Communication method and device and computer readable storage medium

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method and device and a computer readable storage medium, relates to the technical field of communication, and can enable a terminal to obtain power gain and shaping gain of signal transmission so as to support synchronous access. The method comprises the following steps: in each beam scanning period in a plurality of beam scanning periods, based on a group of analog weight codebooks, carrying out beam scanning to send a synchronous broadcast SSB signal; the group of analog weight codebooks comprises a plurality of analog weight codebooks, and each analog weight codebook corresponds to one beam; and beams corresponding to the same analog weight codebook in different beam scanning periods adopt different digital precoding weights on the digital channel. The method and the device can be used in a wireless communication process.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] When performing beam scanning, the base station generally implements analog-digital hybrid shaping by setting the phase shifter of the analog array element and digitally precoding the digital channel to transmit beams in different directions and send synchronized broadcast (synchronization signal and PBCH block, SSB) signals to enable terminals to access synchronously.

[0003] Synchronous access is a communication method to synchronize data transmission and communication between the base station and the terminal. In the initial synchronous access process, the base station and the terminal have not yet performed channel measurement, so the base station cannot obtain the terminal channel information. Therefore, in this case, the signal power at some positions of the beam is low, which may result in insufficient received signal strength of the terminal at these positions and fail to support synchronous access. Summary of the invention

[0004] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium, so that a terminal obtains power gain and shaping gain of signal transmission to support synchronous access.

[0005] In one aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising:

[0006] In each of the multiple beam scanning cycles, beam scanning is performed to send a synchronous broadcast SSB signal based on a set of analog weight codebooks; a set of analog weight codebooks includes multiple analog weight codebooks, each analog weight codebook corresponds to a beam; the beams corresponding to the same analog weight codebook in different beam scanning cycles use different digital precoding weights on the digital channel.

[0007] On the other hand, a communication method is provided, comprising:

[0008] The analog weight codebook corresponding to the target beam and the digital precoding weight corresponding to the target beam scanning period are used to transmit communication information with the second node; wherein the target beam is the optimal beam between the first node and the second node.

[0009] On the other hand, a communication device is provided, including: a sending module.

[0010] The sending module is used to perform beam scanning and send synchronous broadcast SSB signals based on a set of analog weight codebooks in each beam scanning cycle in multiple beam scanning cycles; a set of analog weight codebooks includes multiple analog weight codebooks, each analog weight codebook corresponds to a beam; the beams corresponding to the same analog weight codebook in different beam scanning cycles use different digital precoding weights on the digital channel.

[0011] On the other hand, a communication device is provided, including: a detection module.

[0012] The detection module is used to transmit communication information with the second node using the analog weight codebook corresponding to the target beam and the digital precoding weight corresponding to the target beam scanning period; wherein the target beam is the optimal beam between the first node and the second node.

[0013] On the other hand, a communication device is provided, comprising: a memory and a processor; the memory and the processor are coupled; the memory is used to store a computer program; and the processor implements the communication method described in any of the above embodiments when executing the computer program.

[0014] On the other hand, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which computer program instructions are stored. When the computer program instructions are executed by a processor, the communication method described in any of the above embodiments is implemented.

[0015] On the other hand, a computer program product is provided, which includes computer program instructions, and when the computer program instructions are executed by a processor, the communication method described in any of the above embodiments is implemented.

[0016] The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application, in which the first node performs beam scanning in multiple beam scanning cycles, and different digital precoding weights are set for each beam scanning cycle. In this way, the main lobe direction of the beam can be adjusted so that there is always a beam scanning cycle in which the main lobe direction of the beam can be closer to the terminal, that is, the beam is more matched to the channel of the terminal, bringing power gain and shaping gain of signal transmission to the terminal, improving the signal demodulation performance of the terminal, and thus improving the success rate of synchronous access of the terminal. Moreover, for a beam, the present application adopts the same analog shaping weight codebook and the transmission method of different digital precoding weights, and the cell information and the beam number of the response contained in the SSB signal sent remain unchanged, so that the beam scanning cycle is not changed, and the consistency of the beam used in the synchronous access process and the subsequent data transmission process can also be guaranteed, which complies with the provisions of the current standard protocol. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution in the present application, the drawings required for use in some embodiments of the present application will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only drawings of some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0018] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a sending end and a receiving end in a partially connected architecture provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0019] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a partial connection architecture of a different digital channel provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0020] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0021] Figure 4 A flow chart of a communication method provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0022] Figure 5 A flowchart of another communication method provided for some embodiments of the present application;

[0023] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of multiple beam scanning cycles provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0024] Figure 7 A flowchart of another communication method provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0025] Figure 8 A flowchart of another communication method provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0026] Fig. 9 A flowchart of another communication method provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0027] Fig.10 An interactive schematic diagram of a communication method provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0028] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0029] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of another communication device provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0030] Fig.13 A schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device provided in some embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The following will be combined with the drawings in this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of them. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0032] It should be noted that, in this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific way.

