Communication method and related device

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication method and a related device. The method comprises the following steps: receiving N reference signals, M synchronization signals and a physical broadcast channel block SSB; wherein one SSB is associated with at least two reference signals of N reference signals, the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different preambles associated with one SSB, and / or the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different random access channel opportunities (RO) associated with one SSB, at least one of the at least two reference signals is associated with a first network node; n and M are positive integers. And sending a first lead code on the first RO, the first lead code being a lead code corresponding to the first reference signal, and / or the first RO being an RO corresponding to the first reference signal, the first reference signal being one of the N reference signals. By adopting the method, the resource overhead can be saved.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is a metasurface composed of a large number of low-cost passive reflective elements, each of which can independently modulate the amplitude and phase of the incident signal. In practical applications, by adjusting the phase of each IRS element, the incident signal of the IRS can be reflected in the desired direction to improve the quality of the wireless communication link. Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the application scenario of IRS. Figure 1 The direct path between the access network equipment and the terminal equipment is blocked by obstacles. When the IRS is not deployed, the strength of the signal sent by the access network equipment received at the terminal equipment is weak. After the IRS is deployed, the access network equipment can reasonably adjust the phase of each element of the IRS so that the IRS reflects the signal from the access network equipment to the area where the terminal equipment is located, thereby achieving coverage enhancement in weak coverage areas. Generally speaking, multiple IRSs can be deployed in a cell to enhance coverage in different areas of the cell. Currently, in cells where multiple IRSs are deployed, there may be a problem of resource waste. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present application provides a communication method and related devices, which are helpful to save resource overhead.

[0004] In the first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is executed by a terminal device, which can be the terminal device itself, or a unit or module (such as a chip) with corresponding functions in the terminal device. In this method, the terminal device receives N reference signals and M synchronization signals and a physical broadcast channel block SSB; wherein one SSB is associated with at least two of the N reference signals, and the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different preambles associated with the one SSB, and / or the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different random access channel opportunities RO associated with the one SSB, and at least one of the at least two reference signals is associated with a first network node; both N and M are positive integers. The terminal device sends a first preamble on the first RO, and the first preamble is a preamble corresponding to the first reference signal, and / or the first RO is an RO corresponding to the first reference signal, and the first reference signal is a reference signal among the N reference signals. Exemplarily, the first network node can be an IRS, or an NCR, etc., which is not limited here.

[0005] In the present application, by establishing an association relationship between at least two reference signals corresponding to each SSB and the preamble and / or RO corresponding to the SSB, and establishing an association relationship between each reference signal and the first network node, it can be achieved that in a cell where multiple first network nodes are deployed, when a terminal device performs random access, the access network device can distinguish which first network node the terminal device accesses the cell through, which is conducive to saving resource overhead in subsequent processes. Specifically, in a cell where multiple first network nodes are deployed, the access network device can determine the reference signal (i.e., the first reference signal) corresponding to the first preamble and / or the first RO based on the first preamble and / or the first RO sent by the terminal device, and the association relationship between the preamble and / or the RO and the reference signal, and then determine the first network node corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first reference signal and the association relationship between the reference signal and the first network node. That is to say, in a cell where multiple first network nodes are deployed, for reference signals associated with different first network nodes, for terminal devices, the signal strength of the reference signals received at the terminal devices is different. Generally speaking, the strength of the reference signal (i.e., the first reference signal) received by the terminal device from the corresponding first network node when the terminal device accesses is stronger than the reference signals of other first network nodes. Then, the terminal device selects the first preamble code and / or the first RO corresponding to the first reference signal for transmission through the association relationship between the above-mentioned reference signal and the preamble code and / or RO, so that the access network device can distinguish through which first network node the terminal device accesses the cell (i.e., the access network device is based on the received preamble code and / or RO→reference signal→first network node), which is beneficial to saving resource overhead in subsequent processes.

[0006] In one possible design, different reference signals are associated with different preambles.

[0007] In one possible design, different reference signals are associated with different ROs.

[0008] In a possible design, the first reference signal is a reference signal among the N reference signals whose signal strength is greater than or equal to a first threshold.

[0009] In one possible design, the method further includes:

[0010] receiving first indication information from a first cell, where the first indication information indicates that the first cell is a cell configured with at least two first network nodes;

[0011] The sending of the first preamble code on the first RO includes:

[0012] The first preamble code is sent on the first RO based on the first indication information.

[0013] In this implementation, the access network device sends first indication information to the terminal device to indicate that the first cell is a cell configured with at least two first network nodes. Therefore, the terminal device can send a first preamble code on the first RO based on the first indication information. This can ensure that subsequent processes are not performed in the cell where the first network node is not configured to reduce the complexity of random access.

[0014] In one possible design, before receiving N reference signals, the method further includes:

[0015] Second indication information is received, where the second indication information indicates time-frequency resource location information and sequence information corresponding to each reference signal in the N reference signals.

[0016] In this implementation mode, the access network device can configure the time-frequency resource position information and sequence information corresponding to the reference signal. Therefore, the terminal device can receive the corresponding reference signal sequence information at the corresponding time-frequency resource position information based on the received configuration.

[0017] In one possible design, the association relationship between each of the N reference signals and the time-frequency resource location information and sequence information is predefined or preconfigured.

[0018] In this implementation, the time-frequency resource position information and sequence information corresponding to the reference signal can be predefined or preconfigured. Therefore, the terminal device can receive the corresponding reference signal sequence information on the corresponding time-frequency resource position information based on the predefined or preconfigured information.

[0019] In one possible design, the method further includes:

[0020] Third indication information is received, where the third indication information indicates an association relationship between a reference signal and a preamble, and / or the third indication information indicates an association relationship between a reference signal and a RO.

[0021] In this implementation, the access network device may configure the association between the reference signal and the preamble, and / or the association between the reference signal and the RO. Therefore, the terminal device may determine which preamble should be sent on which RO based on the received configuration and the first reference signal.

[0022] In one possible design, the association relationship between the reference signal and the preamble code is predefined or preconfigured, and / or the association relationship between the reference signal and the RO is predefined or preconfigured.

[0023] In this implementation, the association relationship between the reference signal and the preamble, and / or the association relationship between the reference signal and the RO may be predefined or preconfigured. Therefore, the terminal device may determine which preamble should be sent on which RO based on the received configuration and the first reference signal.

[0024] In one possible design, the reference signal is a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS or a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0025] In the second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is executed by an access network device, and the access network device can be the access network device itself, or a unit or module (such as a chip) with corresponding functions in the access network device. In this method, N reference signals and M synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel blocks SSB are sent; wherein one SSB is associated with at least two reference signals of the N reference signals, and the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different preamble codes associated with the one SSB, and / or, the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different random access channel opportunities RO associated with the one SSB, and at least one of the at least two reference signals is associated with a first network node; both N and M are positive integers; a first preamble code is received on the first RO, and the first preamble code is a preamble code corresponding to the first reference signal, and / or, the first RO is the RO corresponding to the first reference signal, and the first reference signal is one of the N reference signals.

[0026] In one possible design, after receiving the first preamble on the first RO, the method further includes:

[0027] In the case of sending a message Msg2 or Msg4 for random access or sending a paging message for paging, or in the case of receiving an Msg3 for random access, sending a first weight parameter to a first network node associated with the first reference signal, where the first weight parameter is related to the first reference signal, and the first weight parameter is used to control a signal reflection direction or a signal transmission direction of the first network node associated with the first reference signal; or,

[0028] In the case of beam management, a first weight parameter set is sent to a first network node associated with the first reference signal, wherein the first weight parameter set includes one or more weight parameters, and the first weight parameter set is related to the first reference signal. The first weight parameter set is used to control a signal reflection direction or a signal transmission direction of the first network node associated with the first reference signal.

[0029] In this implementation, by establishing an association relationship between at least two reference signals corresponding to each SSB and the preamble code and / or RO corresponding to the SSB, and establishing an association relationship between each reference signal and the first network node, when the terminal device performs random access, the access network device can distinguish through which first network node the terminal device accesses. Therefore, when the access network device subsequently sends Msg2, or sends Msg4, or receives Msg3, or performs paging, or performs beam management to the terminal device, it only needs to send the first weight parameter / first weight parameter set to the first network node associated with the first reference signal to control the signal transmission direction or signal reflection direction of the first network node associated with the first reference signal. Different from the implementation method of sending the first weight parameter / first weight parameter set to all first network nodes in the prior art, the present application can save resource overhead.

