Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention relates to a communication method and device, which are used for improving the signal coverage performance of terminal equipment in a radio resource control idle state or a radio resource control inactive state. A first communication device receives a first synchronization signal broadcast block and a first channel state information reference signal in a radio resource control idle state or a radio resource control inactive state, the first synchronization signal broadcast block being one of M synchronization signal broadcast blocks, the first channel state information reference signal is one of N channel state information reference signals, the M synchronization signal broadcast blocks correspond to the N channel state information reference signals, and N is greater than or equal to M; and in a radio resource control idle state or a radio resource control inactive state, receiving a first physical downlink control channel according to the first channel state information reference signal, or receiving a first physical downlink shared channel according to the first synchronization signal broadcast block or the first channel state information reference signal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of mobile communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus. Background Art

[0002] The new radio (NR) of the fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication technology has been rapidly commercialized globally in recent years and achieved great commercial success. Currently, the research on the next-generation, i.e., the sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, has also begun. Compared with 5G technology, 6G will support higher service rates, lower service delays, etc., and thus has higher requirements for the spectrum.

[0003] For a terminal device in the radio resource control (RRC) idle state or the RRC inactive state, how to improve the signal coverage performance is a technical problem to be urgently solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method and apparatus for improving the signal coverage performance of a terminal device in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be implemented by a first communication device or a terminal device. The first communication device can be a terminal device. The first communication device can also be a component in the terminal device. Among them, components in this application can include, for example, at least one of a chip, a chip system, a processor, a transceiver, a processing unit, or a transceiver unit. Taking the execution entity as the first communication device as an example, the communication method provided in this application can include the following steps: The first communication device receives a first synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB) and a first channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state. The first SSB is one of M SSBs, and the first CSI-RS is one of N CSI-RSs. There is a corresponding relationship between the M SSBs and the N CSI-RSs. Among them, both M and N are positive integers greater than or equal to 1, and N is greater than or equal to M; The first communication device receives a first physical downlink control channel according to the first CSI-RS in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state, or receives a first physical downlink shared channel according to the first SSB or the first CSI-RS in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state. Among them, the first physical downlink control channel is used to schedule the first physical downlink shared channel.

[0006] Based on the first aspect, the first communication device can receive the first physical downlink control channel based on the first SSB in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state, or receive the first physical downlink shared channel based on the first SSB or the first CSI-RS. Among them, the first SSB is one of M SSBs, and the first CSI-RS is one of N CSI-RSs. There is a corresponding relationship between the M SSBs and the N CSI-RSs. Therefore, downlink transmission can be performed based on the CSI-RS and the SSB, which can improve the channel coverage performance of the terminal device during the initial access process. In addition, this method can enhance the channel coverage without increasing the number of SSBs or increasing the number of SSB beams as little as possible, that is, it can reduce the resource overhead of the reference signal as much as possible while improving the channel coverage of each channel during the initial access process.

[0007] In this application, in some cases, "channel" can optionally be replaced by "channel / signal" or "signal".

[0008] The first physical downlink control channel and / or the first physical downlink shared channel can come from a second communication device. The second communication device can be an access network device, such as a base station, etc.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the first communication device may receive the first physical downlink control channel according to the first CSI-RS. The first physical downlink control channel is one of N physical downlink control channels, and there is a corresponding relationship between the N physical downlink control channels and the N CSI-RSs.

[0010] In this implementation, optionally, the N physical downlink control channels may be physical downlink control channels for repeated transmission.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the fact that there is a corresponding relationship between the N physical downlink control channels and the N CSI-RSs includes: the N physical downlink control channels and the N CSI-RSs are quasi co-located; or, the demodulation reference signals (DMRSs) of the N physical downlink control channels and the N CSI-RSs are quasi co-located.

[0012] Among them, quasi co-location means that the large-scale parameters of the channel experienced on a symbol of one antenna port (AP) (or simply referred to as a port) can be inferred from the channel experienced on a symbol of another antenna port. It can be considered that these two antenna ports are quasi co-located. When receiving two quasi co-located channels / signals, the way of receiving one channel / signal can be used to receive the other channel / signal, which can reduce the reception complexity and improve the reception performance. Therefore, based on this implementation, the reception complexity of the first physical downlink control channel can be reduced and the reception performance can be improved.

[0013] Among them, there may be a one-to-one correspondence between the N physical downlink control channels and the N CSI-RSs. For any one of the N physical downlink control channels, it is quasi co-located with the CSI-RS corresponding to this physical downlink control channel among the N CSI-RSs; or, the DMRS of any one of the N physical downlink control channels is quasi co-located with the CSI-RS corresponding to this physical downlink control channel among the N CSI-RSs.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the first communication device may receive the first physical downlink shared channel according to the first SSB. The first physical downlink shared channel is one of M physical downlink shared channels, and there is a corresponding relationship between the M physical downlink shared channels and the M SSBs.

[0015] In a possible implementation, there is a corresponding relationship between the M physical downlink shared channels and the M SSBs, including: the M physical downlink shared channels and the M SSBs are quasi-co-located; or, the DMRS of the M physical downlink shared channels and the M SSBs are quasi-co-located.

[0016] Among them, the M physical shared control channels and the M SSBs can correspond one by one. Any one of the M physical downlink shared channels is quasi-co-located with the SSB corresponding to this physical downlink shared channel among the M SSBs; or, the DMRS of any one of the M physical downlink shared channels is quasi-co-located with the SSB corresponding to this physical downlink shared channel among the M SSBs.

[0017] Based on this implementation, the reception complexity of the first physical downlink shared channel can be reduced and the reception performance can be improved.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the first communication device can receive the first physical downlink shared channel according to the first CSI-RS. The first physical downlink shared channel is one of the N physical downlink shared channels, and there is a corresponding relationship between the N physical downlink shared channels and the N CSI-RSs.

[0019] In a possible implementation, there is a corresponding relationship between the N physical downlink shared channels and the N CSI-RSs, including: the N physical downlink shared channels and the N CSI-RSs are quasi-co-located; or, the demodulation reference signal DMRS of the N physical downlink shared channels and the N CSI-RSs are quasi-co-located.

[0020] Among them, the N physical shared control channels and the N CSI-RSs can correspond one by one. Any one of the N physical downlink shared channels is quasi-co-located with the CSI-RS corresponding to this physical downlink shared channel among the N CSI-RSs; or, the DMRS of any one of the N physical downlink shared channels is quasi-co-located with the CSI-RS corresponding to this physical downlink shared channel among the N CSI-RSs.

[0021] Based on this implementation, the reception complexity of the first physical downlink shared channel can be reduced and the reception performance can be improved.

[0022] In a possible implementation, each of the N physical downlink shared channels carries a system information block (SIB); or, each of the M physical downlink shared channels carries a system information block SIB; or, each of the N physical downlink shared channels carries a paging message; or, each of the M physical downlink shared channels carries a paging message.

[0023] Based on this implementation, the first physical downlink shared channel in this application can carry an SIB or a paging message.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the first communication device can receive the first physical downlink control channel according to the first CSI-RS, and there is a corresponding relationship between the first physical downlink control channel and the first CSI-RS.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the existence of a corresponding relationship between the first physical downlink control channel and the first CSI-RS includes: the first physical downlink control channel and the first CSI-RS are quasi-co-located; or, the demodulation reference signal DMRS of the first physical downlink control channel and the first CSI-RS are quasi-co-located.

[0026] Based on this implementation, the reception complexity of the first physical downlink control channel can be reduced and the reception performance can be improved.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the first communication device can receive the first physical downlink shared channel according to the first CSI-RS, and there is a corresponding relationship between the first physical downlink shared channel and the first CSI-RS.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the existence of a corresponding relationship between the first physical downlink shared channel and the first CSI-RS includes: the first physical downlink shared channel and the first CSI-RS are quasi-co-located; or, the demodulation reference signal DMRS of the first physical downlink shared channel and the first CSI-RS are quasi-co-located.

[0029] Based on this implementation, the reception complexity of the first physical downlink shared channel can be reduced and the reception performance can be improved.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the first physical downlink shared channel carries random access message 2 or random access message B or random access message 4.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the first communication device may also use the first physical random access channel (PRACH) resource to transmit a random access preamble, and there is a corresponding relationship between the first PRACH resource and the first CSI-RS.

[0032] Based on this implementation, the network device may only transmit the first physical downlink control channel and the first physical downlink shared channel corresponding to the first CSI-RS, without transmitting the physical downlink control channel and the physical downlink shared channel corresponding to all N CSI-RSs, which can reduce the transmission overhead.

[0033] In a possible implementation, there is a corresponding relationship between the M SSBs and the N CSI-RSs, including: any one of the M SSBs is quasi co-located with Q CSI-RSs among the N CSI-RSs, and Q is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. That is to say, any one of the M SSBs can be quasi co-located with one or more CSI-RSs among the N CSI-RSs, enabling flexible transmission.

[0034] In a possible implementation, any one of the M SSBs is used to indicate the configuration information of one or more CSI-RSs among the N CSI-RSs, and the configuration information includes at least one of the following configuration information: time domain resource information, frequency domain resource information, code domain resource information, power control information.

[0035] Based on this implementation, any one of the M SSBs can be used to indicate one or more of the time domain resource information, frequency domain resource information, code domain resource information, or power control information of one or more CSI-RSs among the N CSI-RSs, so as to achieve flexible configuration of CSI-RS.

