A beam indication method and apparatus

Abstract

A beam indication method and device, the method comprising: receiving, by a terminal device, first configuration information from a network device to configure M common beams of a same type, M being an integer greater than 1; receiving, by the terminal device, first MAC-CE information from the network device to activate N common beams, the N common beams being indicated to be divided into a first common beam group and a second common beam group, N being an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to M; further receiving, by the terminal device, one or more first downlink control information from the network device to indicate two common beams of the same type; and communicating, by the terminal device, with the network device using at least one of the two common beams of the same type according to a common beam group to which the two common beams belong. In the method, the terminal device can accurately distinguish the common beam groups to which the common beams of the same type belong, and thus can communicate with the network device using one or more common beams of the same type.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] In the fifth generation mobile communication system (5th generation, 5G), a specific beam can be used between the network device and the terminal device for uplink and downlink data transmission. For the transmission of multiple channels or reference signals, the network device can indicate one common beam transmission for the terminal device, or can indicate multiple common beam transmissions for the terminal device. When the terminal device moves, the network device will indicate a new common beam to the terminal device to replace the previous common beam for transmission. For example, the network device can indicate a common beam 1 to the terminal device through downlink control information (DCI), and the terminal device will always use the common beam 1 in subsequent transmissions. When the network device again indicates another beam 2 of the same type to the terminal device, the terminal device will use the common beam 2 to replace the previously used common beam 1, and use the common beam 2 in subsequent transmissions.

[0003] In a multi-base station transmission scenario, each base station needs to transmit with the terminal device via a public beam. However, when the network device indicates multiple public beams of the same type to the terminal device, the terminal device cannot determine whether the indicated multiple public beams of the same type correspond to the same base station. Therefore, the terminal device can usually only select one of the public beams for transmission, resulting in the terminal device being unable to communicate with multiple base stations simultaneously.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need to propose a beam indication method that can accurately distinguish the public beam indicated by the network device, thereby ensuring the communication between the network device and the terminal device. Summary of the Invention

[0005] A beam indication method and device can accurately distinguish a common beam indicated by a network device, thereby ensuring transmission between the network device and a terminal device.

[0006] In the first aspect, the present application implements a beam indication method, which can be executed by a processor of a terminal device or by a chip corresponding to the processor, without limitation. Specifically, the method includes the following steps: the terminal device receives first configuration information from a network device, the first configuration information is used to configure M public beams of the same type, where M is an integer greater than 1; the terminal device receives first indication information from the network device, the first indication information is used to activate N public beams of the M public beams of the same type, and indicates that the N public beams are divided into a first public beam group and a second public beam group, where N is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to M; the terminal device receives second indication information from the network device, the second indication information is used to indicate two public beams; the two public beams belong to the first public beam group and the second public beam group respectively, or the two public beams belong to the first public beam group, or the two public beams belong to the second public beam group; the terminal device uses at least one of the two public beams to communicate with the network device according to the public beam group to which the two public beams belong.

[0007] Through this embodiment, after receiving the second indication information from the network device, the terminal device determines whether the two public beams of the same type in the second indication information belong to the same public beam group, or whether the two public beams of the same type belong to different public beam groups, and thus decides to use one or two public beams to communicate with the network device. It is clear that with this method, the terminal device can accurately distinguish whether two public beams of the same type are from the same public beam group, that is, whether they correspond to the same network device. This method can ensure that the terminal device uses one public beam to communicate with the network device, or it can ensure that the terminal device uses two public beams of the same type to communicate with the corresponding network devices respectively.

[0008] In a possible embodiment, the terminal device uses at least one of the two public beams to communicate with the network device according to the public beam group to which the two public beams belong, including: the two public beams belong to the first public beam group and the second public beam group respectively, and the terminal device uses the two public beams to communicate with the network device; or the two public beams both belong to the first public beam group or both belong to the second public beam group, and the terminal device uses the public beam of the two public beams that is indicated later or takes effect later to communicate with the network device.

[0009] Through this implementation, the terminal device can determine whether to use one or two public beams to communicate with the network device based on the public beam group to which the two public beams belong. If the two public beams belong to the same public beam group, the terminal device uses the two public beams to communicate with the corresponding network devices respectively, thereby meeting the communication needs of the network device side. If the two public beams do not belong to the same public beam group, the terminal device determines which of the two public beams is indicated by the network device later or takes effect later, so that the terminal device selects the public beam with the later indication time or later effect time to communicate with the network device, thereby ensuring the real-time and accuracy of communication.

[0010] In a possible embodiment, the first common beam group includes the first half of the N common beams, and the second common beam group includes the second half of the N common beams, or the first common beam group includes the common beams with odd arrangement numbers among the N common beams, and the second common beam group includes the common beams with even arrangement numbers among the N common beams.

[0011] Through this implementation, the two grouping methods mentioned above can be used but not limited to, and the N activated public beams can be effectively divided into two groups, each group corresponding to one network device. Therefore, the terminal device can accurately distinguish whether the network devices corresponding to the two public beams of the same type are the same according to the situation that the two public beams of the same type indicated by the network device are located in the two public beam groups, and thus decide to use one public beam or two public beams to ensure communication with the network device.

[0012] In a possible implementation manner, the second indication information includes two first downlink control information, and each piece of the first downlink control information is used to indicate one common beam of the two common beams.

[0013] Through this implementation, the terminal device receives the second indication information from the network device, and there may be two situations in which the second indication information contains downlink control information. This implementation is the first situation, so it can be seen that the network device indicates two common beams through two downlink control information.

[0014] Based on the case where the second indication information received by the terminal device includes two first downlink control information, each first downlink control information may be defined according to the rules in the following implementation manner:

[0015] In a first embodiment, each first downlink control information includes a single transmission configuration indication TCI field, which corresponds to one of the first common beam group and the second common beam group; a first field in the first downlink control information is used to indicate that the public beams corresponding to all field values ​​of the TCI field all belong to the first common beam group or all belong to the second common beam group; or a part of the bits of the TCI field in the first downlink control information are used to indicate that the public beams corresponding to all field values ​​of the TCI field all belong to the first common beam group or all belong to the second common beam group; or the control resource set group identifier corresponding to the first downlink control information is used to indicate that the public beams corresponding to all field values ​​of the TCI field all belong to the first common beam group or all belong to the second common beam group.

[0016] Through this implementation, each first downlink control information can be defined according to the rules in this implementation, so that after receiving the second indication information, the terminal device can refer to the rules defined in this implementation to determine whether the two public beam groups of the same type indicated by the second indication information belong to the first public beam group or the second public beam group, and then the terminal device can accurately determine whether to use one or two public beams to communicate with the network device.

[0017] In a second embodiment, each first downlink control information includes a single transmission configuration indication TCI field, and all field values ​​of the TCI field are divided into two parts. The public beam corresponding to the first part of the field values ​​of the two parts belongs to the first public beam group, and the public beam corresponding to the second part of the field values ​​of the two parts belongs to the second public beam group.

[0018] Through this implementation, each first downlink control information can be defined according to the rules in this implementation, so that after receiving the second indication information, the terminal device can refer to the provisions defined in this implementation to determine whether the two public beam groups of the same type indicated by the second indication information belong to the first public beam group or the second public beam group, and then the terminal device can accurately determine whether to use one or two public beams to communicate with the network device.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the first part of the field values ​​is the first half of the field values ​​of all the field values, and the second part of the field values ​​is the second half of the field values ​​of all the field values; or the first part of the field values ​​is the even field values ​​of all the field values, and the second part of the field values ​​is the odd field values ​​of all the field values; or the first part of the field values ​​is the first S field values ​​of all the field values, and the second part of the field values ​​is the remaining field values ​​of all the field values ​​excluding the first S field values, where S is an integer value greater than 0.

[0020] It should be noted that in an embodiment of the present application, the value of S is equal to the number of beams in the first common beam group or the number of beams in the second common beam group, or the value of S is indicated by the fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information can be the second configuration information or the second MAC-CE information or the second downlink control information, or the value of S can be a value mutually agreed upon by the terminal device and the network device. This application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0021] Through this implementation, the field value of the TCI field in each first downlink control information can be effectively divided into two parts, and it is stipulated that all public beams corresponding to the field value of each part correspond to a public beam group. Therefore, after receiving the second indication information, the terminal device can determine which part the two public beams indicated by the second indication information specifically correspond to, thereby accurately determining the public beam group in which the two public beams are located. The terminal device can finally determine whether to use one or two public beams to communicate with the network device.

[0022] In a possible implementation manner, the second indication information includes a first downlink control information, and the first downlink control information is used to indicate the two common beams.

[0023] Through this implementation, the terminal device receives the second indication information from the network device, and there may be two situations in which the second indication information contains downlink control information. This implementation is the second situation, so it can be known that the network device indicates the two common beams through one downlink control information.

[0024] In the case where the second indication information received by the terminal device includes downlink control information, the downlink control information may be defined according to the rules in the following implementation manner:

[0025] In a possible implementation, the first downlink control information includes two TCI fields, the common beam corresponding to one of the two TCI fields belongs to the first common beam group, and the common beam corresponding to the other of the two TCI fields belongs to the second common beam group.

[0026] When the first condition is met, the first downlink control information includes the two TCI fields;

[0027] The first condition may include any one or more of the following:

[0028] (1) The first configuration information configures two common beam sets of the same type;

[0029] (2) In the first configuration information, the common beams of the same type are divided into two parts and configured in two sets respectively;

[0030] (3) The first configuration information includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the number of field values ​​included in the first downlink control information is 2, or the third indication information is used to indicate that there are two TCI fields in the first downlink control information, or the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to adopt or maintain two common beams of the same type.

[0031] In another possible implementation, if the above-mentioned first condition is met, the first downlink control information includes only one TCI field.

[0032] Through this implementation, when the above-mentioned first condition is met, the network device indicates two public beams of the same type through two fields in a first downlink control information. After the terminal device receives the first downlink control information sent by the network device, it can be known by which field the two public beams of the same type are indicated. If two public beams of the same type are respectively indicated by the same field, the terminal device can determine that the two public beams belong to different public beam groups. If the two public beams of the same type are both indicated by one of the fields, it can be known that the two public beams belong to the same public beam group. If the above-mentioned first condition is not met, the network device indicates two public beams of the same type through a field in a first downlink control information, so that the terminal device can know that the two public beams of the same type belong to the same public beam group. Therefore, if the two public beams indicated by the network device to the terminal device belong to the same public beam group, the terminal device uses one of the public beams for communication. If the two public beams indicated by the network device to the terminal device do not belong to the same public beam group, the terminal device uses the two public beams for communication.

[0033] In a second embodiment, the first downlink control information includes a single TCI field, a field value of the TCI field is used to indicate the two common beams, and the two common beams belong to the first common beam group and the second common beam group respectively.

[0034] Through this implementation, the first downlink control information includes a single TCI field and a set field value of the TCI field simultaneously indicates two public beams, and the two public beams belong to different public beam groups respectively. Therefore, under this definition, if the terminal device receives a first downlink control information from a network device, it can directly determine that the two indicated public beams belong to different public beam groups based on the first downlink control information, so that the terminal device uses two public beams to achieve effective communication with the corresponding network devices respectively.

[0035] On the second aspect, the present application implements a beam indication method, which can be executed by a processor of a network device or by a chip corresponding to the processor, without limitation. Specifically, the method includes the following steps: the network device sends first configuration information to a terminal device, and the first configuration information is used to configure M public beams of the same type, where M is an integer greater than 1; the network device sends first indication information to the terminal device, and the first indication information is used to activate N public beams of the M public beams of the same type, and divide the N public beams into a first public beam group and a second public beam group, where N is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to M; the network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, and the second indication information is used to indicate two public beams; the two public beams belong to the first public beam group and the second public beam group, respectively, or the two public beams belong to the first public beam group, or the two public beams belong to the second public beam group.

[0036] Through this implementation, the network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device to configure M public beams of the same type for the terminal device, and activates N public beams from the M public beams of the same type through first indication information. Therefore, when the network device sends second indication information to the terminal device to indicate two public beams of the same type, the terminal device determines whether the two public beams belong to the same public beam group or different public beam groups, thereby ultimately ensuring effective communication between the terminal device and the network device.

[0037] In one possible implementation, the first common beam group includes the first half of the N common beams, and the second common beam group includes the second half of the N common beams. Alternatively, the first common beam group includes the common beams with odd arrangement numbers among the N common beams, and the second common beam group includes the common beams with even arrangement numbers among the N common beams. The effects of this implementation can be referenced to the effects of the corresponding implementation in the first aspect above, and will not be further elaborated here.

[0038] In one possible implementation, the second indication information includes two first downlink control information, each of which is used to indicate one of the two common beams. The effect of this implementation can refer to the effect of the corresponding implementation in the first aspect above, and will not be further described here.

