Beam measurement method and device

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a beam measurement method and device, and the method comprises the steps: receiving indication information, the indication information is used for indicating at least one beam group in a plurality of beam groups, and a plurality of beams used for beam measurement are divided into a plurality of beam groups; receiving a reference signal transmitted through the at least one beam group, wherein the reference signal is used for determining measurement feedback information; and sending measurement feedback information. According to the beam measurement method and device provided by the embodiment of the invention, the overhead of the terminal equipment can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for beam measurement. Background Art

[0002] The network device and the terminal device need to perform beam alignment for subsequent data transmission. Beam alignment between the terminal device and the network device can be achieved through information interaction between them. To ensure the beam alignment state between the network device and the terminal device, the information interaction between the terminal device and the network device is usually carried out continuously.

[0003] During the information interaction process between the terminal device and the network device, the network device configures the beams for beam measurement and the reporting quantity, and the terminal device selects and reports measurement feedback information according to the measurement results. The terminal device calculates the entire set of beams for beam measurement, resulting in a large system overhead. Therefore, how to reduce the system overhead in the beam measurement process is an urgent problem to be solved in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of the present application provide a method and apparatus for beam measurement, which can reduce the system overhead in the beam measurement process.

[0005] In a first aspect, a method for beam measurement is provided. The method includes: receiving indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate at least one beam group among a plurality of beam groups, and a plurality of beams for beam measurement are divided into a plurality of beam groups; receiving a reference signal transmitted through at least one beam group, where the reference signal is used to determine measurement feedback information; and sending the measurement feedback information.

[0006] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device receives indication information to select some of the plurality of beams for beam measurement, reducing the number of beams measured by the terminal device and the overhead for measurement by the terminal device. At the same time, the terminal device determines which part of the beams to perform beam measurement according to the indication of the network device, improving the controllability of the system.

[0007] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving configuration information, where the configuration information includes beam measurement set information and / or beam grouping information, the beam measurement set information is used to indicate a plurality of beams for beam measurement, and the beam grouping information is used to indicate the group numbers of the plurality of beam groups.

[0008] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device receives the beam measurement set information and / or the beam grouping information to determine the beam grouping situation, so as to perform beam measurement efficiently and with low overhead in cooperation with the received indication information.

[0009] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, at least one beam group includes a first beam group and a second beam group, where the first beam group is used to measure signal strength, and the second beam group is used to measure interference strength.

[0010] Specifically, the terminal can select a serving beam from the first beam group and a paired beam from the second beam group, measure the signal strength through the selected serving beam, measure the interference strength through the selected paired beam, and calculate the beam quality information in the measurement feedback information using the above signal strength and interference strength. For example, the terminal device calculates the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio of the currently selected combination of the serving beam and the paired beam using the above signal strength and interference strength.

[0011] Furthermore, the measurement feedback information may include the number of the serving beam used by the terminal device for beam measurement, the number of the paired beam paired and selected with the above serving beam, and the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio calculated corresponding to the combination of the above serving beam and the paired beam. The measurement feedback information may include one or more groups of the above beam pairs and their corresponding signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratios.

[0012] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device receives indication information to determine the first beam group and the second beam group for measuring signal strength, enabling the terminal device to pair multiple channel measurement resources and interference measurement resources in real time, while reducing the number of beams measured by the terminal device and reducing the overhead for measurement by the terminal device.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the indication information is transmitted through medium access control-control element signaling or downlink control information signaling.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the indication information is used to indicate the group number of the first beam group and the group number of the second beam group.

[0015] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device determines the beam groups for measurement and interference based on the beam group numbers, which can reduce signaling overhead. At the same time, since the first beam group and the second beam group are dynamically indicated by the indication information instead of being determined by the terminal device itself, the adaptability of the system is improved.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the configuration information further includes beam angle information, and the beam angle information includes the zenith angle and / or azimuth angle of each beam; the beams in each beam group among the multiple beam groups have the same zenith angle range and / or azimuth angle range.

[0017] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, beams that are spatially adjacent among multiple beams for beam measurement are divided into the same beam group, so that the beams in the same beam group have similar spatial domain characteristics, which is conducive to the terminal device extracting and using spatial domain characteristics during measurement, and determining the positions of the first beam group and the second beam group in combination with the indication information.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the indication information is used to indicate the group number of the first beam group and the beam angle difference threshold; the method further includes: determining the second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam angle difference threshold, and the beam angle information.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, determining the second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam angle difference threshold, and the beam angle information includes: determining, as the second beam group, the beam groups among multiple beam groups whose angle difference from the first beam group is greater than the beam angle difference threshold.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the angle difference includes the angle difference between the angle center of the first beam group and the angle center of the second beam group; the angle center of the first beam group or the angle center of the second beam group is obtained by calculating the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, quadratic mean, or moving average of the beam angles in the first beam group or the second beam group.

[0021] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device determines the group number of the second beam group based on the received group number of the first beam group and the angle difference threshold, and then uses the beams in the first beam group and the second beam group for measurement, enabling the terminal device to pair the beams in the first and second beam groups in real time, while reducing the number of beams measured by the terminal device, reducing the overhead of the terminal device for measurement, and at the same time, since the first beam group and the second beam group are dynamically indicated by the indication information instead of being determined by the terminal device itself, improving the adaptability of the system.

[0022] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the configuration information further includes spatial domain grid information, and the spatial domain grid information is used to indicate the coverage area range of each beam mapped on the ground; the beams in each beam group among multiple beam groups have adjacent coverage area ranges.

[0023] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, beams with adjacent coverage areas among multiple beams for beam measurement are divided into the same beam group, so that the beams in the same beam group have similar coverage area characteristics, which is conducive to the terminal device extracting and using coverage area characteristics during measurement, and determining the positions of the first beam group and the second beam group in combination with the indication information.

[0024] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the indication information is used to indicate the group number of the first beam group and the beam distance difference threshold; the method further includes: determining a second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam distance difference threshold, and the airspace grid information.

[0025] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, determining a second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam distance difference threshold, and the airspace grid information includes: determining, as the second beam group, the beam groups in the multiple beam groups whose distance difference from the first beam group is greater than the beam distance difference threshold.

[0026] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the distance difference includes the distance difference between the center of the coverage area of the first beam group and the center of the coverage area of the second beam group; the center of the coverage area of the first beam group or the center of the coverage area of the second beam group is obtained by calculating the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, quadratic mean, or moving average of the coverage area of the first beam group or the second beam group.

[0027] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device determines the group number of the second beam group based on the received group number of the first beam group and the distance difference threshold, and then uses the beams in the first beam group and the second beam group for measurement, enabling the terminal device to pair the beams in the first and second beam groups in real time, while reducing the number of beams measured by the terminal device and the overhead for measurement by the terminal device. At the same time, since the first beam group and the second beam group are dynamically indicated by the indication information instead of being determined by the terminal device itself, the adaptability of the system is improved.

[0028] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the airspace grid information includes coverage area update information; the coverage area update information is used to indicate the changed part of the current coverage area of each beam mapped on the ground relative to the previous coverage area of each beam mapped on the ground.

[0029] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the airspace grid information uses differential update, enabling the airspace grid information to more accurately reflect the coverage range of different beams actually arranged on the ground. At the same time, the airspace grid information only transmits the changed part of the coverage area determined based on the environmental perception result, which can avoid sending duplicate information and reduce signaling overhead.

[0030] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the configuration information is transmitted through radio resource control signaling, medium access control-control element signaling, or broadcast.

[0031] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the measurement feedback information further includes the group number of the beam group to which the reported beam belongs and the beam number of the reported beam within the first beam group or the second beam group.

[0032] Specifically, the measurement feedback information may include the number of the serving beam used by the terminal device for beam measurement within its corresponding beam group and the signal-to-noise ratio measured through the serving beam. The measurement feedback information may include one or more groups of the above beams and their corresponding signal-to-noise ratios. Further, the measurement feedback information may also include the number of the serving beam used by the terminal device for beam measurement within its corresponding beam group, the number of the paired beam paired and selected with the serving beam within its corresponding beam group, and the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio calculated corresponding to the combination of the serving beam and the paired beam. The measurement feedback information may include one or more groups of the above beam pairs and their corresponding signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratios.

[0033] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the internal number within the beam group is adopted in the measurement feedback information reported by the terminal device. The internal number occupies fewer bits during transmission compared to the total number of the beams in the beam measurement set, reducing the reporting overhead of the terminal device.

[0034] In a second aspect, a beam measurement method is provided. The method includes: sending indication information for indicating at least one beam group among a plurality of beam groups, where a plurality of beams for beam measurement are divided into a plurality of beam groups; sending a reference signal through at least one beam group, where the reference signal is used to determine measurement feedback information; and receiving the measurement feedback information.

[0035] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, configuration information is sent. The configuration information includes beam measurement set information and / or beam grouping information. The beam measurement set information is used to indicate a plurality of beams for beam measurement, and the beam grouping information is used to indicate the group numbers of the plurality of beam groups.

[0036] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, at least one beam group includes a first beam group and a second beam group, where the first beam group is used to measure signal strength and the second beam group is used to measure interference strength.

[0037] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the indication information is transmitted through medium access control-control element signaling or downlink control information signaling.

[0038] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the indication information is used to indicate the group number of the first beam group and the group number of the second beam group.

[0039] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the configuration information further includes beam angle information. The beam angle information includes the zenith angle and / or azimuth angle of each beam; the beams within each beam group among the plurality of beam groups have the same zenith angle range and / or azimuth angle range.

[0040] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: determining a second beam group according to a first beam group, a beam angle difference threshold, and beam angle information.

[0041] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, determining a second beam group according to a first beam group, a beam angle difference threshold, and beam angle information includes: determining, as the second beam group, a beam group among a plurality of beam groups whose angle difference from the first beam group is greater than the beam angle difference threshold.

[0042] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the angle difference includes the angle difference between the angle center of the first beam group and the angle center of the second beam group; the angle center of the first beam group or the angle center of the second beam group is obtained by calculating the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, quadratic mean, or moving average of the beam angles in the first beam group or the second beam group.

[0043] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the configuration information further includes airspace grid information, and the airspace grid information is used to indicate the coverage area range of each beam mapped on the ground; the beams in each beam group among the plurality of beam groups have adjacent coverage area ranges.

[0044] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, a second beam group is determined according to a first beam group, a beam distance difference threshold, and the airspace grid information.

[0045] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, determining a second beam group according to a first beam group, a beam distance difference threshold, and the airspace grid information includes: determining, as the second beam group, a beam group among a plurality of beam groups whose distance difference from the first beam group is greater than the beam distance difference threshold.

[0046] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the distance difference includes the distance difference between the coverage area center of the first beam group and the coverage area center of the second beam group; the coverage area center of the first beam group or the coverage area center of the second beam group is obtained by calculating the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, quadratic mean, or moving average of the coverage areas of the first beam group or the second beam group.

[0047] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the network device determines the group number of the second beam group based on the group number of the first beam group and the distance difference threshold, and instructs the terminal device to perform measurements using the beams in the first beam group and the second beam group, enabling the terminal device to pair the beams in the first and second beam groups in real time. At the same time, the number of beams measured by the terminal device is reduced, and the overhead for the terminal device to perform measurements is lowered. Also, since the first beam group and the second beam group are dynamically indicated by the indication information instead of being determined by the terminal device itself, the adaptability of the system is improved.

[0048] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the airspace grid information includes coverage area update information; the coverage area update information is used to indicate the changed part of the current coverage area of each beam mapped on the ground relative to the previous coverage area of each beam mapped on the ground.

[0049] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the configuration information is transmitted through radio resource control signaling, medium access control-control element signaling, or broadcast.

[0050] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the measurement feedback information includes the beam numbers of the reported beams within the first beam group or the second beam group.

[0051] In a third aspect, a beam measurement apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes: a transceiver unit, which is used to receive indication information for indicating at least one beam group among a plurality of beam groups, where a plurality of beams for beam measurement are divided into a plurality of beam groups; the transceiver unit is further used to receive a reference signal transmitted through at least one beam group, where the reference signal is used to determine the measurement feedback information; the transceiver unit is further used to send the measurement feedback information.

