A communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and device, the method comprising: receiving, by a terminal device, first information, the first information being used for configuring N groups of reference signals, wherein a last reference signal in an i-th group of reference signals and a first reference signal in an i+1-th group of reference signals have a first time interval between transmission time intervals, the first time interval being a time required for the terminal device to switch from an i-th antenna panel to an i+1-th antenna panel, 1≤i≤N, i being a positive integer; and transmitting, by the terminal device, the N groups of reference signals using N antenna panels, the N antenna panels corresponding to the N groups of reference signals one by one. The terminal device comprises N antenna panels, N being a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

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

[0002] In 3GPP Rel-15 version, the antenna panel of the network device or the antenna panel of the terminal device is transparent. The transparent antenna panel of the network device can be understood as that the network device cannot see the antenna panel state of the terminal device, and the transparent antenna panel of the terminal device can be understood as that the network device cannot see the antenna panel state of the terminal device. The antenna panel state includes an active state and an inactive state. How the beam or resource (signal or channel, etc.) is associated with the antenna panel completely depends on the implementation of the network device or the terminal device.

[0003] The switching of the beam (pair) not only involves the beam switching of the network device, but also involves the beam switching of the terminal device. When the network device informs the terminal device to switch the beam, and since the antenna panel of the terminal device is transparent, the network device cannot determine whether the terminal device switches the antenna panel at the same time in the switching process of the beam, that is, the beam switching process of the terminal device can be the switching between different beams in the same antenna panel, or the switching between different beams of different antenna panels.

[0004] The time required for switching between different beams of different antenna panels mainly includes the time required for antenna panel switching between different antenna panels. The antenna panel switching between different antenna panels includes switching from one active antenna panel to another active antenna panel (i.e., antenna panel switching between active antenna panels) and switching from an active antenna panel to an inactive antenna panel. The antenna panel switching between active antenna panels requires several us, and the several us can usually be ignored. The antenna panel switching between an active antenna panel and an inactive antenna panel includes two actions of antenna panel activation and antenna panel switching. Therefore, the time required for the antenna panel switching between an active antenna panel and an inactive antenna panel includes the time required for antenna panel activation and the time required for antenna panel switching between active antenna panels. Generally, the antenna panel activation requires about 2-3 ms, and therefore, the antenna panel switching between an active antenna panel and an inactive antenna panel requires 2-3 ms plus several us. However, the time required for antenna panel activation is not reserved in most scenarios of the current protocol. Currently, in order to solve the above problem, one solution is that the terminal device keeps multiple antenna panels in an active state at the same time, which will cause high power consumption of the terminal. Another solution is that the terminal device activates only one antenna panel in order to save power, which may cause the terminal device to fail to communicate with the network device using a suitable beam pair, thereby affecting the communication performance. SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and device to effectively save the power consumption of a terminal device when switching between different beams of different antenna panels.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which includes: a terminal device receiving first information, the first information being used for configuring N groups of reference signals, wherein the transmission time interval between the last reference signal in the ith group of reference signals and the first reference signal in the (i+1)th group of reference signals is a first time interval, the first time interval being the time required for the terminal device to switch from the ith antenna panel to the (i+1)th antenna panel, 1≤i≤N, i being a positive integer; the number of antenna panels is N, N being a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; and the terminal device transmits the N groups of reference signals using N antenna panels, the N antenna panels corresponding to the N groups of reference signals one by one.

[0007] By using the above method, the antenna panel training process can be added in the beam switching process, there is a transmission time interval between the last reference signal in a previous group of reference signals and the first reference signal in a subsequent group of reference signals, the terminal device can adapt to the configuration of the network device by adjusting the state of the antenna panel, and thus the system performance and power saving compromise can be achieved.

[0008] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving, by the terminal device, second information from the network device, where the second information indicates that the terminal device is in the first mode or that the terminal device is in the second mode; or sending, by the terminal device, third information to the network device, where the third information indicates that the terminal device is in the first mode or that the terminal device is in the second mode; and wherein when the terminal device is in the first mode, there is an antenna panel that is not activated among the N antenna panels; and when the terminal device is in the second mode, all the N antenna panels are activated.

[0009] With the above design, the terminal device can be in the first mode or the second mode, and the network device can configure the first information for the terminal device according to the mode in which the terminal device is located.

[0010] In a possible design, when the terminal device is in the first mode, the first time interval has a first preset value, and when the terminal device is in the second mode, the first time interval has a second preset value, where the first preset value is greater than the second preset value.

[0011] With the above design, the terminal device can be in the first mode or the second mode, and the network device can configure the first time interval for the terminal device according to the mode in which the terminal device is located.

[0012] In a possible design, the method further includes: measuring, by the terminal device, the N groups of reference signals to obtain measurement results; and determining, by the terminal device, a target antenna panel from the N antenna panels according to the measurement results.

[0013] With the above design, the terminal device can autonomously determine the target antenna panel.

[0014] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending, by the terminal device, measurement results to the network device, where the measurement results are obtained by the terminal device measuring the N groups of reference signals; and receiving, by the terminal device, fourth information from the network device, where the fourth information indicates a target antenna panel among the N antenna panels.

[0015] With the above design, the network device can indicate the target antenna panel for the terminal device.

[0016] In a possible design, the target antenna panel is L antenna panels among the N antenna panels, where L is an integer, and the method further includes: deactivating, by the terminal device, N-L antenna panels other than the target antenna panel.

[0017] With the above design, the terminal device can save power consumption by deactivating the non-target antenna panel.

[0018] In a possible design, the method further includes: the terminal device sending, to the network device, fifth information, where the fifth information indicates a number N of antenna panels included by the terminal device and a number of beams included on each antenna panel.

[0019] With the above design, the terminal device can inform the network device of the number N of antenna panels and the number of beams included on each antenna panel.

[0020] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which includes: a network device sending, to a terminal device, first information, where the first information is used for configuring N groups of reference signals, a last reference signal in an i th group of reference signals and a first reference signal in an (i+1) th group of reference signals have a first time interval in a transmission time interval, the first time interval is required for the terminal device to switch from an i th antenna panel to an (i+1) th antenna panel, 1≤i≤N, i is a positive integer; the number of antenna panels is N, N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; and the network device transmits the N groups of reference signals on N time-frequency resources, the N antenna panels correspond to the N groups of reference signals one by one.

