Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication method and device, relates to the technical field of communication, and can reduce the frequency of beam scanning required for determining a beam so as to reduce the consumption of communication resources. The method comprises the following steps: a base station sends first indication information and N first reference signals; the first indication information is used for indicating that the N first reference signals are divided into K groups, N and K are integers greater than 1, and N is greater than or equal to K. And the terminal determines first feedback information according to one group of first reference signals (such as the first group of reference signals) in the K groups of first reference signals and a formula # imgabs0 #, and sends the first feedback information to the base station. The base station may determine a first beam for transmitting data according to the first feedback information. Wherein beta n and beta n + 1 represent received energy of different first reference signals in the first group of reference signals.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] With the development of science and technology, communication equipment plays an increasingly important role in people's production and life. When a device communicates wirelessly with other devices, it first needs to determine the location of the other device. For example, the base station uses the following layered bandwidth beam scanning method to determine the location of the terminal. Figure 1 As shown, the base station sends multiple wide beams in different directions (such as beam a to beam d) to the terminal, and the terminal performs beam scanning and feeds back the optimal wide beam ID (such as beam b) to the base station. Then, the base station sends multiple narrow beams (such as beam e to beam h) to the coverage area of ​​beam b, and the terminal performs beam scanning and feeds back the optimal narrow beam (such as beam f) to the base station. The base station sends a narrower beam (such as beam i to beam l) to the coverage area of ​​beam f. This process repeats until the beam width scanned by the terminal meets the requirements, so that the base station determines the optimal beam for communication with the terminal (such as beam j) and sends the beam for communication with the terminal in the direction of the optimal beam.

[0003] However, the above method requires multiple beam scans to find the optimal beam, which consumes more communication resources. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method and device, which can reduce the number of beam scans required to determine a beam, thereby reducing the consumption of communication resources.

[0005] In order to achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of the present application provide the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: receiving first indication information and N first reference signals; the first indication information is used to indicate N first reference signals of K groups, wherein N and K are integers greater than 1, and N is greater than or equal to K; sending first feedback information; the first feedback information is used for a sending device to determine a first beam for transmitting data; the first feedback information is determined based on multiple first reference signals in one of the K groups of first reference signals.

[0007] Through this solution, N first reference signals are grouped, and first feedback information is determined according to a group of first reference signals, so that the transmitting device can determine the first beam for transmitting data according to the first feedback information, thereby reducing the number of beam scans required to determine the beam, thereby reducing the consumption of communication resources.

[0008] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the beams for sending each group of first reference signals have spatial overlap. The received energies of the multiple first reference signals are different, and the pointing angle of the beam with the maximum energy can be calculated through the received energies of the multiple first reference signals, so that the transmitting device can determine the beam used for transmitting data through one beam scan, saving communication resources.

[0009] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the method also includes: the first feedback information is determined based on a first group of reference signals, the first group of reference signals includes a first target reference signal and a second target reference signal, and the first feedback information is determined based on the received energy of the first target reference signal and the received energy of the second target reference signal.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in one possible design, the received energy can be obtained based on one or more of the following parameters: reference signal received power (reference signal received power, RSRP), received signal strength indicator (received signal strength indicator, RSSI) or reference signal received quality (reference signal received quality, RSRQ).

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes: receiving second indication information and M second reference signals; the second indication information is used to indicate M second reference signals of U groups, U and M are positive integers greater than or equal to 1; wherein M is less than N; sending second feedback information, the second feedback information is used by the sending device to determine a second beam for transmitting data; the second feedback information is determined based on multiple second reference signals in one group of the U groups of second reference signals. The sending device performs beam scanning again, and the number of first reference signals is less than that of the last beam scan, so that the second beam for transmitting data determined by the sending device has a better communication effect.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the first indication information includes identifiers of N first reference signals, and the identifier of the first reference signal is one or more of the following identifiers: a group identifier of the first reference signal, a resource identifier of the first reference signal; the identifier of the first reference signal is used to determine the grouping of the first reference signal.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, reference signals having the same grouping identifier of the first reference signal are grouped together.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, reference signals with adjacent resource identifiers of the first reference signal are grouped together.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in one possible design, the first feedback information includes first target feedback information and second target feedback information; the first target feedback information is used to determine a first direction of the first beam, and the second target feedback information is used to determine a second direction of the first beam, and the first direction is different from the second direction. Through the first target feedback information and the second target feedback information, the transmitting device can determine the angle of the beam in two directions of beam transmission.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in one possible design, the first group of reference signals also includes a third target reference signal, the first target reference signal and the second target reference signal are used to determine the first target feedback information, and the first target reference signal and the third target reference signal are used to determine the second target feedback information; or, the first group of reference signals also includes the third target reference signal and a fourth target reference signal, the first target reference signal and the second target reference signal are used to determine the first target feedback information, and the first target reference signal and the third target reference signal are used to determine the second target feedback information; or, the first group of reference signals also includes the third target reference signal and the fourth target reference signal, the first target reference signal and the third target reference signal are used to determine the first target feedback information, and the second target reference signal and the fourth target reference signal are used to determine the first target feedback information.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, when the first group of reference signals also includes a third target reference signal and a fourth target reference signal, if the sum of the received energies of the first target reference signal and the second target reference signal is greater than the sum of the received energies of the third target reference signal and the fourth target reference signal, the first target reference signal and the second target reference signal are used to determine the first target feedback information; if the sum of the received energies of the first target reference signal and the third target reference signal is greater than the sum of the received energies of the first target reference signal and the fourth target reference signal, the first target reference signal and the third target reference signal are used to determine the second target feedback information. In the case where a group of first reference signals includes four first reference signals, the first feedback information is obtained based on two first reference signals (such as the first target reference signal and the second target reference signal) with a larger sum of received energies, so that the first feedback information can better feedback areas with stronger communication signals.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the first feedback information is γ n , γ n It is determined according to the following formula: β n represents the received energy of the first target reference signal, β n+1 represents the received energy of the second target reference signal.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the first feedback information includes one or more of the following information: received energy of the first target reference signal, an identifier of the first target reference signal, received energy of the second target reference signal, and an identifier of the second target reference signal. By sending the received energy of the first target reference signal, the identifier of the first target reference signal, the received energy of the second target reference signal, and the identifier of the second target reference signal to the transmitting device, the transmitting device can determine the directional angle with stronger received energy among the directional angles of the first group of reference signals based on the received received energy of the first target reference signal, the identifier of the first target reference signal, the received energy of the second target reference signal, and the identifier of the second target reference signal.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in one possible design, the first group of reference signals is a group in which the sum of received energies of the first reference signals among K groups of first reference signals is the largest, or the first group of reference signals is a group in which the sum of received energies of the first reference signals among K groups of first reference signals is higher than a first threshold.

[0021] According to a second aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: sending first indication information and N first reference signals; the first indication information is used to indicate N first reference signals of K groups, wherein N and K are integers greater than 1, and N is greater than or equal to K; receiving first feedback information, and determining a first beam for transmitting data according to the first feedback information; the first feedback information is determined according to multiple first reference signals in one of the K groups of first reference signals.

[0022] In combination with the second aspect, in one possible design, the first feedback information is determined based on a first group of reference signals, the first group of reference signals includes a first target reference signal and a second target reference signal, and the first feedback information is determined based on the received energy of the first target reference signal and the received energy of the second target reference signal.

[0023] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, it also includes: sending second indication information and M second reference signals; the second indication information is used to indicate M second reference signals of U groups, U and M are positive integers greater than or equal to 1; wherein M is less than N; receiving second feedback information, the second feedback information is used to determine a second beam for transmitting data; the second feedback information is determined based on multiple second reference signals in one group of U groups of second reference signals.

[0024] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the first indication information includes N first reference signal identifiers, the first reference signal identifiers include a group identifier of the first reference signal, or a resource identifier of the first reference signal; the first reference signal identifier is used to determine the grouping of the first reference signal.

[0025] In combination with the second aspect, in one possible design, the first feedback information includes first target feedback information and second target feedback information; the first target feedback information is used to determine a first direction of the first beam, and the second target feedback information is used to determine a second direction of the first beam, and the first direction is different from the second direction.

[0026] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the feedback information is γ n , γ n It is determined according to the following formula: β n represents the energy value of the first target reference signal, β n+1 Represents the energy value of the second target reference signal.

[0027] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the first feedback information includes: received energy of the first target reference signal, an identifier of the first target reference signal, received energy of the second target reference signal, and an identifier of the second target reference signal.

[0028] In combination with the second aspect, in one possible design, the first group of reference signals is the group in which the sum of received energies of the first reference signals among K groups of first reference signals is the largest, or the first group of reference signals is the group in which the sum of received energies of the first reference signals among K groups of first reference signals is higher than a first threshold.

