Communication method, communication device, computer program product and readable storage medium

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method, communication equipment, a computer program product and a readable storage medium, and relates to the technical field of communication. And the terminal receives a media access control layer control element MAC CE sent by the network equipment. The MAC CE may be used to instruct the network device to activate at least one of the pre-configured TCI states for the terminal, and the MAC CE may further include or be used to indicate at least one path loss offset. The path loss offset included in the MAC CE is associated with a first TCI state in the at least one TCI state, and the path loss offset is used for determining the path loss of the uplink channel corresponding to the first TCI state associated with the path loss offset. The terminal obtains the MAC CE sent by the network equipment, namely, the MAC side can be analyzed, and the path loss offset associated with the first TCI state is obtained. And the terminal adjusts the transmission power of the uplink signal according to the path loss offset associated with the TCI state so as to improve the success rate of transmitting the uplink signal to the current corresponding uplink base station by the terminal.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of communication, and in particular, to a communication method, a communication device, a computer program product and a readable storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0002] Wireless communication has a smaller coverage range as the frequency of the transmitted signal increases. The transmission power of a terminal is limited, which results in a limited coverage range of the uplink base station. To enhance the uplink coverage, more base stations can be deployed on the network side. To reduce the deployment cost, some base stations deployed on the network side can be base stations that support fewer functions.

[0003] Different uplink base stations, such as a first base station and a second base station, are deployed on the network side. The first base station supports uplink transmission and downlink transmission, and the second base station only supports uplink transmission.

[0004] The terminal can receive the downlink reference signal of the first base station, and then obtain the path loss between the terminal and the first base station, and adjust the path loss to realize the uplink transmission of the terminal to the second base station.

[0005] In the case that the terminal cannot receive the downlink reference signal of the second base station, the terminal cannot obtain the path loss between the terminal and the second base station, and cannot guarantee the effective uplink transmission of the terminal to the second base station.

[0006] Due to the mobility of the terminal, the serving base station of the uplink transmission of the terminal may be switched back and forth between different base stations. The uplink transmission of the terminal to different base stations all has path loss, and the path loss of different base stations has an offset, that is, a path loss offset (PLO).

[0007] There is an urgent need for a scheme in which the network side indicates the path loss offset between different base stations to the terminal. SUMMARY

[0008] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, a communication device, a computer program product and a readable storage medium, and the terminal can obtain the path loss offset through the MAC CE.

[0009] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, embodiments of the present application adopt the following technical solutions:

[0010] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a terminal. The terminal receives a medium access control layer control element (MAC CE) sent by a network device. The MAC CE can be used to indicate that the network device activates at least one transmission configuration indication (TCI) state of a preconfigured TCI state for the terminal, and the MAC CE can also include or be used to indicate at least one path loss offset.

[0011] The path loss offset included in the MAC CE is associated with a first TCI state of the at least one TCI state, and the path loss offset is used to determine a transmission power of an uplink signal corresponding to the first TCI state associated with the path loss offset. The first TCI state is an uplink TCI state or a joint TCI state activated by the bit.

[0012] The terminal obtains the MAC CE sent by the network device, parses the MAC CE, and obtains the path loss offset associated with the first TCI state. The terminal adjusts the transmission power of the uplink signal according to the path loss offset associated with the TCI state, so as to improve the success rate of the terminal transmitting the uplink signal to the current corresponding uplink base station.

[0013] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the MAC CE sent by the network device includes at least one first field, the at least one first field corresponds to at least one path loss offset, and one first field indicates one path loss offset associated with one or more first TCI states.

[0014] The network device indicates the path loss offset to the terminal through the first field of the MAC CE, and indicates the path loss offset associated with the one or more first TCI states through the at least one first field. In this way, the terminal can accurately obtain the transmission power of the uplink signal corresponding to the activated TCI state, and improve the accuracy of transmitting the uplink signal on the uplink channel.

[0015] In an example, the number of at least one TCI state activated by the MAC CE is N, and there are M TCI states (i.e., first TCI states) associated with path loss offsets in the N TCI states, M is less than or equal to N, and M and N are positive integers. The MAC CE includes M first fields, and the M first fields are associated with the M first TCI states.

[0016] Further, the order of the M first fields is associated with the order of the M first TCI states, and the association manner can be positive association or reverse association. In the case of positive association, for example, the first first field is associated with the first first TCI state. In the case of reverse association, for example, the first first field is associated with the last first TCI state, and the like, which is not limited.

[0017] The MAC CE sent by the network device includes M first fields, and M TCI states of the multiple TCI states activated by the MAC CE have corresponding path loss offsets. In this way, the M first fields are associated with the M first TCI states, one first field indicates the path loss offset of the associated first TCI state, and the order of the first field is associated with the order of the first TCI state.

[0018] In this way, the terminal can accurately obtain the path loss offset associated with the activated first TCI state, adjust the transmission power on the uplink signal corresponding to the first TCI state, and improve the success rate of uplink signal transmission.

[0019] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first field in the MAC CE sent by the network device for indicating the path loss offset can directly include a value of at least one path loss offset, or can include an index corresponding to the value.

[0020] For example, the values of possible path loss offsets [-10, 60] dB can be mapped to 19 corresponding indexes, or can be extended to [-12, 60] dB and then mapped to corresponding indexes.

[0021] In this way, the number of bits occupied by the path loss offset in the MAC CE can be effectively reduced, or the amount of MAC CE data transmitted can be reduced, and the communication efficiency can be improved.

[0022] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the MAC CE sent by the network device can further include a second field, and the second field is used to indicate whether the MAC CE includes at least one path loss offset or to indicate the at least one path loss offset.

[0023] For example, the second field L is set to 0, indicating that the MAC CE does not include at least one path loss offset. In this case, the MAC CE can not include at least one first field. For another example, the second field is set to 1, indicating that the MAC CE includes at least one path loss offset.

[0024] In implementation, the MAC CE can add a second field, or can reuse a reserved field as the second field, for example, reuse the first reserved field R of the first octet of the MAC CE as the second field L. Reusing the existing reserved field can save the number of bits occupied by the field.

[0025] The MAC CE sent by the network device to the terminal includes the second field, and the terminal can first determine whether the MAC CE indicates at least one path loss offset according to the second field of the MAC CE. In a case where it is determined that the MAC CE includes at least one path loss offset, the terminal parses the first field in the MAC CE to obtain at least one path loss offset associated with the first TCI state. In a case where it is determined that the MAC CE does not include at least one path loss offset, the terminal does not need to parse the first field of the MAC CE, thereby saving the calculation amount of the terminal.

[0026] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the MAC CE sent by the network device further includes at least one third field, the at least one third field corresponds to the at least one TCI state, and one third field is used to indicate whether the MAC CE contains a path loss offset corresponding to one TCI state in the at least one TCI state.

[0027] For example, the MAC CE sent by the network device is multiplexed with the existing first type of MAC CE, one third field L i is set to 0, L i corresponds to a code point P i, and L i is used to indicate that P i indicates that the activated TCI state does not include a path loss offset. For another example, L i is set to 1, indicating that the activated TCI state includes a path loss offset. For example, in the scenario of multiplexing the first type of MAC CE, seven reserved fields are multiplexed as third fields L 1 to L 7, corresponding to code points P 1 to P 7.

[0028] The MAC CE can add at least one third field, or multiplex a reserved field as a third field, for example, multiplexing multiple reserved fields R of the MAC CE as third fields L i.

[0029] The network device uses at least one third field of the MAC CE to respectively indicate whether the corresponding code point indicates that the activated TCI state has a corresponding path loss offset, so that the terminal can obtain a path loss offset with higher accuracy.

[0030] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the MAC CE sent by the network device includes a fourth field, and the fourth field is used to indicate the number of at least one path loss offset contained in the MAC CE.

[0031] The network device multiplexes different types of MAC CEs, and the maximum number of path loss offsets included can be different, and the number of bits required to indicate the maximum number is also different.

[0032] For example, the network device multiplexes the first type of MAC CE. The MAC CE corresponds to eight code points, and the eight code points can be associated with up to eight TCI states. Based on this, the MAC CE can use four bits as the fourth field, and the four bits can indicate that the number of path loss offsets ranges from 0 to 15. The MAC CE multiplexes four reserved bits L 1 to L 4 as the fourth field, and according to L 1 to L 4, it is indicated that the activated TCI state includes a path loss offset.

[0033] For another example, the network device multiplexes the third type of MAC CE. The MAC CE corresponds to 8 code points, and the 8 code points can be associated with at most 16 TCI states. Based on this, the MAC CE can use 5 bits as the fourth field, and the number of path loss offsets that can be indicated by the 5 bits ranges from 0 to 31. The MAC CE multiplexes 5 reserved bits L1-L5 as the fourth field, and according to L1-L5, the activated TCI state includes the path loss offset.

[0034] In implementation, the MAC CE can add a fourth field, or multiplex a reserved field as the fourth field, for example, multiplex a plurality of reserved fields R of the MAC CE as the fourth field Li.

[0035] The scheme provided in this example is that the MAC CE includes a fourth field, and the fourth field is used to indicate the number of path loss offsets included in the MAC CE, so that the accuracy of the terminal in acquiring the path loss offset is higher.

[0036] In a possible implementation form of the first aspect, the MAC CE sent by the network device can be a first type of MAC CE, a second type of MAC CE, and a third type of MAC CE, different types of MAC CEs correspond to different types of code points, and different MAC CEs correspond to different logical channel identifiers LCIDs.

[0037] The MAC CE sent by the network device can be based on the first type of MAC CE to adjust the fields. The first type of MAC CE corresponds to at least one first type of TCI code point, and the first type of TCI code point is used to indicate that the first type of MAC CE activates one downlink TCI state and one uplink TCI state, or one downlink TCI state, or one joint TCI state, or one uplink TCI state.

[0038] The MAC CE sent by the network device can be based on the second type of MAC CE to adjust the fields. The second type of MAC CE corresponds to at least one second type of TCI code point, and the second type of TCI code point is used to indicate that the second type of MAC CE activates at most two joint TCI states.

[0039] The MAC CE sent by the network device can be based on the third type of MAC CE to adjust the fields. The third type of MAC CE corresponds to at least one third type of TCI code point, and the third type of TCI code point is used to indicate that the third type of MAC CE activates at most two downlink TCI states and / or at most two uplink TCI states.