[0021] In a possible design, the method further includes: the network device sending, to the terminal device, second information, where the second information indicates that the terminal device is in a first mode or the terminal device is in a second mode; or the network device receiving third information sent by the terminal device, where the third information indicates that the terminal device is in the first mode or the terminal device is in the second mode; where, when the terminal device is in the first mode, there is an antenna panel that is not activated in the N antenna panels; and when the terminal device is in the second mode, all the N antenna panels are activated.

[0022] In a possible design, when the terminal device is in the first mode, the first time interval has a first preset value, and when the terminal device is in the second mode, the first time interval has a second preset value, where the first preset value is greater than the second preset value.

[0023] In a possible design, the method further includes: the network device receiving a measurement result from the terminal device, where the measurement result is obtained by the terminal device measuring the N groups of reference signals; and the network device sending, to the terminal device, fourth information, where the fourth information indicates a target antenna panel in the N antenna panels.

[0024] In a possible design, the target antenna panel is one of the L antenna panels in the N antenna panels, where L is an integer.

[0025] In a possible design, the network device further receives fifth information from the terminal device, where the fifth information indicates a number N of antenna panels included by the terminal device and a number of beams included on each antenna panel.

[0026] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which includes a module for performing the first aspect and any possible design in the first aspect, or a module for performing the second aspect and any possible design in the second aspect.

[0027] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, where the interface circuit is configured to receive a signal from another communication apparatus outside the communication apparatus and transmit the signal to the processor or send a signal from the processor to the other communication apparatus outside the communication apparatus, and the processor is configured to implement the first aspect and any possible design in the first aspect, or implement the second aspect and any possible design in the second aspect, by means of a logic circuit or an execution code instruction.

[0028] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or an instruction, and when the computer program or the instruction is executed by a communication apparatus, the first aspect and any possible design in the first aspect are implemented or the second aspect and any possible design in the second aspect are implemented.

[0029] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product including a program, which, when executed on a communication apparatus, causes the communication apparatus to perform the first aspect and any possible design in the first aspect or perform the second aspect and any possible design in the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 An architecture diagram of a mobile communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applied;

[0031] Figure 2 One of beam training processes provided by embodiments of the present application;

[0032] Figure 3 A scenario diagram in which all antenna panels are in an active state in a beam training process provided by embodiments of the present application;

[0033] Figure 4 A scenario diagram in which one antenna panel is in an active state in a beam training process provided by embodiments of the present application;

[0034] Figure 5 This is one of the overview processes of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 6 This is the second beam training process provided in the embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the antenna panel state of a terminal device in a first model during a beam training process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 8 This is the third beam training process provided in the embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the antenna panel state of a terminal device in a first model during a beam training process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 10 This is the second overview process of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 11 This is one of the structural diagrams of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 12 This is a second structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the architecture of the mobile communication system used in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the mobile communication system includes a core network device 110, a wireless access network device 120 and at least one terminal device (such as Figure 1 The terminal devices are connected to the radio access network equipment wirelessly, and the radio access network equipment is connected to the core network equipment wirelessly or by wire. The core network equipment and the radio access network equipment can be independent and distinct physical devices, or the core network equipment functions and the radio access network equipment logical functions can be integrated into the same physical device, or a single physical device can integrate some of the core network equipment functions and some of the radio access network equipment functions. The terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. Figure 1 This is just a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices. Figure 1 The embodiments of the present application do not limit the number of core network devices, wireless access network devices, and terminal devices included in the mobile communication system.

[0043] The terminal device is connected with the network device through a wireless manner, and accesses to the mobile communication system. The network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The network device can also be a module or unit that implements part of the functions of a base station, for example, a central unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the network device. In the present application, the network device is referred to as a network device, and if not specified, the network device refers to a network device.

[0044] The terminal device can also be referred to as a terminal, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal, etc. The terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality terminal device, an augmented reality terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in remote surgery, a wireless terminal in smart power grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, etc. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the terminal device.

[0045] The network device and the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on water; can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons and artificial satellites in the air. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the network device and the terminal device.

[0046] The network device and the terminal device can communicate through a licensed spectrum, can also communicate through an unlicensed spectrum, and can also communicate through both the licensed spectrum and the unlicensed spectrum. The network device and the terminal device can communicate through a spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), can also communicate through a spectrum above 6 GHz, and can also communicate through both the spectrum below 6 GHz and the spectrum above 6 GHz. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used between the network device and the terminal device.

[0047] 5G new radio (NR) is to meet the needs of three scenarios, compared to 4G long term evolution (LTE) to use low frequency band, add high frequency band (usually considered 6G above), such as 28GHz, 39GHz or 60GHz frequency band. Introducing high frequency to achieve larger bandwidth, higher transmission rate. Because of high frequency, the signal will occur serious fading in the process of space propagation. Therefore, 5G NR adopts beamforming (BF) technology to obtain good directivity gain, to improve the transmission direction of directional power, improve the received signal to interference plus noise radio (SINR), and then improve the system performance. In the process of 5G NR research, considering the cost and performance compromise, finally adopts the hybrid beamforming (HBF) technology containing digital beamforming and analog beamforming. In the process of beamforming technology implementation, antenna panel is the core component. Beam is sent or received by antenna panel. In the implementation of 5G NR deployment, due to the use of directional beam, in order to meet the wide area coverage, network equipment and terminal equipment are deployed with multiple antenna panels. Especially the terminal equipment, in order to meet the coverage, and in the limited space and save the cost, the performance of antenna panel deployment is more important.

[0048] Because network equipment and terminal equipment use hybrid beamforming technology, the resulting transceiver beam management problem has become a central issue in the process of 5G NR standardization discussion. After several discussions, the content of beam management is standardized in the first version of 5G NR, 3GPP Rel-15 version. The framework of beam management includes beam training, beam measurement and reporting, beam indication of each signal or channel, etc.