[0039] In the case where the second indication information sent by the network device to the terminal device includes two first downlink control information, each piece of first downlink control information may be defined according to the rules in the following implementation manner:

[0040] In a possible implementation, each of the first downlink control information includes a single transmission configuration indication TCI field, and the TCI field corresponds to one of the first common beam group and the second common beam group; a first field in the first downlink control information is used to indicate that the common beams corresponding to all field values ​​of the TCI field all belong to the first common beam group or all belong to the second common beam group; or a portion of the bits of the TCI field in the first downlink control information are used to indicate that the common beams corresponding to all field values ​​of the TCI field all belong to the first common beam group or all belong to the second common beam group; or the control resource set group identifier corresponding to the first downlink control information is used to indicate that the common beams corresponding to all field values ​​of the TCI field all belong to the first common beam group or all belong to the second common beam group. The effect of this implementation can refer to the effect of the corresponding implementation in the first aspect above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0041] In another possible implementation, each piece of the first downlink control information includes a single transmission configuration indication (TCI) field. All field values ​​of the TCI field are divided into two parts. The common beams corresponding to the field values ​​in the first part of the two parts belong to the first common beam group, and the common beams corresponding to the field values ​​in the second part of the two parts belong to the second common beam group. The effects of this implementation can be referenced to the effects of the corresponding implementation in the first aspect above and are not further described here.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the first portion of field values ​​is the first half of all field values, and the second portion of field values ​​is the second half of all field values; or the first portion of field values ​​is the even field values ​​of all field values, and the second portion of field values ​​is the odd field values ​​of all field values; or the first portion of field values ​​is the first S field values ​​of all field values, and the second portion of field values ​​is the remaining field values ​​of all field values ​​excluding the first S field values, where S is an integer greater than 0. The effects of this implementation can refer to the effects of the corresponding implementation in the first aspect above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0043] It should be noted that in an embodiment of the present application, the value of S is equal to the number of beams in the first common beam group or the number of beams in the second common beam group, or the value of S is indicated by the fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information can be the second configuration information or the second MAC-CE information or the second downlink control information, or the value of S can be a value mutually agreed upon by the terminal device and the network device. This application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the second indication information includes a single first downlink control information, and the first downlink control information is used to indicate the two common beams. The implementation has the effects as described in the corresponding implementation of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0045] In the case that the second indication information sent by the network device to the terminal device includes a single downlink control information, the first downlink control information can be defined according to the rules in the following implementations:

[0046] In an implementation, the first downlink control information includes two TCI fields, one of the two TCI fields corresponds to a common beam belonging to the first common beam group, and the other of the two TCI fields corresponds to a common beam belonging to the second common beam group.

[0047] When the first condition is met, the first downlink control information includes the two TCI fields,

[0048] The first condition can include any one or more of the following:

[0049] (1) The first configuration information configures two sets of common beams of the same type;

[0050] (2) The first configuration information divides the common beams of the same type into two parts and configures them in two sets respectively;

[0051] (3) The first configuration information includes third indication information, the third indication information is used to indicate that the first downlink control information includes two field values, or the third indication information is used to indicate that the first downlink control information includes two TCI fields, or the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to use or maintain two common beams of the same type.

[0052] In another implementation, if the first condition is met, the first downlink control information includes only one TCI field.

[0053] The implementation has the effects as described in the corresponding implementation of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the first downlink control information includes a single TCI field, and one field value of the TCI field is used to indicate the two common beams, and the two common beams belong to the first common beam group and the second common beam group respectively. The implementation has the effects as described in the corresponding implementation of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0055] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device that can be applied to a terminal device and has the function of implementing the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The function can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions. For example, it includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit can also be called a communication unit or a transceiver module. The transceiver unit can specifically include a receiving unit and a sending unit, and the processing unit can also be called a processing module.

[0056] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device that can be applied to a network device and has the function of implementing the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. This function can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions. For example, it includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit can also be called a communication unit or a transceiver module. The transceiver unit can specifically include a receiving unit and a sending unit, and the processing unit can also be called a processing module.

[0057] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a processor and a memory. The memory stores a computer program or computer instructions, and the processor is configured to call and execute the computer program or computer instructions stored in the memory, so that the processor implements the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or implements the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0058] Optionally, the communication device further includes a transceiver, and the processor is used to control the transceiver to transmit and receive signals and / or information and / or data, etc.

[0059] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor. The processor is configured to call a computer program or computer instruction stored therein, so that the processor implements the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or the processor is configured to execute the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0060] Optionally, the communication device further includes a transceiver, and the processor is used to control the transceiver to transmit and receive signals and / or information and / or data, etc.

[0061] In a seventh aspect, the present application implements a communication device, which includes a processor, which is used to execute the first aspect or any possible implementation method of the first aspect, or the processor is used to execute the second aspect or any possible implementation method of the second aspect.

[0062] In an eighth aspect, the present application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when run on a computer, enables the computer to execute the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or enables the computer to execute the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0063] In the ninth aspect, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising computer instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or enable the computer to execute the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0064] In the tenth aspect, the present application also provides a chip device, including a processor, for calling a computer program or computer instruction in the memory so that the processor executes the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation method in the first aspect, or causes the processor to execute the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible implementation method in the second aspect.

[0065] Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory via an interface.

[0066] The technical effects that can be achieved by the above-mentioned third aspect or any possible implementation method of the third aspect can be achieved by referring to the description of the technical effects that can be achieved by the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation method of the first aspect; the technical effects that can be achieved by the above-mentioned fourth aspect or any possible implementation method of the fourth aspect can be achieved by referring to the description of the technical effects that can be achieved by the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible implementation method of the second aspect, and no further details will be given here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0067] Figure 1A A schematic diagram of a terminal device communicating with a network device using beamforming;

[0068] Figure 1B A schematic diagram of a process for indicating receive beam information to a terminal device through TCI-state;

[0069] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of application scenarios applicable to the two beam indication methods provided in the embodiments of the present application;

[0070] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of a beam indication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a specific example flow of a beam indication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] Figure 5 A schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0074] The embodiments of the present application provide a beam indication method and device, wherein the method and device are based on the same or similar technical concepts. Since the principles of solving problems by the method and device are similar, the implementation of the device and the method can refer to each other, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0075] Below, some terms used in the embodiments of the present application are first explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0076] 1) The beams involved in the embodiments of this application are a type of communication resource. A beam can be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or other types of beams. The beamforming technology can be beamforming or other techniques. Beamforming technologies can specifically include digital beamforming, analog beamforming, and hybrid digital / analog beamforming. Different beams can be considered different resources.

[0077] In the NR protocol, beam can be called spatial domain filter, spatial filter, spatial domain parameter, spatial parameter, spatial parameter, spatial domain setting, spatial setting, quasi-colocation (QCL) information, QCL assumption, or QCL indication, etc. The beam can be indicated by a transmission configuration indicator (TCI)-state (TCI-state) parameter, or by a spatial relation parameter. Therefore, in this application, beam can be replaced by spatial filter, spatial filter, spatial parameter, spatial parameter, spatial setting, spatial setting, QCL information, QCL assumption, QCL indication, TCI-state (including uplink TCI-state, downlink TCI-state), or spatial relationship, etc. The above terms are also equivalent to each other. Beam can also be replaced by other terms representing beams, which are not limited in this application.

[0078] A beam used to transmit a signal may be referred to as a transmission beam (Tx beam), a spatial domain transmission filter, a spatial transmission filter, a spatial transmission filter, a spatial domain transmission parameter, a spatial transmission parameter, a spatial domain transmission setting, or a spatial transmission setting. The downlink transmit beam may be indicated by a TCI-state.

[0079] The beam used to receive signals can be called a reception beam (Rx beam), a spatial domain reception filter, a spatial reception filter, a spatial domain reception parameter or a spatial reception parameter, a spatial domain reception setting, or a spatial reception setting. The uplink transmit beam can be indicated by any of the following: a spatial relationship, an uplink TCI-state, and an SRS resource (indicating a transmit beam using the SRS). Therefore, the uplink beam can also be replaced by an SRS resource.

[0080] The transmit beam may refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space after the signal is transmitted by the antenna, and the receive beam may refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space of the wireless signal received from the antenna.

[0081] Furthermore, the beam may be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or other types of beams. The beam forming technology may be beamforming technology or other technologies. The beamforming technology may specifically be digital beamforming technology, analog beamforming technology, hybrid digital beamforming technology, or hybrid analog beamforming technology.

[0082] Beams generally correspond to resources. For example, when performing beam measurement, network equipment uses different resources to measure different beams. The terminal device then provides feedback on the measured resource quality, allowing the network equipment to determine the quality of the corresponding beam. During data transmission, beam information is also indicated by its corresponding resource. For example, the network equipment uses the TCI field in the DCI to indicate the terminal device's physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) beam information.

[0083] Optionally, multiple beams with the same or similar communication characteristics may be considered a single beam. A beam may include one or more antenna ports for transmitting data channels, control channels, and sounding signals. The one or more antenna ports forming a beam may also be considered an antenna port set.

[0084] In the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, a beam refers to a transmission beam of a network device. In beam measurement, each beam of a network device corresponds to a resource, so the resource index can be used to uniquely identify the beam corresponding to the resource.

[0085] 2) Regarding the uplink beam involved in the embodiments of the present application, in the current protocol, the transmission beam of the uplink transmission can be indicated by a spatial relation, which has a function similar to TCI-state, and is used to inform the terminal device what transmission beam to use for uplink transmission.

[0086] Spatial relation needs to be configured through radio resource control (RRC) signaling. Its configuration structure is as follows: Figure 1BAs shown, it includes the ID of the spatial relation, the cell ID, the target reference signal resource, the path loss measurement reference signal, the power control parameters, etc. Among them, the target reference signal resource is used to indicate the corresponding uplink beam. If the uplink transmission adopts spatial relation#1, and the spatial relation#1 includes a target reference signal resource#2, it means that the transmission beam adopted for the uplink transmission is the transmission / reception beam of the target reference signal. For example, when the target reference signal resource is the uplink resource SRS, it means that the transmission beam adopted for the uplink transmission is the transmission beam of the SRS (the transmission beam of the SRS is known). For another example, the target reference signal resource is a downlink resource such as a synchronization signal block (SSB) / channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), which means that the transmission beam adopted for the uplink transmission is the reception beam of the SSB / CSI-RS (the reception beam of the SSB / CSI-RS is known).

[0087] The network equipment can configure multiple spatial relations for the terminal device. Then one of them is activated through MAC-CE for the corresponding data transmission. Uplink transmission includes physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), channel sounding reference signal (SRS), uplink physical shared channel (PUSCH), etc., all of which require corresponding spatial relations. The spatial relation of PUCCH is indicated by medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling. The spatial relation of SRS is also indicated by MAC-CE signaling. When PUSCH is transmitted, it will be associated with a specific SRS and use the spatial relation of the SRS for transmission.

[0088] 3) The downlink beam involved in the embodiments of the present application can be indicated by TCI-state.

[0089] Network equipment can generate different beams pointing to different transmission directions. In downlink data transmission, when the network device uses a specific beam to send data to the terminal device, it needs to inform the terminal device of the transmission beam information it uses, so that the terminal device can use the receiving beam corresponding to the transmission beam to receive the data sent by the network device. In the 3GPP R15 / R16 protocol, the network device indicates the relevant information of the transmission beam it uses to the terminal device through the TCI field in the downlink control information DCI. Specifically, the TCI field size is 3 bits and can specifically represent 8 different field values ​​(codepoints). Each value of the TCI field corresponds to an index of a TCI-state, and the TCI-state index can uniquely identify a TCI-state. The TCI-state includes several parameters, and the relevant information of the transmission beam can be determined by these parameters. The TCI-state is configured by the network device to each terminal device. Each TCI-state includes its own index tci-StateId and two QCL-Infos. Each QCL-Info includes a cell field and a BWP ID, which respectively indicate which cell and bandwidth part (BWP) the TCI-state applies to. That is, different cells or different BWPs of the same cell can be configured with different QCL-Info. QCL-Info also includes a reference signal (RS) to indicate which reference signal resource forms the QCL relationship. In the Release 15 / R16 protocol, the word "beam" generally does not appear directly; beam is generally replaced by other terms. For example, in data transmission and channel measurement, beams correspond to reference signal resources, with one beam corresponding to one reference signal resource. Therefore, when we say which reference signal resource forms the QCL relationship, we actually mean which beam forms the QCL relationship. A QCL relationship refers to two reference signal resources (or two antenna ports, where antenna ports and reference signal resources also have a one-to-one correspondence) having certain identical spatial parameters. The specific spatial parameters that are identical depend on the type of the QCL-Info, which is another field of the QCL-Info, qcl-Type. qcl-Type can have four values: {typeA, typeB, typeC, typeD}. For example, typeD indicates that two reference signal resources have the same spatial receive parameter information, that is, two beams have the same receive beam. Of the two QCL-Info values ​​included in the TCI-state, at most one can be of TypeD.

[0090] 4) The common beam involved in the embodiment of the present application refers to a beam indicated by the network device to the terminal device, and the beam can be used for multiple channels and / or reference signals at the same time. In the embodiment of the present application, the beam is referred to as a common beam, and it can also be other names. This application does not make specific restrictions, and the common beam can include an uplink common beam, a downlink common beam, and an uplink and downlink common beam. The uplink common beam can be used for the transmission of multiple uplink channels and / or uplink reference signals, and the downlink common beam can be used for the transmission of multiple downlink channels and / or downlink reference signals. The uplink and downlink common beams can be used for the transmission of multiple uplink channels and / or uplink reference signals, as well as multiple downlink channels and / or downlink reference signals, that is, the uplink and downlink common beams can be used for both uplink transmission and downlink transmission.

[0091] It should be noted that the above-mentioned common beam can specifically be TCI-state or other expressions, which are not specifically limited in this application. In addition, unless otherwise specified, the common beam in the embodiments of this application can generally refer to any one of the uplink common beam, downlink common beam, and uplink and downlink common beam.

