Communication method and device

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method and device, relates to the field of wireless communication, and can improve the positioning precision. The communication method comprises the following steps: a first communication device receives first indication information and sends a reference signal according to the first indication information; wherein the first indication information indicates that the beam width of the reference signal needs to meet a first condition.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of wireless communication, and more specifically, to a communication method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] Location is a technology used by mobile communication networks to determine the geographical location of user equipment (UE) by measuring wireless signals. Location technology determines the UE's location by measuring certain parameters of wireless signals and using specific location techniques. These measurement parameters generally include radio wave transmission time, signal strength, angle of arrival, and angle of departure.

[0003] Commonly used wireless positioning methods in new radio (NR) cellular positioning mainly include downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), downlink angle of departure (DL-AOD), uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), uplink angle of arrival (UL-AOA), and multi-round trip time (multi-RTT).

[0004] Among them, the UL-TDOA-based positioning method avoids measurement errors caused by asynchrony because it does not require strict synchronization between the base station and the UE, making high-precision positioning possible. However, this method requires multiple base stations to measure the wireless signal. Currently, it is not possible to guarantee that the wireless signal sent by the UE can be measured by multiple base stations at the same time, thus failing to guarantee the positioning accuracy of the UE. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and apparatus that can improve positioning accuracy.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, which can be executed by a first communication device. Unless otherwise specified, the "first communication device" in this application can refer to the first communication device itself, a component within the first communication device (e.g., a communication module, processor, circuit, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first communication device. The method includes: receiving first indication information and transmitting a reference signal according to the first indication information. The first indication information indicates that the beamwidth of the reference signal needs to satisfy a first condition.

[0007] Based on this scheme, the first communication device can determine the beamwidth based on the indication of the first indication information (i.e., the beamwidth of the reference signal must meet the first condition), and transmit parameter signals based on the beamwidth. Since the first indication information comes from the second communication device, that is, the first condition is set by the second communication device; in other words, the second communication device can flexibly set the first condition, for example, the second communication device can determine the first condition according to different service requirements.

[0008] Specifically, for the positioning service of the first communication device, the second communication device can configure the desired beamwidth of the first communication device by setting a first condition, such as making the first condition include a beamwidth greater than a certain threshold; thus, the first communication device needs to send a reference signal based on a wider beam, that is, the coverage of the reference signal of the first communication device is increased, that is, more devices can receive the reference signal, or more devices can receive the reference signal with better signal quality, thereby increasing the number of devices involved in determining the location of the first communication device, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the first communication device.

[0009] In one possible design, the first condition includes: the beamwidth of the reference signal is greater than a first threshold.

[0010] Based on this possible design, since the first indication information comes from the second communication device, that is, the second communication device expects the beamwidth sent by the first communication device by setting the first condition; for example, the second communication device can expect the first communication device to send a wider beam (such as the beamwidth sent by the first communication device being greater than the first threshold), thereby increasing the coverage of the reference signal sent by the first communication device, that is, increasing the number of devices that can receive the reference signal, or increasing the number of devices that can receive the reference signal with better signal quality, thereby increasing the number of devices participating in determining the position of the first communication device, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the first communication device.

[0011] In one possible design, the beamwidth is the angle between the two sides of the radiation direction when the radiated power on both sides of the maximum radiation direction of the reference signal decreases to a first preset value.

[0012] In one possible design, the first condition includes: the beamwidth of the reference signal in the horizontal direction is greater than a second threshold, and / or, the beamwidth of the reference signal in the vertical direction is greater than a third threshold.

[0013] Based on this possible design, corresponding thresholds (i.e., a second threshold and a third threshold) can be set for the horizontal and vertical directions respectively. For example, for the positioning service of the first communication device, the second communication device can set a second threshold and a third threshold, such that the beamwidth in the horizontal and / or vertical directions needs to meet the second threshold and / or the third threshold. Thus, the first communication device needs to transmit a reference signal based on a wider beam, that is, the coverage of the reference signal is increased, that is, more devices can receive the reference signal, or more devices can receive the reference signal with better signal quality, thereby increasing the number of devices involved in determining the location of the first communication device, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the first communication device.

[0014] In one possible design, the beamwidth of the reference signal in the horizontal direction is the angle between the two sides of the horizontal radiation direction obtained when the cumulative probability of the equivalent isotropic radiated power EIRP or equivalent isotropic sensitivity EIS of the reference signal is greater than a second preset value; the beamwidth of the reference signal in the vertical direction is the angle between the two sides of the vertical radiation direction obtained when the cumulative probability of the reference signal EIRP or EIS is greater than a second preset value.

[0015] In one possible design, the first indication information is located in the first field of the probe reference signal (SRS) configuration information, and the first field indicates whether the beamwidth needs to meet a first condition.

[0016] Based on this possible design, it can be understood that the information of the beam used to carry the SRS is usually located in the SRS configuration information (such as spatialRelationInfo). Therefore, when the reference signal is SRS, it is also possible to consider configuring the information used to indicate the beamwidth of the SRS (i.e., the first indication information) in the SRS configuration information, so that the first indication information is located in the SRS configuration information. In other words, the second communication device (such as network equipment) can configure the relevant information of the SRS beam (such as spatialRelationInfo, the first indication information, etc.) in the SRS configuration information. Thus, by sending the SRS configuration information, the relevant information of the SRS beam can be indicated. Compared with the scheme where the SRS configuration information and the first indication information are located in different signaling, signaling overhead can be saved.

[0017] In one possible design, receiving the first indication information includes: receiving first configuration information, the first configuration information including a first time-frequency resource and the first indication information, the first time-frequency resource being the time-frequency resource of a reference signal; transmitting the reference signal according to the first indication information includes: transmitting the reference signal on the first time-frequency resource, the beamwidth of the reference signal satisfying a first condition.

[0018] In one possible design, the first configuration information also includes a second time-frequency resource, which is a time-frequency resource for the reference signal, and the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource are different; transmitting the reference signal on the first time-frequency resource includes: transmitting the reference signal on the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource respectively.

[0019] In one possible design, before receiving the first indication information, the communication method further includes: sending first capability information, the first capability information indicating whether the first communication device supports sending a reference signal with a beamwidth satisfying a first condition.

[0020] Based on this possible design, the first communication device can send first capability information to the second communication device, so that the second communication device can determine first instruction information based on the first capability information, that is, provide a possible implementation method for determining the implementation of the first instruction information.

[0021] In one possible design, the first indication information indicates that the beamwidth of the reference signal needs to meet a first condition, including: the first indication information indicates N reference signal resources, the N reference signal resources correspond to N beams respectively, and the beamwidth of the N beams combined needs to meet the first condition, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0022] Based on this possible design, the first indication information can indicate N reference signal resources; wherein, the N reference signal resources correspond to N beams respectively, and the beamwidth of the N beams combined needs to meet a first condition. Therefore, the first communication device can determine the beamwidth based on the indication of the first indication information (i.e., the beamwidth of the reference signal needs to meet the first condition), and transmit parameter signals based on the beamwidth. For example, the second communication device can flexibly set the first condition; for instance, the second communication device can determine the first condition according to different service requirements. Specifically, for the positioning service of the first communication device, the second communication device configures the desired beamwidth to be transmitted by the first communication device by setting the first condition, such as making the first condition include a beamwidth greater than a certain threshold; thus, the first communication device needs to transmit reference signals based on a wider beam, that is, the coverage area of ​​the reference signal of the first communication device increases, i.e., more devices can receive the reference signal, or more devices can receive the reference signal with better signal quality, thereby increasing the number of devices participating in determining the location of the first communication device, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the first communication device.

[0023] In one possible design, before receiving the first indication information, the communication method further includes: sending second capability information, the second capability information indicating a quantity N, the first communication device supporting the simultaneous transmission of N reference signals, and the beamwidth of the beamforming of the N reference signals satisfying a first condition.

[0024] Based on this possible design, the first communication device can send second capability information to the second communication device, so that the second communication device can determine the first instruction information based on the second capability information, that is, provide another possible implementation method for determining the implementation of the first instruction information.

[0025] In one possible design, the first indication information and the second indication information are located in the same signaling, and the second indication information indicates the transmission direction of the reference signal; transmitting the reference signal according to the first indication information includes: transmitting the reference signal in the transmission direction of the reference signal according to the first indication information.

[0026] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, which can be executed by a second communication device. Unless otherwise specified, the "second communication device" in this application can refer to a second communication device, a component within the second communication device (e.g., a communication module, processor, circuit, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second communication device. The method includes: determining first indication information and sending the first indication information. The first indication information indicates that the beamwidth of a reference signal needs to satisfy a first condition.

[0027] Based on this scheme, the second communication device can determine the first condition. After determining the first condition, it informs the first communication device through the first indication information that the beamwidth of the reference signal must meet the first condition, so that the first communication device can determine the beamwidth based on the first indication information and send parameter signals based on the beamwidth.

[0028] For example, since the first indication information is determined by the second communication device, that is, the second communication device expects the beamwidth sent by the first communication device by setting the first condition; for example, the second communication device can expect the first communication device to send a wider beam (such as the beamwidth sent by the first communication device being greater than the first threshold), so that the coverage of the reference signal sent by the first communication device is increased, that is, more devices can receive the reference signal, or more devices can receive the reference signal with better signal quality, thereby increasing the number of devices participating in determining the position of the first communication device, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the first communication device.

[0029] In one possible design, the first condition includes: the beamwidth of the reference signal is greater than a first threshold.

[0030] In one possible design, the beamwidth is the angle between the two sides of the radiation direction when the radiated power on both sides of the maximum radiation direction of the reference signal decreases to a first preset value.

[0031] In one possible design, the first condition includes: the beamwidth of the reference signal in the horizontal direction is greater than a second threshold, and / or, the beamwidth of the reference signal in the vertical direction is greater than a third threshold.

[0032] In one possible design, the beamwidth of the reference signal in the horizontal direction is the angle between the two sides of the horizontal radiation direction obtained when the cumulative probability of the equivalent isotropic radiated power EIRP or equivalent isotropic sensitivity EIS of the reference signal is greater than a second preset value; the beamwidth of the reference signal in the vertical direction is the angle between the two sides of the vertical radiation direction obtained when the cumulative probability of the reference signal EIRP or EIS is greater than a second preset value.

[0033] In one possible design, the first indication information is located in the first field of the probe reference signal (SRS) configuration information, and the first field indicates whether the beamwidth needs to meet a first condition.

[0034] In one possible design, sending the first indication information includes: sending first configuration information, the first configuration information including a first time-frequency resource and the first indication information, wherein the first time-frequency resource is the time-frequency resource of the reference signal.

[0035] In one possible design, the first configuration information also includes a second time-frequency resource, which is the time-frequency resource of the reference signal, and the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource are different.

[0036] In one possible design, sending the first indication information includes: sending the first indication information to the first communication device; before sending the first indication information to the first communication device, the communication method further includes: receiving first capability information, the first capability information indicating whether the first communication device supports sending a reference signal with a beamwidth satisfying a first condition.

[0037] Optionally, the first indication information indicates that the beamwidth of the reference signal needs to meet a first condition, including: the first indication information indicates N reference signal resources, the N reference signal resources correspond to N beams respectively, and the beamwidth of the N beams combined needs to meet the first condition, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0038] In one possible design, before sending the first indication information, the communication method further includes: receiving second capability information, the second capability information indicating a quantity N, the first communication device supporting the simultaneous transmission of N reference signals, and the beamwidth of the beamforming of the N reference signals satisfying a first threshold.

[0039] In one possible design, the first indication information and the second indication information are located in the same signaling, and the second indication information indicates the transmission direction of the reference signal.

[0040] The technical effects of any design in the second aspect can be referenced from the technical effects of the corresponding design in the first aspect, and will not be elaborated here.

[0041] Thirdly, a communication device is provided for implementing various methods. This communication device can be a first communication device as described in the first aspect, or a second communication device as described in the second aspect, or a device included in the first or second communication device, such as a chip or chip system. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the implementation of the methods, which can be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions.

[0042] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module can be used to implement the processing functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module may include a receiving module and a transmitting module, respectively used to implement the receiving function and the transmitting function in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0043] In some possible designs, the transceiver module can consist of transceiver circuits, transceivers, transceivers, or communication interfaces.

[0044] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to perform the method described in any aspect. The communication device may be a first communication device as described in the first aspect, or a second communication device as described in the second aspect, or a device included in the first or second communication device, such as a chip or chip system. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the implementation of the method, which may be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the function.