[0049] The following briefly describes the uplink and downlink signal or channel beam indication respectively. For the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) beam, a beam resource pool is configured using high-level radio resource control (RRC) signaling, and one of the beams is activated through media access control element (MAC CE) signaling to indicate the PDCCH beam. For the PDSCH beam, a beam resource pool is configured using high-level RRC signaling, and a beam subset containing multiple beams is activated through MAC-CE signaling. Finally, a beam of the beam subset is triggered through DCI to indicate the PDSCH beam. For the beams used to transmit periodic and aperiodic channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), they are indicated through RRC signaling. For the beams used to transmit semi-persistent CSI-RS, they are indicated through MAC-CE. For the PUCCH beam, a beam resource pool is configured using high-level RRC signaling, and one of the beams is activated through MAC-CE signaling to indicate the PUCCH beam. For the PUSCH beam indication, the SRS resource indication (SRSresource The SRI indicator indicates the beam used to transmit the sounding reference signal (SRS); for the beams used to transmit periodic and non-periodic SRS, it is indicated by RRC signaling; for the beams used to transmit semi-persistent SRS, it can be indicated by RRC signaling or by MAC-CE signaling.

[0050] The antenna panel is a logical entity, and how the physical antenna is mapped to this logical entity is determined by the product implementation. An antenna panel ID can be defined so that at least the terminal device's antenna panel is visible to network devices. Network devices can use this ID to indicate or obtain the terminal device's antenna panel status.

[0051] Beam training involves scanning the transmit and receive beams of network devices and end devices. The goal is to find a beam pair, consisting of a transmit beam and a receive beam. Only when the transmit and receive beam directions are aligned will the network devices and end devices achieve optimal signal gain. The following briefly describes the beam training or scanning process:

[0052] Downlink beam training process, such as Figure 2 shown.

[0053] P-1 procedure (i.e. the procedure of beam coarse alignment): gNB covers an area in a transmit beam sweeping manner, UE pairs with gNB's transmit beam respectively through receive beam sweeping manner and performs measurement and reporting. gNB obtains initial transmit beam based on P1 procedure, and UE obtains initial receive beam based on P1 procedure (or gNB indication). In order to speed up P1 procedure, gNB and UE usually select coarse beam sweeping.

[0054] P-2 procedure (i.e. the procedure of fine tuning gNB transmit beam): gNB performs fine transmit beam sweeping based on initial transmit beam obtained by P1 procedure, and UE performs pairing measurement and reporting through initial receive beam obtained by P1 procedure (or gNB indication). gNB obtains fine transmit beam based on P2 procedure. The protocol only describes the identification of P2 procedure, i.e. when the flag bit (Repitition = OFF) is set, UE assumes that gNB sends different beams, and other configurations and procedures are implemented by gNB as master.

[0055] P-3 procedure (i.e. the procedure of fine tuning UE receive beam): gNB performs fixed transmission based on fine transmit beam obtained by P2 procedure, and UE performs fine receive beam sweeping based on coarse beam obtained by P2 procedure, and performs pairing measurement. UE obtains UE's fine receive beam through P3 procedure. The protocol only describes the identification of P3 procedure, i.e. when the flag bit (Repitition = ON) is set, UE assumes that gNB sends the same beam, and other configurations and procedures are implemented by gNB as master.

[0056] Uplink beam training procedure (similar to downlink beam training procedure):

[0057] U-1 procedure (i.e. the procedure of beam coarse alignment): UE covers an area in a transmit beam sweeping manner, and gNB pairs with UE's transmit beam respectively through receive beam sweeping manner and performs measurement. gNB obtains initial receive beam through U1 procedure, and UE obtains initial transmit beam according to gNB configuration. In order to speed up U1 procedure, gNB and UE usually select coarse beam sweeping.

[0058] U-2 procedure (i.e. the procedure of fine tuning gNB receive beam): UE performs fixed transmission according to initial transmit beam configured by gNB, and gNB performs fine receive beam sweeping based on initial receive beam obtained by U1 procedure, and performs pairing measurement to select appropriate fine receive beam. When gNB configures the same transmit beam for different reference signals, it can be considered as U2 procedure.

[0059] U-3 procedure (i.e. the procedure of fine tuning UE transmit beam): UE performs fine transmit beam sweeping according to initial transmit beam configured by gNB, and gNB performs pairing measurement through fine receive beam obtained by U2 procedure to select appropriate UE fine receive beam. When gNB configures different transmit beams for different reference signals, it can be considered as U3 procedure.

[0060] In the above process, when the CSI-RS configuration repetition is 'ON', the terminal assumes that the beams of the gNB corresponding to all CSI-RSs in one CSI-RS set (CSI-RS set) are the same; when the CSI-RS configuration repetition is 'OFF', the terminal does not assume that the beams of the gNB corresponding to all CSI-RSs in one CSI-RS set are the same.

[0061] Currently, before the training starts, the terminal device cannot predict whether the antenna panel activation and switching time is reserved between different resource groups, and at the same time, in order to meet the coverage requirements, it needs to train all the antenna panels, so multiple antenna panels need to be activated at the same time, which causes the terminal device to consume more power, which is not conducive to saving the power consumption of the terminal device; in addition, long-term simultaneous activation of multiple antenna panels may even cause overheating problems of the terminal, such as Figure 3 As shown, the antenna panel 1, the antenna panel 2 and the antenna panel 3 are all in the activated state. Or when the network device configures the rough beam training P1 step, the terminal device activates only one antenna panel for beam training due to some reasons such as power consumption, overheating, hardware processing constraints and the like, so as to save power, which may cause a decline in system performance, such as Figure 4 As shown, the antenna panel 1 and the antenna panel 3 are in the non-activated state (or deactivated state), and only the antenna panel 2 is in the activated state.

[0062] Based on this, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method for effectively saving the power consumption of the terminal device when switching between different beams of different antenna panels. The embodiment of the present application designs different beam training methods to achieve a compromise between terminal implementation complexity, power consumption, heat dissipation and system performance. The terminal device includes N antenna panels, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, such as Figure 5 The method shown in the figure is applicable to the downlink beam training process, such as Figure 5 The method of the embodiment shown in the figure can be applied before the P1 process. The method includes:

[0063] S501: The network device sends first information to the terminal device, and the first information is used to configure N groups of reference signals. The transmission time interval between the last reference signal in the ith group of reference signals and the first reference signal in the (i+1)th group of reference signals is a first time interval, and the first time interval is the time required for the terminal device to switch from the ith antenna panel to the (i+1)th antenna panel, and i is a positive integer. Exemplarily, the first information can be carried by RRC signaling.

