Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication method and device, relates to the technical field of communication, and can reduce the signaling overhead between network equipment and a terminal. In the method, a terminal receives first configuration information, the first configuration information indicates X TC I states and carries grouping information of the TC I states (the grouping information indicates N TC I state groups); the N TC I state groups indicate the TC I state groups to which the Y TC I states respectively belong; each TC I state group comprises at least one TC I state; the Y TC I states are part or all of the X TC I states. X is greater than or equal to 1, and N is greater than or equal to 1. The terminal receives first indication information, the first indication information is used for indicating a TC I state to be activated, and the TC I state to be activated comprises TC I states in M TC I state groups to be activated in the N TC I state groups; m is greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] In existing protocols, during interactions between terminals and network devices, the network device can configure beams for the terminal. This allows the terminal and network device to transmit data and communicate based on the configured beams.

[0003] For example, a network device can configure one or more transmission configuration indication (TCI) states for a terminal. The TCI state indicates the beam.

[0004] In some implementations, the network device can select a target TCI state from one or more configured TCI states. Data transmission and communication can then occur between the network device and the terminal based on the beam indicated by the target TCI state. In other implementations, the network device can instruct the terminal to activate at least one TCI state. The indicated activated TCI state is included in one or more configured TCI states. Accordingly, the terminal can activate the at least one TCI state. The network device can then select a target TCI state from the at least one activated TCI state.

[0005] In the interaction between the terminal and the network device, the network device needs to frequently issue instructions to activate the TCI state, thereby instructing the terminal to perform beam activation, resulting in a large signaling overhead. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method and apparatus that can reduce signaling overhead between network devices and terminals.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of this application adopt the following technical solutions:

[0008] Firstly, a communication method is provided. In this method, a terminal can receive first configuration information from a network device. The first configuration information indicates X TCI states and carries TCI state packet information. The TCI state packet information indicates N TCI state groups. The N TCI state groups indicate the TCI state groups to which Y TCI states belong. Each TCI state group includes at least one TCI state. The Y TCI states are some or all of the X TCI states. Then, the terminal can receive first indication information from the network device. The first indication information is used to indicate TCI states to be activated. The TCI states to be activated include M TCI state groups to be activated from the N TCI state groups. M is a positive integer, and M is less than or equal to N.

[0009] Based on the above scheme, the terminal can receive TCI state groups configured by the network device, or configure TCI state groups and TCI states. The terminal can also activate a TCI state group based on a message from the network device (such as a message carrying first indication information, which can be called an instruction to activate a TCI state). In this way, the terminal can activate one or more TCI state groups by receiving a single message, allowing a single message (or signaling) to indicate the activation of a larger number (potentially more than 8) of TCI states.

[0010] In conventional implementations, a single instruction to activate a TCI state can only activate a maximum of eight TCI states. This necessitates sending multiple instructions if the number of TCI states to be activated exceeds eight. However, the solution provided in this application, based on the dimension of TCI state groups, activates one or more TCI states in a single message. A TCI state group can include one or more TCI states. Compared to conventional techniques that activate multiple TCI states by frequently transmitting multiple messages based on a single TCI state dimension, this reduces signaling overhead between the terminal and network devices, or helps reduce signaling overhead between the terminal and network devices.

[0011] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the method of this application embodiment may further include: a terminal receiving second indication information from a network device. The second indication information is used to indicate a target TCI state. The target beam corresponding to the target TCI state is a beam from a first candidate beam set, which includes the beam corresponding to the TCI state to be activated indicated in the first indication information.

[0012] In this scheme, the instruction from the network device to activate a TCI state (i.e., the instruction including the aforementioned first indication information) indicates that each of the TCI states to be activated corresponds to a beam. These beams constitute a range of activated beams to be indicated (also known as a first candidate beam set). A target beam can be selected from this first candidate beam set. The candidate range of target TCI states is the indicated TCI states to be activated, and each target TCI state corresponds to a target beam. As can be seen from the above, this scheme can increase the number of TCI states activated at one time, thus providing a larger range of options (i.e., the first candidate beam set) for the terminal to select a target beam, thereby helping the terminal to quickly select a target beam.

[0013] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the aforementioned TCI state to be activated may include not only N TCI state groups, but also at least one first TCI state to be activated. This first TCI state is included in X TCI states, but does not belong to any of the N TCI state groups. This first TCI state may be referred to as a single TCI state. Using this scheme, the network device can indicate to the terminal the TCI state groups to be activated and the single TCI state.

[0014] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the aforementioned first configuration information is carried in the RRC reconfiguration message. The first indication information is carried in the MAC CE. The aforementioned second indication information is carried in the RRC reconfiguration message; or, the second indication information is carried in the MAC CE; or, the second indication information is carried in the downlink control information (DCI).

[0015] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the first configuration information mentioned above includes at least one of the following: grouping policy, size of TCI state group, or number of TCI state groups.

[0016] The grouping strategy described above indicates how the X TCI states are grouped. The size of the TCI state group indicates the number of TCI states included in each of the N TCI state groups.

[0017] Alternatively, the first configuration information includes the identifier of the starting TCI state among the Y TCI states and the size of each TCI state group among the N TCI state groups.

[0018] Alternatively, the first configuration information includes the identifier of the starting TCI state of the TCI state group to which the Y TCI states belong, and the size of each TCI state group in the N TCI state groups.

[0019] Alternatively, the first configuration information includes the group identifier corresponding to each TCI state among the Y TCI states, and the group identifier is used to indicate the TCI state group to which each TCI state belongs among the Y TCI states.

[0020] In embodiments of this application, the TCI states included in the TCI state list can be grouped according to different grouping methods. Based on the above scheme, the network device can send the first configuration information corresponding to different grouping methods to the terminal. This allows the terminal to subsequently obtain the TCI state group configured by the network device, or the TCI state group and TCI state, based on the first configuration information.

[0021] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, at least one of the following is predefined: the grouping strategy, the size of the TCI state group, the number of groups in the TCI state group, the identifier of the initial TCI state, and the group identifier corresponding to the TCI state.

[0022] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the first configuration information further includes indication information for indicating a grouping strategy, wherein the grouping strategy is selected from a plurality of candidate grouping strategies, and the indication information for the grouping strategy indicates that the grouping strategy is one of the plurality of candidate grouping strategies.

[0023] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the above candidate grouping strategy includes: grouping the Y TCI states according to a predetermined order; and grouping the Y TCI states according to a predetermined interval and a predetermined order; the predetermined interval is the interval between adjacent TCI state groups.

[0024] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the aforementioned agreed-upon order includes ascending order of the TCI state identifier IDs. Alternatively, it may be descending order of the TCI state IDs.

[0025] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the dimensions of each of the N TCI state groups mentioned above may be the same or different.

[0026] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the TCI state groups among the aforementioned N TCI state groups may have the same or completely different TCI state components.

[0027] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, after receiving the first instruction information, the terminal may activate the TCI state group indicated in the first instruction information, or activate both the TCI state group and the TCI state indicated in the first instruction information.

[0028] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, after receiving the first indication information from the network device, the method further includes: the terminal reporting a first measurement report to the network device. The first measurement report includes measurement results for Z beams corresponding to the activated TCI state. Z is a positive integer.

[0029] For example, Z is greater than or equal to the maximum size of the TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups; or, Z is equal to the minimum size of the TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups; or, Z is equal to the size of one of the N TCI state groups. Based on the above scheme, the network device can configure the number of beams Z in the first measurement report according to the size of the TCI state groups configured in the first configuration information. Alternatively, the size of the TCI state groups in the first configuration information can be configured according to the number of beams Z in the first measurement report.

[0030] Alternatively, Z can be greater than or equal to the size of the largest TCI state group among the M TCI state groups to be activated; or Z can be the size of the smallest TCI state group among the M TCI state groups to be activated; or Z can be the size of one of the M TCI state groups to be activated. The network device can configure the number of beams Z in the measurement report based on the size of the TCI state groups to be activated indicated by the first indication information. Alternatively, the network device can configure the size of the TCI state groups to be activated indicated by the first indication information based on the number of beams Z in the measurement report.

[0031] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the first indication information includes group identifiers of the M TCI state groups to be activated. Alternatively, the first indication information includes a bitmap, the bitmap including at least one bit, each of the at least one bit corresponding to one of the N TCI state groups, the value of each bit being used to indicate whether the TCI state group corresponding to the bit is activated.

[0032] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the first indication information includes the identifier ID of the TCI state to be activated and the first information corresponding to the ID of the TCI state to be activated.

[0033] The first information is used to indicate that the TCI state identified by the ID of the corresponding TCI state to be activated is a first TCI state, which does not belong to any of the N TCI state groups; the first TCI state is included in X TCI states. Alternatively, the first information is used to indicate that the TCI state identified by the ID of the corresponding TCI state to be activated is a second TCI state; the second TCI state uniquely corresponds to its TCI state group; or, the second TCI state is a TCI state in a first order within its TCI state group; the first order is related to the size of the TCI state ID.

[0034] In embodiments of this application, when the first information indicates that the TCI state is a single TCI state, the first indication information corresponds to indicating the activation of a first TCI state. When the first information indicates that the TCI state is a second TCI state, the first indication information corresponds to indicating the activation of all TCI states in the TCI state group to which the second TCI state belongs. Thus, it is possible to indicate the activation of a TCI state group or to indicate the activation of both a TCI state group and a single TCI state.

[0035] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the first indication information includes the ID of the TCI state to be activated and the second information corresponding to the ID of the TCI state to be activated.

[0036] The second information is used to indicate that the identifier ID of the TCI state to be activated is the ID corresponding to a single TCI state; or, the second information is used to indicate that the ID of the TCI state to be activated is the ID corresponding to a group of TCI states.

[0037] In this implementation, when the second information indicates that the identifier ID of the TCI state to be activated is the ID corresponding to a single TCI state, the first indication information corresponds to indicating that the single TCI state identified by the identifier ID of the TCI state is to be activated. When the second information indicates that the ID of the TCI state to be activated is the ID corresponding to a TCI state group, the first indication information corresponds to indicating that all TCI states in the TCI state group identified by the TCI state group ID are to be activated. Thus, it is possible to indicate the activation of a TCI state group or to indicate the activation of both a TCI state group and a single TCI state.

[0038] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the TCI state to be activated indicated by the first indication information belongs to one of the N TCI state groups indicated by the first configuration information (such as the second TCI state group). In this case, after receiving the first indication information, the terminal can determine which beams corresponding to the TCI states in the TCI state group can be used as candidate switching beams to form a switching beam range (also known as the second candidate beam set).

[0039] The beams in the second candidate beam set (also known as candidate switching beams) can serve as the beams in the candidate beam set (i.e., the second candidate beam set) to be switched to after the terminal switches to the target beam. For example, the network device can combine the quality of the candidate switching beams in the second candidate beam set and the target beam association reference signal to select whether the terminal should switch to a candidate switching beam in the second candidate beam set and send an instruction to the terminal.

[0040] Specifically, in one implementation, the TCI state to be activated indicated by the first indication information belongs to the second TCI state group. After receiving the first indication information from the network device, the terminal can use the beams corresponding to other TCI states in the second TCI state group, excluding the TCI state to be activated, as beams in the second candidate beam set.

[0041] In another implementation, the first indication information includes the ID of the TCI state to be activated and the ID of the second TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated belongs. After receiving the first indication information from the network device, the terminal can use the beams corresponding to other TCI states in the second TCI state group, excluding the TCI states in the second sorted order, as beams in the second candidate beam set; wherein, the TCI states in the second sorted order are the nth TCI states in a predefined or configured sort.

[0042] In another implementation, the first indication information includes the ID of the TCI state to be activated and the ID of the second TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated belongs. After receiving the first indication information from the network device, the terminal can use the beams corresponding to other TCI states in the TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated belongs, excluding the TCI state to be activated and the third-ordered TCI states in the second TCI state group, as beams in the second candidate beam set; wherein, the third-ordered TCI state is the kth TCI state in a predefined or configured order.

[0043] In another implementation, the first indication information includes the ID of the TCI state to be activated and the ID of the second TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated belongs. After receiving the first indication information from the network device, the terminal can select the beams corresponding to the other TCI states in the fourth-ordered TCI state group (excluding the TCI state to be activated and the third-ordered TCI states) from the M TCI state groups to be activated as beams in the second candidate beam set; wherein, the second TCI state group is included in the M TCI state groups to be activated.

[0044] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the aforementioned second instruction information includes a first field and a second field.

[0045] When the target TCI state belongs to the first TCI state group, the first field is used to indicate the first TCI state group, and the second field is used to indicate the target TCI state in the first TCI state group.

[0046] Alternatively, if the target TCI state does not belong to any TCI state group, the second field is used to indicate the target TCI state.

[0047] In this implementation, the target TCI state can be indicated by two fields in the second indication information, such as which TCI state group the target TCI state belongs to, and which TCI state within the TCI state group it is. Alternatively, the second field in the second indication information can indicate that the target TCI state is a single TCI state.

[0048] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the first field and the second field each occupy a preset bit length. Alternatively, the second field has a preset bit length, and the bit length occupied by the first field is related to the value of M or N. Thus, when implementing a TCI state indicating a TCI state group, the bit length occupied by the first field can be flexibly configured, avoiding unnecessary memory allocation.

[0049] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the target TCI state indicated by the second indication information belongs to one of the N TCI state groups indicated by the first configuration information (such as the first TCI state group).

[0050] Specifically, the target TCI state belongs to the first TCI state group out of N TCI state groups. After receiving the second indication information from the network device, the terminal can use the beams corresponding to other TCI states in the first TCI state group besides the target TCI state as beams in the second candidate beam set. The beams in the second candidate beam set serve as candidate switching beams to be switched to after the terminal switches to the target beam corresponding to the target TCI state.

[0051] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the terminal can determine the second candidate beam set after receiving the first indication information and the second indication information. After determining the second candidate beam set, the terminal can perform a second beam measurement to measure the candidate switching beams in the second candidate beam set and obtain measurement results. Then, the terminal can send a second beam report to the network device. Specifically, the method in this embodiment may further include: the terminal reporting a second measurement report (i.e., a second beam report) to the network device. This second measurement report includes the measurement results of all beams in the second candidate beam set.

[0052] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the aforementioned target TCI state corresponds to a target beam. After receiving the second indication information from the network device, the method further includes: switching from the first beam to a second beam to communicate with the network device. The second beam is aligned with the target beam.

[0053] Based on the above scheme, in this application, when the terminal performs beam measurement according to the activated TCI state group or the activated TCI state group and the beam indicated by the TCI state, the probability of obtaining measurement results that meet preset conditions can be increased. This reduces the need for the terminal to measure the beam, improves the efficiency of beam switching between the terminal and network equipment, maintains high communication quality between the terminal and network equipment, and avoids communication lag issues for the terminal.

[0054] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the value of X is less than or equal to 128.

[0055] Secondly, a communication method is provided. In this method: a network device can send first configuration information to a terminal. This first configuration information indicates X TCI states and carries TCI state grouping information. The TCI state grouping information indicates N TCI state groups; the N TCI state groups indicate the TCI state groups to which Y TCI states belong; each TCI state group includes at least one TCI state; the Y TCI states are some or all of the X TCI states; X and N are positive integers, where X is greater than or equal to 1 and N is greater than or equal to 1. Then, the network device sends first indication information to the terminal. This first indication information is used to indicate TCI states to be activated; the TCI states to be activated include the TCI states in M ​​of the N TCI state groups; M is a positive integer, where M is greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0056] Based on the above scheme, network devices can configure TCI state groups for terminals, or configure TCI state groups and TCI states. Network devices can also instruct terminals to activate TCI state groups via a single message (such as a message carrying first indication information, which can be called an instruction to activate TCI states). In this way, network devices can instruct terminals to activate one or more TCI state groups with a single message, enabling the activation of a larger number (potentially more than 8) of TCI states with a single message (or signaling).

[0057] Referring to the analysis in the first aspect, adopting this solution can reduce signaling overhead between terminals and network devices, or help reduce signaling overhead between terminals and network devices.

[0058] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the method of this application embodiment may further include: a network device sending second indication information to a terminal. The second indication information is used to indicate a target TCI state. The target TCI state is used to indicate the transmission beam of the network device. The target beam corresponding to the target TCI state is a beam in a first candidate beam set, which includes the beam corresponding to the TCI state to be activated indicated in the first indication information.