[0040] In a possible implementation form of the first aspect, the path loss offset indicated by the MAC CE is used to update an initial path loss offset.

[0041] Specifically, the network device receives a radio resource control (RRC) signaling sent by the network device before receiving a MAC CE sent by the network device. The RRC signaling is used to pre-configure a TCI state, and the RRC signaling is also used to indicate an initial path loss offset associated with the pre-configured TCI state.

[0042] In implementation, the path loss offset indicated by the MAC CE is zero or the initial path loss offset is zero.

[0043] In the scheme, the MAC CE can directly indicate a path loss offset associated with an activated TCI state, or can indicate an initial path loss offset indicated by an RRC signaling.

[0044] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the MAC CE sent by the network device can include a first MAC CE and a second MAC CE sent respectively, and the terminal determines a path loss offset associated with an activated first TCI state based on the first MAC CE and the second MAC CE jointly.

[0045] The first MAC CE sent by the network device is used to indicate that the network device activates at least one TCI state in the pre-configured TCI states for the terminal. In specific implementation, the first MAC CE sent by the network device can be one of three types of MAC CEs, that is, the LCID of the first MAC CE is the same as the LCID of one of the first type of MAC CE, the second type of MAC CE, and the third type of MAC CE.

[0046] The second MAC CE sent by the network device includes or is used to indicate at least one path loss offset associated with a first TCI state in the at least one TCI state, and the second MAC CE can be a MAC CE newly added in the scheme. The second MAC CE is associated with a logical channel (LCID), and the LCID of the second MAC CE is different from the LCIDs of the three types of MAC CEs.

[0047] The first MAC CE and the second MAC CE sent by the network device are associated in multiple ways.

[0048] For example, the second MAC CE includes or is associated with the LCID of the first MAC CE, or the LCID of the second MAC CE is associated with the LCID of the first MAC CE. For another example, after receiving the second MAC CE, the terminal takes the last MAC CE received before the second MAC CE as the associated first MAC CE.

[0049] In the scheme, the network device adds a MAC CE to indicate the path loss offset associated with the activated multiple TCI states to the terminal. In this way, the terminal can accurately adjust the output power of the uplink signal based on the transmission power of the uplink signal corresponding to the TCI state, so as to improve the transmission accuracy of the uplink signal.

[0050] In a second aspect, the application provides a communication method applied to a network device, and the network device sends a MAC CE to a terminal. The MAC CE can be used to indicate that the network device activates at least one TCI state in the preconfigured TCI state for the terminal, and the MAC CE can also include or be used to indicate at least one path loss offset.

[0051] The path loss offset included in the MAC CE is associated with a first TCI state in the at least one TCI state, and the path loss offset is used to determine the transmission power of the uplink signal corresponding to the first TCI state associated with the path loss offset. Wherein, the first TCI state is an activated uplink TCI state or a joint TCI state.

[0052] The terminal obtains the MAC CE sent by the network device, i.e. parses the MAC side, to obtain the path loss offset associated with the first TCI state. The terminal adjusts the transmission power of the uplink signal according to the path loss offset associated with the TCI state, so as to improve the success rate of the terminal transmitting the uplink signal to the current corresponding uplink base station.

[0053] The communication method provided in the second aspect has multiple possible implementation schemes, and for details, refer to the multiple possible implementation schemes of the communication method provided in the first aspect, which will not be described herein.

[0054] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a transceiver, a memory and a processor, the transceiver and the memory are coupled to the processor;

[0055] The memory stores computer execution instructions;

[0056] The processor executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the communication method of any one of the first aspect.

[0057] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, which has the function of implementing the communication method of the first aspect. The function can be realized by hardware, or realized by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0058] In a fifth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores instructions, when the instructions are run on a computer, the computer can execute the communication method of any one of the first aspect.

[0059] In a sixth aspect, a computer program product containing instructions which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to carry out the communication method of any one of the first aspect is provided.

[0060] The technical effects brought by any one of the second aspect to the sixth aspect can be referred to the technical effects brought by different design manners of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0061] Figure 1 An architecture schematic diagram of a communication system to which a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application is applied;

[0062] Figure 2 A flow schematic diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Figure 3 A flow schematic diagram of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Figure 4 A structure schematic diagram of a communication device to which a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application is applied;

[0065] Figure 5 A structure schematic diagram of a communication device to which a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application is applied. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0066] Exemplary embodiments of the present application are described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the present application, and are presented by way of explanation, and not of limitation. As such, a variety of changes and modifications can be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope of the present application. Also, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

[0067] For the convenience of understanding, some technical common knowledge related to the embodiments of the present application is introduced first.

[0068] A terminal is an entity on a user side for receiving or transmitting signals, used for transmitting uplink signals to a network device or receiving downlink signals from the network device. The terminal can be a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), or the like, including a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a computing device, or a sensing device with wireless communication function. Specifically, the terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or a computer with wireless transceiver function, and can also be a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical treatment, a wireless terminal in smart power grid, a wireless terminal in smart city, a smart home (e.g., a smart speaker), a vehicle-mounted terminal, a train detector, or the like. In embodiments of the present application, a device for implementing the functions of the terminal can be the terminal, or can be a device capable of supporting the terminal to implement the functions, such as a chip system (e.g., a chip or a processing system composed of multiple chips) or a modem. In the following, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal is taken as an example to describe the method provided in embodiments of the present application.

[0069] A network device (ND) refers to a network side device providing a mobile communication network. Within the coverage of the mobile communication network provided by the network device, one or more UEs can access the mobile communication network to implement communication. The network device is used to receive uplink signals from the UE or send downlink signals to the UE to implement functions such as resource scheduling, radio resource management, and radio access control of the UE. It is a device in a radio access network (RAN) that accesses the UE to the wireless network. The RAN can be connected to a core network (for example, a core network of LTE or a core network of 5G, etc.). The network device can be an evolved node B (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE, or a base station in a 5G network or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), or a base station supporting one-sided transmission (for example, an uplink only TRP or an asymmetric TRP supporting uplink transmission and not supporting downlink transmission), or a broadband network gateway (BNG), or a convergence switch, or a non-3GPP access device; or the network device in the embodiments of the present application can also be a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN); or a transmission and reception point (TRP), or a device including a TRP, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations. Optionally, the network device in the embodiments of the present application can include various forms of base stations, such as macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small stations), relay stations, access points, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations. In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the network device can be a network device or a device capable of supporting the network device to implement the functions, such as a chip system (for example, a chip or a processing system composed of multiple chips) or a modem. In the following, the device for implementing the functions of the network device is taken as an example to describe the method provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0070] A plurality of UEs and a network device constitute a mobile communication system. The mobile communication system can mainly include a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), a 5th Generation (5G) communication system, a communication system after the 5G, a New Radio Access Technology (NR) system, and the like. Of course, the mobile communication system can also include a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, a UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) system, a GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN) system of an Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE) system. In addition, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments can also be applied to a wireless communication system involving multiple terminals, such as a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) system, a Vehicle-to-X (V2X) system, and the like. The V2X system can include a Vehicle to Network (V2N) system, a Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) system, a Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) system, a Vehicle to Pedestrian (V2P) system, a Long Term Evolution-Vehicle (LTE-V) system, a vehicle networking system, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) system, an Internet of Things (IoT) system, a Long Term Evolution-Machine (LTE-M) system, a Machine to Machine (M2M) system, and the like, without limitation.

[0071] The wireless protocol stack is a core technology in a wireless communication system, which defines the transmission, reception and processing manner of wireless signals.

[0072] The wireless protocol stack is divided into two planes, i.e., a user plane (UP) and a control plane (CP). The user plane protocol stack is a protocol cluster adopted by user data transmission, and the control plane protocol stack is a protocol cluster adopted by system control signaling transmission. The user plane protocol stack includes, from top to bottom, a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Broadcast / Multicast Control (BMC) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer and a Physical (PHY) layer. The control plane protocol stack includes, from top to bottom, a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer and a Physical (PHY) layer.

[0073] In order to realize the communication between the UE and the access network device and the core network device (such as an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF)), on the UE side, the control plane protocol stack is located in the UE. On the network side, the RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC and PHY are located in the access network device, and the NAS is located in the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) of the core network.

[0074] Based on the foregoing wireless protocol stack, two key signaling transmitted by the network device to the terminal, i.e., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling and Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC CE) signaling.

[0075] RRC signaling is mainly responsible for wireless resource management, connection management, mobility management and other functions. RRC signaling can be transmitted in different RRC states, including idle state (RRC_IDLE), connected state (RRC_CONNECTED) and inactive state (RRC_INACTIVE) in 5G. The transmission process of RRC signaling includes connection establishment, reconfiguration, release and the like.

[0076] MAC CE signaling is control information transmitted at the MAC layer, used to perform operations such as uplink synchronization adjustment, DRX cycle adjustment, inter-cell handover, and the like. MAC CE signaling is usually contained in a MAC PDU, transmitted through PUSCH or PDSCH, and its presence can be indicated in PDCCH.

[0077] In LTE and 5G NR, the transmission mechanisms of RRC signaling and MAC CE signaling are different. For example, in LTE, the RRCConnection Setup message is transmitted through CCCH, and carries NAS information in the RRC Connection Setup Complete message. In 5G NR, RRC signaling can be transmitted through SRB (Signaling Radio Bearers), and MAC CE signaling can be transmitted through the data transmission opportunity indicated by PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel).

[0078] RRC signaling and MAC CE signaling are important components in wireless communication, which together ensure that the terminal can efficiently and reliably communicate with the network device. The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application mainly relates to a scheme in which the network device preconfigures a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state for the terminal based on RRC signaling, and activates the TCI state through MAC CE signaling. The following explains the TCI state.

[0079] In a communication system such as 5G NR, a network device can use / implement / enable an analog beamforming (ABF) technology to enhance the robustness of high-frequency communication. The analog beamforming technology is a method of processing signals in the radio frequency (RF) domain, which forms a beam pointing to a specific direction by adjusting the phase and amplitude of each antenna element in an antenna array. The hardware structure of the analog beamforming technology is simple, and the implementation cost is relatively low. In 5G communication, the analog beamforming technology is suitable for millimeter wave frequency bands, and more accurate beam control is used in the millimeter wave frequency band to compensate for signal attenuation. The analog beamforming technology can realize phase adjustment of radio frequency signals by using an analog phase shifter, thereby forming a beam in a specific direction. This analog beamforming technology can reduce the complexity and implementation cost of the communication system while improving the spectrum efficiency when implementing multi-terminal services.