[0033] In the following, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features.

[0034] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " means "or", for example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more.

[0035] For millimeter-wave high-frequency band communications, one of the main problems it faces is that the loss of electromagnetic waves in space propagation is very large, so it is necessary to deploy large-scale antenna arrays at the transmitting and receiving ends to provide beamforming gain to resist the performance loss caused by path loss. Limited by hardware costs, signal processing complexity, and energy consumption requirements, the antenna array of high-frequency base stations is different from the all-digital antenna array architecture of low-frequency base stations. Instead, the antenna array is deployed using a hybrid analog-digital architecture, that is, a small number of digital channels are connected to a large number of analog antenna elements. The digital channels have a complete RF link (including digital-to-analog conversion / analog-to-digital conversion, power amplifiers, etc.) that can perform amplitude modulation and phase modulation on the transmit and receive signals, while the analog elements use phase shifters to adjust the phase for analog beamforming.

[0036] As for the connection between digital channels and analog array elements, the industry currently generally adopts a partial connection architecture, that is, each digital channel is connected to an antenna subarray, each antenna subarray contains several analog antenna array elements, and multiple antenna subarrays together form the antenna array of the base station. Compared with other connection methods, this partial connection architecture is simple to implement, the signal processing complexity and hardware cost are relatively low, and the performance loss is also within the allowable range. Therefore, it has become the industry's mainstream deployment architecture for millimeter wave high-frequency band communications.

[0037] Figure 1 The present invention provides a schematic diagram of the structure of a transmitting end (such as a base station) and a receiving end (such as a terminal) in a partial connection architecture. Figure 1 As shown, the transmitting end and the receiving end may include multiple digital channels, each digital channel is connected to an antenna subarray, and in an antenna subarray, each analog array element is connected to the digital channel through a phase shifter. Among them, the phase shifter can adjust the phase of the signal to achieve analog beamforming. The digital channel may include a complete RF link (including digital-to-analog conversion / analog-to-digital conversion, power amplifier, etc.) that can perform amplitude modulation and phase modulation processing on the receiving and transmitting signals. Similarly, the structure of the receiving end is similar to that of the transmitting end node, including multiple digital channels and antenna subarrays connected to each digital channel. In addition, for the transmitting end, the digital channel performs digital precoding processing when transmitting the signal.

[0038] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a partial connection architecture of a different digital channel provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 (a) shows the case where two digital channels connect two antenna subarrays. Figure 2 (b) shows the case where four digital channels are connected to four antenna subarrays.

[0039] For high-frequency base stations, when transmitting signals, they can not only perform beamforming of analog antenna arrays through phase shifters of analog array elements, but also perform digital precoding through digital channels, that is, perform analog-digital hybrid beamforming on the signals. The selection of analog beamforming weights can be achieved through the beam scanning process of preset analog weight codebooks and terminal feedback, while the digital precoding weights can be calculated by performing channel measurements to obtain channel information after determining the analog beam.

[0040] However, during the initial synchronous access process of the network, the base station and the terminal have not yet performed channel measurement, so the base station cannot obtain channel information. The existing solution is that the base station can perform beam scanning based on a preset set of analog weight codebooks and send synchronous broadcast signals. The synchronous broadcast signals transmitted by different analog beams contain corresponding beam sequence information. The terminal can measure the received signal strength of the synchronous broadcast signal and then select a beam with stronger signal quality to send access information to request access to the base station.

[0041] Generally speaking, different antenna subarrays deployed by the base station use the same analog weight codebook when transmitting signals, that is, different antenna subarrays send the same analog beam. Since the base station is unknown to the channel information at this time, the digital precoding weight of the digital channel is usually set to 1 (amplitude is 1, phase is 0). When the number of digital channels with the same polarization characteristics deployed by the base station is greater than or equal to 2, the weight corresponding to each digital channel is set to 1, which will cause the analog beam to be superimposed with the effect of digital shaping, making the width of the analog beam narrower and the signal power strength at the center of the beam increased. However, for terminals in other angular directions except the beam center, the received signal strength of the received signal is greatly reduced, which will affect the signal demodulation performance of the terminals in these angular directions, resulting in the inability to parse the signal or the signal parsing error and the inability to synchronously access the base station.