[0052] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to receive configuration information, where the configuration information includes beam measurement set information and / or beam grouping information. The beam measurement set information is used to indicate a plurality of beams for beam measurement, and the beam grouping information is used to indicate the group numbers of the plurality of beam groups.

[0053] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, at least one beam group includes a first beam group and a second beam group, where the first beam group is used to measure the signal strength, and the second beam group is used to measure the interference strength.

[0054] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the indication information is transmitted through medium access control-control element signaling or downlink control information signaling.

[0055] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the indication information is used to indicate the group number of the first beam group and the group number of the second beam group.

[0056] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the configuration information further includes beam angle information, and the beam angle information includes the zenith angle and / or azimuth angle of each beam; the beams within each beam group among the multiple beam groups have the same zenith angle range and / or azimuth angle range.

[0057] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the indication information is used to indicate the group number of the first beam group and the beam angle difference threshold; the apparatus further includes: determining the second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam angle difference threshold, and the beam angle information.

[0058] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the apparatus further includes a processing unit, and determining the second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam angle difference threshold, and the beam angle information includes: the processing unit is used to determine, as the second beam group, the beam group among the multiple beam groups whose angle difference from the first beam group is greater than the beam angle difference threshold.

[0059] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the angle difference includes the angle difference between the angle center of the first beam group and the angle center of the second beam group; the angle center of the first beam group or the angle center of the second beam group is obtained by calculating the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, quadratic mean, or moving average of the beam angles in the first beam group or the second beam group.

[0060] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the configuration information further includes airspace grid information, and the airspace grid information is used to indicate the coverage area range on the ground where each beam is mapped; the beams within each beam group among the multiple beam groups have adjacent coverage area ranges.

[0061] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the indication information is used to indicate the group number of the first beam group and the beam distance difference threshold; the processing unit is used to determine the second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam distance difference threshold, and the airspace grid information.

[0062] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, determining the second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam distance difference threshold, and the airspace grid information includes: the processing unit is used to determine, as the second beam group, the beam group among the multiple beam groups whose distance difference from the first beam group is greater than the beam distance difference threshold.

[0063] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the distance difference includes the distance difference between the center of the coverage area of the first beam group and the center of the coverage area of the second beam group; the center of the coverage area of the first beam group or the center of the coverage area of the second beam group is obtained by calculating the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, quadratic mean or moving average of the coverage area of the first beam group or the second beam group.

[0064] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the airspace grid information includes coverage area update information; the coverage area update information is used to indicate the part of the current coverage area of each beam mapped on the ground that has changed relative to the previous coverage area of each beam mapped on the ground.

[0065] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the configuration information is transmitted through radio resource control signaling, medium access control-control element signaling or broadcast transmission.

[0066] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the measurement feedback information further includes the group number of the beam group where the reported beam is located and the beam number of the reported beam within the first beam group or the second beam group.

[0067] In a fourth aspect, a beam measurement device is provided, and the device includes: a transceiver unit, where the transceiver unit is used to send indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate at least one beam group among a plurality of beam groups, where a plurality of beams used for beam measurement are divided into a plurality of beam groups; the transceiver unit is further used to send a reference signal through at least one beam group, and the reference signal is used to determine the measurement feedback information; the transceiver unit is further used to receive the measurement feedback information.

[0068] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to send configuration information, and the configuration information includes beam measurement set information and / or beam grouping information, where the beam measurement set information is used to indicate a plurality of beams used for beam measurement, and the beam grouping information is used to indicate the group numbers of a plurality of beam groups.

[0069] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, at least one beam group includes a first beam group and a second beam group, where the first beam group is used to measure the signal strength, and the second beam group is used to measure the interference strength.

[0070] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the indication information is transmitted through medium access control-control element signaling or downlink control information signaling.

[0071] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the indication information is used to indicate the group number of the first beam group and the group number of the second beam group.

[0072] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the configuration information further includes beam angle information, and the beam angle information includes the zenith angle and / or azimuth angle of each beam; the beams within each beam group among the multiple beam groups have the same zenith angle range and / or azimuth angle range.

[0073] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the processing unit is further configured to determine a second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam distance difference threshold, and the airspace grid information.

[0074] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, determining the second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam angle difference threshold, and the beam angle information includes: the processing unit is configured to determine, as the second beam group, the beam groups among the multiple beam groups whose angle difference from the first beam group is greater than the beam angle difference threshold.

[0075] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the angle difference includes the angle difference between the angle center of the first beam group and the angle center of the second beam group; the angle center of the first beam group or the angle center of the second beam group is obtained by calculating the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, quadratic mean, or moving average of the beam angles in the first beam group or the second beam group.

[0076] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the configuration information further includes airspace grid information, and the airspace grid information is used to indicate the coverage area range of each beam mapped on the ground; the beams within each beam group among the multiple beam groups have adjacent coverage area ranges.

[0077] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the processing unit is further configured to determine a second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam distance difference threshold, and the airspace grid information.

[0078] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, determining the second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam distance difference threshold, and the airspace grid information includes: the processing unit is further configured to determine, as the second beam group, the beam groups among the multiple beam groups whose distance difference from the first beam group is greater than the beam distance difference threshold.

[0079] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the distance difference includes the distance difference between the coverage area center of the first beam group and the coverage area center of the second beam group; the coverage area center of the first beam group or the coverage area center of the second beam group is obtained by calculating the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, quadratic mean, or moving average of the coverage areas of the first beam group or the second beam group.

[0080] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the airspace grid information includes coverage area update information; the coverage area update information is used to indicate the changed part of the current ground coverage area of each beam mapping relative to the previous ground coverage area of each beam mapping.

[0081] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the configuration information is transmitted through radio resource control signaling, media access control - control element signaling, or broadcast transmission.

[0082] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the measurement feedback information includes the beam numbers of the reported beams within the first beam group or the second beam group.

[0083] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a processor coupled to a memory, the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to run the computer program so that the communication device executes the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof as described above.

[0084] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a processor coupled to a memory, the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to run the computer program so that the communication device executes the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof as described above.

[0085] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the communication methods in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner in the first aspect, or the second aspect and any possible implementation manner in the second aspect.

[0086] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product containing instructions is provided. When the computer program product runs on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the communication methods in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner in the first aspect, or the second aspect and any possible implementation manner in the second aspect.

[0087] In a ninth aspect, a chip is provided. The chip includes a processor and a data interface. The processor reads instructions stored on a memory through the data interface to execute the communication methods in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner in the first aspect, or the second aspect and any possible implementation manner in the second aspect.

[0088] In combination with the ninth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the processor is coupled to the memory through an interface.

[0089] In combination with the ninth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the chip system further includes a memory, and computer programs or computer instructions are stored in the memory. Description of the Drawings

[0090] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0091] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of concurrent multi-beam transmission provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0092] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the spatial arrangement of multi-beams provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0093] Figure 4 It is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0094] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of a method for defining a beam subset provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0095] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of multi-beam concurrent multi-user transmission provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0096] Figure 7 It is another schematic diagram of a method for defining a beam subset provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0097] Figure 8 It is yet another schematic diagram of a method for defining a beam subset provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0098] Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram of the ground coverage corresponding to a beam provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0099] Figure 10 It is yet another schematic diagram of a method for defining a beam subset provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0100] Figure 11 It is yet another schematic diagram of a method for defining a beam subset provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0101] Figure 12 It is yet another schematic diagram of a method for defining a beam subset provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0102] Figure 13 It is yet another schematic diagram of a method for defining a beam subset provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0103] Figure 14 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0104] Figure 15 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0105] Figure 16It is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0106] Figure 17 It is a schematic structural diagram of a network device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0107] Next, the technical solutions in the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0108] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: the fifth-generation (5G) or new radio (NR) system, the long-term evolution (LTE) system, the LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, the LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, etc. The technical solutions provided by the present application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as the sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system. The technical solutions provided by the present application can also be applied to device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine type communication (MTC), and the Internet of Things (IoT) communication system. The technical solutions provided by the present application can also be applied to low-frequency scenarios, high-frequency scenarios, terahertz, optical communication, licensed bands, and can also be used in unlicensed bands, etc.

[0109] The terminal devices in the embodiments of the present application (e.g., user equipment (UE)) include various devices with wireless communication functions, which can be used to connect people, objects, machines, etc. Terminal devices can be widely applied in various scenarios, such as: cellular communication, D2D, V2X, peer to peer (P2P), M2M, MTC, IoT, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearables, intelligent transportation, smart city drones, robots, remote sensing, passive sensing, positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery and other scenarios. The terminal device can be a terminal in any of the above scenarios, such as an MTC terminal, an IoT terminal, etc. The terminal device can be a user equipment (UE), terminal, fixed device, mobile station device or mobile device, subscriber unit, handheld device, in-vehicle device, wearable device, cellular phone, smart phone, SIP phone, wireless data card, personal digital assistant (PDA), computer, tablet computer, laptop computer, wireless modem, handset, laptop computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, smart book, vehicle, satellite, global positioning system (GPS) device, target tracking device, aircraft (such as drones, helicopters, multi-rotor helicopters, quadcopters, or airplanes, etc.), ship, remote control device, smart home device, industrial device, or a device built into the above devices (e.g., a communication module, modem or chip in the above devices), or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. It should be understood that in some scenarios, the terminal device can also be used as a base station. For example, the terminal device can act as a scheduling entity that provides sidelink signals between terminal devices in scenarios such as V2X, D2D, or P2P.

[0110] The network device in the embodiments of the present application can be a device for communicating with a terminal device, and this network device can also be referred to as an access network device or a radio access network device. For example, the network device can be a base station. The network device in the embodiments of the present application can refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects a terminal device to a wireless network. A base station can generally cover various names as follows, or be replaced with the following names, such as: Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next generation Node B (gNB), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point, master station, slave station, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), positioning node, or radio unit (RU), etc. A base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof. A base station can also refer to a communication module, a modem or a chip disposed in the foregoing device or apparatus. A base station can also be a mobile switching center and a device that undertakes the function of a base station in D2D, V2X, M2M communications, a network-side device in a 6G network, a device that undertakes the function of a base station in a future communication system, etc. A base station can support networks with the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the network device.

[0111] A base station can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or a drone can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move according to the position of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or a drone can be configured to be a device for communicating with another base station.

[0112] In some deployments, the network device mentioned in the embodiments of this application may be an access network device in an open radio access network (O-RAN), or a cloud radio access network (CRAN). Alternatively, the network device may also be a satellite in a satellite communication system.

[0113] In some deployments, the network device mentioned in the embodiments of this application may also be a device including a CU, or a DU, or a device including a CU and a DU, or a control plane CU node (central unit-control plane, CU-CP) and a user plane CU node (central unit-user plane, CU-UP) and a DU node.

[0114] It should be noted that in different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, the CU may also be referred to as an open centralized unit (O-CU) or an open CU, the DU may also be referred to as an open distributed unit (O-DU), the CU-CP may also be referred to as an open centralized unit control plane (O-CU-CP), the CU-UP may also be referred to as an open centralized unit user plane (O-CU-UP), and the RU may also be referred to as an open radio unit (O-RU). Specifically, this application does not make any limitations. Any one of the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0115] Optionally, for the network elements in the ORAN system, each network element may implement the protocol layer functions as shown in Table 1 below.

[0116] Table 1

[0117]

[0118]

[0119] It should be noted that in the ORAN system, the network device in this application may be one or more network elements in Table 1 above.

[0120] The embodiments of the present application do not particularly limit the specific structure of the execution subject of the method provided by the embodiments of the present application. As long as it can communicate according to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application by running a program that records the code of the method provided by the embodiments of the present application. For example, the execution subject of the method provided by the embodiments of the present application may be a terminal device or a network device, or a functional module in the terminal device or the network device that can call and execute the program.

[0121] In addition, various aspects or features of the present application can be implemented as a method, an apparatus, or an article of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used in the present application covers a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or medium. For example, the computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to: magnetic storage devices (such as hard disks, floppy disks, or magnetic tapes, etc.), optical discs (such as compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (such as erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), cards, sticks, or key drives, etc.). In addition, the various storage media described herein may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media for storing information.