[0030] In one possible design, different reference signals are associated with different preambles.

[0031] In one possible design, different reference signals are associated with different ROs.

[0032] In a possible design, the first reference signal is a reference signal among the N reference signals whose signal strength is greater than or equal to a first threshold.

[0033] In one possible design, the method further includes:

[0034] First indication information is sent to a terminal device in a first cell, wherein the first indication information indicates that the first cell is a cell configured with at least two first network nodes.

[0035] In one possible design, before sending the N reference signals, the method further includes:

[0036] Send second indication information, where the second indication information indicates time-frequency resource position information and sequence information corresponding to each reference signal in the N reference signals.

[0037] In one possible design, the association relationship between each of the N reference signals and the time-frequency resource location information and sequence information is predefined or preconfigured.

[0038] In one possible design, the method further includes:

[0039] Sending third indication information, where the third indication information indicates an association relationship between a reference signal and a preamble, and / or, where the third indication information indicates an association relationship between a reference signal and a RO.

[0040] In one possible design, the association relationship between the reference signal and the preamble code is predefined or preconfigured, and / or the association relationship between the reference signal and the RO is predefined or preconfigured.

[0041] In one possible design, the reference signal is a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS or a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0042] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal device itself, or a unit or module (such as a chip) with corresponding functions in the terminal device. The communication device includes:

[0043] A transceiver unit, configured to receive N reference signals and M synchronization signals and a physical broadcast channel block SSB; wherein one SSB is associated with at least two reference signals of the N reference signals, and the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different preamble codes associated with the one SSB, and / or the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different random access channel opportunities RO associated with the one SSB, and at least one reference signal of the at least two reference signals is associated with a first network node; both N and M are positive integers;

[0044] The transceiver unit is configured to send a first preamble code on a first RO, where the first preamble code is a preamble code corresponding to a first reference signal, and / or the first RO is an RO corresponding to the first reference signal, where the first reference signal is one of the N reference signals.

[0045] In one possible design, different reference signals are associated with different preambles.

[0046] In one possible design, different reference signals are associated with different ROs.

[0047] In a possible design, the first reference signal is a reference signal among the N reference signals whose signal strength is greater than or equal to a first threshold.

[0048] In a possible design, the transceiver unit is configured to receive first indication information from a first cell, where the first indication information indicates that the first cell is a cell configured with at least two first network nodes;

[0049] In the case where the first preamble is sent on the first RO, the transceiver unit is specifically configured to:

[0050] The first preamble code is sent on the first RO based on the first indication information.

[0051] In one possible design, before receiving the N reference signals, the transceiver unit is used to:

[0052] Second indication information is received, where the second indication information indicates time-frequency resource location information and sequence information corresponding to each reference signal in the N reference signals.

[0053] In one possible design, the association relationship between each of the N reference signals and the time-frequency resource location information and sequence information is predefined or preconfigured.

[0054] In one possible design, the transceiver unit is further used for:

[0055] Third indication information is received, where the third indication information indicates an association relationship between a reference signal and a preamble, and / or the third indication information indicates an association relationship between a reference signal and a RO.

[0056] In one possible design, the association relationship between the reference signal and the preamble code is predefined or preconfigured, and / or the association relationship between the reference signal and the RO is predefined or preconfigured.

[0057] In one possible design, the reference signal is a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS or a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0058] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be an access network device itself, or a unit or module (such as a chip) with corresponding functions in the access network device. The communication device includes:

[0059] A transceiver unit, configured to send N reference signals and M synchronization signals and a physical broadcast channel block SSB; wherein one SSB is associated with at least two reference signals of the N reference signals, and the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different preamble codes associated with the one SSB, and / or the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different random access channel opportunities RO associated with the one SSB, and at least one reference signal of the at least two reference signals is associated with a first network node; both N and M are positive integers;

[0060] The transceiver unit is configured to receive a first preamble code on a first RO, where the first preamble code is a preamble code corresponding to a first reference signal, and / or the first RO is an RO corresponding to the first reference signal, where the first reference signal is one of the N reference signals.

[0061] In one possible design, the transceiver unit is further used for:

[0062] In the case of sending a message Msg2 or Msg4 for random access or sending a paging message for paging, or in the case of receiving an Msg3 for random access, sending a first weight parameter to a first network node associated with the first reference signal, where the first weight parameter is related to the first reference signal, and the first weight parameter is used to control a signal reflection direction or a signal transmission direction of the first network node associated with the first reference signal; or,

[0063] In the case of beam management, a first weight parameter set is sent to a first network node associated with the first reference signal, wherein the first weight parameter set includes one or more weight parameters, and the first weight parameter set is related to the first reference signal. The first weight parameter set is used to control a signal reflection direction or a signal transmission direction of the first network node associated with the first reference signal.

[0064] In one possible design, different reference signals are associated with different preambles.

[0065] In one possible design, different reference signals are associated with different ROs.

[0066] In a possible design, the first reference signal is a reference signal among the N reference signals whose signal strength is greater than or equal to a first threshold.

[0067] In one possible design, the transceiver unit is further used for:

[0068] First indication information is sent to a terminal device in a first cell, wherein the first indication information indicates that the first cell is a cell configured with at least two first network nodes.

[0069] In a possible design, before sending the N reference signals, the transceiver unit is further configured to:

[0070] Send second indication information, where the second indication information indicates time-frequency resource position information and sequence information corresponding to each reference signal in the N reference signals.

[0071] In one possible design, the association relationship between each of the N reference signals and the time-frequency resource location information and sequence information is predefined or preconfigured.

[0072] In one possible design, the transceiver unit is further used for:

[0073] Sending third indication information, where the third indication information indicates an association relationship between a reference signal and a preamble, and / or, where the third indication information indicates an association relationship between a reference signal and a RO.

[0074] In one possible design, the association relationship between the reference signal and the preamble code is predefined or preconfigured, and / or the association relationship between the reference signal and the RO is predefined or preconfigured.

[0075] In one possible design, the reference signal is a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS or a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0076] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor, and the processor is used to execute a computer program so that the communication device performs a method as described in any one of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0077] In one possible design, the communication device may be a chip that implements the method in the first aspect or the second aspect, or a device including a chip.

[0078] In one possible design, the communication device further includes a transceiver, and the processor is coupled to the transceiver.

[0079] In a possible design, the communication device further includes a memory. The processor is coupled to the memory, a computer program is stored in the memory, and the processor is further used to call the computer program in the memory. Optionally, the processor and the memory may also be integrated together.

[0080] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor being used to implement a method as described in any one of the first aspect or the second aspect through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

[0081] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the method as described in any one of the first aspect or the second aspect is implemented.

[0082] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product. When a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the computer executes the method described in any one of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0083] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, comprising a communication device for implementing any one of the methods described in the first aspect above, and a communication device for implementing any one of the methods described in the second aspect above.

[0084] The beneficial effects of the third to ninth aspects can refer to the beneficial effects of the first aspect and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0085] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the application scenario of IRS;

[0086] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system used in the embodiment of the present application;

[0087] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the four-step random access process;

[0088] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the process of two-step random access;

[0089] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the SSB transmission method in a cell including IRS;

[0090] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a random access scenario in a cell including an IRS;

[0091] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the scenario of beam management in a cell including IRS;

[0092] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of an interaction process of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0093] Fig. 9 It is a schematic diagram of a scenario of the association relationship between various parameters provided in the embodiment of the present application;

[0094] Fig.10 is another schematic diagram of a scenario of the association relationship between various parameters provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0095] Fig.11 It is another schematic diagram of a scenario of the association relationship between various parameters provided in the embodiment of the present application;

[0096] Fig.12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a possible communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0097] Fig.13 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a possible communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0098] The specific embodiments of the present application are further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0099] The terms "first" and "second" and the like in the specification, claims and drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device comprising a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0100] Reference to "embodiments" herein means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of the phrase in various locations in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It is explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0101] In the present application, "at least one (item)" means one or more, "more than one" means two or more, "at least two (items)" means two or three and more than three, and "and / or" is used to describe the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0102] In order to better understand the embodiments of the present application, the system architecture involved in the embodiments of the present application is first introduced below:

[0103] See also Figure 2 , Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system used in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 As shown, the communication system 1000 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g. Figure 2 110a and 110b, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal (such as Figure 2RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay equipment and / or wireless backhaul equipment ( Figure 2 The terminal 120 is connected to the RAN node 110 in a wireless manner. The RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 in a wireless or wired manner. The core network device in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 may be different physical devices, or may be the same physical device that integrates the core network logical function and the radio access network logical function.