[0036] Second aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be implemented by a second communication device or a network device. The second communication device can be an access network device (or replaced with a network device, such as a base station). The second communication device can also be a component in the access network device. Among them, components in this application can include, for example, at least one of a chip, a chip system, a processor, a transceiver, a processing unit, or a transceiver unit. Taking the execution subject as the second communication device as an example, the communication method provided in this application can include the following steps: The second communication device sends M SSBs and N CSI-RSs, and there is a corresponding relationship between the M SSBs and the N CSI-RSs, where M and N are both positive integers greater than or equal to 1, and N is greater than or equal to M; The second communication device sends a first physical downlink control channel, and there is a corresponding relationship between the first physical downlink control channel and a first CSI-RS, where the first CSI-RS is one of the N CSI-RSs, or sends a first physical downlink shared channel, and there is a corresponding relationship between the first physical downlink shared channel and the first CSI-RS or the first SSB, the first CSI is one of the N CSI-RSs, and the first SSB is one of the M SSBs, where the first physical downlink control channel is used to schedule the first physical downlink shared channel. The first physical downlink shared channel can be used to carry one of a SIB, a paging message, a random access message 2, a random access message B, or a random access message 4.

[0037] Among them, the fact that there is a corresponding relationship between the first physical downlink control channel and the first CSI-RS can be understood as that the first physical downlink control channel is transmitted through the first CSI-RS. The fact that there is a corresponding relationship between the first physical downlink shared channel and the first CSI-RS can be understood as that the first physical downlink shared channel is transmitted through the first CSI-RS. The fact that there is a corresponding relationship between the first physical downlink shared channel and the first SSB can be understood as that the first physical downlink shared channel is transmitted through the first SSB.

[0038] In a possible implementation manner, the second communication device can send N physical downlink control channels, the first physical downlink control channel is one of the N physical downlink control channels, and there is a corresponding relationship between the N physical downlink control channels and the N CSI-RSs.

[0039] In a possible implementation manner, the fact that there is a corresponding relationship between the N first physical downlink control channels and the N CSI-RSs includes: the N physical downlink control channels and the N CSI-RSs are quasi-co-located; or the demodulation reference signals DMRS of the N physical downlink control channels and the N CSI-RSs are quasi-co-located.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the second communication device may transmit M physical downlink shared channels, and the first physical downlink shared channel is one of the M physical downlink shared channels. There is a corresponding relationship between the M physical downlink shared channels and the M SSBs.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the fact that there is a corresponding relationship between the M physical downlink shared channels and the M SSBs includes: the M physical downlink shared channels and the M SSBs are quasi co-located; or, the demodulation reference signals DMRS of the M physical downlink shared channels and the M SSBs are quasi co-located.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the second communication device may transmit N physical downlink shared channels, and the first physical downlink shared channel is one of the N physical downlink shared channels. There is a corresponding relationship between the N physical downlink shared channels and the N CSI-RSs.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the fact that there is a corresponding relationship between the N physical downlink shared channels and the N CSI-RSs includes:

[0044] the N physical downlink shared channels and the N CSI-RSs are quasi co-located; or,

[0045] the demodulation reference signals DMRS of the N physical downlink shared channels and the N CSI-RSs are quasi co-located.

[0046] In a possible implementation, each of the N physical downlink shared channels carries a system information block SIB; or each of the M physical downlink shared channels carries a system information block SIB; or each of the N physical downlink shared channels carries a paging message; or each of the M physical downlink shared channels carries a paging message.

[0047] In a possible implementation, there is a corresponding relationship between the first physical downlink control channel and the first CSI-RS, and the first CSI-RS is one of the N CSI-RSs.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the fact that there is a corresponding relationship between the first physical downlink control channel and the first CSI-RS includes: the first physical downlink control channel and the first CSI-RS are quasi co-located; or, the demodulation reference signal DMRS of the first physical downlink control channel and the first CSI-RS are quasi co-located.

[0049] In a possible implementation, there is a corresponding relationship between the first physical downlink shared channel and the first CSI-RS, and the first CSI-RS is one of the N CSI-RSs.

[0050] In a possible implementation, the existence of a corresponding relationship between the first physical downlink shared channel and the first CSI-RS includes:

[0051] The first physical downlink shared channel and the first CSI-RS are quasi-co-located; or,

[0052] The demodulation reference signal DMRS of the first physical downlink shared channel and the first CSI-RS are quasi-co-located.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the first physical downlink shared channel carries random access message 2 or random access message B or random access message 4.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the second communication device may also use the first PRACH resource to receive a preamble, and the first PRACH resource has a corresponding relationship with the first CSI-RS, and the first CSI-RS is one of the N CSI-RSs.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the existence of a corresponding relationship between the M SSBs and the N CSI-RSs includes: Any one of the M SSBs is quasi-co-located with Q CSI-RSs among the N CSI-RSs, and Q is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0056] In a possible implementation, any one of the M SSBs is used to indicate the configuration information of one or more CSI-RSs among the N CSI-RSs, and the configuration information includes at least one of the following configuration information: time domain resource information, frequency domain resource information, code domain resource information, power control information.

[0057] For the technical effects brought by the second aspect above, reference can be made to the description of the beneficial effects of the corresponding solutions in the first aspect above, and details are not repeated here.

[0058] In any possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect, the N CSI-RSs are multiplexed by at least one of the following methods: time division multiplexing (TDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), code division multiplexing (CDM).

[0059] In any possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect, the primary synchronization signal (PSS), or the secondary synchronization signal (SSS), or the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) of any one of the M SSBs is used to indicate the configuration information of one or more of the N CSI-RSs.

[0060] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided. The device can implement the method described in any possible implementation of any one of the first aspect to the second aspect. The device has the functions of the first communication device or the second communication device described above. The device is, for example, a terminal device, or a functional module in a terminal device, or a network device or a functional module in a network device, etc.

[0061] In an optional implementation, the device may include modules corresponding one by one to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in any possible implementation of any one of the first aspect to the second aspect. The module may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software. In an optional implementation, the device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module) and a communication unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module, a communication module, etc.). The transceiver unit can implement the sending function and the receiving function. When the transceiver unit implements the sending function, it can be referred to as a sending unit (sometimes also referred to as a sending module). When the transceiver unit implements the receiving function, it can be referred to as a receiving unit (sometimes also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit may be the same functional module, and this functional module is called the transceiver unit, which can implement the sending function and the receiving function; or, the sending unit and the receiving unit may be different functional modules, and the transceiver unit is a general term for these functional modules.

[0062] Exemplarily, when the device is used to execute the method described in any one of the first aspect to the second aspect, the device may include a communication unit and a processing unit.

[0063] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, including one or more processors for executing a computer program (or computer-executable instructions) stored in a memory. When the computer program (or computer-executable instructions) is executed, the device executes the method described in any possible implementation of any one of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0064] In a possible implementation, one or more processors and the memory are integrated together;

[0065] In another possible implementation, the memory is located outside the communication device.

[0066] The communication device further includes a communication interface for the communication device to communicate with other devices, such as sending or receiving data and / or signals. Exemplarily, the communication interface can be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, or other types of communication interfaces.

[0067] In a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which is used to store a computer program or instruction. When it runs, the methods described in any possible implementation manner of any one of the first aspect to the second aspect and the methods shown in any possible implementation manner thereof are implemented.

[0068] In a sixth aspect, a computer program product containing instructions is provided. When it runs on a computer, the methods described in any possible implementation manner of any one of the first aspect to the second aspect are implemented.

[0069] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device for executing the methods described in any possible implementation manner of any one of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0070] In an eighth aspect, a chip or a chip system is provided. The chip or the chip system includes a circuit (such as an analog circuit and / or a logic circuit; or it can be understood that the chip system includes one or more processors, and one or more processors may include circuits, etc.), and may further include an input-output interface. The input-output interface can be used to input messages and can also be used to output messages. The input-output interface can be the same interface, that is, the same interface can implement both the sending function and the receiving function; or the input-output interface includes an input interface and an output interface. The input interface is used to implement the receiving function, that is, to receive messages; the output interface is used to implement the sending function, that is, to send messages. The circuit can be used to execute operations other than the transceiver function in the methods described in any possible implementation manner of any one of the first aspect to the second aspect; the circuit can also be used to transmit messages to the input-output interface or receive messages from other communication devices through the input-output interface. The chip system can be used to implement the methods described in any possible implementation manner of any one of the first aspect to the second aspect. The chip system can be composed of chips or can also include chips and other discrete devices.

[0071] Optionally, the chip system may further include a memory, and the memory can be used to store instructions, and the circuit can call the instructions stored in the memory to implement corresponding functions.

[0072] In a ninth aspect, a communication method is provided. The communication method may include the method implemented by the first communication device as shown in the first aspect and any possible implementation manners thereof, and the method implemented by the second communication device as shown in the second aspect and any possible implementation manners thereof.

[0073] In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system may include a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device may be used to implement the method as shown in the first aspect and any possible implementation manners thereof, and the second communication device may be used to implement the method as shown in the second aspect and any possible implementation manners thereof.

[0074] For the technical effects brought by the above third aspect to tenth aspect, reference may be made to the description of the beneficial effects of the corresponding solutions in the first aspect above, which will not be elaborated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0075] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a wireless communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a SSB transmission mode;

[0077] Figure 3 It is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the relationship between M SSBs and N CSI-RSs provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the relationship between a PDCCH and a PDSCH provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] Figure 6 It is another schematic diagram of the relationship between a PDCCH and a PDSCH provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] Figure 7 It is another schematic diagram of the relationship between a PDCCH and a PDSCH provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of an inter-port multiplexing mode provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] Figure 9 It is another schematic diagram of an inter-port multiplexing mode provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0084] Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of the relationship between the port of a SSB and the port of a CSI-RS provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0085] Figure 11Schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0086] Figure 12 Schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0087] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the application scenarios used in the present application will be described by taking the Figure 1 shown communication system architecture as an example. Figure 1 A possible and non-limiting system schematic diagram is shown. As Figure 1 shown, the communication system 1000 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. The RAN 100 includes at least one network device (such as Figure 1 110a and 110b in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal device (such as Figure 1 120a - 120j in

[0088] The RAN 100 may be a cellular system related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), for example, the 4th generation (4G), Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5th generation (5G), New Radio (NR) mobile communication system, or an evolved system after 5G (such as the 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system). The RAN 100 may also be an Open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN), a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN), or a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN 100 may also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0089] The device provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the network device 110 or the terminal device 120. It can be understood that Figure 1 Only one possible communication system architecture to which the embodiments of the present application can be applied is shown. In other possible scenarios, other devices may also be included in the communication system architecture.