[0122] The embodiments of the present application do not particularly limit the specific structure of the execution subject of the method provided by the embodiments of the present application. As long as it can communicate according to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application by running a program that records the code of the method provided by the embodiments of the present application. For example, the execution subject of the method provided by the embodiments of the present application may be a terminal device or a network device, or a functional module in the terminal device or the network device that can call and execute the program.

[0123] Before introducing the solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are explained.

[0124] (1) In the embodiments of the present application, "indication" may include direct indication, indirect indication, display indication, and implicit indication. When it is described that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0125] In the embodiments of the present application, the information indicated by the indication information is referred to as the information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated. For example, but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated, etc. It is also possible to indirectly indicate the information to be indicated by indicating other information, where there is an association relationship between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to only indicate a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or pre-agreed. For example, it is also possible to implement the indication of specific information by means of the arrangement order of each piece of information pre-agreed (such as protocol regulations), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. In addition, the information to be indicated can be sent as a whole, or can be divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately, and the sending periods and / or sending times of these sub-information can be the same or different.

[0126] (2) In the embodiments of the present application, "sending" and "receiving" represent the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which can include directly sending through the air interface, and also includes indirectly sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which can include directly receiving from YY through the air interface, and can also include indirectly receiving from YY through the air interface by other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can be carried out between devices, for example, between a network device and a terminal device, or can be carried out within a device, for example, sending or receiving between components within a device, between modules, between chips, between software modules or hardware modules through a bus, trace or interface.

[0127] The following introduces the technical terms involved in the embodiments of the present application.

[0128] Beam: It can be understood as a spatial filter or spatial parameters. The beam used for transmitting signals can be called a transmission beam (Tx beam), which can be a spatial domain transmit filter or spatial transmit parameters (spatial Tx parameters), or a spatial transmit angle (such as azimuth, zenith) or a spatial transmit angle range (such as azimuth center angle and offset, azimuth uncertainty, azimuth protection range, zenith center angle and offset, zenith uncertainty, zenith protection range), etc.; the beam used for receiving signals can be called a reception beam (Rx beam), which can be a spatial domain receive filter or spatial receive parameters (spatial Rx parameters), or a spatial receive angle (such as azimuth, zenith) or a spatial receive angle range (such as azimuth center angle and offset, azimuth uncertainty, azimuth protection range, zenith center angle and offset, zenith uncertainty, zenith protection range), etc.

[0129] The technology for forming a beam can be beamforming technology or other technologies. For example, beamforming technology can specifically be digital beamforming technology, analog beamforming technology, or hybrid digital / analog beamforming technology, etc. The transmission beam can refer to the distribution of signal intensity formed in different directions in space after the signal is transmitted by the antenna, and the reception beam can refer to the signal intensity distribution of the wireless signal received by the antenna in different directions in space. The beamforming technology in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented based on a power amplifier of a new material or based on a new antenna architecture, such as new hybrid phased array and lens antenna technology.

[0130] In the 5G-NR protocol, a beam can be a spatial filter. However, it should be understood that the present application does not exclude the possibility of defining other terms in future protocols to represent the same or similar meanings.

[0131] Antenna panel: Abbreviated as panel. Each antenna panel can be configured with one or more receive beams and one or more transmit beams. Therefore, an antenna panel can also be understood as a beam group. A communication device, such as a terminal device or a network device, can receive signals through the receive beams on the antenna panel and can also transmit signals through the transmit beams on the antenna panel.

[0132] In the embodiments of this application, for a terminal device, the panels can be distinguished by the resources of the uplink reference signal. The uplink reference signal can be a sounding reference signal (SRS). By way of example and not limitation, one antenna panel can correspond to one SRS resource set identifier (ID). That is, one SRS resource set ID can be used to indicate a terminal device panel.

[0133] For a network device, the network devices can be distinguished by the panel ID. For example, the panel ID can be indicated by a transmission configuration indicator (TCI).

[0134] Beam pair link (BPL): The pairing relationship between a transmit beam and a receive beam, which can also be referred to as the pairing relationship between a spatial transmit filter and a spatial receive filter. Transmitting signals between a transmit beam and a receive beam with a beam pair relationship can obtain a large beamforming gain.

[0135] In one implementation, the sending end can send a reference signal by means of beam scanning, and the receiving end can also receive the reference signal by means of beam scanning. Specifically, the sending end can form beams with different directivities in space by means of beamforming and can poll on multiple beams with different directivities to transmit the reference signal through the beams with different directivities, so that the power of the reference signal can reach the maximum in the direction pointed by the transmit beam. The receiving end can also form receive beams corresponding to different spatial directions and directivities by means of beamforming and can poll on multiple beams with different directivities to receive the reference signal through the beams with different directivities, so that the power of the reference signal received by the receiving end can reach the maximum in the direction pointed by the receive beam.

[0136] By traversing each transmit beam and receive beam, the receiving end can perform channel measurement based on the received reference signal and report the measurement result to the transmitting end. For example, the receiving end can report the reference signal resource with a larger reference signal receiving power (RSRP) to the transmitting end, such as reporting the identifier of the reference signal resource, so that the transmitting end can use the beam pairing relationship with better channel quality to transmit and receive signals when transmitting data or signaling.

[0137] Reference signal and reference signal resource: The reference signal can be used for channel measurement, channel estimation, or beam quality monitoring, etc. The reference signal resource can be used to configure the transmission attributes of the reference signal. For example, time-frequency resource location, port mapping relationship, power factor, and scrambling code, etc. For details, reference can be made to the prior art. The transmitting end device can transmit the reference signal based on the reference signal resource, and the receiving end device can receive the reference signal based on the reference signal resource.

[0138] The reference signal involved in the embodiments of this application can include, for example, channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), synchronization signal block (SSB), and sounding reference signal (SRS). Correspondingly, the reference signal resource can include CSI-RS resource, SSB resource, and SRS resource.

[0139] To distinguish different reference signal resources, each reference signal resource can correspond to an identifier of the reference signal resource. For example, CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), SSB resource indicator (SSBRI), and SRS resource index (SRI).

[0140] It should be noted that the above SSB resource can also be understood as a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH block) resource. In the embodiments of the present application, for the convenience of distinction and description, without special instructions, the SSB resource and the SS / PBCH block resource can represent the same meaning, and the SSB resource and the SS / PBCH block resource can represent the same meaning. In addition, in some cases, SSB can also refer to the SSB resource. Therefore, the SSB resource identifier can sometimes also be referred to as the SSB identifier (SSB index).

[0141] It should be understood that the reference signals and the corresponding reference signal resources listed above are only for illustrative purposes and should not constitute any limitation to the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of the present application do not exclude the possibility of defining other reference signals in future protocols to achieve the same or similar functions.

[0142] In the configuration signaling of the reference signal resources, different time domain behavior parameters can be used to indicate different time domain behaviors. By way of example and not limitation, the time domain behaviors can include, for example, periodic, semi-persistent (SP), and aperiodic (AP).

[0143] For example, based on different time domain behaviors, CSI-RS can include: periodic CSI-RS, aperiodic CSI-RS, and semi-persistent CSI-RS. Based on different time domain behaviors, SRS can also include: periodic SRS, aperiodic SRS, and semi-persistent SRS.

[0144] Among them, the reference signal resource identifier refers to the reference signal resource used during the beam training process. A spatial relationship is used to determine a transmission beam. The terminal device can maintain the correspondence between the reference signal resource identifier and the transmission beam during the beam training process, and the network device can maintain the correspondence between the reference signal resource identifier and the reception beam during the beam training process. Through the reference signal resource identifier, the pairing relationship between the transmission beam and the reception beam can be established.

[0145] During the subsequent communication process, the terminal device can determine the transmission beam based on the spatial relationship indicated by the network device, and the network device can determine the reception beam based on the same spatial relationship.

[0146] In addition, each spatial relationship may further include power control information. The power control information may include, for example, at least one of the following: desired received power, path loss reference signal, and path loss compensation parameter. The terminal device may determine the transmission power for sending the uplink signal based on the power control information.

[0147] It should be understood that the information included in the spatial relationships listed here is only an example and should not impose any limitation on the embodiments of the present application. For example, the spatial relationship may further include the index of the serving cell (servecellindex), the identifier (ID) of the bandwidth part (BWP), etc. Since the embodiments of the present application do not involve the serving cell and BWP, no detailed description is given here.

[0148] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an application scenario to which the method of the embodiments of the present application can be applied is shown. It should be understood that the scenarios in which the method of the embodiments of the present application can be used may include more or fewer devices or apparatuses, or may include devices or apparatuses with similar functions. Figure 1 The shown scenario includes a network device 110 (which may include a single or multiple network devices) and a terminal device 120 (which may include a single or multiple terminal devices). Among them, both the network device and the terminal device may have high-frequency and low-frequency communication capabilities. It should be noted that for the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application, a single network device and multiple terminal devices may be taken as an example, and the network device may transmit data or control signaling to the terminal device.

[0149] Beam alignment between the terminal device and the network device can be achieved through information interaction. The terminal device may perform beam measurement based on the reference signal (e.g., SSB or CSI-RS) sent by the network device, and report the reference signal numbers and beam quality information (e.g., RSRP or signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR)) corresponding to one or more beams. The network device may indicate to the terminal device the reference signal resource number corresponding to the serving beam and / or the quasi-co-location (QCL) relationship between the reference signal resource number corresponding to the serving beam and the reference signal resource number corresponding to the measurement beam for subsequent data transmission. To ensure the beam alignment state between the network device and the terminal device, the above information interaction between the terminal device and the network device is usually carried out continuously.

[0150] In addition, current wireless communication systems have introduced higher frequency spectrum resources, such as millimeter wave and terahertz bands, to meet the growing communication needs. Usually, at higher frequency bands, the path loss experienced by wireless signals is large, which affects the distance covered by wireless signals. In millimeter wave and terahertz bands, beamforming technology can be used to focus signal energy into a specific angle range, thereby increasing the coverage distance of wireless signals.

[0151] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of concurrent multi-beam transmission provided in an embodiment of the present application. With the increase in business demand and the improvement of network equipment capabilities, in the next generation of wireless communication systems such as 6G, network equipment will be able to support multiple beams in parallel, thereby reducing the delay and overhead of beam measurement, and improving spectrum efficiency and reducing transmission delay.

[0152] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a multi-beam spatial arrangement provided by an embodiment of the present application. In order to achieve beam alignment between a terminal device and a network device, the terminal device and the network device usually exchange information, such as the terminal device notifying the network device of available beams, the network device notifying the terminal device of sending and receiving beams, etc. Furthermore, the network device can notify the angle, width, and spatial arrangement information of the beam, thereby improving the accuracy and efficiency of beam measurement.

[0153] The network device and the terminal device need to align the beams for subsequent data transmission. The terminal device and the network device can achieve beam alignment between the terminal device and the network device through information exchange. In order to ensure the beam alignment state between the network device and the terminal device, the information exchange between the terminal device and the network device is usually continuous.

[0154] During the information exchange process between the terminal device and the network device, the network device configures the beams used for beam measurement and the reporting quantity. The terminal device selects and reports the measurement feedback information based on the measurement results. The terminal device calculates the full set of beams used for beam measurement, and the system overhead is large.

[0155] In view of the above problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a beam measurement method and apparatus capable of reducing the system overhead of the beam measurement process.

[0156] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0157] Figure 4 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method 400 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 The method 400 shown can be applied to Figure 1 In the communication system shown, the method 400 includes the following process.

[0158] S401. The terminal device receives configuration information. Correspondingly, the network device sends the configuration information. The configuration information includes beam measurement set information and / or beam grouping information. The beam measurement set information is used to indicate multiple beams for beam measurement, and the beam grouping information is used to indicate the group numbers of multiple beam groups.

[0159] Specifically, the above-mentioned configuration information sent by the network device can be transmitted through semi-static signaling. That is to say, the network device can send the configuration information through semi-static signaling, and the terminal device can receive the configuration information through semi-static signaling.

[0160] Optionally, in the ORAN system, the network device in S401 can be the O-CU-CP network element, O-DU network element, and / or O-RU network element shown in Table 1 above.

[0161] It should be understood that S401 is an optional step. The configuration information sent by the above-mentioned network device can also be pre-negotiated or pre-defined configuration information, and this application does not limit this.

[0162] In a possible implementation, the configuration information is transmitted through radio resource control signaling, medium access control-control element signaling, or broadcast. At this time, the network device can be the O-CU-CP network element shown in Table 1 above.