[0104] RAN 100 may be a cellular system related to the third generation partnership project (3GPP), for example, a 4G, 5G mobile communication system, or a future evolution system (for example, a 6G mobile communication system). RAN 100 may also be an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (wireless fidelity, WiFi) system. RAN 100 may also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0105] The RAN node 110, which may also be sometimes referred to as an access network device, a RAN entity or an access node, constitutes a part of the communication system to help the terminal achieve wireless access. The multiple RAN nodes 110 in the communication system 1000 may be nodes of the same type or nodes of different types. In some scenarios, the roles of the RAN node 110 and the terminal 120 are relative, for example, Figure 2 The network element 120i may be a helicopter or a drone, which may be configured as a mobile base station. For the terminals 120j that access the RAN 100 through the network element 120i, the network element 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, the network element 120i is a terminal. The RAN node 110 and the terminal 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices, for example Figure 2 The base stations 110a and 110b may be understood as communication devices having base station functions, and the terminals 120a-120j may be understood as communication devices having terminal functions.

[0106] In one possible scenario, a RAN node may be a base station (BS), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation base station in a sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. A RAN node may be a macro base station (e.g. Figure 2 110a in), micro base stations or indoor stations (such as Figure 2 110b in the description), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the RAN node may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an on-board device, etc. For example, the access network device in the vehicle to everything (V2X) technology may be a road side unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the RAN node in the present application may also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform). The RAN node in the present application may also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the RAN node.

[0107] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU here completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence layer protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete the functions of part of the physical layer or all of the physical layer. For the specific description of the above-mentioned various protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The CU and DU can be set separately, or can also be included in the same network element, such as the baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, for example, in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU) or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0108] Optionally, the RAN node may also be expressed in different ways, such as access network equipment. Unless otherwise specified in this application, access network equipment is used for expression.

[0109] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU are described as examples in this application. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0110] The terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, mobile equipment (ME), etc. The terminal can be widely used in various scenarios, for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, automatic driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, a smart home device, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal.

[0111] The core network may include one or more functional entities (or core network elements, network elements, entities, etc.), such as network slice selection function (NSSF), network exposure function (NEF), network storage function (NRF), policy control function (PCF), unified data management (UDM), access and mobility management function (AMF), authentication server function (AUSF), session management function (SMF), etc.

[0112] It should be noted that the above functional entity is only a name, and the name itself does not limit the entity. For example, the session management function may also be replaced by "session management function entity" or other names. Moreover, the session management function entity may also correspond to an entity including other functions in addition to the session management function. The user plane function may also be replaced by "user plane function entity" or other names, and the user plane function entity may also correspond to an entity including other functions in addition to the user plane function. A unified explanation is given here, and no further description is given below.

[0113] It should be noted that the message names between network elements or the names of parameters in the messages in the following embodiments of the present application are merely examples, and other names may be used in specific implementations, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any specific limitations on this.

[0114] In this application, "sending information to...(terminal)" can be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal. It can include sending information to the terminal directly or indirectly. "Receiving information from...(terminal)" can be understood as the source of the information being the terminal, which can include receiving information from the terminal directly or indirectly. The information may be processed as necessary between the source and destination of the information, such as format changes, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0115] It should be understood that the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application can be any of the above-mentioned devices or chips, which are not specifically limited here. Whether as a device or as a chip, the terminal device can be manufactured, sold or used as an independent product. In this embodiment and subsequent embodiments, only the terminal device is used as an example for introduction.

[0116] It should be understood that the device used to implement the function of the access network device in the embodiment of the present application may be the access network device itself, or may be a device that can support the access network device to implement the function, such as a chip system or a combination device or component that can implement the function of the access network device, and the device can be installed in the access network device. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system may be composed of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices. In this embodiment and subsequent embodiments, only the access network device is used as an example for introduction.

[0117] The following is an explanation of the relevant technical features involved in the embodiments of the present application. It should be noted that these explanations are intended to make the embodiments of the present application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed by the present application.

[0118] 1. Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) and network controlled repeater (NCR)

[0119] In wireless communication scenarios, buildings, walls, entertainment facilities and other structures will block the direct path from the access network equipment to the terminal equipment, resulting in poor signal quality received at the terminal equipment, thus affecting communication performance.

[0120] A possible solution to this problem is to deploy multiple IRSs in the network, which can realize an intelligent and reconfigurable wireless environment in an economical and efficient manner. Specifically, the IRS is a metasurface composed of a large number of low-cost passive reflective elements, each of which can independently modulate the amplitude and phase of the incident signal. In practical applications, by adjusting the phase of each element of the IRS, the incident signal of the IRS can be reflected to the desired direction to improve the quality of the wireless communication link. Optionally, the IRS can also be called a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), a large intelligent surface (LIS), a digital controlled surface (DCS), an intelligent passive mirror or an artificial radio space, etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0121] Another possible solution to this problem is to deploy multiple NCRs in the network. Specifically, NCR is an active device, which consists of a forwarding unit and a mobile terminal unit. The main functions of the forwarding unit include: communicating with the base station through the backhaul link; communicating with the terminal device through the access link; amplifying and forwarding the uplink and downlink signals between the base station and the terminal device, etc. The main functions of the mobile terminal unit include: communicating with the base station through the control link. In actual applications, by deploying NCRs in areas with weak coverage, the uplink and downlink information from the base station to the user can be amplified and forwarded, thereby achieving coverage enhancement.

[0122] 2. Paging

[0123] In wireless communication, the access network device can send a paging message to the terminal. There are two types of paging messages sent by the access network device. One type is short message-type paging messages, such as system message update indication, earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) messages, etc. For short message-type paging messages, terminal devices in RRC idle state (RRC_IDLE), RRC inactive state (RRC_INACTIVE) or RRC connected state (RRC_CONNECTED) can receive them. The other type of paging message is used to establish a connection. For this type of paging message, terminal devices in RRC idle state or RRC inactive state can receive it, while terminal devices in RRC connected state do not need to receive it.

[0124] 3. Cell

[0125] A cell is an area within the wireless coverage of an access network device (e.g., a base station). In this area, a terminal device can reliably communicate with the access network device via wireless signals. It is understood that the coverage of each access network device can be divided into one or more cells.

[0126] 4. Random access (RA)

[0127] In wireless communication technology, a terminal device obtains uplink synchronization with a network device through a random access process. Currently, the random access types include four-step random access and two-step random access.

[0128] When a terminal device in a traditional idle or inactive state wants to initiate random access, it usually uses a four-step random access (4-Step RACH) process to complete the random access process. For example, see Figure 3 , Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the four-step random access process. Figure 3 As shown:

[0129] S301. The terminal device sends Msg1 (message 1) to the access network device. The Msg1 includes a preamble code carried on a physical random access channel (PRACH).

[0130] S302, the access network device sends Msg2 to the terminal device, and the Msg2 includes the response information for the preamble (Msg1). The response information includes a timing advance command (TA). After receiving Msg1, the access network device measures the TA through the preamble, and notifies the terminal device of the measured TA value through the TA command in the response information (Msg2) for Msg1.

[0131] S303: The terminal device sends Msg3 to the access network device, where Msg3 includes uplink data carried on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH resources in Msg3 are obtained according to the uplink scheduling grant (UL grant) in the response information Msg2.

[0132] S304. The access network device sends Msg4 to the terminal device. The Msg4 includes response information for the uplink data, for example, contention resolution message CRM (CRM).

[0133] To further reduce access delay and signaling overhead, the industry has proposed a two-step random access (2-StepRACH) process. For example, see Figure 4 , Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the two-step random access process. Figure 4 As shown:

[0134] S401. The terminal device sends MsgA to the access network device. The MsgA includes a preamble carried on the PRACH and uplink data carried on the PUSCH.

[0135] S402. The access network device sends MsgB to the terminal device, where the MsgB includes at least one of response information for the preamble code and response information for uplink data.