[0045] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface being used to communicate with a module outside the communication device; the processor being used to execute computer programs or instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method described in any aspect. The communication device may be a first communication device as described in the first aspect, or a second communication device as described in the second aspect, or a device included in the first or second communication device, such as a chip or chip system. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the implementation of the method, which may be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the function.

[0046] A sixth aspect provides a communication device, comprising: at least one processor; the processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method described in any aspect. The communication device may be a first communication device as described in the first aspect, or a second communication device as described in the second aspect, or a device included in the first or second communication device, such as a chip or chip system. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the implementation of the method, which may be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions described.

[0047] In some possible designs, the communication device includes a memory for storing necessary programs, instructions, and / or data. This memory may be coupled to the processor, or it may be independent of the processor.

[0048] In some possible designs, when the device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or contain chips and other discrete components.

[0049] It is understandable that when the communication device provided by any of the third to sixth aspects is a chip, the sending action / function of the communication device can be understood as outputting information, and the receiving action / function of the communication device can be understood as inputting information.

[0050] The aforementioned first communication device may be a terminal device, or a communication module in a terminal device, or a chip in a terminal device that is responsible for communication functions, such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip or a system-in-a-package (SIP) chip that includes a modem module.

[0051] And / or, the aforementioned second communication device may be a network device, or a communication module in a network device, or a circuit or chip in a network device responsible for communication functions, or a functional module in a network device capable of calling and executing programs.

[0052] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a communication device, enable the communication device to perform the method described in any aspect.

[0053] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product containing instructions is provided, which, when run on a communication device, enables the communication device to perform the method described in either aspect.

[0054] Ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, the communication system including a first communication device (or a device included in the first communication device, such as a chip or chip system) in the first aspect and a second communication device (or a device included in the second communication device, such as a chip or chip system) in the second aspect.

[0055] The technical effects of any of the design methods in aspects three through nine can be found in the technical effects of different design methods in aspects one or two above, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0056] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a UE positioning process provided in this application;

[0057] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a UE positioning architecture provided in this application;

[0058] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a wireless communication system provided in this application;

[0059] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of another wireless communication system architecture provided in this application;

[0060] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the architecture of another wireless communication system provided in this application;

[0061] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the architecture of another wireless communication system provided in this application;

[0062] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the architecture of another wireless communication system provided in this application;

[0063] Figure 8 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in this application;

[0064] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a beamwidth provided for this application;

[0065] Figure 10 A flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in this application;

[0066] Figure 11 A flowchart illustrating yet another communication method provided in this application;

[0067] Figure 12 A schematic diagram of another beamwidth provided for this application;

[0068] Figure 13 A flowchart illustrating yet another communication method provided in this application;

[0069] Figure 14 A schematic diagram of a reference signal transmission method provided in this application;

[0070] Figure 15 A flowchart illustrating yet another communication method provided in this application;

[0071] Figure 16 A flowchart illustrating yet another communication method provided in this application;

[0072] Figure 17 A flowchart illustrating yet another communication method provided in this application;

[0073] Figure 18 A flowchart illustrating yet another communication method provided in this application;

[0074] Figure 19 A flowchart illustrating yet another communication method provided in this application;

[0075] Figure 20 A flowchart illustrating yet another communication method provided in this application;

[0076] Figure 21 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in this application;

[0077] Figure 22 A schematic diagram of another communication device provided in this application;

[0078] Figure 23 A schematic diagram of another communication device provided in this application. Detailed Implementation

[0079] In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " indicates that the objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in this application is merely a description of the relationship between the related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural.

[0080] In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of a single item or a plurality of items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0081] Furthermore, to facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used in the embodiments of this application to distinguish identical or similar items with substantially the same function and effect. Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the terms "first" and "second" are not necessarily different.

[0082] In the embodiments of this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design that is described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner to facilitate understanding.

[0083] It is understood that the term "embodiment" used throughout the specification means that a specific feature, structure, or characteristic related to an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of this application. Therefore, various embodiments throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, these specific features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. It is understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the sequence number of each process does not imply the order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0084] It is understood that the terms “comprising” and “having”, and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units that are explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not explicitly listed or that are inherent to such process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0085] It is understood that in this application, "...when" and "if" both refer to the corresponding processing that will be carried out under certain objective circumstances, and are not limited to a specific time, nor do they require a judgment action to be performed during implementation, nor do they imply any other limitations.

[0086] It is understood that some optional features in the embodiments of this application can be implemented independently in certain scenarios without relying on other features, such as the current solution on which they are based, to solve the corresponding technical problems and achieve the corresponding effects. Alternatively, they can be combined with other features as needed in certain scenarios. Correspondingly, the apparatus given in the embodiments of this application can also implement these features or functions, which will not be elaborated here.

[0087] It is understood that in this application, "instruction" can include direct and indirect instructions, as well as explicit and implicit instructions. When describing "a certain instruction information instructs A" or "instruction information of A," it can include whether the instruction information directly or indirectly instructs A, but does not necessarily mean that the instruction information carries A. The information indicated by a certain piece of information is called the information to be instructed. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to instruct the information to be instructed, such as, but not limited to, directly instructing the information to be instructed, such as the information to be instructed itself or its index. It can also indirectly instruct the information to be instructed by instructing other information, where there is a relationship between the other information and the information to be instructed. It can also instruct only a part of the information to be instructed, while the other parts are known or pre-agreed upon. For example, the instruction of specific information can be achieved by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-defined) arrangement of various information, thereby reducing instruction overhead to some extent. At the same time, the common parts of various information can be identified and uniformly indicated to reduce the instruction overhead caused by individually indicating the same information. Furthermore, the specific instruction method can also be any existing instruction method, such as, but not limited to, the above-mentioned instruction methods and their various combinations. As described above, for example, when multiple pieces of information of the same type need to be indicated, the indication methods for different pieces of information may differ. In specific implementation, the required indication method can be selected according to specific needs. This application embodiment does not limit the selected indication method; therefore, the indication methods involved in this application embodiment should be understood to cover various methods that enable the party to be indicated to obtain the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information pieces and sent separately. Furthermore, the sending period or timing of these sub-information pieces can be the same or different. This application does not limit the specific sending method. The sending period or timing of these sub-information pieces can be predefined, for example, predefined according to a protocol, or configured by the transmitting device by sending configuration information to the receiving device.

[0088] In this application, "send" and "receive" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which can include direct transmission via the air interface or indirect transmission via the air interface from other units or modules. "Receive information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which can include direct reception from YY via the air interface or indirect reception from YY via the air interface from other units or modules. "Send" can also be understood as the "output" of a chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of a chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can occur between devices, such as between network devices and terminal devices, or within a device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device via buses, traces, or interfaces.

[0089] In this application, "predefined" can refer to a standard protocol predefined, or it can refer to something agreed upon or negotiated in advance between devices. In this application, "protocol" can refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, such as the 5G protocol, the NR protocol, and related protocols applied in future communication systems; this application does not limit this. "Predefined" can include predefined terms, such as protocol definitions. "Preconfiguration" can be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device; this application does not limit the implementation method, for example.

[0090] In this application, the terms "exemplarily," "for example," etc., are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as an "example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of the term "example" is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner. In the embodiments of this application, "of," "corresponding, relevant," and "corresponding" may sometimes be used interchangeably, and it should be noted that their intended meanings are consistent unless their distinction is emphasized.

[0091] In this application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other. Unless otherwise specified or logically conflicting, the terminology and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referenced. Different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships. The following descriptions of the embodiments of this application do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0092] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, a brief introduction to the relevant technologies of this application is given below.

[0093] 1. Beam:

[0094] A beam is a communication resource. Beams can be wide, narrow, or other types. The technology used to form beams is called beamforming. Beamforming refers to adjusting the amplitude and / or phase of a signal so that the radiated signal through an antenna array has a certain directionality, enabling higher antenna array gain. The main lobe of the antenna array's radiation pattern can be called the beam.

[0095] In beamforming technology, signals are filtered by a spatial domain transmission filter to achieve amplitude and / or phase adjustment. Different spatial domain transmission filters using different spatial filtering parameters can achieve beams in different directions. In the embodiments of this application, spatial filtering parameters can be replaced by beams, or spatial domain transmission filters can be replaced by spatial domain filtering parameters. Spatial domain transmission filters can also be called spatial domain filters, spatial filters, spatial domain parameters, spatial parameters, spatial domain settings, spatial settings, quasi-colocation (QCL) information, QCL assumptions, or QCL indications, etc. Beams can be represented by transmission configuration indicator parameters or by spatial relation parameters. Transmission configuration indicators can be in English as transmission configuration indicator state (TCI-state), transmission configuration indication state (TCI-state), or transmission configuration index state (TCI-state), etc.

[0096] 2. Reference signal (RS):

[0097] The reference signal can also be called a pilot, reference sequence, or reference signal. For ease of description, it will be referred to as the reference signal throughout this text. The reference signal can be used for measurements, such as channel measurement or channel estimation.

[0098] The channel measurements involved in this application also include beam measurements, i.e., obtaining beam quality information by measuring a reference signal. As an example, parameters used to measure beam quality include at least one of the following: reference signal receiving power (RSRP), reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR) (or simply signal-to-dryness ratio). In the embodiments of this application, for ease of explanation, unless otherwise specified, the channel measurements involved can be regarded as beam measurements.

[0099] Depending on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) or New Radio (NR) protocol, uplink reference signals may include, for example, a sounding reference signal (SRS), a physical uplink control channel de-modulation reference signal (PUCCH-DMRS), a physical uplink sharechannel de-modulation reference signal (PUSCH-DMRS), a phase noise tracking reference signal (PTRS), an uplink positioning signal (RS), and so on. Downlink reference signals may include, for example,: synchronization signal block (SSB), physical downlink control channel de-modulation reference signal (PDCCH-DMRS), physical downlink shared channel de-modulation reference signal (PDSCH-DMRS), PTRS, channel status information reference signal (CSI-RS), cell reference signal (CRS) in LTE, tracking reference signal (TRS) in NR, and downlink positioning signal (positioning RS), etc.

[0100] It should be understood that the reference signals listed above are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting this application. This application does not preclude the possibility of defining other reference signals in future agreements to achieve the same or similar functions.

[0101] 3. SRS:

[0102] SRS is the reference signal transmitted by user equipment (UE) in the uplink. Base stations use SRS to evaluate uplink channel parameters; furthermore, for TDD systems, based on the difference between uplink and downlink channels, SRS can also be used to evaluate novel channel adoption numbers. In addition to using SRS for channel quality assessment (such as uplink channel parameters and / or downlink channel parameters), base stations can also use SRS for uplink beam management (such as beam training, beam switching, etc.).

[0103] In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) related protocols, four types of SRS are defined based on their SRS functions: {beam management (BM), codebook (CB), non-codebook (NCB), and antenna switching (AS)}, or simply {BM, CB, NCB, AS}. SRS with beam management function is used for uplink beam scanning; for example, beam scanning of multiple UE panels. SRS with codebook function is used for codebook transmission on the physical uplink share channel (PUSCH); for example, the UE sends an SRS, the base station determines the data stream rank and precoding matrix indicator (PMI) by detecting the SRS, and schedules the PUSCH according to the rank and pre-PMI. SRS with non-codebook functionality is used for non-codebook transmission of PUSCH. The UE obtains downlink channel information based on CSI-RS, calculates uplink weights, and then sends a weighted SRS to the base station. The base station detects the SRS, determines the rank and weighted vector index, and schedules PUSCH according to the rank and weighted vector index. SRS with antenna switching functionality is used for downlink channel measurement; for example, the UE transmits all uplink channel information in round-robin, allowing the base station to calculate downlink weights based on uplink and downlink reciprocity.

[0104] SRS is configured in the UE-dedicated uplink bandwidth (BWP), i.e., BWP-UplinkDedicated->SRS-Config. SRS is divided into two levels: resource set and resource. A terminal device can configure one or more SRS resource sets, each containing multiple SRS resources. Multiple SRS resources within the same SRS resource set correspond to the same SRS function. Furthermore, different SRS resource sets correspond to different SRS functions. An SRS resource is the smallest unit of SRS allocation, and each SRS resource corresponds to a set of parameters. Specifically, the set of parameters corresponding to any SRS resource may include the content shown in Table 1.