[0092] (5) The antenna panel involved in the embodiments of the present application refers to an antenna panel, which can be an antenna panel of a network device or an antenna panel of a terminal device. An antenna panel generally has one or more antennas, which are arranged into an antenna array to perform beamforming, thereby forming a simulated beam. The antenna array can generate simulated beams pointing in different directions. That is, multiple simulated beams can be formed on each antenna panel, and beam measurement can be used to determine which simulated beam is best used by the antenna panel. The terminal device can be equipped with multiple antenna panels, which can be distributed in different positions and facing different directions. This can ensure that no matter which direction the terminal device faces, at least one antenna panel is facing the network device and can transmit data with the network device. The terminal device can turn on all antenna panels at the same time for transmission. Alternatively, in order to reduce the power consumption of the terminal device, the terminal device can also use only a single antenna panel for transmission at a time, and other unused antenna panels can be turned off. Whether the antenna panel of the terminal device is on or off generally needs to be notified to the network device, that is, the terminal device and the network device generally need to exchange antenna panel status information.

[0093] In the embodiments of the present application, if not specified, the antenna panel of the terminal device is the antenna panel. The antenna panel can also be represented by an antenna panel index and the like. In addition, the antenna panel can also be represented implicitly in other manners, for example, the antenna panel can also be represented by an antenna port (such as a CSI-RS port, an SRS port, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port, a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) port, a CRS port, a time-frequency tracking reference signal (TRS) port, an SSB port, and the like) or an antenna port group, and can also be represented by a resource (such as a CSI-RS resource, an SRS resource, a DMRS resource, a PTRS resource, a cell reference signal (CRS) resource, a TRS resource, an SSB resource, and the like) or a resource group, and can also be represented by a certain channel (such as a PUCCH, a PUSCH, a physical random access channel (PRACH), a PDSCH, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), and the like), and can also be represented by a beam, a QCL, a TCI-state, a spatial relation, or a certain index configured in the QCL, the TCI-state, or the spatial relation. The antenna panel can also be represented by a beam group, a QCL group, a TCI-state group, a spatial relation group, and the like. That is, the antenna panel / panel identifier described in the present application can be replaced by the identifier described above.

[0094] (6) In the embodiments of the present application, a plurality of refers to two or more. The “and / or” describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. The character “ / ” generally represents an “or” relationship between the front and rear associated objects. In addition, it should be understood that in the description of the present application, the words “first”, “second”, and the like are only used to distinguish the description purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor can it be understood as indicating or implying order.

[0095] (7) The terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof mentioned in the description of the embodiments of the present application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include other steps or units that are not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units that are inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete way.

[0096] The following is a brief introduction to existing technologies that use beamforming for communication.

[0097] In 5G communications, beams can be used for data transmission between base stations and terminal devices. The network device can decide which beam to use by itself, and the terminal device is instructed by the network device on which beam to use. For example, the network device sends a downlink control message to the terminal device. The downlink control message contains a transmission configuration number TCI field. The TCI field can be used to indicate a TCI-state. The TCI-state is used for uplink transmission or downlink transmission, and the TCI-state includes a target reference signal resource. When the TCI-state is used for downlink transmission, the terminal device uses the receiving beam corresponding to the target reference signal resource for reception. Since the receiving beam corresponding to the target reference signal resource has been determined by the terminal device, the network device can indicate the correct receiving beam to the terminal device. When the TCI-state is used for uplink transmission, the terminal device uses the transmitting beam corresponding to the target reference signal for transmission, or uses the receiving beam corresponding to the target reference signal for transmission.

[0098] For the transmission of multiple channels or reference signals, the network device can indicate one common beam for the terminal device to transmit, or can indicate multiple common beams for the terminal device to transmit. Figure 1A As shown, a network device (e.g., base station 1) sends a DCI to a terminal device to instruct the terminal device to use public beam 1. Base station 1 can use public beam 1 to transmit with the terminal device. When the terminal device moves, base station 1 sends another DCI to the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to use public beam 2 of the same type as public beam 1. The terminal device will then use public beam 2 to replace the previously used public beam 1, thereby subsequently using public beam 2 to transmit with the network device.

[0099] refer to Figure 1A As shown in the figure, when there are multiple base stations communicating with a terminal device, for example, base station 1 and base station 2 each need to use a public beam to transmit with the terminal device. However, when base station 1 or base station 2 indicates multiple public beams of the same type to the terminal device, the terminal device cannot determine whether the indicated multiple public beams of the same type correspond to the same base station. Therefore, the terminal device can usually only use one public beam from the same type of public beams for transmission, resulting in the terminal device being unable to communicate with multiple base stations at the same time.

[0100] Therefore, the present application provides a beam indication method, which includes: first, the terminal device receives first configuration information from the network device to configure M public beams of the same type, where M is an integer greater than 1; then, the terminal device receives first MAC-CE information from the network device to activate N public beams of the M public beams of the same type, and indicates that the N public beams are divided into a first public beam group and a second public beam group, where N is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to M; further, the terminal device receives one or more first downlink control information from the network device, and the one or more first downlink control information is used to indicate two public beams of the same type; finally, the terminal device can use one or two public beams to communicate with the network device according to the public beam groups to which the two public beams belong. In this method, the terminal device can accurately distinguish the public beam groups to which multiple public beams of the same type belong, that is, the corresponding network devices, so that one or more public beams of the same type can be used to communicate with the corresponding network device.

[0101] The following example describes how a network device based on the R15 / R16 protocol uses TCI-state to indicate the receive beam information of a data transmission beam to a terminal device. This process includes TCI-state configuration, TCI-state activation, and TCI-state indication.

[0102] TCI-state configuration: The network device configures multiple TCI-states to the terminal device through RRC configuration signaling. These TCI-states each include a QCL-Info of type D.

[0103] It should be noted that the network device can also be configured with multiple TCI-states, which do not include QCL-info of type D, but these TCI-states are not used for indication of data transmission beams and are not elaborated here.

[0104] TCI-state activation: The network device sends a medium access control-control unit MAC-CE to the terminal device. The MAC-CE is used to activate at least one TCI-state from the multiple TCI-states configured above. For example, Figure 1B As shown, 8 TCI-states are activated. The 8 TCI states correspond one-to-one to the 8 values ​​of the TCI field in the DCI. That is, the 8 values ​​of the TCI field in the DCI correspond to which 8 TCI-states can be determined by MAC-CE signaling. Figure 1B As shown, the MAC-CE structure for activating TCI-state is shown, wherein fields T0 to T(N-2)*8+7 correspond to the TCI-states with indexes of 0 to (N-2)*8+7 configured in the above steps respectively. The size of each field is 1 bit, and the value can be 0 or 1. When the value is 1, it means that the TCI-state is activated, and when the value is 0, it means that the TCI-state is not activated. Each MAC-CE can have 8 activation fields with a value of 1, and the rest are all 0. The TCI-state corresponding to the 8 fields with a value of 1 is the 8 TCI-state corresponding to the 8 values ​​of the TCI field in the DCI. For example, the minimum value of the TCI field, 000, corresponds to the TCI-state with the smallest index activated in the MAC-CE, and so on, one to one correspondence.

[0105] It should be noted that there are many types of MAC-CEs, including MAC-CEs for TCI-state activation and MAC-CEs for other purposes. Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments of this application only involve MAC-CEs for TCI-state / TCI-state combination activation.

[0106] TCI-state indication: The network device sends DCI to the terminal device, and indicates a specific TCI-state through the TCI field in the DCI. For example, the value of the TCI field in the DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device is 000, indicating that the data transmission beam adopts the TCI-state corresponding to 000. The referenceSignal contained in the QCL-Info corresponding to the typeD in the TCI-state is the channel state information-reference signal CSI-RS with an index of #1, indicating that the beam used for data transmission is the same as the receiving beam corresponding to the CSI-RS with an index of #1. The receiving beam corresponding to the CSI-RS with an index of #1 can be determined through the beam measurement process and is known on the terminal device side. Therefore, the terminal device can determine the receiving beam corresponding to the data transmission beam based on the specific value of the TCI field for receiving data.

[0107] Reference Figure 2 Fig. 1 shows a possible application scenario of a beam indication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, and reference is made to Figure 2 In Fig. 1(a), it is shown that in a communication system, one network device can send data or control signaling to one or more terminal devices. Reference is made to Figure 2 In Fig. 1(b), it is shown that in a communication system, multiple network devices can simultaneously send data or control signaling to one terminal device.

[0108] The network device involved in the embodiments of the present application can be a device in a wireless network. For example, the network device can be a device deployed in a radio access network to provide wireless communication functions for terminal devices. For example, the network device can be a radio access network (RAN) node that accesses terminal devices to a wireless network, which can also be referred to as an access network device.

[0109] The network device includes but is not limited to: an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., a home evolved Node B, or a home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WIFI) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP), or a transmission and reception point (TRP), etc., and can also be a network device in a 5G mobile communication system. For example, a next generation Node B (gNB), a TRP, a TP in an NR system; or, one or a group (including multiple antenna panels) of antenna panels of a base station in a 5G mobile communication system; or, the network device can also be a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point. For example, a BBU, or a distributed unit (DU), etc.

[0110] In some deployments, a gNB may include a centralized unit (CU) and a DU. The gNB may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some gNB functions, while the DU implements some gNB functions. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, implementing the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layers. The DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services, implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC), MAC, and physical (PHY) layers. The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, RF processing, and active antenna-related functions. RRC layer information ultimately becomes PHY layer information, or is converted from PHY layer information. Therefore, in this architecture, higher-layer signaling (such as RRC layer signaling) can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or by both the DU and the AAU. It is understood that a network device can be a device including one or more of a CU node, a DU node, and an AAU node. In addition, the CU may be divided into a network device in the RAN, or may be divided into a network device in the core network (CN), which is not limited in this application.

[0111] The terminal devices involved in the embodiments of the present application may be wireless terminal devices capable of receiving network device scheduling and instruction information. The terminal device may be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device with wireless connection capabilities, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem.

[0112] Terminal devices, also known as user equipment (UE), mobile stations (MS), and mobile terminals (MT), are devices that include wireless communication capabilities (providing voice / data connectivity to users). For example, they include handheld devices or vehicle-mounted devices with wireless connectivity. Currently, some examples of terminal devices include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in the Internet of Vehicles (IoV), wireless terminals in self-driving systems, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, and wireless terminals in smart homes. For example, wireless terminals in the IoV can be vehicle-mounted devices, complete vehicle equipment, vehicle-mounted modules, vehicles, etc. Wireless terminals in industrial control can be cameras, robots, etc. Wireless terminals in smart homes can be TVs, air conditioners, sweepers, speakers, set-top boxes, etc.

[0113] It should be noted that a beam indication method provided in an embodiment of the present application can be applied to various communication systems. For example, 5G system, new radio (NR) system, long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), mobile communication systems after 5G network (for example, 6G mobile communication system), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication system, etc.

[0114] like Figure 3 As shown, a flow chart of a beam indication method provided by an embodiment of the present application is provided. The method provided by the embodiment of the present application can be but is not limited to being applicable to Figure 2 The application scenario shown in Figure 2 is as follows. Figure 3 As shown, the process of the method includes:

[0115] S301: The network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device, where the first configuration information is used to configure M public beams of the same type, where M is an integer greater than 1.

[0116] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first configuration information from the network device.

[0117] Optionally, the first configuration information may be radio resource control RRC configuration signaling.

[0118] It should be noted that the public beams in this application may include three types of public beams: uplink public beams, downlink public beams, and uplink and downlink public beams. This application is not limited to any particular type of public beam, that is, the solution is applicable to all types of public beams.

[0119] S302: The network device sends a first indication message to the terminal device, where the first indication message is used to activate N public beams among the above-mentioned M public beams of the same type, and to indicate that the N public beams are divided into a first public beam group and a second public beam group, where N is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to M.

[0120] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information from the network device.

[0121] Optionally, the first indication information may be a first medium access control-control unit MAC-CE signaling. The network device may send a first MAC-CE signaling to the terminal device to activate N public beams among the above-mentioned M public beams of the same type, and may also send two first MAC-CE signaling to the terminal device, where one MAC-CE signaling is used to activate the first public beam group, and the other MAC-CE signaling is used to activate the second public beam group.

[0122] It should be noted that the present application can activate N public beams from the above-mentioned M public beams of the same type through MAC-CE signaling, and can also activate the N public beams through other signaling or methods. The present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0123] In one embodiment, the N common beams activated by one MAC-CE signaling are divided into a first common beam group and a second common beam group, which may include but are not limited to the following two grouping methods:

[0124] The first grouping manner: the first common beam group comprises the first half of the N common beams, and the second common beam group comprises the second half of the N common beams; or the first common beam group comprises the second half of the N common beams, and the second common beam group comprises the first half of the N common beams.

[0125] The second grouping manner: the first common beam group comprises the common beams with odd arrangement serial numbers, and the second common beam group comprises the common beams with even arrangement serial numbers; or the first common beam group comprises the common beams with even arrangement serial numbers, and the second common beam group comprises the common beams with odd arrangement serial numbers.

[0126] It should be noted that the application does not limit the grouping of the activated N common beams into the first common beam group and the second common beam group to the above two grouping manners, and other grouping manners can also be included. Details are described in the specific embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0127] In addition, after the common beams are activated by the first indication information in the step S302, the grouping of the activated common beams can also be indicated by the following second indication information, or other similar indication information, which is not limited in the application. Moreover, in the step S302, the M common beams of the same type can be grouped first, and then the grouped common beams are activated, which is also not limited in the application.