[0136] Generally speaking, in a cell where multiple IRSs are deployed, since the signal directly from the base station received by the terminal equipment in the area served by the IRS is weak, the base station will send synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel blocks (synchronization signal and PBCH block, SSB) in multiple different directions at the same time, including the base station SSB scanning direction (such as Figure 5 SSB1 and SSB2 sent directly by the base station) and fixedly sent to the direction of the IRS (such as Figure 5 The base station sends to two IRSs, namely IRS1 and IRS2. At the same time, the IRS also needs to adjust the phase to reflect different SSBs from the base station to different directions for beam scanning to cover the entire area that the IRS expects to serve. Figure 5 As shown, when the base station sends SSB1, IRS1 reflects the signal from the base station to the direction of SSB1 corresponding to IRS1, and IRS2 reflects the signal from the base station to the direction of SSB1 corresponding to IRS2; when the base station sends SSB2, IRS1 reflects the signal from the base station to the direction of SSB2 corresponding to IRS1, and IRS2 reflects the signal from the base station to the direction of SSB2 corresponding to IRS2. The terminal device enters the random access process by detecting SSB to achieve connection with the base station. However, when the terminal device performs random access, since the base station cannot distinguish which IRS the terminal device accesses through, the subsequent base station sends messages Msg2 and Msg4 to the terminal device, or receives Msg3, or performs paging. It is still necessary to control the signal reflection direction of all IRSs to point to the direction corresponding to the SSB when the terminal device accesses. This makes the signal reflection direction of the IRS that could have been used to serve other users (sending data, etc.) forced to point to a direction where there may be no user, thereby reducing the utilization rate of the IRS. Specifically, as Figure 6As shown, the base station and IRS use the beam of the SSB corresponding to UE1 when sending the random access preamble to send Msg2 / Msg4 messages to the terminal device. Although UE1 is served by IRS1, since the base station cannot know the correspondence between the terminal device and the IRS (that is, which IRS serves the terminal device), the base station will control IRS2 to point to the beam direction of the corresponding SSB, and there may be no users in this direction. If the base station knows that UE1 is accessed to the base station through IRS1, then IRS2 can serve other users when the base station sends messages to UE1 through IRS1, so as to improve the utilization efficiency of IRS.

[0137] In addition, when managing the beam, the base station needs to perform fine-grained beam scanning according to the location of the terminal device when it accesses (through the direction of the SSB beam corresponding to the random access channel occasion (RO) when the terminal device sends a random access preamble) to determine the best beam to serve the terminal device. Since the existing technology cannot know the corresponding relationship between the terminal device and the IRS, the IRS may perform beam scanning at the corresponding position where there is no user, resulting in a waste of resources. Figure 7 As shown, UE1 and UE2 correspond to two different positions respectively. Since the base station cannot know the corresponding relationship between the terminal device and the IRS, IRS1 and IRS2 need to perform beam scanning in the directions corresponding to UE1 and UE2. If the base station can know the corresponding relationship between UE1 and UE2 and the IRS, the beam scanning overhead can be reduced.

[0138] Based on this, the present application proposes a communication method, which can be implemented in a cell where multiple first network nodes (such as IRS) are deployed. When a terminal device performs random access, the access network device can distinguish through which first network node the terminal device accesses the cell, which is conducive to saving resource overhead in subsequent processes.

[0139] The communication method and communication device provided by this application are described in detail below:

[0140] See also Figure 8 , Figure 8 Schematic diagram of an interactive process of the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 As shown, the communication method includes the following steps S801-S802. Figure 8 The method shown may be performed by a terminal device and an access network device, or, Figure 8 The execution subject of the method shown may also be a chip in a terminal device and a chip in an access network device. For the convenience of description, Figure 8 The following mainly uses the terminal device and the access network device as the execution subject of the method as an example. It should be noted that: Figure 8is a schematic flow chart of a method embodiment of the present application, showing detailed communication steps or operations of the method, but these steps or operations are only examples, and the present application embodiment may also perform other operations or Figure 8 In addition, Figure 8 The steps in Figure 8 are executed in a different order than those presented, and may not be executed in the order Figure 8 All operations in . Among them:

[0141] S801, the access network device sends N reference signals and M SSBs to the terminal device in the first cell. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the N reference signals and M SSBs from the access network device.

[0142] Here, N and M are both positive integers. Among them, one SSB is associated with at least two reference signals among N reference signals, and the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different preamble codes associated with the one SSB, and / or, the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different ROs associated with the one SSB. In the present application, at least one reference signal among the at least two reference signals is also associated with a first network node. Here, "association" can also be replaced with the description of "correspondence", that is, the expressions of "association" and "correspondence" can be replaced with each other. Among them, the first network node can be an IRS, or an NCR, etc., which is not limited here. For ease of understanding, the following is mainly illustrated by taking the first network node as an IRS as an example, wherein the first cell is a cell configured with multiple IRSs. Among them, the implementation of the access network device sending SSB to the terminal device under the first cell can be referred to the protocol TS38.211, which is not described in detail here. The following mainly introduces the implementation method of the access network device sending reference signals to the terminal device under the first cell.

[0143] In some feasible implementations, through beam management, the access network device can respectively obtain the BS transmission beam weights that make the receiving intensity at each IRS in the cell (for example, taking the first cell as an example for schematic illustration) the strongest. Assuming that the number of IRSs is P, the BS transmission beam weights corresponding to IRS0 to IRS P-1 obtained by the access network device are {w0, w1, ..., w P-1}, when transmitting a reference signal, for each reference signal associated with an IRS, the access network device may use {w0,w1,…,w P-1}, the BS transmits the reference signal associated with each IRS using the beam weight corresponding to each IRS. For example, taking IRS0 as an example, the access network device can use w0 to send the reference signal associated with IRS 0. Assume that the signal reflection weight parameters used by any IRS p among P IRSs when reflecting SSB0 to SSBM-1 are When IRS reflects the reference signal sent by the access network device, the weight parameter of the SSB associated with the reference signal can be used to reflect the corresponding reference signal. For example, assuming that reference signal 0 is associated with IRS0 and reference signal 0 is associated with SSB0, if the BS transmit beam weight used by the access network device to send the reference signal 0 is w0, then the weight parameters used by IRS0~IRSP-1 to reflect the reference signal 0 are In this way, when a terminal device accesses via a certain IRS, if the reference signal (e.g., the first reference signal) received from the IRS has the strongest strength, then the terminal device can select the first preamble code and / or the first RO corresponding to the first reference signal for transmission based on the association relationship between the reference signal and the preamble code and / or the RO, so that the access network device can distinguish which IRS the terminal device accesses via based on the first preamble code and / or the first RO. For example, assuming that the terminal device accesses via SSB0 corresponding to IRS0, and reference signal 0 is associated with IRS0 and associated with SSB0, then among all the reference signals received by the terminal device, the signal strength of reference signal 0 is usually the strongest. Therefore, the terminal device can use the first preamble code corresponding to reference signal 0 to send the preamble code on the first RO, and the access network device can determine the corresponding reference signal 0 based on the received first preamble code and / or the first RO, and then based on the determined reference signal 0, it can be determined that the terminal device is accessed through IRS 0.

[0144] Generally speaking, different reference signals are associated with different preambles, and different reference signals are associated with different ROs.

[0145] For example, suppose an index is i SSB The number of preamble codes associated with SSB is (Should The sequence numbers of the preamble codes are ), and the index is i SSB There are K reference signals associated with the SSB of the signal, K is an integer greater than 1, then a possible association relationship between the reference signal and the preamble code can be: the association sequence number of the reference signal 0 is The preamble code of reference signal 1 is associated with The preamble code is, and so on, the reference signal K-1 associated number is For example, assuming that SSB0 is associated with 5 reference signals (e.g., reference signal 0 to reference signal 4) and 10 preamble codes (e.g., preamble code 0 to preamble code 9), then the association relationship between the reference signal and the preamble code can be: reference signal 0 is associated with preamble code 0 and preamble code 1, reference signal 1 is associated with preamble code 2 and preamble code 3, reference signal 2 is associated with preamble code 4 and preamble code 5, reference signal 3 is associated with preamble code 6 and preamble code 7, and reference signal 4 is associated with preamble code 8 and preamble code 9.

[0146] For example, suppose an index is i SSB The number of ROs associated with the SSB is F (the F ROs are numbered from 0 to F-1), and the index is i SSB There are K reference signals associated with the SSB of , K is an integer greater than 1, then a possible association relationship between the reference signal and the RO can be: the association number of the reference signal 0 is RO, the reference signal 1 is associated with RO, and so on, the reference signal K-1 association number is For example, assuming that SSB0 is associated with 4 reference signals (e.g., reference signal 0 to reference signal 4) and 8 ROs (e.g., RO0 to RO7), then the association relationship between the reference signals and the ROs may be: reference signal 0 is associated with RO0 and RO1, reference signal 1 is associated with RO2 and RO3, reference signal 2 is associated with RO4 and RO5, and reference signal 3 is associated with RO6 and RO7.