[0059] In this scheme, the instruction from the network device to activate a TCI state (i.e., the instruction including the aforementioned first indication information) indicates that each of the TCI states to be activated corresponds to a beam, and these beams constitute a beam candidate range. A target beam can be selected from this beam candidate range. Specifically, the candidate range of target TCI states is the indicated TCI states to be activated, and each target TCI state corresponds to a target beam. As can be seen from the above, this scheme can increase the number of TCI states activated at one time, thus providing a larger selection range (i.e., beam candidate range) for the terminal to select a target beam, thereby increasing the likelihood of the terminal quickly selecting a target beam and improving the success rate of fast terminal target beam selection.

[0060] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, the aforementioned TCI state to be activated may include not only N TCI state groups, but also at least one first TCI state to be activated. This first TCI state is included in X TCI states, but does not belong to any of the N TCI state groups. This first TCI state may be referred to as a single TCI state. Using this scheme, the network device can indicate to the terminal the TCI state groups to be activated and the single TCI state.

[0061] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, the first configuration information is carried in the RRC reconfiguration message. The first indication information is carried in the MAC CE. The second indication information is carried in the RRC reconfiguration message; or, the second indication information is carried in the MAC CE; or, the second indication information is carried in the downlink control information (DCI).

[0062] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, the first configuration information mentioned above includes at least one of the following: grouping strategy, size of TCI state group, or number of TCI state groups.

[0063] The grouping strategy described above indicates how the X TCI states are grouped. The size of the TCI state group indicates the number of TCI states included in each of the N TCI state groups.

[0064] Alternatively, the first configuration information includes the identifier of the starting TCI state among the Y TCI states and the size of each TCI state group among the N TCI state groups.

[0065] Alternatively, the first configuration information includes the identifier of the starting TCI state of the TCI state group to which the Y TCI states belong, and the size of each TCI state group in the N TCI state groups.

[0066] Alternatively, the first configuration information includes the group identifier corresponding to each TCI state among the Y TCI states, and the group identifier is used to indicate the TCI state group to which each TCI state belongs among the Y TCI states.

[0067] In embodiments of this application, the TCI states included in the TCI state list can be grouped according to different grouping methods. Based on the above scheme, the network device can send the first configuration information corresponding to different grouping methods to the terminal. This allows the terminal to subsequently obtain the TCI state group configured by the network device, or the TCI state group and TCI state, based on the first configuration information.

[0068] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, at least one of the following is predefined: the grouping strategy, the size of the TCI state group, the number of groups in the TCI state group, the identifier of the initial TCI state, and the group identifier corresponding to the TCI state.

[0069] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, the first configuration information mentioned above also includes indication information for indicating a grouping strategy, wherein the grouping strategy is selected from a variety of candidate grouping strategies, and the indication information for the grouping strategy indicates that the grouping strategy is one of the variety of candidate grouping strategies.

[0070] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, the above candidate grouping strategy includes: grouping the Y TCI states according to a predetermined order; and grouping the Y TCI states according to a predetermined interval and a predetermined order; the predetermined interval is the interval between adjacent TCI state groups.

[0071] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, the aforementioned agreed-upon order includes ascending order of the TCI state identifier IDs. Alternatively, it may be descending order of the TCI state IDs.

[0072] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, the dimensions of each of the aforementioned N TCI state groups are the same or different.

[0073] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, the TCI state groups among the aforementioned N TCI state groups may have the same or completely different TCI state components.

[0074] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, after sending the first instruction information to the terminal, the network device can receive a first measurement report sent by the terminal. This first measurement report includes measurement results for Z beams corresponding to the activated TCI state. Z is a positive integer.

[0075] For example, Z is greater than or equal to the maximum size of the TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups; or Z is equal to the minimum size of the TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups; or Z is equal to the size of one of the TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups.

[0076] Based on the above scheme, the network device can configure the number of beams Z in the measurement report according to the size of the TCI state group configured in the first configuration information. Alternatively, it can configure the size of the TCI state group in the first configuration information according to the number of beams Z in the measurement report.

[0077] Alternatively, Z is greater than or equal to the size of the largest TCI state group among the M TCI state groups to be activated; or Z is the size of the smallest TCI state group among the M TCI state groups to be activated; or Z is the size of one of the TCI state groups to be activated among the M TCI state groups to be activated.

[0078] Based on the above scheme, the network device can configure the number of beams Z in the measurement report according to the size of the TCI state group to be activated indicated by the first indication information. Alternatively, the network device can configure the size of the TCI state group to be activated indicated by the first indication information according to the number of beams Z in the measurement report.

[0079] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, the first indication information includes group identifiers for M TCI state groups to be activated. Alternatively, the first indication information includes a bitmap, which includes at least one bit, each of which corresponds to one of the N TCI state groups, and the value of each bit is used to indicate whether the TCI state group corresponding to the bit is activated.

[0080] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, the aforementioned first indication information includes the identifier ID of the TCI state to be activated and the first information corresponding to the ID of the TCI state to be activated.

[0081] The first information is used to indicate that the TCI state identified by the ID of the corresponding TCI state to be activated is a first TCI state, which does not belong to any of the N TCI state groups; the first TCI state is included in X TCI states. Alternatively, the first information is used to indicate that the TCI state identified by the ID of the corresponding TCI state to be activated is a second TCI state; the second TCI state uniquely corresponds to its TCI state group; or, the second TCI state is a TCI state in a first order within its TCI state group; the first order is related to the size of the TCI state ID.

[0082] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, the first indication information mentioned above includes the ID of the TCI state to be activated and the second information corresponding to the ID of the TCI state to be activated.

[0083] The second information is used to indicate that the identifier ID of the TCI state to be activated is the ID corresponding to a single TCI state; or, the second information is used to indicate that the ID of the TCI state to be activated is the ID corresponding to a group of TCI states.

[0084] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, the aforementioned second instruction information includes a first field and a second field.

[0085] When the target TCI state belongs to the first TCI state group, the first field is used to indicate the first TCI state group, and the second field is used to indicate the target TCI state in the first TCI state group.

[0086] Alternatively, if the target TCI state does not belong to any TCI state group, the second field is used to indicate the target TCI state.

[0087] In this implementation, the target TCI state can be indicated by two fields in the second indication information, such as which TCI state group the target TCI state belongs to, and which TCI state within the TCI state group it is. Alternatively, the second field in the second indication information can indicate that the target TCI state is a single TCI state.

[0088] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, the first field and the second field each occupy a preset bit length. Alternatively, the second field has a preset bit length, and the bit length occupied by the first field is related to the value of M or N. Thus, when implementing a TCI state indicating a TCI state group, the bit length occupied by the first field can be flexibly configured, avoiding unnecessary memory allocation.

[0089] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, the method further includes: the network device receiving a second measurement report from the terminal. This second measurement report includes measurement results for all beams in a second candidate beam set. The beams in the second candidate beam set serve as candidate switching beams to be switched after the terminal switches to the target beam corresponding to the target TCI state.

[0090] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, the aforementioned target TCI state corresponds to a target beam; after sending the second indication information to the terminal, the network device can switch from the first beam to the second beam to communicate with the terminal; the second beam is aligned with the target beam.

[0091] In another possible implementation of the second aspect, the value of X is less than or equal to 128.

[0092] It should be noted that the technical effect analysis of the technical solution provided by the second aspect and any of its possible implementations can be found in the detailed description of the first aspect and any of its possible implementations, and will not be repeated in the embodiments of this application.

[0093] Thirdly, a communication method is provided, in which a terminal can receive first configuration information from a network device. The first configuration information indicates X TCI states and carries TCI state grouping information. The TCI state grouping information indicates N TCI state groups. The N TCI state groups indicate the TCI state groups to which Y TCI states belong respectively. Each TCI state group includes at least one TCI state. The Y TCI states are some or all of the X TCI states. Then, the terminal can receive third indication information from the network device. The third indication information is used to indicate a TCI state to be activated. For example, the third indication information is used to indicate the ID of the TCI state to be activated, but does not indicate the TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated belongs.

[0094] Based on the above scheme, the terminal can receive TCI state groups configured by the network device, or configure TCI state groups and TCI states. The terminal can also activate some or all TCI states in the TCI state group containing the TCI state to be activated based on a message from the network device (such as a message carrying third-party indication information, which can be called an instruction to activate a TCI state). In this way, the terminal can activate one or more TCI state groups by receiving a single message, allowing a single message (or signaling) to instruct the activation of a larger number (potentially more than 8) of TCI states.

[0095] Referring to the analysis in the first aspect, adopting this solution can reduce signaling overhead between terminals and network devices, or help reduce signaling overhead between terminals and network devices.

[0096] In another possible implementation of the third aspect, the method of this application embodiment may further include: a terminal receiving second indication information from a network device. The second indication information is used to indicate a target TCI state. The target TCI state is used to indicate the transmission beam of the network device. The target beam corresponding to the target TCI state is a beam in a first candidate beam set, which includes beams corresponding to some or all of the TCI states in the TCI state group where the TCI state to be activated indicated in the third indication information is located.

[0097] It should be noted that for a detailed description of the first configuration information and the second instruction information described in the third aspect and any of its possible implementations, please refer to the description in the first aspect and any of its possible implementations above, and it will not be repeated here.

[0098] In another possible implementation of the third aspect, the aforementioned third instruction information is carried in the MAC CE or DCI.

[0099] In another possible implementation of the third aspect, after receiving the third instruction information, the terminal may activate some or all of the TCI states in the TCI state group where the TCI state to be activated indicated in the third instruction information is located.

[0100] In another possible implementation of the third aspect, after receiving the third indication information from the network device, the method further includes: the terminal reporting a first measurement report to the network device. The first measurement report includes measurement results for the Z beams corresponding to the activated TCI state.

[0101] For example, Z is greater than or equal to the maximum size of the TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups; or, Z is equal to the minimum size of the TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups; or, Z is equal to the size of one of the N TCI state groups. Based on the above scheme, the network device can configure the number of beams Z in the first measurement report according to the size of the TCI state groups configured in the first configuration information. Alternatively, the size of the TCI state groups in the first configuration information can be configured according to the number of beams Z in the first measurement report.

[0102] In another possible implementation of the third aspect, the TCI state to be activated indicated by the third indication information may belong to one of the N TCI state groups indicated by the first configuration information. In this case, after receiving the third indication information, the terminal can determine which beams corresponding to the TCI states in the TCI state group can be used as candidate switching beams to form a switching beam range (also known as the second candidate beam set).

[0103] The beams in the second candidate beam set (also known as candidate switching beams) can serve as the beams in the candidate beam set (i.e., the second candidate beam set) to be switched to after the terminal switches to the target beam. For example, the network device can combine the quality of the candidate switching beams in the second candidate beam set and the target beam association reference signal to select whether the terminal should switch to a candidate switching beam in the second candidate beam set and send an instruction to the terminal.

[0104] Specifically, after receiving the aforementioned third indication information, the terminal can use the beams corresponding to other TCI states in the TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated indicated by the third indication information belongs, excluding the TCI state to be activated, as candidate switching beams to form a second candidate beam set.

[0105] In another possible implementation of the third aspect, the terminal can determine the second candidate beam set after receiving the third indication information. After determining the second candidate beam set, the terminal can perform a second beam measurement to measure the candidate switching beams in the second candidate beam set and obtain measurement results. Then, the terminal can send a second beam report to the network device. Specifically, the method in this embodiment may further include: the terminal reporting a second measurement report (i.e., a second beam report) to the network device. This second measurement report includes the measurement results of all beams in the second candidate beam set.

[0106] In another possible implementation of the third aspect, the aforementioned target TCI state corresponds to a target beam. After receiving the second indication information from the network device, the method further includes switching from the first beam to a second beam to communicate with the network device. This second beam is aligned with the target beam.

[0107] In another possible implementation of the third aspect, the value of X is less than or equal to 128.

[0108] Fourthly, a communication method is provided, in which a network device can send first configuration information to a terminal. The first configuration information indicates X TCI states and carries TCI state grouping information. The TCI state grouping information indicates N TCI state groups. The N TCI state groups indicate the TCI state groups to which Y TCI states belong respectively. Each TCI state group includes at least one TCI state. The Y TCI states are some or all of the X TCI states. Then, the network device can send third indication information to the terminal. The third indication information is used to indicate a TCI state to be activated. For example, the third indication information is used to indicate the ID of the TCI state to be activated, but does not indicate the TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated belongs.

[0109] Based on the above scheme, network devices can configure TCI state groups for terminals, or configure TCI state groups and TCI states. Network devices can also instruct terminals to activate some or all TCI states in the TCI state group containing the TCI state to be activated based on a single message (such as a message carrying third-party indication information, which can be called an instruction to activate a TCI state). In this way, a terminal can activate one or more TCI state groups by receiving a single message, allowing a single message (or signaling) to instruct the activation of a larger number (potentially more than 8) of TCI states.

[0110] Referring to the analysis in the first aspect, adopting this solution can reduce signaling overhead between terminals and network devices, or help reduce signaling overhead between terminals and network devices.

[0111] In another possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the method of this application embodiment may further include: the network device sending second indication information to the terminal. The second indication information is used to indicate a target TCI state. The target TCI state is used to indicate the transmission beam of the network device. The target beam corresponding to the target TCI state is a beam in a first candidate beam set, which includes beams corresponding to some or all of the TCI states in the TCI state group where the TCI state to be activated indicated in the third indication information is located.

[0112] It should be noted that for a detailed description of the first configuration information and the second instruction information described in the fourth aspect and any of its possible implementations, please refer to the description in the first aspect and any of its possible implementations above, and it will not be repeated here.

[0113] In another possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the aforementioned third instruction information is carried in the MAC CE or DCI.

[0114] In another possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the network device may instruct the terminal to activate some or all of the TCI states in the TCI state group where the TCI state to be activated indicated in the third instruction information is located.

[0115] In another possible implementation of the fourth aspect, after the network device sends the third indication information to the terminal, it can receive the first measurement report reported by the terminal. This first measurement report includes the measurement results of the Z beams corresponding to the activated TCI state.

[0116] For example, Z is greater than or equal to the maximum size of the TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups; or, Z is equal to the minimum size of the TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups; or, Z is equal to the size of one of the N TCI state groups. Based on the above scheme, the network device can configure the number of beams Z in the first measurement report according to the size of the TCI state groups configured in the first configuration information. Alternatively, the size of the TCI state groups in the first configuration information can be configured according to the number of beams Z in the first measurement report.

[0117] In another possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the TCI state to be activated indicated by the third indication information may belong to one of the N TCI state groups indicated by the first configuration information. In this case, after receiving the third indication information, the terminal can determine which beams corresponding to the TCI states in the TCI state group can be used as candidate switching beams to form a switching beam range (also known as the second candidate beam set).

[0118] The beams in the second candidate beam set (also known as candidate switching beams) can serve as the beams in the candidate beam set (i.e., the second candidate beam set) to be switched to after the terminal switches to the target beam. For example, the network device can combine the quality of the candidate switching beams in the second candidate beam set and the target beam association reference signal to select whether the terminal should switch to a candidate switching beam in the second candidate beam set and send an instruction to the terminal.

[0119] After receiving the aforementioned third indication information, the terminal can use the beams corresponding to other TCI states in the TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated, as indicated by the third indication information, as candidate switching beams to form a second candidate beam set. Then, the terminal can perform a second beam measurement to measure the candidate switching beams in the second candidate beam set and obtain the measurement results.

[0120] The network device can receive a second beam report (i.e., a second measurement report) sent by the terminal. This second measurement report includes the measurement results of all beams in the second candidate beam set.

[0121] In another possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the aforementioned target TCI state corresponds to a target beam. After the network device sends the second indication information to the terminal, the method further includes: the network device switching from the first beam to a second beam to communicate with the terminal. The second beam is aligned with the target beam.

[0122] In another possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the value of X is less than or equal to 128.

[0123] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, comprising one or more processors, one or more memories, and one or more communication interfaces. The one or more memories are coupled to the one or more processors. The one or more communication interfaces are used for communicating with other communication devices, and the one or more memories store computer instructions. The processor is used to execute computer programs or instructions that cause the communication device to perform a communication method as provided in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, wherein the communication device is a terminal in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Alternatively, the processor is used to execute computer programs or instructions that cause the communication device to perform a communication method as provided in the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof, wherein the communication device is a network device in the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0124] Sixthly, a chip system is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface. The processor is configured to retrieve and execute a computer program stored in a storage medium, performing a communication method as provided in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or performing a communication method as provided in the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0125] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which computer instructions are stored, which, when executed by a processor, implement the communication method provided in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or perform the communication method provided in the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0126] Eighthly, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product including computer instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the communication method provided in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or perform the communication method provided in the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0127] It is understandable that the technical solutions provided in aspects five through eight above can be respectively matched with the communication methods provided in the aforementioned design, and the beneficial effects obtained are similar, so they will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0128] Figure 1 This application provides a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0129] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the interaction process of a communication method.