[0090] In another communication system to which the embodiments of the present application are applied, a first communication device and a second communication device may be included.

[0091] In one implementation method, the first communication device is a network device or a module for a network device, and the second communication device is a terminal device or a module for a terminal device. Among them, the network device is, for example, an access network device. The first communication device and the second communication device communicate with each other through the air interface.

[0092] In another implementation method, the first communication device is a terminal device or a module for a terminal device, and the second communication device is a network device or a module for a network device. The first communication device and the second communication device communicate with each other through the air interface.

[0093] In another implementation method, the first communication device is a network device or a module for a network device, and the second communication device is a network device or a module for a network device. The first communication device and the second communication device communicate with each other through the air interface or a wired manner.

[0094] In another implementation method, the first communication device is a terminal device or a module for a terminal device, and the second communication device is a terminal device or a module for a terminal device. The first communication device and the second communication device communicate with each other through the air interface.

[0095] Of course, the first communication device and the second communication device in the embodiments of the present application may also be other types of devices. For example, the first communication device may also be a cloud device or a cloud server, etc., and the second communication device is a cloud device or a cloud server, etc. The present application does not make any limitations in this regard.

[0096] In the implementation of this application, the terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver functions, which may specifically refer to a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a user station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device. The terminal device may be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it may also be deployed on water (such as a ship, etc.); it may also be deployed in the air (such as an airplane, a balloon, a satellite, etc.). The terminal device may be a cellular phone, a mobile phone, a tablet (pad), a handheld device, a laptop computer, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant computer, a wireless modem, a machine type communication terminal, a satellite terminal, a vehicle (such as a car, a bicycle, an electric vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a train, a high-speed train, etc.)-mounted device, a robotic arm, a workshop device, a wearable device (such as a smart watch, a smart bracelet, a pedometer, etc.), a drone, a robot, a smart point of sale (POS) machine, a customer-premises equipment (CPE), a computer with wireless transceiver functions, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a terminal device in industrial control, a terminal device in self-driving, a terminal device in remote medical, a terminal device in a smart grid, a terminal in transportation safety, a terminal device in a smart city, a terminal device in a smart home (such as smart home devices like a refrigerator, a TV, an air conditioner, an electric meter, etc.). The terminal device may also be other devices with terminal functions. The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form of the terminal. The device for implementing the functions of the terminal device may be the terminal device; it may also be a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the functions, such as a chip system. This device may be installed in the terminal device or used in matching with the terminal device. In the embodiments of this application, the chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0097] In the implementation of this application, the network device is a device with wireless transceiver functions, used to communicate with terminal devices or other network devices; it can also be a device capable of connecting terminal devices to a wireless network, such as a radio access network (RAN) device or node. The network device in the embodiments of this application can include various forms of base stations, for example: base station, evolved NodeB (eNodeB), next-generation NodeB / gNodeB (gNB), macro base station, micro base station (also known as small station), relay station, access point, device implementing base station functions in a communication system evolved after the 5th generation (5G) technology, access point (AP) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), mobile switching center, and devices implementing base station functions in device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, etc. It can also include network devices in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication system, that is, it can be deployed on a high-altitude platform or satellite. In some possible scenarios, different network devices respectively implement some functions of the base station. For example, the network device can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and DU can be set separately, or can also be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio device or radio unit, for example, included in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).It can be understood that the network device can be a CU node, or a DU node, or a device including a CU node and a DU node. In addition, the CU can be classified as a network device in the radio access network (RAN), or the CU can be classified as a network device in the core network (CN), which is not limited herein.

[0098] 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 an open radio access network (open RAN, ORAN) system, the CU may also be referred to as O-CU (open CU), the DU may also be referred to as O-DU, the CU-CP may also be referred to as O-CU-CP, the CU-UP may also be referred to as O-CU-UP, and the RU may also be referred to as O-RU. For the convenience of description, in this application, the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU are used as examples for description. Any unit in the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0099] In the embodiments of this application, the form of the network device is not limited. The device for implementing the functions of the network device can be the network device; it can also be a device capable of supporting the network device to implement such functions, such as a chip system. This device can be installed in the network device or used in matching with the network device.

[0100] It can be understood that the network device and the terminal device, the network device and the network device, and the terminal device and the terminal device can communicate through authorized spectrum, or through unlicensed spectrum, or through both authorized spectrum and unlicensed spectrum at the same time. In addition, the network device and the terminal device, the network device and the network device, and the terminal device and the terminal device can communicate through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), such as through the 700 / 900 megahertz (MHz), 2.1 / 2.6 / 3.5 GHz frequency bands, or through spectrum above 6 GHz, such as through millimeter wave, terahertz (THz) wave communication, or can also use spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz at the same time. The embodiments of this application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0101] In an embodiment of the present application, the functions of the network device can also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the network device, or by a control subsystem that includes the functions of the network device. The control subsystem that includes the functions of the network device can be a control center in the above application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal device can also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal device, or by a device that includes the functions of the terminal device.

[0102] In the evolution process of communication systems, high throughput and large connections have always been the core challenges of wireless communication networks. To address the above challenges, 5G communication has proposed application scenarios such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra reliable and low latency communication (URLLC), and massive machine type communication (mMTC) as technical goals. The evolved 6G communication system after 5G will surely evolve towards directions such as greater throughput, lower latency, higher reliability, larger connection numbers, and higher spectrum utilization.

[0103] The following introduces the technical terms related to this application.

[0104] (1) SSB

[0105] SSB is composed of PSS, SSS, and PBCH. Among them, PSS and SSS are mainly used for time-frequency synchronization and defining the physical cell identity (PCI) of the cell. Some minimum amount of system information is carried in PBCH or the payload of PBCH, which is called the master information block (MIB). Some parameter information for SIB1 transmission, such as subcarrier spacing, the control resource set (CORESET) for scheduling SIB1, and the search space set (SS set), etc., will be carried in MIB.

[0106] In NR, SSBs are transmitted using a beam scanning mechanism. So-called beam scanning means transmitting SSBs in different beam directions in a time division multiplexing manner. The set of SSBs within one beam scanning period is called a Synchronization Signal Burst Set (SS burst set). An SS burst set can be defined as a 5 millisecond (ms) time interval. By using beamforming for SSBs, the energy of the SSBs transmitted in each beam direction is more concentrated, thus enhancing its coverage. Each SSB transmitted in a beam direction has a dedicated identifier, and each SSB can represent an SSB beam. For example, in Frequency Range 1 (FR1), each cell supports up to 8 SSB beams, and the 8 SSB beams are SSB#0 to SSB#7 respectively. Frequency Range 1 can refer to the frequency band below 6 gigahertz (GHz) (sub-6GHz). A schematic of multiple SSBs transmitted by TDM within one SS burst set period is shown as Figure 2 shown.

[0107] Among them, SSBs can be transmitted periodically in the time domain. For example, the period size can be 5 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms or 160 ms. This repeated transmission can be considered as the repetition of the SS burst set, that is, the multiple SSB beams included in one SS burst set are repetitively transmitted as a whole. For a terminal device performing cell search, it can assume that the repetition period of SSBs is 20 ms. Additionally, the MIB change period can be 80 ms, which means that for a terminal device performing cell search, the SSBs are repetitively transmitted 4 times within 80 ms.

[0108] It should be noted that for different SSB transmission beams, their optimal reception beams are also different. Therefore, in addition to the network device (such as a terminal) transmitting SSBs in a beam scanning manner, the terminal device also receives SSBs in a beam scanning manner to obtain an optimal transmission beam and reception beam pair.

[0109] (2) SIB

[0110] The process of system information transmission is mainly that the terminal device receives some necessary parameters related to cell residence and access sent by the network device, including various system information blocks, such as SIB1 and other SIBs like SIB2. For a terminal device in the RRC idle state or RRC inactive state, it also needs to listen for paging messages sent by the network device.

[0111] Generally, for a terminal device in initial access, after detecting the SSB, it can receive SIB1 according to the parameters related to SIB1 reception obtained from the MIB. In NR, SIB1 is carried on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and scheduled by the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). Specifically, downlink control information (DCI) is carried in the PDCCH. The DCI includes information such as the time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, and modulation and coding schemes for PDSCH transmission. Similar to the SSB transmission mechanism, SIB1 is also transmitted in a beam scanning manner, that is, in each SSB beam direction, the network device uses this SSB beam to send the PDCCH and PDSCH of SIB1. For the terminal device, it can receive the PDCCH and PDSCH of SIB1 associated with it in the same way as receiving the SSB.

[0112] After receiving SIB1, the terminal device can continue to receive other SIBS or paging messages as needed. The transmission methods of other SIBS and paging messages can be similar to that of SIB1.

[0113] It should be noted that SIB1 and other SIBS, like the SSB, are transmitted periodically and repeatedly. For SIB1, the change period of the system information it carries is 160 ms, and it can be repeatedly transmitted at a period of 20 ms within 160 ms. For other SIBS except SIB1, their transmission periods are configured by SIB1.