[0105] Table 1

[0106]

[0107]

[0108] The number of ports for SRS can be 1, 2, or 4. The time-domain configuration of SRS resources can be periodic, semi-static, or aperiodic. The configuration information for periodic SRS resources includes the period (e.g., 2 milliseconds, 5 ms, 10 ms, etc.) and an offset parameter. After the base station configures the SRS resources through radio resource control (RRC) layer signaling, the UE will transmit SRS on the determined SRS resources within the slot of the characteristic period according to the configuration information. The configuration information for aperiodic SRS resources does not include the periodic time-domain offset parameter K. When the terminal device receives downlink control information (DCI) at time n, and the DCI indicates that the SRS is triggered, it will transmit SRS on the corresponding SRS resource at time n+K, where K and n are positive integers.

[0109] In 3GPP Release 16 (Release 16, R16, or Rel16), spatialRelationInfo is represented by spatialRelationInfoPos-r16; spatialRelationInfoPos-r16 can include any of the parameters shown in Table 2.

[0110] Table 2

[0111] parameter meaning ssb-IndexServing-r16 Spatial filtering relationship between target SRS and SSB csi-RS-IndexServing-r16 Spatial filtering relationship between target SRS and CSI-RS srs-SpatialRelation-r16 Spatial filtering relationship between target SRS and SRS

[0112] The spatial filtering relationship can be simply understood as the beam direction; that is, when spatialRelationInfoPos-r16 includes ssb-IndexServing-r16, it means that the UE can use the same spatial filter as the spatial filter that receives the SSB (i.e., the SSB indicated by ssb-IndexServing-r16) to transmit the target SRS; in other words, the receiving beam of the SSB is the same as the transmitting beam of the target SRS, or the direction of the receiving beam of the SSB is the same as the direction of the transmitting beam of the target SRS.

[0113] Similarly, when spatialRelationInfoPos-r16 includes csi-RS-IndexServing-r16, it means that the UE can transmit the target SRS using the same spatial filter that receives the CSI-RS (i.e., the CSI-RS indicated by csi-RS-IndexServing-r16); that is, the receiving beam of the CSI-RS is the same as the transmitting beam of the target SRS, or in other words, the direction of the receiving beam of the CSI-RS is the same as the direction of the transmitting beam of the target SRS.

[0114] When spatialRelationInfoPos-r16 includes csi-RS-IndexServing-r16, it means that the UE can transmit the target SRS using the same spatial filter as the one used to transmit the SRS (i.e., the SRS indicated by srs-SpatialRelation-r16, which is an SRS transmitted before the target SRS). In other words, the transmission beam of this SRS is the same as the transmission beam of the target SRS, or the direction of the reception beam of this SRS is the same as the direction of the transmission beam of the target SRS.

[0115] 4. UE positioning:

[0116] Location is a technology used by mobile communication networks to determine the geographical location information of a user (UE) by measuring wireless signals. Location technology determines the UE's location by measuring certain parameters of wireless signals and using specific location techniques. These measurement parameters generally include the transmission time of radio waves, signal strength, angle of arrival, and angle of departure.

[0117] Commonly used wireless positioning methods in NR cellular positioning mainly include downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), downlink angle of departure (DL-AOD), uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), uplink angle of arrival (UL-AOA), and multi-round trip time (multi-RTT).

[0118] Among them, DL-TDOA, UL-TDOA, and multi-RTT are time-of-arrival (TOA) positioning technologies. The receiver measures the arrival time of a reference signal from the transmitter, and then determines the distance between the transmitter and receiver based on this arrival time and the transmission time of the reference signal, ultimately obtaining the location of the target. DL-AOD and UL-AOA are angle-based positioning technologies. The receiver measures the angle of arrival of the signal from the transmitter, and then infers the receiver's position based on this angle of arrival and the transmission angle of the reference signal.

[0119] Specifically, the UL-TDOA-based positioning method avoids measurement errors caused by asynchrony because it does not require strict synchronization between the base station and the UE, making high-precision positioning possible. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the positioning process of the location management function (LMF) deployed in the core network (CN) can include: the LMF sending a location information request to the UE's serving RAN node, which instructs the RAN node to configure SRS resource information for the UE; upon receiving the location information request, the RAN node determines and informs the UE of the SRS resource information configured for it; then, the RAN node can send a location information response to the LMF (e.g., the location information response can indicate the SRS resource information). Next, the LMF can send measurement requests to multiple RAN nodes, which, upon receiving the measurement requests, measure the SRS (e.g., measure the SRS reception time) and report their measured SRS (i.e., send a measurement response to the LMF); further, after obtaining the SRS reception time, the LMF can determine the UE's location based on the transmission and reception times of multiple SRS (i.e., the SRS transmission time and SRS arrival time).

[0120] The LMF determines the distance difference between each pair of RAN nodes and the terminal device based on the transmit and receive times of multiple SRSs, and then determines the UE's location based on this difference. For example, taking multiple RAN nodes including RAN nodes #1 to #3, with RAN node #1 as the reference RAN node, as follows... Figure 2 As shown, the LMF can determine the distance differences between RAN node #2, RAN node #3 and RAN node #1, and then determine the UE's position based on these differences. Specifically, the LMF can use RAN node #1 and RAN node #2 as two focal points, and determine the UE's position based on the distance differences between the UE and RAN node #1 and RAN node #2, respectively (i.e., the distance difference between the UE and RAN node #1 and RAN node #2). Figure 2 In this context, d1-d2) represents the length of the real axis of the hyperbola. Points on this hyperbola represent the possible locations of the UE relative to RAN node #1 and RAN node #2. Similarly, the LMF can determine the difference in distance between RAN node #1 and RAN node #3 (i.e., ...). Figure 2 In this context, d1-d3) represents the length of the real axis of the hyperbola. This determines that the UE lies within the intersection region of the two hyperbolas.

[0121] Specifically, assuming Figure 2 The positions of RAN nodes #1 to #3 are known. Let the coordinates of RAN node #1 be (x1, y1), and let the coordinates of any RAN node between RAN nodes #2 and #3 be RAN node #i (i = 2, 3). i y i (For example, the coordinates of RAN node #2 are (x2, y2), and the coordinates of RAN node #3 are (x3, y3)). The coordinates of the target to be located (i.e., the UE) are (x2, y2). UE y UE The arrival time of the SRS measured by RAN node #2 and RAN node #3 is t. i Then the arrival time difference between RAN node #i and the reference RAN node (i.e., RAN node #1) is Δt. i 1 (e.g., the arrival time difference between RAN node #2 and the reference RAN node is Δt) 21 The arrival time difference between RAN node #1 and the reference RAN node is Δt. 31 ), where c is the speed of light. Therefore, the following relationship (1-1) can be satisfied between RAN node #1, RAN node #2, and the UE, and the following relationship (1-2) can be satisfied between RAN node #1, RAN node #3, and the UE:

[0122]

[0123]

[0124] In the above Figure 1 and Figure 2 The positioning method described above requires at least three RAN nodes to participate in the positioning of the UE; however, under normal circumstances, the SRS sent by the UE may not reach multiple RAN nodes; that is, the beam carrying the SRS cannot cover multiple RAN nodes; that is, it cannot be guaranteed that the wireless signal sent by the UE can be measured by multiple RAN nodes at the same time, thus the positioning accuracy of the UE cannot be guaranteed.

[0125] In view of this, embodiments of this application provide a communication method and apparatus. A first communication device can determine the beamwidth based on the indication of first indication information (i.e., the beamwidth of the reference signal must meet a first condition), and transmit parameter signals based on the beamwidth. Since the first indication information comes from a second communication device, that is, the first condition is set by the second communication device; that is, the second communication device can flexibly set the first condition, for example, the second communication device can determine the first condition according to different service requirements.

[0126] Specifically, for the positioning service of the first communication device, the second communication device can configure the desired beamwidth of the first communication device by setting a first condition, such as making the first condition include a beamwidth greater than a certain threshold; thus, the first communication device needs to send a reference signal based on a wider beam, that is, the coverage of the reference signal of the first communication device is increased, that is, more devices can receive the reference signal, or more devices can receive the reference signal with better signal quality, thereby increasing the number of devices involved in determining the location of the first communication device, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the first communication device.

[0127] The technical solutions provided in this application can be used in various communication systems, including 3GPP-related cellular systems such as 4th generation (4G) LTE systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, universal mobile communication systems (UMTS), 5th generation (5G) NR systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, LTE and NR hybrid networking systems, device-to-device (D2D) systems, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) systems, and future communication systems.

[0128] Alternatively, the communication system may be a non-3GPP communication system, such as an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, or a communication system that integrates multiple of the above communication systems. This application does not impose any restrictions.

[0129] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system used in the embodiments of this application. Figure 3 As shown, the communication system may include at least one first communication device and at least one second communication device.

[0130] For example, the first communication device may be a terminal device or a component within a terminal device (such as a communication module, processor, circuit, chip, or chip system, etc.), and correspondingly, the second communication device may be a RAN node or a component within a RAN node. Alternatively, both the first and second communication devices may be terminal devices or components within a terminal device. Alternatively, the first communication device may be a RAN node or a component within a RAN node, and correspondingly, the second communication device may be a terminal device or a component within a terminal device. Alternatively, both the first and second communication devices may be RAN nodes or components within a RAN node.

[0131] Optionally, when the first communication device is a terminal device or a component within a terminal device, and the second communication device is a RAN node or a component within a RAN node, Figure 3 The communication system shown can be applied to positioning scenarios; that is... Figure 3 The system architecture shown can be replaced with Figure 4 The diagram shows a positioning network architecture based on Next-Generation-Radio Access Network (NG-RAN). At this point, Figure 3 The first communication device in it is Figure 4 The terminal device or a component in the terminal device shown; the second communication device is... Figure 4 The service RAN (such as) of the terminal equipment Figure 4 Evolved Node B (eNB) or Node B (gNB). Among them, eNB is a base station in LTE system or evolved LTE system (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A), or it can be simply referred to as a 4G base station; gNB is a base station in NR system (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A), or it can be simply referred to as a 5G base station.

[0132] exist Figure 4 In the illustrated architecture, the Access and Mobility Management (AMF) function in the Network Component (CN) can receive location service requests for terminal devices initiated by other network elements. Furthermore, the AMF can forward the received requests to the Localization and Mobility Management (LMF), which is responsible for processing the received location requests and initiating the relevant location procedures. The NG-RAN can include 4G base stations (eNBs) and / or 5G base stations (gNBs) connected to the 5G core network. The NG-RAN is responsible for sending and receiving location reference signals and acquiring relevant measurement information. The location procedures initiated by the LMF are described above. Figure 1 The relevant descriptions will not be repeated here.

[0133] Specifically, base stations (such as eNB and NB) can communicate through the Xn interface; terminal devices and eNBs can communicate through the LTE-Uu interface; terminal devices and NBs can communicate through the NR-Uu interface; base stations can communicate with AMF network elements through the NG-C interface; and AMFs can communicate with LMFs through the NLs interface.

[0134] It should be understood that the above Figure 4 The examples provided illustrate one positioning network architecture used in the embodiments of this application. This does not imply that the positioning network architecture used in this application is limited to the above-described examples. Figure 4The content shown is not limited to the positioning network architecture used in the embodiments of this application. In fact, the positioning network architecture used in this application may include more or fewer network elements, as long as it can achieve the positioning of terminal devices. This application does not limit this.