[0029] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, it also includes: sending beam information of a first beam group, where the beams in the first beam group are associated with M second reference signals. The IRS receives the beam information of the first beam group and sends the beams of the first beam group according to the beam information of the first beam group, so that the transmitting device instructs the IRS to perform beam scanning.

[0030] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the first beam group includes a first target beam and a second target beam, the pointing angle of the first target beam in the first direction is greater than the pointing angle of the first beam in the first direction, and the pointing angle of the second target beam in the first direction is less than the pointing angle of the first beam in the first direction. By indicating that the pointing angle of the first target beam and the pointing angle of the second target beam are on both sides of the first beam, the transmitting device can send fewer beams when performing the second round of beam scanning, and determine the second beam through fewer beams, thereby saving communication resources.

[0031] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the first beam group further includes a third target beam and a fourth target beam, the pointing angle of the third target beam in the second direction is greater than the pointing angle of the first beam in the second direction, and the pointing angle of the fourth target beam in the second direction is less than the pointing angle of the first beam in the second direction. By transmitting beams on both sides of the first beam in the first direction and the second direction, the transmitting device can determine the second beam in two directions, thereby more accurately determining the second beam.

[0032] According to a third aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: receiving beam information of a first beam group, the beams in the first beam group being associated with M second reference signals; M being a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; sending a signal through the beams in the first beam group according to the beam information of the first beam group; the beams in the first beam group are determined according to the first beam, the first beam is a beam for transmitting data determined by a sending device according to first feedback information, the first feedback information is determined by the sending device according to multiple first reference signals in one group of N first reference signals of K groups; wherein M is less than N.

[0033] In combination with the third aspect, in one possible design, the first beam group includes a first target beam and a second target beam, the pointing angle of the first target beam in the first direction is greater than the pointing angle of the first beam in the first direction, and the pointing angle of the second target beam in the first direction is less than the pointing angle of the first beam in the first direction.

[0034] In combination with the third aspect, in one possible design, the first beam group also includes a third target beam and a fourth target beam, the pointing angle of the third target beam in the second direction is greater than the pointing angle of the first beam in the second direction, and the pointing angle of the fourth target beam in the second direction is less than the pointing angle of the first beam in the second direction.

[0035] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device is used to implement the above-mentioned various communication methods. The communication device includes a module, unit, or means corresponding to the above-mentioned communication method, and the module, unit, or means can be implemented by hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0036] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes: a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store computer instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the communication device executes the communication method of any of the above aspects.

[0037] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory, and the processor is used to read and execute instructions in the memory, so that the communication device executes any of the communication methods in any of the above aspects.

[0038] In the seventh aspect, a chip system is provided, which includes a processor and an input / output port, the processor is used to implement the processing functions involved in the communication method of any aspect in any of the above aspects, and the input / output port is used to implement the receiving and sending functions involved in the communication method of any aspect in any of the above aspects.

[0039] In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory, which is used to store program instructions and data related to the functions of the communication method implementing any of the above aspects.

[0040] The chip system may be composed of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0041] In an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a first communication device and a second communication device, wherein the second communication device executes the communication method of the third aspect, and the first communication device executes the communication method of the second aspect.

[0042] In combination with the eighth aspect, in a possible design, it also includes: a third communication device, which executes the communication method of the first aspect above.

[0043] In a ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions; when the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes a communication method designed in any of the above aspects.

[0044] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes a communication method designed in any of the above aspects.

[0045] It can be understood that the beneficial effects that can be achieved by the methods, devices, computer-readable storage media, and computer program products provided in the second to tenth aspects mentioned above can refer to the beneficial effects of the first aspect provided above and any possible implementation method, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the beam scanning scene;

[0047] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system used in the embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 3 Another schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system used in the embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a base station performing beam scanning in one direction according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] Figure 5 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a pointing angle of a first beam used for transmitting data in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Figure 7 This is another schematic diagram of a base station performing beam scanning in one direction according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 8 Another schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0054] Fig. 9 This is another schematic diagram of a base station performing beam scanning in one direction according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Fig.10 This is a schematic diagram of a base station performing beam scanning in two directions according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Fig.11 Another schematic diagram of a base station performing beam scanning in two directions according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Fig.12 This is a schematic diagram of a base station and a terminal performing beam scanning in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Fig.13 This is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a base station instructing an IRS to perform beam scanning according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Fig.14 This is a schematic diagram of a base station instructing an IRS to perform beam scanning in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Fig.15 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Fig.16 Another structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2As shown, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100, wherein the RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (such as Figure 2 110a and 110b in the figure, collectively referred to as 110), and may also include at least one terminal (such as Figure 2 RAN 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. Terminals and terminals and RAN nodes and RAN nodes can be connected to each other by wired or wireless means. The communication system 1000 may also include a core network 200. 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 independent and different physical devices, or may be the same physical device that integrates the logical functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the RAN node. The communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300.

[0063] RAN100 may be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a new radio (NR) system, and a future radio access system defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). RAN100 may also include two or more of the above-mentioned different radio access systems. RAN100 may also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0064] RAN node, also known as radio access network equipment, RAN entity, network equipment or access node, is used to help terminals access the communication system wirelessly. In one application scenario, the RAN node can be a base station (BS), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in the fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next generation NodeB in the sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system. RAN nodes can be macro base stations (such as Figure 2110a), or a micro base station or an indoor station (such as Figure 2 110b) in the figure, it can also be a relay node or a donor node.

[0065] In another application scenario, the cooperation of multiple RAN nodes can be used to help the terminal achieve 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) or a radio unit (RU). The CU here completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete the functions of part of the physical layer or all of the physical layer. For the specific description of the above-mentioned various protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP. RU can be used to implement the transceiver function of radio frequency signals. CU and DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or they can be integrated in the same RAN node, such as integrated in a baseband unit (BBU). RU can be included in a radio frequency device, such as a remote radio unit (RRU) or an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: CU-control plane and CU-user plane.

[0066] In different systems, RAN nodes may have different names. For example, in an O-RAN system, CU may be called an open CU (open CU, O-CU), DU may be called an open DU (open DU, O-DU), and RU may be called an open RU (open RU, O-RU). The RAN node in the embodiment of the present application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. For example, the RAN node may be a server loaded with a corresponding software module. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the RAN node. For the convenience of description, the following description takes a base station as an example of a RAN node.

[0067] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver function, which can send signals to a base station or receive signals from a base station. A terminal can also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE) is also referred to as a user terminal or terminal, a mobile station, a mobile terminal, etc. Terminals 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. A terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, a smart home device, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal.

[0068] Base stations and terminals can be fixed or movable. Base stations and terminals can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on the water surface; they can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons, and artificial satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of base stations and terminals.

[0069] The roles of the base station and the terminal can be relative, for example, Figure 2 The helicopter or drone 120i in the figure can be configured as a mobile base station. For the terminal 120j that accesses the wireless access network 100 through 120i, the terminal 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, 120i is a terminal, that is, 110a and 120i communicate through the wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i can also communicate through the interface protocol between base stations. In this case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a base station. Therefore, base stations and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. Figure 2 110a and 110b in the figure may be referred to as communication devices having base station functions. Figure 2 120a-120j in the figure can be called communication devices with terminal functions.

[0070] Base stations and terminals, base stations and base stations, and terminals and terminals can communicate through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; they can communicate through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0071] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station, or by a control subsystem including the base station function. The control subsystem including the base station function here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal, or by a device including the terminal function.

[0072] In this application, the base station sends a downlink signal or downlink information to the terminal, and the downlink information is carried on the downlink channel; the terminal sends an uplink signal or uplink information to the base station, and the uplink information is carried on the uplink channel. In order to communicate with the base station, the terminal needs to establish a wireless connection with the cell controlled by the base station. The cell with which the terminal has established a wireless connection is called the service cell of the terminal. When the terminal communicates with the service cell, it will also be interfered by signals from neighboring cells.

[0073] The intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) includes a passive antenna array and a terminal module for receiving control signals from the macro base station, and has the ability to adjust the reflection phase of each array element. The IRS can switch the reflection weight according to the instructions of the base station, that is, adjust the phase distribution of the reflecting surface, thereby changing the direction of the reflected beam and reflecting the signal transmitted from the base station to the IRS to the desired direction. For example, refer to Figure 3 , Figure 3 The figure is a schematic diagram of the communication between the base station 100 and the terminal 120 through the IRS 110. In actual communication scenarios, the obstruction of buildings and walls will result in the absence of a line-of-sight propagation (LOS) path between the terminal and the base station, resulting in poor quality of the terminal receiving signal, affecting the communication performance of the terminal. By changing the direction of the non-line-of-sight propagation (NLOS) path, the IRS can improve the NLOS path to the LOS path, thereby improving the channel environment in the weak coverage area and improving the communication performance of the terminal and other devices in the channel environment in the weak coverage area.