[0128] S303: The network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, and the second indication information is used to indicate two common beams.

[0129] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second indication information from the network device.

[0130] Optionally, the two common beams belong to the first common beam group and the second common beam group respectively, or the two common beams belong to the first common beam group, or the two common beams belong to the second common beam group. It should be understood that the two common beams in the application are common beams of the same type.

[0131] If the two common beams belong to different common beam groups, the terminal device uses the two common beams to communicate with the network device. If the two common beams belong to the same common beam group, the terminal device uses one of the two common beams to communicate with the network device, for example, uses the common beam indicated later or takes effect later to communicate with the network device.

[0132] It should be noted that, under normal circumstances, after the terminal device receives the second indication information indicating a public beam, the public beam needs to take some time to take effect. Therefore, the public beam that takes effect later mentioned above refers to the beam that takes effect later.

[0133] In one embodiment, when the network device sends the second indication information to the terminal device, the following two situations may be specifically included:

[0134] The first case: the second indication information includes two first downlink control information, namely, the first first downlink control information and the second first downlink control information, and each first downlink control information is used to indicate one common beam of the two common beams.

[0135] Optionally, the first first downlink control information and the second first downlink control information may be DCI.

[0136] Based on the first case, each first downlink control information may be configured in the following two forms:

[0137] The first form: each first downlink control information may include a single transmission configuration indication TCI field, and the single TCI field in each first downlink control information corresponds to the first common beam group or the second common beam group, that is, all the public beams corresponding to all field values ​​of the TCI field belong to the first common beam group, or all the public beams corresponding to all field values ​​of the TCI field belong to the second common beam group.

[0138] Specifically, distinguishing whether the common beam corresponding to the TCI field in each first downlink control information belongs to the first common beam group or the second common beam group may include but is not limited to the following indication methods:

[0139] The first indication method: a first field in the first downlink control information can be used to indicate that the common beams corresponding to the field value of the TCI field all belong to the first common beam group or all belong to the second common beam group.

[0140] The first field in each first downlink control information is different from the TCI field in the first downlink control information and may be a preset dedicated field.

[0141] For example, the first downlink control information includes a first TCI field, and a preset field in the first downlink control information indicates that the public beams corresponding to the field value of the first TCI field all belong to the first public beam group, or a preset field in the first downlink control information indicates that the public beams corresponding to the field value of the first TCI field all belong to the second public beam group.

[0142] The second indication method: a part of the bits of the TCI field in the first downlink control information can be used to indicate that the common beams indicated by the TCI field all belong to the first common beam group or all belong to the second common beam group.

[0143] For example, the first downlink control information includes a first TCI field, which is 4 bits long. The first bit is used to indicate whether the common beam indicated by the TCI field belongs to the first common beam group or the second common beam group. The remaining three bits are used to indicate a specific common beam.

[0144] The third indication method: The control resource set group identifier corresponding to the first downlink control information can be used to indicate whether the common beams indicated by the TCI field in the downlink control information all belong to the first common beam group or all belong to the second common beam group. Specifically, the above-mentioned common beam group is associated with a specific control resource set group identifier. Therefore, the first common beam group and the second common beam group are respectively associated with a different control resource set group identifier. In addition, the first downlink control information is also associated with a specific control resource set group identifier. Therefore, the first first downlink control information and the second first downlink control information are respectively associated with a different control resource set group identifier. The first downlink control information and the common beam group associated with the same control resource set group identifier correspond to each other. The common beam indicated by a first downlink control information belongs to the common beam group corresponding to the first downlink control information. The first downlink control information is also associated with a specific control resource set group identifier. It can be understood that the first downlink control information is carried by the PDCCH corresponding to the control resource set corresponding to the specific control resource set group identifier.

[0145] For example, if the control resource set grouping identifier corresponding to a first downlink control information is 0, then all the common beams indicated by the TCI field in the first downlink control information belong to the first common beam group; if the control resource set grouping identifier corresponding to the first downlink control information is 1, then all the common beams indicated by the TCI field in the first downlink control information belong to the second common beam group.

[0146] Under the above three indication methods, when executing the following step S303, the terminal device can determine whether the indicated common beam belongs to the first common beam group or the second common beam group based on a first field in each first downlink control information or a part of the bits of the TCI field or the corresponding control resource set group identifier.

[0147] Exemplarily, based on the first form, the network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information includes two first downlink control information, namely: the first first downlink control information and the second first downlink control information.

[0148] The terminal device determines, based on a first field or a portion of bits of the TCI field in the first first downlink control information or a corresponding control resource set group identifier, that the TCI field in the first first downlink control information corresponds to the first common beam group. The terminal device determines, based on a first field or a portion of bits of the TCI field in the second first downlink control information or a corresponding control resource set group identifier, that the TCI field in the second first downlink control information corresponds to the second common beam group.

[0149] Therefore, if the terminal device receives two first downlink control information, it determines that a field value of the TCI field in the first first downlink control information indicates one of the above-mentioned two public beams, and a field value of the TCI field in the second first downlink control information indicates the other public beam of the above-mentioned two public beams, then the terminal device can determine that the two indicated public beams belong to the first public beam group and the second public beam group respectively, so that the terminal device will use the two public beams to communicate with the corresponding network devices respectively.

[0150] If, after receiving two first downlink control messages, the terminal device determines that the two field values ​​of the TCI field in the first first downlink control message respectively indicate the above-mentioned two public beams, then the terminal device determines that the two public beams both belong to the first public beam group; if, after receiving two first downlink control messages, the terminal device determines that the two field values ​​of the TCI field in the second first downlink control message respectively indicate the above-mentioned two public beams, then the terminal device determines that the two public beams both belong to the second public beam group. Therefore, when the terminal device determines that the above-mentioned two public beams both belong to the same public beam group (the first public beam group or the second public beam group), the terminal device uses one of the two public beams to communicate with the network device.

[0151] The second form: Each first downlink control information includes a single transmission configuration indication TCI field, and all field values ​​of the TCI field are divided into two parts. The public beam corresponding to the first part of the field values ​​of the two parts belongs to the first public beam group, and the public beam corresponding to the second part of the field values ​​of the two parts belongs to the second public beam group.

[0152] For example, a first downlink control information includes a first TCI field, and the first TCI field includes 8 field values. The 8 field values ​​are divided into two parts. The public beams corresponding to the field values ​​in one part all belong to the first public beam group, and the public beams corresponding to the field values ​​in the other part all belong to the second public beam group. For example, the public beams indicated by the field values ​​in the first part all belong to the first public beam group, and the public beams indicated by the field values ​​in the second part all belong to the second public beam group; or, the public beams indicated by the field values ​​in the first part all belong to the second public beam group, and the public beams indicated by the field values ​​in the second part all belong to the first public beam group.

[0153] Specifically, all field values ​​of the TCI field in each first downlink control information are divided into two parts, which may include but are not limited to the following three division methods:

[0154] The first division method: the first half of all field values ​​of the TCI field are used as the first part of the field values, and the second half of all field values ​​of the TCI field are used as the second part of the field values.

[0155] The second division method: the even-numbered field values ​​in all field values ​​of the TCI field are used as the first part of the field values, and the odd-numbered field values ​​in all field values ​​of the TCI field are used as the second part of the field values.

[0156] The third division method: the first S field values ​​of all field values ​​of the TCI field are used as the first part of the field values, and the remaining field values ​​of all field values ​​of the TCI field except the first S field values ​​are used as the second part of the field values; S is a positive integer value greater than 0.

[0157] In an embodiment of the present application, the value of S is equal to the number of beams in the first common beam group or the number of beams in the second common beam group, or the value of S is indicated by a fourth indication information, which may be the second configuration information or the second MAC-CE information or the second downlink control information, or the value of S may be a value mutually agreed upon by the terminal device and the network device, and this application does not make any specific limitation on this.

[0158] It should be noted that the second configuration information may be RRC configuration signaling, the second configuration information and the first configuration information may be of the same type, the second configuration information may be the first configuration information, or may be configuration information different from the first configuration information, or may be other configuration information. Similarly, the second MAC-CE signaling may be the same as or different from the first MAC-CE signaling included in the first indication information, and this application does not make any specific limitations on this.

[0159] Therefore, based on the second form, when the terminal device executes S304, the terminal device determines which field value in the downlink control information the two common beams indicated by the above-mentioned second indication information correspond to, and then determines which partial field value the field value corresponds to, and further determines which public beam group the partial field value corresponds to, so as to determine in which public beam group the two common beams are located.

[0160] For example, the terminal device receives two DCIs from the network device, namely DCI1 signaling and DCI2 signaling, the DCI1 signaling indicates the first public beam, and the DCI2 signaling indicates the second public beam. If the terminal device determines that the first public beam corresponds to the first part of the field value of the TCI field of the DCI1 signaling, and the public beams corresponding to the first part of the field value of the TCI field of the DCI1 signaling all belong to the first public beam group, then the terminal device can determine that the first public beam indicated by the DCI1 signaling belongs to the first public beam group. If the terminal device determines that the second public beam corresponds to the second part of the field value of the TCI field of the DCI2 signaling, and the public beams corresponding to the second part of the field value of the TCI field of the DCI2 signaling all belong to the second public beam group, then the terminal device can determine that the second public beam indicated by the DCI2 signaling belongs to the second public beam group. At this time, the terminal device determines that the first public beam and the second public beam are not in the same public beam group, so that the terminal device uses the two public beams to communicate with the corresponding network devices respectively.

[0161] It should be understood that the first common beam and the second common beam are two common beams indicated by the second indication information.

[0162] The second case: the second indication information includes a first downlink control information, and the first downlink control information is used to indicate the above two common beams.

[0163] Based on the second situation, the first downlink control information can be configured in the following two forms:

[0164] The first form: the first downlink control information includes two TCI fields, one of the two TCI fields indicates that the common beam belongs to the first common beam group, and the other of the two TCI fields indicates that the common beam belongs to the second common beam group.

[0165] Optionally, only when the first condition is met, the first downlink control information includes two TCI fields. When the first condition is not met, the first downlink control information includes only one TCI field in the downlink control information.

[0166] The first condition may include, but is not limited to, any one or more of the following:

[0167] (1) The first configuration information configures two common beam sets of the same type;

[0168] It should be noted that the two common beam sets of the same type may be related to the first common beam group and the second common beam group, that is, one common beam group corresponds to a subset of one common beam set, or they may be unrelated.

[0169] (2) In the first configuration information, the common beams of the same type are divided into two parts and configured in two sets respectively;

[0170] For example, for 8 uplink common beams, the 8 uplink common beams are divided into two parts, the uplink common beams of the first part are configured in the first set, and the uplink common beams of the second part are configured in the second set. For 8 downlink common beams, the 8 downlink common beams are also divided into two parts, the downlink common beams of the first part can also be configured in the first set, and the downlink common beams of the second part can be configured in the second set. For 8 uplink and downlink common beams, the 8 uplink and downlink common beams are also divided into two parts, the uplink and downlink common beams of the first part can be configured in the first set, and the uplink and downlink common beams of the second part can be configured in the second set. Therefore, each of the above two sets may not be limited to including one type of common beam, but may also include multiple types of common beams, and the two sets may be used by two network devices respectively.

[0171] It should be noted that the first common beam group and the second common beam group mentioned above can be subsets of the two sets respectively. For example, the first common beam group is a subset of the first set, and the second common beam group is a subset of the second set.

[0172] (3) The first configuration information includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the number of field values ​​included in the first downlink control information is 2, or the third indication information is used to indicate that there are two TCI fields in the first downlink control information, or the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to adopt or maintain two common beams of the same type.

[0173] Exemplarily, the third indication information may include the value of the first parameter. For example, when the value of the first parameter is 2, the third indication information indicates that the number of field values ​​included in the first downlink control information is 2. Alternatively, when the value of the first parameter is 1, the third indication information is used to indicate that there are two TCI fields in the first downlink control information. Alternatively, when the value of the first parameter is 1, the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to adopt or maintain two common beams of the same type.

[0174] It should be noted that when the first condition is used, the value of the first parameter is 1, and the third indication information is used to indicate that two TCI fields exist in the first downlink control information. However, when the first condition is not used, the value of the first parameter may also be 0, and the third indication information may also be used to indicate that two TCI fields do not exist in the first downlink control information.

[0175] Similarly, when used as the first condition, the value of the first parameter is 1, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to adopt or maintain two public beams of the same type. However, when not used as the first condition, the value of the first parameter can also be 0, and the third indication information can also be used to indicate that the terminal device does not need to adopt or maintain two public beams of the same type.

[0176] Therefore, based on the first form, the terminal device first determines whether the first configuration information in step S301 satisfies the first condition. If the first condition is satisfied, it indicates that the received downlink control information includes two TCI fields, where the first TCI field corresponds to the first common beam group, and the second TCI field corresponds to the second common beam group. When executing step S304, the following steps may be specifically included:

[0177] If the terminal device determines that the two common beams indicated by the first downlink control information are specifically indicated by the first TCI field and the second TCI field in the first downlink control information, respectively, that the two common beams belong to the first common beam group and the second common beam group, respectively. In this case, the terminal device uses the two common beams to communicate with the corresponding network devices respectively.