[0042] At present, one solution in the industry is to divide the complete synchronous broadcast signal into different parts on the frequency band, and send the partial synchronous broadcast signals on different frequency bands through different digital channels with the same polarization characteristics. In this way, there is only one digital channel with the same polarization characteristics on the same time-frequency resource, and the shape of the analog beam will not change. However, since the signals transmitted by different digital channels experience different channels, the signals received by the terminal on the equivalent channels of different frequency bands are discontinuous, which will increase the channel estimation error of the terminal and reduce the demodulation performance of the terminal signal. In addition, if the channel corresponding to a certain digital channel is poor, then for the terminal, it will cause the signal quality received on certain frequency bands to be poor, and will also affect the demodulation performance of the overall signal. Another solution is to use the cyclic delay diversity (CDD) transmission mode, that is, to transmit different delayed versions of the same synchronous broadcast signal on different digital channels, thereby increasing the channel delay extension value experienced by the signal, so that the channel of the signal received by the terminal on the entire frequency band is continuous, but due to the artificial introduction of multipath in the equivalent channel, the terminal receiving signal experiences frequency selective fading, which may cause the terminal receiving signal power at certain locations to be greatly reduced.

[0043] In summary, there is an urgent need for a method that can fully utilize the power gain and shaping gain of the antenna array on the base station to improve the synchronous access performance of the terminal.

[0044] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which performs multiple rounds of beam scanning, and each round of beam scanning uses different digital precoding weights to adjust the main lobe direction of the beam. In this way, for a terminal at a certain point, there will always be a beam scanning cycle in which the main lobe direction of the beam can be closer to the terminal, ensuring that the signal power of the beam can support the terminal to perform signal demodulation, thereby achieving synchronous access.

[0045] In the embodiment of the present application, the network architecture of the mobile communication system (including but not limited to 5G and future 6G mobile communication systems) may include a first node and a second node. In some examples, the first node may be a base station, and the second node may be a terminal / user equipment (UE). In other examples, the first node may be a terminal, and the second node may be a base station. In some other examples, in a base station to base station communication scenario, the first node and the second node may both be base stations. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0046] The following description is made by taking the first node as a base station and the second node as a terminal as an example.

[0047] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 As shown, the communication system includes a base station and a terminal. The base station and the terminal may be connected via a wireless network. The wireless network may be supported by a router, a switch, or other devices that facilitate communication between the base station and the terminal, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0048] In some embodiments, a base station is used to provide wireless access services to terminals. Specifically, a base station provides a service coverage area (also called a cell). Terminals entering the area can communicate with the base station through wireless signals to receive wireless access services provided by the base station. In addition, the service coverage area of ​​the base station can also be divided into near field and far field. The terminal may be within the range of the near field or the range of the far field.

[0049] In some embodiments, the base station may be a millimeter wave base station, an evolution node B (eNB), a next generation base station (gNB), a transmission receive point (TRP), a transmission point (TP), and some other access node. According to the size of the service coverage area provided, the base station can be divided into a macro base station for providing macro cells (Macro cells), a micro base station for providing micro cells (Pico cells), and a femto base station for providing femto cells (Femto cells). With the continuous evolution of wireless communication technology, future base stations may also adopt other names.

[0050] In some embodiments, the terminal may be a device with wireless transceiver functions, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, a vehicle-mounted device, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) device, a notebook computer, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a netbook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc. The embodiments of the present invention do not limit the specific types of terminals.

[0051] In some embodiments, the base station may send a signal to the terminal via a beam in a beamforming manner.

[0052] It should be understood that Figure 3 is an exemplary structural diagram, Figure 3 The communication system shown includes an unlimited number of devices, such as an unlimited number of base stations and an unlimited number of terminals. Figure 3 In addition to the equipment shown, Figure 3 The communication system shown may also include other devices, which is not limited thereto.

[0053] Figure 4 The following is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. For example, the communication method provided in the present application can be applied to Figure 3 In the communication system shown in FIG. 1 , it can be specifically applied to the first node, that is, Figure 3 In the base station.

[0054] like Figure 4 As shown, the communication method provided by the present application may specifically include the following steps:

[0055] S401. The first node performs beam scanning to send a synchronous broadcast SSB signal based on a set of analog weight codebooks in each beam scanning period in multiple beam scanning periods.

[0056] Wherein, a group of analog weight codebooks includes multiple analog weight codebooks, each analog weight codebook corresponds to a beam; beams corresponding to the same analog weight codebook in different beam scanning periods use different digital precoding weights on the digital channel. In addition, the first node can be regarded as completing a beam scanning period by sequentially setting all analog weight codebooks in a group of analog weight codebooks to perform beam transmission.

[0057] In the initial stage of network access, the base station can set different analog weight codebooks to adjust the beam direction through beam scanning, and send a synchronous broadcast signal, which carries the cell information corresponding to the base station, as well as the corresponding beam number and other information. The main purpose of beam scanning is for the base station to inform the terminal of its own existence so that the terminal can access the base station synchronously. The terminal within the coverage of a certain beam can parse the synchronous broadcast signal to obtain relevant information of the base station, and then synchronously access the base station. However, as mentioned above, in the current beam scanning process, the signal power of the non-center angle of the beam is low. The terminals at these positions will not be able to correctly demodulate the signal due to the low received signal strength of the received synchronous broadcast signal, and will not be able to obtain the base station information, and will not be able to access synchronously.