[0080] The beam states involved in the analog beamforming technology include a quasi co-location (QCL) state and a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state. The QCL is used to describe the channel characteristic relationship between different antenna ports, and two reference signals can share similar channel conditions and attributes if they have a QCL relationship. The TCI is used to establish a QCL connection between a target reference signal (RS) and a source RS. The TCI state is a set of QCL information used to indicate downlink reception and uplink transmission, including QCL information for downlink reception and information for determining the spatial filter and / or path loss reference signal of uplink transmission. The QCL state and the TCI state can support beam indication of one or more types of channels and / or signals.

[0081] For example, the QCL state and / or the TCI state can support beam indication of a downlink (DL) control channel, a DL data channel, a reference signal, or other types of signals. The DL control channel can include a PDCCH and / or other channels, the DL data channel can include a PDSCH and / or other channels, the reference signal can include a channel state information reference signaling (CSI-RS) and / or other types of signals, and the like, without limitation.

[0082] For another example, a QCL state and / or a TCI state can also support beam indication for an uplink (UL) control channel, an UL data channel, a reference channel, and / or other types of channels / signals. Wherein, the UL control channel can be a PUCCH, the reference signal can be a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), the UL data channel can be a PUSCH and / or other channels, and the beam indication can be implemented / realized / enabled by mapping one or more ports of the UL data channel and / or one or more SRS resources.

[0083] In some cases, a beam state can correspond / refer to a QCL state, a TCI state, a spatial relation state (or a spatial relation information state), a reference signal (RS), a spatial filter, and / or a precoding. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a “beam state” can be referred to as a “beam”. Specifically:

[0084] a) A transmit (Tx) beam can correspond / refer to a QCL state, a TCI state, a spatial relation state, a DL / UL reference signal, a Tx spatial filter, and / or a Tx precoding.

[0085] b) A receive (Rx) beam can correspond / refer to a QCL state, a TCI state, a spatial relation state, a spatial filter, a Rx spatial filter, and / or a Rx precoding.

[0086] c) A beam identifier (ID) can correspond / refer to a QCL state index, a TCI state index, a spatial relation state index, a reference signal index, a spatial filter index, a precoding index, and / or other indices.

[0087] In some embodiments, a spatial relation information can include one or more reference RSs. The spatial relation information can be used to specify / indicate / convey / represent a spatial relation between a target RS / channel and the one or more reference RSs.

[0088] In some embodiments, a QCL state can include one or more reference RSs and / or one or more corresponding QCL type parameters. A QCL type parameter can include at least one of Doppler spread, Doppler shift, delay spread, average delay, average gain, and / or spatial parameter (e.g., spatial Rx parameter). In some embodiments, a TCI state can correspond / reference a QCL state. In some embodiments, QCL Type A can include Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and / or delay spread. In some embodiments, QCL Type B can include Doppler shift and / or Doppler spread. In some embodiments, QCL Type C can include Doppler shift and / or average delay. In some embodiments, QCL Type D can include spatial Rx parameter. In some embodiments, an RS can include a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) (or SS / PBCH), a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), and / or other signal / channel. In some embodiments, an RS can include at least one of a Downlink Reference Signal (DL RS) and / or an Uplink Reference Signal (UL RS). In some embodiments, a DL RS can include at least one of a CSI-RS, an SSB, and / or a DMRS (e.g., a DL DMRS). In some embodiments, an UL RS can include at least one of an SRS, a DMRS (e.g., an UL DMRS), and / or a PRACH.

[0089] In implementation, an UL signal can include a PUCCH, a PUSCH, an SRS, and / or other channel / signal, and a DL signal can include a PDCCH, a PDSCH, a CSI-RS, and / or other channel / signal.

[0090] In 5G communication, a network device can configure a terminal with N TCI states through RRC signaling, each of the N TCI states is uniquely determined by a TCI state index. The TCI state is used to indicate spatial relationship information, usually one TCI state can be used to indicate at most two QCL types, each QCL type is associated with a reference signal, which can be used to specify / indicate / convey / represent the spatial relationship between the target signal / channel and one or more reference signals.

[0091] The network device can also activate N TCI states for the terminal through MAC CE signaling (hereinafter referred to as MAC CE for short), the N TCI states belong to K TCI states pre-configured by RRC, and N≤K.

[0092] The network device can also activate at least one TCI state from the N TCI states activated by the MAC CE through a downlink control indication (DCI) command. The terminal implements reception and demodulation of one or more target channels or target signals according to the TCI state indicated by the DCI. There is an indication field in the DCI command, which can indicate one of multiple states, each state can be referred to as a code point, and each code point corresponds to a TCI state activated by a field in the MAC CE. If the indication field in the DCI indicates a code point, it means that the TCI state activated by the corresponding field in the MAC CE corresponding to the code point is indicated. The indicated TCI state can be used to determine the beam, QCL, and power of the transmission / reception of the signal, etc.

[0093] The configuration and activation of the TCI state can be completed through the RRC message. The UE can configure or pre-configure multiple TCI states, which are configured in the parameter PDSCH-Config and the maximum value is determined by the parameter maxNumberConfiguredTCIstatesPerCC. The TCI state can not only be used for PDSCH DMRS, but also for CSI-RS and PDCCH DMRS.

[0094] The activation and indication of the TCI state can be realized through the MAC CE or the downlink control information (DCI). For example, the base station can indicate a TCI state for the UE to receive the PDCCH of a CORESET, which includes information such as the service cell ID, the CORESET ID, and the TCI state ID. If the CORESET ID is 0, it indicates the control resource set configured by controlResourceSetZero.

[0095] In addition, the switching of the TCI state can be started through the MAC CE or the DCI, allowing the UE to have a certain time to prepare when receiving a new TCI state. The network can indicate the change of the TCI state of the PDCCH through the MAC CE and the command, and the change of the TCI state of the PDSCH through the DCI. The known TCI state is defined as the target TCI state to which the UE can switch without further measurement of the Rx beam and / or time / frequency synchronization.

[0096] In wireless communication, as the frequency of the transmitted signal increases, the signal coverage decreases. Terminals have limited transmission power, thus restricting uplink coverage. To enhance uplink coverage, more sites are deployed on the network side, while some sites can support fewer functions. For example... Figure 1 The diagram shown is a schematic representation of the communication system involved in the communication method provided in this application embodiment. The uplink base station of the terminal includes a first base station and a second base station. The first base station can be a macro base station, and the second base station can be a micro base station. Figure 1 As shown in (1), the terminal receives downlink signals from the macro base station and transmits uplink signals to the micro base station, but cannot receive downlink signals from the micro base station. Figure 1 As shown in (2), a macro base station may support both downlink transmission and uplink reception simultaneously. However, to enhance uplink coverage, micro base stations that only support uplink reception can be deployed, thus saving deployment costs. In this deployment architecture, since micro base stations cannot perform downlink transmission, the terminal cannot receive reference signals from the micro base station, making it impossible to determine the path loss between the terminal and the micro base station. Therefore, the power control mechanism for uplink transmission becomes a problem that needs to be addressed. Due to the mobility of the terminal, the uplink serving base station may switch back and forth between macro base stations and micro base stations or between multiple micro base stations.

[0097] Power control parameters are typically associated with the TCI state. The network indicates the TCI state used by the terminal, and simultaneously indicates the power control parameters used for uplink transmission. In one implementation, the network can indicate / associate a Path Loss Offset (PLO) within a TCI state to determine the path loss used for uplink transmission. The actual path loss used to determine the uplink transmission is jointly determined by the path loss measured from the downlink reference signal and the path loss offset. Due to the mobility of the terminal, the serving base station for the terminal's uplink transmission may switch back and forth between different base stations. Path loss occurs for uplink transmissions from the terminal to different base stations, and the path loss between different base stations is offset, i.e., the Path Loss Offset (PLO).

[0098] like Figure 1 As shown in (2), micro base stations are usually closer to macro base stations, so the power required for uplink transmission to a micro base station is usually less than that required for uplink transmission to a macro base station. Therefore, the actual path loss for uplink transmission can be the path loss measured by the downlink reference signal minus the path loss offset. For example, the path loss offset can range from [-10, 60] dB. If the terminal cannot receive the downlink reference signal from the micro base station, it cannot obtain the path loss between the terminal and the micro base station, and cannot guarantee effective uplink transmission between the terminal and the micro base station. Therefore, a scheme is urgently needed for the network side to indicate the path loss offset between different base stations to the terminal.

[0099] Based on this, the embodiment of the application provides a communication method, which is applied to a communication system including a network device and a terminal. The network device indicates, by a MAC CE, a case that the network device activates at least one TCI state in preconfigured TCI states for the terminal. The MAC CE further includes or is used to indicate at least one path loss offset, so that the terminal determines a path loss of an uplink signal corresponding to the first TCI state associated with the path loss offset. The terminal adjusts the transmission power of the uplink signal according to the path loss offset associated with the TCI state, so as to improve the success rate of the terminal transmitting the uplink signal to the current corresponding uplink base station.

[0100] Referring to Figure 2 , a flowchart of a communication method provided by the embodiment of the application is shown. As Figure 2 shown, the provided communication method mainly includes the following steps:

[0101] S21: The terminal receives a MAC CE from the network device. Correspondingly, the network device sends the MAC CE to the terminal.

[0102] The MAC CE is used to indicate that the network device activates at least one TCI state in preconfigured TCI states for the terminal. The MAC CE further includes or is used to indicate at least one path loss offset. The path loss offset is associated with a first TCI state in the at least one TCI state. The path loss offset is used to determine the transmission power of an uplink signal corresponding to the first TCI state associated with the path loss offset.

[0103] The network device obtains the MAC CE and sends the MAC CE to the terminal. The MAC CE is mainly used to activate the TCI state for the terminal. Before the network device sends the MAC CE to the terminal, the network device sends RRC signaling to the terminal and preconfigures multiple TCI states for the terminal. The network device activates at least one TCI state in the preconfigured multiple TCI states by the MAC CE.