[0163] Specifically, the above-mentioned beam measurement set information can also be referred to as beam full set information or basic beam information, and can include a set of multiple beams between the network device and the terminal for which beam measurement can be performed. The multiple beams between the network device and the terminal for which beam measurement can be performed can be all or part of the optional beams between the network device and the terminal device.

[0164] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of a method for limiting beam subsets provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0165] Exemplarily, please refer to Figure 5 , the beam measurement set information can include Figure 5 beams 0 to 31 in

[0166] Specifically, the above-mentioned beam grouping information can also be referred to as beam group number information or beam group differentiation information, and can divide multiple beams between the network device and the terminal for which beam measurement can be performed into multiple beam groups. Each beam group can contain multiple beams. The multiple beams between the network device and the terminal for which beam measurement can be performed can be all or part of the optional beams between the network device and the terminal device.

[0167] Exemplarily, please refer to Figure 5, the above beam grouping information may include different beam subsets defined by the network device for beams 0 to 31 in the beam measurement set according to different numbers. Among them, beams 0, 1, 8, and 9 are beam group 1, beams 2, 3, 10, and 11 are beam group 2, and so on. Beams 0 to 31 in the beam measurement set are divided into 8 beam groups according to numbers 0 to 7.

[0168] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device receives beam measurement set information and / or beam grouping information to determine the beam grouping situation, so as to perform beam measurement efficiently and with low overhead in cooperation with the received indication information.

[0169] In a possible implementation manner, the network device defines beams with adjacent airspaces as a beam group. For example, Figure 5 beam group 0 includes beams 0, 1, 8, and 9.

[0170] In another possible implementation manner, the network device defines concurrently transmitted beams in the airspace as a beam group.

[0171] Exemplarily, assuming that beam group 0 includes beams 0, 2, 16, and 18, then the beam {0, 2, 16, 18} is concurrently transmitted in the airspace, that is, transmitted simultaneously in time.

[0172] S402, the terminal device receives indication information. Correspondingly, the network device sends the indication information. The indication information is used to indicate at least one beam group among multiple beam groups, where multiple beams for beam measurement are divided into multiple beam groups.

[0173] It should be understood that the indication information may also be referred to as beam subset information, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. For example, the above indication information sent by the network device may be used to indicate at least one beam subset for the terminal device to perform beam measurement, such as a candidate serving beam subset for measuring signal strength and / or a candidate paired beam subset for measuring interference strength. Each beam subset may include one or more beam groups. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the names of beam groups and beam subsets. In addition, the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific format of the indication information indicating beam subsets or beam groups.

[0174] Specifically, the entire beam set between the network device and the terminal device may be divided into multiple beam groups, and one beam group may include multiple beams assigned the same beam group number.

[0175] Optionally, in the ORAN system, the network device in S402 may be the O-CU-CP network element, O-DU network element, and / or O-RU network element shown in Table 1 above.

[0176] In a possible implementation, the indication information is transmitted through media access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling or downlink control information (DCI) signaling. In this case, the network device may be the O-DU network element shown in Table 1 above.

[0177] S403. The network device sends a reference signal through at least one beam group. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the reference signal transmitted through the at least one beam group. The reference signal is used to determine measurement feedback information.

[0178] It should be understood that the reference signal can also be referred to as a pilot or a pilot sequence and can be used for channel estimation in a communication system.

[0179] It should be noted that the specific manner of time-frequency multiplexing, frequency-division multiplexing, or code-division multiplexing of the reference signal for beam measurement is not limited.

[0180] Specifically, the terminal device calculates the beam quality based on the reference signal transmitted through at least one beam group. The reference signal may include at least one of a synchronization signal block, a channel state information reference signal, a tracking reference signal (TRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), and a sensing reference signal (SeRS).

[0181] Specifically, the network device may send a reference signal only within one or more beam groups indicated by the indication information. In this case, the network device may be the O-RU network element shown in Table 1 above. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the reference signal sent within one or more beam groups indicated by the indication information and performs beam measurement.

[0182] Optionally, in an ORAN system, the network device in S403 may be the O-CU-CP network element, the O-DU network element, and / or the O-RU network element shown in Table 1 above.

[0183] It should be understood that the network device may also send a reference signal to the terminal device in the full frequency band. When calculating the beam quality information, the terminal device only selects the reference signal transmitted through at least one beam group indicated by the indication information for calculation.

[0184] S404. The terminal device sends measurement feedback information. Correspondingly, the network device receives the measurement feedback information.

[0185] Specifically, the measurement feedback information may include the beam number selected by the terminal device and the corresponding beam quality information. The beam quality information may be RSRP or SINR, etc.

[0186] Optionally, in the ORAN system, the network device in S404 may be an O-CU-CP network element, an O-DU network element and / or an O-RU network element shown in Table 1 above.

[0187] In a possible implementation manner, the measurement feedback information may be transmitted via uplink control information (UCI) or medium access control-control element signaling, and in this case the network device may be the O-CU-UP network element shown in Table 1 above.

[0188] According to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device receives indication information to select part of the multiple beams used for beam measurement for beam measurement, thereby reducing the number of beams measured by the terminal device and reducing the measurement overhead of the terminal device. At the same time, the terminal device determines which part of the beam to perform beam measurement based on the indication of the network device, thereby improving the controllability of the system.

[0189] In a possible implementation manner, the at least one beam group indicated by the indication information includes a first beam group and a second beam group, wherein the first beam group is used to measure signal strength, and the second beam group is used to measure interference strength.

[0190] It should be understood that the first beam group can be one or more beam groups. The first beam group can also be referred to as a candidate service beam subset or a channel measurement resource (CMR) subset, or the candidate service beam subset / CMR subset includes the first beam group. In other words, the first beam group can be interpreted as the union of candidate service beam groups indicated by the network device to the terminal device from the full beam set. Similarly, the second beam group can be one or more beam groups. The second beam group can also be referred to as a candidate paired beam subset or an interference measurement resource (IMR) subset, or the candidate paired beam subset / IMR subset includes the second beam group. In other words, the second beam group can be interpreted as the union of candidate paired beam groups (or candidate interference beam groups) indicated by the network device to the terminal device from the full beam set, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit their specific names.

[0191] Furthermore, the measurement feedback information may include SINRs corresponding to combinations of different service beams and paired beams. The calculation formula of SINR satisfies:

[0192]

[0193] Among them, P signal represents the signal strength, and the terminal device obtains the signal strength through the beams in the first beam group; P interference represents the interference strength, and the terminal device obtains the interference strength through the beams in the second beam group; P noise represents the noise strength. Generally, the noise strength exists in the background of the beam channel, and the terminal device can select a beam from the beam measurement set to obtain the noise strength.

[0194] According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device receives the indication information to determine the first beam group and the second beam group for measuring the signal strength, enabling the terminal device to pair multiple channel measurement resources and interference measurement resources in real time, while reducing the number of beams measured by the terminal device and reducing the overhead of the terminal device for measurement.

[0195] In a possible implementation, the indication information is used to indicate the group number of the first beam group and the group number of the second beam group.

[0196] Please continue to refer to Figure 5 , for example, for terminal device 0, the above indication information sent by the network device can indicate that the candidate serving beam subset of terminal 0 is beam group 0, that is, the network device indicates beams 0, 1, 8, and 9 as the serving beams of terminal 0 through the indication information. The above indication information sent by the network device can indicate that the candidate pairing beam subset of terminal 0 is beam group 7, that is, the network device indicates beams 22, 23, 30, and 31 as the pairing beams of terminal 0 through the indication information.

[0197] Furthermore, the above indication information sent by the network device can be used to indicate multiple terminal devices, such as terminal device 0 and terminal device 1. As Figure 5 shown, for terminal device 1, the above indication information sent by the network device can indicate that the candidate serving beam subset of terminal 1 is beam group 7, that is, the network device indicates beams 22, 23, 30, and 31 as the serving beams of terminal 1 through the indication information. The above indication information sent by the network device can indicate that the candidate pairing beam subset of terminal 1 is beam group 0, that is, the network device indicates beams 0, 1, 8, and 9 as the pairing beams of terminal 0 through the indication information.

[0198] It should be understood that the network device can indicate multiple beam groups as the candidate serving beam subset or the candidate pairing beam subset. For example, the network device indicates beam group 6 and beam group 7 as the candidate pairing beam subset of terminal 0.

[0199] Further, the terminal device may measure the serving beam and the corresponding paired beam according to the candidate serving beam subset and the candidate paired beam subset indicated by the network device, and based on the reference signal received by the terminal device in S403, and calculate the SINR corresponding to the serving beam and the paired beam selected by the terminal device.

[0200] Exemplarily, the network device may traverse each combination of the serving beams in the candidate serving beam subset and the paired beams in the candidate paired beam subset, and calculate the SINR for each combination.

[0201] Exemplarily, please refer to Figure 5 , for terminal device 0, the network device indicates to terminal device 0 through indication information that the candidate serving beam subset is beam group 0, that is, the serving beams include beam 0, beam 1, beam 8, and beam 9. The network device indicates to terminal device 0 through indication information that the candidate paired beam subset is beam group 7, that is, the paired beams include beam 22, beam 23, beam 30, and beam 31. The terminal device selects one serving beam from beam 0, beam 1, beam 8, and beam 9, and selects one paired beam from beam 22, beam 23, beam 30, and beam 31. The terminal device traverses each combination of the serving beam and the paired beam, and calculates the SINR corresponding to the combination of the selected serving beam and the paired beam.

[0202] Exemplarily, when terminal device 0 selects beam 0 as the serving beam, the terminal device may select beam 22, beam 23, beam 30, and beam 31 as the interference beams paired with beam 0, and calculate the beam quality, that is, the value of SINR, calculated by terminal device 0 according to the received reference signal in the four pairing cases of beam 0 with beam 22, beam 0 with beam 23, beam 0 with beam 30, and beam 0 with beam 31. By analogy, when the network device indicates to terminal device 0 that the candidate serving beam subset is beam group 0 and the candidate paired beam subset is beam group 7, the terminal device may calculate the SINR for 4×4 = 16 combinations of the serving beam and the paired beam.

[0203] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device determines the beam groups for measurement and interference based on the beam group numbers, which can reduce the signaling overhead. At the same time, since the first beam group and the second beam group are dynamically indicated by indication information instead of being determined by the terminal device itself, the adaptability of the system is improved.

[0204] Please continue to refer to Figure 4 , in a possible implementation manner, the measurement feedback information reported by the terminal device in S404 includes the serving beam number, the paired beam number, and the SINR corresponding to the serving beam and the paired beam selected by the terminal device.

[0205] In a possible implementation, the measurement feedback information includes the beam numbers of the reported beams within the first beam group or the second beam group.

[0206] Exemplarily, the terminal device may report the measurement feedback information through a feedback table, and the feedback table includes a serving beam number field (CMR), a paired beam number field (IMR), and a SINR field corresponding to the serving beam and the paired beam, that is, the format of the feedback table may include {CMR, IMR, SINR}, as shown in Table 2 and Table 3.

[0207] Table 2

[0208] CMR IMR SINR 0 (Beam 0) 3 (Beam 31) 22(>20) 0 (Beam 0) 0 (Beam 22) 17(<20) … … …

[0209] Table 3

[0210] CMR IMR SINR 3 (Beam 31) 0 (Beam 0) 21(>20) 0 (Beam 22) 3 (Beam 9) 16(<20) … … …

[0211] Among them, Table 2 is an exemplary feedback table reported by terminal 0, and Table 3 is an exemplary feedback table reported by terminal 1.

[0212] Please refer to Figure 5 , the CMR number in Table 2 is the relative number within the candidate serving beam group of terminal 0, that is, the relative number within beam group 0. For example, the CMR number of 0 in Table 2 represents the beam with the smallest number in beam group 0, that is, beam 0. The IMR number in Table 2 is the relative number within the candidate paired beam group of terminal 0, that is, the relative number within beam group 7. For example, the IMR number of 3 in Table 2 represents the beam with the largest number in beam group 7, that is, beam 31. At the same time, terminal 0 selects beam 0 as the serving beam, selects beam 31 as the paired beam, and the corresponding SINR value is 22. Correspondingly, the CMR number in Table 3 is the relative number within the candidate serving beam group of terminal 1, that is, the relative number within beam group 7. For example, the CMR number of 3 in Table 3 represents the beam with the largest number in beam group 7, that is, beam 31. The IMR number in Table 3 is the relative number within the candidate paired beam group of terminal 1, that is, the relative number within beam group 0. For example, the IMR number of 0 in Table 3 represents the beam with the smallest number in beam group 0, that is, beam 0. At the same time, terminal 1 selects beam 31 as the serving beam, selects beam 0 as the paired beam, and the corresponding SINR value is 21.