[0058] Therefore, in some embodiments, the first node may set a plurality of beam scanning cycles, each beam scanning cycle corresponding to a different digital precoding weight. The first node may set different analog weight codebooks in each beam scanning cycle in turn to send multiple beams in different directions, thereby realizing beam scanning to send SSB signals in different directions. For the beam corresponding to the same analog weight codebook, its corresponding digital channel sets different digital precoding weights in different beam scanning cycles. For example, beam 1 uses digital precoding weight 1 in the first beam scanning cycle, digital precoding weight 2 in the second beam scanning cycle, and so on.

[0059] It should be understood that different beam scanning periods use different digital precoding weights, and the beams sent by superimposing analog weights always have a beam scanning period that sends a beam that is more matched with the terminal's channel, that is, the main lobe of the beam can be more accurately pointed to the terminal. This allows the terminal to obtain power gain and shaping gain of signal transmission, thereby improving the terminal's signal demodulation performance and the success rate of synchronous access.

[0060] In some embodiments, the digital channel includes N first digital channels having the same polarization characteristics, and the digital precoding weight is a spatial orthogonal basis vector with a spatial dimension of N, where N is a positive integer. The spatial orthogonal basis vector is used to represent a vector in a space that is perpendicular to each other.

[0061] Exemplarily, taking the first node including two first digital channels with horizontal polarization characteristics as an example, the digital precoding weights, that is, the spatial orthogonal basis vectors, belong to the 2D space. For example, the two spatial orthogonal basis vectors are α1=[1, j] T , α2 = [1, -j] T As another example, taking the first node including four first digital channels with horizontal polarization characteristics as an example, the digital precoding weights, i.e., the spatial orthogonal basis vectors, belong to the 4-dimensional space. For example, the four spatial orthogonal basis vectors are α1=[1, j, j, -1] T , α2 = [1, j, - j, 1] T , α3 = [1, -j, j, 1] T , α4 = [1, -j, -j, -1] T .

[0062] It should be understood that the digital precoding weights are spatial orthogonal basis vectors with dimensions equal to the number of digital channels, which have spatial orthogonality and completeness. Therefore, there is always a beam sent in a beam scanning cycle that is more closely matched with the terminal's channel, ensuring that the received signal strength of the signal that the terminal can receive is sufficient to support the terminal for signal demodulation, thereby improving the success rate of terminal synchronous access.

[0063] In some embodiments, after receiving each round of beam scanning period, the first node also performs signal detection to prepare to receive an access signal from the second node. Figure 5 As shown, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application also executes the following S402-S403.

[0064] S402: After the target beam scanning period ends, the first node receives an access signal from the second node.

[0065] Among them, the target beam scanning period is the beam scanning period in which the received signal strength of the SSB signal received by the second node meets the access conditions among the above-mentioned multiple beam scanning periods.

[0066] It should be understood that each beam corresponds to an access time-frequency resource, so after each beam scanning cycle ends, the base station can reserve a period of time to perform signal detection on the access time-frequency resource corresponding to each beam. When the received signal strength of the SSB signal received by the second node in the target beam scanning cycle supports its signal demodulation, the second node can send an access signal to request synchronous access, and then the first node can receive the access signal to prepare for the subsequent synchronous access process.

[0067] For example, Figure 6 A schematic diagram of multiple beam scanning cycles provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 As shown, in each beam scanning cycle, beams 1 to beam N (corresponding to different analog weight codebooks, respectively) all use the same digital precoding weights. For example, digital precoding 1 is used in the first beam scanning cycle, digital precoding 2 is used in the second beam scanning cycle, and so on, digital precoding M is used in the Mth beam scanning cycle. Wherein, M is equal to the number of digital channels with the same polarization characteristics on the first node. In addition, there is a period of time between two consecutive beam scanning cycles for synchronous access and data transmission. During this period of time, the first node can detect the access signal from the second node on the time-frequency resources corresponding to each beam for synchronous access.

[0068] S403: The first node synchronously accesses the second node based on the digital precoding weight corresponding to the target beam scanning period and the access signal.

[0069] In some embodiments, the above S403 can be implemented as the following two situations.

[0070] Case 1

[0071] The first node includes N first digital channels with the same polarization characteristics (for example, horizontal polarization), where N is a positive integer. Then each first digital channel can receive the access signal of the second node, that is, the access signal includes N first sub-access signals. Then the above S403 can be implemented as the following steps 1a and 2a. Step 1a, the first node performs weighted merging processing on the N first sub-access signals based on the conjugate transpose (also referred to as merging weights or digital reception weights) of the spatial orthogonal basis vectors corresponding to the target beam scanning period to obtain a first access signal. Step 2a, the first node performs synchronous access with the second node based on the first access signal.