[0104] In addition, the network device further sends or indicates, by the MAC CE, at least one path loss offset to the terminal. The at least one path loss offset is associated with part of the TCI states in the activated at least one TCI state. The path loss offset is used to determine the path loss of an uplink signal corresponding to the associated TCI state. For ease of description, the TCI state in the activated at least one TCI state that can be associated with the path loss offset is referred to as the first TCI state.

[0105] The network device sends at least one path loss offset to the terminal through a MAC CE, and each path loss offset can be associated with at least one first TCI state. For example, each path loss offset is associated with one first TCI state, and the path loss offset is used to determine the path loss required for the transmission power of the uplink signal (for example, an uplink physical channel or an uplink reference signal) corresponding to the first TCI state.

[0106] S22: The terminal acquires the path loss offset associated with the first TCI state.

[0107] The terminal acquires the MAC CE, that is, the at least one TCI state activated by the MAC CE is parsed, and the path loss offset associated with part of the first TCI state in the at least one TCI state is acquired. The terminal determines the transmission power of the uplink signal corresponding to each first TCI state according to the path loss offset associated with the first TCI state. In this way, when the terminal transmits the uplink signal through the first TCI state, the transmission power of the uplink signal can be adjusted according to the path loss offset associated with the first TCI state, so as to ensure that the uplink signal is successfully transmitted to the network device through the uplink signal corresponding to the first TCI state.

[0108] The network device sends multiple MAC CEs to the terminal, and the logical channel identifiers (LCIDs) of different MAC CEs are different. Among the multiple MAC CEs sent by the network device to the terminal, the MAC CEs for activating the TCI state mainly include three types. For ease of description, the three types of MAC CEs for activating the TCI state are referred to as first MAC CEs. The first MAC CEs include three categories, and each category of MAC CE corresponds to a different type of TCI code point, and the activated TCI state is indicated through the different types of TCI code points.

[0109] Specifically, the first MAC CEs can include first-type MAC CEs, second-type MAC CEs, and third-type MAC CEs.

[0110] The first-type MAC CEs correspond to at least one first-type TCI code point. The first-type TCI code point is used to indicate one downlink TCI state and one uplink TCI state, or one downlink TCI state, or one joint TCI state, or one uplink TCI state activated by the first-type MAC CEs.

[0111] The second-type MAC CEs correspond to at least one second-type TCI code point. The second-type TCI code point is used to indicate at most two joint TCI states activated by the second-type MAC CEs.

[0112] The third type of MAC CE corresponds to at least one third type of TCI codepoint, the third type of TCI codepoint being used to indicate at most two downlink TCI states and / or at most two uplink TCI states activated by the third type of MAC CE.

[0113] The network device can activate the TCI state for the terminal through any one of the three types of first MAC CEs. In other cases, the three types of MAC CEs can also have other names, which are not limited.

[0114] In the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the network device also indicates the path loss offset through the MAC CE. In one case, the network device can multiplex or adjust part of the fields of the existing first MAC CE, so that the adjusted MAC CE can indicate both the activated TCI state and the path loss offset.

[0115] In another case, the network device can not adjust the fields of the existing first MAC CE, and send a new MAC CE, referred to as a second MAC CE, to the network device on the basis of sending the first MAC CE to the terminal. The second MAC CE is associated with a logical channel identifier for determining / identifying the type of MAC CE. The second MAC CE can be used to indicate the path loss offset corresponding to the TCI state activated by the first MAC CE. The second MAC CE is not used to indicate the activated TCI state, and the second MAC CE includes or is used to indicate the path loss offset, and the terminal determines the path loss offset of at least one first TCI state through the first MAC CE and the second MAC CE.

[0116] The two cases will be described in detail through different embodiments.

[0117] On the one hand, the network device multiplexes and / or adjusts part of the fields of the existing first MAC CE, so that the adjusted MAC CE can indicate both the activated TCI state and the path loss offset.

[0118] The network device can add at least one field in the MAC CE, and one field corresponds to one path loss offset. For ease of description, the field corresponding to the path loss offset is referred to as the first field.

[0119] In one specific embodiment, the MAC CE sent by the network device includes at least one first field, at least one first field corresponding to at least one path loss offset, and one first field indicating one path loss offset being associated with one or more first TCI states.

[0120] Specifically, the first field can include M, M first fields are associated with M first TCI states in the at least one TCI state, M is less than or equal to the number N of the at least one TCI state, M and N are positive integers. Further, in the MAC CE, the order of the M first fields is associated with the field mapping mode of the M first TCI states. In this way, the terminal can determine the path loss offset associated with each first TCI state. In a specific implementation, the order of the M first fields and the fields of the M first TCI states can be positively associated or negatively associated, without limitation.

[0121] The first MAC CE multiplexed or adjusted by the network device can be any of the three types of first MAC CEs. Different initial field mapping modes of different first MAC CEs are different, and the field mapping modes of the MAC CEs obtained after adjustment are also different. The following will describe the corresponding field mapping modes for the three types of first MAC CEs. The first MAC CE after multiplexing or adjustment has the same LCID as the original first MAC CE.

[0122] Example 1, the network device adjusts the field mapping mode of the first type of MAC CE.

[0123] The first type of MAC CE corresponds to at least one first type of TCI code point, and the first type of TCI code point is used to indicate one downlink TCI state and one uplink TCI state, or one downlink TCI state, or one joint TCI state, or one uplink TCI state activated by the first type of MAC CE.

[0124] As shown in Table 1, the field mapping mode of the first type of MAC CE is shown in Table 1.

[0125] Table 1

[0126]

[0127] In Table 1, the field Serving Cell ID represents the service cell ID, indicating the index of the service cell to which the MAC CE applies, and the length is 5 bits.

[0128] The field DL BWP ID indicates the downlink BWP to which the MAC CE applies, and the length is 2 bits.

[0129] The field UL BWP ID indicates the uplink BWP to which the MAC CE applies, and the length is 2 bits.

[0130] The field Pi corresponds to the first type of code point, that is, it indicates whether the code point of the DCI field contains multiple TCI states or a single TCI state. The code point to which the TCI state is mapped is determined by its ordinal position in all TCI state ID fields.

[0131] If the Pi field is set to 1, it indicates that the ith TCI codepoint includes one downlink (DL) TCI state and one uplink (UL) TCI state.

[0132] If the Pi field is set to 0, it indicates that the ith TCI codepoint includes only one DL TCI state, or one joint TCI state, or one UL TCI state. Wherein, the joint TCI state can be used to indicate the TCI state of uplink and downlink at the same time, the DL TCI state can only be used to indicate the TCI state of downlink, and the UL TCI state can only be used to indicate the TCI state of uplink.

[0133] The field D / U indicates whether the TCI state ID in the same octet is used for joint TCI state, downlink TCI state or uplink TCI state. If the field D / U is set to 1, the TCI state ID in the same octet is used to indicate joint TCI state or downlink TCI state. If the field D / U is set to 0, the TCI state ID in the same octet is used to indicate uplink TCI state.

[0134] The field TCI state ID indicates one of the multiple TCI states configured by RRC. The field TCI state ID and the field D / U belong to the same octet. If the field D / U is set to 1, the TCI state ID is of 7-bit length. If the D / U is set to 0, the most significant bit of the TCI state ID is regarded as a reserved bit. The maximum number of activated TCI states is codepoint P*8=16.

[0135] The field R in Table 1 is also included, which is a reserved bit or a reserved field. The first type of MAC CE includes 7 reserved fields. In the case of no field adjustment of the first type of MAC CE, the field R in the MAC CE is usually set to 0.

[0136] On the basis of Table 1, it is determined that the first type of codepoint Pi in Table 1 indicates that there are M first TCI state associated path loss offsets in the multiple activated TCI states. The network equipment adds M first fields to the MAC CE, and each first field includes or is used to indicate one path loss offset. As shown in Table 2, the field mapping mode of the adjusted first type of MAC CE is shown.

[0137] Table 2

[0138]

[0139] In Table 2, M first fields, i.e., Path loss offset 1-Path loss offset M, are added. The field mapping manner of the M first fields is consistent with the ordering of the M first TCI states associated with the M first fields. The ordering of the M first TCI states is the ordering in the activated multiple TCI states indicated by the P1-P8 codepoints. The M first fields correspond to the M first TCI states respectively, and the M first TCI states are UL TCI states or joint TCI states. If M=1, all the UL TCI states or joint TCI states activated by the MAC CE are associated with the same path loss offset.

[0140] For example, P1 indicates activation of one UL TCI state, P2 indicates activation of one DL TCI state, P3 indicates activation of one UL TCI state, and P4-P8 all indicate DL TCI states. That is, among the multiple TCI states activated by the first type of MAC CE, there are two first TCI states (i.e., the two UL TCI states indicated by P1 and P3). Then, the MAC CE adds two first fields, i.e., Path loss offset 1 and Path loss offset 2. Among them, Path loss offset 1 corresponds to the first UL TCI state indicated in the 8 codepoints, i.e., P1 indicates the activated UL TCI, and Path loss offset 2 corresponds to the second UL TCI state indicated in the 8 codepoints, i.e., P3 indicates the activated UL TCI.

[0141] In a possible implementation manner, the first field added by the MAC CE can indicate the path loss offset in multiple ways.

[0142] In one case, the first field can include the numerical value of at least one path loss offset.

[0143] For example, Path loss offset 1 is 00000, indicating that the corresponding path loss offset is 0 dB. For another example, Path loss offset 2 is 01111=15 dB.

[0144] In another case, the first field includes an index corresponding to the numerical value of at least one path loss offset, or the path loss offset indicates an index. In order to reduce the number of bytes occupied by the path loss offset or reduce the amount of MAC CE data transmitted, an index corresponding to the numerical value of the path loss offset can be determined, and each index corresponds to a numerical value of the path loss offset.

[0145] For example, the path loss offset values [-10, 60] dB can be divided into 19 segments as evenly as possible, with a 2 dB or 4 dB interval between adjacent segments. As shown in Table 3, the network device can also look up the corresponding index according to the value of the path loss offset and the mapping relationship between the value of the path loss offset and the index, and indicate the corresponding index through the first field. In Table 3, at least 5 bits are required for the index corresponding to each path loss offset.