[0074] In order to enable the beam reflected by the IRS to accurately find the terminal that needs to be served, the base station must first perform beam management, that is, the macro station notifies the IRS to switch different reflection weights at different times, and sends the corresponding downlink reference signal at the corresponding time, such as the channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS). The terminal measures the quality of the downlink reference signal reflected by the IRS and reports the measurement results. After that, the base station can obtain the impact of different IRS reflection weights on the quality of the terminal received signal based on the measurement results, and thus select the reflection weight that improves the quality of the terminal received signal to notify the IRS for subsequent communication.

[0075] IRS performs beam management, which consumes the downlink time and frequency resources of the macro base station to send downlink reference signals. Since IRS is a passive array, all its gain sources come from the beamforming of the array. In order to obtain better results, the electrical size of the IRS array (such as the effective area) needs to be relatively large, and the corresponding number of narrow beams will also be large, which will lead to excessive consumption of macro base station resources.

[0076] Generally, when the frequency of the beam is constant, the larger the effective area of ​​the IRS array, the greater the gain. For high-frequency 28GHz signals, an IRS of 320mm×320mm can provide relatively considerable coverage benefits. Taking the following table as an example, at 28GHz, the narrow beam 3dB width corresponding to the IRS of this size is 1.71°. In order to cover the angle range of horizontal ±60° and vertical ±15° (also expressed as ±60°H, ±15°V), after calculation, (120÷1.71)×(30÷1.71)=1260, the IRS needs to scan a total of 1260 narrow beams. Assuming that the CSI-RS measurement period of the base station is 80ms, the high-frequency subcarrier spacing is 120KHz, the corresponding slot duration is 0.125ms, and the uplink and downlink slot ratio is 1:4, there are 512 downlink slots in 80ms. Assuming that each slot has 12 symbols for data transmission, a total of 6144 symbols can be used to send data. Among them, 1260 symbols are needed to send CSI-RS to IRS for beam management, and the overhead of beam scanning consumed by beam management accounts for 20.5% of the total signal resources. Similarly, as shown in Table 1, when the IRS size is 320mm×320mm, the coverage angle range is horizontal ±60° and vertical ±10°, and the beam management overhead accounts for 13.7% of the total resources. When the coverage angle range is horizontal ±30° and vertical ±10°, the beam management overhead accounts for 6.8% of the total resources. When the IRS size is 640mm×640mm, the overhead consumed by beam scanning occupies more resources.

[0077] Table 1

[0078]

[0079] It can be seen that each time a beam is scanned, scanning all beams requires more resources. In order to ensure the accuracy of beam scanning, multiple beam scans need to be performed between communication devices through layered scanning, which results in a high overhead of the beam occupied by the downlink reference signal used for beam scanning in each downlink beam sent by the base station. In addition, although the range of beam scanning is reduced in each beam scan in the layered scanning method, multiple beams still need to be scanned each time a beam is scanned, such as Figure 1 In the example shown, each beam scan requires scanning 4 beams.

[0080] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. Through the method of the present application, the consumption of downlink resources of the base station by beam management can be reduced. The embodiment of the present application utilizes the correlation between each group of beams, and reports feedback information to the beam sending device (such as a base station) through a beam receiving device (such as a terminal). The beam sending device can obtain the estimated value of the angle of departure (angle of departure, AOD) (also called the pointing angle) of the beam link from the sending device to the receiving device according to the feedback information, thereby reducing the number of beam scans of the sending device. In addition, in the next round of scanning, the sending device can perform beam scanning in two directions with similar AOD estimated values, instead of performing beam scanning in multiple directions, thereby saving scanning overhead. The application scenarios of the embodiments of the present application are introduced below.

[0081] In some embodiments, the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a scenario where a transmitting device performs beam scanning and a receiving device performs reception. Figure 2 , the base station 110a (an example of a transmitting device) performs beam scanning, and the terminal 120a (an example of a receiving device) receives the beam. Figure 2 , the terminal 120a (an example of a transmitting device) performs beam scanning, and the base station 110a (an example of a receiving device) receives the beam.

[0082] In other embodiments, the embodiments of the present application may be applied to a scenario where a sending device instructs a scanning device to perform beam scanning and a receiving device performs reception. Figure 3 , the base station 100 (transmitting device) instructs the IRS 110 (scanning device) to perform beam scanning, and the terminal 120 (receiving device) receives the beam.

[0083] Below, refer to Figure 4 , Figure 4The schematic diagram of the beam scanning process of the embodiment of the present application is as follows: Taking the case where a base station (an example of a transmitting device) performs beam scanning and a terminal uses a fixed-angle beam (such as beam z) to receive a signal sent by the base station as an example, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is introduced.

[0084] Reference Figure 5 , the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps.

[0085] S501. A base station sends first indication information and N first reference signals.

[0086] Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first indication information and N first reference signals.

[0087] The first indication information is used to indicate N first reference signals of K groups. That is, the N first reference signals are divided into K groups. Wherein, N and K are integers greater than 1, and N is greater than or equal to K.

[0088] Optionally, the first indication information indicates that two adjacent reference signals belong to the same group.

[0089] Exemplarily, N=K+1. The base station sends 4 beams (beam 1 to beam 4), and beams 1 to beam 4 carry first reference signals respectively, and N=4. For example, beam 1 carries first reference signal 1, beam 2 carries first reference signal 2, beam 3 carries first reference signal 3, and beam 4 carries first reference signal 4. Beams 1 to beam 4 point to adjacent positions in sequence, and the first indication information indicates that beam 1 and beam 2 are the same group (such as group 1), beam 2 and beam 3 are the same group (such as group 2), and beam 3 and beam 4 are the same group (such as group 3), and K=3.

[0090] Exemplarily, the first reference signal may be a CSI-RS.

[0091] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes identifiers of N first reference signals. The identifier of the first reference signal is used to determine the grouping of the first reference signal. The identifier of the first reference signal is one or more of the following identifiers: a group identifier of the first reference signal, a resource identifier of the first reference signal. Exemplarily, the identifiers of adjacent first reference signals may be consecutive serial numbers, and two first reference signals with consecutive identifier serial numbers may be considered to be in the same group. For example, the identifier of the first reference signal is a physical layer identity (PCI). In another exemplary embodiment, first reference signals with the same group identifier of the reference signal may be considered to be in the same group. Figure 4, the grouping identifier of the first reference signal 1 on beam 1 may be group 1, the grouping identifier of the first reference signal 2 on beam 2 may be group 1 and group 2, the grouping identifier of the first reference signal 3 on beam 3 may be group 2 and group 3, and the grouping identifier of the first reference signal 4 on beam 4 may be group 3. The grouping identifier group 1 of the first reference signal 1 and the grouping identifier group 1 of the first reference signal 2 may determine that the first reference signal 1 and the first reference signal 2 are a group, the grouping identifier group 2 of the first reference signal 2 and the grouping identifier group 2 of the first reference signal 3 may determine that the first reference signal 2 and the first reference signal 3 are a group, and so on, which will not be repeated.

[0092] In some embodiments, the first indication information is 1, and the base station indicates N first reference signals through the indication information.

[0093] In some other embodiments, there are N first indication information, and the base station indicates N first reference signals through the N indication information, and each indication information indicates 1 first reference signal.

[0094] The first indication information indicating the first reference signal may be sent in the same message as the first reference signal, or may be sent in different messages.

[0095] Exemplarily, the first indication information can be carried in control signaling such as radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control-control element (MAC-CE), downlink control information (DCI) signaling, etc.

[0096] S502: The terminal sends first feedback information.

[0097] Correspondingly, the base station receives the first feedback information.

[0098] The first feedback information is used by the base station to determine a first beam for transmitting data; the first feedback information is determined based on a plurality of first reference signals in one of the K groups of first reference signals.

[0099] The first feedback information is determined according to the received energy of multiple first reference signals in one of the K groups of first reference signals. Figure 4 When the terminal receives the N first reference signals, it can obtain the received energy of each of the N first reference signals. The received energy of the N first reference signals is recorded as β1,…,β N, for example, the received energies of the first reference signal a to the first reference signal d are recorded as β1 to β4 respectively. The terminal can obtain three groups of first reference signals according to the first indication information, and determine a group of reference signals from the three groups of first reference signals, and obtain feedback information according to the received energies of the first reference signals in the group. In other words, the terminal can group the received energies of the first reference signals according to the first indication information, and determine a group of received energies from the groups of received energies, and obtain feedback information according to the group of received energies.