[0130] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the interaction flow of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0131] Figure 4A A schematic diagram illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0132] Figure 4B A schematic diagram illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0133] Figure 4C A schematic diagram illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0134] Figure 5 A schematic diagram illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0135] Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0136] Figure 7 A schematic diagram illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0137] Figure 8 A schematic diagram illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0138] Figure 9 A schematic diagram illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0139] Figure 10 A schematic diagram illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0140] Figure 11 A schematic diagram illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0141] Figure 12A A schematic diagram illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0142] Figure 12B A schematic diagram illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0143] Figure 13 A schematic diagram illustrating the composition of a terminal provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0144] Figure 14This is a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0145] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the composition of a chip system provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0146] Hereinafter, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this embodiment, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0147] The technical solution provided in this application can be used in various communication systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) systems, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAM) systems, 5G New Radio systems, LTE and NR hybrid networking systems, 6G systems, and other next-generation communication systems. Alternatively, the communication system can also be a non-3GPP communication system, without limitation.

[0148] The communication systems described above that are applicable to this application are merely illustrative examples, and the application is not limited to these systems. This will be explained in detail here and will not be repeated below.

[0149] See Figure 1 This application provides an exemplary communication system. The communication system includes a network device and a terminal. The network device and the terminal establish a communication connection.

[0150] In this context, a terminal can refer to a user-side device with wireless transceiver capabilities. A terminal can also be called user equipment (UE), terminal equipment, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote terminal, mobile terminal (MT), user terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device, etc. For example, a terminal can be a terminal in IoT, V2M, D2D, M2M, 5G networks, or future wireless communication networks.

[0151] For example, a terminal can be a drone, an IoT device (e.g., a sensor, an electricity meter, a water meter, etc.), a V2M device, a station (ST) in a wireless local area network (WLAN), a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device (also known as a wearable smart device), a mobile phone, a tablet or a computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, or a wireless terminal in a smart home. Wireless terminals (such as those in the home), vehicle-mounted terminals, vehicles with vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication capabilities, intelligent connected vehicles, and drones with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to UAV (U2U) communication capabilities, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the terminal.

[0152] exist Figure 1In this context, a network device is a device that connects a terminal to a wireless network. It can be an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE or evolved LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, such as a traditional macro base station (eNB) or a micro base station (eNB) in a heterogeneous network scenario; or a next-generation node B (gNodeB or gNB) in a 5G system; or a transmission reception point (TRP); or a base station in a future evolved PLMN; or a broadband network gateway (BNG), aggregation switch, or non-3GPP access device; or a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN); or an access point (AP) in a WiFi system; or a wireless relay node or wireless backhaul node; or a device that implements base station functions in IoT, V2M, D2D, or M2M. This application does not specifically limit these limitations.

[0153] For example, the network devices in the embodiments of this application may include various forms of base stations, such as macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small stations), relay stations, access points, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not specifically limit them.

[0154] In some possible scenarios, network devices can also be modules or units capable of performing some or all of the functions of a base station. For example, network devices can be central units (CU), distributed units (DU), CU and DU, CU-control plane (CP), CU-user plane (UP), or radio units (RU), etc. CU and DU can be set up separately or included in the same network element, such as in a baseband unit (BBU). RU can be included in radio equipment or radio units, such as in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0155] It should be noted that the communication system described in the embodiments of this application is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0156] In this application, during the interaction between the terminal and the network device, the network device can configure a beam for the terminal. This allows the terminal and the network device to perform data transmission and communication based on the configured beam.

[0157] For example, refer to Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the interaction flow of a communication method. Terminals and network devices can... Figure 2 The method shown completes beam configuration and performs data transmission and communication based on the configured beam.

[0158] like Figure 2 The solution may include:

[0159] S201. The network device sends TCI status configuration information 21 to the terminal. The TCI status configuration information 21 indicates one or more TCI states, and the TCI state corresponds to the indicator beam.

[0160] S202, The terminal receives TCI status configuration information 21 from the network device.

[0161] In this application, the network device can send TCI status configuration information 21 to the terminal. This TCI status configuration information 21 is used to configure one or more TCI states. The TCI status configuration information 21 indicates the one or more TCI states. Each TCI state corresponds to an indicated beam. Different beams can correspond to different time-frequency resources.

[0162] Additionally, these one or more TCI states can be pre-configured and aligned between the network device and the terminal. This could be pre-configured by the network device to the terminal, or pre-configured locally on both the terminal and the network device via a protocol.

[0163] For example, referring to Table 1, the TCI states configured in the TCI state configuration information 21 can be some or all of the TCI states in the TCI state list. This TCI state list may include TCI state 1, TCI state 2, TCI state 3, and TCI state N0, etc. The TCI states included in the TCI state list are those corresponding to beams supported by both the terminal and the network device.

[0164] Table 1

[0165]

[0166] As one implementation, the TCI status configuration information 21 can be carried in the RRC reconfiguration message 1. The RRC reconfiguration message 1 includes RRCConnectionReconfiguration.

[0167] S203, The network device sends a TCI status activation command 22 to the terminal.

[0168] It should be noted that in some implementations, multiple TCI states configured in the TCI state group configuration information 21 are in a deactivated state. Therefore, after sending the TCI state configuration information 21 to the terminal, the network device can also send a TCI state activation command 22 to the terminal, instructing the terminal to activate the corresponding TCI state (i.e., beam).

[0169] S204. The terminal receives the TCI state activation instruction 22 and activates the TCI state to be activated as indicated in the TCI state activation instruction 22.

[0170] The TCI state activation instruction 22 is used to indicate at least one TCI state to be activated. This at least one TCI state is included in the TCI states configured in the TCI state configuration information 21.

[0171] For example, TCI state activation instruction 22 is used to indicate the TCI state 1, TCI state 2, and TCI state 3 to be activated. The TCI state activation instruction 22 may carry the identity document (ID) corresponding to TCI state 1, TCI state 2, and TCI state 3.

[0172] As one implementation, the TCI state activation instruction 22 can be a media access control element (MAC CE) 1. In some embodiments, after the terminal and network device complete the interaction in S20-S205, the interaction in S207 can be skipped, or the operation in S205 can continue.

[0173] S205, The terminal performs beam measurement.

[0174] Optionally, the terminal can measure the beam indicated by the activated TCI state.

[0175] It should be noted that, in this application, during beam measurement, the terminal can measure some or all of the beams with activated TCI status indications. The measurement results corresponding to the activated TCI status indication beams include at least one measurement result that satisfies a preset condition.

[0176] For example, the preset condition may include the measurement result corresponding to the active TCI state-indicated beam being better than the measurement result of the currently serving beam, or the measurement result being better than the measurement result of the currently serving beam plus a preset threshold.

[0177] In some embodiments, the terminal may receive a beam measurement instruction from the network device before performing beam measurement.

[0178] As a concrete example, during beam measurement by a terminal, the network device can transmit a reference signal on the beam indicated by the activated TCI state. This reference signal can correspond to the TCI state. Accordingly, the terminal can receive this reference signal and use it to perform beam measurement.

[0179] For example, the reference signal may include a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0180] For example, assume that the beams indicated by the activated TCI state include beams B1, B2, and B3. Beam B1 corresponds to the beam indicated by TCI state 1, beam B2 corresponds to the beam indicated by TCI state 2, and beam B3 corresponds to the beam indicated by TCI state 3. The network device can transmit reference signal 1 on beam B1, reference signal 2 on beam B2, and reference signal 3 on beam B3. Reference signal 1 is associated with TCI state 1, reference signal 2 with TCI state 2, and reference signal 3 with TCI state 3.

[0181] Accordingly, the terminal can receive reference signal 1 and use it to obtain the measurement results of beam B1. These measurement results may include parameters such as the signal strength (e.g., RSRP1) measured when the terminal receives reference signal 1. Similarly, the terminal can receive reference signal 2 and reference signal 3, using reference signal 2 to obtain the measurement results of beam B2 (e.g., RSRP2) and using reference signal 3 to obtain the measurement results of beam B3 (e.g., RSRP3).

[0182] In some embodiments, the measurement results of beam B1 (RSRP1), beam B2 (RSRP2), and beam B3 (RSRP3) include at least one measurement result that satisfies a preset condition. In this embodiment, the terminal can continue with the processing in S204.

[0183] In other embodiments, the measurement results of beam B1 (RSRP1), beam B2 (RSRP2), and beam B3 (RSRP3) do not meet the preset conditions.

[0184] In this embodiment, the network device needs to reactivate the beam for the terminal. Alternatively, the network device reconfigures and reactivates the beam for the terminal. The implementation method for the network device to configure the beam for the terminal can be referred to the description in S201, and the implementation method for the network device to configure the beam for the terminal can be referred to the description in S202; these will not be repeated here.

[0185] S206, The terminal sends a beam report 23 to the network device.

[0186] For example, after completing the beam measurement in S203, the terminal can report a beam report 23 to the network device, which includes the measurement results corresponding to the beam.

[0187] For example, referring to the example in S204, the beam report 23 may include the measurement results of beam B1 (RSRP1), beam B2 (RSRP2), and beam B3 (RSRP3). The measurement results of at least one of beams B1, B2, and B3 satisfy a preset condition.

[0188] S207. The network device sends a TCI status indication 24 to the terminal. The TCI status indication 24 is used to indicate the target TCI status, which is used to indicate the target beam.

[0189] In this context, network equipment uses the target beam to communicate with the terminal.

[0190] In some embodiments, the target TCI state may be determined by the network device based on at least one of the following: beam report 23 in S204, the location of the terminal, or the terminal's movement path.

[0191] For example, if a network device determines that the target TCI state is TCI state 1, then the TCI state indicator 24 can indicate TCI state 1.

[0192] Specifically, the TCI status indication 24 may include the ID of TCI status 1.

[0193] As one implementation, TCI status indicator 24 can be a downlink control information (DCI) indicator 1.

[0194] In this application, after receiving the TCI status indication 24, the terminal can adjust the radiation direction of its receiving beam according to the target beam indicated by the target TCI status indication. This allows the terminal's adjusted receiving beam to align with the target beam, thereby enabling the terminal to better receive data or messages transmitted by the network device on the target beam. Thus, communication quality between the terminal and the network device can be guaranteed.

[0195] It should be noted that, in Figure 2 In the example provided, the process described is based on the terminal performing the steps in S205-S207 after activating the TCI state indicated in S202. In other embodiments of this application, the terminal performs the processes in S205 and S206 after S207.

[0196] Combination Figure 2 As explained in the text, in some implementations, during the interaction between the terminal and the network device, the network device needs to frequently send TCI status configuration information 21 in S201 and TCI status activation instructions 22 in S203 to configure different beams and activate beams for the terminal, resulting in a large signaling overhead.

[0197] It is understandable that the terminal is constantly moving within the wireless network environment. To maintain good communication quality between the terminal and network devices, at least one of the interactions described in S203 to S207 may be required subsequently. This allows the terminal and network devices to select a target beam for data transmission and communication.

[0198] In this application, the baud rate used for the information related to the TCI state to be activated (such as the TCI state ID) indicated in the TCI state activation instruction 22 is limited. Therefore, when the network device needs to instruct the terminal to activate the TCI state, it may need to frequently issue the TCI state activation instruction 22 as in S203, resulting in a large signaling overhead between the network device and the terminal.

[0199] Furthermore, the baud length occupied by the information related to the TCI states to be activated indicated in the TCI state activation instruction 32 is limited. Therefore, the number of TCI states that the terminal can activate is also limited. During the process of the network device instructing the terminal to perform beam measurement, the limited number of activated TCI states results in a lower probability that the terminal will obtain measurement results that meet the preset conditions. Therefore, the terminal may need to perform beam measurement on a large number of beams, leading to low efficiency in beam switching between the terminal and the network device, and causing communication interruptions between the terminal and the network device.

[0200] To address the aforementioned problems, embodiments of this application provide a communication method and apparatus. In this method, a network device can send first configuration information to a terminal. This first configuration information indicates X TCI state states and carries TCI state grouping information. The TCI state grouping information indicates N TCI state groups, and the N TCI state groups indicate the TCI state groups to which Y TCI states belong. Each TCI state group includes at least one TCI state. The Y TCI states are some or all of the X TCI states. Subsequently, the network device can send first indication information to the terminal. This first indication information indicates information about TCI states to be activated. The TCI states to be activated include at least M of the N TCI state groups to be activated. Here, N and M are both positive integers, and M is less than or equal to N.

[0201] In the solution provided in this application, the network device can configure a TCI state group for the terminal and indicate all TCI states included in the TCI state group to be activated. This allows the terminal to activate all TCI states included in the TCI state group. Compared to traditional technologies, during the interaction between the terminal and the network device, the network device can increase the number of TCI states to be activated at one time by indicating TCI state groups. This avoids the network device frequently indicating TCI states to be activated, thereby reducing signaling overhead between the network device and the terminal.

[0202] For example, refer to Figure 3 This application provides a communication method through an embodiment. Figure 3 In the processing, the network device can configure multiple (e.g., X) TCI states for the terminal and configure the packet information for these X TCI states. Specifically, the packet information can indicate the N TCI state groups to which Y TCI states belong, and each TCI state group includes at least one TCI state. The Y TCI states are some or all of the aforementioned X TCI states. Accordingly, the network device can instruct the terminal to activate all TCI states in the TCI state group. Of course, the network device can also instruct the terminal to activate only one TCI state in the TCI state group.

[0203] like Figure 3 As shown, the scheme includes:

[0204] S301, The network device sends TCI state group configuration information 31 to the terminal. The TCI state group configuration information 31 indicates X TCI states and carries the grouping information of the TCI states.

[0205] The aforementioned TCI state group configuration information 31 can also be referred to as the first configuration information. In the embodiments of this application, the network device can send the TCI state group configuration information 31 to the terminal during interaction with the terminal. This TCI state group configuration information 31 indicates X TCI states and carries TCI state grouping information. The TCI state grouping information indicates N TCI state groups. The N TCI state groups indicate the TCI state groups to which Y TCI states belong. Each TCI state group includes at least one TCI state. The Y TCI states are some or all of the X TCI states. X and N are positive integers, where X is greater than or equal to 1, and N is greater than or equal to 1. For example, X is less than or equal to 128.

[0206] For example, suppose that the TCI state group configuration information 31 above indicates 20 TCI states (i.e., X=20), and the TCI state grouping information carried indicates 5 TCI groups (i.e., N=5).

[0207] These 5 TCI groups (e.g., TCI group a-TCI group e) indicate the TCI state groups to which the 15 TCI states (e.g., TCI state 1-TCI state 15) belong, as shown in Table 2:

[0208] Table 2

[0209] TCI Grouping TCI status TCI Group a TCI state 1, TCI state 2, TCI state 3 TCI group b TCI state 4, TCI state 5, TCI state 6 TCI group c TCI state 7, TCI state 8, TCI state 9 TCI grouping d TCI state 10, TCI state 11, TCI state 12 TCI group e TCI state 13, TCI state 14, TCI state 15

[0210] As shown in Table 1, the above Y TCI states (15 TCI states) are a subset of the X TCI states (20 TCI states). It should be noted that, in this case, the other TCI groups in the X TCI states (20 TCI states) besides the Y TCI states (15 TCI states) may not belong to any single TCI group, but may belong to a single TCI state.

[0211] In other words, the aforementioned TCI states to be activated also include at least one first TCI state to be activated. This first TCI state is included in X TCI states, but does not belong to any of the N TCI state groups.

[0212] Of course, Y TCI states can also be all TCI states from X TCI states. For example, the above 5 TCI groups (such as TCI group a-TCI group e) indicate the TCI state groups to which the 20 TCI states (such as TCI state 1-TCI state 20) belong, as shown in Table 3:

[0213] Table 3

[0214] TCI Grouping TCI status TCI Group a TCI state 1, TCI state 2, TCI state 3, TCI state 4 TCI group b TCI state 5, TCI state 6, TCI state 7, TCI state 8 TCI group c TCI state 9, TCI state 10, TCI state 11, TCI state 12 TCI grouping d TCI state 13, TCI state 14, TCI state 15, TCI state 16 TCI group e TCI state 17, TCI state 18, TCI state 19, TCI state 20

[0215] It should be noted that the IDs of the TCI states within each TCI group are not necessarily sequentially numbered, and the number of TCI states in different TCI groups may also be different. Tables 1 and 2 above are only for illustrating the indication method of TCI groups and do not limit the content indicated by the first configuration information above.