[0178] If the two common beams indicated by the first downlink control information are indicated by the same TCI field in the first downlink control information, the terminal device can determine that the two common beams belong to the same common beam group, i.e., the first common beam group or the second common beam group. In this case, the terminal device uses one common beam to communicate with the network device.

[0179] For example, when the terminal device receives a DCI from the network device, first, the terminal device determines whether the first configuration information received in step S301 satisfies the first condition described above. If the first condition is satisfied, it means that the DCI includes two TCI fields, i.e., a first TCI field corresponds to a first common beam group (the first common beam group corresponds to a first network device), and a second TCI field corresponds to a second common beam group (the second common beam group corresponds to a second network device). Further, the terminal device determines that the first TCI field indicates a first common beam and the second TCI field indicates a second common beam, so that the first common beam and the second common beam can be determined to belong to the first common beam group and the second common beam group respectively, i.e., not in the same common beam group. When performing the following step S304, the terminal device uses the first common beam to communicate with the first network device and uses the second common beam to communicate with the second network device.

[0180] It should be understood that the first common beam and the second common beam described above are two common beams indicated by the second indication information.

[0181] The second form: the first downlink control information includes a single TCI field, and a field value of the TCI field can be directly used to indicate the two common beams described above, and the two common beams belong to the first common beam group and the second common beam group respectively. It should be understood that the field value of the TCI field can be a field value preset or specified in advance.

[0182] It should be noted that in the second form described above, in addition to the field value of the TCI field being able to indicate the two common beams described above at the same time, the two field values of the TCI field can also be used to indicate the two common beams described above respectively, which is not limited in the present application.

[0183] Based on the second form, when performing the following step S304, as long as the terminal device determines that the downlink control information received includes a field value of the TCI field, it can be determined that the two common beams indicated by the field value belong to the first common beam group and the second common beam group respectively, so that the two common beams are used to communicate with the corresponding network device respectively.

[0184] For example, when the network device determines to use two common beams of the same type (i.e., the first common beam and the second common beam) for communication, it sends a DCI to the terminal device, and indicates to the terminal device to use the two common beams of the same type through a field value of a TCI field in the DCI. The terminal device uses the two common beams of the same type indicated by the DCI to communicate with the corresponding network device respectively.

[0185] S304: The terminal device communicates with the network device using one or two public beams according to the public beam group to which the two public beams belong.

[0186] In one embodiment, the terminal device communicates with the network device using one or two public beams according to the public beam groups to which the two public beams belong. Specifically, the communication may include the following two situations:

[0187] The first communication situation: the terminal device determines that the two public beams belong to the first public beam group and the second public beam group respectively, and the terminal device uses the two public beams to communicate with the network device.

[0188] For example, if the terminal device determines that the first public beam belongs to the first public beam group and the second public beam belongs to the second public beam group, and that the first public beam group corresponds to use by the first network device and the second public beam group corresponds to use by the second network device, the terminal device uses the first public beam to communicate with the first network device and uses the second public beam to communicate with the second network device.

[0189] In a second communication scenario, the terminal device determines that both common beams belong to the first common beam group or the second common beam group, and uses one of the two common beams to communicate with the network device. For example, the terminal device uses the public beam that was indicated later or took effect later of the two common beams to communicate with the network device.

[0190] For example, the terminal device determines that the first public beam and the second public beam belong to the same public beam group, and the indication time or effective time of the second public beam is later, then the terminal device uses the second public beam to communicate with the network device.

[0191] It should be noted that the public beam group formed in step S302 usually corresponds to one network device. When the terminal device determines that the two public beams of the same type belong to the same public beam group, the terminal device only needs to use one of the public beams for communication.

[0192] In summary, the present application provides a beam indication method, which includes: first, the terminal device receives first configuration information from the network device to configure M public beams of the same type, where M is an integer greater than 1; then, the terminal device receives first MAC-CE information from the network device to activate N public beams of the M public beams of the same type, and indicates that the N public beams are divided into a first public beam group and a second public beam group, where N is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to M; further, the terminal device receives one or more first downlink control information from the network device, and the one or more first downlink control information is used to indicate two public beams of the same type, each public beam belonging to the first public beam group or the second public beam group; finally, the terminal device can use one or two public beams to communicate with the network device according to the public beam group to which the two public beams belong. In this method, the terminal device can accurately distinguish the public beam groups to which multiple public beams of the same type belong, that is, the corresponding network devices, so that one or more public beams of the same type can be used to communicate with the corresponding network device.

[0193] Based on the beam indication method provided in the above embodiment, the present application further provides the following specific embodiments according to the method to illustrate the technical solution of the present application in detail. Figure 4 As shown, the specific method flow of this embodiment is as follows:

[0194] S401: The network device sends RRC configuration signaling to the terminal device.

[0195] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the RRC configuration signaling, which can be used to configure M public beams of the same type, where M is an integer greater than 1.

[0196] Optionally, the RRC configuration signaling may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following common beam-related configuration information:

[0197] 1) Information of one or more common beams, such as the index or identifier of the common beam.

[0198] 2) The correspondence information between the public beam set and the network equipment (such as base station).

[0199] 3) The number of common beam sets of the same type.

[0200] 4) A second parameter is used to configure the number of public beams of the same type that can be used by the terminal device. Specifically, the second parameter is used to configure the number of downlink public beams that can be used by the terminal device, or the second parameter is used to configure the number of uplink public beams that can be used by the terminal device, or the second parameter is used to configure the number of uplink and downlink public beams that can be used by the terminal device.

[0201] For example, when the number of downlink common beam sets configured by the network device for the terminal device is 2, the terminal device needs to use two downlink common beams at the same time or two downlink common beams are effective at the same time. When the number of uplink common beam sets configured by the network device for the terminal device is 2, the terminal device needs to use two uplink common beams at the same time or two uplink common beams are effective at the same time. When the number of uplink and downlink common beam sets configured by the network device for the terminal device is 2, the terminal device needs to use two uplink and downlink common beams at the same time or two uplink and downlink common beams can be effective at the same time.

[0202] It should be noted that in step S401, a network device may send one or more RRC configuration signalings to the terminal device to configure the above-mentioned M public beams of the same type for the terminal device, or multiple network devices may each send an RRC configuration signaling to the terminal device to configure the above-mentioned M public beams of the same type for the terminal device. This application does not make specific limitations on this. In addition, in practice, the network device may also configure different types of public beams for the terminal device through RRC configuration signaling.

[0203] In this embodiment, the above-mentioned M public beams of the same type can be configured in the same public beam set or in different public beam sets. When the public beams of different network devices (such as base stations) are configured in different sets, the terminal device can distinguish the network devices (base stations) corresponding to different public beam sets. When different public beams are configured in different sets, since the indexes of the public beams in different public beam sets are different, the terminal device can determine the set of public beams corresponding to the public beam by the index of the public beam. In addition, the terminal device can also determine the number of public beams that need to be adopted based on the number of public beam sets of the same type, or determine the number of public beams of this type that can be effective at the same time. For example, when the configuration information includes two downlink public beam sets, the terminal device can determine that two downlink public beams need to be used.

[0204] In addition, the common beam in this embodiment can be an uplink common beam, a downlink common beam, or an uplink and downlink common beam. This application does not specifically limit the type of the common beam.

[0205] Exemplarily, the network device sends RRC configuration signaling to the terminal device, where the RRC configuration signaling is used to configure M TCI-states, i.e., M downlink beams, where M is an integer greater than 1, and the M TCI-states each include a QCL-Info of type D.

[0206] It should be understood that step S401 is the same as the above Figure 3The RRC configuration signaling in step S401 corresponds to the first configuration information in step S301, and the two can refer to each other. For example, the RRC configuration signaling in step S401 corresponds to the first configuration information in step S301.

[0207] S402: The network device sends MAC-CE signaling to the terminal device.

[0208] Correspondingly, the network device receives the MAC-CE signaling.

[0209] Specifically, the first MAC-CE signaling is used to activate N public beams from the M public beams of the same type configured above, and to indicate that the N public beams are divided into a first public beam group and a second public beam group, where N is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to M.

[0210] It should be noted that if in the above step S302, after the network device configures different types of public beams for the terminal device, the network device sends MAC-CE signaling to the terminal device, the MAC-CE signaling can activate only one type of public beam from the configured different types of public beams, or can activate multiple types of public beams. After the MAC-CE signaling activates the same type of public beams from the configured different types of public beams, it further indicates that the activated public beams of the same type are divided into two groups, namely the first public beam group and the second public beam group. For example, 8 uplink common beams are activated through the MAC-CE signaling, and the 8 uplink common beams are divided into two public beam groups, and each first public beam group corresponds to a network device, such as a base station.

[0211] In addition, the embodiment of the present application is described as dividing the activated public beams of the same type into two groups. It may be divided into three groups, four groups, etc. according to the number of network devices actually communicating. It will not be elaborated here.

[0212] When a terminal device receives DCI from a network device, it can determine which public beam group the public beam indicated by the DCI belongs to, thereby determining the network device (such as a base station) corresponding to the indicated public beam group.

[0213] Exemplarily, the network device sends RRC configuration signaling to the terminal device, where the RRC configuration signaling indicates that a common beam set is configured for the terminal device, where the common beam set includes 64 common beams of the same type. The network device then sends MAC-CE signaling to the terminal device, where the MAC-CE signaling indicates that eight common beams are activated from the common beam set, where the eight common beams correspond to eight field values ​​of the TCI field in the DCI. Therefore, when the DCI received by the terminal device indicates one of these field values, the terminal device can determine which common beam the DCI indicates based on the correspondence between the eight activated common beams and the eight field values ​​of the eight TCI fields in the DCI.

[0214] Specifically, MAC-CE signaling is used to further indicate how to group the N activated common beams, which may include but is not limited to the following grouping methods:

[0215] The first grouping method: for the same type of common beams, they are divided into two groups, that is, the first half of the common beams in the N common beams are used as the first common beam group, and the second half of the common beams in the N common beams are used as the second common beam group.

[0216] For example, the activated common beams include four downlink common beams, namely downlink common beam #1, downlink common beam #2, downlink common beam #3, and downlink common beam #4. Downlink common beam #1 and downlink common beam #2 are used as the first common beam group, and downlink common beam #3 and downlink common beam #4 are used as the second common beam group.

[0217] The second grouping method: grouping according to the parity of the arrangement number of the common beams, that is, the common beams with odd arrangement numbers are used as the first common beam group, and the common beams with even arrangement numbers are used as the second common beam group; or the common beams with even arrangement numbers are used as the first common beam group, and the common beams with odd arrangement numbers are used as the second common beam group.

[0218] For example, the activated common beams include four downlink common beams, which are numbered as follows: downlink common beam #1, downlink common beam #2, downlink common beam #3, and downlink common beam #4. Downlink common beam #1 and downlink common beam #3, which have odd numbers, are considered the first common beam group, and downlink common beam #2 and downlink common beam #4, which have even numbers, are considered the second common beam group.

[0219] The third grouping method: For each activated common beam, a field in the MAC-CE signaling indicates the grouping to which the common beam corresponds. For example, a single bit is used. If the bit value in the MAC-CE signaling corresponding to the common beam is 0, it indicates that the common beam corresponds to the first common beam group; if the bit value in the MAC-CE signaling corresponding to the common beam is 1, it indicates that the common beam corresponds to the second common beam group.

[0220] For example, the activated common beams include four downlink common beams: downlink common beam #1, downlink common beam #2, downlink common beam #3, and downlink common beam #4. The bit values ​​corresponding to downlink common beam #1, downlink common beam #2, and downlink common beam #3 in the MAC-CE signaling are all 0, while the bit value corresponding to downlink common beam #4 in the MAC-CE signaling is 1. In this case, downlink common beam #1, downlink common beam #2, and downlink common beam #3 are considered the first common beam group, and downlink common beam #4 is considered the second common beam group.

[0221] Fourth grouping method: The first X common beams are used as the first common beam group, and the last Y common beams are used as the second common beam group. The number of X and Y can be indicated by a field in the MAC-CE. Alternatively, if X + Y is a fixed value, one of X or Y can be indicated by a field in the MAC-CE signaling, and the terminal device can calculate the other value.

[0222] For example, the activated common beams include four downlink common beams, namely downlink common beam #1, downlink common beam #2, downlink common beam #3, and downlink common beam #4. If the first field in the MAC-CE signaling indicates that X is 3, and the second field in the MAC-CE indicates that Y is 1, then the three downlink common beams of downlink common beam #1, downlink common beam #2, and downlink common beam #3 are used as the first common beam group, and downlink common beam #4 is used as the second common beam group. Or when it is determined that the total number of downlink common beams is 4, a field in the MAC-CE signaling indicates that X is 3, and the terminal device can calculate that Y is 1, then the three downlink common beams of downlink common beam #1, downlink common beam #2, and downlink common beam #3 are used as the first common beam group, and downlink common beam #4 is used as the second common beam group.

[0223] It should be noted that when MAC-CE signaling indicates both an uplink common beam and a downlink common beam, an uplink common beam and a downlink common beam can be bound together as a common beam pair. Furthermore, multiple common beam pairs can be grouped through MAC-CE signaling.

[0224] It should be understood that the common beam pairs in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of description, but it is not limited to that each common beam pair must include an uplink common beam and a downlink common beam. A common beam pair may also include only one uplink common beam, or only one downlink common beam. The present application does not make any specific limitations on the common beam pairs.