[0147] Generally speaking, the reference signals corresponding to different SSBs are different, the preambles corresponding to different SSBs are different, and the ROs corresponding to different SSBs may be the same or different. Among them, one SSB can be associated with one or more preambles, and one SSB can be associated with one or more ROs. It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the association relationship between the reference signal and the RO and / or the preamble can be one-to-one or one-to-many, but the association relationship between the RO and / or the preamble and the reference signal is usually one-to-one, that is, one reference signal can correspond to at least one RO and / or at least one preamble, but one RO and / or one preamble usually corresponds to one reference signal.

[0148] For example, if Fig. 9As shown, taking N=12 and M=2 as an example, the 10 reference signals are reference signal 0 to reference signal 11, namely reference signals {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11}, and the two SSBs are SSB0 and SSB1. SSB0 can be associated with reference signals {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, and SSB1 can be associated with reference signals {6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11}. Then, SSB0 can correspond to the preamble {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} and to RO {0, 1, 2, 3}, and SSB1 can correspond to the preamble {8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15} and to RO {4, 5, 6, 7}. Among them, for the reference signals associated with SSB0, the reference signals {0, 1, 2} are associated with the preamble {0, 1, 2}, and are also associated with IRS0, the reference signals {3, 4} are associated with the preamble {3, 4, 5}, and are also associated with IRS1, the reference signals {5} are associated with the preamble {6, 7}, and are also associated with IRS2. For the reference signals associated with SSB1, the reference signals {6, 7, 8} are associated with the preamble {8, 9, 10}, and are also associated with IRS0, the reference signals {9, 10} are associated with the preamble {11, 12, 13}, and are also associated with IRS1, and the reference signals {11} are associated with the preamble {14, 15}, and are also associated with IRS2.

[0149] For example, Fig.10 As shown, taking N=12 and M=2 as an example, the 10 reference signals are reference signal 0 to reference signal 11, namely reference signals {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11}, and the two SSBs are SSB0 and SSB1. SSB0 can be associated with reference signals {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, and SSB1 can be associated with reference signals {6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11}. Then, SSB0 can correspond to the preamble {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} and to RO {0, 1, 2, 3}, and SSB1 can correspond to the preamble {8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15} and to RO {4, 5, 6, 7}. Among them, for reference signals associated with SSB0, reference signals {0, 1, 2} are associated with RO{0} and are also associated with IRS0, reference signals {3, 4} are associated with RO{1} and are also associated with IRS1, and reference signals {5} are associated with RO{2, 3} and are also associated with IRS2. For reference signals associated with SSB1, reference signals {6, 7, 8} are associated with RO{4} and are also associated with IRS0, reference signals {9, 10} are associated with RO{5} and are also associated with IRS1, and reference signals {11} are associated with RO{6, 7} and are also associated with IRS2.

[0150] For example, Fig.11 As shown, taking N=12 and M=2 as an example, the 10 reference signals are reference signal 0 to reference signal 11, namely reference signals {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11}, and the two SSBs are SSB0 and SSB1. SSB0 can be associated with reference signals {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, and SSB1 can be associated with reference signals {6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11}. Then, SSB0 can correspond to the preamble {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} and to RO {0, 1, 2, 3}, and SSB1 can correspond to the preamble {8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15} and to RO {4, 5, 6, 7}. Among them, for the reference signals associated with SSB0, the reference signal {0, 1, 2} is associated with the preamble {0, 1, 2} and the associated RO {0}, and is also associated with IRS0, the reference signal {3, 4} is associated with the preamble {3, 4, 5} and the associated RO {1}, and is also associated with IRS1, the reference signal {5} is associated with the preamble {6, 7} and the associated RO {2, 3}, and is also associated with IRS2. For the reference signals associated with SSB1, the reference signal {6, 7, 8} is associated with the preamble {8, 9, 10} and the associated RO {4}, and is also associated with IRS0, the reference signal {9, 10} is associated with the preamble {11, 12, 13} and the associated RO {5}, and is also associated with IRS1, the reference signal {11} is associated with the preamble {14, 15} and the associated RO {6, 7}, and is also associated with IRS2.

[0151] It should be understood that the association relationship between the SSB and the reference signal may be configured by the access network device, or may be predefined or preconfigured, etc., and the present application does not limit this. Exemplarily, the association relationship between the SSB and the reference signal may be a correspondence between the index of the SSB and the time-frequency resource location information of the reference signal.

[0152] It should be understood that the association relationship between the reference signal and the first network node may be predefined, or preconfigured, etc., and the present application does not limit this. It should be understood that the association relationship between the reference signal and the preamble, and / or the association relationship between the reference signal and the RO may be configured by the access network device, or may be predefined, or preconfigured, etc., and the present application does not limit this.

[0153] For example, taking the association relationship between the reference signal and the preamble, and / or the association relationship between the reference signal and the RO as an example configured by the access network device, the access network device may send third indication information to the terminal device, where the third indication information indicates the association relationship between the reference signal and the preamble, and / or the third indication information indicates the association relationship between the reference signal and the RO. Exemplarily, the third indication information may be carried in each SSB of the M SSBs.

[0154] Optionally, the access network device may also send a second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information indicates the time-frequency resource location information and sequence information corresponding to each reference signal in the N reference signals. That is to say, the association relationship between the reference signal and the time-frequency resource location information and sequence information is configured by the access network device through the second indication information. Generally speaking, the second indication information can be carried in each SSB in the M SSBs. Alternatively, the association relationship between each of the N reference signals and the time-frequency resource location information and sequence information may also be predefined, or preconfigured, etc., and the present application does not impose any restrictions on this. Therefore, the terminal device can receive the sequence information of the N reference signals from the access network device at the corresponding time-frequency resource position based on the association relationship between the acquired reference signal and the time-frequency resource location information and sequence information. The time-frequency resource position includes the time domain resource position and the frequency domain resource position. Optionally, in a possible implementation method, the time domain resource position refers to the starting position of the time domain resource, referred to as the time domain resource starting position.

[0155] It should be understood that the multiplexing method of N reference signals in the embodiment of the present application can be time division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, code division multiplexing, or a combination of frequency division, time division and code division. Among them, time division multiplexing refers to placing N reference signals at different starting orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM) symbol positions for transmission. Frequency division multiplexing refers to placing N reference signals at non-overlapping frequency domain positions for transmission. Code division multiplexing refers to the use of orthogonal cover codes (orthogonal cover codes, OCC) or sequence cyclic shifts to distinguish different reference signals placed at the same time-frequency resource position. Among them, the reference signal can be a channel state information reference signal (channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS) or a demodulation reference signal (demodulation reference signal, DMRS), etc., which is not limited here. Optionally, the multiplexing method of the reference signal and / or the type of the reference signal can also be configured by the access network device, or can also be predefined, or preconfigured, etc., which is not limited in the present application.

[0156] The time domain resource location of the reference signal in the embodiment of the present application is explained below using time division multiplexing as an example.

[0157] In a possible implementation, the time domain resource position of the reference signal (or, the starting position of the time domain resource) can be determined according to the subcarrier spacing, the possible OFDM symbol position of the SSB, and the principle of ensuring that it does not cross subframes and is located after the time domain resource position of the SSB. Exemplarily, the following two examples are used for schematic illustration:

[0158] Example 1: When the subcarrier spacing is 15kHz, a subframe includes 1 time slot, and a time slot includes 14 OFDM symbols. Assume that the transmission of an SSB requires 4 consecutive OFDM symbols. For example, the time domain resource position of the SSB can be the position corresponding to the OFDM symbol index 2, 3, 4, 5 in each time slot, or the position corresponding to the OFDM symbol index 8, 9, 10, 11. Then, the possible starting OFDM symbol position of the SSB can be the position corresponding to the OFDM symbol index {2, 8} + 14 × n0, where n0 represents the index of the time slot / subframe. On the premise that the time domain resource position of the reference signal does not cross subframes and is sent after the SSB is sent, the possible OFDM symbol position (or time domain resource position) / starting OFDM symbol position (or time domain resource starting position) of the reference signal corresponding to the SSB with a starting OFDM symbol index of 2+14×n0 can be {6, 7, 12, 13}+14×n0, or the possible OFDM symbol position / starting OFDM symbol position of the reference signal corresponding to the SSB with a starting OFDM symbol index of 8+14×n0 can be {12, 13}+14×n0.