[0216] S302. The terminal receives TCI status group configuration information 31 from the network device.

[0217] After receiving the TCI status group configuration information 31, the terminal can transmit data and communicate with the network device based on the configured TCI status group, or based on the configured TCI status group and a single TCI status.

[0218] In one implementation, the network device may send TCI status group configuration information 31 to the terminal when establishing an initial RRC connection or re-establishing an RRC connection. In this implementation, the aforementioned TCI status group configuration information 31 may be carried in the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0219] For example, when a network device detects a degradation in the communication quality between itself and the terminal, it can send TCI status group configuration information 31 to the terminal.

[0220] For example, when the conditions for triggering beam management are met, the network device can send TCI status group configuration information 31 to the terminal. The conditions for triggering beam management may include at least one of the following: the terminal moving at a speed greater than a preset speed, the terminal entering or leaving the coverage area of ​​a certain beam, or periodic beam measurement as specified by the wireless communication protocol.

[0221] In some implementations, beam management can be triggered by events. The event that triggers beam management can be at least one of event A, event B, event C, or event D.

[0222] Event A includes situations where the quality of the current serving beam is lower than the preset quality by 1.

[0223] Event B includes situations where the quality of at least one new beam (e.g., L1-RSRP) is better than the quality of the currently serving beam plus a preset quality of 2. Here, L1-RSRP refers to the received power of the reference signal transmitted from the network device, as measured by the terminal at the physical layer.

[0224] Event C includes at least one new beam whose quality is better than the worst quality of the reference signal associated with the currently active TCI state plus a preset quality of 3.

[0225] Event D includes at least one new beam whose quality is better than the best quality among the reference signals associated with the currently active TCI state plus a preset quality of 4.

[0226] In another embodiment of this application, event A can also be referred to as event 1, event B as event 2, event C as event 7a, and event D as event 7b.

[0227] It should be noted that the events that trigger beam management described in this application are merely examples, and this application does not impose any limitations on the events that trigger beam management. Furthermore, the event-related numbering in this application is merely an example, and the letters and numbers used are not limited to this.

[0228] In some embodiments, the X TCI states are grouped according to a certain grouping strategy. In this way, the terminal can obtain the TCI state group configured in the TCI state group configuration information 31, or obtain the TCI state group and a single TCI state configured in the TCI state group configuration information 31, according to the grouping strategy.

[0229] This grouping policy specifies how to group the X TCI states included in the TCI state list. This policy can divide the X TCI states in the TCI state list into N TCI state groups. Alternatively, it can divide Y TCI states out of the X TCI states in the TCI state list into N TCI state groups, and include the other individual TCI states out of the X TCI states. This TCI state list can be pre-configured by the network device for the terminal. That is, the TCI states included in the TCI state groups configured by the network device, as well as the configured TCI states themselves, are all included in this TCI state list.

[0230] In some embodiments of this application, the above-mentioned grouping policy may be configured by the network device for the terminal.

[0231] For example, before sending TCI state group configuration information 31 to the terminal, the network device can first send information A to the terminal. Information A is used to configure the packet policy so that the network device and the terminal can maintain consistency when using the packet policy subsequently.

[0232] In other embodiments of this application, the above-mentioned grouping strategy may be predefined by the protocol.

[0233] In some other embodiments of this application, the TCI state group configuration information 31 may include the aforementioned grouping strategy. The specific implementation of the grouping strategy can be found in the descriptions in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0234] In other embodiments of this application, the TCI state group configuration information 31 may further include indication information for indicating the packet policy. This packet policy indication information indicates that the packet policy is one of several candidate packet policies. The multiple candidate packet policies may be pre-configured to the terminal by the network device, or they may be pre-defined by the protocol.

[0235] As one implementation, the aforementioned candidate grouping strategy may include: grouping the X TCI states according to a predetermined order; and grouping the X TCI states according to a predetermined interval and a predetermined order. The predetermined interval is the interval between adjacent TCI state groups. In other words, the aforementioned grouping strategy can be any of the aforementioned candidate grouping strategies.

[0236] The agreed-upon order can be either ascending or descending order of TCI state IDs. The agreed-upon interval is the number of TCI states between adjacent TCI state groups.

[0237] In other embodiments of this application, the TCI state group configuration information 31 may further include at least one of the following: the size of the TCI state group or the number of TCI state groups. The size of the TCI state group indicates the number of TCI states included in each of the N TCI state groups.

[0238] The following explains the specific implementation of the grouping strategy:

[0239] Method 1: Grouping strategies include: dividing the X TCI states in the TCI state list into different TCI state groups according to a pre-agreed order; or, dividing into different TCI state groups and individual TCI states.

[0240] Please refer to Figure 4A The diagram illustrates the principle of grouping strategy 1. Assume the TCI state list contains X TCI states, from TCI state 1 to TCI state N1. Grouping strategy 1, as shown in Figure 4, involves grouping TCI states 1 to N1 according to a predefined order. Here, X = N1, N1 is a positive integer, and N1 is greater than 1. The predefined order is that the TCI state IDs are in ascending order, with the IDs corresponding to TCI state 1 to TCI state N1 increasing sequentially. The size of each TCI state group is 3, and the number of TCI state groups is P, where P is a positive integer.

[0241] Assume P = N1 / 3, where 3 is the size of the TCI state group. Based on the agreed-upon order, the size of the TCI state group, and the number of TCI state groups, the TCI state group configuration information 31 can be used to configure P TCI state groups. Each TCI state group can include 3 TCI states. X TCI states can be completely divided into P TCI state groups, without including any individual TCI states. TCI state group 1 includes TCI states 1 to 3. TCI state group 2 includes TCI states 4 to 6.

[0242] For example, please refer to Figure 4A The grouping strategy 1 shown in Example 1 assumes X = N1 = 12, and the size of each TCI state group is 3. Therefore, P = 12 / 3 = 4. N1 TCI states can be divided into 4 TCI state groups, without including any individual TCI states. Figure 4A As shown in Grouping Strategy 1 - Example 1, the 12 TCI states can be divided into: TCI State Group 1 (including TCI State 1, TCI State 2 and TCI State 3), TCI State Group 2 (including TCI State 4, TCI State 5 and TCI State 6), TCI State Group 3 (including TCI State 7, TCI State 8 and TCI State 9) and TCI State Group 4 (including TCI State 10, TCI State 11 and TCI State 12).

[0243] Assume P < N1 / 3, where 3 is the size of the TCI state group. Based on the agreed-upon order, the size of the TCI state group, and the number of TCI state groups, the TCI state group configuration information 31 can be used to configure P TCI state groups and at least one individual TCI state. Each of the P TCI state groups can include 3 TCI states. The N1 TCI states can be divided into: P TCI state groups and Q individual TCI states. Where P = [N1 / 3], Q = N1 - P * 3. [*] represents the integer quotient. The Q individual TCI states are not included in any TCI state group.

[0244] For example, please refer to Figure 4A The grouping strategy 1-Example 2 shown assumes X = N1 = 14, and the size of each TCI state group is 3. Then P = [14 / 3] = 4, and Q = N1 - P * 3 = 14 - 12 = 2. The N1 TCI states can be divided into 4 TCI state groups and 2 individual TCI states. Figure 4AAs shown in Grouping Strategy 1 - Example 2, the 14 TCI states can be divided into: TCI state group 1 (including TCI state 1, TCI state 2 and TCI state 3), TCI state group 2 (including TCI state 4, TCI state 5 and TCI state 6), TCI state group 3 (including TCI state 7, TCI state 8 and TCI state 9), TCI state group 4 (including TCI state 10, TCI state 11 and TCI state 12), TCI state 13 and TCI state 14.

[0245] Method 2: Divide the multiple TCI states included in the TCI state list into different TCI state groups according to the agreed interval and agreed order; or, divide them into different TCI state groups and individual TCI states.

[0246] refer to Figure 4B The diagram illustrates the principle of grouping strategy 2. Assume the TCI state list contains X TCI states, from TCI state 1 to TCI state N1. Grouping strategy 4, as shown in Figure 4, involves grouping these TCI states according to a pre-defined interval and order. Here, X = N1, N1 is a positive integer greater than 1. The pre-defined order is based on the ascending order of the TCI state IDs, with the IDs corresponding to TCI state 1 through TCI state N1 increasing sequentially. The size of each TCI state group is 3, and the pre-defined interval is 2.

[0247] Combination Figure 4B The grouping strategy 2 shown, based on the agreed interval 2, the agreed order of TCI state IDs from smallest to largest, and the size of the TCI state group 3, allows the TCI state group configuration information 31 to be used to configure TCI state groups a through c, etc. Specifically, TCI state group a includes TCI state 1, TCI state 2, and TCI state 3; TCI state group b includes TCI state 3, TCI state 4, and TCI state 5; and TCI state group c includes TCI state 5, TCI state 6, and TCI state 7.

[0248] For example, please refer to Figure 4B The grouping strategy 2 shown in Example 1 assumes X = N1 = 9, the size of the TCI state group is 3, and the agreed interval is 2. The 9 TCI states can be divided into 4 TCI state groups, without including any individual TCI states. Figure 4BAs shown in Grouping Strategy 2 - Example 1, the 9 TCI states can be divided into: TCI state group 1 (including TCI state 1, TCI state 2 and TCI state 3), TCI state group 2 (including TCI state 3, TCI state 4 and TCI state 5), TCI state group 3 (including TCI state 5, TCI state 6 and TCI state 7) and TCI state group 4 (including TCI state 7, TCI state 8 and TCI state 9).

[0249] In another scenario, depending on the agreed interval, agreed order, and size of the TCI state group, the TCI state group configuration information 31 can also be used to configure at least one individual TCI state. This individual TCI state may include TCI state N1, etc.

[0250] For example, please refer to Figure 4B The grouping strategy shown in Example 2 assumes X = N1 = 9, the size of the TCI state group is 3, and the agreed interval is 2. Ten TCI states can be divided into 4 TCI state groups and 1 single TCI state. According to... Figure 4B As shown in Grouping Strategy 2 - Example 2, the 10 TCI states can be divided into: TCI state group 1 (including TCI state 1, TCI state 2 and TCI state 3), TCI state group 2 (including TCI state 3, TCI state 4 and TCI state 5), TCI state group 3 (including TCI state 5, TCI state 6 and TCI state 7), TCI state group 4 (including TCI state 7, TCI state 8 and TCI state 9) and TCI state 10.

[0251] It should be noted that, in Figure 4B The descriptions in this application all use the example of adjacent TCI state groups having the same agreed-upon interval. In other embodiments of this application, the agreed-upon interval between adjacent TCI state groups may be different.

[0252] As another implementation, when there are multiple TCI state groups included in the TCI state list, the sizes of adjacent TCI state groups can be configured to be the same. In this implementation, the TCI state group configuration information 31 can include only grouping strategy 1 or grouping strategy 2.

[0253] Similarly, as another implementation, when dealing with multiple TCI state groups included in the TCI state list, it can be configured to divide the multiple TCI states included in the TCI state list into different TCI state groups according to a preset order, or to divide them into different TCI state groups and individual TCI states. In this implementation, the TCI state group configuration information 31 may include the size of the TCI state group, or the number of TCI state groups.

[0254] exist Figure 4A as well as Figure 4B The example provided illustrates this by assuming that the sizes of the TCI state groups corresponding to different TCI state groups are all the same. In other embodiments of this application, the sizes of the TCI state groups corresponding to different TCI state groups may be different.

[0255] Please refer to Figure 4C The diagram illustrates the principle of grouping strategy 3. Figure 4C As shown, the sizes of the TCI state groups corresponding to the multiple TCI state groups are 2, 3, and 2 respectively. According to the grouping strategy (strategy 1 or strategy 2) and the size of the TCI state groups, the TCI state group configuration information 31 can be used to configure TCI states 1 to TCI states N1 as multiple TCI state groups, or multiple TCI state groups and at least one single TCI state.

[0256] For example, please refer to Figure 4C The grouping strategy shown in Example 1 (3) assumes X = N1 = 10, and the sizes of adjacent TCI state groups are 2, 3, and 2 respectively. Ten TCI states can be divided into four TCI state groups, without including any individual TCI states. Figure 4C As shown in Grouping Strategy 3 - Example 1, the 10 TCI states can be divided into: TCI state group 1 (including TCI state 1 and TCI state 2), TCI state group 2 (including TCI state 3, TCI state 4 and TCI state 5), TCI state group 3 (including TCI state 6 and TCI state 7) and TCI state group 4 (including TCI state 8, TCI state 9 and TCI state 10).

[0257] For example, please refer to Figure 4C The grouping strategy shown in Example 2 (3) assumes X = N1 = 11, with adjacent TCI state groups having sizes of 2, 3, and 2 respectively. The 11 TCI states can be divided into 4 TCI state groups and 1 single TCI state. According to... Figure 4C As shown in Grouping Strategy 3 - Example 1, the 10 TCI states can be divided into: TCI state group 1 (including TCI state 1 and TCI state 2), TCI state group 2 (including TCI state 3, TCI state 4 and TCI state 5), TCI state group 3 (including TCI state 6 and TCI state 7), TCI state group 4 (including TCI state 8, TCI state 9 and TCI state 10) and TCI state 11.

[0258] It should be noted that the dimensions of the various TCI state groups within the aforementioned N TCI state groups may be the same or different. For example, ... Figure 4C As shown, TCI state group 1 and TCI state group 2 have different sizes. For example, as Figure 4B As shown, the dimensions of each TCI state group are the same.

[0259] The TCI state groups in the above N TCI state groups may have some identical or all different TCI state components. For example, ... Figure 4A and Figure 4C As shown, different TCI state groups include completely different TCI states. For example, as Figure 4B As shown, TCI state group 1 and TCI state group 2 include some TCI states that are the same, such as TCI state 3; however, TCI state group 1 and TCI state group 3 include completely different TCI states.

[0260] exist Figure 4A , Figure 4B and Figure 4C In the examples provided, the TCI state group configuration information 31 is used to configure a TCI state group, or to configure a TCI state group and a single TCI state, as examples for illustration. In other embodiments of this application, the TCI state group configuration information 31 can be used to configure at least one single TCI state.

[0261] For example, the size or number of TCI state groups included in the TCI state group configuration information 31 can be 0. That is, TCI state 1 to TCI state N1 included in the TCI state list all exist as a single TCI state.

[0262] In this embodiment, at least one of the grouping strategy, the size of the TCI state group, and the number of TCI state groups can be predefined.

[0263] For example, at least one of the following—the packet policy, the size of the TCI state group, and the number of TCI state groups—can be included in the configuration file. The network device can then configure the packet policy, the size of the TCI state group, and the number of TCI state groups according to the configuration file. Alternatively, at least one of the following—the packet policy, the size of the TCI state group, and the number of TCI state groups—can be defined in a function. The network device can call this function to configure the packet policy, the size of the TCI state group, and the number of TCI state groups.

[0264] It is understood that the aforementioned grouping strategy 1, grouping strategy 2, and grouping strategy 3 can all be included among multiple candidate grouping strategies. The TCI status group configuration information 31 includes grouping strategy indication information, which is used to instruct the terminal to use one of the multiple candidate grouping strategies to determine the group.

[0265] In the above examples, the descriptions all use at least one of the following as examples: the TCI state group configuration information 31 includes a grouping policy, the size of the TCI state group, and the number of TCI state groups. In some other embodiments of this application, the TCI state group configuration information 31 may include the identifier of the initial TCI state of each of the N TCI state groups and the size of each of the N TCI state groups.

[0266] In this embodiment, TCI states 1 to N1 in the TCI state list are ordered in a predetermined order. The starting TCI state corresponds to the first TCI state in each TCI state group in the order of TCI state 1 to TCI state N1.

[0267] For example, based on the size of the TCI state group and the identifier of the starting TCI state of each of the N TCI state groups, the TCI state group configuration information 31 can be used to configure TCI state 1 to TCI state N1 as multiple TCI state groups, or multiple TCI state groups and at least one single TCI state.

[0268] Continue to refer to Figure 4C Assume that the initial TCI states of each of the N TCI groups included in the TCI state group configuration information 31 are TCI state 1, TCI state 3, and TCI state 6, respectively, and the sizes of the configured TCI state groups are 2, 3, and 2, respectively. This can be... Figure 4C The 10 TCI states in Example 1 are divided into 4 TCI state groups, excluding individual TCI states. This can be... Figure 4C The 11 TCI states in Example 2 shown are divided into 4 TCI state groups and 1 TCI state.

[0269] Similarly, in some other embodiments of this application, the size of the TCI state group included in the TCI state group configuration information 31 can be 0. That is, TCI state 1 to TCI state N1 included in the TCI state list all exist as a single TCI state.