[0146] Table 3

[0147]

[0148] In Table 3, the difference between the path loss offset corresponding to index 0 and index 1 is 2 dB, and the difference between the path loss offset corresponding to other adjacent indexes is 4. The difference between the path loss offset corresponding to any two adjacent index indication is not a fixed value, that is, the path loss offset is not quantized at equal intervals. In order to meet the equal interval quantization, the value range of the path loss offset can be expanded to [-12, 60] dB, and after expansion, the index can be quantized at equal intervals to obtain the mapping relationship as shown in Table 4.

[0149] Table 4

[0150]

[0151] The communication method provided by the embodiment saves the number of bits on the basis of clearly indicating the path loss offset.

[0152] In another possible implementation, to ensure byte consistency, the newly added first field can be expanded to an octet. Or in other cases, considering that the actual existing path loss offset values may belong to the range [-10, 60] dB, the first field can be represented by 5 bits. Based on this, 3 reserved fields can also be added before each first field, each reserved field occupies one bit, and the 3 reserved fields and the first field belong to the same octet.

[0153] On the basis of the scheme provided in Example 1, the network device can also indicate other related information of the path loss offset through other fields in the MAC CE, for example, indicating whether the MAC CE includes the path loss offset, or indicating the number of path loss offsets included in the MAC CE. The following will explain the possible implementation schemes through several associated examples.

[0154] Example 1.1, the MAC CE includes a second field, and the second field is used to indicate whether the MAC CE includes or indicates at least one path loss offset.

[0155] The MAC CE can add a second field or reuse a reserved field as the second field, for example, reusing the first reserved field R of the first octet of the MAC CE as the second field L.

[0156] For example, the second field L is set to 0, indicating that the MAC CE does not include at least one path loss offset. In this case, the MAC CE can not include at least one first field, as shown in Table 5.

[0157] Table 5

[0158]

[0159] For another example, the second field is set to 1, indicating that the MAC CE includes at least one path loss offset, as shown in Table 6.

[0160] Table 6

[0161]

[0162] For another example, the second field L is set to 1, indicating that the MAC CE includes at least one path loss offset. The MAC CE sent by the network device to the terminal includes a second field, and the terminal can determine whether the MAC CE indicates at least one path loss offset according to the second field of the MAC CE. In the case where the terminal determines that the MAC CE includes at least one path loss offset, the terminal parses the first field in the MAC CE to obtain the path loss offset associated with at least one first TCI state. In the case where the terminal determines that the MAC CE does not include at least one path loss offset, the terminal does not need to parse the first field of the MAC CE, thereby saving the calculation amount of the terminal and the number of bits of the MAC CE.

[0163] Example 1.2, the MAC CE includes at least one third field, and the at least one third field corresponds to at least one TCI state. One third field is used to indicate whether the MAC CE contains a path loss offset corresponding to one TCI state in the at least one TCI state.

[0164] The MAC CE can add at least one third field or reuse a reserved field as the third field, for example, reusing multiple reserved fields R of the MAC CE as the third field Li.

[0165] The MAC CE includes at least one third field, and each third field indicates whether the activated TCI state includes a path loss offset. For example, one third field L i is set to 0, L i corresponds to code point P i, and L i is used to indicate that the activated TCI state of P i does not include a path loss offset. For another example, L i is set to 1, indicating that the activated TCI state of P i includes a path loss offset. For example, the fields of the MAC CE are as shown in Table 7. In Table 7, 7 reserved fields are multiplexed as third fields L 1 -L 7, corresponding to code points P 1 -P 7.

[0166] Table 7

[0167]

[0168] For example, as shown in Table 8, if L 1 -L 7 are set to 1001001, wherein L 1, L 4 and L 7 are set to 1, it indicates that the TCI states associated with P 1, P 4 and P 7 include corresponding path loss offsets, and the TCI states associated with P 2, P 3, P 5 and P 6 do not include corresponding path loss offsets.

[0169] Table 8

[0170]

[0171] In Table 8, the TCI states associated with P 1, P 4 and P 7 include corresponding path loss offsets, and the 3 first fields included are Path loss offset 1 -Path loss offset 3, wherein Path loss offset 1 is the path loss offset associated with the activated TCI state indicated by P 1, Path loss offset 2 is the path loss offset associated with the activated TCI state indicated by P 4, and Path loss offset 3 is the path loss offset associated with the activated TCI state indicated by P 7.

[0172] In other cases, the network device can also multiplex 7 reserved fields of the first type of MAC CE as third fields L 1 -L 7, corresponding to code points P 2 -P 8, to respectively indicate whether the activated TCI state corresponding to the corresponding code point exists corresponding path loss offset.

[0173] The scheme provided in this example is that the MAC CE includes at least one third field, and different third fields are respectively used to indicate whether the activated TCI state corresponding to the corresponding code point exists corresponding path loss offset, and the accuracy of the terminal obtaining the path loss offset is higher.

[0174] Example 1.3, the MAC CE includes a fourth field, and the fourth field is used to indicate the number of at least one path loss offset contained in the MAC CE.

[0175] The MAC CE can add a fourth field, or reuse the reserved field as the fourth field, for example, reuse multiple reserved fields R of the MAC CE as the fourth field L.

[0176] The MAC CE includes 8 code points, and the 8 code points can be associated with 8 TCI states at most. Based on this, the MAC CE can use 4 bits as the fourth field, and the number of path loss offsets that the 4 bits can indicate ranges from 0 to 15. The MAC CE reuses 4 reserved bits L1-L4 as the fourth field, and according to L1-L4, the activated TCI state includes a path loss offset. Table 9.

[0177] Table 9

[0178]

[0179] For example, when L1:L2:L3:L4=0000, it indicates that the MAC CE does not include a path loss offset indication.

[0180] For example, when L1:L2:L3:L4=0001, it indicates that the MAC CE includes M=1 path loss offset indication.

[0181] For example, when L1:L2:L3:L4=0010, it indicates that the MAC CE includes M=2 path loss offset indications, as shown in Table 10.

[0182] For example, when L1:L2:L3:L4=1000, it indicates that the MAC CE includes M=8 path loss offset indications. The M path loss offset indications are respectively used to indicate the path loss offsets associated with the M UL TCI states and / or jointTCI states with the highest order in the MAC CE.

[0183] Table 10

[0184]

[0185]

[0186] In other cases, the network device can also reuse other 4 reserved fields or more reserved bits of the MAC CE as the fourth field L1-L4 to indicate the number of path loss offsets included in the MAC CE.

[0187] The scheme provided in this example includes a fourth field, and the fourth field is used to indicate the number of path loss offsets included in the MAC CE, so that the accuracy of the terminal in acquiring the path loss offset is higher.

[0188] Example 2, the network device adjusts the field mapping manner of the second type of MAC CE.

[0189] The second type of MAC CE corresponds to at least one second type of TCI codepoint, and the second type of TCI codepoint is used to indicate at most two joint TCI states activated by the second type of MAC CE.

[0190] As shown in Table 11, the field mapping manner of the second type of MAC CE is shown.

[0191] Table 11

[0192]

[0193] In Table 11, the field Serving Cell ID indicates the index of the serving cell to which the MAC CE is applicable, and has a length of 5 bits.

[0194] The field DL BWP ID indicates the downlink BWP to which the MAC CE is applicable, and has a length of 2 bits.

[0195] The field F i,j corresponds to the second type of codepoint, and indicates whether the jth joint TCI state in the TCI state ID field related to the codepoint i of the DCI transmission configuration indication field exists, where j = 1, 2. If the Fi,j field is set to 1, it indicates that the jth joint TCI state of the codepoint i exists. If the Fi,j field is set to 0, it indicates that the jth joint TCI state of the codepoint i does not exist. The codepoint to which the TCI state is mapped is determined by its ordinal position in all TCI state ID fields. i,j The field is set to 0, indicating that the jth joint TCI state of the codepoint i does not exist. The codepoint to which the TCI state is mapped is determined by its ordinal position in all TCI state ID fields.

[0196] The field TCI state ID indicates one of the multiple TCI states configured by RRC. The maximum number of activated TCI states is 16.

[0197] In Table 11, the field R is also included, and the field R is a reserved bit or a reserved field. The second type of MAC CE includes 1 reserved field. In the case where no field adjustment is made to the existing MAC CE, the field R in the MAC CE is usually set to 0.

[0198] Based on Table 11, the second type of codepoint F i,j indicates that among the multiple activated TCI states, there are M first TCI state associated path loss offsets. The network device adds M first fields to the MAC CE, and each first field includes or is used to indicate one path loss offset. As shown in Table 12, the field mapping manner of the adjusted second type of MAC CE is shown.

[0199] Table 12

[0200]

[0201]

[0202] In Table 12, M first fields, i.e., Path loss offset 1~Path loss offset M, are added. The field mapping manner of the M first fields is consistent with the ordering of the M first TCI states associated therewith. The ordering of the M first TCI states is F 1,1 -F 8,2 The codepoint indicates the ordering in the activated multiple TCI states. If M=1, all the joint TCI states activated by the MAC CE are associated with the same path loss offset.

[0203] For example, F 1,1 Set to 1 indicates that one joint TCI state is activated. F 1,2 Set to 1 indicates that one joint TCI state is activated. F 2,1 Set to 1 indicates that one joint TCI state is activated. That is, in the multiple TCI states activated by the second type of MAC CE, there are 2 first TCI states. Then, the MAC CE adds 2 first fields, i.e., Path loss offset 1 and Path loss offset 2. Among them, Path loss offset 1 corresponds to the first codepoint in the 8 codepoints to indicate the first joint TCI state activated, i.e., F 1,1 indicates the activated UL TCI, and Path loss offset 2 corresponds to the second codepoint in the 8 codepoints to indicate the second UL TCI state activated, i.e., F 2,1 indicates the activated UL TCI.

[0204] In a possible implementation manner, the first field added by the MAC CE can have multiple manners to indicate the path loss offset.

[0205] In one case, the first field can include the numerical value of at least one path loss offset.

[0206] In another case, the first field includes an index corresponding to the numerical value of at least one path loss offset, or the path loss offset indicates the index. In order to reduce the number of bytes occupied by the path loss offset, or reduce the amount of MAC CE data transmitted, the numerical value of the path loss offset can be determined to correspond to an index, and each index corresponds to a numerical value of a path loss offset. For details, refer to the schemes shown in Table 3 and Table 4 described above, which are not limited.

[0207] In another possible implementation, the first field added can be expanded to an octet to ensure byte consistency. Or in other cases, considering that the actual path loss offset value can belong to the range of [-10, 60] dB, the first field can be represented by 5 bits. Based on this, 1 reserved field can be added before each first field, each reserved field occupies 1 bit, and 1 reserved field and the first field belong to the same octet.