[0135] Optionally, the terminal equipment and RAN node can be applied to, for example... Figure 5 The system shown. For example... Figure 5 As shown, the communication system includes RAN 100 and core network 200. RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., Figure 5 110a and 110b (collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal device (such as Figure 5 RAN 100, denoted as RAN 120a-120j, is collectively referred to as RAN 120. RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay equipment and / or wireless backhaul equipment. Figure 5 (Not shown in the image). Terminal device 120 is connected to RAN node 110 wirelessly. RAN node 110 is connected to core network 200 wirelessly or via wired connection. The core network equipment in core network 200 and RAN node 110 in RAN 100 can be different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device integrating core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0136] RAN 100 can be a 3GPP-related cellular system, such as a 4G, 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolution system. RAN 100 can also be an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN), CRAN, or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system. RAN 100 can also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0137] RAN node 110, sometimes referred to as a network device, RAN entity, or access node, is part of the communication system used to help terminal devices achieve wireless access. Multiple RAN nodes 110 in the communication system can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 110 and terminal device 120 are relative, for example... Figure 5 Network element 120i can be a helicopter or a drone, and it can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminal devices 120j that access RAN 100 through network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal device. RAN node 110 and terminal device 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices, for example... Figure 5Network elements 110a and 110b can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, while network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0138] Terminal equipment, also known as UE, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), fixed wireless access (FWA), customer premise equipment (CPE), etc., refers to devices that include wireless communication capabilities (providing voice / data connectivity to users). Examples include handheld devices with wireless connectivity, in-vehicle devices, and machine-type communication (MTC) terminals. Currently, terminal devices can include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving (e.g., drones, vehicles), wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, and wireless terminals in smart homes. For example, wireless terminals in self-driving can be drones, helicopters, or airplanes. For example, wireless terminals in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) can be in-vehicle equipment, vehicle-mounted equipment, in-vehicle modules, vehicles, or ships. Wireless terminals in industrial control can be cameras, robots, or robotic arms. Wireless terminals in smart homes can be televisions, air conditioners, robot vacuums, speakers, or set-top boxes. The terminal device can also be a device or module that is connected to the communication system shown above and has corresponding communication functions. The terminal device usually contains a communication module, circuit or chip that performs the corresponding communication function, and the terminal device is also configured with program instructions for performing the corresponding communication function.

[0139] It should be noted that the terminal device can be a device or apparatus with a chip, or a device or apparatus with integrated circuitry, or a chip, chip system, module, or control unit in the device or apparatus shown above; the specific application is not limited to any particular type. It should also be noted that in this application, when referring to a terminal device, it can refer to the terminal device itself, or to the chip, functional module, or integrated circuit within the terminal device that performs the method provided in this application; the specific application is not limited to any particular type.

[0140] A Radio Access Network (RAN) is a device deployed in a radio access network to provide wireless communication capabilities for terminal devices. RAN can also be referred to as a RAN entity, access node, network node, network device, or communication device, etc.

[0141] Specifically, RAN can be network equipment in 3GPP-related cellular systems, such as 4G mobile communication systems, 5G mobile communication systems, or future communication systems. RAN can also be network equipment in open access networks (open RAN, O-RAN, or ORAN) or CRAN. Alternatively, RAN can also be network equipment in a communication system resulting from the integration of two or more of the above communication systems.

[0142] RAN includes, but is not limited to: evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), baseband unit (BBU), access point (AP) in a Wi-Fi system, macro base station, micro base station, wireless relay node, donor node, radio controller in a CRAN scenario, wireless backhaul node, transmission point (TP), or transmission and receiving point (TRP). RAN can also be network equipment in a 5G mobile communication system. For example, the future communication network in an NR system, TRP, TP, or one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G mobile communication system. Alternatively, RAN can also be network nodes constituting a gNB or transmission point. Examples include centralized units (CU), distributed units (DU), CU-control plane (CP), CU-user plane (UP), and radio units (RU). CUs and DUs can be separate entities or included within the same network element, such as a BBU. RUs can be included in radio equipment or radio units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs). Alternatively, RANs can be servers, wearable devices, vehicles, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, in V2X technology, a RAN can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0143] It should be noted that in different systems, CU (or centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) and centralized unit user plane (CU-UP)), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN) system, CU can also be called an open centralized unit (O-CU) or an open CU, DU can also be called an open distributed unit (O-DU), CU-CP can also be called an open centralized unit control plane (O-CU-CP) or an open CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called an open centralized unit user plane (O-CU-UP) or an open CU-UP, and RU can also be called an open radio unit (O-RU). This application does not limit the specific names. Any of the units CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

[0144] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of an O-RAN system architecture is shown. Figure 6 As shown, the O-RAN system includes a core network, RAN, and UE. Optionally, the ORAN system may also include... Figure 6 Other components besides those shown are not specifically limited in this application.

[0145] RAN nodes can communicate with the CN via a backhaul (BH) link. RAN nodes can also communicate with the UE via an air interface. Specifically, the BBU in the RAN node communicates with the core network via the backhaul link. The RU in the RAN node communicates with at least one UE via an air interface. The BBU communicates with at least one RU via a fronthaul link; the BBU and RU may or may not be co-located. A BBU includes at least one CU and at least one DU, and the CU and DU can communicate via at least one midhaul link. The CU performs Layer 2 (L2) and Layer 3 (L3) functions; the DU performs Layer 1 (L1) and some L2 functions; and the RU performs L1 computation and radio frequency (RF) digital functions. Optionally, the DU and RU can sometimes be integrated into a single DU; in this case, the RAN node includes both the DU and CU.

[0146] For example, CU / DU hardware may include a chassis platform, a motherboard, peripheral devices, and cooling equipment. The motherboard includes processing units, memory, internal I / O interfaces, and external connection ports. Its hardware accelerator is designed with interfaces, and hardware functional components include: storage for software, hardware, and system debugging interfaces, and a single-board management controller.

[0147] DU systems are typically implemented using multi-core processors and one or more hardware accelerators. Parts of the DU protocol stack can be implemented in software running on the multi-core processor, while computationally intensive L1 and L2 functions can be offloaded to a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) / graphics processing unit (GPU)-based hardware accelerator; alternatively, all L1 functions can be offloaded to an FPGA / GPU-based hardware accelerator, while other protocol stack components are implemented in software running on the processor; or the entire protocol stack can be implemented in software running on the processor. The hardware accelerator supports interconnection with x86 or non-x86 processors. Similarly, the accelerator has a multi-channel PCIe interface pointing to the central processing unit (CPU) and external connections via GbE.

[0148] The RU comprises three parts: the O-RAN processing unit (OPU), the O-RU's digital processing unit (DPU), and the O-RU itself. The OPU receives eCPRI frames from the O-RAN fronthaul and performs fronthaul interface operations, the lowest level L1 (coding, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, precoding), synchronization, beamforming, and resource unit mapping. The OPU can be a CPU, FPGA, or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The DPU performs synchronization, digital downconversion (DDC) in the uplink (UL), digital upconversion (DUC) in the downlink (DL), channel frequency response (CFR), and digital pre-distortion (DPD). It improves power amplifier efficiency by reducing the peak-to-average power ratio (PARA) / adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) of the RF front-end; the DPU can be implemented as an FPGA or an ASIC. The O-RU's RF processing unit includes a transceiver module, up / down converters, a power amplifier (PA), a low-noise amplifier (LNA), and receive (Rx) / transmit (Tx) filters. All conversions between the analog and digital domains (such as digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) – for example, RF sampling, using RF in up-conversion and down-conversion, and frequency conversion by mixing intermediate frequency (IF) and local oscillator (LO) frequencies) – are performed within the transceiver module. Note that physical and logical partitions within the RF processing unit do not require specific boundaries.

[0149] Figure 7 Another architectural diagram of the O-RAN system is shown. (For example...) Figure 7As shown, the O-RAN system includes a non-real-time RAN intelligent controller (Non-RT RIC), a near-real-time RAN intelligent controller (Near-RT RIC), an O-eNB, an O-CU-CP, an O-CU-UP, an O-DU, an O-RU, and an O-RAN Cloud (O-Cloud).

[0150] The Non-RT RIC is used for non-real-time intelligent management of RAN functions. It enables artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) workflows, including model training and updates, and guides applications / functions within the Near-RT RIC based on policies. The Non-RT RIC resides within the Service Management and Orchestration framework (SMO) module. The Near-RT RIC is used for near-real-time intelligent management of the RAN. Through data collection and related operations on the E2 interface, it achieves near-real-time control and optimization of O-RAN modules and resources. The O-CU is used to implement the RRC layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, and other control functions in the 3GPP standard. The O-CU-CP, similar to the CU-CP in the NR system, implements the functions of the RRC layer and the control plane functions of the PDCP layer. It is part of the O-CU. O-CU-UP is similar to CU-UP in the NR system, used to implement the functions of the SDAP layer and the user plane functions of the PDCP layer. It is part of O-CU.

[0151] The O-DU (Organizational Unit) is based on low-layer function partitioning and is used to implement the radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, and higher physical layer (Higher PHY) layer in the 3GPP standard. The higher physical layer functions include one or more of the following: forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding, scrambling / descrambling, or modulation / demodulation. The O-RU (Organizational Unit) is also based on low-layer function partitioning and is used to implement the lower physical layer (Lower PHY) functions and radio frequency (RF) functions in the 3GPP standard. The lower physical layer functions include one or more of the following: fast fourier transform (FFT) / inverse fast fourier transform (iFFT), digital beamforming, or extraction and filtering of the physical random access channel (PRACH), etc. Similar to TRP or RRH in 3GPP, but including low physical layer functions such as FFT / iFFT or PRACH extraction. O-Cloud, as a cloud computing platform, includes physical infrastructure nodes for hosting O-RAN functions such as RAN intelligent controller (RIC) and O-DU; it supports software components (such as operating system, virtual machine monitoring, container runtime), management and orchestration functions.

[0152] also, Figure 7The A1 interface serves as the communication interface between the Non-RT RIC and the Near-RT RIC, enabling intelligent and dynamic control of radio resources within the O-RAN. The Non-RT RIC provides policies, rich information, and ML model updates to the Near-RT RIC via the A1 interface, while the Near-RT RIC provides policy feedback to the Non-RT RIC via the A1 interface. The E2 interface is an open interface between two endpoints used to connect the Near-RT RIC and the RAN node. The RAN node can include: CU and DU in 5G, O-RAN compatible eNB in ​​4G, O-CU (such as (O-CU-CP and / or O-CU-UP)) and / or O-DU in O-RAN, etc. The RIC can obtain data collection and feedback from the RAN node through the E2 interface, and the RAN node can obtain control feedback from the Near-RT RIC through the E2 interface. The O1 interface is the interface between the management entity in the SMO and the O-RAN module; it is used for operation management, and through this interface, fault, configuration, accounting, performance and security (FCAPS) management, software management, and file management are implemented. The O2 interface is the interface between the SMO and the infrastructure management framework that supports O-RAN virtual network functions. The E1 interface is the interface between CU-CP and CU-UP. The F1-C interface is the interface between CU-CP and DU. The F1-U interface is the interface between CU-UP and DU.

[0153] In the O-RAN architecture, a network element with positioning capabilities may be a real-time RAN intelligent controller (RT RIC). The O-DU performs multipath measurement and reports the measurement results to the RT RIC. A network element with positioning capabilities may also be an O-CU. The O-CU receives the multipath measurement results reported by the O-DU and performs position calculation.

[0154] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples.

[0155] It should be noted that a RAN node can be a device or apparatus with a chip, or a device or apparatus with integrated circuitry, or a chip, chip system, module, or control unit in the device or apparatus shown above; this application does not impose any specific limitation. It should also be noted that in this application, the term "RAN node" can refer to the RAN node itself, or to the chip, functional module, or integrated circuit within the RAN node that performs the method provided in this application; this application does not impose any specific limitation.

[0156] The methods provided by the embodiments of this application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments provided by this application can be applied to the above-described embodiments. Figures 3-7 No limitation is imposed on any of the communication systems shown.

[0157] It is understood that in the embodiments of this application, the first communication device and the second communication device may execute some or all of the steps in the embodiments of this application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of this application may also execute other operations or variations thereof. Furthermore, the various steps may be executed in different orders as presented in the embodiments of this application, and it is not necessarily necessary to execute all the operations in the embodiments of this application.

[0158] It should be noted that the message names between devices or the names of parameters in the messages in the embodiments of this application are just examples. In specific implementations, other names may also be used. This application does not specifically limit this.

[0159] See Figure 8 , Figure 8 This is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 8 The method shown may include the following steps S801 to S803:

[0160] S801, the second communication device determines the first indication information; wherein the first indication information indicates that the beamwidth of the reference signal needs to meet the first condition.

[0161] For example, the implementation of the reference signal can be found in the above-mentioned related technologies, and will not be repeated here.

[0162] As an example, the first condition includes: the beamwidth of the reference signal is greater than a first threshold.

[0163] For example, the unit of the first threshold can be either radians or degrees. For instance, the first threshold is 60°.

[0164] It should be understood that the above examples illustrate possible implementations of the first threshold; it does not mean that the value of the first threshold is limited to the above examples. In fact, the first threshold can also be any other value besides the above examples, and the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto.