[0072] For example, taking N as 2, the spatial orthogonal basis vector corresponding to the target beam scanning period is α1 = [1, j] TFor example, the first node may use the conjugate transpose of α1 to perform weighted combination on the two first sub-access signals to obtain a combined first access signal, and then perform a synchronous access process based on the first access signal.

[0073] Case 2

[0074] The first node includes N first digital channels with the same polarization characteristics, and N second digital channels with the same polarization characteristics, and the polarization characteristics of the second digital channels are different from the polarization characteristics of the first digital channels (for example, one horizontal polarization and one vertical polarization). In this case, the access signal includes N first sub-access signals (received by the first digital channel) and N second sub-access signals (received by the second digital channel).

[0075] Then the above S403 can be implemented as the following steps 1b and 2b. Step 1b. Based on the conjugate transpose of the spatial orthogonal basis vectors corresponding to the target beam scanning period, weighted merging processing is performed on the N first sub-access signals to obtain a first access signal. Step 2b. Based on the conjugate transpose of the spatial orthogonal basis vectors corresponding to the target beam scanning period, weighted merging processing is performed on the N second sub-access signals to obtain a second access signal. Step 3b. The first access signal and the second access signal are merged to obtain a third access signal. Step 4b. Synchronous access is performed with the second node based on the third access signal.

[0076] It should be understood that by weightedly combining the received signals using the combining weights corresponding to the beam scanning period on the time-frequency access resources corresponding to each beam scanning period, a signal combining gain can be obtained, thereby improving the detection performance of the base station for the access signal.

[0077] like Figure 7 As shown, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application also includes the following S404.

[0078] S404: The first node uses the analog weight codebook corresponding to the target beam and the digital precoding weight corresponding to the target beam scanning period to transmit communication information with the second node.

[0079] In some embodiments, after the first node and the second node complete the synchronous access process, but have not yet performed channel measurement, the first node cannot obtain the channel information of the terminal. In this case, the first node can use the analog weight codebook and digital precoding weights in the synchronous access process to communicate with the second node.

[0080] It should be understood that the above-mentioned analog weight codebook and digital precoding weights are determined in the synchronous access process, are relatively matched with the channel of the terminal, can meet the communication requirements to a certain extent, and improve the signal transmission performance of the communication system.

[0081] In addition, after the first node and the second node complete the synchronous access process, the first node can use the multiple rounds of beam scanning process of the present application as beam measurement in the beam management process. For the second node, the measurement results of the same beam can be averaged and filtered in the time dimension to obtain the power gain of multiple digital channels on the first node side, which is conducive to the terminal to perform channel measurement more accurately.

[0082] Figure 8 The following is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. For example, the communication method provided in the present application can be applied to Figure 3 In the communication system shown in FIG. 1 , it can be specifically applied to the second node, that is, Figure 3 in the terminal.

[0083] like Figure 8 As shown, the communication method provided by the present application may specifically include the following steps:

[0084] S801. The second node detects the SSB signal in multiple beam scanning cycles.

[0085] Among them, multiple beam scanning periods use the same set of analog weight codebooks; a set of analog weight codebooks includes multiple analog weight codebooks, each analog weight codebook corresponds to a beam; beams corresponding to the same analog weight codebook in different beam scanning periods use different digital precoding weights on the digital channel of the first node.

[0086] In some embodiments, since the first node performs beam scanning in multiple beam scanning periods, the second node can detect SSB signals in multiple beam scanning periods. Different beam scanning periods use different digital precoding weights, so there is a certain difference in the received signal strength of the SSB signal detected by the second node in different beam scanning periods.

[0087] In some embodiments, when the SSB signal of a beam scanning period of the second node meets the access condition, Fig. 9 As shown, the following S802-S803 may also be executed.

[0088] S802. The second node detects that the received signal strength of the SSB signal sent through the target beam during the target beam scanning period meets the access condition.

[0089] The target beam is the optimal beam between the first node and the second node.

[0090] In some embodiments, if the received signal strength of the SSB signal received by the second node during the target beam scanning period meets the access condition (for example, greater than a preset threshold), the second node can parse the SSB signal to obtain the cell information corresponding to the first node.

[0091] S803. The second node sends an access signal after the target beam scanning period ends.

[0092] The access signal is used to request synchronous access to the first node.

[0093] In some embodiments, after the target beam scanning period ends, the second node can obtain the cell information corresponding to the first node based on parsing the SSB signal, and send an access signal to the first node to request synchronous access to realize the transmission of communication information between the second node and the first node.