[0100] In some embodiments, the first feedback information is determined based on a first group of reference signals, the first group of reference signals includes a first target reference signal and a second target reference signal, and the first feedback information is determined based on received energy of the first target reference signal and received energy of the second target reference signal.

[0101] Exemplarily, the first group of reference signals may be any one of the K groups of first reference signals. In another exemplary embodiment, the first group of reference signals may be a group of the K groups of first reference signals whose sum of received energies of the first reference signals is higher than a first threshold. The first threshold may be a value indicated by the base station to the terminal, or the first threshold may be a value predefined by the base station or the terminal. In another exemplary embodiment, the first group of reference signals may be a group of the K groups of first reference signals whose sum of received energies of the first reference signals is the largest.

[0102] Exemplarily, the received energy may be obtained based on one or more of the following parameters: RSRP, RSSI or RSRQ.

[0103] For example, refer to Figure 6 , the first group of reference signals is the reference signals in group 2, wherein the first reference signal 2 on beam 2 is the first target reference signal in group 2, the first reference signal 3 on beam 3 is the second target reference signal in group 2, and the first feedback information is determined based on the received energy of the first reference signal 2 and the received energy of the first reference signal 3.

[0104] In some embodiments, the number of first beams is multiple, the number of first feedback information is multiple, and each first beam determines the pointing angle of the first beam according to one first feedback information, which can be expressed as: Each first feedback information is determined according to a set of reference signals. Figure 4 As shown, the first feedback information 1 is determined according to the reference signal in group 2, and the first feedback information 2 is determined according to the reference signal in group 3. The base station can obtain the first beam 1 according to the first feedback information 1. The pointing angle of the first beam 1 is expressed as The base station obtains the first beam 2 according to the first feedback information 2. The pointing angle of the first beam 1 is expressed as

[0105] In some embodiments, the terminal may determine the first feedback information according to formula (1), and the first feedback information may be expressed as γ1.

[0106]

[0107] Among them, β n represents the received energy of the first target reference signal, β n+1 represents the received energy of the second target reference signal. Figure 4 The two groups of beam determination first feedback information shown are taken as an example, where n=2, β2 represents the received energy of the first reference signal 2, and β3 represents the received energy of the first reference signal 3.

[0108] In this scheme, there is a certain range of angle overlap between each group of beams (two adjacent beams), and γ1 can reflect the receiving energy relationship between the group of beams, so that γ1 can reflect the angle information of the overlapping area between the multiple beams where the first reference signal of the group is located, and obtain the pointing angle of the first beam.

[0109] The terminal may send first feedback information γ1 to the base station, and the base station calculates the pointing angle of the first beam according to the following formula 2:

[0110]

[0111] in, represents the center of the pointing angle of beam 2 and the pointing angle of beam 3, that is, represents half of the sum of the pointing angles of beam 2 and beam 3. Δ1 represents the offset angle, i.e., the difference between the pointing angle of beam 2 (or beam 3) and For example, according to formula 2, the base station can calculate that when γ = 0, When γ=1, When γ=-1,

[0112] Exemplarily, the derivation process of Formula 2 is given as follows:

[0113] Taking the first target reference signal as the first reference signal 2 and the second target reference signal as the first reference signal 3 as an example, n=2.

[0114] β2 can be calculated based on the first reference signal 2 (denoted as y2) received by the terminal, and y2 refers to formula 3.

[0115]

[0116] Where L represents the number of channel multipaths from the base station to the terminal link, θ l represents the departure angle of the lth multipath (also called the AOD of the lth multipath), a T (θ l ) represents the angle θ l The steering vector, α l represents the channel gain, represents the channel, represents the center of the pointing angle of beam 2 and the pointing angle of beam 3, Δ1 represents the offset angle, represents the pointing angle of beam 2, represents the weight of beam 2, x represents the first reference signal 2 of beam 2, and q represents the noise at the receiving end.

[0117] Assuming that the energy of the l*th multipath is the largest, β2 can be expressed as

[0118]

[0119] Similarly, β3 can be calculated according to the first reference signal 3 (denoted as y3) received by the terminal, and y3 refers to formula 5.

[0120]

[0121] Where L represents the number of channel multipaths from the base station to the terminal link, θ l represents the departure angle of the lth multipath (also called the AOD of the lth multipath), a T (θ l ) represents the angle θ l The steering vector, α l represents the channel gain, represents the channel, represents the center of the pointing angle of beam 2 and the pointing angle of beam 3, Δ1 represents the offset angle, represents the pointing angle of beam 3, represents the weight of beam 3, x represents the first reference signal 3 of beam 3, and q represents the noise at the receiving end.

[0122] Assuming that the energy of the l*th multipath is the largest, β3 can be expressed as:

[0123]

[0124] Formula 7 is obtained according to Formula 4 and Formula 6.

[0125]

[0126] Formula 7 is transformed so that the base station can calculate the and Δ1 can be used to obtain the angle of the first beam used to transmit data As shown in Formula 2.

[0127] It should be noted that the above one or more formulas are only examples, and the above formulas may also have other equivalent descriptions. For example, Formula 1 may also be expressed as Formula 8.

[0128]

[0129] In some other embodiments, the first feedback information includes one or more of the following information: the received energy of the first target reference signal, the identifier of the first target reference signal, the received energy of the second target reference signal, and the identifier of the second target reference signal. The terminal may send the above information to the base station. Accordingly, the base station receives the above information. After receiving the received energy of the first target reference signal and the received energy of the second target reference signal, the base station obtains γ1 according to formula 1, and obtains γ1 according to the identifier of the first target reference signal and the identifier of the second target reference signal. and Δ1, and thus the pointing angle of the first beam is obtained according to formula 2

[0130] Through this solution, the terminal sends the first feedback information determined according to a group of first reference signals to the base station. After the base station receives the first feedback information, it can calculate the AOD of the path with the strongest energy according to the first reference signal in the first feedback information. The AOD of the path with the strongest energy is between the beam directions of the group of first reference signals. The base station can determine the first beam for transmitting data according to the first feedback information, and the base station uses the first beam for subsequent data transmission. It can be seen that in this solution, the base station does not need multiple rounds of scanning. This solution reduces the communication resources consumed by multiple rounds of beam scanning.

[0131] In addition, since the beams where a group of first reference signals are located have overlapping parts, the first feedback information can reflect the energy of the overlapping area of ​​the beams where the group of first reference signals are located, so that the energy of the angles covered by the overlapping area can be obtained without sending beams to multiple angles, thereby obtaining the AOD of the path with the strongest energy.

[0132] It should be noted that the above example takes the case where the beam group includes two beams in one direction as an example. In other embodiments, the beam group may include three beams or more beams in one direction. For example, when the beam group includes three beams, that is, when three reference signals are a group, the terminal can arbitrarily select two adjacent reference signals from the reference signals of the beam group, and determine the first feedback information based on the two selected reference signals through the above formula 1. For another example, the terminal can select two reference signals with the largest received energy from the three reference signals, and determine the first feedback information based on the two selected reference signals through the above formula 1.

[0133] The present application also provides a communication method, which can be performed after the above step S502. Figure 7 After the base station or the terminal executes steps S501 and S502, the base station performs a second round (such as sending beam 5 and beam 6), a third round or more rounds of beam scanning through this method, so that the beam used for transmitting data determined by the base station according to the second feedback information has a better effect of communicating with the terminal. Figure 8 , the communication method includes the following steps.

[0134] S1001. A base station sends second indication information and M second reference signals.

[0135] Correspondingly, the terminal receives the second indication information and M second reference signals.

[0136] The second indication information is used to indicate M second reference signals of U groups, where U and M are positive integers greater than or equal to 1, and U is less than M.

[0137] For example, refer to Figure 7 , U=1, M=2, beam 5 (an example of the first target beam) carries the second reference signal 1, beam 6 (an example of the second target beam) carries the second reference signal 2, beam 5 and beam 6 belong to the same group of beams, and the second reference signal 1 and the second reference signal 2 belong to the same group of second reference signals.

[0138] In some embodiments, the reference signals of the beams on both sides of the first beam are the same group. Determine the AOD of beam 5 and beam 6. Exemplarily, the AOD of beam 5 is equal to The AOD of beam 6 is equal to Δ2 is determined according to the beam widths of beam 5 and beam 6. Exemplarily, beam 5 and beam 6 have the same beam width, and Δ2 is half of the beam widths of beam 5 and beam 6. Referring to S701 to S705 above, the base station may scan beam 5 and beam 6 according to their AODs.