[0225] In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, in order to simplify the names, a group of common beams is referred to as a first common beam group, and a group of common beam pairs is referred to as a second common beam group.

[0226] Exemplarily, the present application groups common beam pairs for MAC-CE signaling, which may specifically include but is not limited to the following methods:

[0227] The first grouping method: All common beam pairs are divided into two groups, that is, the first half is one group and the second half is another group. For details, please refer to the first grouping method for grouping common beams above, which will not be described in detail here.

[0228] The second grouping method: Group all common beam pairs based on the parity of their index numbers. That is, common beam pairs with odd index numbers are grouped together, and common beam pairs with even index numbers are grouped together. For details, refer to the second grouping method for grouping common beams described above and will not be detailed here.

[0229] Third grouping method: For each common beam pair, a field in the MAC-CE signaling indicates the group to which the common beam pair corresponds. For example, a single bit is used for indication. A bit value of 0 in the MAC-CE signaling corresponding to the common beam pair indicates that the common beam pair corresponds to the first group, while a bit value of 1 in the MAC-CE signaling corresponding to the common beam pair indicates that the common beam pair corresponds to the second group. For details, please refer to the third grouping method for grouping common beams described above and will not be further described here.

[0230] Fourth grouping method: The first Z common beam pairs are grouped as the first group, and the last W common beam pairs are grouped as the second group. The number of Z and W can be indicated by a field in the MAC-CE. Alternatively, if Z + W is fixed, a field in the MAC-CE signaling indicates one of the values ​​of Z or W, and the terminal device can calculate the other value. For details, refer to the fourth grouping method for grouping common beams described above and will not be detailed here.

[0231] It should be noted that the above methods can all activate a common beam set through a MAC-CE signaling to obtain multiple groups of common beams (each group of common beams can be represented as a first common beam group) or multiple groups of common beam pairs (each group of common beam pairs can be represented as a second common beam group).

[0232] Each common beam group or multiple common beam pairs can correspond to different DCIs, or to different TCI fields of the same DCI, or to different field values ​​of the same TCI field. Therefore, through this mapping relationship, in step S403 below, when the terminal device receives DCI from the network device, it can determine, through the DCI, which common beam group the indicated common beam belongs to.

[0233] In an embodiment of the present application, multiple MAC-CE signalings can also be used to respectively activate a group of common beams or a group of common beam pairs. For example, the terminal device can receive two MAC-CE signalings from the network device, and respectively activate a group of common beams or a group of common beam pairs through the two MAC-CE signalings. And the multiple groups of common beams or common beam pairs respectively activated by multiple MAC-CE signalings correspond to different DCIs, or to different TCI fields of the same DCI, or to different field values ​​of the same TCI field. Therefore, the terminal device can determine the DCI corresponding to a group of common beams or common beam pairs activated by different MAC-CE signalings, or the TCI field in the same DCI, or the partial field value of the same TCI field, through the logical channel identifier of the MAC-CE signaling or a first field in the MAC-CE signaling.

[0234] It should be noted that in this application, the terminal device can receive multiple MAC-CE signaling from the same network device, or can receive one MAC-CE signaling from multiple network devices respectively. This application does not make specific restrictions on this.

[0235] S403: The network device sends a DCI to the terminal device, where the DCI is used to indicate two common beams.

[0236] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the DCI.

[0237] It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the DCI is used to indicate that the two common beams are common beams of the same type.

[0238] Optionally, the terminal device can receive two DCIs from one network device, or receive one DCI from each of two network devices, and each DCI can indicate a common beam; or the terminal device can receive one DCI from the network device, and the DCI is used to indicate the two common beams. For example, the two common beams can be indicated respectively by two TCI fields in the DCI, that is, one TCI field corresponds to indicating one common beam.

[0239] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, the DCI may indicate only one type of common beam, or may indicate multiple types of common beams, or may simultaneously indicate an uplink common beam and a downlink common beam by indicating a common beam pair. For example, a field value of the TCI field in the DCI corresponds to an indication of a common beam pair, and the common beam pair may include an uplink common beam and a downlink common beam, or may include only one uplink common beam, or may include only one downlink common beam.

[0240] In an embodiment of the present application, for the same type of public beam, the DCI may indicate only one public beam in the same type of public beam, or may indicate multiple public beams in the same type of public beam. For example, when the DCI indicates two public beams of the same type, it may indicate that the terminal device may need to communicate with the network device using two public beams of the same type. In addition, the DCI may also indicate a public beam pair. The DCI may indicate only one public beam pair or multiple public beam pairs. This application does not make any specific limitations on this.

[0241] For example, this application provides specific instructions for DCI, including but not limited to the following instructions:

[0242] The first indication method: the terminal device receives a DCI from the network device, and the DCI includes two TCI fields, that is, the two TCI fields can be represented as two subfields of a TCI field.

[0243] It should be noted that, of the two TCI fields in the DCI, the first TCI field always exists, and the existence of the second TCI field is determined by the RRC configuration signaling. When multiple common beam sets of the same type are configured, for example, two common beam sets, the second TCI field exists. When only one common beam set of the same type is configured, the second TCI field does not exist. Alternatively, the terminal device can also determine whether the second TCI field exists based on the value of the parameter M or N or L included in the RRC configuration signaling. For example, if the value of the parameter M or N or L is configured to 2, it means that the second TCI field exists. When the value of the parameter M or N or L is configured to 1, it means that the second TCI field does not exist. Alternatively, the network device can directly indicate whether the second TCI field exists through a parameter of an RRC configuration signaling.

[0244] The two TCI fields in this DCI correspond to one of the two first common beam groups (common beam groups) or two second common beam pairs (common beam pair groups) activated by MAC-CE signaling. Specifically, the first TCI field corresponds to one first common beam group #1 or second common beam group #2, and the second TCI field corresponds to another second common beam group #2 or first common beam group #1.

[0245] Or the two TCI fields in the DCI correspond to two sets of the same type of common beams configured by RRC configuration signaling.

[0246] For example, the RRC configuration signaling configures two uplink and downlink common beam sets, and the two TCI fields in the DCI correspond to the two uplink and downlink common beam sets respectively. Therefore, all the uplink and downlink common beams indicated by a TCI field belong to the corresponding uplink and downlink common beam set.

[0247] Alternatively, each TCI field in the DCI corresponds to an uplink common beam set and a downlink common beam set configured by RRC configuration signaling.

[0248] For example, if RRC configuration signaling configures two uplink common beam sets and two downlink common beam sets, the first TCI field in the DCI corresponds to the first uplink common beam set and the first downlink common beam set, and the second TCI field in the DCI corresponds to the second uplink common beam set and the second downlink common beam set. In this case, when a TCI field in the DCI can simultaneously indicate an uplink common beam and a downlink common beam, all uplink common beams and all downlink common beams indicated by the TCI field belong to the uplink common beam set and downlink common beam set corresponding to the field, respectively.

[0249] The second indication method: the terminal device receives two DCIs from the network device, each DCI includes a TCI field, and the TCI field in each DCI corresponds to a common beam group or the same group of common beam pairs, that is, the public beams corresponding to all field values ​​of the TCI field in each DCI belong to the common beam group or the same group of common beam pairs.

[0250] Specifically, how to determine which group the common beam indicated by the TCI field in each DCI corresponds to can be indicated by a dedicated field, or by the first or last bit of the TCI field. For example, if the field value / bit value of a common beam or a common beam pair is 0, it indicates that the common beam belongs to the first group of common beams or the common beam pair belongs to the first group of common beam pairs; if the field value / bit value of the common beam or the common beam pair is 1, it indicates that the common beam belongs to the second group of common beams or the common beam pair belongs to the second group of common beam pairs.

[0251] It can also be determined by the CORESET group identifier corresponding to the DCI. Each CORESET group identifier corresponds to a group of common beams or a group of common beam pairs. The TCI field corresponds to the group of common beams or common beam pairs corresponding to the CORESET group in which the DCI is carried.

[0252] It should be understood that the first group of common beams may correspond to the above Figure 3 The first common beam group in the method, the second common beam group may correspond to the above Figure 3 The second common beam group in the method.

[0253] It should be noted that a TCI field in the DCI can also correspond to a common beam set, that is, the common beams indicated by the TCI field all belong to the common beam set. For example, the network device is configured with two uplink and downlink common beam sets, and the TCI field corresponds to one of the sets. The specific corresponding set can be indicated by a special field, or by the first bit or the last bit of the TCI field. It can also be determined by the CORESET group identifier corresponding to the DCI. Each CORESET group identifier corresponds to a set, and the DCI is carried in the PDCCH corresponding to that CORESET group. Then the TCI field corresponds to the set corresponding to the CORESET group.

[0254] In addition, a TCI field in the DCI can also correspond to multiple common beam sets, such as an uplink common beam set and a downlink common beam set. For example, the network device is configured with two uplink common beam sets and two downlink common beam sets. The TCI field corresponds to one of the uplink common beam sets and one of the downlink common beam sets, for example, the first uplink common beam set and the first downlink common beam set, or the second uplink common beam set and the second downlink common beam set; which specific uplink common beam set and downlink common beam set it corresponds to can be indicated by a special field, or by the first bit or the last bit of the TCI field. It can also be determined by the CORESET group identifier corresponding to the DCI. Each CORESET group identifier corresponds to an uplink common beam set and a downlink common beam set. If the DCI is carried in the PDCCH corresponding to that CORESET group, then the TCI field corresponds to the uplink common beam set and the downlink common beam set corresponding to the CORESET group.

[0255] The third indication method: the terminal device receives two DCIs from the network device, each DCI includes a TCI field, and the field value of the TCI field is divided into multiple parts, each part corresponding to a group of common beams or a group of common beam pairs.

[0256] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the TCI field value in each DCI is divided into two parts. The first part of the field value corresponds to the first group of common beams or the first group of common beam pairs, and the second part of the field value corresponds to the second group of common beams or the second group of common beam pairs. Alternatively, the first part of the field value of the TCI field in each DCI corresponds to the first common beam set, and the second part of the field value corresponds to the second common beam set.

[0257] It should be understood that the above-mentioned first public beam set and second public beam set are sets of public beams of the same type configured by RRC configuration signaling.

[0258] Specifically, the field value of the TCI field in each DCI is divided, and the division can be performed using the following method:

[0259] Method 1: Use the first half of the field value of the TCI field in each DCI as the first part of the field value, and use the second half of the field value as the second part; the public beams corresponding to the field values ​​of the first part all belong to the first group of public beams, and the public beams corresponding to the field values ​​of the second part all belong to the second group of public beams.

[0260] Method 2: Use the odd-numbered field values ​​in the TCI field as the sum of the first part of the field values, and use the even-numbered field values ​​in the TCI field as the second part of the field values; the public beams corresponding to the field values ​​of the first part all belong to the first group of public beams, and the public beams corresponding to the field values ​​of the second part all belong to the second group of public beams.

[0261] Method 3: Assume that the number of the two field values ​​in the TCI field is S and Q respectively, where the value of S and / or Q can be indicated through RRC configuration signaling or MAC-CE signaling or DCI.

[0262] Method 4: Determine the field value division method based on the common beam division method indicated by MAC-CE signaling. For example, according to the method in S402, multiple common beam groups or multiple common beam pairs are activated through one or more MAC-CE signalings, and the number of common beam groups or common beam pairs is equal to the number of corresponding TCI field values.

[0263] Fourth indication method: The terminal device receives a DCI from the network device, and the DCI includes a TCI field. Each field value of the TCI field simultaneously indicates two public beams of the same type, or simultaneously indicates two public beam pairs. The terminal device receives a field value of the TCI field, and the field value indicates two public beams of the same type, and the two public beams of the same type belong to different public beam groups.

[0264] It should be noted that when the fourth indication method is used, grouping does not need to be performed after activation through MAC-CE signaling in the above step S402. Instead, the common beam needs to be activated through the following special MAC-CE signaling format. Specifically, the following formats may be included:

[0265] The first format: Each TCI field value corresponds to two common beam pairs. Each common beam pair includes an uplink common beam and / or a downlink common beam.

[0266] For example, the TCI field includes two field values: TCI field value #0 and TCI field value #1. TCI field value #0 corresponds to common beam pair #1 and common beam pair #2, and TCI field value #1 corresponds to common beam pair #3 and common beam pair #4.

[0267] Second format: Each TCI field value corresponds to one or two common beam pairs. Assume that A TCI field values ​​correspond to one common beam pair, and B TCI field values ​​correspond to two common beam pairs. The values ​​of A and / or B can be indicated to the terminal device via RRC configuration signaling, MAC-CE signaling, or DCI.

[0268] For example, in the MAC-CE signaling for activating a pair of common beams, the value of A and / or B is indicated by one or more fields. Further, the TCI field values corresponding to two pairs of common beams can be arranged all after the TCI field values corresponding to one pair of common beams, or the TCI field values corresponding to two pairs of common beams can be arranged all before the TCI field values corresponding to one pair of common beams.

[0269] When the TCI field values corresponding to two pairs of common beams are arranged all before the TCI field values corresponding to one pair of common beams, the TCI field value #0 corresponds to the common beam pair #1 and the common beam pair #2, the TCI field value #1 corresponds to the common beam pair #3, and the TCI field value #2 corresponds to the common beam pair #4.

[0270] S404: The terminal device uses at least one common beam from the two common beams for communication.

