communication method, comprising: The method includes: The terminal device determines a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within a preset time; The terminal device sends first information to a network device; the first information includes time information or a first time length, the time information being used for indicating a number of times that the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals fall into each preset range, and the first time length being obtained based on the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals received by the terminal device within the preset time; the plurality of downlink signals include a first downlink signal, and a signal receiving time difference corresponding to the first downlink signal is a time difference between a first time and a second time, the first time being a time at which the terminal device first receives the first downlink signal with a signal quality exceeding a preset threshold value, and the second time being a time at which the terminal device receives the first downlink signal with the strongest signal quality or a time at which the terminal device last receives the first downlink signal with the signal quality exceeding the preset threshold value.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The first time length is an average value, a median value, or a mode value of the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals. Alternatively, the first time length is a time length of a preset range into which the plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to the plurality of downlink signals fall most frequently.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein, The method further includes: The terminal device receives configuration information from the network device, the configuration information being used for indicating the preset ranges; Alternatively, the terminal device pre-stores the configuration information.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11-13, characterized in that, The terminal device sends the first information to a network device, including: The terminal device receives first indication information from the network device, the first indication information being used for instructing the terminal device to send the first information; The terminal device sends the first information to the network device according to the first indication information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, Before the terminal device receives the first indication information sent by the network device, the method further comprises: The terminal device receives second indication information from the network device, and the second indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to send capability information, and the capability information is used to indicate whether the terminal device has the capability of measuring the signal receiving time difference. The terminal device sends the capability information to the network device according to the second indication information.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11-13, characterized in that, The terminal device sends the first information to the network device, comprising: In the case that the current time reaches the sending period, the terminal device sends the first information to the network device through a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

17. The method of claim 16, wherein, The method further comprises: The terminal device receives third indication information from the network device, and the third indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to send the first information in a sending period.

18. The method according to any one of claims 11-13, characterized in that, The first downlink signal is one or more of the following signals: a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), and data signals in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

19. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises a processor and a memory coupled to the processor; The memory is configured to store program code; The processor is configured to invoke the program code from the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-18.

20. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises a logic circuit and an input / output interface, The input / output interface is configured to input first information from a terminal device; The logic circuit is configured to determine a scanning time of a sounding reference signal (SRS) according to the first information; The logic circuit is further configured to process the first information and execute the method according to any one of claims 1-10.

21. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises a logic circuit and an input / output interface, The logic circuit is configured to determine a plurality of signal receiving time differences corresponding to a plurality of downlink signals received by the communication device within a preset time; The input / output interface is configured to send first information to a network device; The logic circuit is configured to process the plurality of signal receiving time differences and execute the method according to any one of claims 11-18.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium is configured to store instructions, when the instructions are executed, to enable the method according to any one of claims 1-18 to be implemented.

23. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises a computer program or instructions, when the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, to enable the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-18.

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