[0270] In some other embodiments of this application, the TCI state group configuration information 31 may include the identifier of the starting TCI state among the Y TCI states and the size of each TCI state group among the N TCI groups.

[0271] In this embodiment, TCI states 1 to N1 in the TCI state list are ordered in a predetermined order. The starting TCI state in the Y TCI states corresponds to the starting TCI state of the first TCI state group in the order of TCI states 1 to N1.

[0272] For example, based on the size of the TCI state group and the identifier of the starting TCI state among the Y TCI states, the TCI state group configuration information 31 can be used to configure TCI states 1 to TCI states N1 as multiple TCI state groups, or multiple TCI state groups and at least one single TCI state.

[0273] Continue to refer to Figure 4C Assume that the initial TCI states of the Y TCI states included in the TCI state group configuration information 31 are TCI state 1 in sequence, and the sizes of the configured TCI state groups are 2, 3, and 2 in sequence. This can be... Figure 4C The 10 TCI states in Example 1 are divided into 4 TCI state groups, excluding individual TCI states. This can be... Figure 4C The 11 TCI states in Example 2 shown are divided into 4 TCI state groups and 1 TCI state.

[0274] Similarly, in some other embodiments of this application, the size of the TCI state group included in the TCI state group configuration information 31 can be 0. That is, TCI state 1 to TCI state N1 included in the TCI state list all exist as a single TCI state.

[0275] In this embodiment, at least one of the identifier of the initial TCI state and the size of the TCI state group can be predefined. The implementation method of configuring the identifier of the initial TCI state among Y TCI states, the identifier of the initial TCI state of each of N TCI groups, and the size of the TCI state group is similar to the implementation method of configuring the packet policy, the size of the TCI state group, and the number of TCI state groups. For details, please refer to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0276] In some embodiments of this application, the TCI state group configuration information 31 may include group identifiers corresponding to the Y TCI states in the TCI state list. The group identifier is used to identify the TCI state group. The group identifier corresponding to each TCI state is used to indicate the TCI state group to which each of the Y TCI states belongs.

[0277] As an example, refer to Table 4, which shows the group identifiers corresponding to different TCI state groups. As shown in Table 4, the group identifier for TCI state group 1 is subset#1, and the group identifier for TCI state group 2 is subset#2. Similarly, the group identifier for TCI state group Q is subset#Q. Here, Q is a positive integer.

[0278] The packet identifiers corresponding to the different TCI state groups can be predefined by the protocol or configured by the network device for the terminal.

[0279] Table 4

[0280]

[0281]

[0282] refer to Figure 5 Referring to the examples in Table 4, Figure 5 A specific example of a group identifier corresponding to a TCI state in a TCI state list is shown.

[0283] like Figure 5 As shown, the group identifiers corresponding to TCI state 1 are subset #1 and subset #2, the group identifiers corresponding to TCI state 2 are subset #1 and subset #3, and the group identifier corresponding to TCI state N1 is subset #Q. The TCI state group configuration information 31 may include, for example... Figure 5 The shown diagram illustrates the group identifiers corresponding to TCI state 1, TCI state 2, and TCI state N1. Correspondingly, the TCI state group configuration information 31 can be used to configure TCI state group 1, TCI state group 2, TCI state group 3, and TCI state group Q. Figure 5 In the TCI state group 1, TCI state 1 and TCI state 2 can be included. TCI state group 2 can include TCI state 1. TCI state group 3 can include TCI state 2. TCI state group Q can include TCI state N1.

[0284] In some implementations, some TCI states included in the TCI state list do not have corresponding group identifiers. This means that the TCI state is not included in any TCI state group.

[0285] For example, such as Figure 5 As shown, TCI state 3 is not configured with a group identifier. That is, TCI state 3 is not included in any TCI state group. Accordingly, the TCI state group configuration information 31 can also be used to configure a single TCI state 3.

[0286] In another implementation, none of the TCI states in the TCI state list have a corresponding group identifier. That is, TCI states 1 to N1 in the TCI state list exist as individual TCI states. Therefore, TCI state group configuration 31 can be used to configure at least one individual TCI state.

[0287] In this embodiment, the group identifier corresponding to the TCI status in the TCI status list can be predefined.

[0288] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this application, the TCI state is also used to indicate quasi-co-location (QCL) information. This QCL information indicates that the beams have one or more identical or similar communication characteristics. These communication characteristics include one or more of the following: delay spread, Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average gain, average delay, and spatial Rx parameters, etc.

[0289] In this embodiment, the terminal can adjust its receiving beam based on the QCL information, facilitating subsequent reception of reference signals sent by network devices on the corresponding beam.

[0290] For example, the QCL information may include the QCL type. In the NR protocol, QCL types can be divided into the following four types:

[0291] Type A: Doppler frequency shift, Doppler spread, average time delay, time delay spread;

[0292] Type B: Doppler frequency shift, Doppler spread;

[0293] Type C: Doppler frequency shift, average time delay;

[0294] Type D: Space reception parameters.

[0295] Therefore, through the processing in S301, the network device can configure TCI state groups for the terminal, increasing the number of TCI states that the network device can configure. This reduces the frequency with which the network device sends configuration information to the terminal during interactions between the terminal and the network device, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0296] In this application, the TCI status group configuration message 31 can be carried in the RRC reconfiguration message 2. The RRC reconfiguration message 2 includes RRCConnectionReconfiguration.

[0297] In some embodiments of this application, after the network device configures a TCI state group and / or a single TCI state for the terminal in S301, the terminal and the network device can continue to perform the operations in S302.

[0298] S303, The network device sends a TCI state group activation command 32 to the terminal. This TCI state group activation command 32 is used to indicate the TCI states to be activated. The TCI states to be activated include the TCI states in M ​​of the N TCI state groups.

[0299] Where M is a positive integer, and M is less than or equal to N.

[0300] S304. The terminal receives the TCI state activation instruction 32 and activates the TCI state to be activated as indicated in the TCI state activation instruction 32.

[0301] In some other embodiments of this application, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 may also be referred to as first indication information. For example, the network device may carry the aforementioned TCI state group activation instruction 32 in the MAC CE and send it to the terminal.

[0302] In one implementation, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 may include a group identifier for the TCI state group to be activated. This TCI state group activation instruction 32 is used to indicate all TCI states in the TCI state group identified by the group identifier to be activated. The terminal can activate all TCI states in the TCI state group corresponding to the group identifier of the TCI state group to be activated included in the TCI state group activation instruction 32.

[0303] For example, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 includes M group identifiers, where M is a positive integer. These M group identifiers can be carried in M ​​bitmaps (called the first bitmap), with each bitmap carrying one group identifier for a TCI state group. In other words, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 includes at least M bitmaps.

[0304] refer to Figure 6 Taking M equals 8, and the 8 TCI state groups to be activated as TCI state group 1 to TCI state group 8 as an example, these 8 bit diagrams sequentially carry subset #1, subset #2, and subset #8, etc. Among them, subset #1 to subset #N2 correspond to the group identifiers of TCI state group 1 to TCI state group N2, respectively.

[0305] exist Figure 6In the example, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 may also include other control information. For example, this other control information may include an uplink or downlink bandwidth part (BWP) ID, a serving cell ID, and field 1. The BWP ID corresponds to the BWP to which the TCI state group activation instruction 32 is applied. The serving cell ID corresponds to the cell to which the TCI state group activation instruction 32 is applied. Field 1 indicates that the TCI state included in each TCI state group is a unified TCI state, a downlink TCI state, or an uplink TCI state.

[0306] As a concrete example, Figure 7 (a) shows an example of a TCI state group activation instruction 32. Again, taking M equal to 8 as an example, as... Figure 7 As shown in (a), the TCI state group activation instruction 32 includes the group identifiers corresponding to TCI state groups 1 to 8, such as subset#1 to subset#8. Among them, subset#1 to subset#8 can occupy different bytes.

[0307] In this example, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 also includes fields P1 to P8. Fields P1 to P8 correspond one-to-one with the group identifiers of TCI state groups 1 to 8. Fields P1 to P8 indicate whether the TCI state type included in the corresponding TCI state group is a unified TCI state or a non-unified TCI state. When the TCI state included in the TCI state group is a non-unified TCI state, the byte containing the group identifier of that TCI state group also includes a type identifier. This type identifier is used to identify whether the TCI state included in the TCI state group is a downlink TCI state or an uplink TCI state. When the TCI state included in the TCI state group is a unified TCI state, the byte containing the group identifier of that TCI state group may not include a type identifier. The TCI state group activation instruction 32 is used to indicate which TCI state groups 1 to 8 are to be activated.

[0308] in addition, Figure 6 The BWP ID can include Figure 7 In (a), the uplink BWP ID and downlink BWPID are shown. Figure 7In example (a), the uplink BWP ID can occupy the same byte as the serving cell ID and the control resource set ID. Within this byte, the uplink BWP ID can occupy two bits, the serving cell ID can occupy five bits, and the control resource set ID can occupy one bit. The downlink BWP ID occupies a different byte than the uplink BWP ID. Other fields can also be stored within the byte occupied by the downlink BWP ID. These other fields can be reserved fields.

[0309] exist Figure 7 In the description of (a) above, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 includes a group identifier of the TCI state group to be activated. The TCI state group activation instruction 32 is used to indicate the TCI state group to be activated as an example. In some other embodiments of this application, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 may include a group identifier of the TCI state group to be activated and the ID of the TCI state to be activated.

[0310] As an example, see reference Figure 7 In (b), the TCI state group activation instruction 32 may include subset #1, TCI state ID3, and subsets #3 to #8. TCI state ID3 can identify TCI state 3. Correspondingly, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 can indicate TCI state group 1, TCI state 3, and TCI state groups 3 to 8.

[0311] In other embodiments of this application, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 includes a bitmap (referred to as a second bitmap), which includes at least one bit, each bit corresponding to a TCI state group. The value of each bit is used to indicate whether the TCI state group corresponding to that bit is activated.

[0312] For example, the value of this bit can be either a first value or a second value. The first value indicates the TCI state group corresponding to this bit to be activated, and the second value indicates the deactivation of the TCI state group corresponding to this bit. For instance, the first value can be 1 and the second value can be 0; or, the first value can be 0 and the second value can be 1.

[0313] In one implementation, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 also includes a bit map. This bit map indicates the TCI state group corresponding to each bit in the bit map (specifically, the second bit map). This allows the terminal to determine the TCI state group to be activated based on the bit map and the second bit map.

[0314] As a concrete example, consider the bitmap described above (specifically the second bitmap), which includes bits 1 to N3, where N3 is a positive integer. (See reference.) Figure 8 (a) in the middle, Figure 8 Image (a) shows an example of a bitmap. Figure 8 In (a), the bit map indicates that bit 1 corresponds to TCI state group 1, bit 2 corresponds to TCI state group 2, bit N3 corresponds to TCI state group N3, and so on.

[0315] Combination Figure 8 The bit mapping diagram shown in (a) assumes that bit 1 has a value of 1, bit 2 has a value of 1, and bit N3 has a value of 0. Then, the corresponding TCI state group activation instruction 32 is used to indicate that all TCI states included in TCI state group 1 and TCI state group 2 are to be activated, and all TCI states in TCI state group N3 are to be deactivated.

[0316] In another implementation, each bit in the second bitmap can also correspond to a single TCI state. The value of each bit is also used to indicate whether the TCI state corresponding to that bit is activated.

[0317] Figure 8 (b) in the diagram shows an example of another bitmap. Figure 8 In (b) of the diagram, the bit map indicates that bit 1 corresponds to TCI state group 1, bit 2 corresponds to TCI state 3, and bit N3 corresponds to TCI state group N3.

[0318] Combination Figure 8 The bit map shown in (b) assumes that bit 1 has a value of 1, bit 2 has a value of 1, and bit N3 has a value of 0. This means that the TCI state group activation instruction 32 instructs all TCI states included in TCI state group 1 and TCI state 3 to be activated, and all TCI states in TCI state group N3 to be deactivated.

[0319] In other embodiments of this application, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 may include the ID of the TCI state to be activated and the first information corresponding to the ID of the TCI state to be activated.

[0320] For example, the first information is used to indicate that the TCI state identified by the ID of the corresponding TCI state to be activated is a first TCI state. Alternatively, the first information is used to indicate that the TCI state identified by the ID of the corresponding TCI state to be activated is a second TCI state in its respective TCI state group.

[0321] The aforementioned first TCI state is included among X TCI states, but does not belong to any of the N TCI state groups. This first TCI state is a single TCI state.

[0322] In some implementations, the second TCI state uniquely corresponds to its corresponding TCI state group.

[0323] In other implementations, the second TCI state is the first sorted TCI state in its respective TCI state group. The first sort is related to the size of the TCI state's ID.

[0324] For example, the first sort corresponds to the TCI state with the largest ID in the TCI state group. Alternatively, the first sort corresponds to the TCI state with the smallest ID in the TCI state group. Or, the first sort corresponds to the TCI state with an ID of intermediate value in the TCI state group.

[0325] It should be noted that, in this example, when the first information indicates that the TCI state to be activated is the first TCI state, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 is used to indicate the single TCI state to be activated. When the first information indicates that the TCI state to be activated is the second TCI state in its respective TCI state group, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 is used to indicate all TCI states in the TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated belongs.

[0326] In this embodiment, the terminal can not only determine which TCI states need to be activated through the TCI state group activation instruction 32, but also determine whether the TCI state to be activated is a TCI state in a TCI state group or a single TCI state.

[0327] As a specific example, the first information includes at least one field, each field corresponding to the ID of a TCI state. Each field is used to indicate that the TCI state identified by the ID of the corresponding TCI state is either a first TCI state or a second TCI state in its respective TCI state group.

[0328] refer to Figure 9 , Figure 9 A specific example of a TCI state group activation instruction 32 is shown. For example... Figure 9 As shown, the IDs of the TCI states to be activated in the TCI state group activation instruction 32 can include TCI state ID 1 to TCI state ID N2, where N2 = M. Specifically, TCI state ID 1 to TCI state ID N2 correspond sequentially to the TCI states to be activated, from 1 to N2.

[0329] exist Figure 9The TCI state group activation instruction 32 also includes fields 1 to N2. Fields 1 to N2 are used to carry first information. Fields 1 to N2 correspond one-to-one with TCI state IDs 1 to N2. Referring to the previous explanations of TCI state IDs 1 to N2, field 1 indicates that the TCI state identified by TCI state ID 1 is the first TCI state, or correspondingly indicates that the TCI state identified by TCI state ID 1 is the second TCI state in its TCI state group. Similarly, field N2 indicates that the TCI state identified by TCI state ID N2 is a single TCI state, or correspondingly indicates that the TCI state identified by TCI state ID N2 is the second TCI state in its TCI state group.

[0330] exist Figure 9 In the example, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 may also include other control information. For example, this other control information may include the uplink or downlink bandwidth part (BWP) ID, the serving cell ID, and the type of TCI state to be activated. For detailed information on the BWP ID, serving cell ID, and the type of TCI state to be activated, please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 6 The explanations provided will not be repeated here.

[0331] In some other embodiments, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 may include the ID of the TCI state to be activated, and second information corresponding to the ID of the TCI state to be activated.

[0332] The second information is used to indicate that the identifier ID of the TCI state to be activated is the ID corresponding to a single TCI state. Alternatively, the second information is used to indicate that the ID of the TCI state to be activated is the ID corresponding to a group of TCI states.

[0333] As a concrete example, Figure 10 An example of a TCI state group activation instruction 32 is shown. For example... Figure 10 As shown, the TCI state IDs 1 to N2 included in the TCI state group activation instruction 32 occupy different bytes.

[0334] In this example, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 also includes fields 1 to 8. Fields 1 to 8 correspond one-to-one with TCI state IDs 1 to N2. Fields 1 to 8 each occupy different bits in one byte. Fields 1 to 8 are included in the second information.

[0335] In addition, Figure 10In the example, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 also includes Control Resource Set ID, Serving Cell ID, Uplink BWP ID, Downlink BWP ID, Other Fields, and P1 to P8 fields. For detailed explanations of Control Resource Set ID, Serving Cell ID, Uplink BWP ID, Downlink BWP ID, Other Fields, and P1 to P8 fields, please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 7 The explanations in the text will not be repeated here.

[0336] In some other embodiments of this application, the ID of the TCI state group may be the same as the ID of the TCI state. In this embodiment, in order to distinguish whether the TCI state to be activated is a TCI state group or a TCI state, the information corresponding to the TCI state to be activated may include second information. The second information is used to indicate that the ID of the TCI state is the ID of a single TCI state, or the second information is used to indicate that the ID of the TCI state is the ID of a TCI state group.