[0271] When performing step S404, the network device can indicate the common beams of different network devices (e.g., base stations) to the terminal device by the above method. Taking two network devices as an example, the network device can send a DCI to the terminal device, and the DCI indicates two common beams, i.e., a first common beam and a second common beam. The first common beam can be a common beam in a first common beam set from two common beam sets corresponding to the same type of common beam pair configured by RRC configuration signaling, and the second common beam can be a common beam in a second common beam set. Therefore, the terminal device can determine which common beam set the two common beams belong to according to the indexes of the two common beams indicated by the DCI.

[0272] Alternatively, the first common beam can belong to a first group of common beams or a first group of common beam pairs from the two groups of common beams or common beam pairs activated by the MAC-CE signaling, and the second common beam belongs to a second group of common beams.

[0273] Alternatively, the first common beam can be a common beam indicated by a first DCI, and the second common beam can be a common beam indicated by a second DCI. The first DCI and the second DCI correspond to one group of common beams or common beam pairs activated by the MAC-CE.

[0274] Alternatively, the first common beam can be a common beam indicated by a first TCI field, and the second common beam can be a common beam indicated by a second TCI field. The first TCI field and the second TCI field can be two TCI fields in the same DCI or two subfields of the same TCI field.

[0275] Alternatively, the first common beam may be a common beam indicated by a first-part TCI field value, and the second common beam may be a common beam indicated by a second-part TCI field value, wherein the first-part TCI field value and the second-part TCI field value respectively refer to a portion of the TCI field value in the DCI.

[0276] Alternatively, the above-mentioned first common beam and second common beam respectively refer to two common beams of the same type indicated by the same TCI field value, or the first and second of two common beam pairs indicated by the same TCI field value.

[0277] Therefore, when the terminal device can determine to indicate a common beam based on the DCI, it can determine whether the common beam belongs to the first group of common beams or the second group of common beams. If the common beam belongs to the first group of common beams, the indicated common beam is selected from the first group of common beams to replace the currently used first common beam, and the common beam selected from the first group of common beams is subsequently used for communication. If the common beam belongs to the second group of common beams, the indicated common beam is selected from the second group of common beams to replace the currently used second common beam, and the common beam selected from the second group of common beams is subsequently used for communication.

[0278] Typically, a terminal device maintains only a single public beam or a single public beam pair. However, in embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can maintain multiple public beams or public beam pairs. Specifically, the terminal device determines whether it needs to maintain multiple (e.g., two) public beams or public beam pairs, or whether multiple (e.g., two) public beams can be effective simultaneously, based on one or more of the following conditions:

[0279] Condition 1: The network device is configured with more than one uplink common beam set, such as two uplink common beam sets, and / or more than one downlink common beam set, such as two downlink common beam sets, and / or more than one uplink and downlink common beam set, such as two uplink and downlink common beams.

[0280] Condition 2: The number of downlink common beams that the network device configures the terminal device to maintain or adopt is greater than 1, that is, the parameter M included in the RRC configuration signaling is greater than 1 (such as M=2), and / or the parameter N included in the RRC configuration signaling is greater than 1 (such as N=2), and / or the parameter L included in the RRC configuration signaling is greater than 1 (such as L=2).

[0281] Among them, M represents the number of downlink common beams, N represents the number of uplink common beams, and L represents the number of uplink and downlink common beams.

[0282] Condition 3: MAC-CE signaling activates two sets of common beams of the same type, or activates two sets of common beam pairs.

[0283] Condition 4: The DCI includes two TCI fields.

[0284] Condition 5: The TCI field value in the DCI is divided into two parts.

[0285] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, after the network device indicates two public beams (a first public beam and a second public beam) to the terminal device, the terminal device will always use these two public beams. However, when the network device needs to fall back to communication using one public beam, for example, when the network device falls back to using only the first public beam, the network device needs to inform the terminal device so that the terminal device will not use the other public beam.

[0286] Specifically, the network device may notify the terminal device through the following two notification methods, but not limited to:

[0287] The first notification method: use a field in the DCI to indicate that the terminal device adopts the first public beam, or the second public beam, or both public beams at the same time.

[0288] For example, through a 2-bit field, the field has four field values, where three field values ​​respectively indicate that the terminal device adopts the first public beam, or the second public beam, or adopts two public beams at the same time.

[0289] Optionally, another field value may also indicate that neither of the two public beams is adopted. Whether this field exists depends on the RRC configuration signaling. For example, when multiple public beam sets of the same type are configured, for example, two, it indicates that the field exists. When only one public beam set of the same type is configured, it indicates that the field does not exist. For another example, when the value of the parameter M or N or L included in the RRC configuration signaling is configured to 2, it indicates that the field exists. When the value of the parameter M or N or L included in the RRC configuration signaling is configured to 1, it indicates that the field does not exist. For another example, whether this field exists can be directly indicated by an RRC parameter.

[0290] The second notification method uses the most recently received MAC-CE signaling for activating a common beam to determine which common beam the terminal device uses. If the MAC-CE signaling only activates one common beam or one common beam pair, the terminal device needs to fall back to using a single common beam.

[0291] Therefore, in this case, the terminal device will only use the set of common beams activated in the MAC-CE signaling or the common beam corresponding to the common beam pair (the first common beam or the second common beam), and will no longer use the other common beam.

[0292] When two groups of common beams or common beam pairs are activated through the above-mentioned MAC-CE signaling, if a group of common beams or common beam pairs only includes a single common beam or a single common beam pair, the terminal device can directly adopt the common beam or common beam pair without further indication through DCI.

[0293] In summary, Figure 4 In the embodiment shown, the network device sends a terminal device RRC configuration signaling to the terminal device to configure a common beam for the terminal device; then, the network device sends a MAC-CE signaling to the terminal device to activate the common beam configured for the terminal device and group the activated common beams; further, the terminal device receives one or two DCIs from the network device, and the one or two DCIs are used to indicate two common beams, each common beam belonging to the first common beam group or the second common beam group; finally, the terminal device can determine whether the common beams indicated by the one or two DCIs belong to the same common beam group according to the indication method defined for DCI by the method of the present application, thereby determining to use one or two common beams to communicate with the network device. Through this embodiment, the terminal device can accurately distinguish the common beam groups to which the two common beams of the same type indicated by the network device belong, that is, the corresponding network devices, and can then determine to use one or two common beams of the same type to communicate with the corresponding network device.

[0294] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which can be used in the terminal device in the method of the present application, that is, the device includes a module or unit corresponding to the method / operation / step / action described in the terminal device in the above embodiment. The module or unit can be a hardware circuit, or software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software. The communication device can have Figure 5 The structure shown.

[0295] like Figure 5 As shown, the communication device 500 may include a transceiver unit 501, which can implement corresponding communication functions. Specifically, the transceiver unit may include a receiving unit and / or a transmitting unit. The receiving unit may be used to receive information and / or data, and the transmitting unit may be used to send information and / or data. The transceiver unit may also be referred to as a communication interface or a transceiver module.

[0296] Optionally, the communication device 500 further includes a processing unit 502 , which is equivalent to a processing module and can be used to perform data processing.

[0297] Optionally, the communication device 500 may further include a storage unit 503, which is equivalent to a storage module and can be used to store instructions and / or data. The processing unit 502 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage module so that the communication device implements the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0298] The communication device 500 can be used to perform the actions performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The communication device 500 can be a terminal device or a component that can be configured in a terminal device. The transceiver unit 501 is used to perform the reception-related operations on the terminal device side of the above method embodiments, and the processing unit 502 is used to perform the processing-related operations on the terminal device side of the above method embodiments.

[0299] Optionally, the transceiver unit 501 may include a sending unit and a receiving unit. The sending unit is configured to perform the sending operation in the above method embodiment. The receiving unit is configured to perform the receiving operation in the above method embodiment.

[0300] It should be noted that the communication device 500 may include a sending unit but not a receiving unit. Alternatively, the communication device 500 may include a receiving unit but not a sending unit. The specific implementation depends on whether the above solution executed by the communication device 500 includes a sending action and a receiving action.

[0301] As an example, the communication device 500 is used to perform the above Figure 3 or Figure 4 Actions performed by the terminal device in the illustrated embodiment.

[0302] For example, the transceiver unit 501 receives first configuration information sent by a network device, where the first configuration information is used to configure M public beams of the same type, where M is an integer greater than 1.

[0303] Optionally, the processing unit 502 may be configured to execute the above Figure 3 S304 in the embodiment shown may be used to perform the above Figure 4 S404 in the illustrated embodiment: For example, according to the public beam group to which the two public beams belong, it is determined to adopt at least one public beam from the two public beams to communicate with the network device.

[0304] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit executing the above corresponding process has been described in detail in the above method embodiment, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0305] The processing unit 502 in the above embodiment can be implemented by at least one processor or processor-related circuits. The transceiver unit 501 can be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuits. The storage unit 503 can be implemented by at least one memory.

[0306] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication device, which can be applied to the network equipment in the method of the present application, i.e., the device includes a module or unit corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described above for the network equipment, which can be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software. The communication device can also have the structure as shown in Figure 5 .

[0307] As shown in Figure 5 , the communication device 500 can include a transceiver unit 501, which can implement corresponding communication functions. Specifically, the transceiver unit can specifically include a receiving unit and / or a sending unit, the receiving unit can be used to receive information and / or data, etc., and the sending unit can be used to send information and / or data. The transceiver unit can also be referred to as a communication interface or a transceiver module.

[0308] Optionally, the communication device 500 further includes a processing unit 502, which corresponds to a processing module, and can be used for data processing and / or beam indication configuration process.

[0309] Optionally, the communication device 500 can further include a storage unit 503, which corresponds to a storage module, and can be used for storing instructions and / or data, and the processing unit 502 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage module to enable the communication device to implement the foregoing method embodiments.

[0310] The communication device 500 can be used to perform the actions performed by the network equipment in the foregoing method embodiments. The communication device 500 can be the network equipment or a component configurable to the network equipment. The transceiver unit 501 is used to perform the receiving-related operations of the network equipment side in the foregoing method embodiments, and the processing unit 502 is used to perform the processing-related operations of the network equipment side in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0311] Optionally, the transceiver unit 501 can include a sending unit and a receiving unit. The sending unit is used to perform the sending operations in the foregoing method embodiments. The receiving unit is used to perform the receiving operations in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0312] It should be noted that the communication device 500 can include a sending unit but not a receiving unit. Alternatively, the communication device 500 can include a receiving unit but not a sending unit. Specifically, whether the sending unit and the receiving unit are included in the communication device 500 can depend on whether the sending action and the receiving action are included in the above-mentioned scheme executed by the communication device 500.

[0313] As an example, the communication device 500 is used to perform the actions performed by the network equipment in the embodiments shown in the foregoing Figure 3 or Figure 4 .

[0314] For example, the transceiver unit 501 sends first configuration information to the terminal device, where the first configuration information is used to configure M public beams of the same type, where M is an integer greater than 1.

[0315] It should be understood that the specific process of each module executing the above corresponding process has been described in detail in the above method embodiment, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0316] The processing unit 502 in the above embodiment can be implemented by at least one processor or processor-related circuit. The transceiver unit 501 can be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuit. The storage unit can be implemented by at least one memory.

[0317] The present application also provides a communication device 600, which can be a terminal device, a processor of a terminal device, or a chip, and can be used to perform the operations performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment. The communication device 600 can also be a network device, a processor of a network device, or a chip, and can be used to perform the operations performed by the network device in the above method embodiment.

[0318] When the communication device 600 is a terminal device, Figure 6 A simplified schematic diagram of the terminal device is shown. Figure 6 As shown, the terminal device includes a transceiver 601, a processor 602, and a memory 603. The transceiver 601 includes a receiver 6011, a transmitter 6012, a radio frequency circuit (not shown), an antenna 6013, and an input / output device (not shown). The memory 603 can store computer program code.

[0319] Processor 602 is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the terminal device, execute software programs, and process software program data. Memory is primarily used to store software programs and data. Radio frequency circuits are primarily used to convert baseband signals into radio frequency signals and process radio frequency signals. Antenna 6013 is primarily used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices, such as touch screens, displays, and keyboards, are primarily used to receive user input and output data to the user. It should be noted that some types of terminal devices may not have input / output devices.

[0320] When data needs to be sent, the processor 602 performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and outputs the baseband signal to the RF circuit. The RF circuit performs RF processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the RF signal to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor 602 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data. For ease of explanation, Figure 6 Only one memory, processor, and transceiver are shown. In actual terminal devices, one or more processors and one or more memories may exist. A memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or storage device. The memory may be independent of the processor or integrated with the processor, and this is not limited in the present embodiment.

[0321] In the embodiment of the present application, the antenna and radio frequency circuit with transceiver functions can be regarded as the transceiver unit (transceiver module) of the terminal device, and the processor with processing function can be regarded as the processing unit (processing module) of the terminal device.

[0322] like Figure 6 As shown, the terminal device includes a transceiver 601, a processor 602, and a memory 603. The transceiver 601 may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver device, etc. The processor 602 may also be referred to as a processing unit, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, etc.

[0323] Alternatively, the device in transceiver 601 that implements a receiving function may be considered a receiving module, and the device in transceiver 601 that implements a transmitting function may be considered a transmitting unit or a transmitting module. That is, transceiver 601 includes a transmitter 6011 and a receiver 6012. Transceiver 601 may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver module, or a transceiver circuit. Transmitter 6011 may also be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitting module, or a transmitting circuit. Receiver 6012 may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving module, or a receiving circuit.