[0114] (3) Random access (RA)

[0115] In NR, the terminal device completes the uplink time synchronization with the network device through the random access process and establishes an RRC connection with the network device. In NR, the types of random access processes include type-1 random access (type-1 RA) and type-2 random access (type-2 RA). Among them, the type-1 RA process is also known as the four-step random access (4-step RA) process, and the type-2 RA process is also known as the two-step random access (2-step RA) process.

[0116] In the type-1 RA process, the terminal device sends a preamble through the PRACH, that is, the random access message 1 (Msg1). After the terminal sends Msg1, it starts a random access response window and listens within the window for the random access response (RAR), that is, the random access message 2 (Msg2), sent by the network device. If the terminal successfully detects its own RAR, the terminal continues to send the random access message 3 (Msg3) according to the indication of the RAR. The main function of Msg3 is to send an RRC connection establishment request. If the terminal does not receive its own RAR, it considers this RA attempt to be failed, and the terminal reinitiates the RA process according to the backoff parameter indicated by the network device until the maximum number of random access attempts is reached. After the terminal sends Msg3, it listens for the random access message 4 (Msg4) sent by the network device. Msg4 carries a contention resolution identifier and the radio interface parameter configuration for this terminal. If the terminal successfully receives Msg4, it considers this RA attempt to be successful; otherwise, it is failed. If successful, the terminal continues to send Msg5, whose main purpose is to send an RRC connection completion command. If failed, the terminal reinitiates the random access process according to the backoff parameter indicated by the network device until the maximum number of random access attempts is reached.

[0117] The type-2 RA process can be understood as combining the first four steps into two steps based on the type-1 RA process. That is, the terminal can send a random access message A (MsgA), which contains a preamble and a terminal identifier. Correspondingly, the network device can send a random access message B (MsgB) to the terminal, including a contention resolution identifier and the radio interface parameter configuration for this terminal, etc. That is to say, MsgA can correspond to Msg1 and Msg3, and MsgB can correspond to Msg2 and Msg4.

[0118] In NR, the PRACH resources are associated and configured with the SSBs. Or rather, each SSB is associated with exclusive PRACH resources, and the PRACH resources associated with different SSB beams use different time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, or code-domain resources. Exemplarily, different SSBs are associated with different random access channel occasions (RACH occasion, RO), where one RO can be considered as a time-frequency resource block for transmitting a preamble.

[0119] When initiating an RA, the terminal device can select one of the SSBs and use the PRACH resources associated with the SSB to send the preamble. When the network device replies to the terminal device with Msg2 / Msg4 / MsgB, it can use the SSB associated with the PRACH resources used by the detected preamble to send the Msg2 / Msg4 / MsgB. Similarly, the terminal device also receives the corresponding Msg2 / Msg4 / MsgB by receiving the SSB associated with the preamble it sent.

[0120] It can be understood that PRACH resources are associated with SSB. On the one hand, it enables Msg2 / Msg4 / MsgB to be transmitted using beamforming, thereby improving the coverage performance of Msg2 / Msg4 / MsgB. On the other hand, it enables Msg2 / Msg4 / MsgB to be sent only on the SSB beam associated with the PRACH resource, without the need to scan and send on all SSB beams like SIB or paging, thereby reducing resource overhead and improving system efficiency.

[0121] Currently, for terminals in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state, how to improve signal coverage performance is a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently.

[0122] To address the above technical issues, the present application provides a communication method. This communication method can be implemented by a first communication device and a second communication device. Optionally, the first communication device can serve as a terminal device, and the second communication device can serve as a network device. The first communication device can be a terminal device, or a component such as a module or chip within the terminal device. The second communication device can be a network device, or a component such as a module or chip within the network device, such as a RAN or other access network device.

[0123] The following combination Figure 3 The process shown introduces this method. Figure 3 In the description, a terminal device is used as the first communication device, and a network device is used as the second communication device. The terminal device hereinafter may be replaced by a terminal, a terminal device, a UE, a first communication device, etc., and the network device may be replaced by a base station, an access network device, a second communication device, etc., without specific limitation.

[0124] S101: A network device sends M SSBs and N CSI-RSs.

[0125] Wherein, M and N are both positive integers greater than or equal to 1, and N is greater than or equal to M. For example, M is a value such as 8, 16, or 32, and is not specifically limited.

[0126] In this application, there is a corresponding relationship between M SSBs and N CSI-RSs. The fact that there is a corresponding relationship between M SSBs and N CSI-RSs can be manifested as follows: Any one of the M SSBs is quasi co-located with Q CSI-RSs among the N CSI-RSs, where Q is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. Additionally, any one of the N CSI-RSs is quasi co-located with one of the M SSBs. The advantage of quasi co-location is that when a terminal device receives a certain CSI-RS, it can receive the CSI-RS according to the SSB that is quasi co-located with the CSI-RS, which can improve the reception performance of the CSI-RS and at the same time reduce the processing complexity of the terminal device.

[0127] In this application, the "corresponding relationship" can also be described as an "associated relationship", "corresponding" can also be described as "associated", and "corresponding" can also be described as "associated".

[0128] In this application, quasi co-location means that the large-scale parameters of the channel experienced on one symbol of one antenna port can be inferred from the channel experienced on one symbol of another antenna port. That is, it can be considered that these two antenna ports are quasi co-located, or it can be said that the signals transmitted by these two antenna ports are quasi co-located.

[0129] As an example, as Figure 4 shown, each of the M SSBs can be quasi co-located with (N / M) CSI-RSs, that is, Q = N / M. Among them, Q is greater than 1. Figure 4 Taking Q = 4 as an example in

[0130] In a possible embodiment, the value of Q can be predefined or preconfigured.

[0131] In this application, predefined can refer to being predefined through configuration information such as factory configuration, or being defined through relevant protocols such as 3GPP. In addition, in this application, preconfigured can refer to being configured by a base station through prior messages or signaling. For example, after the base station determines the configuration information, it configures the relevant configuration information for the terminal device through messages or information such as RRC messages, MAC control elements (CEs), or downlink control information (DCI).

[0132] In a possible embodiment, TDM multiplexing transmission, or FDM multiplexing transmission, or TDM and FDM multiplexing transmission can be adopted between any SSB and one or more associated CSI-RSs.

[0133] In S101, the network device transmits M SSBs and N CSI-RSs, which can be alternatively described as: the network device outputs M SSBs and N CSI-RSs. For example, "output" can mean that the network device sends M SSBs and N CSI-RSs to the terminal device. Another example is that "output" can also mean that the baseband unit in the network device outputs M SSBs and N CSI-RSs to the radio frequency unit. Another example is that "output" can also mean that the radio frequency unit in the network device sends M SSBs and N CSI-RSs to the terminal device through the air interface.

[0134] S102: The terminal device receives the first SSB and the first CSI-RS in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state.

[0135] For a terminal in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state, during the initial access process, the terminal device can detect the SSB for cell search, obtain the PCI, and perform time-frequency synchronization with the cell. Among them, the terminal device does not have to receive all N SSBs, but can receive one or more of them according to the implementation. That is, the first SSB can be a part of the M SSBs, such as the first SSB is one SSB. The terminal device can also detect the CSI-RS to obtain more refined beam information. Among them, the terminal device can receive one or more CSIs of the N CSI-RSs according to the implementation. That is, the first CSI-RS can be a part of the N CSI-RSs, such as the first CSI-RS is one CSI-RS.

[0136] Extendedly, for a non-initial access process, the terminal device can also receive the SSB and / or CSI-RS for time-frequency synchronization, or for various measurement processes such as channel state measurement and radio resource management measurement, or for the source of the quasi-co-location relationship of other channel or signal transmissions.

[0137] S103: The network device transmits the first PDCCH. The first PDCCH can be used to schedule the first PDSCH. The first PDSCH can be used to carry one of the SIB, paging message, random access message 2, random access message B, or random access message 4, or the first PDSCH can also carry other downlink information transmitted to the terminal device in the RRC idle state or the inactive state.

[0138] Correspondingly, the terminal device can receive the first PDCCH according to the first CSI-RS in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state.

[0139] Extendedly, the terminal device can also receive the first PDCCH according to the first SSB in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state, or receive the first PDCCH according to the first SSB and the first CSI-RS.

[0140] In S103, the network device transmits the first PDCCH, which can be alternatively described as: the network device outputs the first PDCCH. For example, "output" can mean that the network device sends the first PDCCH to the terminal device. Another example is that "output" can also mean that the baseband unit in the network device outputs the first PDCCH to the radio frequency unit. Another example is that "output" can also mean that the radio frequency unit in the network device sends the first PDCCH to the terminal device through the air interface.

[0141] S104: The network device transmits the first PDSCH.

[0142] Correspondingly, the terminal device can receive the first PDSCH according to the first SSB or the first CSI-RS in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state.

[0143] In S104, the network device transmits the first PDSCH, which can be alternatively described as: the network device outputs the first PDSCH. For example, "output" can mean that the network device sends the first PDSCH to the terminal device. Another example is that "output" can also mean that the baseband unit in the network device outputs the first PDSCH to the radio frequency unit. Another example is that "output" can also mean that the radio frequency unit in the network device sends the first PDSCH to the terminal device through the air interface.