[0337] In this embodiment, when the ID of the second information indicating the TCI state is the ID of a single TCI state, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 is used to indicate the TCI state identified by the ID of the TCI state to be activated. When the ID of the second information indicating the TCI state is the ID of a TCI state group, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 is used to indicate all TCI states in the TCI state group identified by the ID of the TCI state group to be activated.

[0338] Combination Figure 10 In the example provided, the second information may include fields 1 through N2. Fields 1 through N2 correspond one-to-one with TCI state IDs 1 through N2. Field 1 indicates that the TCI state ID is either the ID of a single TCI state or the ID of a group of TCI states. Similarly, field N2 indicates that the TCI state ID N2 is either the ID of a single TCI state or the ID of a group of TCI states.

[0339] Accordingly, after receiving the TCI state group activation instruction beam measurement event command 32, the terminal can activate the TCI state group indicated in the TCI state group activation instruction 32; or, activate the TCI state group and TCI state indicated in the TCI state group activation instruction 32.

[0340] Therefore, the TCI state group activation instruction 32 can not only indicate a single TCI state to be activated, but also indicate all TCI states in a TCI state group to be activated, increasing the number of TCI states that the network device can indicate to the terminal at one time. Thus, during the interaction between the terminal and the network device, the frequency with which the network device sends instructions indicating TCI states to be activated to the terminal can be reduced, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0341] S305, The terminal performs the first beam measurement.

[0342] Optionally, after activating the TCI state indicated in S303, the terminal can perform a first beam measurement on the beam indicated by the activated TCI state (i.e., the beam in the first candidate beam set).

[0343] In one implementation, the terminal can measure the beam indicated by the activated TCI state based on beam measurement events. Specifically, the beam measurement event triggering the first beam measurement is sent to the terminal by the network device via RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling or other control messages. These beam measurement events instruct the terminal to perform the first beam measurement and report the result that meets preset conditions.

[0344] For example, before performing the first beam measurement, the terminal can adjust the receiving beam according to the QCL information indicated by the activated TCI state. This is so that it can subsequently receive reference signals sent by network devices.

[0345] For example, refer to Figure 11 The network device can transmit reference signal 1 to the terminal on the transmit beam B1. The terminal can switch from the receive beam A1 to the receive beam A2 for communication based on the QCL information indicated by the TCI state corresponding to the reference signal 1. The receive beam A2 is aligned with the transmit beam B1.

[0346] In addition, the specific implementation method of the terminal performing the first beam measurement can be found in the description of beam measurement in S205, which will not be repeated here.

[0347] S306, The terminal sends the first beam report to the network device 33.

[0348] For example, after completing the first beam measurement in S305, the terminal can send a first beam report 33 to the network device. This first beam report 33 may include the measurement results of N5 beams, where N5 is a positive integer. At least one of the N5 beam measurement results satisfies a preset condition.

[0349] For example, the preset condition may include the measurement result corresponding to the active TCI state-indicated beam being better than the measurement result of the currently serving beam, or the measurement result being better than the measurement result of the currently serving beam plus a preset threshold.

[0350] In other embodiments of this application, N5 may also be referred to as Z. The aforementioned first beam report 33 is also referred to as the first measurement report. The first measurement report includes the measurement results of Z beams, where Z is a positive integer.

[0351] In some embodiments, to ensure that the beam report can provide feedback on the quality of the beams indicating the TCI status group and / or TCI status, the number of beams N5 included in the beam report 33 is related to the size of the TCI status group configured in the TCI status group configuration information 31.

[0352] In one implementation, the number of beams N5 included in the beam report 33 can be greater than or equal to the maximum size of the TCI state group among the N TCI state groups configured in the TCI state group configuration information 31.

[0353] Assume that TCI state group configuration information 31 includes TCI state group 1, TCI state group 2, and N6 individual TCI states. TCI state group 1 contains N7 TCI states, and TCI state group 2 contains N8 TCI states. N6, N7, and N8 are all positive integers, and N7 is greater than N8.

[0354] In this example, the number of beams N5 included in beam report 33 can be greater than or equal to N7. For example, N5 equals N7 or N7+N6.

[0355] In another implementation, the number of beams N5 included in the beam report 33 can be equal to the minimum size of the TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups configured in the TCI state group configuration information 31.

[0356] Referring again to the previous example, the number of beams N5 included in the beam report 33 can be equal to the number of TCI states N8 included in the configured TCI state group 2.

[0357] In another implementation, the number of beams N5 included in the beam report 33 is equal to the size of one of the N TCI state groups configured in the TCI state group configuration information 31.

[0358] Based on the above scheme, the network device can configure the number of beams N5 in the measurement report according to the size of the TCI status group configured in the TCI status group configuration information 31.

[0359] In other embodiments, the number of beams N5 included in the beam report 33 is related to the size of the TCI state group to be activated indicated in the TCI state group activation instruction 32 and / or the number of TCI states to be activated.

[0360] In one implementation, the number of beams N5 included in the beam report 33 is greater than or equal to the size of the largest TCI state group configured among the M TCI state groups to be activated.

[0361] In another implementation, the number of beams N5 included in beam report 33 is equal to the size of the smallest TCI state group configured among the M TCI state groups to be activated.

[0362] In another implementation, the number of beams N5 included in beam report 33 is equal to the size of one of the M TCI state groups to be activated.

[0363] Based on the above scheme, the network device can configure the number of beams N5 in the measurement report according to the number of TCI states to be activated or the size of the TCI state group to be activated as indicated by the TCI state group activation instruction 32. Alternatively, the network device can configure the number of TCI states to be activated or the size of the TCI state group to be activated as indicated by the TCI state group activation instruction 32 according to the number of beams N5 in the measurement report.

[0364] S307. The network device sends a TCI status indication 34 to the terminal. The TCI status indication 34 is used to indicate the target TCI status, and the target TCI status is used to indicate the transmission beam of the network device.

[0365] The TCI status indication 34 can be referred to as the second indication information. The target TCI status is one of the TCI statuses to be activated indicated in the first indication information (i.e., the TCI status activation instruction 32).

[0366] In some embodiments of this application, the aforementioned TCI status indication 34 may be sent to the terminal by the network device after S304 or S306. The TCI status indication 34 indicates a target TCI status. This target TCI status is included in the group of TCI states to be activated indicated in S304 or in the indicated TCI states to be activated.

[0367] As one implementation, the aforementioned TCI status indication 34 can be carried in the DCI.

[0368] As an alternative implementation, the aforementioned TCI status indication 34 can be carried in the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0369] As an alternative implementation, the aforementioned TCI status indicator 34 can be carried in the MAC CE.

[0370] For example, the TCI status indication 34 may include a first field and a second field. The first field and the second field are used to indicate the target TCI status.

[0371] In some implementations, the target TCI state belongs to a TCI state group (denoted as the first TCI state group), which is a TCI state group to be activated as indicated in the TCI state group activation instruction 32. In this implementation, the first field is used to indicate the first TCI state group, and the second field is used to indicate the target TCI state in the first TCI state group.

[0372] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this application, the TCI states included in each TCI state group can be sorted according to a preset order 1. This preset order 1 can include either an ascending order of TCI state IDs or a descending order of TCI state IDs.

[0373] Specifically, the first field may include the group identifier corresponding to the first TCI state group, and the second field may include the sorting of the target TCI state in the first TCI state.

[0374] Taking a first TCI state group that includes TCI state 1, TCI state 2, and TCI state 3, and the target TCI state as TCI state 3 in the first TCI state group, with the preset order 1 being the ascending order of the TCI state IDs, as an example. Specifically, the IDs of the TCI states corresponding to TCI state 1 through TCI state 3 decrease sequentially. Accordingly, according to preset order 1, the TCI states included in the first TCI state group are TCI state 3, TCI state 2, and TCI state 1 in that order. Therefore, the target TCI state included in this second field is sorted as 1 within the first TCI state group.

[0375] In some implementations, the target TCI state does not belong to any TCI state group. In this implementation, the TCI state indication 34 includes a first field and a second field. The second field is used to indicate the target TCI state.

[0376] For example, the second field may include a first sequence number. This first sequence number is related to the position of the target TCI state in the TCI state group activation instruction 32.

[0377] In addition, in this implementation, the first field can be empty.

[0378] In some embodiments of this application, the first field and the second field may occupy a preset bit length.

[0379] For example, when the target TCI state is included in the group of TCI states to be activated indicated in S302, or in the indicated TCI state, the preset bit length corresponds to the maximum number of TCI state groups to be activated that can be indicated in the TCI state group activation instruction 32 and the maximum size of the configured TCI state group. Alternatively, the preset bit length corresponds to the maximum number of TCI state groups to be activated that can be indicated, the number of individual TCI states indicated, and the maximum size of the configured TCI state group.

[0380] For example, if the maximum size of the TCI state group to be activated in the TCI state group activation instruction 32 is 8, then the maximum number of TCI state groups to be activated can be 8. Alternatively, the maximum number of TCI state groups to be activated and the maximum number of individual TCI states to be activated indicated in the TCI state group activation instruction 32 can be 8. Or, if the maximum number of individual TCI states to be activated indicated in the TCI state group activation instruction 32 is 8, then the preset bit length can be 3 bits.

[0381] In some other embodiments of this application, the second field occupies a preset bit length, and there is a mapping relationship between the bit length L1 occupied by the first field and the number of TCI state groups.

[0382] The number of TCI state groups corresponds to the number of TCI state group groups configured in TCI state group configuration information 31. For an explanation of the preset bit length, please refer to the description in the foregoing embodiments; it will not be repeated here.

[0383] For example, the mapping between the bit length occupied by the first field and the number of TCI state groups can be predefined by the protocol. Alternatively, this mapping can be configured by the network device for the terminal.

[0384] Referring to Table 5, which shows the bit length L1 of the first field corresponding to the number of groups in different TCI state groups. Through the mapping relationship shown in Table 5, the bit length L1 of the first field can indicate one of N4 different TCI state groups, where N4 is the number of groups in the TCI state groups.

[0385] Table 5

[0386]

[0387] The description in Table 5 uses the example of the number of TCI state groups corresponding to the number of TCI state group groups configured in TCI state group configuration information 31. In other embodiments of this application, the number of TCI state groups corresponds to the number of TCI state groups to be activated as indicated in TCI state group activation instruction 32. The bit length occupied by the first field corresponding to the number of different TCI state groups to be activated is the same as the bit length occupied by the first field corresponding to the number of different TCI state group groups. For details, please refer to the description in Table 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0388] It should be noted that Table 5 is only an example, and this application does not impose any special restrictions on the bit length L1 occupied by the first field.

[0389] As another implementation, when the target TCI state is included in the TCI state group or configured TCI state in S301, the preset bit length corresponds to the maximum number of TCI state groups that can be configured in S301 and the maximum size of the configured TCI state group. Alternatively, the preset bit length corresponds to the maximum number of TCI state groups that can be configured, the number of individual configured TCI states, and the maximum size of the configured TCI state group. In this implementation, the specific implementation method of the preset bit length can be referred to the description in the previous example, and will not be repeated here.

[0390] In some embodiments of this application, the network device may send a configuration message 1 to the terminal before sending the TCI status indication 34. This configuration message 1 may include a third field. The third field is used to enable TCI status groups and / or TCI statuses. Specifically, enabling a TCI status group corresponds to enabling a first field indicating a first TCI status group, and enabling a second field indicating a target TCI status group.

[0391] For example, this third field can be included in the tci-Present InDCI parameter.

[0392] For example, the third field can be included in TCI state group configuration information 31. That is, configuration message 1 can be TCI state group configuration information 31.

[0393] In another implementation, configuration message 1 can be any other RRC signaling message. For example, configuration message 1 could be RRC reconfiguration message 3.

[0394] In some embodiments of this application, when the terminal receives the TCI status indication 34, it can adjust the terminal's receiving beam according to the target TCI status in the TCI status indication 34.

[0395] For example, taking the target TCI state corresponding to a target beam as an example, when the terminal receives the TCI state indication 34, it can switch from the first beam to the second beam to communicate with the network device. The second beam is aligned with the target beam. Furthermore, when the network device subsequently sends data or reference signals based on the target beam, the terminal can correspondingly receive the data or reference signals sent by the terminal on the target beam based on the second beam.

[0396] In step S303, the network device sends an instruction to the terminal indicating the activation of a TCI state (i.e., an instruction including the aforementioned first indication information). Each of the TCI states to be activated corresponds to a beam. These beams constitute a range of activated beams to be indicated (also known as a first candidate beam set). The target beam indicated in step S307 can be selected from this first candidate beam set. By executing steps S301-S304, the network device and the terminal can increase the number of TCI states activated at one time. This provides a wider range of options (i.e., the first candidate beam set) for the terminal to select a target beam, thereby increasing the success rate of the terminal quickly selecting a target beam.

[0397] It should be noted that, in Figure 3 In the example, the process described is illustrated by the terminal performing the processing in S305 and S306 after activating the TCI state group indicated in S303, or after activating the TCI state group and TCI state indicated in S303. In other embodiments of this application, the terminal performs the processing in S305 and S306 after S307.

[0398] exist Figure 3 In the example, since there are many TCI states to be activated as indicated in the TCI state group activation instruction 32, the terminal can increase the probability of obtaining measurement results that meet the preset conditions when performing beam measurement on the beam indicated by the activated TCI states. This reduces the need for the terminal to perform beam measurements, improves the efficiency of beam switching between the terminal and network devices, maintains high communication quality between the terminal and network devices, and avoids communication lag issues at the terminal.

[0399] For example, refer to Figure 12A This is another communication method provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0400] like Figure 12A As shown, the scheme includes:

[0401] S1201, The network device sends TCI status group configuration information 1201 to the terminal. This TCI status group configuration information 1201 indicates X TCI statuses and carries TCI status grouping information, which indicates N TCI status groups.

[0402] S1202, The terminal receives TCI status group configuration information from the network device 1201.

[0403] In the embodiments of this application, the TCI status group configuration information 1201 corresponds to Figure 3 TCI status group configuration information 31. For detailed explanation of TCI status group configuration information 1201, please refer to the explanation in S301, which will not be repeated here.

[0404] S1203, The network device sends a TCI status indication 1202 to the terminal, which indicates the target TCI status.

[0405] S1204, The terminal receives TCI status indication 1202.

[0406] In embodiments of this application, the target TCI state is included in the TCI state group or the configured TCI state in S1201.

[0407] As one implementation, the TCI status indicator 1202 corresponds to Figure 3 The TCI status indicator 34 is shown in the diagram. For a detailed explanation of the TCI status indicator 1202, please refer to the description in S307.

[0408] For example, the TCI status indication 1202 is carried in the DCI (denoted as DCI 2).

[0409] As an alternative implementation, TCI status indication 1202 can be carried in RRC reconfiguration message 4.

[0410] For example, RRC reconfiguration message 4 is RRC reconfiguration message 2. In conjunction with the foregoing explanation, RRC reconfiguration message 2 carries TCI status group configuration message 31. That is, TCI status group configuration information 1201 and TCI status indication 1202 can be carried in the same message.

[0411] For example, RRC reconfiguration message 4 is different from RRC reconfiguration message 2. That is to say, TCI status group configuration information 1201 and TCI status indication 1202 can be carried in different messages.

[0412] As another implementation, the TCI status indicator 1202 can be carried in MAC CE (recorded as MAC CE 3).

[0413] For example, MAC CE 3 is MAC CE 2. In conjunction with the foregoing explanation, MAC CE 2 carries the TCI status activation instruction 32. That is, the TCI status activation instruction 32 and the TCI status indication 1202 can be carried in the same message.

[0414] For example, MAC CE 3 is different from MAC CE 2. That is to say, the TCI status activation instruction 32 and the TCI status indication 1202 can be carried in different messages.

[0415] In some embodiments of this application, when the terminal receives the TCI status indication 1202, it can adjust the terminal's receiving beam according to the target TCI status indicated in the TCI status indication 1202.

[0416] For example, taking a target TCI state corresponding to a target beam as an example, when the terminal receives TCI state indication 1201, it can switch from the first beam to the second beam to communicate with the network device. The second beam is aligned with the target beam. Furthermore, when the network device subsequently sends data or reference signals based on the target beam, the terminal can correspondingly receive the data or reference signals sent by the terminal on the target beam based on the second beam.

[0417] exist Figure 12A In the example, the network device can configure a TCI state group for the terminal, or configure both a TCI state group and a TCI state. The network device can also indicate a TCI state from the configured TCI state group or configured TCI state to the terminal. Thus, the network device can indicate the target TCI state based on the grouped TCI states.