[0165] Specifically, the first threshold can be pre-agreed upon by the first communication device and the second communication device. For example, it can be determined by the second communication device and communicated to the first communication device, or determined by the first communication device and communicated to the second communication device, or it can be predefined through a protocol.

[0166] Optionally, in this example, beamwidth refers to the angle between the two sides of the radiation direction when the radiated power on both sides of the maximum radiation direction drops to a first preset value.

[0167] For example, such as Figure 9 As shown in (a) in the figure, Figure 9 The area enclosed by the solid line shown in (a) is the signal coverage area of ​​the reference signal, or in other words, the coverage area of ​​the beam used to carry the reference signal; the areas on both sides representing the maximum radiation direction of the reference signal are... Figure 9 The solid arrow shown in (a) indicates that when the radiated power on both sides of the maximum radiation direction drops to a first preset value, the two sides of the reference signal's radiation direction pass through... Figure 9 The two dashed arrows shown in (a) indicate that the angle between the two sides of the radiation direction of the reference signal (i.e., Figure 9 The angle θ between the two dashed arrows shown in (a) represents the beamwidth of the reference signal.

[0168] For example, the first preset value can be 50% of the radiation power corresponding to the maximum radiation direction, or the first preset value can be 3 decibels (dB); or the first preset value can be any other value besides the above example, which is not limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0169] For example, the first preset value may be pre-agreed upon by the first communication device and the second communication device. It may be determined by the second communication device and communicated to the first communication device, or determined by the first communication device and communicated to the second communication device, or it may be predefined through a protocol.

[0170] Optionally, the angle between the two sides of the radiation direction when the radiated power on both sides of the maximum radiation direction drops to a first preset value can also be represented by the distance between the two sides of the radiation direction when the radiated power on both sides of the maximum radiation direction drops to the first preset value. In other words, beamwidth can also refer to the distance between the two sides of the radiation direction when the radiated power on both sides of the maximum radiation direction drops to the first preset value.

[0171] For example, such as Figure 9As shown in (b), the distance between the two sides of the radiation direction when the radiation power on both sides of the maximum radiation direction drops to the first preset value is d1, and the distance between the reference signal transmitting device and d1 is d2. Thus, the included angle θ between the two sides of the radiation direction when the radiation power on both sides of the maximum radiation direction drops to the first preset value can be determined based on d1 and d2.

[0172] Specifically, d2 can be pre-set; for example, it can be determined by the second communication device and informed by the first communication device, or it can be determined by the first communication device and informed by the second communication device, or it can be pre-defined by the protocol.

[0173] As another example, the first condition includes: the beamwidth of the reference signal in the horizontal direction is greater than a second threshold, and / or, the beamwidth of the reference signal in the vertical direction is greater than a third threshold.

[0174] For example, the horizontal direction can be understood as the direction of the horizontal plane, or in other words, the direction that is the same as the horizontal plane. The vertical direction can be understood as the direction that is perpendicular to the horizontal plane.

[0175] For example, the second threshold may be the same as or different from the third threshold. Specifically, the implementation of the second and third thresholds is similar to that of the first threshold described above, and can be found in the relevant description of the first threshold, which will not be repeated here.

[0176] For example, the beamwidth of the reference signal in the horizontal direction is the angle between the two sides of the horizontal radiation direction obtained when the cumulative probability of the equivalent isotopically radiated power (EIRP) or effective isotropic sensitivity (EIS) of the reference signal is greater than a second preset value.

[0177] For example, the beamwidth of the reference signal in the vertical direction is the angle between the two sides of the vertical radiation direction obtained when the cumulative probability of the reference signal's EIRP or EIS is greater than a second preset value.

[0178] The cumulative probability of the reference signal's EIRP or EIS refers to the sum of the probabilities that the EIRP or EIS of the reference signal is less than or equal to a specified value; the cumulative probability can be represented by the cumulative distribution function (CDF).

[0179] Specifically, the cumulative probability of the reference signal's EIRP or EIS ranges from [0, 1]. Theoretically, the EIRP or EIS of the reference signal can be measured at any location in space. The farther a location is from the transmitting device of the reference signal, the smaller the EIRP or EIS of that location, even to the point of zero. For example, if the maximum radiated power of the transmitting device is 23 decibels (dBm), the EIRP at the point where the cumulative probability of the reference signal's EIRP is 100% corresponds to 23 dBm, meaning it does not exceed 23 dBm at any measurement point in space. As another example, the EIRP at the point where the cumulative probability of the reference signal's EIRP is 50% corresponds to 15 dBm, meaning it does not exceed 15 dBm at 50% of any measurement point in space.

[0180] For example, the angle between the two sides of the horizontal radiation direction obtained when the cumulative probability of the reference signal's EIRP or EIS is greater than the second preset value can also be simply referred to as the azimuth angle; that is, the beamwidth of the reference signal in the horizontal direction can be represented by the azimuth angle of the beam used to carry it.

[0181] Specifically, the implementation of the reference signal beamwidth in the horizontal direction and the reference signal beamwidth in the vertical direction is related to the above. Figure 9 The implementation of the beamwidth shown in (a) or (b) is similar; please refer to the above for details. Figure 9 The relevant descriptions of (a) or (b) in the text will not be repeated here.

[0182] In some scenarios, the angle between the two sides of the vertical radiation direction obtained when the cumulative probability of the reference signal's EIRP or EIS is greater than a second preset value can also be simply referred to as the elevation angle; that is, the beamwidth of the reference signal in the vertical direction can be represented by the elevation angle of the beam used to carry it.

[0183] Understandably, the spherical coverage area can be defined by the cumulative probability of the EIRP or EIS values ​​obtained when the beam is steering on the entire sphere centered on the transmitting device of the reference signal (such as the first communication device). Therefore, when the beam carrying the reference signal is defined by the spherical coverage area, the beamwidth of the reference signal in the horizontal direction can also be understood as the azimuth angle corresponding to the spherical coverage area; the beamwidth of the reference signal in the vertical direction can also be understood as the elevation angle corresponding to the spherical coverage area.

[0184] For example, in this scenario, the second preset value can be the minimum EIRP or EIS among 50% (i.e., the median) of the CDF of the EIRP (or EIS) measured across the entire sphere surrounding the transmitting device of the reference signal; or, the second preset value can be the variance of the average or median of the EIRP (or EIS) measured across the entire sphere surrounding the transmitting device of the reference signal, or a lower limit threshold of the EIRP (or EIS) (such as 5% of the CDF).

[0185] For example, the first condition described in the two examples above may be determined by the second communication device, or it may be predefined by the protocol; wherein, when the first condition is predefined by the protocol, its thresholds (such as the first threshold, the second threshold, and the third threshold) are also predefined by the protocol.

[0186] S802, the second communication device sends a first instruction message to the first communication device; correspondingly, the first communication device receives the first instruction message from the second communication device.

[0187] S803. The first communication device sends a reference signal according to the first instruction information.

[0188] Optionally, after receiving the first indication information, the first communication device may transmit a reference signal on a beam that satisfies the first condition. Correspondingly, multiple communication devices may receive the reference signal; furthermore, the multiple communication devices may measure the reference signal and report the measurement results to the LMF, enabling the LMF to locate the first communication device based on these measurement results. The multiple communication devices include a second communication device.

[0189] For example, the implementation of each of the multiple communication devices measuring the reference signal, reporting the measurement results (such as time delay, angle, etc.), and the LMF locating the first communication device based on the measurement results is the same as described above. Figure 1 The location process is similar; please refer to the above for details. Figure 1 The relevant descriptions will not be repeated here.

[0190] For example, based on the implementation of the aforementioned first condition, it can be seen that the beamwidth satisfying the first condition is greater than the beamwidth defined in the current NR. Therefore, compared with the coverage range of the reference signal in the current NR, the coverage range of the reference signal sent by the first communication device is larger, and the number of communication devices (such as RAN nodes) it covers increases. Thus, in the NR, more RAN nodes can participate in the positioning of the first communication device, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the first communication device.

[0191] This application provides a communication method in which a first communication device can determine a beamwidth based on a first indication information (i.e., the beamwidth of the reference signal must meet a first condition) and transmit a parameter signal based on the beamwidth. Since the first indication information comes from a second communication device, the first condition is set by the second communication device; that is, the second communication device can flexibly set the first condition, for example, the second communication device can determine the first condition according to different service requirements.

[0192] Specifically, for the positioning service of the first communication device, the second communication device can configure the desired beamwidth of the first communication device by setting a first condition, such as making the first condition include a beamwidth greater than a certain threshold; thus, the first communication device needs to send a reference signal based on a wider beam, that is, the coverage of the reference signal of the first communication device is increased, that is, more devices can receive the reference signal, or more devices can receive the reference signal with better signal quality, thereby increasing the number of devices involved in determining the location of the first communication device, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the first communication device.

[0193] The above is a general description of the communication method provided in this application. The "first instruction information" involved in the above embodiments will be described in detail below.

[0194] For example, for ease of description, the implementation of the first indication information is described below using the first communication device as a terminal device, the second communication device as a RAN node, and the reference signal as SRS. When the first communication device and the second communication device are other devices, and / or the reference signal is a signal other than SRS, the implementation of the first indication information is similar to the implementation of the first indication information described below. For details, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the following embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0195] Optionally, the first indication information may be carried in any of the following: RRC signaling, media access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling, or DCI.

[0196] For example, the first instruction information may include the following two possible implementations:

[0197] In one possible implementation, the first indication information is located in the first field of the SRS configuration information, and the first field indicates whether the beamwidth of the reference signal needs to meet the first condition.

[0198] Taking the SRS as the reference signal as an example, the information about the beam used to carry the SRS is usually located in the SRS configuration information (such as spatialRelationInfo). Therefore, it is also possible to configure the information used to indicate the beamwidth of the SRS (i.e., the first indication information) in the SRS configuration information, so that the first indication information is located in the SRS configuration information. That is to say, the second communication device (such as a network device) can configure the relevant information about the SRS beam (such as spatialRelationInfo, the first indication information, etc.) in the SRS configuration information, so that by sending the SRS configuration information, the relevant information about the SRS beam can be indicated. Compared with the scheme where the SRS configuration information and the first indication information are located in different signaling, signaling overhead can be saved. For example, the second communication device can define a new field (i.e., the first field) in the SRS configuration information, which is used to indicate whether the beamwidth of the reference signal needs to meet the first condition.

[0199] Specifically, the first field can be represented by 1 bit. When this 1 bit is 1, it indicates that the beamwidth of the reference signal needs to meet a first condition; in this case, the "1" in the 1 bit is the first indication information. Conversely, when this 1 bit is 0, it indicates that the beamwidth of the reference signal does not need to meet the first condition. Alternatively, when this 1 bit is 1, it indicates that the beamwidth of the reference signal does not need to meet the first condition; conversely, when this 1 bit is 0, it indicates that the beamwidth of the reference signal needs to meet the first condition; in this case, the "0" in the 1 bit is the first indication information. Wherein, when the first field indicates that the beamwidth of the reference signal does not need to meet the first condition, the first communication device can use the relevant concepts of beamwidth in current NR to determine the beam used to transmit the reference signal.

[0200] For example, the SRS configuration information is SRS-Config. For details on the implementation of the SRS configuration information, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the aforementioned related technologies, which will not be repeated here.

[0201] Optionally, based on the aforementioned concepts of SRS, SRS can be divided into resources and resource sets. Therefore, when the first indication information is located in the SRS configuration information, the first indication information can be located in the first configuration information within SRS-Config, where the first configuration information indicates the time-frequency resources of the reference signal and the first indication information.

[0202] In other words, the second communication device sends a first instruction message to the first communication device, and correspondingly, the first communication device receives the first instruction message from the second communication device; this can be replaced by: the second communication device sending first configuration information to the first communication device, and correspondingly, the first communication device receiving the first configuration information from the second communication device. That is, step S802 can be replaced with, for example... Figure 10Step S802A shown:

[0203] S802A, the second communication device sends first configuration information to the first communication device, and correspondingly, the first communication device receives the first configuration information from the second communication device.

[0204] As an example, the first configuration information can be a resource-level parameter; in this case, the first configuration information can indicate a first time-frequency resource and a first indication information. The first time-frequency resource is the time-frequency resource of the reference signal.

[0205] For example, the first configuration information may include a first time-frequency resource and a first indication information to directly indicate the first time-frequency resource and the first indication information; or, the first configuration information may also include parameters related to the first time-frequency resource and / or the first indication information to indirectly indicate the first time-frequency resource and / or the first indication information.