[0208] Based on the scheme provided in Example 2, the network device can also indicate other related information of the path loss offset in the MAC CE through other fields, for example, indicating whether the MAC CE includes the path loss offset.

[0209] Example 2.1, the MAC CE includes a second field, and the second field is used to indicate whether the MAC CE includes at least one path loss offset or indicate the at least one path loss offset.

[0210] The MAC CE can add a second field or reuse a reserved field as the second field, for example, reuse the first reserved field R of the first octet of the MAC CE as the second field L.

[0211] For example, the second field L is set to 0, indicating that the MAC CE does not include at least one path loss offset. In this case, the MAC CE can not include at least one first field, as shown in Table 13.

[0212] Table 13

[0213]

[0214] For another example, the second field is set to 1, indicating that the MAC CE includes at least one path loss offset, as shown in Table 14.

[0215] Table 14

[0216]

[0217] The MAC CE sent by the network device to the terminal includes a second field, and the terminal can first determine whether the MAC CE indicates at least one path loss offset according to the second field of the MAC CE. The terminal parses the first field in the MAC CE to obtain the path loss offset associated with the at least one first TCI state in the case of determining that the MAC CE includes at least one path loss offset. In the case of determining that the MAC CE does not include at least one path loss offset, the terminal does not need to parse the first field of the MAC CE, thereby saving the calculation amount of the terminal and the overhead of the MAC CE.

[0218] Example 3, the network device adjusts the field mapping manner of the third type of MAC CE.

[0219] The third type of MAC CE corresponds to at least one third type of TCI codepoint, and the third type of TCI codepoint is used to indicate at most two downlink TCI states and / or at most two uplink TCI states activated by the third type of MAC CE.

[0220] As shown in Table 15, the field mapping manner of the third type of MAC CE is shown.

[0221] Table 15

[0222]

[0223]

[0224] In Table 15, the field Serving Cell ID indicates the index of the serving cell to which the MAC CE applies, and has a length of 5 bits.

[0225] The field DL BWP ID indicates the downlink BWP to which the MAC CE applies, and has a length of 2 bits.

[0226] The field UL BWP ID indicates the uplink BWP to which the MAC CE applies, and has a length of 2 bits.

[0227] The field F i,j and S i,j corresponds to the third type of codepoint, that is, the codepoint indicating whether the DCI field contains multiple TCI states or a single TCI state. The codepoint to which the TCI state is mapped is determined by its ordinal position in all TCI state ID fields.

[0228] The field F i,j indicates whether the jth DL TCI state in the TCI state ID field related to the codepoint i of the DCI transmission configuration indication field exists, where j=1,2. If F i,j If the field is set to 1, it indicates that the jth DL TCI state of the codepoint i exists. If F i,j If the field is set to 0, it indicates that the jth DL TCI state of the codepoint i does not exist.

[0229] The field S i,j indicates whether the jth UL TCI state in the TCI state ID field related to the codepoint i of the DCI transmission configuration indication field exists, where j=1,2. If S i,j If the field is set to 1, it indicates that the jth UL TCI state of the codepoint i exists. If S i,j If the field is set to 0, it indicates that the jth UL TCI state of the codepoint i does not exist.

[0230] TCI state ID: This field indicates one of the multiple TCI states configured by RRC. If the indicated TCI state ID is a DL TCI state, the TCI state ID is of 7-bit length. If the indicated TCI state ID is a UL TCI state, the most significant bit of the TCI state ID is considered as a reserved bit and the remaining 6 bits indicate the UL TCI state ID. The order of the TCI state IDs is determined by the order of the TCI state IDs in the TCI state list in the RRC configuration. i,j and S i,j The indicated order determines the codepoint. The codepoint the TCI state is mapped to is determined by its ordinal position in all TCI state ID fields. The maximum number of activated TCI states is 32.

[0231] The field R in Table 15 is a reserved bit or field. The third type of MAC CE includes 7 reserved fields. The field R in the MAC CE is usually set to 0 in the absence of field adjustment to the existing MAC CE.

[0232] Based on Table 15, it is determined that the third type of codepoint in Table 15 indicates that there are M first TCI states associated with path loss offsets in the activated multiple TCI states. The network device adds M first fields to the MAC CE, and each first field includes or is used to indicate a path loss offset. As shown in Table 16, the field mapping mode of the adjusted third type of MAC CE is shown.

[0233] Table 16

[0234]

[0235]

[0236] In Table 16, M first fields, i.e., Path loss offset 1-Path loss offset M, are added. The field mapping mode of the M first fields is consistent with the order of the associated M first TCI states, and the order of the M first TCI states is S 1,1 -S 8,2 The codepoint indicates the order in the activated multiple UL TCI states. If M = 1, all the UL TCI states activated by the MAC CE are associated with the same path loss offset.

[0237] For example, S 1,1 indicates that one UL TCI state is activated, S 2,1The third type of MAC CE indicates that there are two first TCI states in the activated multiple TCI states. Then, the MAC CE adds two first fields, i.e., Path loss offset 1 and Path loss offset 2. Path loss offset 1 corresponds to the first code point in the 8 code points to indicate the first activated UL TCI state, i.e., S 1,1 Path loss offset 2 corresponds to the first code point in the 8 code points to indicate the second activated UL TCI state, i.e., S 2,1 The third type of MAC CE indicates that there are two first TCI states in the activated multiple TCI states. Then, the MAC CE adds two first fields, i.e., Path loss offset 1 and Path loss offset 2. Path loss offset 1 corresponds to the first code point in the 8 code points to indicate the first activated UL TCI state, i.e., S

[0238] In a possible implementation manner, the first field added in the MAC CE can have multiple manners of indicating the path loss offset.

[0239] In a case, the first field can include a value of at least one path loss offset.

[0240] In another case, the first field includes an index corresponding to a value of at least one path loss offset, or the path loss offset indicates the index. To reduce the number of bytes occupied by the path loss offset, or to reduce the amount of MAC CE data transmitted, the value of the path loss offset can be determined to correspond to an index, and each index corresponds to a value of the path loss offset. For details, refer to the schemes shown in Tables 3 and 4.

[0241] In another possible implementation manner, to ensure byte consistency, the first field added can be expanded to an octet. Or in other cases, considering that the value of the actual existing path loss offset can belong to the range of [-10, 60] dB, the first field can be represented by 5 bits. Based on this, three reserved fields can be added in front of each first field, each reserved field occupies one bit, and the three reserved fields and the first field belong to an octet.

[0242] Based on the scheme provided in Example 3, the network device can also indicate other related information of the path loss offset in the MAC CE through other fields, for example, indicating whether the MAC CE includes the path loss offset, or indicating the number of path loss offsets included in the MAC CE. The following will explain the possible implementation schemes through several associated examples.

[0243] Example 3.1, the MAC CE includes a second field, and the second field is used to indicate whether the MAC CE includes at least one path loss offset.

[0244] The MAC CE can add a second field or reuse a reserved field as the second field, for example, reusing the first reserved field R of the first octet of the MAC CE as the second field L.

[0245] For example, the second field L is set to 0, indicating that the MAC CE does not include at least one path loss offset. In this case, the MAC CE can not include at least one first field, as shown in Table 17.

[0246] Table 17

[0247]

[0248] For another example, the second field is set to 1, indicating that the MAC CE includes at least one path loss offset, as shown in Table 18.

[0249] Table 18

[0250]

[0251] The MAC CE sent by the network device to the terminal includes a second field, and the terminal can determine whether the MAC CE indicates at least one path loss offset according to the second field of the MAC CE. In the case where the terminal determines that the MAC CE includes at least one path loss offset, the terminal parses the first field in the MAC CE to obtain the path loss offset associated with at least one first TCI state. In the case where the terminal determines that the MAC CE does not include at least one path loss offset, the terminal does not need to parse the first field of the MAC CE, thereby saving the calculation amount of the terminal.

[0252] Example 3.2, the MAC CE includes a fourth field, and the fourth field is used to indicate the number of at least one path loss offset contained in the MAC CE.

[0253] The MAC CE can add a fourth field or reuse a reserved field as the fourth field, for example, reusing multiple reserved fields R of the MAC CE as the fourth field Li.

[0254] The MAC CE includes 8 code points, and the 8 code points can be associated with at most 16 UL TCI states. Based on this, the MAC CE can use 5 bits as the fourth field, and the number of path loss offsets that can be indicated by the 5 bits ranges from 0 to 31. The MAC CE reuses 5 reserved bits L1-L5 as the fourth field, and according to L1-L5, it is indicated that the activated TCI state includes a path loss offset, as shown in Table 19.

[0255] Table 19

[0256]

[0257] For example, when L1:L2:L3:L4:L5=00000, it indicates that the MAC CE does not include path loss offset indication.

[0258] For example, when L1:L2:L3:L4:L5=00001, it indicates that the MAC CE includes M=1 path loss offset indication.

[0259] For example, when L1:L2:L3:L4:L5=00010, it indicates that the MAC CE includes M=2 path loss offset indications, as shown in Table 20.

[0260] For example, when L1:L2:L3:L4:L5=10000, it indicates that the MAC CE includes M=16 path loss offset indications.

[0261] The MAC CE includes M path loss offset indications, respectively indicating the path loss offset associated with the M UL TCI states with the highest rank in the MAC CE.

[0262] Table 20

[0263]

[0264]

[0265] In other cases, the network device can also multiplex the other 5 reserved fields or more reserved bits of the MAC CE as the fourth fields L1-L5 to indicate the number of path loss offsets included in the MAC CE.

[0266] The scheme provided in the example provides that the MAC CE includes a fourth field, and the fourth field is used to indicate the number of path loss offsets included in the MAC CE, so that the terminal can obtain the path loss offset with higher accuracy.

[0267] The schemes provided in the above examples multiplex the first MAC CE, and add at least a first field to indicate the path loss offset associated with the multiple first TCI states in the multiple activated TCI states, thereby reducing the number of signaling sent by the network device and channel occupation.

[0268] On the other hand, the network device sends a new second MAC CE to the terminal on the basis of sending the first MAC CE to the terminal, and the second MAC CE includes or is used to indicate the path loss offset, and the terminal determines the path loss offset of the at least one first TCI state through the first MAC CE and the second MAC CE.