[0064] S502: The network device transmits N groups of reference signals. Correspondingly, S502 can also be described as: the terminal device receives the N groups of reference signals on N time-frequency resources by using N antenna panels, and the N antenna panels correspond to the N groups of reference signals in a one-to-one manner.

[0065] Exemplarily, the i-th group of reference signals includes K i reference signals. The network device transmits the reference signals respectively by using K i transmit beams on the i-th time-frequency resource, and the terminal device receives the reference signals respectively transmitted by the network device by using K i receive beams on the i-th antenna panel on the i-th time-frequency resource. The i-th time-frequency resource is a time-frequency resource where the i-th group of reference signals is located. The i+1-th group of reference signals includes K i+1 reference signals. The network device transmits the reference signals respectively by using K i+1 transmit beams on the i+1-th time-frequency resource, and the terminal device receives the reference signals respectively transmitted by the network device by using K i+1 receive beams on the i+1-th antenna panel on the i+1-th time-frequency resource. The i+1-th time-frequency resource is a time-frequency resource where the i+1-th group of reference signals is located. Wherein, a transmission time interval between the last reference signal in the i-th group of reference signals and the first reference signal in the i+1-th group of reference signals is a first time interval. Wherein, K i and K i+1 are positive integers.

[0066] The first time interval is an interval between a last OFDM symbol in a time domain resource where the last reference signal in the i-th group of reference signals is located and a first OFDM symbol in a time domain resource where the first reference signal in the i+1-th group of reference signals is located.

[0067] In some embodiments, the terminal device can further transmit fifth information to the network device, the fifth information indicating a number N of antenna panels included by the terminal device and a number of beams included on each antenna panel. The network device can determine the first information according to the number N of antenna panels included by the terminal device and the number of beams included on each antenna panel.

[0068] For example, the terminal device includes 3 antenna panels, which are antenna panel 1, antenna panel 2 and antenna panel 3 respectively, wherein the antenna panel 1 includes 8 receiving beams, the antenna panel 2 includes 4 receiving beams, and the antenna panel 3 includes 8 receiving beams. The network device generates first information according to this, and the first information is used to configure 3 groups of reference signals. 3 time-frequency resources correspond to 3 groups of reference signals one by one. Time-frequency resource 1 is used for the network device to respectively send reference signals to the terminal device by using 8 sending beams. Time-frequency resource 2 is used for the network device to respectively send reference signals to the terminal device by using 4 sending beams. Time-frequency resource 3 is used for the network device to respectively send reference signals to the terminal device by using 8 sending beams. The sending time interval of the last reference signal sent by the network device on the time-frequency resource 1 and the first reference signal sent by the network device on the time-frequency resource 2 is a first time interval. The sending time interval of the last reference signal sent by the network device on the time-frequency resource 2 and the first reference signal sent by the network device on the time-frequency resource 3 is a first time interval. The terminal device receives the first group of reference signals on the first time-frequency resource by using the antenna panel 1. The terminal device receives the second group of reference signals on the second time-frequency resource by using the antenna panel 2. The terminal device receives the third group of reference signals on the third time-frequency resource by using the antenna panel 3.

[0069] In some embodiments, before the network device sends the first information to the terminal device, the terminal device receives second information from the network device, the second information indicating that the terminal device is in the first mode or the terminal device is in the second mode; or, the terminal device sends third information to the network device, the third information indicating that the terminal device is in the first mode or the terminal device is in the second mode.

[0070] In an example, when the terminal device accesses the network device, the terminal device sends capability information of the terminal device to the network device, the capability information of the terminal device being used to indicate that the terminal device supports the first mode and / or the second mode.

[0071] In an example, when the terminal device accesses the network device, the terminal device sends capability information of the terminal device to the network device, the capability information of the terminal device being used to indicate that the terminal device supports the first mode and / or the second mode. The network device can send indication information to the terminal device according to the capability information of the terminal device, the indication information being used to indicate that the terminal device is in the first mode or the terminal device is in the second mode.

[0072] In an example, the terminal device can also determine the mode that needs to be in at present or the mode that will be in in the future according to factors such as current power, whether overheating or whether needing to enter an energy-saving state, at this time, the terminal device can actively report to the network device that the terminal device is in the first mode or the second mode.

[0073] When the terminal device is in the first mode, one of the N antenna panels is inactive. For example, to save power, only one of the N antenna panels is active. When the terminal device is in the second mode, all N antenna panels are activated. Furthermore, the first mode in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as a performance mode, and the second mode may also be referred to as a power-saving mode, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0074] In addition, when the terminal device is in the first mode, the value of the first time interval is a first preset value, and when the terminal device is in the second mode, the value of the first time interval is a second preset value, and the first preset value is greater than the second preset value. Exemplarily, the first preset value can be greater than the time required for antenna panel activation, which is generally longer, such as 2-3ms, and the second preset value can be greater than the time required for antenna panel switching between activated antenna panels, which is generally shorter, such as several us. Therefore, when the terminal device is in the first mode, the network device can configure N time-frequency resources to achieve the first time interval between the transmission time interval of the last reference signal in the i-th group of reference signals and the first reference signal in the i+1-th group of reference signals, that is, the network device can reserve time for the terminal device to switch the antenna panel.

[0075] Furthermore, after S502, the terminal device may determine a target antenna panel among the N antenna panels in the following manner, but not limited to the following. The target antenna panels are L of the N antenna panels, where L is an integer. After determining the target antenna panel, the terminal device may deactivate the remaining NL antenna panels, excluding the target antenna panel, to save power consumption of the terminal device.

[0076] Method 1: The terminal device measures N sets of reference signals to obtain measurement results. Based on the measurement results, the terminal device determines the target antenna panel from the N antenna panels. Therefore, using the method provided in Method 1 above, the terminal device can autonomously determine the target antenna panel.

[0077] Exemplarily, measuring N groups of reference signals by a terminal device means that the terminal device receives each reference signal in each group of reference signals using a corresponding receive beam and performs measurement on each received reference signal. Furthermore, the terminal device may obtain a measurement result for each received reference signal, sort all obtained measurement results, and select the antenna panel containing the receive beam corresponding to the measurement results with the top X signal qualities as the target antenna panel, where X is a positive integer.