[0159] Example 2: When the subcarrier spacing is 30kHz, a subframe includes 2 time slots, and a time slot includes 14 OFDM symbols. Assume that the transmission of an SSB requires 4 consecutive OFDM symbols. For example, the time domain resource position of the SSB can be the position corresponding to the OFDM symbol index 4, 5, 6, 7 in each time slot, or the position corresponding to the OFDM symbol index 8, 9, 10, 11, or the position corresponding to the OFDM symbol index 16, 17, 18, 19, or the position corresponding to the OFDM symbol index 20, 21, 22, 23. Then, the possible starting OFDM symbol position of the SSB can be the position corresponding to the OFDM symbol index {4, 8, 16, 20} + 28 × n1, where n1 represents the index of the subframe. On the premise that the time domain resource position of the reference signal does not cross subframes and is sent after the SSB is sent, the possible OFDM symbol position / starting OFDM symbol position of the reference signal corresponding to the SSB with a starting OFDM symbol position of {4, 8}+28×n1 can be {12, 13, 14, 15, 24, 25, 26, 27}+28×n1, or the possible OFDM symbol position / starting OFDM symbol position of the reference signal corresponding to the SSB with a starting OFDM symbol position of {16, 20}+28×n1 can be {24, 25, 26, 27}+28×n1.

[0160] In a possible implementation, the frequency domain resource position (or the starting position of the frequency domain resource) of the reference signal in the embodiment of the present application can be determined according to the following method: Assume that the sequence length of a reference signal is And transmitted on the same OFDM symbol, each sequence symbol in the reference signal (or each sequence element constituting the reference signal sequence) is spaced in the frequency domain In order to enable terminal devices with different (bandwidth) capabilities to determine the location of the reference signal, the width of a reference signal on the spectrum cannot exceed the spectrum range where the SSB is located (that is, 240 consecutive subcarriers), that is, Assuming that the reference signal is continuously mapped to the subcarriers in the frequency domain from low frequency to high frequency, the starting position of the frequency domain resource of the reference signal can be subcarrier 0 to subcarrier 1 of the SSB. For example, That is, the sequence length of a reference signal is 12, and each sequence symbol in the reference signal is spaced in the frequency domain. subcarriers, then the width of the reference signal on the spectrum is 12×(3+1)-3=45 subcarriers. In order for the width of the reference signal on the spectrum not to exceed the spectrum range where the SSB is located, the starting position of the frequency domain resource of the reference signal can be any one of the subcarriers 0 to 195 of the SSB.

[0161] S802: The terminal device sends a first preamble code on the first RO. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first preamble code from the terminal device on the first RO.

[0162] In some feasible implementations, the terminal device receives N reference signals and M SSBs from the access network device, calculates the signal strength of the received N reference signals, selects a reference signal from the reference signals whose signal strength is greater than a first threshold, for example, selects the reference signal with the strongest signal strength (for example, the first reference signal), and sends the first preamble code on the first RO based on the association between the first reference signal and the preamble code and / or RO.

[0163] In a possible implementation, the first preamble is one of all preambles corresponding to the SSB associated with the first reference signal, and the first RO is one of at least one RO associated with the first reference signal. For example, when the reference signal is associated with the RO of the SSB but not with the preamble of the SSB, the terminal device may select a preamble (e.g., the first preamble) from the preambles associated with the SSB, and select an RO (e.g., the first RO) from the ROs associated with the first reference signal, and send the first preamble on the first RO.

[0164] For example, please refer to Fig. 9 , taking SSB0 as an example, assuming that SSB0 is associated with reference signals {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, and associated with preambles {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} and associated with RO {0, 1, 2, 3}. The reference signal {0, 1, 2} is associated with preambles {0, 1, 2}, and is also associated with IRS0, the reference signal {3, 4} is associated with preambles {3, 4, 5}, and is also associated with IRS1, and the reference signal {5} is associated with preambles {6, 7}, and is also associated with IRS2:

[0165] As a specific example, when the first reference signal with the strongest received signal strength is reference signal 0, the terminal device can select a preamble code from the preamble codes {0, 1, 2} as the first preamble code, for example, the selected first preamble code is preamble code 0, and select an RO from RO {0, 1, 2, 3} as the first RO, for example, the selected first RO is RO0, and send preamble code 0 on RO0.

[0166] In another specific example, when the first reference signal with the strongest received signal strength is reference signal 5, the terminal device can select a preamble from preambles {6, 7} as the first preamble, for example, select the first preamble as preamble 6, and select a RO from RO {0, 1, 2, 3} as the first RO, for example, the first RO is RO0, and send preamble 6 on RO0. These are not listed here one by one.

[0167] In another possible implementation, the first preamble is a preamble of at least one preamble associated with the first reference signal, and the first RO is a RO of at least one RO associated with the first reference signal. For example, when the reference signal is associated with the preamble of the SSB, and the RO of the SSB is associated with the RO of the SSB, the terminal device may select a preamble (e.g., the first preamble) from the preambles associated with the first reference signal, and select an RO (e.g., the first RO) from the ROs associated with the first reference signal, and send the first preamble on the first RO.

[0168] For example, please refer to Fig.10 , taking SSB0 as an example, assuming that SSB0 is associated with reference signals {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, and associated with preambles {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} and associated with RO {0, 1, 2, 3}. Reference signals {0, 1, 2} are associated with RO {0}, and are also associated with IRS0, reference signals {3, 4} are associated with RO {1}, and are also associated with IRS1, and reference signals {5} are associated with RO {2, 3}, and are also associated with IRS2:

[0169] As a specific example, when the first reference signal with the strongest received signal strength is reference signal 0, the terminal device can select a preamble code from the preamble codes {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} as the first preamble code, for example, the selected first preamble code is preamble code 0, and send preamble code 0 on RO0.

[0170] In another specific example, when the first reference signal with the strongest received signal strength is reference signal 5, the terminal device can select a preamble from preambles {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} as the first preamble, for example, the selected first preamble is preamble 0, and select a RO from RO {2, 3} as the first RO, for example, the first RO is RO2, and send preamble 0 on RO2. They are not listed here one by one.

[0171] In another possible implementation, the first preamble is a preamble of at least one preamble associated with the first reference signal, and the first RO is a RO of all ROs corresponding to the SSB associated with the first reference signal. For example, when the reference signal is associated with the preamble of the SSB but not with the RO of the SSB, the terminal device may select a preamble (e.g., the first preamble) from the preambles associated with the first reference signal, and select an RO (e.g., the first RO) from the ROs associated with the SSB, and send the first preamble on the first RO.

[0172] For example, please refer to Fig.11 , taking SSB0 as an example, assuming that SSB0 is associated with reference signals {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, and associated preambles {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} and associated ROs {0, 1, 2, 3}. Reference signals {0, 1, 2} are associated with preambles {0, 1, 2} and associated ROs {0}, and are also associated with IRS0, reference signals {3, 4} are associated with preambles {3, 4, 5} and associated ROs {1}, and are also associated with IRS1, and reference signals {5} are associated with preambles {6, 7} and associated ROs {2, 3}, and are also associated with IRS2:

[0173] As a specific example, when the first reference signal with the strongest received signal strength is reference signal 0, the terminal device can select a preamble code from the preamble codes {0, 1, 2} as the first preamble code, for example, select the first preamble code as preamble code 0, and send preamble code 0 on RO0.

[0174] In another specific example, when the first reference signal with the strongest received signal strength is reference signal 5, the terminal device can select a preamble from preambles {6, 7} as the first preamble, for example, select the first preamble as preamble 6, and select a RO from RO {2, 3} as the first RO, for example, the first RO is RO2, and send preamble 6 on RO2. These are not listed here one by one.

[0175] Optionally, in some other feasible implementations, before the terminal device sends the first preamble code on the first RO, the access network device may also send a first indication message to the terminal device under the first cell. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first indication message from the first cell, and the first indication message indicates that the first cell is a cell configured with at least two first network nodes. Therefore, the subsequent terminal device can send the first preamble code on the first RO based on the first indication message. It should be noted that the advantage of the access network device indicating to the terminal device whether the first cell is a cell equipped with at least two first network nodes (that is, the access network device sends the first indication message) is that it can ensure that subsequent processes are not performed in cells without multiple IRS / NCR configurations to reduce the complexity of random access. Generally speaking, the first indication message can be carried in each SSB of M SSBs for transmission.