[0206] Optionally, the first communication device transmits a reference signal according to the first instruction information, including: the first communication device transmits the reference signal on the first time-frequency resource; wherein the beamwidth of the reference signal satisfies the first condition.

[0207] For example, in this case, the reference signals carried on the first time-frequency resource are all transmitted on the beam that satisfies the first condition.

[0208] As another example, the first configuration information can be a resource set level parameter; in this case, the first configuration information can indicate the resource set and the first indication information.

[0209] Optionally, the resource set indicated by the first configuration information includes at least a first time-frequency resource and a second time-frequency resource. The second time-frequency resource is the time-frequency resource of the reference signal, and the first and second time-frequency resources are different. That is, in this example, in addition to the first time-frequency resource, the first configuration information also indicates the second time-frequency resource.

[0210] For example, the time-domain resources in the first time-frequency resource are different from those in the second time-frequency resource; for instance, the time-domain resources in the first time-frequency resource and the time-domain resources in the second time-frequency resource are located in different slots, OFDM, mini-slots, etc. Alternatively, the frequency-domain resources in the first time-frequency resource are different from those in the second time-frequency resource; for instance, the frequency-domain resources in the first time-frequency resource and the frequency-domain resources in the second time-frequency resource are located in different resource blocks (RBs) or subcarriers. Or, the time-domain resources in the first time-frequency resource are different from those in the second time-frequency resource, and the frequency-domain resources in the first time-frequency resource are also different from those in the second time-frequency resource.

[0211] For example, when the resource set indicated by the first configuration information includes more than two time-frequency resources, the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource are any two time-frequency resources in the resource set.

[0212] Optionally, the first communication device transmits a reference signal on a first time-frequency resource, including: the first communication device transmits reference signals on the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource respectively; wherein the beamwidth of the reference signal satisfies a first condition.

[0213] For example, in this case, the reference signals carried on the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource are both transmitted on the beam that satisfies the first condition.

[0214] Optionally, the first indication information can be determined based on the capability information of the first communication device. For example, before step S802, such as... Figure 11 As shown, the communication method further includes step S800A:

[0215] S800A, the first communication device sends first capability information to the second communication device; correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first capability information from the first communication device.

[0216] The first capability information indicates whether the first communication device supports transmitting a reference signal whose beamwidth satisfies the first condition.

[0217] For example, when the first capability information indicates that the first communication device supports transmitting a reference signal whose beamwidth meets the first condition, the second communication device can execute step S801; when the first capability information indicates that the first communication device does not support transmitting a reference signal whose beamwidth meets the first condition, the second communication device does not execute step S801. In this case, the implementation of the first communication device transmitting the reference signal can follow the current method in NR, which will not be described in detail here.

[0218] Optionally, the first capability information can be carried in the uplink control information (UCI).

[0219] For example, the first capability information can be represented by 1 bit; when the 1 bit is 1, it indicates that the first communication device supports transmitting a reference signal whose beamwidth satisfies the first condition; correspondingly, when the 1 bit is 0, it indicates that the first communication device does not support transmitting a reference signal whose beamwidth satisfies the first condition. Alternatively, when the 1 bit is 1, it indicates that the first communication device does not support transmitting a reference signal whose beamwidth satisfies the first condition; correspondingly, when the 1 bit is 0, it indicates that the first communication device supports transmitting a reference signal whose beamwidth satisfies the first condition.

[0220] Based on this possible implementation, it can be understood that the information of the beam used to carry the SRS is usually located in the SRS configuration information (such as spatialRelationInfo). Therefore, when the reference signal is SRS, it is also possible to consider configuring the information used to indicate the beamwidth of the SRS (i.e., the first indication information) in the SRS configuration information, so that the first indication information is located in the SRS configuration information. In other words, the second communication device (such as network equipment) can configure the relevant information of the SRS beam (such as spatialRelationInfo, the first indication information, etc.) in the SRS configuration information. Thus, by sending the SRS configuration information, the relevant information of the SRS beam can be indicated. Compared with the scheme where the SRS configuration information and the first indication information are located in different signaling, signaling overhead can be saved.

[0221] In another possible implementation, the first indication information indicates that the beamwidth of the reference signal needs to meet a first condition, including: the first indication information indicates N reference signal resources, the N reference signal resources correspond to N beams respectively, and the beamwidth of the N beams combined needs to meet the first condition, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0222] For example, since the reference signal is an SRS, the reference signal resource is an SRS resource. That is, the first indication information indicates N SRS resources. Specifically, the SRS resource can be a time-frequency resource of the SRS. The relationship between any two SRS resources among the N SRS resources is similar to the relationship between the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource mentioned above. For details, please refer to the relevant introduction of the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource mentioned above, which will not be repeated here.

[0223] Specifically, taking a value of N of 3 as an example, in this case, such as Figure 12 As shown, the beamwidth of the combined beam of the three beams (i.e., beams #1 to #3) needs to satisfy the first condition. Specifically, in... Figure 12 In the middle, beams #1 to # are respectively Figure 12 The closed area enclosed by the solid line and the area enclosed by the dashed line are the beams formed by the synthesis of the three beams (i.e., beams #1 to #3), and the beamwidth of the beam satisfies the first condition.

[0224] For example, any one of the N beams can follow the current definition of beams in NR, as detailed in the relevant technical descriptions, which will not be repeated here.

[0225] Optionally, the first indication information can be located in the SRS configuration information. For example, the first indication information can be considered as the second configuration information in the SRS configuration information. That is, the second configuration information indicates N reference signal resources.

[0226] For example, the implementation of SRS configuration information can be found in the relevant descriptions in the foregoing related technologies, and will not be repeated here.

[0227] Optionally, based on the aforementioned concepts of SRS, SRS can be divided into resources and resource sets. Therefore, the N reference signal resources indicated by the first indication information can include the following two implementations:

[0228] In one possible implementation, N reference signal resources can be located in the same resource set.

[0229] For example, in this possible implementation, it can be considered that the second communication device configures different beams for different reference signal resources in the same resource set, so that the first communication device can transmit the N reference signal resources based on different beams; wherein each beam corresponds to one reference signal resource. Alternatively, the first communication device can transmit reference signals on the reference signal resource corresponding to each beam based on different beams.

[0230] In another possible implementation, the N reference signal resources can be located in different resource sets.

[0231] For example, in this possible implementation, it can be considered that the second communication device configures different beams for different resource sets, thereby enabling the first communication device to transmit the N reference signal resources based on different beams and the resource sets corresponding to the N reference signal resources; wherein each beam corresponds to one resource set. Alternatively, the first communication device can transmit reference signals on the reference signal resources within the resource set corresponding to each beam, based on different beams. The reference signals located on the reference signal resources within the same resource set share the same beam.

[0232] Optionally, the first indication information can be determined based on the capability information of the first communication device. For example, before step S802, such as... Figure 13 As shown, the communication method further includes step S800B:

[0233] S800B, the first communication device sends second capability information to the second communication device; correspondingly, the second communication device receives the second capability information from the first communication device.

[0234] The second capability information indicates the quantity N, the first communication device supports the simultaneous transmission of N reference signals, and the beamwidth of the beamforming of the N reference signals satisfies the first condition.

[0235] For example, the N reference signals are respectively carried on N reference signal resources (i.e., N SRS resources); that is, the N reference signals correspond to the N reference signal resources respectively, or in other words, the N reference signals correspond one-to-one with the N reference signal resources.

[0236] Based on this possible implementation, the first indication information can indicate N reference signal resources; wherein, the N reference signal resources correspond to N beams respectively, and the beamwidth of the N beams combined needs to satisfy a first condition. Therefore, the first communication device can determine the beamwidth based on the indication of the first indication information (i.e., the beamwidth of the reference signal needs to satisfy the first condition), and transmit parameter signals based on the beamwidth. For example, the second communication device can flexibly set the first condition; for instance, the second communication device can determine the first condition according to different service requirements. Specifically, for the positioning service of the first communication device, the second communication device configures the desired beamwidth to be transmitted by the first communication device by setting the first condition, such as making the first condition include a beamwidth greater than a certain threshold; thus, the first communication device needs to transmit reference signals based on a wider beam, that is, the coverage area of ​​the reference signal of the first communication device increases, i.e., more devices can receive the reference signal, or more devices can receive the reference signal with better signal quality, thereby increasing the number of devices participating in determining the location of the first communication device, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the first communication device.

[0237] Combining the two possible implementation methods described above, and based on the aforementioned SRS concepts, it can be understood that the SRS configuration information also includes second indication information, which indicates the transmission direction of the reference signal. That is, the first indication information and the second indication information are located in the same signaling.

[0238] For example, the transmission direction of the reference signal can be understood as the beam direction of the reference signal. Specifically, the second indication information can be spatialRelationInfo.

[0239] For example, spatialRelationInfo can indicate the beam direction of a reference signal by indicating its spatial filtering relationship with other reference signals. Specifically, different time-frequency resources (or different reference signal resources) can correspond to different beam directions.

[0240] Optionally, the first communication device transmits a reference signal according to the first instruction information, including: the first communication device transmits the reference signal in the transmission direction of the reference signal according to the first instruction information.

[0241] For example, after receiving the SRS configuration information, the first communication device can transmit the time-frequency resources (or reference signal resources) corresponding to each beam direction; or, in other words, transmit the reference signals on the time-frequency resources (or reference signal resources) corresponding to each beam direction. Wherein, when the first indication information is located in the first field of the SRS configuration information, the beamwidth corresponding to each time-frequency resource must satisfy a first condition; when the first indication information indicates N reference signal resources, the beamwidth of the N beams synthesized from the N reference signal resources must satisfy the first condition.

[0242] For example, taking a reference signal carried on a time-frequency resource as an example, the beamwidth and beam direction of the reference signal are as follows: Figure 14 As shown, after receiving the SRS configuration information, the first communication device can send a reference signal in the beam direction of the reference signal, wherein the beamwidth of the reference signal satisfies the first condition.

[0243] It should be understood that the time-frequency resources and reference signal resources described in the above embodiments have the same meaning; that is, the two can be substituted for each other without changing their original meaning.

[0244] The above example illustrates the communication between the first and second communication devices, using the first communication device as the terminal equipment and the second communication device as a RAN node. The following example illustrates the communication between the first and second communication devices, using the first communication device as the terminal equipment and the second communication device as a component in the RAN node.

[0245] In one possible implementation, the second communication device can be a CU in the RAN node. In this case, the communication system also needs to include a DU in the RAN node.

[0246] For example, taking a communication system including a terminal device, a CU, and a DU as an example, the interaction between the first communication device and the second communication device may include, for instance, the following: Figure 15 The steps shown are used to form a RAN node, where the CU and DU are used together:

[0247] S1501, the CU sends the first instruction information to the terminal device; correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first instruction information from the CU.

[0248] For example, the implementation of the first instruction information can be found in the relevant description in step S801 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0249] Optionally, the first indication information can be determined based on the capability information of the terminal device. That is, before step S1501, the communication method may further include step S1500:

[0250] S1500: The terminal device sends capability information to the CU; correspondingly, the CU receives the capability information from the terminal device.

[0251] For example, the capability information can be either the first capability information or the second capability information described above. Specifically, the implementation of the first capability information and the second capability information can be found in the relevant descriptions of the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0252] Furthermore, the implementation of capability information differs, and correspondingly, the implementation of the first indication information also differs; see the above for details. Figures 8 to 14 The relevant descriptions will not be repeated here.

[0253] S1502. The terminal device sends a reference signal according to the first instruction information.

[0254] The implementation of step S1502 is the same as that of step S802 above. For details, please refer to the relevant description of step S802 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0255] Optionally, the reference signal can be sent to the DU; that is, step S1502 can be replaced with, for example... Figure 16 S1502A shown:

[0256] S1502A: The terminal device sends a reference signal to the DU according to the first instruction information; correspondingly, the DU receives the reference signal from the terminal device.

[0257] Optionally, after the DU receives the reference signal, such as Figure 16 As shown, DU can also perform the following steps S1503 to S1504:

[0258] S1503 and DU measure the reference signal and obtain the measurement results.

[0259] For example, the measurement result may include, but is not limited to, time delay and angle.

[0260] S1504, DU sends the measurement results to CU; correspondingly, CU receives the measurement results from DU.