[0078] Manner 2: The terminal device sends the measurement result to the network device, where the measurement result is obtained by the terminal device measuring the N groups of reference signals. The terminal device receives the fourth information from the network device, where the fourth information indicates the target antenna panel in the N antenna panels. Therefore, by using the method provided in the above-described manner 2, the network device indicates the target antenna panel to the terminal device.

[0079] For example, the terminal device measures the N groups of reference signals by receiving each reference signal in each group of reference signals using a corresponding receive beam and measuring each received reference signal. Further, the terminal device can obtain the measurement result for each received reference signal, and the terminal device can report all the obtained measurement results to the network device, or the terminal device can also select to report part of the measurement results to the network device, for example, the terminal device selects the measurement results with the top Y ranks of signal quality to report to the network device, where Y is a positive integer.

[0080] The network device can determine the target antenna panel according to the measurement result reported by the terminal device, and send the fourth information to the terminal device. For example, the fourth information can include the index of the target antenna panel or the beam index. The beam corresponding to the beam index is in the target antenna panel. In addition, the network device can also determine the target antenna panel in combination with other factors and the measurement result reported by the terminal device.

[0081] For example, the target antenna panel is at least two panels in the N antenna panels. Specifically, after the antenna panel training is completed, at least two antenna panels can be required to transmit data at the same time. For example, in a multi-TRP scenario, the network device can select two beams to transmit data at the same time to communicate with the terminal device, and the terminal device needs to receive and transmit data on two beams on different panels. For another example, in a single-TRP scenario, the network device can also use two beams to communicate with the terminal device in order to ensure the robustness of transmission, and the terminal device also needs to receive and transmit data on two beams on different panels. In this scenario, the network device can assume that one of the beams can be blocked.

[0082] The above-described embodiments will be described below in combination with specific examples. Figure 5

[0083] Example 1: The terminal device is in the first mode. The terminal device includes three antenna panels, which are antenna panel 1, antenna panel 2, and antenna panel 3. The beam training process as shown in Figure 6 includes a P-0 process, a P-1 process, a P-2 process, and a P-3 process.

[0084] ​In the P-0 process, each group of reference signals includes three reference signals. The terminal device uses antenna panel 1 to receive the first group of reference signals on the first time-frequency resource, and the terminal device uses antenna panel 2 to receive the second group of reference signals on the second time-frequency resource. The terminal device uses antenna panel 3 to receive the third group of reference signals on the third time-frequency resource. The time interval between receiving the first group of reference signals and receiving the second group of reference signals is the first time interval. At this time, the first time interval is used for the terminal device to switch from antenna panel 1 to antenna panel 2. Since the state of antenna panel 2 is in an inactive state, the value of the first time interval is the first preset value. The time interval between receiving the second group of reference signals and receiving the third group of reference signals is the first time interval. At this time, the first time interval is used for the terminal device to switch from antenna panel 2 to antenna panel 3. Since the state of antenna panel 3 is in an inactive state, the value of the first time interval is the first preset value.

[0085] like Figure 7 As shown, when the terminal device uses antenna panel 1 to receive the first group of reference signals on the first time-frequency resource, the status of antenna panel 1 is activated, the status of antenna panel 2 is inactivated, and the status of antenna panel 3 is inactivated. When the terminal device uses antenna panel 2 to receive the second group of reference signals on the second time-frequency resource, the status of antenna panel 1 is inactivated, the status of antenna panel 2 is activated, and the status of antenna panel 3 is inactivated. When the terminal device uses antenna panel 3 to receive the third group of reference signals on the third time-frequency resource, the status of antenna panel 1 is inactivated, the status of antenna panel 2 is inactivated, and the status of antenna panel 3 is activated.

[0086] Through the P-0 process, the terminal device can switch antenna panels according to the first time interval, so that all antenna panels do not need to be activated. Furthermore, through the P-0 process, the network device can indicate the target antenna panel to the terminal device, and the terminal device can deactivate non-target antenna panels, which can save power consumption of the terminal device.

[0087] During the P-1 process, the network device uses a beam-scanning transmission method to cover an area. The terminal device uses a beam-scanning reception method to pair with the network device's transmission beam, perform measurements, and report. The network device obtains its initial transmission beam based on the P1 process, and the terminal device obtains its initial reception beam based on the P1 process (or instructions from the network device).

[0088] In the P-2 process, the network device performs fine beam scanning based on the initial transmit beam obtained in the P1 process. The terminal device performs pairing measurement and reporting based on the initial receive beam obtained in the P1 process (or instructed by the network device). The network device obtains a fine beam based on the P2 process.

[0089] In the P-3 process, the network device obtains fine transmit beams based on the P2 process, the terminal device obtains fine receive beams through the P2 process, and the terminal device obtains the fine receive beams of the terminal device through the P3 process.

[0090] Example 2: The terminal device is in the second mode. The terminal device includes three antenna panels, namely, an antenna panel 1, an antenna panel 2, and an antenna panel 3. As shown in FIG. 2, each group of reference signals includes three reference signals. The terminal device receives the first group of reference signals on the first time-frequency resource by using the antenna panel 1, and receives the second group of reference signals on the second time-frequency resource by using the antenna panel 2. The terminal device receives the third group of reference signals on the third time-frequency resource by using the antenna panel 3. The time interval between receiving the first group of reference signals and receiving the second group of reference signals is a first time interval. The time interval between receiving the second group of reference signals and receiving the third group of reference signals is a first time interval. At this time, the first time interval is a second preset value. As shown in FIG. 2, the state of the antenna panel 1 is an active state, the state of the antenna panel 2 is an active state, and the state of the antenna panel 3 is an active state, that is, the three antenna panels are always in the active state. Figure 8 Figure 9 As shown in FIG. 2, the state of the antenna panel 1 is an active state, the state of the antenna panel 2 is an active state, and the state of the antenna panel 3 is an active state, that is, the three antenna panels are always in the active state.

[0091] Through the P-0 process, the network device can indicate a target antenna panel for the terminal device, and the terminal device can deactivate non-target antenna panels, thereby optimizing the beam training process and saving the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0092] In the P-1 process, the network device covers an area in a transmit beam scanning manner, and the terminal device pairs with the transmit beams of the network device in a receive beam scanning manner and performs measurement and reporting. The network device obtains initial transmit beams based on the P1 process, and the terminal device obtains initial receive beams through the P1 process (or network device indication).