[0418] In some embodiments, the TCI state to be activated indicated by the first indication information (such as TCI state group activation instruction 32) belongs to one of the N TCI state groups indicated by the first configuration information (such as TCI state group configuration information 31) (such as the second TCI state group). In this case, after receiving the first indication information, the terminal can determine which beams corresponding to the TCI states in the TCI state group can be used as candidate switching beams to form a switching beam range (also known as the second candidate beam set).

[0419] The following embodiments detail the specific methods by which the terminal determines the second candidate beam set, categorized by case:

[0420] Case (1): The first indication information mentioned above (such as TCI state group activation instruction 32) includes the ID of the TCI state to be activated, and the first information corresponding to the ID of the TCI state to be activated (the first information indicates that the TCI state identified by the ID of the corresponding TCI state to be activated is the second TCI state in the TCI state group to which it belongs). The second TCI state corresponds to the TCI state group to which it belongs.

[0421] Alternatively, the first indication information (such as TCI state group activation instruction 32) may include the ID of the TCI state to be activated, and the second information corresponding to the ID of the TCI state to be activated (the second information indicates that the ID of the TCI state to be activated is the ID corresponding to the TCI state group).

[0422] In the first scenario described above, the first indication information can indicate that the TCI state to be activated is a TCI state in a TCI state group. In this case, the terminal can use the beams corresponding to other TCI states in the TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated belongs, excluding the TCI state to be activated, as candidate switching beams to form a second candidate beam set.

[0423] In this embodiment, the candidate beam can be a beam in the candidate beam set (i.e., the second candidate beam set) to be switched to after the terminal switches to the target beam. For example, the network device can combine the quality of the candidate switching beams in the second candidate beam set and the target beam association reference signal to select whether the terminal switches to a candidate switching beam in the second candidate beam set and send an instruction to the terminal.

[0424] Specifically, the aforementioned candidate switching beams are associated with events used to trigger beam management. For example, the event used to trigger beam management can be at least one of events A, B, C, or D described in the above embodiments. That is, based on the aforementioned event used to trigger beam management, the network device can instruct the terminal to switch to a candidate switching beam in the aforementioned second candidate beam set.

[0425] Case (2): The first indication information mentioned above (such as TCI status group activation instruction 32) indicates the ID of the TCI status group (such as the second TCI status group) to which the TCI status to be activated belongs.

[0426] For example, the first indication information (such as TCI state group activation instruction 32) includes the ID of the TCI state to be activated, and first information corresponding to the ID of the TCI state to be activated (the first information indicates that the TCI state identified by the ID of the TCI state to be activated is the second TCI state in the TCI state group to which it belongs). The second TCI state is the TCI state in the first order in the TCI state group to which it belongs; the first order is related to the size of the TCI state ID.

[0427] In this scenario, the terminal can use the beams corresponding to other TCI states within the second TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated belongs, excluding the TCI states in the second sorted group, as candidate switching beams to form a second candidate beam set. The second sorting can be the first sorting described above. Alternatively, the TCI states in the second sorting can be the nth TCI state in a predefined or configured sorting.

[0428] Case (3): The first indication information mentioned above (such as TCI state group activation instruction 32) indicates the ID of the TCI state to be activated and the ID of the TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated belongs.

[0429] In this case, the terminal can use the beams corresponding to other TCI states in the second TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated belongs, excluding the TCI state to be activated and the TCI states in the third sorting of the second TCI state group, as candidate switching beams to form a second candidate beam set.

[0430] The third sorting can be the first sorting. Alternatively, the TCI state of the third sorting can be the k-th TCI state of a predefined or configured sorting. The third sorting can be the same as or different from the second sorting.

[0431] In some embodiments, for the third case described above, the network device can indicate M TCI state groups to be activated through the first indication information (such as TCI state group activation instruction 32). In this case, the terminal can use the beams corresponding to the other TCI states in the fourth sorted TCI state groups among the M TCI state groups to be activated, excluding the TCI states to be activated and the TCI states in the third sorted TCI state groups, as candidate switching beams to form a second candidate beam set.

[0432] The fourth sorted TCI state group mentioned above can be the m-th TCI state group that is predefined or configured to be sorted among the M TCI state groups to be activated.

[0433] It should be noted that in cases (2) and (3) above, the definition and purpose of the candidate switching beam in the second candidate beam set can be referred to the relevant introduction in case (1) above, and will not be repeated here. In any of the above cases, the specific method for the terminal to select and switch to the candidate switching beam in the second candidate beam set can be referred to the relevant introduction in conventional technology, and will not be repeated here in the embodiments of this application.

[0434] In other embodiments, this application provides a communication method, such as... Figure 12B As shown, the method may include S301-S302, S203, and S1200. For example... Figure 12B As shown, after the network device executes S301 to send the first configuration information (such as TCI state group configuration information 31) to the terminal, it does not execute S303 to send the first indication information (such as TCI state activation instruction 32) to the terminal. Instead, it executes S203 to send the third indication information (such as TCI state activation instruction 22) to the terminal. This third indication information is used to indicate the TCI state to be activated. For example, the third indication information is used to indicate the ID of the TCI state to be activated, but does not indicate the TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated belongs.

[0435] In this embodiment, the terminal can execute S1200 to activate some or all of the TCI states in the TCI state group corresponding to the TCI state ID to be activated indicated by the third indication information (such as TCI state activation instruction 22). For example, the terminal can execute S1200 to activate all TCI states in the TCI state group corresponding to the TCI state ID to be activated indicated by the third indication information; or, only activate the TCI state corresponding to the TCI state ID to be activated indicated by the third indication information. This embodiment does not limit this. For example, the aforementioned third indication information can be carried in the MAC CE or DCI.

[0436] In this embodiment, the terminal can determine the TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated indicated by the third indication information belongs based on the first configuration information. Then, the terminal can use the beams corresponding to other TCI states in the TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated belongs, excluding the TCI state to be activated, as candidate switching beams to form a second candidate beam set. In this embodiment, the definition and purpose of the candidate switching beams in the second candidate beam set can be referred to the relevant descriptions in other embodiments of this application, and will not be repeated here. The specific method for the terminal to select and switch to a candidate switching beam in the second candidate beam set can be referred to the relevant descriptions in conventional technology, and will not be repeated here in this embodiment.

[0437] Optional, such as Figure 12BAs shown, the communication method provided in this embodiment may further include S307 and / or S305-S306. Detailed descriptions of S307 and S305-S306 can be found in the relevant content of the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0438] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the X TCI states are grouped according to the grouping strategy indicated in the first configuration information, and the TCI states included in each TCI state group are different. For example, Figure 4A Grouping strategy 1 and Figure 4C The grouping strategy 3 shown is applicable to this embodiment.

[0439] If the X TCI states are grouped using the grouping strategy indicated in the first configuration information, and the TCI states included in each TCI state group are partially or completely identical, the terminal cannot determine which TCI state group the aforementioned TCI state to be activated belongs to based on the first configuration information. Therefore, the candidate switching beam cannot be determined.

[0440] It should be noted that in the above embodiments, the terminal can determine which TCI state group the TCI state to be activated belongs to through the first indication information (such as TCI state group activation instruction 32) or the third indication information (such as TCI state activation instruction 22) and the first configuration information. In this way, the terminal can easily determine which beams corresponding to the TCI states in the TCI state group can be used as candidate switching beams to form a second candidate beam set.

[0441] In some embodiments, the target TCI state indicated by the second indication information (such as TCI state indication 34) belongs to one of the N TCI state groups indicated by the first configuration information (such as TCI state group configuration information 31) (such as the first TCI state group). Of course, in embodiments where the first configuration information is TCI state group configuration information 1201 and the second indication information is TCI state indication 1202, there is also a case where the target TCI state belongs to the first TCI state group.

[0442] In this scenario, after receiving the second indication information, the terminal can use the beams corresponding to the other TCI states in the first TCI state group (excluding the target TCI state) as candidate switching beams to form a second candidate beam set. In this embodiment, the purpose of the candidate switching beams can be found in other embodiments of this application, and will not be repeated here. The specific method for the terminal to select and switch to a candidate switching beam in the second candidate beam set can be found in conventional techniques, and will not be repeated here.

[0443] In some embodiments, after receiving the first indication information, second indication information, or third indication information, the terminal may determine the second candidate beam set. After determining the second candidate beam set, the terminal may perform a second beam measurement, measuring the candidate switching beams in the second candidate beam set to obtain measurement results. Then, the terminal may send a second beam report to the network device. This second beam report includes the measurement results of the second beam measurement, i.e., the measurement results obtained from measuring the candidate switching beams in the second candidate beam set. This second beam report may also be referred to as a second measurement report. The second beam measurement may also be triggered by a beam measurement event. A detailed description of beam measurement events can be found in the description of beam measurement events in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0444] In some embodiments, the second beam measurement and the first beam measurement described above may be two different beam measurements. It should be noted that the embodiments of this application do not restrict the order in which the terminal performs the second beam measurement and the first beam measurement; the second beam measurement can be performed as long as the terminal determines the second candidate beam set.

[0445] In the case that the second beam measurement and the first beam measurement are two different beam measurements, the terminal can perform the second beam measurement and send the second beam report to the network device after S307; the terminal can also perform the second beam measurement and send the second beam report to the network device before S307, and this application embodiment does not limit this.

[0446] In other embodiments, the second beam measurement and the first beam measurement may be the same beam measurement (denoted as beam measurement a), and the second beam report and the first beam report may be the same beam report (denoted as beam report a). In this embodiment, after executing S304 to activate the TCI state to be activated indicated by the first indication information or the third indication information, and determining the second candidate beam set, the terminal can perform measurements on all beams in the first candidate beam set and the second candidate beam set to obtain beam report a, which includes the measurement results for all beams in the first candidate beam set and the second candidate beam set.

[0447] It should be noted that the terminal can perform the above beam measurement a and send a beam report a to the network device before S307; or it can perform the above beam measurement a and send a beam report a to the network device after S307. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0448] It should be noted that the beams in the second candidate beam set (i.e., the beam range composed of candidate switching beams) are different from the beams in the first candidate beam set (i.e., the active beam range composed of the beams corresponding to the TCI state to be activated indicated by the first indication information).

[0449] The second candidate beam set does not include beams corresponding to any of the TCI states from TCI state a to TCI state f.

[0450] TCI state a: The TCI state to be activated as indicated by the first indication information in the above case (1).

[0451] TCI state b: The second sorted TCI state in the second TCI state group in the above case (2).

[0452] TCI state c: The TCI state to be activated indicated by the first indication information in the above (3) case, and the TCI state in the third sorting of the second TCI state group.

[0453] TCI state d: The TCI state to be activated indicated by the first indication information in the fourth sorted TCI state group in the above (3) case and the TCI state in the third sorted group.

[0454] TCI state e: The TCI state to be activated as indicated by the third indication information above.

[0455] TCI status f: The target TCI status indicated by the second indication information above.

[0456] It should be noted that in determining the candidate beams that constitute the second candidate beam set, the exclusion of the aforementioned TCI states a / b / c / d / e / f is based on the consideration that the beams corresponding to these TCI states may be beams that the terminal previously switched to (e.g., in the last instance). For example, if TCI states a / b / c / d / e / f are active TCI states, the beam corresponding to the active TCI state may be a beam that the terminal previously switched to (e.g., in the last instance). In this case, the terminal has already performed beam measurement on that beam, so it is not necessary to perform beam measurement on that beam again in this instance.

[0457] The aforementioned TCI states a-f are the TCI states to be activated as indicated by indication information (such as first indication information, second indication information, or third indication information). Therefore, the first candidate beam set may include beams corresponding to at least one of the TCI states a-f.

[0458] For example, in case (1), the first candidate beam set may include at least the beam corresponding to TCI state a. The second candidate beam set may include the beams corresponding to all other TCI states (denoted as TCI state set A) in the TCI state group to which TCI state a belongs.

[0459] It should be noted that, in addition to the beam corresponding to TCI state a mentioned above, the first candidate beam set may also include beams corresponding to some or all of the other TCI states in TCI state set A. Specifically, when the first indication information instructs the terminal to activate all TCI states in TCI state set A, the first candidate beam set includes beams corresponding to all TCI states in TCI state set A. When the first indication information instructs the terminal to activate only some TCI states in TCI state set A, the first candidate beam set only includes beams corresponding to the activated TCI states in TCI state set A.

[0460] For example, in case (2), the first candidate beam set may include at least TCI state b. The second candidate beam set may include the beams corresponding to all other TCI states (denoted as TCI state set B) in the TCI state group to which TCI state b belongs.

[0461] It should be noted that, in addition to the beam corresponding to TCI state b mentioned above, the first candidate beam set may also include beams corresponding to some or all of the other TCI states in TCI state set B. Specifically, when the first indication information instructs the terminal to activate all TCI states in TCI state set B, the first candidate beam set includes beams corresponding to all TCI states in TCI state set B. When the first indication information instructs the terminal to activate only some TCI states in TCI state set B, the first candidate beam set only includes beams corresponding to the activated TCI states in TCI state set B.

[0462] For example, in case (3), the first candidate beam set may include at least TCI state c. The second candidate beam set may include the beams corresponding to all other TCI states (denoted as TCI state set C) in the TCI state group to which TCI state c belongs.

[0463] It should be noted that, in addition to the beam corresponding to TCI state c mentioned above, the first candidate beam set may also include beams corresponding to some or all of the other TCI states in TCI state set C. Specifically, when the first indication information instructs the terminal to activate all TCI states in TCI state set C, the first candidate beam set includes beams corresponding to all TCI states in TCI state set C. When the first indication information instructs the terminal to activate only some TCI states in TCI state set C, the first candidate beam set only includes beams corresponding to the activated TCI states in TCI state set C.

[0464] For example, in case (3), the first candidate beam set may include at least TCI state d. The second candidate beam set may include the beams corresponding to all other TCI states (denoted as TCI state set D) in the TCI state group to which TCI state d belongs.

[0465] It should be noted that, in addition to the beam corresponding to TCI state d mentioned above, the first candidate beam set may also include beams corresponding to some or all of the other TCI states in the TCI state set D. Specifically, when the first indication information instructs the terminal to activate all TCI states in the TCI state set D, the first candidate beam set includes beams corresponding to all TCI states in the TCI state set D. When the first indication information instructs the terminal to activate only some TCI states in the TCI state set D, the first candidate beam set only includes beams corresponding to the activated TCI states in the TCI state set D.

[0466] In this case, the first candidate beam set may also include the activated TCI states in the other TCI state groups to be activated, excluding the fourth sorted TCI state group.

[0467] For example, in a scheme where, based on the TCI state to be activated indicated by the third indication information, the beams corresponding to other TCI states in the TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated belongs are determined as candidate switching beams to form a second candidate beam set, the aforementioned first candidate beam set may include TCI state e.

[0468] In this example, the first candidate beam set may include at least TCI state e. The second candidate beam set may include the beams corresponding to all other TCI states (denoted as TCI state set E) in the TCI state group to which TCI state e belongs.

[0469] It should be noted that, in addition to the beam corresponding to TCI state e mentioned above, the first candidate beam set may also include beams corresponding to some or all of the other TCI states in the TCI state set E. Specifically, when the third indication information indicates that the terminal activates all TCI states in the TCI state set E, the first candidate beam set includes beams corresponding to all TCI states in the TCI state set E. When the first indication information indicates that the terminal activates only some TCI states in the TCI state set E, the first candidate beam set only includes beams corresponding to the activated TCI states in the TCI state set E.

[0470] For example, in a scheme where, based on the target TCI state indicated by the second indication information, the beams corresponding to other TCI states in the first TCI state group to which the target TCI state belongs are determined as candidate switching beams to form a second candidate beam set, the aforementioned first candidate beam set may include TCI state f.

[0471] In this example, the first candidate beam set may include at least TCI state f. The second candidate beam set may include the beams corresponding to all other TCI states (denoted as TCI state set F) in the TCI state group to which TCI state f belongs.

[0472] It should be noted that, in addition to the beam corresponding to the aforementioned TCI state f, the first candidate beam set may also include beams corresponding to some or all of the other TCI states in the TCI state set F. Specifically, if all TCI states in the aforementioned TCI state set F are active (i.e., all TCI states in the TCI state group to which the target TCI state belongs are active), the first candidate beam set also includes beams corresponding to all TCI states in the TCI state set F. If only some TCI states in the aforementioned TCI state set F are active (i.e., only some TCI states in the TCI state group to which the target TCI state belongs are active), the first candidate beam set also includes beams corresponding to the active TCI states in the TCI state set F.