[0094] It should be understood that the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application will not affect the access performance of the terminal at the center of the beam too much. However, for terminals at other locations that cannot achieve synchronous access, this method can enable them to obtain power gain and shaping gain, thereby improving the success rate of synchronous access.

[0095] The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application, in which the first node performs beam scanning in multiple beam scanning cycles, and different digital precoding weights are set for each beam scanning cycle. In this way, the main lobe direction of the beam can be adjusted so that there is always a beam scanning cycle in which the main lobe direction of the beam can be closer to the terminal, that is, the beam is more matched to the channel of the terminal, bringing power gain and shaping gain of signal transmission to the terminal, improving the signal demodulation performance of the terminal, and thus improving the success rate of synchronous access of the terminal. Moreover, for a beam, the present application adopts the same analog shaping weight codebook and the transmission method of different digital precoding weights, and the cell information and the beam number of the response contained in the SSB signal sent remain unchanged, so that the beam scanning cycle is not changed, and the consistency of the beam used in the synchronous access process and the subsequent data transmission process can also be guaranteed, which complies with the provisions of the current standard protocol.

[0096] In addition, spatial orthogonal basis vectors are used as digital precoding weights. Since spatial orthogonal basis vectors have spatial orthogonality and completeness, it can be ensured that there is always a digital precoding weight used in a beam scanning period that is relatively matched with the terminal's channel. Moreover, in the subsequent communication process of synchronous access, the first node can also use the digital precoding weight determined in the synchronous access process to communicate with the terminal, thereby ensuring the signal transmission performance of the communication system.

[0097] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of interaction between a base station and a terminal provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.10As described, during the synchronous access process, in the target beam scanning period, the base station uses the digital precoding weight n to send the SSB signal through the analog beam m. After the terminal receives the SSB signal and performs signal demodulation, it sends the access signal on the time-frequency resources corresponding to the analog beam m of the base station. Furthermore, the base station uses the conjugate transpose of the digital precoding weight n as the combining weight to perform signal detection to receive the access signal and achieve synchronous access. In the initial information transmission process after the access is completed, the base station can use the analog beam m and the digital precoding weight n to transmit communication information with the terminal. In the channel information measurement process, the base station can send a measurement reference signal, and the terminal performs channel measurement and feeds back the measurement results.

[0098] Combination Figure 2 (a) and Fig.10 Provide explanation. Figure 2 As can be seen in (a), the base station deploys two digital channels with the same polarization characteristics, and the base station uses a spatial orthogonal basis vector with a dimension of 2 to perform two rounds of beam scanning. For example, the first round of beam scanning uses α1 = [1, j] T , after the first beam scanning cycle ends, use β1=α1 H As the merging weight, signal detection is performed. If an access signal is detected, the access signals received by the two digital channels are weighted and combined based on β1, and then synchronous access is performed. Similarly, the second round of beam scanning uses α2 = [1, -j] T , after the second beam scanning cycle ends, use β2 = α2 H If an access signal is detected, the access signals received by the two digital channels are weighted and combined based on β1, and then synchronous access is performed.

[0099] Combination Figure 2 (b) and Fig.10 Provide explanation. Figure 2 As can be seen in (b), the base station deploys four digital channels with the same polarization characteristics, and the base station uses a spatial orthogonal basis vector with a dimension of 4 to perform four rounds of beam scanning. For example, the first round of beam scanning uses α1 = [1, j, j, -1] T , after the first beam scanning cycle ends, use β1=α1 H As the combined weight, the signal is detected. If an access signal is detected, the access signals received by the four digital channels are weighted and combined based on β1 and then synchronous access is performed. Similarly, for the other three rounds of beam scanning, α2=

[0100] [1,j,-j,1] T , α3=[1,-j,j,1] T and α4=[1,-j,-j,-1] TPerform beam scanning. After each beam scanning cycle, use β2, β3 and β4 as combined weights for signal detection. Among them, β2 = α2 H , β3=α3 H , β4=α4 H .

[0101] Continue to combine Figure 2 (b) and Fig.10 Provide explanation. Figure 2 In (b), the upper two digital channels are horizontally polarized digital channels, and the lower two digital channels are vertically polarized digital channels. The base station uses a spatial orthogonal basis vector with a dimension of 2 to perform two rounds of beam scanning. For example, the first round of beam scanning uses α1 = [1, j] T , after the first beam scanning cycle, use β1 = α1 H As the merging weight, signal detection is performed. If an access signal is detected, the access signals received by the upper two digital channels are weighted and combined based on β1 to obtain the first access signal, and the access signals received by the lower two digital channels are weighted and combined based on β1 to obtain the second access signal. Then, the first access signal and the second access signal are combined to obtain the combined third access signal for synchronous access. Similarly, the second round of beam scanning uses α2=

[0102] [1,-j] T , after the second beam scanning cycle ends, use β2 = α2 H Signal detection is performed as the combined weight, which will not be repeated here.