[0093] In the P-2 process, the network device performs fine transmit beam scanning based on the initial transmit beams obtained through the P1 process, and the terminal device performs pairing measurement and reporting through the initial receive beams obtained through the P1 process (or network device indication). The network device obtains fine transmit beams based on the P2 process.

[0094] In the P-3 process, the network device obtains fine transmit beams based on the P2 process, the terminal device obtains fine receive beams through the P2 process, and the terminal device obtains the fine receive beams of the terminal device through the P3 process.

[0095] ​Based on this, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method to effectively save the power consumption of a terminal device when switching between different beams of different antenna panels. The embodiment of the present application designs different beam training methods to achieve a compromise between terminal implementation complexity, power consumption, heat dissipation and system performance. The terminal device includes N antenna panels, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, such as Figure 10 The method shown in the above is applicable to the uplink beam training process, such as Figure 10 The method of the embodiment shown in the above can be applied before the U1 process. The method includes the following steps:

[0096] S1001: The network device sends first information to the terminal device, and the first information is used to configure N groups of reference signals. The transmission time interval between the last reference signal in the ith group of reference signals and the first reference signal in the (i+1)th group of reference signals is a first time interval, and the first time interval is the time required for the terminal device to switch from the ith antenna panel to the (i+1)th antenna panel, where i is a positive integer. Exemplarily, the first information can be carried by RRC signaling.

[0097] S1002: The terminal device sends N groups of reference signals by using N antenna panels, and the N antenna panels correspond to the N groups of reference signals one by one. Correspondingly, S1002 can also be described as the network device receiving the N groups of reference signals.

[0098] Exemplarily, the ith group of reference signals includes K i reference signals. The network device receives the reference signals respectively sent by the terminal device by using K i transmit beams on the ith time-frequency resource, and the terminal device respectively sends the reference signals by using K i transmit beams on the ith antenna panel on the ith time-frequency resource. The (i+1)th group of reference signals includes K i+1 reference signals. The network device receives the reference signals respectively sent by the terminal device by using K i+1 transmit beams on the (i+1)th time-frequency resource, and the terminal device respectively sends the reference signals by using K i+1 transmit beams on the (i+1)th antenna panel on the (i+1)th time-frequency resource. Wherein, the transmission time interval between the last reference signal in the ith group of reference signals and the first reference signal in the (i+1)th group of reference signals is a first time interval. Wherein, K i and K i+1 are positive integers.

[0099] The first time interval is the interval between the last OFDM symbol in the time domain resource where the last reference signal in the ith group of reference signals is located and the first OFDM symbol in the time domain resource where the first reference signal in the (i+1)th group of reference signals is located.

[0100] In some embodiments, the terminal device can further send fifth information to the network device, the fifth information indicating the number N of antenna panels included by the terminal device and the number of beams included on each antenna panel. The network device can determine the first information according to the number N of antenna panels included by the terminal device and the number of beams included on each antenna panel.

[0101] For example, the terminal device includes 3 antenna panels, which are antenna panel 1, antenna panel 2 and antenna panel 3 respectively, wherein the antenna panel 1 includes 8 transmission beams, the antenna panel 2 includes 4 transmission beams, and the antenna panel 3 includes 8 transmission beams. The network device generates the first information according to this, and the first information is used to configure 3 groups of reference signals. 3 time-frequency resources correspond to 3 groups of reference signals one by one. Time-frequency resource 1 is used for the terminal device to respectively send reference signals to the network device by using 8 transmission beams. Time-frequency resource 2 is used for the terminal device to respectively send reference signals to the network device by using 4 transmission beams. Time-frequency resource 3 is used for the terminal device to respectively send reference signals to the network device by using 8 transmission beams. Wherein, the transmission time interval of the last reference signal sent by the terminal device on the time-frequency resource 1 and the first reference signal sent by the terminal device on the time-frequency resource 2 is the first time interval. The transmission time interval of the last reference signal sent by the terminal device on the time-frequency resource 2 and the first reference signal sent by the terminal device on the time-frequency resource 3 is the first time interval. The network device receives the first group of reference signals on the first time-frequency resource. The network device receives the second group of reference signals on the second time-frequency resource. The network device receives the third group of reference signals on the third time-frequency resource.

[0102] In some embodiments, before the network device sends the first information to the terminal device, the terminal device receives second information from the network device, the second information indicating that the terminal device is in the first mode or the terminal device is in the second mode; or the terminal device sends third information to the network device, the third information indicating that the terminal device is in the first mode or the terminal device is in the second mode. Wherein, when the terminal device is in the first mode, there is an antenna panel in the N antenna panels that is not activated. For example, the terminal device is in the first mode to save power consumption, and only one antenna panel in the N antenna panels is in an activated state. When the terminal device is in the second mode, all the N antenna panels are activated. In addition, the first mode can also be referred to as performance mode, and the second mode can also be referred to as power saving mode, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0103] In an example, when the terminal device accesses the network device, the terminal device sends capability information of the terminal device to the network device, the capability information of the terminal device being used to indicate that the terminal device supports the first mode and / or the second mode.

[0104] In an example, when the terminal device accesses the network device, the terminal device sends capability information of the terminal device to the network device, the capability information of the terminal device being used to indicate that the terminal device supports the first mode and / or the second mode. The network device can send indication information to the terminal device according to the capability information of the terminal device, the indication information being used to indicate that the terminal device is in the first mode or the terminal device is in the second mode.

[0105] In an example, the terminal device can also determine the mode in which the terminal device needs to be in currently or the mode in which the terminal device will be in in the future according to factors such as the current power, whether overheating or whether entering the energy saving state, at this time, the terminal device can actively report to the network device that the terminal device is in the first mode or the second mode.

[0106] In addition, when the terminal device is in the first mode, the first time interval is a first preset value, and when the terminal device is in the second mode, the first time interval is a second preset value, the first preset value being greater than the second preset value. Exemplarily, the first preset value can be greater than the time required for antenna panel activation, which is generally longer, for example, 2-3 ms, and the second preset value can be greater than the time required for antenna panel switching between activated antenna panels, which is generally shorter, for example, several us. Therefore, when the terminal device is in the first mode, the network device can realize that the transmission time interval between the last reference signal in the ith group of reference signals and the first reference signal in the (i+1)th group of reference signals is the first time interval by configuring N time-frequency resources, that is, the network device can reserve time for the terminal device to switch antenna panels.