[0139] In the case of multiple first beams, the reference signals on both sides of each first beam are the same group. Figure 4 , the beam reference signals on both sides of the first beam 1 are the same group. The reference signals of the beams on both sides of the first beam 2 are the same group. It should be noted that, when the base station determines the pointing angle of the second beam for transmitting data in one direction, the two sides of the first beam refer to the two sides of the first beam in one direction. When the base station determines the pointing angle of the second beam for transmitting data in two directions, the two sides of the first beam refer to the two sides of the first beam in two directions.

[0140] In some embodiments, the beam widths of beam 5 and beam 6 are smaller than the beam widths of beam 1 to beam 4 in the above S501.

[0141] For the relevant contents of S1001, reference may also be made to the corresponding contents of S501. For example, the second reference signal may be a CSI-RS, the second indication information includes the identifiers of M second reference signals, the identifiers of the second reference signals are used to determine the grouping of the second reference signals, etc., which will not be repeated here.

[0142] S1002. The terminal sends second feedback information.

[0143] Correspondingly, the base station receives the second feedback information.

[0144] The second feedback information is used by the transmitting device to determine a second beam for transmitting data; the second feedback information is determined based on multiple second reference signals in one group of U groups of second reference signals. Exemplarily, the second feedback information is determined based on a received energy relationship of M second reference signals.

[0145] In some embodiments, U is equal to the number of the first beams. For example, if the first beam is the first beam 1, the number of the first beams is 1, and U = 1. For another example, if the first beam includes the first beam 1 and the first beam 2, the number of the first beams is 2, and U = 2.

[0146] Referring to the description of S502 above, the terminal may send second feedback information γ2 to the base station.

[0147]

[0148] Among them, β n represents the received energy of the second reference signal 1, β n+1 Represents the received energy of the second reference signal 2.

[0149] The base station performs the operation of S502 as shown in Formula 2, according to and Δ1 to obtain the angle of the second beam used to transmit data in, Δ1=Δ2, Δ2 represents the deviation angle, that is, the pointing angle of beam 5 (or beam 6) and The size of the angle between them.

[0150] The second reference signal 1 and the second reference signal 2 may be reference signals in a second group of reference signals. The second group of reference signals is a group in which the sum of received energies of the second reference signals in the U groups of second reference signals is the largest, or the second group of reference signals is a group in which the sum of received energies of the second reference signals in the U groups of second reference signals is higher than a second threshold. The second threshold may be a preset threshold, or a threshold sent by a base station, etc.

[0151] The relevant contents of S1002 above can also refer to the corresponding contents of S502 above. For example, the second feedback information includes one or more of the following information: the received energy of the second reference signal 1, the identifier of the second reference signal 1, the received energy of the second reference signal 2, and the identifier of the second reference signal 2, etc., which will not be repeated here.

[0152] Through this solution, the AOD angle of the beam is measured again based on the method in S501, so as to further improve the accuracy of the estimated AOD angle of the beam. As the average value of the beam exit angle in the beam group, the AOD of the beams where the second group of reference signals are located is and This reduces the range of beam scanning and saves communication resources.

[0153] It should be noted that the methods S1001 and S1002 of the embodiment of the present application can also be performed after other existing communication methods. Figure 1 In the beam scanning process shown in FIG. 1 , after the base station sends beams a to beam d, the terminal feeds back the RSRP values ​​of the reference signals on beams a to beam d to the beam. The base station can perform the above S1001 according to the RSRP values ​​of the reference signals. Fig. 9 , the RSRP values ​​of the reference signals on beams a to d are -70dBm, -75dBm, -80dBm and -90dBm respectively. The base station can select the reference signal with the largest RSRP value (such as reference signal b) and use the AOD of the beam of reference signal b (beam b) as Beam 5 carrying the second reference signal 1 and beam 6 carrying the second reference signal 2 are sent, and M=2.

[0154] In the above embodiment, the method of the embodiment of the present application is introduced by taking the example of the base station estimating the AOD of the beams (such as the first beam and the second beam) in one direction (such as the horizontal direction). Fig.10 , below, taking the case where the base station performs a scanning beam and the terminal uses a fixed-angle beam (such as beam z) to receive the beam sent by the base station as an example, a method for estimating the beam AOD of the base station in two directions (horizontal and vertical, or positive 45° and negative 45°) in an embodiment of the present application is introduced.

[0155] In some embodiments, the first feedback information includes first target feedback information and second target feedback information. The first target feedback information is used to determine a first direction of the first beam, and the second target feedback information is used to determine a second direction of the first beam, and the first direction is different from the second direction.

[0156] In the above S502, the first feedback information determined according to the received energy of the first target reference signal (first reference signal 2) and the received energy of the second target reference signal (first reference signal 3) can be referred to as the first target feedback information γ11, referring to Fig.10 The base station can determine the first direction of the first beam (such as direction 1) according to the first target feedback information, and determine the second direction of the first beam (such as direction 3) according to the second target feedback information.

[0157] Exemplarily, the first group of reference signals may include a first target reference signal to a third target reference signal, the first target reference signal and the second target reference signal are used to determine the first target feedback information, and the first target reference signal and the third target reference signal are used to determine the second target feedback information. Fig.10 , the base station sends beam 1 to beam 4 and beam 9 to beam 12 through beam scanning, the reference signals on beam 1 to beam 4 are first reference signal 1 to first reference signal 4 respectively, and the reference signals on beam 9 to beam 12 are first reference signal 9 to first reference signal 12 respectively. The terminal can determine the first target feedback information γ according to the first reference signal 2 (first target reference signal) and the first reference signal 3 (second target reference signal). 11 , determine the second target feedback information γ according to the first reference signal 2 and the first reference signal 10 (third target reference signal) 12 Referring to Formula 1, the first target feedback information γ 11 It can be expressed as Second target feedback information γ 12 It can be expressed as

[0158] In another exemplary embodiment, the first group of reference signals may include a first target reference signal to a fourth target reference signal, the first target reference signal and the second target reference signal are used to determine the first target feedback information, and the first target reference signal and the third target reference signal are used to determine the second target feedback information. Fig.10 , the first target reference signal to the fourth target reference signal are respectively a first reference signal 2, a first reference signal 3, a first reference signal 10 and a first reference signal 11.

[0159] In another exemplary embodiment, the first group of reference signals includes a first target reference signal to a fourth target reference signal, the first target reference signal and the third target reference signal are used to determine the first target feedback information, and the second target reference signal and the fourth target reference signal are used to determine the first target feedback information. Fig.10 , the terminal can determine the first target feedback information according to the first reference signal 2 and the first reference signal 10, and determine the second target feedback information according to the first reference signal 3 and the first reference signal 11. Referring to formula 1, the first target feedback information γ 11 It can be expressed as Second target feedback information γ 12 It can be expressed as

[0160] In some embodiments, when the first group of reference signals includes the first target reference signal to the fourth target reference signal, if the sum of the received energies of the first target reference signal and the second target reference signal is greater than the sum of the received energies of the third target reference signal and the fourth target reference signal, the first target reference signal and the second target reference signal are used to determine the first target feedback information. If the sum of the received energies of the first target reference signal and the third target reference signal is greater than the sum of the received energies of the first target reference signal and the fourth target reference signal, the first target reference signal and the third target reference signal are used to determine the second target feedback information.

[0161] For example, refer to Fig.10 , the energy values ​​of the first target reference signal to the fourth target reference signal in the first group of reference signals are β2, β3, β 10 and β 11 The terminal compares β2+β3 with β 10 +β 11 The size of β2+β3>β 10 +β 11 ,but Thus, the base station can use the beam width Δ of beam 2 and beam 3 in direction 1 and the direction of beam 3 in direction 1 to Obtain the pointing angle of the first beam. If β2+β3<β 10 +β 11 ,but Thus, the base station can use the beam width Δ of beam 10 and beam 11 in direction 1 and the pointing direction in direction 1 to The terminal compares β2+β 10 and β3+β 11 The size of β2+β determines the second target feedback information of direction 3: 10 >β3+β 11 ,but Thus, the base station can use the beam width Δ of beam 2 and beam 10 in direction 3 and the direction of the beam 2 and beam 10 in direction 3 to determine the direction of the beam 2 and beam 10. Find the pointing angle of the first beam. If β2+β 10 <β3+β 11 ,but Thus, the base station can use the beam width Δ of beam 3 and beam 11 in direction 3 and the direction of Find the pointing angle of the first beam.