[0473] The communication methods provided in the embodiments of this application (such as...) Figure 3 as well as Figure 12A The solutions shown can all be applied to terminals with communication functions.

[0474] As an example, Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the composition of a terminal provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0475] like Figure 13 As shown, Figure 13As shown, terminal 1300 may include processor 1310, external memory interface 1320, internal memory 1321, universal serial bus (USB) connector 1330, charging management module 1340, power management module 1341, battery 1342, antenna 1, antenna 2, mobile communication module 1350, wireless communication module 1360, audio module 1370, sensor module 1380, camera module 1393, display screen 1394, etc.

[0476] It is understood that the structure illustrated in the embodiments of this application does not constitute a specific limitation on the terminal 1300. In other embodiments of this application, the terminal 1300 may include more or fewer components than illustrated, or combine some components, or split some components, or have different component arrangements. The illustrated components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0477] Processor 1310 may include one or more processing units, such as: application processor, modem processor [1310A], graphics processing unit (GPU), image signal processor (ISP), controller, video codec, digital signal processor (DSP), baseband processor, and / or neural network processing unit (NPU), etc. Different processing units may be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors.

[0478] The modem processor [1310A] may include a modulator and a demodulator. The modulator modulates the low-frequency baseband signal to be transmitted into a mid-to-high frequency signal. The demodulator demodulates the received electromagnetic wave signal into a low-frequency baseband signal. The demodulator then transmits the demodulated low-frequency baseband signal to the baseband processor for processing. After processing by the baseband processor, the low-frequency baseband signal is transmitted to the application processor. The AP outputs sound signals through an audio device or displays images or videos through the display screen 1394. In some embodiments, the modem processor may be a separate device. In other embodiments, the modem processor may be independent of the processor 1310 and may be housed in the same device as the mobile communication module 1350 or other functional modules.

[0479] The processor can generate operation control signals based on the instruction opcode and timing signals to control the instruction fetching and execution.

[0480] The processor 1310 may also include a memory for storing instructions and data. In some embodiments, the memory in the processor 1310 may be a cache memory. This memory can store instructions or data that the processor 1310 has used or that are used frequently. If the processor 1310 needs to use the instruction or data, it can directly retrieve it from this memory. This avoids repeated accesses, reduces the waiting time of the processor 1310, and thus improves the efficiency of the system.

[0481] Internal memory 1321 can be used to store executable program code, including instructions. Internal memory 1321 may include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store the operating system, application programs required for at least one function (such as sound playback, image playback, etc.), etc. The data storage area may store data created during the use of terminal 1300 (such as audio data, phonebook, etc.). Furthermore, internal memory 1321 may include high-speed random access memory, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, flash memory device, universal flash storage (UFS), etc. Processor 1310 executes various functional methods or data processing of terminal 1300 by running instructions stored in internal memory 1321 and / or instructions stored in memory located in the processor.

[0482] To address the technical problems raised in this application, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, specifically a network device or terminal as described in the foregoing examples. A hardware structure diagram of the communication device can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 14 , Figure 14 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device is shown, including at least one processor 1401, a memory 1403, and a communication interface 1404.

[0483] The processor 1401 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits used to control the execution of the program of the present application.

[0484] The communication interface 1404 can be any transceiver-like device used to communicate with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), WLAN, etc.

[0485] The memory 1403 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and instructions, random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device capable of storing information and instructions, or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, universal optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer, but not limited thereto. The memory may exist independently and be connected to the processor via a bus. The memory may also be integrated with the processor.

[0486] The memory 1403 stores application code that executes the scheme of this application, and its execution is controlled by the processor 1401. The processor 1401 executes the application code stored in the memory 1403 to implement the method provided in the embodiments of this application below.

[0487] In a specific implementation, as one embodiment, the processor 1401 may include one or more CPUs, for example... Figure 14 CPU0 and CPU1 in the CPU.

[0488] In a specific implementation, as one example, the communication device may include multiple processors, for example... Figure 14 Processors 1401 and 1402 are mentioned. Each of these processors can be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor here can refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores used to process data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0489] As one embodiment, the communication device may further include a transceiver 1405 for communication with other communication devices. For example, if the communication device is a terminal, the transceiver 1405 may be used to communicate with a network device or with another terminal device. As another example, if the communication device is a network device, the transceiver 1405 may be used to communicate with a terminal or with another network device.

[0490] Optionally, transceiver 1405 may include a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver is used to implement the receiving function, and the transmitter is used to implement the transmitting function.

[0491] Optionally, the transceiver 1405 can be integrated with the processor 1401 or exist independently and be coupled to the processor 1401 through the interface circuit of the communication device 1400. This application embodiment does not specifically limit this.

[0492] It should be noted that all relevant content of each step involved in the above method embodiments can be referenced from the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0493] Figure 15 A schematic diagram of a chip system 1500 is shown. The chip system 1500 may include a processor 1501 and a communication interface 1502, used by the terminal to implement the functions involved in the above embodiments. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data for the terminal. This chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. It should be noted that in some implementations of this application, the communication interface 1502 may also be referred to as an interface circuit. As one possible implementation, the chip system 1500 may correspond to, for example... Figure 14 The transceiver 1405 shown is shown.

[0494] It should be noted that all relevant content of each step involved in the above method embodiments can be referenced from the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0495] It is understood that the electronic device provided in this application embodiment includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to perform each function in order to achieve the above-mentioned functions. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, in conjunction with the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed by hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the embodiments of this application.

[0496] This application embodiment can divide the above-described electronic device into functional modules based on the method example described above. For example, each function can be divided into its own functional modules, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated modules can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules. It should be noted that the module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division; other division methods may be used in actual implementation.

[0497] The foregoing mainly describes the solutions provided by the embodiments of this application from the perspective of various functional modules. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0498] The integrated modules described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules. It should be noted that the module division in this embodiment is illustrative and represents only one logical functional division; in actual implementation, other division methods may be used.

[0499] The functions, actions, operations, or steps in the above embodiments can be implemented, in whole or in part, by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software programs, they can be implemented, in whole or in part, in the form of a computer program product. This computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or include one or more data storage devices such as servers and data centers that can be integrated with the medium. The available media can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., DVDs), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks, SSDs), etc.

[0500] Although this application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Accordingly, this specification and drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of this application as defined by the appended claims, and are considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of this application. Clearly, those skilled in the art can make various alterations and modifications to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Thus, if such modifications and modifications of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application is also intended to include such modifications and modifications.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applied to a terminal; the method includes: The system receives first configuration information from a network device. This first configuration information indicates X TCI states and carries TCI state grouping information. The TCI state grouping information indicates N TCI state groups. The N TCI state groups indicate the TCI state groups to which Y TCI states belong. Each TCI state group includes at least one TCI state. The Y TCI states are some or all of the X TCI states. X and N are positive integers, where X is greater than or equal to 1 and N is greater than or equal to 1. Receive first indication information from the network device; the first indication information is used to indicate a TCI state to be activated; the TCI state to be activated includes the TCI states in M ​​of the N TCI state groups to be activated; M is a positive integer, M is greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: The network device receives a second indication message, which indicates a target TCI state. The target TCI state indicates the transmit beam of the network device. The target beam corresponding to the target TCI state is a beam in a first candidate beam set, which includes the beam corresponding to the TCI state to be activated indicated in the first indication message.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, After receiving the first indication information from the network device, the method further includes: A first measurement report is reported to the network device; the first measurement report includes the measurement results of Z beams; where Z is a positive integer; The Z is greater than or equal to the maximum size of the TCI state group among the N TCI state groups; or, Z is equal to the minimum size of the TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups; or, Z is equal to the size of one of the N TCI state groups; or... The Z is greater than or equal to the size of the largest TCI state group among the M TCI state groups to be activated; or, Z is the size of the smallest TC I state group configured among the M TC I state groups to be activated; or, Z is the size of one of the M TC I state groups to be activated.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The TCI state to be activated belongs to the second TCI state group; After receiving the first indication information from the network device, the method further includes: The beams corresponding to the other TCI states in the second TCI state group, excluding the TCI state to be activated, are used as beams in the second candidate beam set. Among them, the beams in the second candidate beam set are the candidate switching beams to be switched after the terminal switches to the target beam corresponding to the target TCI state.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The first indication information includes the ID of the TCI state to be activated, and the ID of the second TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated belongs; After receiving the first indication information from the network device, the method further includes: The beams corresponding to the TCI states in the second TCI state group other than the TCI states in the second TCI state group in the second sorted order are taken as the beams in the second candidate beam set; wherein, the second sorted TCI state is the nth TCI state in the predefined or configured sorted order; or... The beams corresponding to the other TCI states in the TCI state group to which the TCI state to be activated belongs, excluding the TCI state to be activated and the TCI states in the third sorted group of the second TCI state group, are selected as beams in the second candidate beam set; wherein, the TCI state in the third sorted group is the kth TCI state in a predefined or configured sort; or, The beams corresponding to the TCI states other than the TCI states to be activated and the TCI states in the fourth sorted TCI state group among the M TCI state groups to be activated are taken as beams in the second candidate beam set; wherein, the second TCI state group is included in the M TCI state groups to be activated. Among them, the beams in the second candidate beam set are the candidate switching beams to be switched after the terminal switches to the target beam corresponding to the target TCI state.

6. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The target TCI state belongs to the first TCI state group among the N TCI state groups; After receiving the second indication information from the network device, the method further includes: The beams corresponding to the other TCI states in the first TCI state group besides the target TCI state are used as the beams in the second candidate beam set. Wherein, the beams in the second candidate beam set are the candidate switching beams to be switched after the terminal switches to the target beam corresponding to the target TCI state.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4-6, characterized in that, The method further includes: A second measurement report is reported to the network device; the second measurement report includes the measurement results of all beams in the second candidate beam set.

8. The method according to claim 2 or 6, characterized in that, The target TCI state corresponds to the target beam; After receiving the second indication information from the network device, the method further includes: Switch from the first beam to the second beam to communicate with the network device; The second beam is aligned with the target beam.

9. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applied to a network device; the method includes: Send first configuration information to the terminal; the first configuration information indicates X TCI states and carries TCI state grouping information; the TCI state grouping information indicates N TCI state groups; the N TCI state groups indicate the TCI state groups to which Y TCI states belong; each TCI state group includes at least one TCI state; the Y TCI states are some or all of the X TCI states; X and N are positive integers, X is greater than or equal to 1, and N is greater than or equal to 1; Send a first indication message to the terminal; the first indication message is used to indicate the TCI state to be activated; the TCI state to be activated includes the TCI state in M ​​of the N TCI state groups to be activated; M is a positive integer, M is greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: A second indication message is sent to the terminal, the second indication message being used to indicate a target TCI state; the target TCI state being used to indicate the transmission beam of the network device; the target beam corresponding to the target TCI state is a beam in a first candidate beam set, the first candidate beam set including the beam corresponding to the TCI state to be activated indicated in the first indication message.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, 9 or 10, characterized in that, The TCI state to be activated also includes at least one first TCI state; the first TCI state does not belong to any of the N TCI state groups; the first TCI state is included in the X TCI states.

12. The method according to any one of claims 2, 6, 8 or 10, characterized in that, The first configuration information is carried in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message; The first indication information is carried in the Media Access Control Element (MAC CE); The second indication information is carried in the RRC reconfiguration message; or, The second indication information is carried in the MAC CE; or, The second indication information is carried in the downlink control information (DCI).

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-5 or 9-12, characterized in that, The first configuration information includes at least one of a grouping strategy, the size of a TCI state group, or the number of TCI state groups; the grouping strategy indicates the method of grouping the X TCI states; the size of the TCI state group indicates the number of TCI states included in each of the N TCI state groups; or, The first configuration information includes the identifier of the starting TCI state among the Y TCI states and the size of each TCI state group among the N TCI state groups; or, The first configuration information includes the identifier of the starting TCI state of the TCI state group to which the Y TCI states belong, and the size of each TCI state group in the N TCI state groups; or, The first configuration information includes a group identifier corresponding to each TCI state among the Y TCI states. The group identifier is used to indicate the TCI state group to which each TCI state among the Y TCI states belongs.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, At least one of the following is predefined: the grouping strategy, the size of the TCI state group, the number of TCI state groups, the identifier of the initial TCI state, and the group identifier corresponding to the TCI state.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The first configuration information also includes indication information for indicating the grouping strategy, which is selected from a variety of candidate grouping strategies.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The candidate grouping strategy includes: grouping the Y TC I states according to a predetermined order; Furthermore, the Y TCI states are grouped according to a predetermined interval and a predetermined order; the predetermined interval is the interval between adjacent TCI state groups.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1-5 or 9-16, characterized in that, The dimensions of each of the N TCI state groups may be the same or different.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1-5 or 9-17, characterized in that, The TCI state groups in the N TCI state groups may have some identical or all different TCI state components.

19. The method according to any one of claims 9-18, characterized in that, After sending the first indication information to the terminal, the method further includes: The system receives a first measurement report sent by the terminal; the first measurement report includes measurement results for Z beams; where Z is a positive integer. The Z is greater than or equal to the maximum size of the TCI state group among the N TCI state groups; or, Z is equal to the minimum size of the TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups; or, Z is equal to the size of one of the N TCI state groups; or The Z is greater than or equal to the size of the largest TCI state group among the M TCI state groups to be activated; or, Z is the size of the smallest TC I state group configured among the M TC I state groups to be activated; or, Z is the size of one of the M TC I state groups to be activated.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1-8 or 9-19, characterized in that, The first indication information includes the group identifiers of the M TCI state groups to be activated; or, The first indication information includes a bit map, which includes at least one bit. Each bit in the at least one bit corresponds to one of the N TCI state groups. The value of each bit is used to indicate whether the TCI state group corresponding to the bit is activated.

21. The method according to any one of claims 1-8 or 9-19, characterized in that, The first indication information includes the identifier ID of the TC I state to be activated and the first information corresponding to the ID of the TC I state to be activated; The first information is used to indicate that the TCI state identified by the ID of the corresponding TCI state to be activated is a first TCI state, and the first TCI state does not belong to any of the N TCI state groups; the first TCI state is included in the X TCI states; or... The first information is used to indicate that the TCI state identified by the ID of the corresponding TCI state to be activated is the second TCI state; the second TCI state uniquely corresponds to the TCI state group to which it belongs; or, the second TCI state is the TCI state in the first sort in the TCI state group to which it belongs; the first sort is related to the size of the ID of the TCI state.

22. The method according to any one of claims 1-8 or 9-19, characterized in that, The first indication information includes the ID of the TCI state to be activated and the second information corresponding to the ID of the TCI state to be activated; The second information is used to indicate that the identifier ID of the TCI state to be activated is the ID corresponding to a single TCI state; or, The second information is used to indicate that the ID of the TCI state to be activated is the ID corresponding to the TCI state group.

23. The method according to any one of claims 2, 6, 8, 10 or 12, characterized in that, The second indication information includes a first field and a second field; When the target TCI state belongs to a first TCI state group, the first field is used to indicate the first TCI state group, and the second field is used to indicate the target TCI state within the first TCI state group; or... If the target TCI state does not belong to any TCI state group, the second field is used to indicate the target TCI state.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, The first field and the second field each occupy a preset bit length; or, The second field is a preset bit length, and the bit length occupied by the first field is related to the value of M or N.

25. The method according to any one of claims 9-24, characterized in that, The method further includes: The terminal receives a second measurement report; the second measurement report includes the measurement results of all beams in the second candidate beam set; wherein the beams in the second candidate beam set are candidate switching beams to be switched after the terminal switches to the target beam corresponding to the target TCI state.

26. The method according to claim 10 or 12, characterized in that, The target TCI state corresponds to the target beam; After sending the second indication information to the terminal, the method further includes: Switch from the first beam to the second beam to communicate with the terminal; The second beam is aligned with the target beam.

27. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes one or more processors, one or more memories, and one or more communication interfaces; the one or more memories and the one or more communication interfaces are coupled to the one or more processors; the one or more communication interfaces are used to communicate with other communication devices; the one or more memories store computer instructions; the processor is used to run computer programs or instructions to cause the communication device to perform the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-8, 11-18, or 20-24, wherein the communication device is a terminal; or to cause the communication device to perform the communication method as described in any one of claims 9-26, wherein the communication device is a network device.

28. A chip system, characterized in that, The chip system includes a processor and a communication interface; the processor is used to call and run a computer program stored in the storage medium from the storage medium, to perform the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-8, 11-18 or 20-24, or to perform the communication method as described in any one of claims 9-26.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer storage medium stores computer instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-8, 11-18, or 20-24, or implement the communication method as described in any one of claims 9-26.

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