[0144] Based on Figure 3 In the method shown above, the terminal device can receive the first PDCCH based on the first SSB in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state, or receive the first physical downlink shared channel based on the first SSB or the first CSI-RS. Here, the first SSB is one of the M SSBs, and the first CSI-RS is one of the N CSI-RSs. There is a corresponding relationship between the M SSBs and the N CSI-RSs. The corresponding relationship is, for example, a quasi-co-location relationship. Therefore, downlink transmission can be performed based on the CSI-RS and the SSB, which can improve the channel coverage performance of the terminal device during the initial access process. In addition, this method can enhance the channel coverage without increasing the number of SSBs or increasing the number of SSBs less, that is, it can reduce the resource overhead of the channel as much as possible while improving the coverage of each channel during the initial access process.

[0145] Next, the implementation manner of the M SSBs in S101 and S102 will be described.

[0146] In this application, the M SSBs can have different identifiers (IDs), indexes, or numbers. Among them, the M SSBs can be sent in a TDM manner or in a FDM manner. Or, a part of the M SSBs can be sent in a TDM manner, and another part of the M SSBs can be sent in a FDM manner.

[0147] Optionally, each SSB may include a PSS, an SSS, and a MIB.

[0148] The implementation manners of the N CSI-RSs in S101 and S102 are described below.

[0149] In a possible embodiment, the N CSI-RSs have different IDs, and each identifier corresponds to a CSI-RS port (or simply referred to as a port). At this time, any one of the N CSI-RSs has only one port, or rather, any one of the CSI-RSs is a single-port CSI-RS.

[0150] In another possible embodiment, the N CSI-RSs have less than N different IDs. For example, one or more CSI-RSs associated with the same SSB share the same ID. In this embodiment, the CSI-RSs sharing the same ID may support one or more ports. Taking the example that each SSB is associated with Q>1 CSI-RSs, the N CSI-RSs can be considered as (N / Q) multi-port CSI-RSs, where any one of the (N / Q) multi-port CSI-RSs supports Q ports.

[0151] In an implementation manner of the present application, the time-domain positions of the N CSI-RSs may be predefined or preconfigured. One implementation manner is that the N CSI-RSs are defined within a period of time. At this time, the time-domain positions of the N CSI-RSs can be considered as the relative time-domain positions within the period of time. Among them, the length of this period of time can be the same as the length of the existing SS burst set, which is 5 ms, or it can be 10 ms, 20 ms, or other lengths.

[0152] The N CSI-RSs defined within the above-mentioned period of time can be referred to as a CSI-RS burst set. Optionally, referring to the SSB burst set, the CSI-RS burst set can be transmitted periodically, and its period can be 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, 160 ms, 320 ms, etc., without specific limitation.

[0153] In another implementation manner of the present application, the time-domain positions of the N CSI-RSs can be indicated by M SSBs. For example, any one of the M SSBs can be used to indicate the configuration information of one or more of the N CSI-RSs, and the configuration information of any one of the CSI-RSs may include at least one of the following configuration information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, power control information.

[0154] Specifically, any SSB can be used to indicate the configuration information of one or more CSI-RSs associated with the SSB. Among them, the configuration information of the CSI-RS can be carried in one or more of the PSS, SSS, or PBCH. For example, the SSB can be used to indicate the configuration information of Q CSI-RSs associated with the SSB. Or, the SSB can be used to indicate the configuration information of all CSI-RSs. As an example, when the configurations of the CSI-RSs corresponding to any two SSBs among the M SSBs are the same, the configuration information of all CSI-RSs can be indicated by one SSB.

[0155] The implementation manner of S103 will be introduced below.

[0156] As an example, in S103, the network device can send N PDCCHs, and the first PDCCH can be one of the N PDCCHs. Among them, there may be a corresponding relationship between the N PDCCHs and the N CSI-RSs. For example, the N PDCCHs and the N CSI-RSs are quasi-co-located, or the DMRSs of the N PDCCHs and the N CSI-RSs are quasi-co-located. It can also be understood that there is a corresponding relationship between the first PDCCH among the N PDCCHs and the first CSI-RS among the N CSI-RSs, for example, the N PDCCHs and the N CSI-RSs are in one-to-one correspondence. For example, the first PDCCH and its corresponding first CSI-RS are quasi-co-located, or the DMRS of the first PDCCH and the first CSI-RS corresponding to the first PDCCH are quasi-co-located.

[0157] In this example, the N PDCCHs can be sent according to the N CSI-RSs. For example, the network device can send one of the N PDCCHs according to one of the N CSI-RSs at different times.

[0158] In this application, transmitting the PDCCH according to the CSI-RS may mean that the network device uses the CSI-RS beam to send the PDCCH corresponding to the CSI-RS, or in other words, the network device uses the same spatial filter as the one used to send the CSI-RS to send the PDCCH corresponding to the CSI-RS to ensure that the PDCCH and the corresponding CSI-RS are quasi-co-located.

[0159] Exemplarily, this example can be applied to the transmission of system information or paging messages. For example, the first PDCCH can be used to schedule the SIB or paging message, that is, the first PDSCH can carry the SIB or paging message.

[0160] As another example, in S103, the network device may send a first PDCCH, and there may be a corresponding relationship between the first PDCCH and the first CSI-RS. For example, the first PDCCH and the first CSI-RS are quasi co-located, or the DMRS of the first PDCCH and the first CSI-RS are quasi co-located.

[0161] In this example, the network device may send the first PDCCH only according to the first CSI-RS for scheduling the first PDSCH.

[0162] Exemplarily, this example may be applicable to the random access process. For example, the first PDCCH may be used to schedule one of the random access message 2, the random access message B, or the random access message 4, that is, the first PDSCH may carry one of the random access message 2, the random access message B, or the random access message 4.

[0163] The implementation manner of S104 is introduced below.

[0164] As an example, in S104, the network device may send M PDSCHs, and the first PDSCH may be one of the M PDSCHs. Among them, there may be a corresponding relationship between the M PDSCHs and the M SSBs. For example, the M PDSCHs and the M SSBs are quasi co-located, or the DMRS of the M PDSCHs and the M SSBs are quasi co-located. It can also be said that there is a corresponding relationship between the first PDSCH and the first SSB, for example, the M PDSCHs and the M SSBs are in one-to-one correspondence. For example, the first PDSCH and its corresponding first SSB are quasi co-located, or the DMRS of the first PDSCH and the first SSB corresponding to the first PDSCH are quasi co-located.

[0165] Correspondingly, the terminal device may receive the first PDSCH according to the first SSB in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state.

[0166] In this example, the M PDSCHs may be sent according to the M SSBs. For example, the network device may send one of the M PDSCHs according to one of the M SSBs at different times.

[0167] In this application, transmitting the PDSCH according to the SSB may mean that the network device uses the SSB beam to send the PDSCH corresponding to the SSB, or in other words, the network device uses the same antenna as the one for sending the SSB to send the PDSCH corresponding to the SSB to ensure that the PDSCH and the corresponding SSB are quasi co-located.

[0168] Exemplarily, this example may be applicable to the transmission of system information or paging messages. For example, the first PDSCH may carry the SIB or the paging message.

[0169] As another example, in S104, the network device may transmit N PDSCHs, and the first PDSCH may be one of the N PDSCHs. Among them, there may be a corresponding relationship between the N PDCCHs and the N CSI-RSs. For example, the N PDSCHs and the N CSI-RSs are quasi co-located, or the DMRSs of the N PDCCHs and the N CSI-RSs are quasi co-located. It can also be said that there is a corresponding relationship between the first PDSCH and the first CSI-RS. For example, the N PDSCHs and the N CSI-RSs correspond one by one. Among them, the first PDSCH and its corresponding first CSI-RS are quasi co-located, or the DMRS of the first PDSCH and the first CSI-RS corresponding to the first PDSCH are quasi co-located.

[0170] In this example, the N PDSCHs may be transmitted according to the N CSI-RSs. For example, the network device may transmit one of the N PDSCHs according to one of the N CSI-RSs at different times.

[0171] In this application, transmitting the PDSCH according to the CSI-RS may mean that the network device uses the CSI-RS beam to transmit the PDSCH corresponding to the CSI-RS, or in other words, the network device uses the same antenna as the one transmitting the CSI-RS to transmit the PDCCH corresponding to the CSI-RS to ensure that the PDCCH and the corresponding CSI-RS are quasi co-located.

[0172] Exemplarily, this example may be applicable to the transmission of system information or paging messages. For example, the first PDSCH may carry the SIB or the paging message.

[0173] As another example, in S103, the network device may transmit the first PDSCH, and there may be a corresponding relationship between the first PDSCH and the first CSI-RS. For example, the first PDSCH and the first CSI-RS are quasi co-located, or the DMRS of the first PDSCH and the first CSI-RS are quasi co-located.

[0174] In this example, the network device may transmit the first PDSCH only according to the first CSI-RS.

[0175] Exemplarily, this example may be applicable to the random access process. For example, the first PDSCH may carry one of the random access message 2, the random access message B, or the random access message 4.

[0176] Next, in combination with Figure 5 , an exemplary transmission method when the first PDSCH carries SIB1 will be introduced. Among them, Figure 5 Taking any SSB corresponding to Q = 4 CSI-RSs as an example for introduction, the case where Q takes other values can be referred to Figure 5 for implementation.

[0177] As shown in Figure 5 , the PDCCH scheduling SIB1 (denoted as SIB1 PDCCH in Figure 5 ) is transmitted according to N CSI-RS beams, and the PDSCH carrying SIB1 (denoted as SIB1 PDSCH in Figure 5 ) is transmitted according to M SSB beams. That is to say, the network device can send N SIB1 PDCCHs and send M SIB1 PDSCHs. Figure 5 The SIB1 PDSCH shown in Figure 5 is one of the M SIB1 PDSCHs, and this SIB1 PDSCH corresponds to the first SSB, and the first SSB is one of the M SSBs. In addition,

[0178] It can be understood that in the Figure 5 transmission mode, for the same SSB, the Q SIB1 PDCCHs corresponding to it are quasi-co-located with the Q CSI-RSs associated with the SSB to which it is associated, and the SIB1 PDSCH is quasi-co-located with the associated SSB.