[0103] It is understandable that the communication device (which can be the above-mentioned first node or the second node) includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to each function in order to realize the above-mentioned functions. Those skilled in the art should be easily aware that, in conjunction with the algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiment of the present application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but this implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present application.

[0104] The embodiment of the present application can divide the functional modules of the communication device according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one functional module. The above integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or software. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. The following is an example of dividing each functional module corresponding to each function.

[0105] Fig.11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device can execute the communication method provided in the above method embodiment. Fig.11 As shown, the communication device includes: a sending module 1101.

[0106] The sending module 1101 is used to perform beam scanning to send a synchronous broadcast SSB signal based on a set of analog weight codebooks in each of multiple beam scanning periods; a set of analog weight codebooks includes multiple analog weight codebooks, each analog weight codebook corresponds to a beam; the beams corresponding to the same analog weight codebook in different beam scanning periods use different digital precoding weights on the digital channel.

[0107] In some embodiments, the digital channel includes N first digital channels having the same polarization characteristics; the digital precoding weights are spatial orthogonal basis vectors with a spatial dimension of N, where N is a positive integer.

[0108] In some embodiments, the above-mentioned device further includes: a receiving module 1102 and a processing module 1103. The receiving module 1102 is used to receive an access signal sent by the second node after the target beam scanning period ends; the target beam scanning period is a beam scanning period in which the received signal strength of the SSB signal received by the second node meets the access condition in multiple beam scanning periods. The processing module 1103 is used to perform synchronous access with the second node based on the digital precoding weight corresponding to the target beam scanning period and the access signal.

[0109] In some embodiments, the access signal includes N first sub-access signals received by the first digital channel; the processing module 1103 is specifically used to perform weighted merging processing on the N first sub-access signals based on the conjugate transpose of the spatial orthogonal basis vectors corresponding to the target beam scanning period to obtain a first access signal; and perform synchronous access with the second node based on the first access signal.

[0110] In some embodiments, the first node further includes: N second digital channels having the same polarization characteristics; the polarization characteristics of the second digital channel are different from the polarization characteristics of the first digital channel; the access signal includes N first sub-access signals received by the first digital channel, and N second sub-access signals received by the second digital channel. The processing module 1103 is specifically used to perform weighted merging processing on the N first sub-access signals based on the conjugate transpose of the spatial orthogonal basis vectors corresponding to the target beam scanning period to obtain a first access signal; perform weighted merging processing on the N second sub-access signals based on the conjugate transpose of the spatial orthogonal basis vectors corresponding to the target beam scanning period to obtain a second access signal; merge the first access signal and the second access signal to obtain a third access signal; and perform synchronous access with the second node based on the third access signal.

[0111] In some embodiments, the processing module 1103 is also used to transmit communication information with the second node using the analog weight codebook corresponding to the target beam and the digital precoding weight corresponding to the target beam scanning period; wherein the target beam is the optimal beam between the first node and the second node.

[0112] Fig.12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device can execute the communication method provided in the above method embodiment. Fig.12 As shown, the communication device includes: a detection module 1201.

[0113] The detection module 1201 is used to detect SSB signals in multiple beam scanning cycles; wherein, the multiple beam scanning cycles use the same set of analog weight codebooks; a set of analog weight codebooks includes multiple analog weight codebooks, each analog weight codebook corresponds to a beam; the beams corresponding to the same analog weight codebook in different beam scanning cycles use different digital precoding weights on the digital channel of the first node.

[0114] In some embodiments, the digital channel includes N first digital channels having the same polarization characteristics; the digital precoding weights are spatial orthogonal basis vectors with a spatial dimension of N, where N is a positive integer.

[0115] In some embodiments, the above-mentioned apparatus further includes a sending module 1202. The detection module 1201 is also used to detect that the received signal strength of the SSB signal sent through the target beam meets the access condition during the target beam scanning period. The sending module 1202 is also used to send an access signal after the target beam scanning period ends; the access signal is used to request synchronous access to the first node.

[0116] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes a first node and a second node. The first node is used to execute the methods described in S400-S404 above, and the second node is used to execute the methods described in S801-S803 above.

[0117] In the case of implementing the functions of the above-mentioned integrated modules in the form of hardware, the embodiments of the present application provide another possible structure of the electronic device or communication device involved in the above-mentioned embodiments. Fig.13 As shown, the communication device 130 includes: a processor 1302 and a bus 1304. Optionally, the electronic device or communication device may further include a memory 1301; optionally, the electronic device or communication device may further include a communication interface 1303.

[0118] Processor 1302 may be a processor that implements or executes various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application. The processor 1302 may be a central processing unit, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. It may implement or execute various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application. Processor 1302 may also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, and the like.