[0162] In some embodiments, the first group of reference signals includes a third target reference signal and a fourth target reference signal, and the first feedback information further includes: received energy of the third target reference signal, an identifier of the third target reference signal, received energy of the fourth target reference signal, and an identifier of the fourth target reference signal. Referring to the above description, the base station can calculate γ according to the received energy of the reference signals from the first target reference signal to the fourth target reference signal. 11 and γ 12 , thereby reducing the terminal calculation γ 11 and γ 12 In addition, since the terminal does not need to 11 and γ 12 The calculation can also reduce the time it takes for the base station to receive the first feedback information.

[0163] Through this solution, the base station can determine the AOD of the first beam in two directions, thereby selecting the first beam for data transmission.

[0164] The above embodiment illustrates an example of estimating the angle of the beam in two directions by the base station. Figure 8 Similar to the communication method of the embodiment, the above embodiment can also perform two or more rounds of estimation of the pointing angle of the beam, as shown below. Fig.11 , taking U=1 as an example, the base station sending the second reference signal in two directions is described.

[0165] The base station sends the second reference signal 5 through beam 5 and sends the second reference signal 6 through beam 6. The vertical pointing angle of beam 5 is greater than the first beam, and the vertical pointing angle of beam 6 is less than the first beam. The base station sends the second reference signal 7 through beam 7 (third target beam) and sends the second reference signal 8 through beam 8 (fourth target beam). The horizontal pointing angle of beam 7 is greater than the first beam, and the horizontal pointing angle of beam 8 is less than the first beam.

[0166] Through the above solution, the AOD of the beam is estimated in two directions, thereby improving the accuracy of the beam AOD.

[0167] The method for the base station to estimate the AOD of sending the second reference signal beam in two directions may refer to the method for the base station to estimate the AOD of sending the first reference signal beam in two directions in the above embodiment, which will not be described in detail here.

[0168] In the above embodiment, the base station performs beam scanning and the terminal uses a fixed beam for reception as an example to introduce the embodiment of the present application. Fig.12 , the base station and the terminal both perform beam scanning in one direction (such as Fig.10 The embodiment of the present application is introduced by taking the direction 1) estimating the AOD of the base station and the AOA of the terminal as an example.

[0169] Reference Fig.12 (1), the base station sends the first indication information and N first reference signals. The N beams in the first beam group carry N first reference signals. The first indication information is used to indicate the N first reference signals of K groups. The N beams in the first beam group are beam 1 to beam 4, respectively, and N=4. The base station performs beam scanning on the N beams in the first beam group. The terminal receives the first reference signal through the beam in the first receiving beam group. The first receiving beam group includes P beams, namely beam 13 to beam 16, and P is equal to 4. The base station performs N (4) beam scans. For the N beam scans performed by the base station, the terminal uses one beam for reception each time, and the receiving energy of the reference signal received by the terminal each time can be recorded as β n,p , where n represents the beam number of the base station's transmitted beam (e.g., n=1 for beam 1), 1≤n≤N, and p represents the beam number of the terminal's received beam (e.g., p=1 for beam 13, p=4 for beam 16), 1≤p≤P. For example, when the base station performs the first beam scan, the terminal uses beam 13 for reception and obtains the received energy β of the four first reference signals. 1,1 , β 2,1 , β 3,1 and β 4,1 When the base station performs the second beam scan, the terminal uses beam 14 for reception and obtains the receiving energy β of the four first reference signals. 1,2 , β 2,2 , β3,2 and β 4,2 Similarly, the terminal uses beam 15 and beam 16 to receive the first reference signal carried by the beam scanned by the base station and obtains the receiving energy β of the first reference signal. 1,3 , β 2,3 , β 3,3 , β 4,3 and β 1,4 , β 2,4 , β 3,4 , β 4,4, so that the terminal obtains the receiving energy of 16 (4 times 4) first reference signals.

[0170] The terminal may determine the sending reference signal group from the first reference signals sent by the base station and determine the receiving reference signal group from the N first reference signals received by the terminal using different beams according to the grouping information of the first reference signals and the receiving energy of the 16 first reference signals. Exemplarily, the receiving energy of the sending reference signal group is {β 2,3 , β 3,3}, the received energy of the received reference signal group is {β 2,3 , β 2,4 The method for determining the sending reference signal group and the receiving reference signal group may refer to the method for determining the first group of reference signals, which will not be described in detail here.

[0171] In some embodiments, the reference signal of the terminal is a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0172] The terminal sends the first feedback information. Correspondingly, the base station receives the first feedback information. Referring to the description of S501 and S502 above, the terminal can send the reference signal group according to the received energy {β 2,3 , β 3,3}, send the first feedback information to the base station, so that the base station obtains the AOD of the first beam, which will not be repeated here.

[0173] The terminal can receive the reference signal group in the following manner according to the received energy {β 2,3 , β 2,4}Determine AOA.

[0174] The terminal obtains the received energy relationship value η according to formula 9, η=η n,p .

[0175]

[0176] According to formula 10, when the base station uses the nth beam and the terminal uses the pth beam, the first reference signal y received by the terminal is obtained. n,p .

[0177]

[0178] Among them, Δ T Indicates the offset angle of the beam sent by the base station, Δ R Indicates the offset angle of the beam received by the terminal. Indicates the pointing angle of the pth beam of the terminal. Indicates the pointing angle of the nth beam of the base station. ψ l Indicates the AOA of the lth path of the base station-terminal channel.

[0179] It should be noted that the above Δ T , Δ R This is just an example. In actual application, Δ T , Δ R It can also be set to 1 / 3, 2 / 5 of the wave width, etc.

[0180] Based on y n,p , β n,p and β n,p+1 It can be expressed as Formula 11 and Formula 12.

[0181]

[0182]

[0183] in, Indicates the pointing angle of the terminal's p+1th beam. Indicates the pointing angle of the (n+1)th beam of the base station.

[0184] According to formula 11 and formula 12, formula 13 is obtained.

[0185]

[0186] Thus, the terminal can use formula 13, according to η n,p Solve the AOAψ of the terminal l* Through this solution, in the scenario where both the base station and the terminal perform beam scanning, the AOD of the base station and the AOA of the terminal can be obtained, and the base station and the terminal can use a better beam for data transmission.

[0187] In some embodiments, the terminal sends a reception energy relationship value η to the base station. Correspondingly, the base station receives η from the terminal.

[0188] The base station can determine the receiving weight of the terminal according to η. Since the base station needs to serve multiple terminals, the beam of the base station when transmitting data may point to multiple directions, which causes the beam selected by the terminal for transmitting data during the base station beam management process to not necessarily be the better beam among the multiple beams sent by the base station during the actual data transmission process. In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal sends η to the base station, so that when the base station serves multiple terminals, it can allocate better receiving weights to the multiple terminals from a global perspective according to the AOA of the multiple terminals obtained.

[0189] In some embodiments, before the terminal sends feedback information (such as first feedback information, second feedback information, etc.), it also includes: uniformly quantizing the feedback information. The terminal sending the feedback information can be implemented as: the terminal sends a uniformly quantized value of the feedback information.

[0190] The value range of the feedback information is [-1, 1]. Quantifying the feedback information can reduce the overhead occupied by the feedback information and save communication resources.

[0191] Exemplarily, the above S502 may be implemented as the terminal sending a uniform quantized value of the first feedback information γ1.

[0192] In some other embodiments, the terminal performs non-uniform quantization on the feedback information before reporting the feedback information.

[0193] The probability that the value of the feedback information is distributed near 1 or -1 is relatively large, and the corresponding AOD has a certain deviation from the center φ of the two adjacent beams. Through this scheme, the feedback information is non-uniformly quantized, which can improve the accuracy of the feedback information quantization.

[0194] In the above embodiment, the base station and the terminal both perform one round of beam scanning. Referring to the method shown in S1001 and S1002, the base station and the terminal may perform two, three or more rounds of beam scanning. When the base station performs two rounds of beam scanning, it may obtain the first beam according to the first round of beam scanning. exist Adjacent angular transmission beams. Fig.12 (2), the base station sends beam 5 and beam 6, and the AOD of beam 5 and beam 6 is When the terminal performs the second round of scanning, it can use the beam angle ψ obtained in the first round of beam scanning to obtain the beam angle ψ. l* , in ψ l* Adjacent angular receive beams. Fig.12 (2), the terminal sends beam 17 and beam 18, and the angle between beam 17 and beam 18 is ψ l* Thus, after multiple rounds of scanning, better AOD and AOA can be obtained. Fig.12 (3), the base station can obtain the transmitting beam 19 according to the more optimal AOD, and the terminal can obtain the receiving beam 20 according to the more optimal AOA.