[0107] In some embodiments, the network device measures the N groups of reference signals to obtain measurement results, and determines a target antenna panel from the N antenna panels according to the measurement results. The network device sends fourth information to the terminal device, the fourth information indicating the target antenna panel in the N antenna panels. Therefore, by using the method provided in the above manner 1, the network device indicates the target antenna panel for the terminal device.

[0108] Exemplarily, the network device measuring the N groups of reference signals means that the network device receives each reference signal in each group of reference signals by using a corresponding receiving beam, and measures each received reference signal. Further, the network device can obtain measurement results for each received reference signal, and sort all the obtained measurement results, and select the antenna panel in which the receiving beam corresponding to the measurement result with the top X signal quality is located as the target antenna panel, X being a positive integer. In addition, the network device can also determine the target antenna panel in combination with other factors and the measurement results.

[0109] Exemplarily, the fourth information can include an index of the target antenna panel, or a beam index. The antenna panel in which the beam corresponding to the beam index is located is the target antenna panel.

[0110] Wherein, the target antenna panel is L of the N antenna panels, and L is an integer. After determining the target antenna panel, the terminal device can deactivate N-L antenna panels other than the target antenna panel, so as to save the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0111] It can be understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the network device and the terminal device include the corresponding hardware structure and / or software module for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the present application can be realized in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0112] Figure 11 And Figure 12 The structural schematic diagram of a possible communication apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application. The communication apparatus can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or the network device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication apparatus can be the terminal device 130 or the terminal device 140 as shown in Figure 1 , can be the radio access network device 120 as shown in Figure 1 , or can be a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal device or a network device.

[0113] As shown in Figure 11 , the communication apparatus 1100 includes a processing unit 1110 and a transceiver unit 1120. The communication apparatus 1100 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device or the network device in the method embodiments shown in Figure 5 , Figure 10 .

[0114] When the communication apparatus 1100 is used to implement Figure 5 , Figure 10The terminal device in the method embodiment shown functions as follows: the processing unit 1110 invokes the transceiver unit 1120 to perform: receiving first information, the first information being used for configuring N groups of reference signals, wherein the last reference signal in the ith group of reference signals and the first reference signal in the (i+1)th group of reference signals have a first time interval in a transmission time interval, the first time interval being a time required by the terminal device to switch from the ith antenna panel to the (i+1)th antenna panel, 1≤i≤N, i being a positive integer; the number of antenna panels being N, N being a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; and the N groups of reference signals being transmitted by using the N antenna panels, the N antenna panels corresponding to the N groups of reference signals in a one-to-one manner.

[0115] When the communication apparatus 1100 is configured to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 5 、 Figure 10 , the processing unit 1110 invokes the transceiver unit 1120 to perform: sending first information to a terminal device, the first information being used for configuring N groups of reference signals, wherein the last reference signal in the ith group of reference signals and the first reference signal in the (i+1)th group of reference signals have a first time interval in a transmission time interval, the first time interval being a time required by the terminal device to switch from the ith antenna panel to the (i+1)th antenna panel, 1≤i≤N, i being a positive integer; the number of antenna panels being N, N being a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; and the N groups of reference signals being transmitted by using the N antenna panels, the N antenna panels corresponding to the N groups of reference signals in a one-to-one manner.

[0116] For more detailed description of the processing unit 1110 and the transceiver unit 1120, please refer to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in Figure 5 、 Figure 10 , which will not be repeated here.

[0117] As shown in Figure 12 , the communication apparatus 1200 includes a processor 1210 and an interface circuit 1220. The processor 1210 and the interface circuit 1220 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1220 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication apparatus 1200 can further include a memory 1230 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1210 or storing input data required by the processor 1210 to execute instructions or storing data generated after the processor 1210 executes instructions.

[0118] When the communication apparatus 1200 is configured to implement the method shown in Figure 5 、 Figure 10 , the processor 1210 is configured to implement the functions of the processing unit 1110, and the interface circuit 1220 is configured to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 1120.

[0119] When the communication apparatus is a chip applied to a terminal device, the terminal device chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments. The terminal device chip receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal device, and the information is sent by the network device to the terminal device. Alternatively, the terminal device chip sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal device, and the information is sent by the terminal device to the network device.

[0120] When the communication apparatus is a chip applied to a network device, the network device chip implements the functions of the network device in the method embodiments. The network device chip receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the network device, and the information is sent by the terminal device to the network device. Alternatively, the network device chip sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the network device, and the information is sent by the network device to the terminal device.

[0121] It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0122] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a network device or a terminal device. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the network device or the terminal device.

[0123] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer programs or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable apparatus. The computer programs or instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transferred from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer programs or instructions can be transferred from one website site, computer, server, or data center to another website site, computer, server, or data center through a wired or wireless manner. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disc (DVD); or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid state drive (SSD).

[0124] In the various embodiments of the present application, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referred to each other if there is no special description and logical conflict, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0125] In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. The "and / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the textual description of the present application, the character " / ", generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of the present application, the character " / ", indicates that the associated objects before and after are in a "division" relationship.

[0126] It can be understood that various numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only distinguished for convenience of description, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the serial number of the above processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of the processes should be determined according to their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a terminal device or a module in the terminal device, the method includes: receiving first information from a network device, where the first information is used to configure N groups of reference signals, wherein a time interval between sending a last reference signal in the i-th group of reference signals and a first reference signal in the i+1-th group of reference signals is a first time interval, and the first time interval is a time required to switch from the i-th antenna panel to the i+1-th antenna panel, where 1≤i≤N, i is a positive integer; and the number of antenna panels is N, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; N antenna panels are used to transmit the N groups of reference signals, and the N antenna panels correspond one-to-one to the N groups of reference signals.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein Also includes: receiving second information from the network device, where the second information indicates that the terminal device is in the first mode or the terminal device is in the second mode; Alternatively, third information is sent to the network device, where the third information indicates that the terminal device is in the first mode or the terminal device is in the second mode; Wherein, when the terminal device is in the first mode, there is an inactivated antenna panel among the N antenna panels; When the terminal device is in the second mode, all of the N antenna panels are activated.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein When the terminal device is in the first mode, the value of the first time interval is a first preset value; when the terminal device is in the second mode, the value of the first time interval is a second preset value, and the first preset value is greater than the second preset value.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The method further comprises: Measuring the N groups of reference signals to obtain measurement results; A target antenna panel is determined from the N antenna panels according to the measurement result.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The method further comprises: Sending a measurement result to the network device; the measurement result is obtained by measuring the N groups of reference signals; Fourth information is received from the network device, where the fourth information indicates a target antenna panel among the N antenna panels.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein The target antenna panels are L of the N antenna panels, where L is an integer, and the method further includes: Deactivate the other NL antenna panels except the target antenna panel.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: Also includes: Fifth information is sent to the network device, where the fifth information indicates the number N of antenna panels included in the terminal device and the number of beams included on each antenna panel.