[0213] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the measurement feedback information reported by the terminal device uses the numbers within the beam group, and the internal numbers occupy fewer bits during transmission compared to the total numbers of the beams in the beam measurement set, reducing the reporting overhead of the terminal device.

[0214] It should be understood that in the measurement feedback information reported by the terminal device, the serving beam and the paired beam can also be directly represented by the beam number. For example, the first row in Table 3 is {31, 0, 21}, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0215] Exemplarily, the beams in different combinations in the feedback table are arranged in descending order of their corresponding SINR values. For example, in Table 2, CMR is beam 0, IMR is beam 31, and SINR is 22, which is the combination with the largest SINR value among the 16 combinations of the above-mentioned serving beam and paired beam specified by terminal device 0.

[0216] Exemplarily, the configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal device in S401 includes reporting resource configuration information, and the reporting resource information includes the maximum number of test results reported by the terminal device to the network device, that is, the network device configures the maximum number of combinations of CMR, IMR, and SINR reported by the terminal device.

[0217] Exemplarily, the network device configures the terminal device to report at most 4 combinations of CMR, IMR, and SINR. For example, the network device configures the terminal device to only report the 4 combinations of CMR, IMR, and SINR with the largest SINR results. For another example, the network device configures the terminal device to only report the 4 combinations of CMR, IMR, and SINR that are the most forward after being arranged in descending order of SINR results.

[0218] Exemplarily, the configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal device in S401 includes reporting resource configuration information, and the reporting resource configuration information includes the SINR threshold of the test results reported by the terminal device to the network device, that is, the terminal device only selects the combination information of CMR, IMR, and SINR with SINR greater than the threshold indicated by the network device for reporting.

[0219] Exemplarily, the network device instructs the terminal device to only report the combination information of CMR, IMR, and SINR with SINR greater than 10 dB. Taking Table 3 as an example, the SINR results of the two combinations of CMR, IMR, and SINR reported by terminal 0, {3, 0, 21} and {0, 3, 16}, are both greater than 10 dB.

[0220] In a possible implementation manner, in the measurement feedback information sent by the terminal device, the reporting format of the IMR number includes a beam quality type pre-reserved word, and the beam quality type pre-reserved word is used to indicate that the terminal device reports the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), that is, the terminal device does not consider the interference of other beams or reference signals during beam measurement.

[0221] Exemplarily, the network device instructs the terminal device to only report the combination information of CMR, IMR, and SINR with SINR greater than 10dB. If the network device does not find a combination that meets the conditions, it directly reports the SNR result and indicates that the reported measurement feedback information includes SNR through a beam quality type pre-reserved word.

[0222] In a possible implementation, the network device selects a service beam with a high SINR result from the combination of CMR, IMR, and SINR reported by the terminal device to send data information. For example, the network device selects a service beam with a SINR result higher than 20 dB to send data information.

[0223] For example, please refer to Table 2. For terminal 0, when CMR is beam 0 and IMR is beam 31, the corresponding SINR is 22dB higher than 20dB, and the network device sends data information to terminal device 0 through service beam 0.

[0224] In a possible implementation, the network device selects a combination of CMR, IMR, and SINR reported by multiple terminal devices, and the multiple terminal devices each perform multi-beam multi-user (MU) transmission corresponding to the CMR with the highest SINR result to send data information.

[0225] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of multi-beam concurrent multi-user transmission provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0226] For example, please refer to Figure 6 As shown in Table 2 and Table 3, for terminal 0, when CMR is beam 0 and IMR is beam 31, the corresponding SINR is 22dB higher than 20dB, and the network device sends data information to terminal device 0 through service beam 0. For terminal 1, when CMR is beam 31 and IMR is beam 0, the corresponding SINR is 21dB higher than 20dB, and the network device sends data information to terminal device 1 through service beam 31.

[0227] In a possible implementation, the configuration information further includes beam angle information, where the beam angle information includes the zenith angle and / or azimuth angle of each beam, and the beams in each beam group in the multiple beam groups have the same zenith angle range and / or azimuth angle range.

[0228] Specifically, the above beam angle information may also be referred to as beam angle range information or angle range information, etc., which is used to determine the spatial angle of the beam and may include the spatial angle range of each beam in the full set of beams that can be used for beam measurement between the network device and the terminal device, and the spatial angle of the beam includes the zenith angle of the beam and / or the azimuth angle of the beam. The zenith angle may include the angle between the straight line direction from the network device to the terminal device and the direction perpendicular to the terminal device.

[0229] Exemplarily, the zenith angle may be based on the direction perpendicular to the terminal device. 0 degrees indicates that the network device is directly above the zenith of the terminal device, and 90 degrees indicates that the network device is on the horizon. That is, the range of the zenith angle may include 0 degrees to 90 degrees. The azimuth angle may include the horizontal angle between the straight line direction from the terminal device to the network device and the reference direction. Exemplarily, the direction angle may be based on the due north direction, with the clockwise direction being positive, and the measurement range being 0 degrees to 360 degrees.

[0230] That is to say, the terminal device can determine the spatial domain angle of the beam according to the beam angle information.

[0231] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, beams with adjacent spatial domains among multiple beams for beam measurement are divided into the same beam group, so that the beams in the same beam group have similar spatial domain characteristics, which is beneficial for the terminal device to extract and use the spatial domain characteristics during measurement, and cooperate with the indication information to determine the positions of the first beam group and the second beam group.

[0232] In a possible implementation manner, the configuration information is transmitted through radio resource control signaling, medium access control-control element signaling, or broadcast, and can also be downloaded by the terminal device.

[0233] In a possible implementation manner, the indication information is used to indicate the group number of the first beam group and the beam angle difference threshold; the terminal device determines the second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam angle difference threshold, and the beam angle information.

[0234] In a possible implementation manner, determining the second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam angle difference threshold, and the beam angle information includes: determining the beam group with an angle difference greater than the beam angle difference threshold from the first beam group among multiple beam groups as the second beam group.

[0235] Specifically, the network device sends indication information to the terminal device to indicate a candidate service beam subset, and indicates an angle difference threshold X to the terminal device. The terminal device combines the beam angle information in the configuration information and selects the beam group with an angle difference greater than X between the angle center and the angle center of the candidate service beam in the candidate service beam subset as the candidate paired beam subset corresponding to the candidate service beam.

[0236] Optionally, in the ORAN system, the network device in the above steps may be the O-CU-CP network element, O-DU network element, and / or O-RU network element shown in Table 1 above.

[0237] It should be understood that the candidate paired beam subset determined by the network device according to the angle pairing condition may include one or more beam groups, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0238] Exemplarily, the calculation method of the angular center of a beam group includes but is not limited to arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, quadratic mean, or moving average.

[0239] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of another beam subset definition method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0240] It should be understood that Figure 7 In the schematic diagram of the beam subset definition method shown, the beams adjacent in the spatial domain are regarded as a beam group. That is, beam group 0 includes beams {0, 1, 8, 9}, beam group 1 includes beams {2, 3, 10, 11}, and so on.

[0241] Exemplarily, please refer to Figure 7 , for terminal device 0, the network device sends indication information to indicate to terminal device 0 that the candidate service beam subset is beam group 0. The terminal device combines the beam angle information and determines the candidate pairing beam group corresponding to each candidate service beam in beam group 0 according to the pairing condition. The pairing condition is that the angular difference between the angular center of the beam group in the candidate pairing beam group and the angular center of the candidate service beam in beam group 0 is greater than the angular difference threshold X.

[0242] It should be understood that the candidate pairing beam group can be interpreted as one or more beam groups determined according to the pairing condition based on a beam group in the candidate service beam subset indicated by the network device.

[0243] Specifically, please continue to refer to Figure 7 , taking candidate service beam 0 in beam group 0 as an example, in addition to the candidate service beam group, that is, beam group 0, among the remaining beam groups in the beam measurement set, that is, beam groups 1 to 7, the beam groups that meet the pairing condition, that is, the beam groups with an angular difference between the angular center and the angular center of beam 0 greater than the angular difference threshold X are beam group 3, beam group 6, and beam group 7. Therefore, terminal device 0 determines that the candidate pairing beam group corresponding to candidate service beam 0 includes beam group 3, beam group 6, and beam group 7, that is, terminal device 0 determines that the candidate pairing beams corresponding to candidate service beam 0 include beams {6, 7, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 31} through the indication information. According to the above pairing condition, the network device indicates the candidate pairing beams corresponding to the candidate service beams {1, 8, 9} to terminal device 0.

[0244] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of yet another beam subset definition method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0245] It should be understood that Figure 8In the schematic diagram of the beam subset definition method shown, beams that are adjacent in the spatial domain are regarded as a beam group. That is, beam group 0 includes beams {0, 1, 8, 9}, beam group 1 includes beams {2, 3, 10, 11}, and so on.

[0246] As a possible implementation, the above-mentioned angle difference includes the angle difference between the angle center of the first beam group and the angle center of the second beam group; the angle center of the first beam group or the angle center of the second beam group is obtained by calculating the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, quadratic mean, or moving average of the beam angles in the first beam group or the second beam group.

[0247] Exemplarily, please refer to Figure 8 , for terminal device 0, the network device sends indication information to terminal device 0 to indicate that the candidate service beam subset is beam group 0. Terminal device 0 combines the beam angle information and determines the candidate paired beam group corresponding to beam group 0 according to the angle pairing condition. The angle pairing condition is that the angle difference between the angle center of the candidate paired beam group and the angle center of beam group 0 is greater than the angle difference threshold X.

[0248] Specifically, please continue to refer to Figure 8 , in the beam measurement set, that is, beam groups 0 to 7, except for the candidate service beam group, that is, beam group 0, among the remaining beam groups in the beam measurement set, that is, beam groups 1 to 7, the beam groups that meet the angle pairing condition, that is, the angle difference between the angle center and the angle center of beam group 0 is greater than the angle difference threshold X, are beam group 3, beam group 6, and beam group 7. Therefore, terminal device 0 determines the candidate service beam group through the indication information. The candidate paired beam group corresponding to beam group 0 includes beam group 3, beam group 6, and beam group 7. That is, the network device indicates to terminal device 0 that the candidate paired beams corresponding to the candidate service beams {0, 1, 8, 9} include beams {6, 7, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 31}.

[0249] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device determines the group number of the second beam group based on the received group number of the first beam group and the angle difference threshold, and then uses the beams in the first beam group and the second beam group for measurement, enabling the terminal device to pair the beams in the first and second beam groups in real time. At the same time, the number of beams measured by the terminal device is reduced, the measurement overhead of the terminal device is reduced, and at the same time, since the first beam group and the second beam group are dynamically indicated by the indication information instead of being determined by the terminal device itself, the adaptability of the system is improved.

[0250] In a possible implementation, the network device sends the angle difference threshold X through pre-configuration or through the same dynamic signaling as the indication information, that is, indicates the angle difference threshold X to the terminal device.

[0251] It should be understood that in the multi-beam spatial domain arrangement schematic diagram as shown in Figure 8 or Figure 8 In the figure, the angular difference between the angular centers between beams, between beam groups, or between a beam and a beam group is reflected as the distance between two points in the azimuth-zenith angle coordinate system. Therefore, it can be represented by Figure 8 The circular arc shown with the angular center of beam 0 as the origin and the angular difference threshold X as the radius represents the above-mentioned angular pairing condition, or Figure 8 The circular arc shown with the angular center of beam group 0 as the origin and the angular difference threshold X as the radius represents the above-mentioned angular pairing condition.

[0252] It should be understood that the process in which the above-mentioned terminal device determines the candidate paired beam subset according to the candidate service beam subset and the pairing condition can also be performed by the network device, that is, the network device directly indicates the numbers of the candidate service beam subset and the candidate paired beam subset to the terminal device, where the candidate paired beam subset is obtained by calculating the candidate service beam subset and the angular difference threshold X.