[0269] Referring to Figure 3Another flowchart of a communication method is provided for the embodiments of the present application. As shown in (1) of FIG. 18, the provided communication method mainly includes the following steps: Figure 3

[0270] S311: The terminal receives the first MAC CE. Accordingly, the network device sends the first MAC CE to the terminal.

[0271] The first MAC CE is used to instruct the network device to activate at least one of the preconfigured TCI states for the terminal.

[0272] S312: The terminal receives the second MAC CE. Accordingly, the network device sends the second MAC CE to the terminal.

[0273] The second MAC CE includes or is used to indicate at least one path loss offset, the path loss offset is associated with a first TCI state in the at least one TCI state, and the path loss offset is used to determine the transmission power of the uplink signal corresponding to the first TCI state associated with the path loss offset.

[0274] S312: The terminal obtains the path loss offset associated with the first TCI state.

[0275] The network device obtains the first MAC CE, sends the first MAC CE to the terminal, and the first MAC CE is mainly used to activate the TCI state for the terminal. Before the network device sends the first MAC CE to the terminal, the network device sends the RRC to the terminal and preconfigures multiple TCI states for the terminal. The network device activates at least one of the preconfigured multiple TCI states through the first MAC CE.

[0276] In addition, the network device also sends or indicates at least one path loss offset to the terminal through the second MAC CE, the at least one path loss offset is associated with part of the TCI states in the activated at least one TCI state, and the path loss offset is used to determine the transmission power of the uplink signal corresponding to the associated TCI state. For ease of description, the TCI state associated with the path loss offset in the activated at least one TCI state is referred to as the first TCI state.

[0277] The network device sends at least one path loss offset to the terminal through the second MAC CE, and each path loss offset can be associated with at least one first TCI state. For example, each path loss offset is associated with one first TCI state, and the path loss offset is used to determine the transmission power of the uplink signal corresponding to the first TCI state.

[0278] ​The terminal obtains the second MAC CE, determines the associated first MAC CE, and can parse at least one TCI state activated by the MAC CE, and obtains the path loss offset of the first TCI state associated in the at least one TCI state. The terminal determines the transmission power of the uplink signal corresponding to each first TCI state according to the path loss offset associated with the first TCI state. In this way, when the terminal transmits the uplink signal through the first TCI state, the transmission power of the uplink signal can be adjusted according to the path loss offset associated with the first TCI state, so as to ensure that the uplink signal corresponding to the first TCI state is successfully transmitted to the network device.

[0279] The network device sends the second MAC CE to the terminal, and the second MAC CE is associated with the first MAC CE. The first MAC CE can be any one of the first type of MAC CE, the second type of MAC CE, and the third type of MAC CE.

[0280] In one case, the second MAC CE contains the LCID of the first MAC CE, and determines which type of first MAC CE is associated with the first MAC CE.

[0281] In another case, after the terminal obtains the second MAC CE, the terminal determines the last MAC CE received before receiving the second MAC CE as the associated first MAC CE.

[0282] In other cases, the network device can also obtain the LCID of the first MAC CE and the second MAC CE, respectively, and determine the associated first MAC CE and the second MAC CE according to the pre-defined association relationship between the LCIDs.

[0283] The second MAC CE sent by the network device to the terminal has multiple possible implementation manners in terms of field format and field mapping mode, which will be described below through different examples.

[0284] In example 4, the network device can contain at least one first field in the second MAC CE, and the first field corresponds to one path loss offset.

[0285] In one specific implementation, the second MAC CE sent by the network device includes at least one first field, and the at least one first field corresponds to at least one path loss offset. One first field indicates one path loss offset associated with one or more first TCI states.

[0286] The specific implementation of the path loss offset included or indicated by the second MAC CE can refer to the related schemes described above, and will not be described here.

[0287] The network device sends the first MAC CE associated with the second MAC CE, which can be any of the three types of first MAC CEs. Different first MAC CEs have different initial field mapping modes, and the field mapping modes of the associated second MAC CEs are also different. The following will describe the field mapping modes of the corresponding second MAC CEs for the three types of first MAC CEs.

[0288] Example 4.1, the second MAC CE received by the terminal is associated with the first type of MAC CE.

[0289] The first type of MAC CE corresponds to at least one first type of TCI code point. The first type of TCI code point is used to indicate one downlink TCI state and one uplink TCI state, or one downlink TCI state, or one joint TCI state, or one uplink TCI state activated by the first type of MAC CE.

[0290] The second MAC CE includes a plurality of third fields, and the plurality of third fields indicate path loss offset information corresponding to the TCI state activated by the first type of MAC CE. As shown in Table 21, the plurality of third fields indicate whether there is an associated path loss offset in the TCI state indicated by the first type of code point in the first type of MAC CE.

[0291] Table 21

[0292]

[0293] For example, a third field Li is set to 0, Li corresponds to a code point Pi, and Li is used to indicate that Pi indicates that the activated TCI state does not include a path loss offset. For another example, Li is set to 1, indicating that the activated TCI state includes a path loss offset. In Table 21, 8 reserved fields are used as third fields L1-L8, corresponding to code points P1-P8.

[0294] For example, as shown in Table 22, if L1-L8 is set to 10010010, wherein L1, L4 and L7 are set to 1, it indicates that the TCI states associated with P1, P4 and P7 include corresponding path loss offsets, which are Path loss offset 1, Path loss offset 2 and Path loss offset 3, respectively, and the TCI states associated with P2, P3, P5, P6 and P8 do not include corresponding path loss offsets.

[0295] Table 22

[0296]

[0297] The TCI states associated with P1, P4 and P7 in Table 22 include corresponding path loss offsets, and the first field included is Path loss offset 1-Path loss offset 3, wherein Path loss offset 1 indicates the path loss offset associated with the activated TCI state indicated by P1, Path loss offset 2 indicates the path loss offset associated with the activated TCI state indicated by P4, and Path loss offset 3 indicates the path loss offset associated with the activated TCI state indicated by P7.

[0298] The scheme provided in this example is that the MAC CE includes at least one third field, and different third fields are respectively used to indicate whether the corresponding code point indicates that the activated TCI state has a corresponding path loss offset, so that the accuracy of the terminal acquiring the path loss offset is higher.

[0299] Example 4.2, the second MAC CE sent by the network device is associated with a second type of MAC CE.

[0300] The second type of MAC CE corresponds to at least one second type of TCI code point, and the second type of TCI code point is used to indicate at most two joint TCI states activated by the second type of MAC CE. The second MAC CE includes a plurality of third fields, and the plurality of third fields indicate the path loss offset information corresponding to the TCI state activated by the second type of MAC CE. As shown in Table 23, the second MAC CE includes a plurality of third fields, and the plurality of third fields indicate whether there is an associated path loss offset for the TCI state indicated by the M second type of code point activated by the second type of MAC CE.

[0301] Table 23

[0302]

[0303] For example, L i,j Corresponding F i,j The activated TCI state, one third field L i,j is set to 0, L i,j is used to indicate F i,j indicates that the activated TCI state does not include a path loss offset. For another example, L i,j is set to 1, indicating that the activated TCI state includes a path loss offset.

[0304] Example 4.3, the second MAC CE received by the terminal is associated with a third type of MAC CE.

[0305] The third type of MAC CE corresponds to at least one third type of TCI code point, and the third type of TCI code point is used to indicate at most two downlink TCI states and / or at most two uplink TCI states activated by the third type of MAC CE.

[0306] Table 24

[0307]

[0308]

[0309] The second MAC CE includes a plurality of third fields, and the plurality of third fields indicate path loss offset information corresponding to TCI states activated by the third type of MAC CE. As shown in Table 24, the second MAC CE is used to indicate or update the path loss offset associated with the activated TCI state, and the activated TCI state refers to the activated UL TCI state.

[0310] The plurality of third fields L i，j (i = 1, 2, 3, …, 8; j = 1, 2), the third field is used to indicate whether there is a corresponding path loss offset indication in the MAC CE, the second type of MAC CE S i，j corresponding to the TCI state.

[0311] If L i，j = 1, in the second MAC CE, the third type of MAC CE S i，j corresponding to the TCI state has a corresponding path loss offset indication. If L i，j = 0, in the second MAC CE, the third type of MAC CE S i，j corresponding to the TCI state does not have a corresponding path loss offset indication.

[0312] The communication method provided in the above several examples includes at least one third field in the second MAC CE sent by the network device to the terminal, which is used to respectively indicate whether there is a corresponding path loss offset for the TCI state activated by the first MAC CE, and the accuracy of the terminal acquiring the path loss offset is higher.

[0313] Referring to Figure 3 (2) in the description, a flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application is provided. As shown in Figure 3 (2) in the description, the communication method mainly includes the following steps:

[0314] S321: The terminal receives K TCI states preconfigured by the network device in RRC signaling.

[0315] S322: The terminal receives the MAC CE sent by the network device.

[0316] S323: The terminal determines the path loss offset corresponding to the K TCI states preconfigured in the RRC signaling.

[0317] The scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application is that the terminal receives the RRC signaling and the MAC CE sent by the network device. The terminal receives the RRC signaling to obtain the K TCI states preconfigured. The terminal receives the MAC CE to obtain the path loss offset corresponding to the K TCI states. The K TCI states are joint TCI states or UL TCI states. The MAC CE includes at least one first field for indicating the path loss offset.

[0318] Specifically, the first field can include K, and the K first fields are associated with the N TCI states. Further, in the MAC CE, the ordering of the K first fields is associated with the field mapping manner of the K TCI states or the index size of the TCI states. In this way, the terminal can determine the path loss offset associated with each TCI state. In specific implementation, the ordering of the K first fields and the field of the K first TCI states can be positively associated or negatively associated, which is not limited.

[0319] In the present example, the RRC configures N TCI states, and the MAC CE includes K first fields, each of which is used to indicate the path loss offset of a corresponding TCI state. That is, in the present example, the MAC CE received by the terminal allocates a corresponding first field for indicating the path loss offset for each TCI preconfigured, but it is not limited that there is a corresponding path loss offset for each TCI state, or in other words, it is not limited that the path loss offset included in each TCI state is not zero.