[0176] Correspondingly, for the access network device, after the access network device receives the first preamble code from the terminal device on the first RO, the access network device can determine the correspondence between the terminal device and the IRS based on the first preamble code and / or the first RO, combined with the association relationship between the preamble code and / or RO and the reference signal, and the association relationship between the reference signal and the first network node (e.g., IRS), that is, know which IRS the terminal device is accessed through.

[0177] For example, assuming that the preamble and the reference signal are associated (but the RO and the reference signal are not associated), and the reference signal and the IRS are associated, then the access network device can determine that the corresponding reference signal is the first reference signal according to the first preamble, and then determine the corresponding IRS according to the first reference signal. Fig. 9 , assuming that the access network device receives preamble 0 on RO0, the access network device can determine the reference signal {0, 1, 2} based on preamble 0, and then determine that the terminal device accesses through IRS0 based on the reference signal {0, 1, 2}. Assuming that the access network device receives preamble 6 on RO3, the access network device can determine the reference signal {6, 7} based on preamble 6, and then determine that the terminal device accesses through IRS2 based on the reference signal {6, 7}.

[0178] As another example, assuming that there is an association relationship between the RO and the reference signal (but there is no association relationship between the preamble and the reference signal), and there is an association relationship between the reference signal and the IRS, then the access network device can determine the corresponding reference signal as the first reference signal according to the first RO, and then determine the corresponding IRS according to the first reference signal. For example, please refer to Fig.10, assuming that the access network device receives preamble 0 on RO0, the access network device can determine the reference signal {0, 1, 2} based on RO0, and then determine that the terminal device accesses through IRS0 based on the reference signal {0, 1, 2}. Assuming that the access network device receives preamble 6 on RO3, the access network device can determine the reference signal {6, 7} based on RO3, and then determine that the terminal device accesses through IRS2 based on the reference signal {6, 7}.

[0179] As another example, assuming that both the preamble and the RO are associated with the reference signal, and the reference signal is associated with the IRS, the access network device can determine that the corresponding reference signal is the first reference signal according to the first preamble and / or the first RO, and then determine the corresponding IRS according to the first reference signal. Fig.11 , assuming that the access network device receives preamble 0 on RO0, the access network device can determine the reference signal {0, 1, 2} based on preamble 0 and RO0, and then determine that the terminal device accesses through IRS0 based on the reference signal {0, 1, 2}. Assuming that the access network device receives preamble 6 on RO3, the access network device can determine the reference signal {6, 7} based on preamble 6 and RO3, and then determine that the terminal device accesses through IRS2 based on the reference signal {6, 7}.

[0180] Optionally, for an access network device, after the access network device receives the first preamble code on the first RO, when the access network device sends a message Msg2 or Msg4 for random access or sends a paging message for paging, or when the access network device receives Msg3 for random access, the access network device may send a first weight parameter to a first network node associated with a first reference signal, where the first weight parameter is related to the first reference signal and is used to control a signal reflection direction or a signal transmission direction of the first network node associated with the first reference signal.

[0181] Optionally, for an access network device, after the access network device receives the first preamble code on the first RO, when the access network device performs beam management, the access network device may send a first weight parameter set to a first network node associated with a first reference signal, where the first weight parameter set includes one or more weight parameters, the first weight parameter set is related to the first reference signal, and the first weight parameter set is used to control a signal reflection direction or a signal transmission direction of the first network node associated with the first reference signal.

[0182] It should be understood that when the first network node is a passive node (such as an IRS), the above-mentioned control of the signal reflection direction of the first network node associated with the first reference signal can be understood as controlling the reflection direction of the first network node for the signal received from the access network device or the terminal device. In other words, when the access network device sends Msg2, or sends Msg4, or sends a paging message, or receives Msg3 from the terminal device to the terminal device, it only needs to let the corresponding IRS reflect the signal in the direction of the SSB corresponding to the first reference signal, without controlling all IRSs in the cell to send Msg2, Msg4 and paging messages, or receive Msg3. In addition, during the beam management process, a more refined scan is usually performed in the direction of the SSB to which the user accesses. Based on the solution provided in the present application, the access network device only needs to control the IRS to which the terminal device accesses to perform a more refined scan in the direction of the SSB corresponding to the first reference signal when performing beam scanning, without controlling all IRSs to perform beam scanning in the direction of their corresponding SSB.

[0183] It should be understood that when the first network node is an active node (such as NCR), the above-mentioned control of the signal transmission direction of the first network node associated with the first reference signal can be understood as controlling the transmission direction of the first network node to the signal from the access network device or the terminal device.

[0184] In the present application, by establishing an association relationship between at least two reference signals corresponding to each SSB and the preamble code and / or RO corresponding to the SSB, and establishing an association relationship between each reference signal and the first network node, it can be achieved that in a cell where multiple first network nodes are deployed, when a terminal device performs random access, the access network device can distinguish through which first network node the terminal device accesses the cell, which is conducive to saving resource overhead in subsequent processes.

[0185] The following will be combined Figure 12-13 The communication device provided in this application is described in detail.

[0186] It is understandable that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be easily appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a 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.

[0187] Fig.12 and Fig.13The following is a schematic diagram of the structure of possible communication devices provided in the embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or access network device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be as follows: Figure 1 One of the terminal devices 120a-120j shown may also be Figure 1 The access network device 110a or 110b shown may also be a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal device or an access network device.

[0188] like Fig.12 As shown, the communication device 1200 includes a processing unit 1210 and a transceiver unit 1220. The communication device 1200 is used to implement the above Figure 8 The functions of the terminal device or access network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG.

[0189] When the communication device 1200 is used to implement Figure 8 The functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown are:

[0190] The transceiver unit 1220 is configured to receive N reference signals and M synchronization signals and a physical broadcast channel block SSB; wherein one SSB is associated with at least two reference signals of the N reference signals, and the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different preamble codes associated with the one SSB, and / or the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different random access channel opportunities RO associated with the one SSB, and at least one reference signal of the at least two reference signals is associated with a first network node; both N and M are positive integers;

[0191] The transceiver unit 1220 is configured to send a first preamble code on a first RO, where the first preamble code is a preamble code corresponding to a first reference signal, and / or the first RO is an RO corresponding to the first reference signal, and the first reference signal is one reference signal among the N reference signals.

[0192] In one possible design, different reference signals are associated with different preambles.

[0193] In one possible design, different reference signals are associated with different ROs.

[0194] In a possible design, the first reference signal is a reference signal among the N reference signals whose signal strength is greater than or equal to a first threshold.

[0195] In a possible design, the transceiver unit 1220 is configured to receive first indication information from a first cell, where the first indication information indicates that the first cell is a cell configured with at least two first network nodes;

[0196] In the case where the first preamble is sent on the first RO, the transceiver unit 1220 is specifically configured to:

[0197] The first preamble code is sent on the first RO based on the first indication information.

[0198] In one possible design, before receiving N reference signals, the transceiver unit 1220 is configured to:

[0199] Second indication information is received, where the second indication information indicates time-frequency resource location information and sequence information corresponding to each reference signal in the N reference signals.

[0200] In one possible design, the association relationship between each of the N reference signals and the time-frequency resource location information and sequence information is predefined or preconfigured.

[0201] In one possible design, the transceiver unit 1220 is further configured to:

[0202] Third indication information is received, where the third indication information indicates an association relationship between a reference signal and a preamble, and / or the third indication information indicates an association relationship between a reference signal and a RO.

[0203] In one possible design, the association relationship between the reference signal and the preamble code is predefined or preconfigured, and / or the association relationship between the reference signal and the RO is predefined or preconfigured.

[0204] In one possible design, the reference signal is a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS or a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0205] It should be understood that the processing unit 1210 is used to process received information, such as a reference signal, SSB, and second indication information.

[0206] When the communication device 1200 is used to implement Figure 8 The functions of the access network device in the method embodiment shown are:

[0207] The transceiver unit 1220 is configured to send N reference signals and M synchronization signals and a physical broadcast channel block SSB; wherein one SSB is associated with at least two reference signals of the N reference signals, and the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different preamble codes associated with the one SSB, and / or the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different random access channel opportunities RO associated with the one SSB, and at least one reference signal of the at least two reference signals is associated with a first network node; both N and M are positive integers;

[0208] The transceiver unit 1220 is configured to receive a first preamble code on a first RO, where the first preamble code is a preamble code corresponding to a first reference signal, and / or the first RO is an RO corresponding to the first reference signal, where the first reference signal is one of the N reference signals.