[0261] For example, after receiving the measurement result, the CU can directly report the measurement result to the LMF; or, the CU can process the measurement result and report the processed result to the LMF. The LMF then uses this (measurement result or the result obtained after processing the measurement result) to locate the terminal device.

[0262] It should be understood that the above Figure 15 and Figure 16The communication system applied in this application is illustrated by taking one CU and one DU as an example; in fact, beyond the above... Figure 15 and Figure 16 In addition to the CU and DU shown, the communication system of this application embodiment may also include multiple CUs and multiple DUs; wherein, among the multiple CUs and multiple DUs, each pair of CUs and DUs that can constitute a RAN node can perform the relevant steps of steps S1502A to S1504 above.

[0263] In some embodiments, the communication system shown in this application may further include an RU, in which case the DU, CU, and RU are used to form a RAN node;

[0264] For example, in this embodiment, the above-described S1501 can be replaced with... Figure 17 Steps S1501A to S1501B are shown below:

[0265] S1501A and CU send the first instruction information to DU; correspondingly, DU receives the first instruction information from CU.

[0266] S1501B and DU send the first instruction information to the terminal device through RU; correspondingly, DU receives the first instruction information from RU.

[0267] Similarly, the above S1502A can be replaced with, for example... Figure 17 Steps S1502B to S1502C are shown below:

[0268] S1502B, The terminal device sends a reference signal to the RU according to the first instruction information; correspondingly, the RU receives the reference signal from the terminal device.

[0269] S1502C and RU send reference signals to DU; correspondingly, DU receives reference signals from RU.

[0270] Similarly, the S1500 mentioned above can be replaced with, for example... Figure 17 Steps S1500A to S1500B are shown below:

[0271] S1500A: The terminal device sends capability information to the DU through the RU; correspondingly, the DU receives capability information from the RU.

[0272] S1500B and DU send capability information to CU; correspondingly, CU receives capability information from DU.

[0273] In another possible implementation, the second communication device can be a DU in the RAN node. In this case, the communication system also needs to include a CU in the RAN node.

[0274] For example, taking a communication system including a terminal device, a CU, and a DU as an example, the interaction between the first communication device and the second communication device may include, for instance, the following: Figure 18 The steps shown are used to form a RAN node, where the CU and DU are used together:

[0275] S1801, DU sends first instruction information to the terminal device; correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first instruction information from DU.

[0276] For example, the implementation of the first instruction information can be found in the relevant description in step S801 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0277] Optionally, the first indication information can be determined based on the capability information of the terminal device. That is, before step S1801, the communication method may further include step S1800:

[0278] S1800: The terminal device sends capability information to the DU; correspondingly, the DU receives capability information from the terminal device.

[0279] For example, the implementation of capability information can be found in the relevant description in step S1500 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0280] S1802. The terminal device sends a reference signal according to the first instruction information.

[0281] The implementation of step S1802 is the same as that of step S1502 above. For details, please refer to the relevant description of step S1502 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0282] Optionally, the reference signal can be sent to the DU; that is, step S1802 can be replaced with, for example... Figure 19 S1802A shown:

[0283] S1802A, the terminal device sends a reference signal to the DU according to the first instruction information; correspondingly, the DU receives the reference signal from the terminal device.

[0284] Optionally, after the DU receives the reference signal, such as Figure 20 As shown, DU can also perform the following steps S1803~S1804:

[0285] S1803 and DU measure the reference signal and obtain the measurement results.

[0286] S1804, DU sends the measurement results to CU; correspondingly, CU receives the measurement results from DU.

[0287] The implementation of step S1803 is the same as that of step S1503 above, and the implementation of step S1804 is the same as that of step S1504 above. For details, please refer to the relevant descriptions of steps S1503 to S1504 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0288] It should be understood that the above Figure 18 and Figure 19 The communication system applied in this application is illustrated by taking one CU and one DU as an example; in fact, beyond the above... Figure 18 and Figure 19 In addition to the CU and DU shown, the communication system of this application embodiment may also include multiple CUs and multiple DUs; wherein, among the multiple CUs and multiple DUs, each pair of CUs and DUs that can constitute a RAN node can perform the relevant steps of the above steps S1802A to S1804.

[0289] In some embodiments, the communication system shown in this application may further include an RU, in which case the DU, CU, and RU are used to form a RAN node;

[0290] For example, in this embodiment, the above-described S1801 can be replaced with... Figure 20 Step S1801A shown:

[0291] S1801A and DU send the first instruction information to the terminal device through RU; correspondingly, DU receives the first instruction information from RU.

[0292] Similarly, the above S1802A can be replaced with, for example... Figure 20 Steps S1802B to S1802C are shown below:

[0293] S1802B, The terminal device sends a reference signal to the RU according to the first instruction information; correspondingly, the RU receives the reference signal from the terminal device.

[0294] S1802C and RU send reference signals to DU; correspondingly, DU receives reference signals from RU.

[0295] Similarly, the S1800 mentioned above can be replaced with, for example... Figure 20 Step S1800A shown:

[0296] S1800A: The terminal device sends capability information to the DU through the RU; correspondingly, the DU receives capability information from the RU.

[0297] For example, CU, DU, and RU can be referred to the description of relevant parameters in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here. It should be noted that the various embodiments of this application can be implemented independently or in combination, without limitation. Unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions between the different embodiments provided in this application are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0298] The foregoing primarily describes the solutions provided in this application from the perspective of device-to-device interaction. It is understood that each device, in order to achieve the aforementioned functions, includes corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the 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.

[0299] It is understood that, in order to achieve the aforementioned functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. 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.

[0300] This application embodiment can divide each device into functional modules according to the above method example. For example, each function can be divided into a separate functional module, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. It should be noted that the module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0301] Figure 21 A schematic diagram of a communication device 2100 is shown. The communication device 2100 includes a processing module 2101 and a transceiver module 2102. This communication device can be used to implement the functions of the first or second communication device described above.

[0302] In some embodiments, the communication device 2100 may further include a storage module. Figure 21 (not shown in the image) is used to store programs, instructions, and / or data.

[0303] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 2102, also referred to as a transceiver unit, is used to implement sending and / or receiving functions. The transceiver module 2102 may consist of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver unit, or a communication interface.

[0304] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 2102 may include a receiving module and a sending module, respectively configured to perform receiving and sending steps performed by the first or second communication device in the above method embodiments, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein; the processing module 2101 may be configured to perform processing steps (e.g., determination) performed by the first or second communication device in the above method embodiments, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein.

[0305] When the communication device 2100 is used to perform the functions of the first communication device described above:

[0306] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 2102 is configured to receive first indication information, the first indication information indicating that the beamwidth of the reference signal needs to meet a first condition; the transceiver module 2102 is also configured to transmit the reference signal according to the first indication information.

[0307] Optionally, the first condition includes: the beamwidth of the reference signal is greater than a first threshold.

[0308] Optionally, the beamwidth is the angle between the two sides of the radiation direction when the radiated power on both sides of the maximum radiation direction of the reference signal decreases to a first preset value.

[0309] Optionally, the first condition includes: the beamwidth of the reference signal in the horizontal direction is greater than a second threshold, and / or, the beamwidth of the reference signal in the vertical direction is greater than a third threshold.

[0310] Optionally, the beamwidth of the reference signal in the horizontal direction is the angle between the two sides of the horizontal radiation direction obtained when the cumulative probability of the equivalent isotropic radiated power EIRP or equivalent isotropic sensitivity EIS of the reference signal is greater than a second preset value; the beamwidth of the reference signal in the vertical direction is the angle between the two sides of the vertical radiation direction obtained when the cumulative probability of the reference signal EIRP or EIS is greater than a second preset value.

[0311] Optionally, the first indication information is located in the first field of the sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration information, and the first field indicates whether the beamwidth needs to meet the first condition.

[0312] Optionally, the transceiver module 2102 is further configured to receive first configuration information, the first configuration information including first time-frequency resources and first indication information, the first time-frequency resources being the time-frequency resources of the reference signal; the transceiver module 2102 is further configured to transmit a reference signal on the first time-frequency resources, the beamwidth of the reference signal satisfying a first condition.

[0313] Optionally, the first configuration information also includes a second time-frequency resource, which is the time-frequency resource of the reference signal, and the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource are different; the transceiver module 2102 is also used to transmit the reference signal on the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource respectively.

[0314] Optionally, the transceiver module 2102 is also used to transmit first capability information, which indicates whether the first communication device supports transmitting a reference signal whose beamwidth satisfies the first condition.

[0315] Optionally, the first indication information indicates that the beamwidth of the reference signal needs to meet a first condition, including: the first indication information indicates N reference signal resources, the N reference signal resources correspond to N beams respectively, and the beamwidth of the N beams combined needs to meet the first condition, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0316] Optionally, the transceiver module 2102 is also used to transmit second capability information, the second capability information indicating a quantity N, the first communication device supports the simultaneous transmission of N reference signals, and the beamwidth of the beamformation of the N reference signals satisfies the first condition.

[0317] Optionally, the first indication information and the second indication information are located in the same signaling, and the second indication information indicates the transmission direction of the reference signal; the transceiver module 2102 is also used to send the reference signal to the transmission direction of the reference signal according to the first indication information.

[0318] When the communication device 2100 is used to perform the functions of the second communication device described above:

[0319] In some embodiments, the processing module 2101 is used to determine first indication information, the first indication information indicating that the beamwidth of the reference signal needs to meet a first condition; the transceiver module 2102 is used to send the first indication information.

[0320] Optionally, the first condition includes: the beamwidth of the reference signal is greater than a first threshold.

[0321] Optionally, the beamwidth is the angle between the two sides of the radiation direction when the radiated power on both sides of the maximum radiation direction of the reference signal decreases to a first preset value.

[0322] Optionally, the first condition includes: the beamwidth of the reference signal in the horizontal direction is greater than a second threshold, and / or, the beamwidth of the reference signal in the vertical direction is greater than a third threshold.

[0323] Optionally, the beamwidth of the reference signal in the horizontal direction is the angle between the two sides of the horizontal radiation direction obtained when the cumulative probability of the equivalent isotropic radiated power EIRP or equivalent isotropic sensitivity EIS of the reference signal is greater than a second preset value; the beamwidth of the reference signal in the vertical direction is the angle between the two sides of the vertical radiation direction obtained when the cumulative probability of the reference signal EIRP or EIS is greater than a second preset value.

[0324] Optionally, the first indication information is located in the first field of the sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration information, and the first field indicates whether the beamwidth needs to meet the first condition.

[0325] Optionally, the transceiver module 2102 is also used to send first configuration information, which includes first time-frequency resources and first indication information, wherein the first time-frequency resources are the time-frequency resources of the reference signal.

[0326] Optionally, the first configuration information may also include a second time-frequency resource, which is the time-frequency resource of the reference signal, and the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource are different.

[0327] Optionally, the transceiver module 2102 is further configured to send first indication information to the first communication device; the transceiver module 2102 is further configured to receive first capability information, the first capability information indicating whether the first communication device supports sending a reference signal whose beamwidth meets the first condition.

[0328] Optionally, the first indication information indicates that the beamwidth of the reference signal needs to meet a first condition, including: the first indication information indicates N reference signal resources, the N reference signal resources correspond to N beams respectively, and the beamwidth of the N beams combined needs to meet the first condition, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0329] Optionally, the transceiver module 2102 is also used to receive second capability information, the second capability information indicating a quantity N, the first communication device supporting the simultaneous transmission of N reference signals, and the beamwidth of the beamforming of the N reference signals satisfying a first threshold.

[0330] Optionally, the first indication information and the second indication information are located in the same signaling, and the second indication information indicates the transmission direction of the reference signal.

[0331] 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.

[0332] In this application, the communication device (i.e., the first communication device or the second communication device) 2100 is presented in an integrated manner, divided into various functional modules. Here, "module" may refer to an ASIC, a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above-mentioned functions.

[0333] In some embodiments, when Figure 21 When the communication device 2100 is a chip or chip system, the function / implementation process of the transceiver module 2102 can be implemented through the input / output interface (or communication interface) of the chip or chip system, and the function / implementation process of the processing module 2101 can be implemented through the processor (or processing circuit) of the chip or chip system.