8. A communication method, characterized in that: The method includes: The network device sends first information to the terminal device, where the first information is used to configure N groups of reference signals, where a transmission time interval between a last reference signal in the i-th group of reference signals and a first reference signal in the i+1-th group of reference signals is a first time interval, where the first time interval is required for the terminal device to switch from the i-th antenna panel to the i+1-th antenna panel, where 1≤i≤N, i is a positive integer; and the number of antenna panels is N, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The network device transmits the N groups of reference signals on N time-frequency resources, and the N antenna panels correspond one-to-one to the N groups of reference signals.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein Also includes: The network device sends second information to the terminal device, where the second information indicates that the terminal device is in the first mode or the terminal device is in the second mode; or the network device receives third information sent by the terminal device, where the third information indicates that the terminal device is in the first mode or the terminal device is in the second mode; Wherein, when the terminal device is in the first mode, there is an inactivated antenna panel among the N antenna panels; When the terminal device is in the second mode, all of the N antenna panels are activated.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein When the terminal device is in the first mode, the value of the first time interval is a first preset value; when the terminal device is in the second mode, the value of the first time interval is a second preset value, and the first preset value is greater than the second preset value.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: The network device receives a measurement result from the terminal device, where the measurement result is obtained by the terminal device measuring the N groups of reference signals; The network device sends fourth information to the terminal device, where the fourth information indicates a target antenna panel among the N antenna panels.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The target antenna panels are L of the N antenna panels, where L is an integer.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that Also includes: The network device receives fifth information from the terminal device, where the fifth information indicates the number N of antenna panels included in the terminal device and the number of beams included on each antenna panel.

14. A communication device, characterized in that: The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit: The processing unit calls the transceiver unit to execute: Receive first information from a network device, where the first information is used to configure N groups of reference signals, where a time interval between sending a last reference signal in the i-th group of reference signals and a first reference signal in the i+1-th group of reference signals is a first time interval, and the first time interval is a time required for the communication device to switch from the i-th antenna panel to the i+1-th antenna panel, where 1≤i≤N, i is a positive integer; and the number of antenna panels is N, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; The N antenna panels are used to transmit the N groups of reference signals, and the N antenna panels correspond one-to-one to the N groups of reference signals.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein Also includes: The transceiver unit is configured to receive second information from the network device, wherein the second information indicates that the apparatus is in the first mode or the apparatus is in the second mode; Alternatively, third information is sent to the network device, where the third information indicates that the apparatus is in the first mode or the apparatus is in the second mode; Wherein, when the device is in the first mode, there is an inactivated antenna panel among the N antenna panels; When the apparatus is in the second mode, all of the N antenna panels are activated.

16. The device according to claim 15, characterized in that When the device is in the first mode, the value of the first time interval is a first preset value. When the device is in the second mode, the value of the first time interval is a second preset value. The first preset value is greater than the second preset value.

17. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that The device further comprises: The processing unit is configured to measure the N groups of reference signals to obtain measurement results; The transceiver unit is configured to determine a target antenna panel from the N antenna panels according to the measurement result.

18. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that The device further comprises: The transceiver unit is used to send measurement results to the network device; the measurement results are obtained by the device measuring the N groups of reference signals; and receive fourth information from the network device, where the fourth information indicates a target antenna panel among the N antenna panels.

19. The device according to claim 17, wherein The target antenna panels are L of the N antenna panels, where L is an integer, and the apparatus further includes: The processing unit is used to deactivate the other NL antenna panels except the target antenna panel.

20. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that Also includes: The transceiver unit is used to send fifth information to the network device, where the fifth information indicates the number N of antenna panels included in the apparatus and the number of beams included on each antenna panel.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit: The processing unit calls the transceiver unit to execute: Sending first information to a terminal device, where the first information is used to configure N groups of reference signals, where a transmission time interval between a last reference signal in the i-th group of reference signals and a first reference signal in the i+1-th group of reference signals is a first time interval, where the first time interval is required for the terminal device to switch from the i-th antenna panel to the i+1-th antenna panel, where 1≤i≤N, i is a positive integer; and the number of antenna panels is N, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; The N groups of reference signals are transmitted, and the N antenna panels correspond one-to-one to the N groups of reference signals.

22. The device according to claim 21, wherein Also includes: The transceiver unit is configured to send second information to the terminal device, where the second information indicates that the terminal device is in the first mode or the terminal device is in the second mode; Alternatively, receiving third information sent from the terminal device, where the third information indicates that the terminal device is in the first mode or the terminal device is in the second mode; Wherein, when the terminal device is in the first mode, there is an inactivated antenna panel among the N antenna panels; When the terminal device is in the second mode, all of the N antenna panels are activated.

23. The device according to claim 22, wherein When the terminal device is in the first mode, the value of the first time interval is a first preset value; when the terminal device is in the second mode, the value of the first time interval is a second preset value, and the first preset value is greater than the second preset value.

24. The device according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that The device further comprises: The transceiver unit is configured to receive a measurement result from the terminal device, where the measurement result is obtained by the terminal device measuring the N groups of reference signals; The transceiver unit is used to send fourth information to the terminal device, where the fourth information indicates a target antenna panel among the N antenna panels.

25. The device according to claim 24, wherein The target antenna panels are L of the N antenna panels, where L is an integer.

26. The device according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that Also includes: The transceiver unit is used to receive fifth information from the terminal device, where the fifth information indicates the number N of antenna panels included in the terminal device and the number of beams included on each antenna panel.

27. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising means for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13.

28. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 is implemented.

30. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program, and when the computer program is executed, the communication device is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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