[0209] In one possible design, the transceiver unit 1220 is further configured to:

[0210] In the case of sending a message Msg2 or Msg4 for random access or sending a paging message for paging, or in the case of receiving an Msg3 for random access, sending a first weight parameter to a first network node associated with the first reference signal, where the first weight parameter is related to the first reference signal, and the first weight parameter is used to control a signal reflection direction or a signal transmission direction of the first network node associated with the first reference signal; or,

[0211] In the case of beam management, a first weight parameter set is sent to a first network node associated with the first reference signal, wherein the first weight parameter set includes one or more weight parameters, and the first weight parameter set is related to the first reference signal. The first weight parameter set is used to control a signal reflection direction or a signal transmission direction of the first network node associated with the first reference signal.

[0212] In one possible design, different reference signals are associated with different preambles.

[0213] In one possible design, different reference signals are associated with different ROs.

[0214] In a possible design, the first reference signal is a reference signal among the N reference signals whose signal strength is greater than or equal to a first threshold.

[0215] In one possible design, the transceiver unit 1220 is further configured to:

[0216] First indication information is sent to a terminal device in a first cell, wherein the first indication information indicates that the first cell is a cell configured with at least two first network nodes.

[0217] In a possible design, before sending the N reference signals, the transceiver unit 1220 is further configured to:

[0218] Send second indication information, where the second indication information indicates time-frequency resource position information and sequence information corresponding to each reference signal in the N reference signals.

[0219] In one possible design, the association relationship between each of the N reference signals and the time-frequency resource location information and sequence information is predefined or preconfigured.

[0220] In one possible design, the transceiver unit 1220 is further configured to:

[0221] Sending third indication information, where the third indication information indicates an association relationship between a reference signal and a preamble, and / or, where the third indication information indicates an association relationship between a reference signal and a RO.

[0222] In one possible design, the association relationship between the reference signal and the preamble code is predefined or preconfigured, and / or the association relationship between the reference signal and the RO is predefined or preconfigured.

[0223] In one possible design, the reference signal is a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS or a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0224] It should be understood that the processing unit 1210 is used to process received information, such as the first preamble code, etc.

[0225] For more detailed description of the processing unit 1210 and the transceiver unit 1220, please refer to Figure 8 The method embodiment shown is described in detail.

[0226] like Fig.13 As shown, the communication device 1300 includes a processor 1310 and an interface circuit 1320. The processor 1310 and the interface circuit 1320 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1320 can be a transceiver or an input-output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1300 may also include a memory 1330 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1310 or storing input data required by the processor 1310 to execute instructions or storing data generated after the processor 1310 executes instructions.

[0227] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement Figure 8 When the method is shown, the processor 1310 is used to implement the function of the above-mentioned processing unit 1210, and the interface circuit 1320 is used to implement the function of the above-mentioned transceiver unit 1220.

[0228] When the above communication device is a chip applied to a terminal device, the terminal device chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiment. The terminal device chip receives information sent by the access network device to the terminal device through other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna); or, the terminal device chip sends information to other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the access network device.

[0229] When the above-mentioned communication device is a module applied to an access network device, the access network device module implements the functions of the access network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The access network device module receives information from other modules in the access network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the access network device; or, the access network device module sends information to other modules in the access network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the access network device to the terminal device. The access network device module here can be a baseband chip of the access network device, or it can be a CU, DU or other module, or it can be a device under the open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture, such as an open CU, open DU and other devices.

[0230] It is understandable that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or 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 may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0231] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, register, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium 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. 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 an access network device or a terminal device. The processor and the storage medium can also be present in an access network device or a terminal device as discrete components.

[0232] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instruction is loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is executed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device or other programmable device. The computer program or instruction may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer program or instruction may be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape; it may also be an optical medium, for example, a digital video disc; it may also be a semiconductor medium, for example, a solid-state hard disk. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0233] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or provided for in any logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between the different embodiments are consistent and may be referenced to each other, and the technical features in the different embodiments may be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0234] It is understood that the various numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the sequence number of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Receive N reference signals and M synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel blocks SSB; wherein one SSB is associated with at least two reference signals of the N reference signals, the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different preamble codes associated with the one SSB, and / or the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different random access channel opportunities RO associated with the one SSB, and at least one reference signal of the at least two reference signals is associated with a first network node; both N and M are positive integers; A first preamble is sent on a first RO, where the first preamble is a preamble corresponding to a first reference signal, and / or the first RO is an RO corresponding to the first reference signal, where the first reference signal is one of the N reference signals.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Different reference signals are associated with different preambles.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Different reference signals are associated with different ROs.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first reference signal is a reference signal whose signal strength is greater than or equal to a first threshold among the N reference signals.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving first indication information from a first cell, where the first indication information indicates that the first cell is a cell configured with at least two first network nodes; The sending of the first preamble code on the first RO includes: The first preamble code is sent on the first RO based on the first indication information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: Before receiving N reference signals, the method further includes: Second indication information is received, where the second indication information indicates time-frequency resource location information and sequence information corresponding to each reference signal in the N reference signals.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The association relationship between each reference signal in the N reference signals and the time-frequency resource location information and the sequence information is predefined or preconfigured.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Third indication information is received, where the third indication information indicates an association relationship between a reference signal and a preamble, and / or the third indication information indicates an association relationship between a reference signal and a RO.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The association relationship between the reference signal and the preamble is predefined or preconfigured, and / or the association relationship between the reference signal and the RO is predefined or preconfigured.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The reference signal is a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS or a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

11. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending N reference signals and M synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel blocks SSB; wherein one SSB is associated with at least two reference signals of the N reference signals, the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different preamble codes associated with the one SSB, and / or the at least two reference signals are respectively associated with different random access channel opportunities RO associated with the one SSB, and at least one reference signal of the at least two reference signals is associated with a first network node; both N and M are positive integers; A first preamble is received on a first RO, where the first preamble is a preamble corresponding to a first reference signal, and / or the first RO is an RO corresponding to the first reference signal, where the first reference signal is one of the N reference signals.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that After receiving the first preamble on the first RO, the method further includes: In the case of sending a message Msg2 or Msg4 for random access or sending a paging message for paging, or in the case of receiving an Msg3 for random access, sending a first weight parameter to a first network node associated with the first reference signal, where the first weight parameter is related to the first reference signal, and the first weight parameter is used to control a signal reflection direction or a signal transmission direction of the first network node associated with the first reference signal; or, In the case of beam management, a first weight parameter set is sent to a first network node associated with the first reference signal, wherein the first weight parameter set includes one or more weight parameters, and the first weight parameter set is related to the first reference signal. The first weight parameter set is used to control a signal reflection direction or a signal transmission direction of the first network node associated with the first reference signal.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: Different reference signals are associated with different preambles.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that: Different reference signals are associated with different ROs.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that: The first reference signal is a reference signal whose signal strength is greater than or equal to a first threshold among the N reference signals.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that: The method further comprises: First indication information is sent to a terminal device in a first cell, wherein the first indication information indicates that the first cell is a cell configured with at least two first network nodes.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that: Before sending the N reference signals, the method further includes: Send second indication information, where the second indication information indicates time-frequency resource position information and sequence information corresponding to each reference signal in the N reference signals.

18. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that: The association relationship between each reference signal in the N reference signals and the time-frequency resource location information and the sequence information is predefined or preconfigured.

19. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 18, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Sending third indication information, where the third indication information indicates an association relationship between a reference signal and a preamble, and / or, where the third indication information indicates an association relationship between a reference signal and a RO.

20. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 18, characterized in that: The association relationship between the reference signal and the preamble is predefined or preconfigured, and / or the association relationship between the reference signal and the RO is predefined or preconfigured.

21. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 20, characterized in that: The reference signal is a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS or a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

22. A communication device, comprising a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1-10, or a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 11-21.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call the computer program from the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 11 to 21.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or an instruction. When the computer program or the instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 21 is implemented.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises a computer program code, and when the computer program code is executed on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 21 is implemented.

26. A communication system, characterized in that: It comprises a terminal device and an access network device, wherein the terminal device is used to implement the method described in any one of claims 1-10, and the access network device is used to implement the method described in any one of claims 11-21.

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