[0253] In yet another possible implementation manner, the network device indicates the numbers of the candidate service beam subset and the candidate paired beam subset to the terminal device by sending indication information, where the network device determines the candidate paired beam subset according to the candidate service beam subset and the angular pairing condition, and the angular pairing condition is that the angular difference between the angular center of the candidate paired beam group and the angular center of the candidate service beam in the candidate service beam subset is greater than the angular difference threshold X, or the angular difference between the angular center of the candidate paired beam group and the angular center of the beam group in the candidate service beam subset is greater than the angular difference threshold X.

[0254] Optionally, in the ORAN system, the network device in the above steps may be the O-CU-CP network element, O-CU-UP network element, O-DU network element, and / or O-RU network element shown in Table 1 above.

[0255] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the network device determines the group number of the second beam group based on the group number of the first beam group and the angular difference threshold, and instructs the terminal device to perform measurements using the beams in the first beam group and the second beam group, so that the terminal device can pair the beams in the first and second beam groups in real time, while reducing the number of beams measured by the terminal device and reducing the overhead of the terminal device for measurement. At the same time, since the first beam group and the second beam group are dynamically indicated by the indication information instead of being determined by the terminal device itself, the adaptability of the system is improved.

[0256] Further, the terminal device measures the serving beam and the corresponding paired beam through the reference signal transmitted therein according to the candidate serving beam subset indicated by the network device and the candidate paired beam subset calculated by the network device or the terminal device according to the angle difference threshold, and calculates the SINR corresponding to the serving beam and the paired beam selected by the terminal device.

[0257] Exemplarily, the network device can traverse each combination of the candidate serving beams in the candidate serving beam subset and the candidate paired beams in the candidate paired beam subset, and calculate the SINR under each combination.

[0258] Exemplarily, please refer to Figure 8 , for terminal device 0, the network device indicates to terminal device 0 through indication information that the candidate serving beam subset is beam group 0, that is, the candidate CMRs include beam 0, beam 1, beam 8, and beam 9. The terminal device or the network device indicates to terminal device 0 through indication information that the candidate paired beam IMR subset is beam group 3, beam group 6, and beam group 7, that is, the candidate IMRs include beams {6, 7, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 31}. The terminal device selects a serving beam from the candidate serving beam subset and a paired beam from the candidate paired beam subset. The terminal device traverses each combination of the serving beam and the paired beam, and calculates the SINR corresponding to the combination of the selected serving beam and the paired beam.

[0259] Exemplarily, when terminal device 0 selects beam 0 as the serving beam, the terminal device can select beams {6, 7, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 31} as the interference beams paired with beam 0, and calculate the beam quality, that is, the SINR value, calculated by terminal device 0 according to the received reference signal in these 12 pairing cases with beam 0 as the serving beam. And so on, in the Figure 8 illustrated embodiment, when the network device indicates that the candidate serving beam subset of terminal device 0 is beam group 0 and the candidate paired beam subset is beam group {3, 6, 7}, the terminal device can calculate the SINR under 4×12 = 48 combinations of the serving beam and the paired beam.

[0260] In a possible implementation manner, the measurement feedback information includes the beam numbers of the reported beams within the first beam group or the second beam group.

[0261] Specifically, the indication information indicating the candidate serving beam subset and / or the candidate pairing beam subset that the terminal device needs to measure includes multiple beam groups. In the measurement feedback information sent by the terminal device, the numbers of the beams in the candidate serving beam subset and / or the candidate pairing beam subset of multiple beam groups adopt a relative index with joint renumbering across beam groups.

[0262] Specifically, the terminal device arranges the beam groups in the candidate serving beam subset or the candidate pairing beam subset including multiple beam groups in ascending order of beam group numbers. For the beams in the arranged beam groups, they are arranged in ascending order of beam numbers to obtain the relative index numbers with joint renumbering across beam groups for the beams in the candidate serving beam subset or the candidate pairing beam subset.

[0263] Exemplarily, please refer to Figure 7 or Figure 8 , the indication information indicating the candidate pairing beam subset that the terminal device 0 needs to measure includes three beam groups, namely beam group 3, beam group 6, and beam group 7. Since the candidate serving beam subset indicated by the network device for the terminal device 0 is beam group 0, the terminal 0 needs to calculate the SINR under 4×12 = 48 combinations of serving beams and pairing beams and report it to the network device through the measurement feedback information.

[0264] Please refer to Table 4. When the terminal device 0 sends the measurement feedback information, it first sorts the beam groups in ascending order of beam group numbers, that is, the beam groups in the candidate pairing beam subset of the terminal device 0 are sorted in the order of beam group 3, beam group 6, and beam group 7. After sorting the beam groups, the beams within each beam group are sorted in ascending order of beam numbers. For the beams in beam group 3, they are sorted in the order of beam 6, beam 7, beam 14, and beam 15; for the beams in beam group 6, they are sorted in the order of beam 20, beam 21, beam 28, and beam 29; for the beams in beam group 7, they are sorted in the order of beam 22, beam 23, beam 30, and beam 31, obtaining the beam arrangement order shown from top to bottom in Table 4. The local numbers in Table 4 are the relative index numbers with joint renumbering across beam groups adopted by the pairing beams in the measurement feedback information sent by the terminal device.

[0265] Table 4

[0266] Local Number Beam Number 0 6 1 7 2 14 3 15 4 20 5 21 6 28 7 29 8 22 9 23 10 30 11 31

[0267] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the internal numbers within the beam groups are adopted in the measurement feedback information reported by the terminal device. The internal numbers occupy fewer bits during transmission compared to the total numbers of the beams in the beam measurement set, reducing the overhead for the terminal device to report.

[0268] In one possible implementation, in the measurement feedback information sent by the terminal device, the reporting format of the IMR number includes a beam quality type pre-reserved word, and the beam quality type pre-reserved word is used to indicate that the terminal device reports the signal-to-noise ratio, that is, the terminal device does not consider the interference of other beams or reference signals when measuring the beam.

[0269] Furthermore, the network device selects a beam to send data information according to the measurement feedback information sent by the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the data information.

[0270] In a possible implementation, the network device selects a CMR with a high SINR result from the combination of CMR, IMR, and SINR reported by the terminal device to send data information. For example, the network device selects a serving beam with a SINR result higher than 20 dB to send data information.

[0271] In another possible implementation, see Figure 6 The network device selects the combination of CMR, IMR, and SINR reported by multiple terminal devices, and the multiple terminal devices each perform multi-beam multi-user transmission corresponding to the CMR with a high SINR result to send data information.

[0272] It should be understood that the specific example of the network device selecting a beam to send data information based on the measurement feedback information sent by the terminal device has been described in detail in the previous embodiments, and the embodiments of the present application will not be elaborated here.

[0273] In a possible implementation, the configuration information further includes spatial grid information, where the spatial grid information is used to indicate the coverage area range of each beam mapped on the ground; the beams in each beam group in the multiple beam groups have adjacent coverage area ranges.

[0274] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of beam corresponding to ground coverage provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0275] Please refer to Figure 9 , a circular beam emitted by the network equipment is arranged on the ground to form an elliptical coverage area.

[0276] Specifically, the spatial grid information can also be called beam coverage information, beam mapping information, beam arrangement information, etc. The spatial grid information can include the full set of beams that can be used for beam measurement between network devices and terminal devices, and the coverage area range of each beam mapped on the ground. The coverage area range of the beam mapped on the ground can be directly represented by a coordinate system, or can be calculated through indirect information such as beam width information or beam angle information.

[0277] In a possible implementation, the configuration information also includes beam width information, and the network device can determine the spatial grid information through the beam angle information or the beam width information.

[0278] Specifically, the beam angle information may include an absolute angle based on a global coordinate system or a relative angle relative to a reference angle. The coverage area of ​​the beam in the beam grid information may include the ground coverage ellipse parameters of the beam, such as the center coordinates, the length of the minor axis, the length of the major axis, the degree of the included angle, etc. The network device describes the geometry of the ground coverage area of ​​the beam by indicating the ground coverage ellipse parameters of the beam.

[0279] Specifically, the beam width information may also be referred to as beam width range information, etc., and may include the zenith angle width and / or azimuth angle width of each beam in the full set of beams that can be used for beam measurement between the network device and the terminal device, in degrees. For example, the network device indicates to the terminal device that the width of a certain beam is 1 degree.

[0280] According to the method provided in an embodiment of the present application, beams with adjacent coverage areas among multiple beams used for beam measurement are divided into the same beam group, so that the beams in the same beam group have similar coverage area characteristics, which is beneficial for the terminal device to extract and use the coverage area characteristics during measurement, and determine the position of the first beam group and the second beam group in conjunction with the indication information.

[0281] In a possible implementation, the spatial grid information includes coverage area update information; the coverage area update information is used to indicate a portion of a current coverage area of ​​each beam mapped on the ground that changes relative to a previous coverage area of ​​each beam mapped on the ground.

[0282] Exemplarily, the network device adjusts the spatial grid information in a differential manner, that is, the spatial grid information sent by the network device is the changed part in the beam coverage area.

[0283] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of another beam subset limitation method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0284] Specifically, please refer to Figure 10 The airspace grid information in the configuration information includes grid information of multiple coverage areas formed by beams arranged on the ground. Each grid in the airspace grid information corresponds to a coverage area formed by a beam emitted by a network device arranged on the ground. The network device can adjust the content of the airspace grid information in the configuration information according to the signal propagation environment.

[0285] For example, please refer to Figure 10, beams 0 to 31 are the basic grid, and the basic grid can be obtained by calculating beam angle information and beam width information. The network device can supplement the extended beam coverage area for the basic grid based on the environmental perception result. For example Figure 10 beam 32 in

[0286] Exemplarily, the extended beam coverage area supplemented by the network device for the basic grid can be formed by non-line-of-sight (NLOS) reflection. For example Figure 10 the beam coverage area 32 in Figure 10 can be obtained by extending the beam coverage area 30, and then

[0287] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the airspace grid information is updated using differences, so that the airspace grid information can more accurately reflect the actual coverage range of different beams on the ground. At the same time, the airspace grid information only transmits the part of the coverage area change determined based on the environmental perception result, which can avoid sending duplicate information and reduce signaling overhead.

[0288] Please refer to Figure 10 , the coverage areas formed by the multiple circular beams emitted by the network device on the ground are multiple elliptical areas.

[0289] It should be understood that Figure 10 in the schematic diagram of the beam subset definition method shown, the beams adjacent to the coverage area are regarded as a beam group. That is, beam group 0 includes beams {0, 1, 8, 9}, beam group 1 includes beams {2, 3, 10, 11}, and so on.

[0290] In a possible implementation, the indication information is used to indicate the group number of the first beam group and the beam distance difference threshold; the method further includes: determining a second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam distance difference threshold, and the airspace grid information.

[0291] In a possible implementation, determining a second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam distance difference threshold, and the airspace grid information includes: determining the beam groups in the multiple beam groups whose distance difference from the first beam group is greater than the beam distance difference threshold as the second beam group.

[0292] Specifically, the network device sends indication information to the terminal device to indicate the candidate service beam subset and the distance difference threshold (or distance threshold) Y. The terminal device combines the airspace grid information to determine the beam group that meets the distance pairing condition as the candidate pairing beam group corresponding to the beam group in the candidate service beam subset. Among them, the distance pairing condition is that the distance between any point in the coverage range of the candidate pairing beam group and any point in the coverage range of the beam group in the candidate service beam subset is greater than the distance difference threshold Y.

[0293] In a possible implementation, the network device sends the distance difference threshold Y through pre-configuration or through the same dynamic signaling as the sending indication information, that is, the network device indicates the distance difference threshold Y to the terminal device.

[0294] It should be understood that the network device may indicate a single beam group as the candidate serving beam subset, or may indicate a single beam or multiple beam groups as the candidate serving beam subset. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0295] It should be understood that the candidate paired beam subset determined by the network device according to the distance pairing condition may include one or more beam groups. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0296] Exemplarily, the calculation method of the central coverage position of the beam group includes but is not limited to arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, quadratic mean or moving average.