[0179] In this example, each of the M SSBs is associated with Q = 4 SIB1 PDCCHs and 1 SIB1 PDSCH, and the Q SIB1 PDCCHs can all be used to schedule this SIB1 PDCCH. For a certain SSB, the Q SIB1 PDCCHs corresponding to it jointly schedule the same SIB1 PDSCH, which means that the scheduling information carried by the Q SIB1 PDCCHs is the same. Therefore, it can be considered that the Q SIB1 PDCCHs are repeated transmissions.

[0180] For a terminal device, it can receive one or more of the above N SIB1 PDCCHs and one or more of the above M SIB1 PDSCHs. For example, the terminal device receives one SIB1 PDCCH out of the N SIB1 PDCCHs and one SIB1 PDSCH out of the M SIB1 PDSCHs. This SIB1 PDCCH is the first PDCCH, and this SIB1 PDSCH is the first PDSCH. Among them, when the terminal device receives the SIB1 PDCCH, it can receive the SIB1 PDCCH in the way of receiving the associated CSI-RS (such as the first CSI-RS), and / or when the terminal device receives the SIB1 PDSCH, it can receive the SIB1 PDSCH in the way of receiving the associated SSB (such as the first SSB) to reduce the receiving complexity of the terminal device.

[0181] In this example, the SIB1 PDSCH is not transmitted using the CSI-RS beam. This is mainly because the SIB1 message is transmitted repeatedly every 20 ms. The terminal device can improve the demodulation performance of the SSB by receiving the repeatedly transmitted SIB1 multiple times, reducing the resource overhead of SIB1. The price is that the time for the terminal to receive SIB1 may become longer.

[0182] Optionally, other SIBs or paging messages other than SIB1 can refer to Figure 5 the scheme shown for transmission. That is, for other SIBs or paging messages other than SIB1, the PDCCH can be transmitted based on N CSI-RSs, and the PDSCH can be transmitted based on M SSBs. For example, Figure 5 the SIB1 PDCCH in Figure 5 can be replaced with the PDCCH of other SIBs, and the SIB1 PDSCH can be replaced with the PDSCH of other SIBs; or,

[0183] Below, in combination with Figure 6 , another exemplary transmission method when the first PDSCH carries SIB1 will be introduced. Among them, Figure 6 taking any SSB corresponding to Q = 4 CSI-RSs as an example for introduction, the situation where Q takes other values can be referred to Figure 6 for implementation.

[0184] Specifically, the PDCCH scheduling SIB1 ( Figure 6 denoted as SIB1 PDCCH in Figure 6It is transmitted according to N CSI-RS beams in (denoted as SIB1 PDSCH in Chinese). That is to say, the network device can send N SIB1 PDCCHs and send N SIB1 PDSCHs. Figure 6 The SIB1 PDSCH shown is Q of the M SIB1 PDSCHs. These Q SIB1 PDSCHs correspond to Q CSI-RSs, and these Q CSI-RSs correspond to the first SSB. The first SSB is one of the M SSBs. Additionally, Figure 6 The SIB1 PDCCH shown is Q SIB1 PDCCHs of the N SIB1 PDCCHs. These Q SIB1 PDCCHs are respectively transmitted according to the Q CSI-RSs corresponding to the first SSB.

[0185] Figure 6 The transmission method shown and Figure 5 The difference between the shown transmission methods is that Figure 6 in, both the SIB1 PDCCH and the SIB1 PDSCH are transmitted according to N CSI-RSs. While in Figure 5 in, the SIB1 PDCCH is transmitted according to N CSI-RSs, and the SIB1 PDSCH is transmitted according to M SSBs.

[0186] In Figure 6 's transmission method, for any one of the N CSI-RSs, a pair of SIB1 PDCCH and SIB1 PDSCH can be associated. The SIB1 PDCCH in any pair schedules the SIB1 PDSCH in that pair. Any pair of SIB1 PDCCH and SIB1 PDSCH can be quasi-co-located with the associated CSI-RS.

[0187] Or rather, for any one of the M SSBs, Q pairs of SIB1 PDCCH and SIB1 PDSCH can be associated. The SIB1 PDCCH in any pair schedules the SIB1 PDSCH in that pair. Among the Q pairs of SIB1 PDCCH and SIB1 PDSCH associated with any SSB, the SIB1 PDCCH and the SIB1 PDSCH are respectively quasi-co-located with the M CSI-RSs associated with the associated SSB.

[0188] For a terminal device, it can receive one or more of the above N SIB1 PDCCHs, and receive one or more of the above N SIB1 PDSCHs. Moreover, when receiving SIB1 PDCCH / PDSCH, the terminal device can receive SIB1 PDCCH / PDSCH in the manner of receiving the associated CSI-RS. Among them, when receiving SIB1 PDCCH, the terminal device can receive SIB1 PDCCH in the manner of receiving the associated CSI-RS (such as the first CSI-RS), and / or when receiving SIB1 PDSCH, the terminal device can receive SIB1 PDSCH in the manner of receiving the associated CSI-RS (such as the first CSI-RS), so as to reduce the receiving complexity of the terminal device.

[0189] Figure 6 The advantage of the shown transmission mode is that both SIB1 PDCCH and SIB1 PDSCH are transmitted using CSI-RS beams, which improves the coverage performance of SIB1. In addition, compared with Figure 5 the shown transmission mode, the time for the terminal device to receive SIB1 may be shorter.

[0190] Optionally, other SIBS or paging messages other than SIB1 can be transmitted according to the Figure 6 shown scheme. That is, for other SIBS or paging messages other than SIB1, the PDCCH can be transmitted based on N CSI-RSs, and the PDSCH can be transmitted based on N CSI-RSs. For example, Figure 6 the SIB1 PDCCH in Figure 6 can be replaced by the PDCCH of other SIBs, and the SIB1 PDSCH can be replaced by the PDSCH of other SIBs; or,

[0191] Considering that the repetition period of other SIBS other than SIB1 is generally relatively large, such as 80 ms, 160 ms, 320 ms, 640 ms or 1280 ms, etc., so adopting Figure 5 the shown example may result in a relatively long time interval for the terminal device to receive other SIBS. Therefore, for other SIBS, compared with adopting Figure 5 the shown method, the implementation method shown in Figure 6 can be preferentially adopted.

[0192] In addition, for paging messages, considering that paging messages do not have periodic repeated transmissions, in order to improve the coverage performance of the PDSCH of paging messages, compared with adopting Figure 5The method shown can be preferentially adopted Figure 6 the embodiment shown. If the paging message also supports periodic retransmission, the PDCCH and PDSCH of the paging message can also be transmitted by referring to Figure 5 the transmission method shown.

[0193] Next, in conjunction with Figure 7 , an exemplary transmission method when the first PDSCH carries a random access message will be introduced. Among them, the random access message includes random access message 2, random access message B, or random access message 4. For the random access message, both the PDCCH and PDSCH can be associated with the CSI-RS.

[0194] As Figure 7 shown, the PDCCH of the random access message can be used to schedule the PDSCH, and the PDSCH can be used to carry the random access message. Among them, both the PDCCH and PDSCH are associated with one CSI-RS (such as the first CSI-RS, Figure 7 shown in black) among the N CSI-RSs, and this CSI-RS is associated with the PRACH resource. The PRACH can be the resource used by the terminal device to send the preamble.

[0195] For the terminal device, after receiving one or more CSI-RSs sent by the network device, it can select one CSI-RS (such as the first CSI-RS), and then use the PRACH resource associated with the selected CSI-RS to send the preamble. Among them, this application does not limit the manner in which the terminal device selects the CSI-RS for sending the preamble. Thereafter, when the terminal device receives the random access message, it can assume that the PDCCH and PDSCH of the random access message are quasi-co-located with the selected CSI-RS, that is, it is assumed that the PDCCH and PDSCH of the random access message are quasi-co-located with the CSI-RS associated with the PRACH resource used by the terminal device to send the preamble.

[0196] For the network device, when sending the random access message, it can send the PDCCH and PDSCH of the random access message in the manner of the CSI-RS associated with the PRACH resource used by the terminal device to send the preamble. For example, the network device can only send the PDCCH and PDSCH corresponding to the first CSI-RS, and does not need to send the PDCCH and PDSCH corresponding to all N CSI-RSs, which can reduce the transmission overhead.

[0197] The above random access messages can be any one or more of random access message 2, random access message B, or random access message 4. Among them, in the same four-step random access procedure, random access message 2 and random access message 4 can be associated with the same CSI-RS.

[0198] In this application, among N CSI-RSs, one or more of the TDM, FDM, or CDM methods can be used for multiplexing transmission.

[0199] In a possible embodiment, TDM is used for multiplexing between CSI-RSs associated with different SSBs, and for Q CSI-RSs associated with any one of the M SSBs, or between Q ports of one CSI associated with one SSB, FDM and / or CDM is used.

[0200] Exemplarily, taking Q = 4 as an example, several possible time-frequency structures of Q CSI-RSs associated with the same SSB are as Figure 8 shown. Figure 8 In, each grid represents a resource block (RB), the abscissa represents time, and the ordinate represents frequency.

[0201] For example Figure 8 as shown by the number a in, port 0 and port 1 are multiplexed and transmitted using the CDM method, port 2 and port 3 are multiplexed and transmitted using the CDM method. Additionally, between port 0 and port 1 and between port 2 and port 3, FDM is used for multiplexing transmission.