[0195] In some embodiments, the base station (transmitting device) sends beam information to the IRS, and the IRS scans the beam sent by the base station (the beam carries a reference signal) according to the beam information, and the terminal uses a fixed-angle beam (such as beam z) to receive the beam sent by the base station. In this scenario, the base station instructs the IRS to perform beam scanning, which can also be referred to as indirect beam scanning by the base station. In this scenario, before the base station sends a reference signal (such as a first reference signal, a second reference signal, etc.) to the terminal, it also includes a process of instructing the IRS to perform beam scanning. Fig.13 Taking the example of the base station instructing the IRS to scan the beams in the first beam group, S1001 may also include S1401 to S1402.

[0196] S1401. The base station sends beam information of a first beam group to an IRS. Correspondingly, the IRS receives beam information of the first beam group from the base station.

[0197] The beam information of the first beam group is used to indicate the beam information of the beams in the first beam group, wherein the beams in the first beam group are associated with the M second reference signals. That is, the beams in the first beam group are beams carrying the M second reference signals. Fig.14 , the first beam group includes beam 5 and beam 6, and M = 2. The IRS can scan beam 5 and beam 6 in the first beam group according to the beam information of the first beam group.

[0198] In some embodiments, the beam information of the first beam group includes the pointing angle of the beam. The base station may instruct the IRS to scan the M beams within the first angle range, that is, the angles of the two beams with the largest angle difference among the M beams are less than or equal to the first angle range. The IRS may perform beam scanning according to the pointing angle of each beam. For example, referring to Fig.14 , the base station instructs the IRS to scan beam 5 and beam 6 within [10, 40]°, and the IRS can send beam 5 in the direction of 10° and send beam 6 in the direction of 40°. For another example, the base station instructs the IRS to send beam 5 in the direction of 10° and send beam 6 in the direction of 40°.

[0199] In some embodiments, the beam information of the first beam group also includes an offset angle. The IRS can send (such as reflect) a beam according to the pointing angle and the offset angle of the beam. For example, the pointing angle of the beam is 10° and the offset angle is 2°. The IRS can send beam 5 in the direction of 8° (10 minus 2) and send beam 6 in the direction of 12° (10 plus 2). In some embodiments, beam 5 and beam 6 still have overlapping parts after being offset by the offset angle. The overlapping part of beam 5 and beam 6 associates beam 5 and beam 6, and the angle information within the coverage range of beam 5 and beam 6 is obtained according to the energy of beam 5 and beam 6, thereby obtaining the angle of the beam with the best signal between beam 5 and beam 6.

[0200] Exemplarily, the first angle range may be determined according to the size of the smart reflective surface. Further exemplary, the first angle range may be a preset angle range.

[0201] In some other embodiments, the beam information of the first beam group includes a codebook and / or a beam phase, and the codebook and the beam phase are respectively used to indicate the angles of the beams in the first beam group.

[0202] S1402: The base station sends second beam information to the IRS. Correspondingly, the IRS receives the second beam information from the base station. The second beam information includes a preset time period for the IRS to send the M beams.

[0203] In some embodiments, the preset time period can be determined according to a transmission time interval (TTI) number or a symbol number. For example, taking the TTI number as an example, the preset time periods are TTI1 and TTI2, and the base station sends beam 5 in TTI1 and beam 6 in TTI2.

[0204] The second beam information and the beam information of the first beam group may be in the same message or in different messages.

[0205] In some embodiments, the base station sending M second reference signals in the above S1001 can be implemented as S1403. Correspondingly, the IRS executes S1404, and the terminal executes S1405.

[0206] S1403. The base station sends M second reference signals at a time corresponding to each of the M beams within a preset time period.

[0207] S1404. The IRS scans the M beams according to the pointing angle of each beam at a time corresponding to each beam in the M beams.

[0208] For example, refer to Fig.14 , the base station sends the second reference signal 5 through beam 5 and sends the second reference signal 6 through beam 6. The base station sends the second reference signal 5 in TTI1, and the IRS reflects the beam 5 in a direction of 10° in TTI1. The base station sends the second reference signal 6 in TTI2, and the IRS reflects the second reference signal 6 in a direction of 40° in TTI2.

[0209] S1405. The terminal receives M second reference signals.

[0210] In this solution, the base station can instruct the IRS to reflect the beam according to the angle indicated by the base station. Subsequently, after the base station determines to use the second beam for data transmission, the base station can instruct the IRS to reflect the second beam according to the direction of the second beam, so that the second beam is used for subsequent data transmission.

[0211] In the scenario of IRS reflected beam, L in the above formulas 1, 3, and 5 represents the number of channel multipaths from the IRS to the terminal link. l Indicates the AOA of the lth path from IRS to terminal channel.

[0212] In the above embodiment, the embodiment of the present application is introduced by taking the base station or IRS performing beam scanning, the terminal using a fixed beam reception or the terminal performing beam scanning on the receiving beam as an example. The embodiment of the present application can also be implemented as a terminal (an example of a transmitting device) performing beam scanning, and the base station using a fixed beam to receive a reference signal to obtain the exit angle of the terminal transmitting beam. The specific implementation method can refer to the above S501 and S502, or the description of S1001 and S1002, which will not be repeated here. When the terminal performs beam scanning as a transmitting device, the terminal sends a first reference signal to the base station, and the first reference signal can be an SRS.

[0213] In the various embodiments of the present application, if there is no special explanation and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships. For example, the above-mentioned multiple embodiments can be combined, and the combined scheme can be implemented. Optionally, some operations in the process of each method embodiment are optionally combined, and / or the order of some operations is optionally changed. In addition, the execution order between the steps of each process is only exemplary and does not constitute a restriction on the execution order between the steps. There can also be other execution orders between the steps. It is not intended to indicate that the execution order is the only order in which these operations can be performed. A person of ordinary skill in the art will think of a variety of ways to reorder the operations of this article. In addition, it should be noted that the process details involved in a certain embodiment of this article are also applicable to other embodiments in a similar manner, or different embodiments can be used in combination.

[0214] It is understandable that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the base station and the terminal include 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.

[0215] Fig.15 and Fig.16 The 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 or base station 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 2 The terminal 120 shown may also be Figure 2 The base station 110 shown may also be a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal or a base station.

[0216] like Fig.15 As shown, the communication device 1300 includes a processing unit 1310 and a transceiver unit 1320. The communication device 1300 is used to implement the above Figure 5 or Figure 8 The functions of the terminal or base station in the method embodiment shown in FIG.

[0217] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement Figure 5 The functions of the terminal in the method embodiment shown are: the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive the first indication information and N first reference signals and send the first feedback information; the processing unit 1310 is used to perform processing-related functions.

[0218] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement Figure 5 The functions of the base station in the method embodiment shown are: the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send the first indication information and N first reference signals and receive the first feedback information; the processing unit 1310 is used to perform processing-related functions.

[0219] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement Figure 8 The functions of the terminal in the method embodiment shown are: the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive the second indication information and M second reference signals and send the second feedback information; the processing unit 1310 is used to perform processing-related functions.

[0220] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement Figure 8 In the method embodiment shown, the functions of the base station are: the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send the second indication information and M second reference signals and receive the second feedback information; the processing unit 1310 is used to perform processing-related functions. For a more detailed description of the above-mentioned processing unit 1310 and the transceiver unit 1320, please refer to Figure 5 and Figure 8 The method embodiment shown is described in detail.

[0221] like Fig.16 As shown, the communication device 1400 includes a processor 1410 and an interface circuit 1420. The processor 1410 and the interface circuit 1420 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1420 can be a transceiver or an input-output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1400 may also include a memory 1430 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1410 or storing input data required by the processor 1410 to execute instructions or storing data generated after the processor 1410 executes instructions.

[0222] When the communication device 1400 is used to implement Figure 5When the method is shown, the processor 1410 is used to implement the function of the above-mentioned processing unit 1310, and the interface circuit 1420 is used to implement the function of the above-mentioned transceiver unit 1320.

[0223] When the above-mentioned communication device is a chip applied to a terminal, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The terminal chip receives information from the base station, which can be understood as the information is first received by other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and then sent to the terminal chip by these modules. The terminal chip sends information to the base station, which can be understood as the information is first sent to other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and then sent to the base station by these modules.

[0224] When the above-mentioned communication device is a chip applied to a base station, the base station chip implements the function of the base station in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The base station chip receives information from the terminal, which can be understood as the information is first received by other modules in the base station (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and then sent to the base station chip by these modules. The base station chip sends information to the terminal, which can be understood as the information is sent to other modules in the base station (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and then sent to the terminal by these modules.