[0297] Exemplarily, please refer to Figure 10 , for terminal device 0, the network device sends indication information to indicate to terminal device 0 that the candidate serving beam subset is beam group 7. Terminal device 0 determines the candidate paired beam group corresponding to beam group 7 according to the pairing condition. The pairing condition is that the distance between any point in the coverage range of the candidate paired beam group and any point in the coverage range of beam group 7 is greater than the distance difference threshold Y.

[0298] Specifically, please continue to refer to Figure 10 , in the beam measurement set, that is, beam groups 0 to 7, except for the candidate serving beam group, that is, beam group 7, among the remaining beam groups in the beam measurement set, that is, beam groups 0 to 6, the beam groups that meet the pairing condition, that is, the beam groups whose distance between any point in the coverage range and any point in the coverage range of the candidate serving beam group is greater than the distance difference threshold Y are beam group 0 and beam group 4. Therefore, terminal device 0 determines the candidate paired beam group corresponding to the candidate serving beam group through the indication information. That is, the candidate paired beam groups corresponding to beam group 0 include beam group 0 and beam group 4. That is, the network device indicates to terminal device 0 that the candidate paired beams corresponding to the candidate serving beam {22, 23, 30, 31, 32} include beams {0, 1, 8, 9, 16, 17, 24, 25}.

[0299] Exemplarily, as shown by the dotted line in Figure 10 , there is a point in the coverage range of beam group 1 and a point in the coverage range of beam group 7, such that the distance between the two points is less than the distance difference threshold Y. Therefore, beam group 1 is not the candidate paired beam group corresponding to the candidate serving beam group 7.

[0300] In another possible implementation, the network device sends indication information to the terminal device to indicate a candidate service beam group and a distance difference threshold Y. The terminal device combines the spatial domain grid information to determine a beam group that meets the distance pairing condition as the candidate pairing beam group corresponding to the candidate service beam group. The distance pairing condition is that the distance between any point in the coverage range of the candidate pairing beam group and any point in the coverage range of the candidate service beam in the candidate service beam group is greater than the distance difference threshold Y.

[0301] Figure 11 It is a schematic diagram of another beam subset definition method provided by an embodiment of this application.

[0302] Exemplarily, please refer to Figure 11 , for terminal device 0, the network device sends indication information to terminal device 0 to indicate that the candidate service beam subset is beam group 7. In beam group 7, taking candidate service beam 31 as an example, terminal device 0 determines the candidate pairing beam group corresponding to candidate service beam 31 according to the pairing condition. The pairing condition is that the distance between any point in the coverage range of the candidate pairing beam group and any point in the coverage range of the candidate service beam in the candidate service beam group is greater than the distance difference threshold Y.

[0303] Specifically, please continue to refer to Figure 11 , in the beam measurement set, that is, beam groups 0 to 7, except for the candidate service beam group, that is, beam group 7, among the remaining beam groups in the beam measurement set, that is, beam groups 0 to 6, the beam groups that meet the pairing condition, that is, the beam groups where the distance between any point in the coverage range and any point in the coverage range of the candidate service beam in the candidate service beam group is greater than the distance difference threshold Y are beam group 0 and beam group 4. Therefore, terminal device 0 determines the candidate pairing beam group corresponding to candidate service beam 31 through the indication information, that is, the candidate pairing beam group corresponding to beam 31 includes beam group 0 and beam group 4, that is, the network device indicates to terminal device 0 that the candidate pairing beams corresponding to candidate service beam 31 include beams {0, 1, 8, 9, 16, 17, 24, 25}. By analogy, the candidate pairing beam groups corresponding to candidate service beams {22, 23, 30, 32} can be determined.

[0304] In yet another possible implementation, the distance difference includes the distance difference between the center of the coverage area of the first beam group and the center of the coverage area of the second beam group; the center of the coverage area of the first beam group or the center of the coverage area of the second beam group is obtained by calculating the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, quadratic mean, or moving average of the coverage area of the first beam group or the second beam group.

[0305] Specifically, the network device sends indication information to the terminal device to indicate a candidate service beam group and a distance difference threshold Y. The terminal device combines the airspace grid information to determine a beam group that meets the distance pairing condition as the candidate pairing beam group corresponding to the candidate service beam group. Among them, the distance pairing condition is that the distance between the center position of the coverage range of the candidate pairing beam group and the center position of the coverage range of the candidate service beam group is greater than the distance difference threshold Y.

[0306] Figure 12 It is a schematic diagram of another beam subset limiting method provided by an embodiment of this application.

[0307] Exemplarily, please refer to Figure 12 For terminal device 0, the network device sends indication information to terminal device 0 to indicate that the candidate service beam CMR subset is beam group 7. Terminal device 0 determines the candidate pairing beam group corresponding to beam group 7 according to the pairing condition. The pairing condition is that the distance between the center position of the coverage range of the candidate pairing beam group and the center position of the coverage range of the candidate service beam group is greater than the distance difference threshold Y.

[0308] Specifically, please continue to refer to Figure 12 In the beam measurement set, that is, beam groups 0 to 7, except for the candidate service beam group, that is, beam group 7, among the remaining beam groups in the beam measurement set, that is, beam groups 0 to 6, the beam groups that meet the pairing condition, that is, the beam groups whose distance between the center position of the coverage range and the center position of the coverage range of the candidate service beam group is greater than the distance difference threshold Y are beam group 0 and beam group 4. Therefore, terminal device 0 determines the candidate pairing beam group corresponding to the candidate service beam group through the indication information, that is, the candidate pairing beam group corresponding to beam group 7 includes beam group 0 and beam group 4, that is, the network device indicates to terminal device 0 that the candidate pairing beams corresponding to the candidate service beam {22, 23, 30, 31, 32} include beams {0, 1, 8, 9, 16, 17, 24, 25}.

[0309] In another possible implementation manner, the network device sends indication information to the terminal device to indicate a candidate service beam group and a distance difference threshold Y. The terminal device combines the airspace grid information to determine a beam group that meets the distance pairing condition as the candidate pairing beam group corresponding to the candidate service beam group. Among them, the distance pairing condition is that the distance between the center position of the coverage range of the candidate pairing beam group and the center position of the coverage range of the candidate service beam in the candidate service beam group is greater than the distance difference threshold Y.

[0310] Figure 13 It is a schematic diagram of another beam subset limiting method provided by an embodiment of this application.

[0311] Exemplarily, please refer to Figure 13For the terminal device 0, the network device sends indication information to indicate to the terminal device 0 that the candidate service beam CMR subset is beam group 7. In beam group 7, taking candidate service beam 31 as an example, the terminal device 0 determines the candidate paired beam group corresponding to candidate service beam 31 according to the pairing condition. The pairing condition is that the distance between the center position of the coverage range of the candidate paired beam group and the center position of the coverage range of the candidate service beam in the candidate service beam group is greater than the distance difference threshold Y.

[0312] Specifically, please continue to refer to Figure 13 In the beam measurement set, that is, beam groups 0 to 7, except for the candidate service beam group, that is, beam group 7, among the remaining beam groups in the beam measurement set, that is, beam groups 0 to 6, the beam groups that meet the pairing condition, that is, the beam groups whose coverage range center position and the coverage range center position of the candidate service beam in the candidate service beam group are greater than the distance difference threshold Y are beam group 0 and beam group 4. Therefore, the terminal device 0 determines the candidate paired beam group corresponding to candidate service beam 31 through the indication information, that is, the candidate paired beam group corresponding to beam 31 includes beam group 0 and beam group 4, that is, the network device indicates to the terminal device 0 that the candidate paired beams corresponding to candidate service beam 31 include beams {0, 1, 8, 9, 16, 17, 24, 25}. By analogy, the candidate paired beam groups corresponding to candidate service beams {22, 23, 30, 32} can be determined.

[0313] Optionally, in the ORAN system, the network device in the above steps may be the O-CU-CP network element, O-DU network element, and / or O-RU network element shown in Table 1 above.

[0314] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device determines the group number of the second beam group based on the received group number of the first beam group and the distance difference threshold, and then uses the beams in the first beam group and the second beam group for measurement, enabling the terminal device to pair the beams in the first and second beam groups in real time, while reducing the number of beams measured by the terminal device, reducing the overhead of the terminal device for measurement. At the same time, since the first beam group and the second beam group are dynamically indicated by indication information instead of being determined by the terminal device itself, the adaptability of the system is improved.

[0315] In yet another possible implementation, the network device sends indication information to the terminal device to indicate the beam group numbers included in the candidate service beam subset and the candidate pairing beam subset. Among them, the network device determines the candidate pairing beam subset according to the candidate service beam subset and the distance pairing condition, in combination with the airspace grid information. The distance pairing condition is that the distance between any point in the coverage range of the candidate pairing beam group and any point in the coverage range of the candidate service beam group is greater than the distance difference threshold Y, or the distance between any point in the coverage range of the candidate pairing beam group and any point in the coverage range of the candidate service beam in the candidate service beam group is greater than the distance difference threshold Y, or the distance between the center position of the coverage range of the candidate pairing beam group and the center position of the coverage range of the candidate service beam group is greater than the distance difference threshold Y, or the distance between the center position of the coverage range of the candidate pairing beam group and the center position of the coverage range of the candidate service beam in the candidate service beam group is greater than the distance difference threshold Y.

[0316] Optionally, in the ORAN system, the network device in the above steps may be the O-CU-CP network element, the O-CU-UP network element, the O-DU network element, and / or the O-RU network element shown in Table 1 above.

[0317] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the network device determines the group number of the second beam group based on the group number of the first beam group and the distance difference threshold, and instructs the terminal device to use the beams in the first beam group and the second beam group for measurement, enabling the terminal device to pair the beams in the first and second beam groups in real time. At the same time, the number of beams measured by the terminal device is reduced, and the overhead for the terminal device to perform measurements is lowered. Also, since the first beam group and the second beam group are dynamically indicated by the indication information instead of being determined by the terminal device itself, the adaptability of the system is improved.

[0318] It should be understood that the distance difference threshold Y is only a form of parameter expression and does not mean that the distance difference thresholds in various embodiments are equal.

[0319] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the magnitudes of the sequence numbers of the above processes do not imply the order of execution. The order of execution of each process should be determined based on its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0320] It can be understood that in the above method embodiments, the method implemented by the terminal device can also be implemented by components applicable to the terminal (such as chips or circuits), and the method implemented by the network device can also be implemented by components applicable to the network device (such as chips or circuits). Above, in combination with Figures 4 to 13 The method of the embodiments of the present application has been described in detail. Next, in combination with Figures 14 to 17 The communication device of the embodiments of the present application will be described.

[0321] Figure 14It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1400 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may include: a processing unit 1410 and a transceiver unit 1420.

[0322] The communication device 1400 provided by the embodiment of the present application may correspond to the process executed by the terminal device in the above Figures 4 to 13 method embodiment. The functions of each unit / module in the communication device may refer to the descriptions above, and the detailed descriptions are appropriately omitted here.

[0323] It should be understood that Figure 14 the shown communication device may be a terminal device, or may be applicable to a chip or integrated circuit in the terminal device. When the communication device 1400 is a chip, the chip may include a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. Among them, the transceiver may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processor may be a processing module integrated on the chip, a microprocessor, or an integrated circuit. The sending operation of the terminal device in the above method embodiment may be understood as the output of the chip, and the receiving operation of the terminal device in the above method embodiment may be understood as the input of the chip.

[0324] Taking the communication device as a terminal device as an example, Figure 15 it is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present application. For the convenience of understanding and illustration, Figure 15 in the example, the terminal device is a mobile phone. Figure 15 Only the main components of the terminal device are shown. As Figure 15 shown, the terminal device 1500 includes a processor, a memory, a control circuit, and an antenna. Optionally, the terminal device may further include an input / output device. It should be understood that the control circuit may be provided in the processor or exist independently outside the processor. The embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto. The processor is mainly used for processing communication protocols and communication data, and controlling the entire terminal device, executing software programs, and processing data of the software programs, such as for supporting the terminal device to execute the actions described in the above method embodiment. The memory is mainly used for storing software programs and data. The control circuit is mainly used for the conversion between baseband signals and radio frequency signals and the processing of radio frequency signals. The control circuit and the antenna together may also be called a transceiver, mainly for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. The input / output device, such as a touch screen, a display screen, a keyboard, etc., is mainly used for receiving data input by the user and outputting data to the user.