[0334] Since the communication device 2100 provided in this embodiment can execute the above method, the technical effects it can achieve can be referred to the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0335] As another possible product form, either the first communication device or the second communication device described in the embodiments of this application can be adopted. Figure 22 The shown composition structure, or including Figure 22 The components shown. Figure 22 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the composition of a communication device 2200 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 2200 can be a first communication device or a chip or system-on-a-chip within the first communication device; it can also be a second communication device or a chip or system-on-a-chip within the second communication device. For example... Figure 22 As shown, the communication device 2200 includes a processor 2201, a communication interface 2202, and a communication line 2203.

[0336] Furthermore, the communication device 2200 may also include a memory 2204. The processor 2201, the memory 2204, and the communication interface 2202 can be connected via a communication line 2203.

[0337] The processor 2201 can be a CPU, a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a programmable logic device (PLD), or any combination thereof. The processor 2201 can also be other devices with processing capabilities, such as circuits, devices, or software modules, without limitation.

[0338] Communication interface 2202 is used for communication with other devices or other communication networks. These other communication networks can be Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), etc. Communication interface 2202 can be a module, circuit, transceiver, or any device capable of enabling communication.

[0339] Communication line 2203 is used to connect different components in communication device 2200, enabling communication between them. Communication line 2203 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. This bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of representation, Figure 22 The bus is represented by a single thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0340] The memory 2204 may be a device with storage function for storing instructions and / or data. The instructions may be computer programs.

[0341] For example, the memory 2204 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and / or instructions; it may also be a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device capable of storing information and / or instructions; it may also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital universal optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, etc., without limitation.

[0342] It should be noted that the memory 2204 can exist independently of the processor 2201, or it can be integrated with the processor 2201. The memory 2204 can be used to store instructions, program code, or some data, etc. The memory 2204 can be located inside or outside the communication device 2200, without limitation. The processor 2201 is used to execute the instructions stored in the memory 2204 to implement the communication method provided in the following embodiments of this application.

[0343] In one example, processor 2201 may include one or more CPUs, for example Figure 22 CPU0 and CPU1 in the CPU.

[0344] In some embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the communication device 2100 can be implemented in hardware using... Figure 22 The communication device 2200 shown is in the form of this device.

[0345] As an example, Figure 21 The function / implementation process of the processing module 2101 can be achieved through... Figure 22 The processor 2201 in the communication device 2200 shown calls computer execution instructions stored in the memory 2204 to implement the function. Figure 21 The function / implementation process of the transceiver module 2102 in the middle can be obtained through Figure 22 This is achieved through the communication interface 2202 in the communication device 2200 shown.

[0346] As an optional implementation, the communication device 2200 includes multiple processors, for example, besides Figure 22 In addition to processor 2201, it may also include processor 2207.

[0347] As an optional implementation, the communication device 2200 also includes an output device 2205 and an input device 2206. Exemplarily, the input device 2206 is a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector, etc. For example, the input device 2206 can be a keyboard, mouse, microphone, joystick, touchscreen device, or sensing device, etc. The output device 2205 is a display screen, a speaker, etc.

[0348] It should be noted that the communication device 2200 can be a desktop computer, laptop computer, network server, mobile phone, tablet computer, wireless terminal, embedded device, chip system, or other device. Figure 22 Equipment with a similar structure. Furthermore... Figure 22 The structural composition shown does not constitute a limitation on the communication device, except... Figure 22 In addition to the components shown, the communication device may include more or fewer components than illustrated, or combine certain components, or have different component arrangements.

[0349] In this embodiment of the application, the chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0350] As another possible product form, the first or second communication device described in the embodiments of this application can be implemented using a general bus architecture. For ease of explanation, see [link to documentation]. Figure 23 , Figure 23 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 2300 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 2300 includes a processor 2301 and a transceiver 2302. The communication device 2300 can be a first communication device, or a chip or chip system therein; or, the communication device 2300 can be a second communication device, or a chip or module therein. Figure 23 The function / implementation process of the transceiver module 2102 in the middle can be obtained through Figure 23 This is achieved through the transceiver 2302 in the communication device 2300 shown; similarly, Figure 23 The function / implementation process of the processing module 2101 can be achieved through... Figure 23 This is implemented by the processor 2301 in the communication device 2300 shown.

[0351] Figure 23 Only the main components of the communication device 2300 are shown. In addition to the processor 2301 and transceiver 2302, the communication device may further include a memory 2303.

[0352] Optionally, the processor 2301 is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process the data of the software programs. The memory 2303 is mainly used to store software programs and data. The transceiver 2302 may include radio frequency (RF) circuitry and an antenna. The RF circuitry is mainly used for converting baseband signals to RF signals and processing RF signals. The antenna is mainly used for transmitting and receiving RF signals in the form of electromagnetic waves.

[0353] Optionally, the processor 2301, transceiver 2302, and memory 2303 can be connected via a communication bus.

[0354] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 2301 can read the software program in the memory 2303, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor 2301 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency (RF) circuit. The RF circuit processes the baseband signal and transmits the RF signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 2301. The processor 2301 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0355] In some embodiments, transceiver 2302 may include a transmitter and a receiver, wherein the transmitter is used to implement the transmission operation in the above method embodiments; and the receiver is used to implement the reception operation in the above method embodiments.

[0356] For example, when the communication device is a chip, the chip may not include the memory 2303; that is, the communication device includes a processor 2301 and a transceiver 2302. In this case, the transceiver 2302 is the input / output interface of the chip, wherein the transmitter in the transceiver corresponds to the output interface of the chip, and the receiver in the transceiver corresponds to the input interface of the chip.

[0357] In some embodiments, this application also provides a communication device, which includes a processor for implementing the methods in any of the above method embodiments.

[0358] As one possible implementation, the communication device also includes a memory. This memory stores necessary computer programs or instructions. The processor can invoke the computer programs or instructions in the memory to cause the communication device to execute the methods in any of the above method embodiments. Alternatively, the memory may be external and not located within the communication device.

[0359] As another possible implementation, the communication device also includes an interface circuit, which is a code / data read / write interface circuit, used to receive computer execution instructions (which are stored in memory and may be read directly from memory or may be transmitted through other devices) and transmit them to the processor.

[0360] As another possible implementation, the communication device also includes a communication interface for communicating with modules outside the communication device.

[0361] It is understood that the communication device can be a chip or a chip system. When the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. This application does not specifically limit this.

[0362] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the above-described method embodiments.

[0363] This application also provides a computer program product that, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0364] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0365] It is understood that the systems, apparatuses, and methods described in this application can also be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the couplings or direct couplings or communication connections shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; indirect couplings or communication connections between devices or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0366] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0367] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0368] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software programs, implementation can be, 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 or 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 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 a data storage device containing one or more servers, data centers, etc., that can be integrated with the medium. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid-state drive (SSD)). In this embodiment, the computer may include the aforementioned apparatus.

[0369] Although this application has been described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, those skilled in the art, by reviewing the accompanying drawings, disclosure, and appended claims, will understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments in carrying out the claimed application. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. While different dependent claims may recite certain measures, this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is performed by a first communication device, and the method comprises: receiving first indication information, the first indication information indicating that a beam width of a reference signal needs to satisfy a first condition; transmitting the reference signal according to the first indication information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first condition comprises that the beam width of the reference signal is greater than a first threshold.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The beam width is an included angle on both sides of a radiation direction obtained when a radiation power on both sides of the radiation direction of the reference signal decreases to a first preset value.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first condition comprises that the beam width of the reference signal in a horizontal direction is greater than a second threshold, and / or the beam width of the reference signal in a vertical direction is greater than a third threshold.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, the beam width of the reference signal in the horizontal direction is an included angle on both sides of a horizontal plane radiation direction obtained when a cumulative probability of an equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) or an equivalent isotropically sensitivity (EIS) of the reference signal is greater than a second preset value; the beam width of the reference signal in the vertical direction is an included angle on both sides of a vertical plane radiation direction obtained when the cumulative probability of the EIRP or the EIS of the reference signal is greater than a second preset value.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The first indication information is located in a first field in sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration information, and the first field indicates whether the beam width needs to satisfy the first condition.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The receiving first indication information comprises: receiving first configuration information, the first configuration information comprising the first indication information and a first time-frequency resource, the first time-frequency resource being a time-frequency resource of the reference signal; The transmitting the reference signal according to the first indication information comprises: transmitting the reference signal on the first time-frequency resource, the beam width of the reference signal satisfying the first condition.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The first configuration information further comprises a second time-frequency resource, the second time-frequency resource being a time-frequency resource of the reference signal, and the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource being different; The transmitting the reference signal on the first time-frequency resource comprises: transmitting the reference signal on the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource respectively.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, Before the receiving first indication information, the method further comprises: transmitting first capability information, the first capability information indicating whether the first communication device supports transmitting a reference signal with a beam width satisfying the first condition.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The first indication information indicating that a beam width of a reference signal needs to satisfy a first condition comprises: The first indication information indicates N reference signal resources, the N reference signal resources corresponding to N beams respectively, a beam width synthesized by the N beams needing to satisfy the first condition, N being a positive integer greater than 1.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, Before the receiving first indication information, the method further comprises: transmitting second capability information, the second capability information indicating a quantity N, the first communication device supporting transmitting N reference signals simultaneously, and a beam width synthesized by the N reference signals satisfying the first condition.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that, The first indication information and second indication information are located in the same signaling, and the second indication information indicates a transmission direction of the reference signal; The transmitting the reference signal according to the first indication information comprises: transmitting the reference signal to a transmission direction of the reference signal according to the first indication information.

13. A method of communication, comprising: The method is performed by a second communication device, and the method comprises: determining first indication information, the first indication information indicating that a beam width of a reference signal needs to satisfy a first condition; transmitting the first indication information.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, The first condition comprises that the beam width of the reference signal is greater than a first threshold value.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, An included angle between two sides of a maximum radiation direction of the reference signal.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein, The beam width of the reference signal in a horizontal direction is greater than a second threshold value, and / or the beam width of the reference signal in a vertical direction is greater than a third threshold value.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein: The beam width of the reference signal in the horizontal direction is an included angle between two sides of a horizontal plane radiation direction when a cumulative probability of an equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) or an equivalent isotropically sensitivity (EIS) of the reference signal is greater than a second preset value; The beam width of the reference signal in the vertical direction is an included angle between two sides of a vertical plane radiation direction when the cumulative probability of the EIRP or the EIS of the reference signal is greater than a second preset value.

18. The method according to any one of claims 13-17, characterized by, The first indication information is located in a first field in sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration information, and the first field indicates whether the beam width needs to satisfy the first condition.

19. The method according to any one of claims 13-18, characterized in that, The transmitting the first indication information comprises: transmitting first configuration information, the first configuration information comprising the first indication information and first time-frequency resources, the first time-frequency resources being time-frequency resources of the reference signal.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, The first configuration information further comprises second time-frequency resources, the second time-frequency resources being time-frequency resources of the reference signal, and the first time-frequency resources and the second time-frequency resources being different.

21. The method of any of claims 13-20, wherein: The transmitting the first indication information comprises transmitting the first indication information to a first communication device; Before the transmitting the first indication information to the first communication device, the method further comprises: receiving first capability information, the first capability information indicating whether the first communication device supports transmitting a reference signal with a beam width satisfying the first condition.

22. The method according to any one of claims 13-17, characterized in that, The first indication information indicating that the beam width of the reference signal needs to satisfy a first threshold value comprises: The first indication information indicates N reference signal resources, the N reference signal resources corresponding to N beams respectively, a beam width synthesized by the N beams needs to satisfy the first threshold value, and N is a positive integer greater than 1.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein, Before the transmitting the first indication information, the method further comprises: receiving second capability information, the second capability information indicating a quantity N, the first communication device supporting simultaneously transmitting N reference signals, and a beam width synthesized by the N reference signals satisfying the first threshold value.

24. The method according to any one of claims 13-23, characterized in that, The first indication information and second indication information are located in the same signaling, and the second indication information indicates a transmission direction of the reference signal.

25. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises a processor; the processor is configured to run computer programs or instructions to enable the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-12.

26. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises a processor; the processor is configured to run computer programs or instructions to enable the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 13-24.

27. A computer readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer readable storage medium stores computer instructions or programs, which, when run on a computer, enable the method according to any one of claims 1-12 to be performed.

28. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises computer programs or instructions; when part or all of the computer instructions are run on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1-12 is enabled to be performed.

29. A chip, characterized by Comprise: a memory for storing computer program instructions; a processor for executing the computer program instructions to enable the communication device comprising the chip to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-12.

Images