[0119] The communication interface 1303 is used to connect with other devices via a communication network, such as Ethernet, wireless access network, wireless local area network (WLAN), etc.

[0120] The memory 1301 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

[0121] As a possible implementation, the memory 1301 may exist independently of the processor 1302, and the memory 1301 may be connected to the processor 1302 via a bus 1304 for storing instructions or program codes. When the processor 1302 calls and executes the instructions or program codes stored in the memory 1301, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented.

[0122] In another possible implementation, the memory 1301 may also be integrated with the processor 1302 .

[0123] The bus 1304 may be an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus 1304 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, Fig.13 Only one thick line is used in the diagram, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0124] In some embodiments, executable instructions are stored in the memory 1301. When the processor 1302 executes the executable instructions, the electronic device or communication device executes the communication method described in any of the above embodiments.

[0125] Some embodiments of the present application provide a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium), which stores computer program instructions. When the computer program instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes the communication method described in any of the above embodiments.

[0126] Exemplarily, the above-mentioned computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to: magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks or magnetic tapes, etc.), optical disks (e.g., compact disks (CD), digital versatile disks (DVD), etc.), smart cards and flash memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), cards, sticks or key drives, etc.). The various computer-readable storage media described in this application may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable storage media for storing information. The term "machine-readable storage medium" may include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing and / or carrying instructions and / or data.

[0127] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product including instructions. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the communication method described in any one of the above embodiments.

[0128] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to the first node, the method comprises: The first node performs beam scanning to send a synchronous broadcast SSB signal based on a set of analog weight codebooks in each of multiple beam scanning cycles; the set of analog weight codebooks includes multiple analog weight codebooks, each analog weight codebook corresponds to a beam; the beams corresponding to the same analog weight codebook in different beam scanning cycles use different digital precoding weights on the digital channel.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The digital channel includes N first digital channels with the same polarization characteristics; the digital precoding weights are spatial orthogonal basis vectors with a spatial dimension of N, where N is a positive integer.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: After the target beam scanning period ends, receiving an access signal sent by the second node; the target beam scanning period is a beam scanning period in which the received signal strength of the SSB signal received by the terminal meets the access condition among the multiple beam scanning periods; Based on the digital precoding weight corresponding to the target beam scanning period and the access signal, synchronous access is performed with the second node.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The access signal includes N first sub-access signals received by the first digital channel; The step of synchronously accessing the second node based on the digital precoding weight corresponding to the target beam scanning period and the access signal includes: Based on the conjugate transpose of the spatial orthogonal basis vectors corresponding to the target beam scanning period, weighted combining processing is performed on the N first sub-access signals to obtain a first access signal; Synchronously access the second node based on the first access signal.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first node further includes: N second digital channels having the same polarization characteristics; the polarization characteristics of the second digital channels are different from the polarization characteristics of the first digital channels; The access signal includes N first sub-access signals received by the first digital channel, and N second sub-access signals received by the second digital channel; The step of synchronously accessing the second node based on the digital precoding weight corresponding to the target beam scanning period and the access signal includes: Based on the conjugate transpose of the spatial orthogonal basis vectors corresponding to the target beam scanning period, weighted combining processing is performed on the N first sub-access signals to obtain a first access signal; Based on the conjugate transpose of the spatial orthogonal basis vectors corresponding to the target beam scanning period, weighted combining processing is performed on the N second sub-access signals to obtain a second access signal; Combining the first access signal and the second access signal to obtain a third access signal; Based on the third access signal, synchronous access is performed with the second node.

6. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The analog weight codebook corresponding to the target beam and the digital precoding weight corresponding to the target beam scanning period are used to transmit communication information with the second node; wherein the target beam is the optimal beam between the first node and the second node.

7. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to the second node, the method comprises: SSB signals are detected in multiple beam scanning cycles; wherein the multiple beam scanning cycles use the same set of analog weight codebooks; the set of analog weight codebooks includes multiple analog weight codebooks, each analog weight codebook corresponds to a beam; beams corresponding to the same analog weight codebook in different beam scanning cycles use different digital precoding weights on the digital channel of the first node.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The digital channel includes N first digital channels with the same polarization characteristics; the digital precoding weights are spatial orthogonal basis vectors with a spatial dimension of N, where N is a positive integer.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: It is detected during the target beam scanning period that the received signal strength of the SSB signal transmitted through the target beam meets the access condition; After the target beam scanning period ends, an access signal is sent; the access signal is used to request synchronous access to the first node.

10. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a processor and a memory for storing instructions executable by the processor; The processor is configured to execute the instruction so that the communication device executes the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, or executes the communication method according to any one of claims 7 to 9.

11. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed on the communication device, the communication device executes the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, or executes the communication method as described in any one of claims 7 to 9.

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