[0202] Another example Figure 8 as shown by the number b in, port 0 and port 1 are multiplexed and transmitted using the CDM method, port 2 and port 3 are multiplexed and transmitted using the CDM method. Additionally, between port 0 and port 1 and between port 2 and port 3, TDM is used for multiplexing transmission.

[0203] Another example Figure 8 as shown by the number c in, ports 0 to 3 are multiplexed and transmitted using the CDM method.

[0204] Another example Figure 8 as shown by the number d in, ports 0 to 3 are multiplexed and transmitted using the FDM method.

[0205] In addition, different orthogonal cover code (OCC) lengths can also be used among N CSI-RSs.

[0206] It can be understood that when Q = 8, several possible time-frequency structures of Q CSI-RSs associated with the same SSB are as Figure 9 shown.

[0207] For example Figure 8As shown by reference numeral a, ports 0 and 1 are multiplexed and transmitted using the CDM method, ports 2 and 3 are multiplexed and transmitted using the CDM method, ports 4 and 5 are multiplexed and transmitted using the CDM method, and ports 6 and 7 are multiplexed and transmitted using the CDM method. Additionally, ports 0 and 1, ports 2 and 3, ports 4 and 5, and ports 6 and 7 are multiplexed and transmitted using the FDM method.

[0208] For another example Figure 8 As shown by reference numeral b, ports 0 and 1 are multiplexed and transmitted using the CDM method, ports 2 and 3 are multiplexed and transmitted using the CDM method, ports 4 and 5 are multiplexed and transmitted using the CDM method, and ports 6 and 7 are multiplexed and transmitted using the CDM method. Additionally, ports 0 and 1 and ports 4 and 5 are multiplexed and transmitted using the TDM method, and ports 2 and 3 and ports 6 and 7 are multiplexed and transmitted using the TDM method.

[0209] For another example Figure 8 As shown by reference numeral c, ports 0 to 3 are multiplexed and transmitted using the CDM method, and ports 4 to 7 are multiplexed and transmitted using the CDM method. Ports 0 to 3 and ports 4 to 7 are multiplexed and transmitted using the FDM method.

[0210] In a possible implementation, the multiplexing method between Q CSI-RSs associated with any one of the M SSBs, or between Q ports of a CSI associated with one SSB, can be predefined or indicated by the base station. For example, the base station can indicate the multiplexing method of the CSI-RS through the SSB. For a specific example, the multiplexing method can be indicated by the spare bit in the MIB. Alternatively, the multiplexing method can be indicated by one or both of the 8 timing bits added to the PBCH payload. and / or bits for indicating the multiplexing method. Among them, represents the set of bit information carried in the PBCH, and respectively represent two bits in the above-mentioned set of information. For example, represents the th bit in the above-mentioned set of bits, represents the th bit in the above-mentioned set of bits. For example, when the two bits take the value "00", it represents that the multiplexing method is TDM; for another example, when the two bits take the value "01", it represents that the multiplexing method is FDM; for another example, when the two bits take the value "10", it represents that the multiplexing method is CDM.

[0211] Optionally, the multiplexing mode of CSI-RS can also be determined or indicated by the time-frequency resources of CSI-RS, that is, the time-frequency resources of different CSI-RS can represent the multiplexing mode. At this time, the multiplexing mode of CSI-RS can be indicated by the indication information of the time-frequency resources of CSI-RS, so there is no need for a separate information or bit to indicate the multiplexing mode.

[0212] In various embodiments of the present application, the bandwidth of CSI-RS can be greater than or equal to the bandwidth of the SSB associated with the CSI-RS.

[0213] For example, the bandwidth of CSI-RS is the same as the bandwidth of the SSB associated with the CSI-RS. As Figure 10 shown in number a, both the bandwidth of CSI-RS and the bandwidth of the SSB associated with the CSI-RS occupy 20 physical resource blocks (PRBs) or 2 RBs.

[0214] Another example is that the bandwidth of CSI-RS can occupy part or all of the bandwidth of the initial downlink bandwidth part (BWP). The initial downlink BWP can be defined by the frequency-domain resources of CORESET0 configured in the MIB, and the definition method is not limited in this application. At this time, the bandwidth of CSI-RS can be greater than the bandwidth of the SSB associated with the CSI-RS. For example Figure 10 shown in number b, the bandwidth of CSI-RS can occupy all the bandwidth of the initial downlink BWP. When the bandwidth of CSI-RS is greater than the bandwidth of the SSB associated with the CSI-RS, it is possible to support the terminal device to perform CSI measurement and reporting based on the CSI-RS in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state. The implementation method of this CSI reporting is, for example:

[0215] Method 1: Perform CSI reporting through the random access process. For example, for the random access process, the terminal device can report the CSI measurement result through the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) used to carry random access message 3 and random access message A, or through the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) of random access message 4 or the PUCCH of random access message B. Among them, the PUCCH of random access message 4 can be used for hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback of random access message 4, and the PUCCH of random access message B can be used for HARQ-ACK feedback of random access message B.

[0216] In this embodiment, the performance of the random access process and subsequent channel or signal transmission can be improved.

[0217] Embodiment 2: CSI reporting is performed through the small data transmission (SDT) process. For example, when the terminal device supports SDT, the terminal device can report CSI measurement results through PUCCH or PUSCH. Here, SDT can include RA-based SDT or non-RA-based SDT, which is not specifically limited. In this embodiment, the performance of SDT transmission can be improved.

[0218] In a possible embodiment, in each embodiment of the present application, processes such as cell selection / reselection and RRM measurement in the idle state are still based on SSB. The CSI-RS in the present application is only used for the transmission of SIB and other common channels / signals. The CSI-RS in the present application can also be replaced by other reference signals. For example, a reference signal with the CSI-RS function in the present application can have other names.

[0219] In a possible embodiment, in each embodiment of the present application, the SSB associated with CSI-RS may refer to the cell-defined SSB (CD-SSB). That is, the non-cell-defined SSB (NCD-SSB) may not be associated with CSI-RS. Here, the CD-SSB can be considered as the SSB associated with SIB1, and the NCD-SSB can be considered as the SSB not associated with SIB1. Since the CD-SSB is associated with SIB1, it can be used for the terminal device to obtain SIB1 and can be used for processes such as the initial access of the terminal device, while the NCD-SSB can only be used for measurement and cannot be used for processes such as the initial access of the terminal device.

[0220] It can be understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the communication device provided in the present application may include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to each function of the first communication device and / or the second communication device. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, combining the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0221] Figure 11 and Figure 12Schematic diagram of a possible communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the first communication device and / or the second communication device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments. Among them, the first communication device and / or the second communication device can be used as a terminal or a network device respectively. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be a terminal or a network device as shown in Figure 1 and can also be a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal or a network device.

[0222] As shown in Figure 11 , the communication device 1100 includes a processing unit 1110 and a transceiver unit (or interface unit) 1120. The communication device 1100 is used to implement the functions of the terminal or the network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3 above.

[0223] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3 : The transceiver unit 1120 can be used to send M SSBs and N CSI-RSs. The processing unit 1110 can be used to generate M SSBs and N CSI-RSs. The transceiver unit 1120 can also be used to send the first PDCCH and the first PDSCH.

[0224] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3 : The transceiver unit 1120 can be used to receive the first SSB and the first CSI-RS in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state. The transceiver unit 1120 can also be used to receive the first PDCCH according to the first CSI-RS in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state, and receive the first PDSCH according to the first SSB or the first CSI-RS in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state.

[0225] For a more detailed description of the actions involved by the above processing unit 1110 and transceiver unit 1120, reference can be made to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3 above.

[0226] As shown in Figure 12 , the communication device 1200 includes one or more processors 1210 and an interface circuit 1220. The processor 1210 and the interface circuit 1220 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1220 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1200 can also include a memory 1230 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1210 or storing input data required for the processor 1210 to run instructions or storing data generated after the processor 1210 runs instructions.

[0227] When the communication device 1200 is used to implement Figure 3 the method shown, the processor 1210 is used to implement the functions of the above processing unit 1110, and the interface circuit 1220 is used to implement the functions of the above transceiver unit 1120.

[0228] When the above communication device is a module or chip applied to a terminal device, the module or chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The module or chip receives information through other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information can be transmitted to the module or chip by other modules after receiving through the air interface; or, the module or chip sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) for other modules to send the information through the air interface.

[0229] When the above communication device is a module or chip applied to a network device (such as a base station), the communication device implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. The module or chip can be used to receive information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is received by other modules through the air interface; or, the module or chip sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) for other modules to send the information through the air interface. Here, the module or chip can be a baseband chip, or a CU, DU or other modules, or a device under the O-RAN architecture, such as an open CU, an open DU, etc.

[0230] It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0231] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a removable hard disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium well-known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. Additionally, the ASIC can be located in a base station or an O-RAN. The processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in a base station or an O-RAN.

[0232] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, which can also be referred to as computer programs, computer program codes, etc. The instructions run on a computer, causing the computer to execute the Figure 3 methods shown in the above method embodiments and in various embodiments of the present application.

[0233] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product including a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions run on a computer, Figure 3 the methods shown in various embodiments of the present application are implemented.

[0234] The embodiments of the present application further provide a chip or a chip system including circuits (such as analog circuits and / or logic circuits; or understood as, the chip system includes one or more processors, and one or more processors may include circuits, etc.), or understood as, the chip includes a processor. The circuits or the processor are coupled to a memory for executing computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, so that Figure 3 the methods shown in various embodiments of the present application are implemented. The chip or the chip system may further include an input / output interface. For example, taking the chip implementing the functions of an access network device as an example, the chip can receive information from other modules (such as radio frequency or antenna, etc.) of the access network device through the input / output interface, and the information can be sent by a terminal to the access network device. Or, the chip can send information to other modules (such as radio frequency or antenna, etc.) in the access network device through the input / output interface, and the information is sent by the access network device to the terminal, etc.