[0225] In the present application, when entity A sends information to entity B, it can be that A sends it directly to B, or that A sends it to B indirectly through other entities. Similarly, when entity B receives information from entity A, it can be that entity B directly receives the information sent by entity A, or that entity B indirectly receives the information sent by entity A through other entities. Entities A and B here can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules inside the RAN nodes or terminals. The sending and receiving of information can be information interaction between a RAN node and a terminal, for example, information interaction between a base station and a terminal; the sending and receiving of information can also be information interaction between two RAN nodes, for example, information interaction between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can also be information interaction between different modules inside a device, for example, information interaction between a terminal chip and other modules of the terminal, or information interaction between a base station chip and other modules in the base station.

[0226] 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.

[0227] 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 a base station or a terminal. The processor and the storage medium can also be present in a base station or a terminal as discrete components.

[0228] 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.

[0229] The terms "first" and "second" in the specification and drawings of this application are used to distinguish objects, or to distinguish the processing of the same object. The words "first" and "second" can distinguish the same or similar items with basically the same functions and effects. For example, the first device and the second device are only used to distinguish different devices, and their order is not limited. Those skilled in the art can understand that the words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit them.

[0230] "At least one" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more.

[0231] "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, 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" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or plural.

[0232] In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof mentioned in the description of the present application 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 other steps or units that are not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units that are inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0233] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific way.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receive first indication information and N first reference signals; the first indication information is used to indicate the N first reference signals of K groups, where N and K are integers greater than 1, and N is greater than or equal to K; Sending first feedback information; the first feedback information is used by a sending device to determine a first beam for transmitting data; the first feedback information is determined based on multiple first reference signals in one of the K groups of first reference signals.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first feedback information is determined based on a first group of reference signals, the first group of reference signals includes a first target reference signal and a second target reference signal, and the first feedback information is determined based on received energy of the first target reference signal and received energy of the second target reference signal.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Also includes: Receiving second indication information and M second reference signals; The second indication information is used to indicate M second reference signals of U groups, where U and M are positive integers greater than or equal to 1; wherein M is less than N; Sending second feedback information, where the second feedback information is used by the sending device to determine a second beam for transmitting data; The second feedback information is determined according to a plurality of second reference signals in one group of the U groups of second reference signals.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first indication information includes identifiers of N first reference signals, where the identifiers of the first reference signals are one or more of the following identifiers: a group identifier of the first reference signal, a resource identifier of the first reference signal; the identifier of the first reference signal is used to determine the grouping of the first reference signal.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The first feedback information includes first target feedback information and second target feedback information; the first target feedback information is used to determine a first direction of the first beam, and the second target feedback information is used to determine a second direction of the first beam, and the first direction is different from the second direction.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The first group of reference signals also includes a third target reference signal, the first target reference signal and the second target reference signal are used to determine first target feedback information, and the first target reference signal and the third target reference signal are used to determine second target feedback information; Alternatively, the first group of reference signals further includes a third target reference signal and a fourth target reference signal, the first target reference signal and the second target reference signal are used to determine first target feedback information, and the first target reference signal and the third target reference signal are used to determine second target feedback information; Alternatively, the first group of reference signals also includes a third target reference signal and a fourth target reference signal, the first target reference signal and the third target reference signal are used to determine the first target feedback information, and the second target reference signal and the fourth target reference signal are used to determine the first target feedback information.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that In a case where the first group of reference signals also includes a third target reference signal and a fourth target reference signal, if a sum of received energies of the first target reference signal and the second target reference signal is greater than a sum of received energies of the third target reference signal and the fourth target reference signal, the first target reference signal and the second target reference signal are used to determine first target feedback information; If the sum of received energies of the first target reference signal and the third target reference signal is greater than the sum of received energies of the first target reference signal and the fourth target reference signal, the first target reference signal and the third target reference signal are used to determine second target feedback information.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The first feedback information is γ n , the γ n It is determined according to the following formula: β n represents the received energy of the first target reference signal, β n+1 Represents the received energy of the second target reference signal.

9. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that: The first feedback information includes one or more of the following information: received energy of the first target reference signal, an identifier of the first target reference signal, received energy of the second target reference signal, and an identifier of the second target reference signal.

10. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 9, characterized in that: The first group of reference signals is a group whose sum of received energies of first reference signals is the largest among the K groups of first reference signals, or the first group of reference signals is a group whose sum of received energies of first reference signals is higher than a first threshold among the K groups of first reference signals.

11. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending first indication information and N first reference signals; The first indication information is used to indicate N first reference signals of K groups, where N and K are integers greater than 1, and N is greater than or equal to K; First feedback information is received, and a first beam for transmitting data is determined according to the first feedback information; the first feedback information is determined according to a plurality of first reference signals in one of the K groups of first reference signals.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The first feedback information is determined based on a first group of reference signals, the first group of reference signals includes a first target reference signal and a second target reference signal, and the first feedback information is determined based on received energy of the first target reference signal and received energy of the second target reference signal.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: Also includes: Sending second indication information and M second reference signals; the second indication information is used to indicate M second reference signals of U groups, where U and M are positive integers greater than or equal to 1; wherein M is less than N; receiving second feedback information, where the second feedback information is used to determine a second beam for transmitting data; The second feedback information is determined according to a plurality of second reference signals in one group of the U groups of second reference signals.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that: The first indication information includes N first reference signal identifiers, and the first reference signal identifier includes a group identifier of the first reference signal, or a resource identifier of the first reference signal; the first reference signal identifier is used to determine the grouping of the first reference signal.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that: The first feedback information includes first target feedback information and second target feedback information; The first target feedback information is used to determine a first direction of the first beam, and the second target feedback information is used to determine a second direction of the first beam, and the first direction is different from the second direction.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that: The feedback information is γ n , the γ n It is determined according to the following formula: β n represents the energy value of the first target reference signal, β n+1 Represents the energy value of the second target reference signal.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, characterized in that: The first feedback information includes: received energy of the first target reference signal, an identifier of the first target reference signal, received energy of the second target reference signal, and an identifier of the second target reference signal.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that: The first group of reference signals is a group whose sum of received energies of first reference signals is the largest among the K groups of first reference signals, or the first group of reference signals is a group whose sum of received energies of first reference signals is higher than a first threshold among the K groups of first reference signals.

19. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 18, characterized in that: Also includes: Beam information of a first beam group is sent, where beams in the first beam group are associated with the M second reference signals.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The first beam group includes a first target beam and a second target beam, wherein the pointing angle of the first target beam in the first direction is greater than the pointing angle of the first beam in the first direction, and the pointing angle of the second target beam in the first direction is less than the pointing angle of the first beam in the first direction.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The first beam group also includes a third target beam and a fourth target beam, wherein the pointing angle of the third target beam in the second direction is greater than the pointing angle of the first beam in the second direction, and the pointing angle of the fourth target beam in the second direction is less than the pointing angle of the first beam in the second direction.

22. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Receiving beam information of a first beam group, where beams in the first beam group are associated with the M second reference signals; M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; According to beam information of the first beam group, a signal is sent through a beam in the first beam group; the beam in the first beam group is determined according to the first beam, the first beam is a beam for transmitting data determined by a sending device according to first feedback information, and the first feedback information is determined by the sending device according to multiple first reference signals in one group of N first reference signals of K groups; wherein M is less than N.

23. The communication method according to claim 22, characterized in that: The first beam group includes a first target beam and a second target beam, wherein the pointing angle of the first target beam in the first direction is greater than the pointing angle of the first beam in the first direction, and the pointing angle of the second target beam in the first direction is less than the pointing angle of the first beam in the first direction.

24. The communication method according to claim 23, characterized in that: The first beam group also includes a third target beam and a fourth target beam, wherein the pointing angle of the third target beam in the second direction is greater than the pointing angle of the first beam in the second direction, and the pointing angle of the fourth target beam in the second direction is less than the pointing angle of the first beam in the second direction.

25. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein, characterized in that: When the instruction is executed on a communication device, the communication device is caused to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, or the communication device is caused to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 21, or the communication device is caused to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 22 to 24.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or comprising a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 11 to 21, or comprising a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 22 to 24.

27. A communication device, characterized in that: include: Processor and memory; The memory is used to store computer instructions. When the processor executes the computer instructions, the communication device executes the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or the communication device executes the communication method as described in any one of claims 11 to 21, or the communication device executes the communication method as described in any one of claims 22 to 24.

28. A communication system, characterized in that: The method comprises a first communication device and a second communication device, wherein the first communication device executes the communication method according to any one of claims 11 to 21, and the second communication device executes the communication method according to any one of claims 22 to 24.

Images