[0324] For example, in one implementation, the processor 602 is configured to execute Figure 3 or Figure 4 In the embodiment shown, the processing action on the terminal device side is performed, 601 is used to perform Figure 3 or Figure 4 For example, the transceiver 601 is used to perform the sending and receiving actions on the terminal device side. Figure 3 or Figure 4 The operations of S301-S303 or S401-S403 in the embodiment shown in FIG may specifically be receiving first configuration information, first indication information, and second indication information from the network device. The processor 602 is configured to execute Figure 3 or Figure 4 The processing operation of S304 or S404 in the illustrated embodiment.

[0325] It should be understood that Figure 6 This is only an example and not a limitation. The terminal device including the transceiver module and the processing module may not rely on Figure 3 or Figure 4 The structure shown.

[0326] When the communication device 600 is a chip, the chip includes a processor, memory, and a transceiver. The transceiver can be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processor can be a processing module, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. In the above method embodiments, the sending operation of the terminal device can be understood as the chip's output, and the receiving operation of the terminal device in the above method embodiments can be understood as the chip's input.

[0327] When the communication device 600 is a network device, it is, for example, a base station. Figure 6 A simplified schematic diagram of the structure of a network device is shown. The network device includes a transceiver 601, a processor 602, and a memory 603. Section 602 is primarily used for baseband processing and base station control. Section 602 is typically the base station's control center and can be commonly referred to as a processor. It is used to control the base station to execute the network device-side processing operations in the above-described method embodiments. Section 603 is primarily used to store computer program code and data. Section 601 is primarily used for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals into baseband signals. Section 601 can be commonly referred to as a transceiver module, transceiver, transceiver circuit, or transceiver. The transceiver module in section 601, which can also be referred to as a transceiver or transceiver, includes an antenna 6013 and radio frequency circuitry (not shown), with the radio frequency circuitry primarily used for radio frequency processing. Optionally, the components in section 601 that implement the receiving function can be considered a receiver, and the components that implement the transmitting function can be considered a transmitter. That is, transceiver 601 includes a transmitter 6011 and a receiver 6012. The receiver may also be called a receiving module, a receiver, or a receiving circuit, etc., and the transmitter may be called a transmitting module, a transmitting module, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

[0328] Sections 601 and 603 may include one or more boards, each of which may include one or more processors and one or more memories. The processor is used to read and execute programs in the memory to implement baseband processing functions and control the base station. If multiple boards are present, the boards may be interconnected to enhance processing capabilities. As an optional implementation, multiple boards may share one or more processors, multiple boards may share one or more memories, or multiple boards may simultaneously share one or more processors.

[0329] For example, in one implementation, the transceiver module of the transceiver 601 is used to perform Figure 3 and Figure 4 In the embodiment shown, the network device performs the related processes of sending and receiving. The processor 602 is used to perform Figure 3 and Figure 4 The illustrated embodiment relates to processes performed by network devices.

[0330] It should be understood that Figure 6 This is only an example and not a limitation. The network device including the processor, memory and transceiver may not rely on Figure 6 The structure shown.

[0331] When the communication device 600 is a chip, it includes a transceiver, memory, and a processor. The transceiver can be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processor can be a processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. The network device's sending operations in the above method embodiments can be understood as chip outputs, and the network device's receiving operations in the above method embodiments can be understood as chip inputs.

[0332] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions for implementing the method executed by the network device in the above method embodiment.

[0333] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement the method performed by the network device in the above method embodiment.

[0334] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to implement the method executed by the network device in the above method embodiment.

[0335] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, which includes the terminal device and the network device in the above embodiment.

[0336] The embodiment of the present application further provides a chip device, comprising a processor, configured to call a computer program or computer instruction stored in the memory, so that the processor executes the above-mentioned Figure 3 and Figure 4 The beam direction method of the embodiment is shown.

[0337] In a possible implementation, the input of the chip device corresponds to the above Figure 3 and Figure 4 In the receiving operation of the embodiment shown, the output of the chip device corresponds to the above Figure 3 and Figure 4 The sending operation in the embodiment shown.

[0338] Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory via an interface.

[0339] Optionally, the chip device further includes a memory, in which computer programs or computer instructions are stored.

[0340] The processor mentioned in any of the above can be a general-purpose central processing unit, a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more processors for controlling the above Figure 3 and Figure 4 The integrated circuit for executing the program of the beam utilization method of the embodiment shown. The memory mentioned in any of the above places can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0341] It should be noted that, for the sake of convenience and brevity of description, the explanation of the relevant contents and beneficial effects of any of the communication devices provided above may refer to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0342] In this application, a terminal device or network device may include a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer may include hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and memory (also known as main memory). The operating system of the operating system layer may be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes, such as the Linux operating system, Unix operating system, Android operating system, iOS operating system, or Windows operating system. The application layer may include applications such as browsers, address books, word processing software, and instant messaging software.

[0343] The division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processor, or may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The aforementioned integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules.

[0344] In summary, the present application provides a beam indication method, which includes: first, the terminal device receives first configuration information from the network device to configure M public beams of the same type, where M is an integer greater than 1; then, the terminal device receives first MAC-CE information from the network device to activate N public beams of the M public beams of the same type, and indicates that the N public beams are divided into a first public beam group and a second public beam group, where N is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to M; further, the terminal device receives one or more first downlink control information from the network device, and the one or more first downlink control information is used to indicate two public beams of the same type; finally, the terminal device can use one or two public beams to communicate with the corresponding network device according to the public beam group to which the two public beams belong. In this method, the terminal device can accurately distinguish the public beam groups to which multiple public beams of the same type belong, that is, the corresponding network devices, so that one or more public beams of the same type can be used to communicate with the corresponding network device.

[0345] Through the description of the above embodiments, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware, firmware, or a combination thereof. When software is used for implementation, the above functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, wherein the communication media include any medium that facilitates the transmission of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access. For example, but not limited to: a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store a desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer. In addition, any connection can be appropriately a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of the medium. As used in the embodiments of the present application, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically and discs use lasers to reproduce data optically. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of protection of computer-readable media.

[0346] In short, the above description is only an embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made based on the disclosure of the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A beam pointing method, characterized in that: include: The terminal device receives first configuration information from the network device, where the first configuration information is used to configure M common beams of the same type, where the common beams are used for transmission of multiple channels and / or reference signals, where M is an integer greater than 1; Receiving, by the terminal device, a medium access control element MAC-CE from the network device, where the medium access control element MAC-CE is used to activate N common beams among the M common beams of the same type and indicate that the N common beams are divided into a first common beam group and a second common beam group, where N is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to M; The terminal device receives second indication information from the network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate two common beams; the two common beams belong to the first common beam group and the second common beam group, respectively; The terminal device communicates with the network device using at least one of the two public beams according to the public beam group to which the two public beams belong.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The terminal device communicates with the network device using at least one of the two public beams according to the public beam group to which the two public beams belong, including: The two public beams belong to the first public beam group and the second public beam group respectively, and the terminal device uses the two public beams to communicate with the network device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first common beam group includes the first half of the N common beams, and the second common beam group includes the second half of the N common beams, or The first common beam group includes common beams with odd arrangement numbers among the N common beams, and the second common beam group includes common beams with even arrangement numbers among the N common beams.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The second indication information includes two first downlink control information DCIs, and each first downlink control information DCI is used to indicate one of the two common beams.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that Each of the first downlink control information DCI includes a single transmission configuration indication TCI field, where the TCI field corresponds to one of the first common beam group and the second common beam group; A first field in the first downlink control information DCI is used to indicate that the TCI field corresponds to the first common beam group or the second common beam group; or A portion of bits of the TCI field in the first downlink control information DCI is used to indicate that the TCI field corresponds to the first common beam group or the second common beam group; Or the control resource set group identifier corresponding to the first downlink control information DCI is used to determine whether the TCI field corresponds to the first common beam group or the second common beam group.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that Each of the first downlink control information DCI includes a single transmission configuration indication TCI field, and all field values ​​of the TCI field are divided into two parts. The public beam corresponding to the first part of the field values ​​of the two parts belongs to the first public beam group, and the public beam corresponding to the second part of the field values ​​of the two parts belongs to the second public beam group.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first part of the field values ​​is the first half of the field values ​​of all the field values, and the second part of the field values ​​is the second half of the field values ​​of all the field values; or The first part of the field values ​​is an even-numbered field value among all the field values, and the second part of the field values ​​is an odd-numbered field value among all the field values; or The first part of field values ​​is the first S field values ​​of all field values, and the second part of field values ​​is the remaining field values ​​of all field values ​​except the first S field values, where S is an integer greater than 0.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The second indication information includes first downlink control information DCI, and the first downlink control information DCI is used to indicate the two common beams.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The first downlink control information DCI includes two TCI fields, the common beam corresponding to one of the two TCI fields belongs to the first common beam group, and the common beam corresponding to the other TCI field of the two TCI fields belongs to the second common beam group.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that When the first condition is met, the first downlink control information DCI includes the two TCI fields; The first condition includes any one or more of the following: The first configuration information configures two common beam sets of the same type; The first configuration information configures public beams of the same type into two parts, which are respectively configured in two sets; The first configuration information includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the number of field values ​​included in the first downlink control information DCI is 2, or the third indication information is used to indicate that the two TCI fields exist in the first downlink control information DCI, or the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to adopt or maintain two common beams of the same type.

11. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The first downlink control information DCI includes a single TCI field, and a field value of the TCI field is used to indicate the two common beams, and the two common beams belong to the first common beam group and the second common beam group respectively.

12. A beam indication method, characterized in that: include: The network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device, where the first configuration information is used to configure M common beams of the same type, where the common beams are used for transmission of multiple channels and / or reference signals, where M is an integer greater than 1. The network device sends a medium access control element MAC-CE to the terminal device, where the MAC-CE is used to activate N public beams among the M public beams of the same type, and divide the N public beams into a first public beam group and a second public beam group, where N is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to M; the network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate two public beams; the two public beams belong to the first public beam group and the second public beam group, respectively.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The first common beam group includes the first half of the N common beams, and the second common beam group includes the second half of the N common beams, or The first common beam group includes common beams with odd arrangement numbers among the N common beams, and the second common beam group includes common beams with even arrangement numbers among the N common beams.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The second indication information includes two first downlink control information DCIs, and each first downlink control information DCI is used to indicate one of the two common beams.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that Each of the first downlink control information DCI includes a single transmission configuration indication TCI field, where the TCI field corresponds to one of the first common beam group and the second common beam group; A first field in the first downlink control information DCI is used to indicate that all common beams corresponding to all field values ​​of the TCI field belong to the first common beam group or all belong to the second common beam group; or A portion of bits of the TCI field in the first downlink control information DCI is used to indicate that all common beams corresponding to all field values ​​of the TCI field belong to the first common beam group or all belong to the second common beam group; Or the control resource set group identifier corresponding to the first downlink control information DCI is used to indicate that the common beams corresponding to all field values ​​of the TCI field all belong to the first common beam group or all belong to the second common beam group.

16. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that Each of the first downlink control information DCI includes a single transmission configuration indication TCI field, and all field values ​​of the TCI field are divided into two parts. The public beam corresponding to the first part of the field values ​​of the two parts belongs to the first public beam group, and the public beam corresponding to the second part of the field values ​​of the two parts belongs to the second public beam group.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The first part of the field values ​​is the first half of the field values ​​of all the field values, and the second part of the field values ​​is the second half of the field values ​​of all the field values; or The first part of the field values ​​is an even-numbered field value among all the field values, and the second part of the field values ​​is an odd-numbered field value among all the field values; or The first part of field values ​​is the first S field values ​​of all field values, and the second part of field values ​​is the remaining field values ​​of all field values ​​except the first S field values, where S is an integer greater than 0.

18. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The second indication information includes first downlink control information DCI, and the first downlink control information DCI is used to indicate the two common beams.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The first downlink control information DCI includes two TCI fields, the common beam corresponding to one of the two TCI fields belongs to the first common beam group, and the common beam corresponding to the other TCI field of the two TCI fields belongs to the second common beam group.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein When the first condition is met, the first downlink control information DCI includes the two TCI fields; The first condition includes any one or more of the following: The first configuration information configures two common beam sets of the same type; The first configuration information configures public beams of the same type into two parts, which are respectively configured in two sets; The first configuration information includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the number of field values ​​included in the first downlink control information DCI is 2, or the third indication information is used to indicate that the two TCI fields exist in the first downlink control information DCI, or the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to adopt or maintain two common beams of the same type.

21. The method according to claim 18, wherein The first downlink control information DCI includes a single TCI field, and a field value of the TCI field is used to indicate the two common beams, and the two common beams belong to the first common beam group and the second common beam group respectively.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit; The transceiver unit is configured to perform the transceiver operation of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, or to perform the transceiver operation of the method according to any one of claims 12 to 21; The processing unit is used to perform the processing operation of the method described in any one of claims 1 to 11, or to perform the processing operation of the method described in any one of claims 12 to 21.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: include: processor and memory; The memory is used to store computer programs; The processor is configured to execute the computer program or computer instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, or the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 12 to 21.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, or the processor is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 12 to 21.

25. A non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that A computer program is stored, and the computer program is loaded by a processor to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

26. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, or causes the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 12 to 21.

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