[0325] After the terminal device is powered on, the processor can read the software program in the storage unit, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent wirelessly, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and then outputs a baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then sends the radio frequency signal out in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0326] Those skilled in the art can understand that, for the sake of convenience of description, Figure 15 only one memory and one processor are shown. In an actual terminal device, there may be multiple processors and memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. It should be understood that the memory may be integrated in the processor or may be located outside the processor and exist independently. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0327] As an optional implementation manner, the processor may include a baseband processor and a central processor. The baseband processor is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processor is mainly used to control the entire terminal device, execute software programs, and process the data of the software programs. Figure 15 The processor in [description] may integrate the functions of the baseband processor and the central processor. Those skilled in the art can understand that the baseband processor and the central processor may also be separate processors and are interconnected through technologies such as a bus. Those skilled in the art can understand that the terminal device may include multiple baseband processors to adapt to different network modes, and the terminal device may include multiple central processors to enhance its processing ability. Each component of the terminal device may be connected through various buses. The baseband processor may also be referred to as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processor may also be referred to as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing communication protocols and communication data may be built into the processor or may be stored in the storage unit in the form of a software program, and the processor executes the software program to implement the baseband processing function.

[0328] In the embodiments of the present application, the antenna and the control circuit with transceiver functions may be regarded as the transceiver unit 1501 of the terminal device 1500. For example, it is used to support the terminal device to execute the transceiver functions performed by the terminal device in the Figures 4 to 13 method implementation. The processor with processing functions is regarded as the processing unit 1502 of the terminal device 1500, which corresponds to Figure 14 the processing unit 1410 in [description]. As Figure 15As shown in the figure, the terminal device 1500 includes a transceiver unit 1501 and a processing unit 1502. The transceiver unit may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver, a transceiver unit, etc. This transceiver unit corresponds to Figure 14 the transceiver unit 1420 therein. Optionally, the devices used to implement the receiving function in the transceiver unit 1501 can be regarded as the receiving unit, and the devices used to implement the sending function in the transceiver unit 1501 can be regarded as the sending unit. That is, the transceiver unit 1501 includes a receiving unit and a sending unit. The receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, an input port, a receiving circuit, etc. The sending unit may be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc. It can be understood that the transceiver unit may also be an interface circuit.

[0329] The processing unit 1502 can be used to execute the instructions stored in the memory to control the transceiver unit 1501 to receive signals and / or send signals, and complete the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments. As an implementation method, the functions of the transceiver unit 1501 can be considered to be implemented through a transceiver circuit or a dedicated chip for transceiver.

[0330] It should be understood that Figure 15 the terminal device 1500 shown can implement Figures 4 to 13 each process related to the terminal device in the method embodiments. The operations and / or functions of each module in the terminal device 1500 are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes in the above method embodiments. For details, reference can be made to the descriptions in the above method embodiments. To avoid repetition, the detailed descriptions are appropriately omitted here.

[0331] Figure 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1600 provided by an embodiment of the present application. This device 1600 may include a processing unit 1610 and a transceiver unit 1620.

[0332] The communication device 1600 provided by the embodiment of the present application can correspond to Figures 4 to 13 the process executed by the network device in the above method embodiments. The functions of each unit / module in this communication device can be referred to the descriptions above, and the detailed descriptions are appropriately omitted here.

[0333] It should be understood that Figure 16 the described communication device may be a network-side device, or may be a chip or integrated circuit used on the network device side. When the communication device 1600 is a chip, the chip may include a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. Among them, the transceiver may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processor may be a processing module integrated on the chip, a microprocessor, or an integrated circuit. The sending operation of the terminal device in the above method embodiments can be understood as the output of the chip, and the receiving operation of the terminal device in the above method embodiments can be understood as the input of the chip.

[0334] Figure 17 This is a schematic structural diagram of a network device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0335] The network device 1700 may include one or more radio frequency units, such as a remote radio unit (RRU) 1710 and one or more baseband units (BBUs) 1720 (which may also be referred to as digital units, DUs). The RRU may be referred to as the transceiver unit 1710, corresponding to Figure 16 the transceiver unit 1620 in []. Optionally, the transceiver unit may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., and it may include at least one antenna 1711 and a radio frequency unit 1712. The RRU part is mainly used for the transceiver of radio frequency signals and the conversion between radio frequency signals and baseband signals. The BBU part is mainly used for baseband processing and controlling the base station, etc. The RRU and the BBU may be physically set together or physically separated, that is, a distributed base station. It can be understood that the transceiver unit may also be an interface circuit.

[0336] The BBU 1720 is the control center of the base station and may also be referred to as the processing unit 1720, corresponding to Figure 16 the processing unit 1610 in []. It is mainly used to complete the baseband processing function.

[0337] In one example, the BBU 1720 may be composed of one or more single boards. The multiple single boards may jointly support a radio access network of a single access mode (such as an LTE network), or may separately support radio access networks of different access modes (such as an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks). The BBU 1720 also includes a memory 1721 and a processor 1722. The memory 1721 is used to store necessary instructions and data. The processor 1722 is used to control the base station to perform necessary actions. It should be understood that the memory may be integrated in the processor or may be located outside the processor and exist independently. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. The memory 1721 and the processor 1722 may serve one or more single boards. That is, a memory and a processor may be separately set on each single board. It is also possible that multiple single boards share the same memory and processor. In addition, necessary circuits may be provided on each single board.

[0338] It should be understood that Figure 17 the network device 1700 shown can implement Figures 4 to 13 each process related to the network device in the method embodiment. The operations and / or functions of each module in the network device 1700 are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes in the above method embodiment. For details, please refer to the description in the above method embodiment. To avoid repetition, the detailed description is appropriately omitted here.

[0339] An embodiment of the present application further provides a processing unit, including a processor and an interface; the processor is configured to execute the communication method in any of the above method embodiments.

[0340] It should be understood that the above processing unit may be a chip. For example, the processing unit may be a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), may also be a system on chip (SoC), may also be a central processor unit (CPU), may also be a network processor (NP), may also be a digital signal processing circuit (DSP), may also be a micro controller unit (MCU), may also be a programmable logic device (PLD) or other integrated chip.

[0341] In the implementation process, the steps of the above method can be completed by the integrated logic circuit in the hardware of the processor or the instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed and completed by the hardware processor, or executed and completed by the combination of the hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module may be located in a mature storage medium in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and combines its hardware to complete the steps of the above method. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

[0342] It can be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synch link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but not be limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0343] The embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system, which includes the foregoing network device and terminal device.

[0344] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable medium, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a computer, the methods in any of the foregoing method embodiments are implemented.

[0345] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, and when the computer program product is executed by a computer, the methods in any of the foregoing method embodiments are implemented.

[0346] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using 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 instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wirelessly (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more integrated available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (SSD)), etc.

[0347] In each of the above device embodiments, the network device corresponds exactly to the network device or terminal device in the method embodiments, and the corresponding steps are executed by the corresponding modules or units. For example, the sending module (transmitter) executes the sending steps in the method embodiments, and the receiving module (receiver) executes the receiving steps in the method embodiments. Other steps except sending and receiving can be executed by the processing module (processor). The functions of specific modules can refer to the corresponding method embodiments. The sending module and the receiving module can form a transceiver module, and the transmitter and the receiver can form a transceiver to jointly implement the transceiver function; the processor can be one or more.

[0348] In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after. "At least one (item)" or similar expressions thereof refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural item(s). For example, at least one (item) of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a - b, a - c, b - c, or a - b - c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0349] The terms "component", "module", "system", etc. used in this specification are used to represent computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, combinations of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, an execution thread, a program, and / or a computer. By way of illustration, an application running on a computing device and the computing device can both be components. One or more components can reside in a process and / or an execution thread, and the components can be located on one computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer-readable media storing various data structures. The components can communicate, for example, through local and / or remote processes according to signals having one or more data packets (such as data from two components interacting with another component between a local system, a distributed system, and / or a network, such as the Internet interacting with other systems through signals).

[0350] Those of ordinary skill in the art can realize that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or in a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed in a hardware or software manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Skilled professionals can use different methods for each specific application to implement the described functions, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0351] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments and will not be elaborated herein.

[0352] In several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the displayed or discussed coupling, direct coupling, or communication connection between each other can be through some interfaces. The indirect coupling or communication connection of the devices or units can be in electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0353] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated. The components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place or distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0354] In addition, in each embodiment of the present application, the functional units can be integrated in a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically alone, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0355] As described above, the above is only the specific implementation manner of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present application can easily think of changes or substitutions, which should be covered by the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for beam measurement, characterized in that, comprising: receiving indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate at least one beam group among a plurality of beam groups, and a plurality of beams for beam measurement are divided into the plurality of beam groups; receiving a reference signal transmitted through the at least one beam group, where the reference signal is used to determine measurement feedback information; sending the measurement feedback information.

2. A method for beam measurement, characterized in that, comprising: sending indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate at least one beam group among a plurality of beam groups, and a plurality of beams for beam measurement are divided into the plurality of beam groups; sending a reference signal through the at least one beam group, where the reference signal is used to determine measurement feedback information; receiving the measurement feedback information.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, further comprising: receiving configuration information, where the configuration information includes beam measurement set information and / or beam grouping information, the beam measurement set information is used to indicate the plurality of beams for beam measurement, and the beam grouping information is used to indicate the group numbers of the plurality of beam groups.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, further comprising: sending configuration information, where the configuration information includes beam measurement set information and / or beam grouping information, the beam measurement set information is used to indicate the plurality of beams for beam measurement, and the beam grouping information is used to indicate the group numbers of the plurality of beam groups.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, the at least one beam group includes a first beam group and a second beam group, where the first beam group is used to measure signal strength, and the second beam group is used to measure interference strength.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, the indication information is used to indicate the group number of the first beam group and the group number of the second beam group.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, the configuration information further includes beam angle information, and the beam angle information includes the zenith angle and / or azimuth angle of each beam; the beams within each beam group among the plurality of beam groups have the same zenith angle range and / or azimuth angle range.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, the indication information is used to indicate the group number of the first beam group and a beam angle difference threshold; the method further comprises: determining the second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam angle difference threshold, and the beam angle information.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, further comprising: determining the second beam group according to the first beam group, a beam angle difference threshold, and the beam angle information.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, the determining the second beam group includes: determining, as the second beam group, the beam group among the plurality of beam groups whose angle difference from the first beam group is greater than the beam angle difference threshold.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The angle difference includes the angle difference between the angle center of the first beam group and the angle center of the second beam group; The angle center of the first beam group or the angle center of the second beam group is obtained by calculating the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, quadratic mean or moving average of the beam angles in the first beam group or the second beam group.

12. The method according to claim 5, wherein, the configuration information further includes airspace grid information, and the airspace grid information is used to indicate the coverage area range of each beam mapped on the ground; The beams in each beam group among the multiple beam groups have adjacent coverage area ranges.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein, the indication information is used to indicate the group number of the first beam group and the beam distance difference threshold; The method further includes: determining the second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam distance difference threshold and the airspace grid information.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein, further includes: determining the second beam group according to the first beam group, the beam distance difference threshold and the airspace grid information.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein, the determining the second beam group includes: determining, as the second beam group, the beam group among the multiple beam groups whose distance difference from the first beam group is greater than the beam distance difference threshold.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein, the distance difference includes the distance difference between the coverage area center of the first beam group and the coverage area center of the second beam group; The coverage area center of the first beam group or the coverage area center of the second beam group is obtained by calculating the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, quadratic mean or moving average of the coverage area of the first beam group or the second beam group.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, wherein, the airspace grid information includes coverage area update information; The coverage area update information is used to indicate the changed part of the current coverage area of each beam mapped on the ground relative to the previous coverage area of each beam mapped on the ground.

18. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 17, wherein, the measurement feedback information includes the beam numbers of the reported beams within the first beam group or the second beam group.

19. A beam measurement device, wherein, includes: a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

20. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein, a computer program is stored thereon, and when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer is caused to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

21. A chip, wherein, the chip includes a processor and a data interface, and the processor reads instructions stored on a memory through the data interface to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

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