[0235] The embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system including a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device and the second communication device can be respectively used to implement the functions of a terminal and a network device in the present application.

[0236] 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 the form of a computer program product in whole or in part. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are executed in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable devices. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired or wireless manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile types of storage media.

[0237] In various embodiments of the present application, if there is no special explanation and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

[0238] In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" 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 mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of the present application, the character " / " generally means that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of the present application, the character " / " means that the associated objects before and after are in a "division" relationship. "Including at least one of A, B, and C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B, and C.

[0239] It can be understood that the various numerical numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of description and do not limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The magnitude of the sequence numbers of the above processes does not mean the order of execution, and the order of execution of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Receiving a first synchronization signal broadcast block SSB and a first channel state information reference signal CSI-RS in a radio resource control RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state, where the first SSB is one of M SSBs, the first CSI-RS is one of N CSI-RSs, and the M SSBs correspond to the N CSI-RSs, where M and N are both positive integers greater than or equal to 1, and N is greater than or equal to M; receiving a first physical downlink control channel according to the first CSI-RS in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state; or, A first physical downlink shared channel is received according to the first SSB or the first CSI-RS in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state, wherein the first physical downlink control channel is used to schedule the first physical downlink shared channel.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The receiving a first physical downlink control channel according to the first SSB or the first CSI-RS includes: The first physical downlink control channel is received according to the first CSI-RS, where the first physical downlink control channel is one of N physical downlink control channels, and the N physical downlink control channels correspond to the N CSI-RSs.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The N physical downlink control channels and the N CSI-RSs have a corresponding relationship, including: The N physical downlink control channels are quasi-co-located with the N CSI-RSs; or, The demodulation reference signals DMRS of the N physical downlink control channels are quasi-co-located with the N CSI-RSs.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The receiving a first physical downlink shared channel according to the first SSB or the first CSI-RS includes: The first physical downlink shared channel is received according to the first SSB, where the first physical downlink shared channel is one of M physical downlink shared channels, and there is a correspondence between the M physical downlink shared channels and the M SSBs.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The M physical downlink shared channels and the M SSBs have a corresponding relationship, including: The M physical downlink shared channels are quasi-co-located with the M SSBs; or, The DMRSs of the M physical downlink shared channels are quasi-co-located with the M SSBs.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The receiving a first physical downlink shared channel according to the first SSB or the first CSI-RS includes: The first physical downlink shared channel is received according to the first CSI-RS, where the first physical downlink shared channel is one of N physical downlink shared channels, and the N physical downlink shared channels correspond to the N CSI-RSs.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein The N physical downlink shared channels and the N CSI-RSs have a corresponding relationship, including: The N physical downlink shared channels are quasi-co-located with the N CSI-RSs; or, The demodulation reference signals DMRS of the N physical downlink shared channels are quasi-co-located with the N CSI-RSs.

8. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein Each of the N physical downlink shared channels carries a system information block SIB; or, Each of the M physical downlink shared channels carries an SIB; or, Each of the N physical downlink shared channels carries a paging message; or, Each of the M physical downlink shared channels carries a paging message.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein The receiving a first physical downlink control channel according to the first SSB or the first CSI-RS includes: The first physical downlink control channel is received according to the first CSI-RS, and there is a corresponding relationship between the first physical downlink control channel and the first CSI-RS.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein The first physical downlink control channel and the first CSI-RS have a corresponding relationship, including: The first physical downlink control channel is quasi-co-located with the first CSI-RS; or, The demodulation reference signal DMRS of the first physical downlink control channel is quasi co-located with the first CSI-RS.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1, 9 or 10, wherein: The receiving a first physical downlink shared channel according to the first SSB or the first CSI-RS includes: The first physical downlink shared channel is received according to the first CSI-RS, and the first physical downlink shared channel corresponds to the first CSI-RS.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The first physical downlink shared channel and the first CSI-RS have a corresponding relationship, including: The first physical downlink shared channel is quasi-co-located with the first CSI-RS; or, The demodulation reference signal DMRS of the first physical downlink shared channel is quasi co-located with the first CSI-RS.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1, 9, 10, 11 or 12, wherein: The first physical downlink shared channel carries random access message 2 or random access message B or random access message 4.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1, 9, 10, 11, 12 or 13, wherein: The method further comprises: A random access preamble is sent using a first physical random access channel PRACH resource, where the first PRACH resource corresponds to the first CSI-RS.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein The M SSBs and the N CSI-RSs have a corresponding relationship, including: Any SSB among the M SSBs is quasi-co-located with Q CSI-RSs among the N CSI-RSs, where Q is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein: Any SSB among the M SSBs is used to indicate configuration information of one or more CSI-RSs among the N CSI-RSs, and the configuration information includes at least one of the following configuration information: time domain resource information, frequency domain resource information, code domain resource information, and power control information.

17. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Send M SSBs and N CSI-RSs, where the M SSBs correspond to the N CSI-RSs, where M and N are both positive integers greater than or equal to 1, and N is greater than or equal to M; Sending a first physical downlink control channel, where the first physical downlink control channel corresponds to a first CSI-RS, wherein the first CSI-RS is one of the N CSI-RSs; or Sending a first physical downlink shared channel, where the first physical downlink shared channel corresponds to the first CSI-RS or the first SSB, and the first SSB is one of the M SSBs, wherein the first physical downlink control channel is used to schedule the first physical downlink shared channel; The first physical downlink shared channel carries one of an SIB, a paging message, a random access message 2, a random access message B or a random access message 4.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The sending of the first physical downlink control channel includes: N physical downlink control channels are sent, where the first physical downlink control channel is one of the N physical downlink control channels, and the N physical downlink control channels correspond to the N CSI-RSs.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein The N first physical downlink control channels and the N CSI-RSs have a corresponding relationship, including: The N physical downlink control channels are quasi-co-located with the N CSI-RSs; or, The DMRSs of the N physical downlink control channels are quasi-co-located with the N CSI-RSs.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein: The sending of the first physical downlink shared channel includes: M physical downlink shared channels are sent, where the first physical downlink shared channel is one of the M physical downlink shared channels, and the M physical downlink shared channels correspond to the M SSBs.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein The M physical downlink shared channels and the M SSBs have a corresponding relationship, including: The M physical downlink shared channels are quasi-co-located with the M SSBs; or, The DMRSs of the M physical downlink shared channels are quasi-co-located with the M SSBs.

22. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 21, wherein: The sending of the first physical downlink shared channel includes: N physical downlink shared channels are sent, where the first physical downlink shared channel is one of the N physical downlink shared channels, and the N physical downlink shared channels correspond to the N CSI-RSs.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein The N physical downlink shared channels and the N CSI-RSs have a corresponding relationship, including: The N physical downlink shared channels are quasi-co-located with the N CSI-RSs; or, The demodulation reference signals DMRS of the N physical downlink shared channels are quasi-co-located with the N CSI-RSs.

24. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 23, wherein Each of the N physical downlink shared channels carries a SIB; or, Each of the M physical downlink shared channels carries an SIB; or, Each of the N physical downlink shared channels carries a paging message; or, Each of the M physical downlink shared channels carries a paging message.

25. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 24, wherein: The first physical downlink control channel and the first CSI-RS have a corresponding relationship, including: The first physical downlink control channel is quasi-co-located with the first CSI-RS; or, The demodulation reference signal DMRS of the first physical downlink control channel is quasi co-located with the first CSI-RS.

26. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 25, wherein: The first physical downlink shared channel and the first CSI-RS have a corresponding relationship, including: The first physical downlink shared channel is quasi-co-located with the first CSI-RS; or, The demodulation reference signal DMRS of the first physical downlink shared channel is quasi co-located with the first CSI-RS.

27. The method according to any one of claims 17, 25 or 26, wherein: The method further comprises: A preamble is received using a first PRACH resource, where the first PRACH resource corresponds to a first CSI-RS, and the first CSI-RS is one of the N CSI-RSs.

28. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 27, wherein: The M SSBs and the N CSI-RSs have a corresponding relationship, including: Any SSB among the M SSBs is quasi-co-located with Q CSI-RSs among the N CSI-RSs, where Q is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

29. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 28, wherein: Any SSB among the M SSBs is used to indicate configuration information of one or more CSI-RSs among the N CSI-RSs, and the configuration information includes at least one of the following configuration information: time domain resource information, frequency domain resource information, code domain resource information, and power control information.

30. A communication method, characterized in that: The second communication device sends M SSBs and N CSI-RSs, where the M SSBs correspond to the N CSI-RSs, where M and N are both positive integers greater than or equal to 1, and N is greater than or equal to M; The first communication device receives a first SSB and a first CSI-RS in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state, where the first SSB is one of the M SSBs and the first CSI-RS is one of the N CSI-RSs; The second communication device sends a first physical downlink control channel, and the first communication device receives the first physical downlink control channel according to the first CSI-RS in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state; or The second communication device sends a first physical downlink shared channel, and the first communication device receives the first physical downlink shared channel according to the first SSB or the first CSI-RS in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state; The first physical downlink control channel is used to schedule the first physical downlink shared channel.

31. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises one or more processors configured to execute computer programs or instructions to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 17 to 29.

32. A chip or a chip system, characterized in that: The method comprises a circuit configured to execute a computer program or instruction to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 17 to 29.

33. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 29 is implemented.

34. A computer program product, characterized in that When the computer program product is executed by a computer, the computer executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or executes the method according to any one of claims 17 to 29.

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