[0320] As shown in Table 25, it is a field mapping manner of the MAC CE. The MAC CE includes K first fields, the K first fields correspond to K TCI states in turn, and the first field indicates the path loss offset. In the case where the first MAC CE indicates that the activated TCI state is a joint TCI state or an uplink TCI state, there is a corresponding path loss offset.

[0321] Table 25

[0322]

[0323] As shown in Table 25, the second MAC CE can also include a Serving Cell ID (serving cell ID) and an UL BWP ID. In addition, the second MAC CE can also include a plurality of reserved fields R, which can be set to 0, for subsequent expansion and evolution.

[0324] In a possible implementation, the first field newly added in the MAC CE can have multiple manners to indicate the path loss offset.

[0325] In one case, the first field can include a value of at least one path loss offset.

[0326] In another case, the first field includes an index corresponding to a value of at least one path loss offset, or the path loss offset indicates the index. To reduce the number of bytes occupied by the path loss offset, or to reduce the amount of MAC CE data transmitted, a corresponding index can be determined for the value of the path loss offset, and each index corresponds to a value of the path loss offset. For details, refer to the schemes shown in Tables 3 and 4.

[0327] In another specific implementation, to ensure byte consistency, the newly added first field can be expanded to an octet. Or in other cases, considering that the value of the actually existing path loss offset can belong to the range of [-10, 60] dB, the first field can be represented by 5 bits. Based on this, 3 reserved fields can be newly added in front of each first field, each reserved field occupies 1 bit, and 1 reserved field and the first field belong to the same octet.

[0328] In some cases, the network device can also indicate other related information of the path loss offset in the MAC CE through other fields, for example, indicating whether the MAC CE includes the path loss offset.

[0329] In one example, the MAC CE received by the terminal includes at least one third field, and the at least one third field corresponds to at least one TCI state. The MAC CE includes K third fields, respectively used to indicate whether the TCI state associated with the third field exists the path loss offset. The TCI state is an RRC preconfigured TCI state.

[0330] The MAC CE includes at least one third field, and each third field indicates whether an RRC preconfigured TCI state includes the path loss offset. For example, a third field Li is set to 0, Li corresponds to an RRC preconfigured TCI state i, and Li is used to indicate that the RRC preconfigured TCI state i does not include the path loss offset. For another example, Li is set to 1, indicating that the RRC preconfigured TCI state i includes the path loss offset. For example, the fields of the second MAC CE are shown in Table 26. In Table 26, N reserved fields are multiplexed as third fields L1-LN, corresponding to the first TCI state to the Kth TCI state.

[0331] Table 26

[0332]

[0333]

[0334] The scheme provided by the example includes at least one third field, and different third fields are respectively used to indicate whether a corresponding path loss offset exists for an RRC preconfigured TCI state, so that the terminal can obtain a path loss offset with higher accuracy.

[0335] In some other cases, the network device can also indicate one path loss offset for the terminal through RRC signaling, which is referred to as an initial path loss offset. The network device updates the initial path offset indicated by the RRC through the path signal offset indicated by the MAC CE.

[0336] Specifically, before receiving the MAC CE sent by the network device, the network device can also receive radio resource control (RRC) signaling sent by the network device; the RRC signaling is used to preconfigure a TCI state; and the RRC signaling is also used to indicate an initial path loss offset associated with the preconfigured TCI state.

[0337] In some cases, the value of the path loss offset indicated by the MAC CE is zero or the value of the initial path loss offset is zero.

[0338] In some other cases, the MAC CE can directly indicate a path loss offset associated with an activated TCI state, and in this case, the RRC preconfigured TCI state can not be associated with a path loss offset.

[0339] In some other cases, the MAC CE sent by the network device to the terminal can also include an indication field, which is used to indicate whether the path loss offset indicated by the MAC CE is used to update the initial path loss offset. For example, in the case where the indication field is set to 1, the path loss offset indicated by the MAC CE is used to update the initial path loss offset.

[0340] To sum up, the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application includes that the terminal receives the MAC CE sent by the network device, multiplexes the existing three types of MAC CEs, or adds a new MAC CE on the basis of the existing MAC CEs, or on the basis of the RRC signaling preconfiguring N TCI states, the terminal receives the MAC CE to obtain a path loss offset associated with a TCI state. In this way, the terminal can accurately adjust the output power of the uplink signal based on the path loss of the uplink signal corresponding to the TCI state, so as to improve the transmission accuracy of the uplink signal.

[0341] As a possible product form, the terminal or network device of the embodiments of the present application can be realized by a general bus architecture. For ease of illustration, seeFigure 4 , Figure 4 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device 400 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 400 includes a processor 401 and a transceiver 402. The communication device 400 can be a gNB, or a chip or chip system therein; or the communication device 400 can be a UE, or a chip or module therein. Figure 4 Only main components of the communication device 400 are shown. In addition to the processor 401 and the transceiver 402, the communication device can further include a memory 403, and an input output device (not shown in the figure).

[0342] Optionally, the processor 401 is mainly used for processing communication protocols and communication data, and controlling the whole communication device, executing software programs, and processing data of the software programs. The memory 403 is mainly used for storing software programs and data. The transceiver 402 can include a radio frequency circuit and an antenna. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for conversion between baseband signals and radio frequency signals, and processing of the radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. The input output device, such as a touch screen, a display screen, a keyboard, etc., is mainly used for receiving data input by a user and outputting data to the user.

[0343] Optionally, the processor 401, the transceiver 402, and the memory 403 can be connected through a communication bus.

[0344] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 401 can read software programs in the memory 403, interpret and execute instructions of the software programs, and process data of the software programs. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor 401 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted, and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal, and transmits the radio frequency signal in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is transmitted to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 401. The processor 401 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0345] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuit and the antenna can be arranged independently of the processor performing baseband processing, for example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuit and the antenna can be arranged remotely from the communication device.

[0346] In some embodiments, in a hardware implementation, those skilled in the art can conceive that the above-mentioned communication device 1200 can adopt the form of the communication device 400 shown in the figure. Figure 4

[0347] As another possible product form, the communication device in the present application can adopt the form of the communication device 400 shown in the figure. Figure 5 ​The constituent structure shown, or including Figure 5 The components shown. Figure 5 A constituent schematic diagram of a communication device 500 is provided in this application, which can be a terminal or a chip or system on chip in the terminal; or, can be a module or chip or system on chip in the terminal or network device.

[0348] As Figure 5 The communication device 500 includes at least one processor 501, and at least one communication interface (504). Figure 5 In the embodiment, only one communication interface 504 is exemplary to include one communication interface 504, and one processor 501 is exemplary to be described. Optionally, the communication device 500 can further include a communication bus 502 and a memory 503.

[0349] The processor 501 can be a general central processing unit (CPU), a general processor, a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a programmable logic device (PLD) or any combination thereof. The processor 501 can also be other devices with processing functions, such as a circuit, a device or a software module, which are not limited herein.

[0350] The communication bus 502 is used to connect different components in the communication device 500, so that different components can communicate. The communication bus 502 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, Figure 5 In the embodiment, only one thick line is used to represent, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0351] The communication interface 504 is used to communicate with other devices or communication networks. Exemplarily, the communication interface 504 can be a module, a circuit, a transceiver or any device capable of realizing communication. Optionally, the communication interface 504 can also be an input and output interface in the processor 501, used to realize the signal input and signal output of the processor.

[0352] The memory 503 can be a device with storage function, used to store instructions and / or data. The instructions can be a computer program.

[0353] The memory 503 may, for example, be a Read-Only Memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and / or instructions, a Random Access Memory (RAM), or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and / or instructions, an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), or other optical disk storage, an optical disc storage including a compact disc, a laser disc, an optical disc, a digital versatile disc, a Blu-ray disc, and the like, a magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, and the like, without limitation.

[0354] It should be noted that the memory 503 can be independent of the processor 501, or can be integrated with the processor 501. The memory 503 can be located within the communication device 500, or can be located outside the communication device 500, without limitation. The processor 501 can be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 503 to implement the methods provided by the embodiments described below.

[0355] As an optional implementation, the communication device 500 can further include an output device 505 and an input device 506. The output device 505 is in communication with the processor 501, and can display information in various ways. For example, the output device 505 can be a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a Light Emitting Diode (LED) display device, a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display device, or a projector, and the like. The input device 506 is in communication with the processor 501, and can receive user input in various ways. For example, the input device 506 can be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, a sensor device, and the like.

[0356] In some embodiments, in a hardware implementation, those skilled in the art can think of the above-mentioned Figure 4 The communication device 400 shown can take the form of the communication device 500 shown. Figure 5 The communication device 400 shown can take the form of the communication device 500 shown.

[0357] As an example, Figure 4 The functions / implementation processes of the processor in the communication device 400 shown can be implemented by Figure 5 The functions / implementation processes of the processor in the communication device 400 shown can be implemented by Figure 4The function / implementation process of the transceiver in the communication device 500 can be implemented by Figure 5 The communication interface 504 in the communication device 500 shown in the figure can be used to implement.

[0358] It should be noted that Figure 5 The structure shown in the figure does not constitute a specific limitation on the communication device. For example, in some other embodiments of the present application, the communication device can include more or fewer components than shown, or combine certain components, or split certain components, or different component arrangements. The components shown can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0359] In some embodiments, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device, which includes a processor for implementing the method in any of the above method embodiments.

[0360] As a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory. The memory is used to save necessary computer programs and data. The computer program can include instructions, and the processor can invoke the instructions in the computer program stored in the memory to instruct the communication device to execute the method in any of the above method embodiments. Of course, the memory can also not be in the communication device.

[0361] As another possible implementation, the communication device further includes an interface circuit, which is a code / data read / write interface circuit, and the interface circuit is used to receive computer execution instructions (computer execution instructions are stored in the memory, which can be directly read from the memory or can pass through other devices) and transmit to the processor.

[0362] As yet another possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface, which is used to communicate with modules outside the communication device.

[0363] It can be understood that the communication device can be a chip or a chip system, and when the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip or can include a chip and other discrete devices, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations. The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and when the computer program is run on a computer, the computer can execute the communication method provided by the above embodiments.

[0364] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product containing instructions, which, when run on a computer, can make the computer execute the communication method provided by the above embodiments.

[0365] The specific implementation and the technical effects brought by the communication device, the computer readable storage medium, and the computer program product containing instructions provided by the embodiments of the present application can be referred to the specific implementation process and the technical effects brought by the communication method provided by the foregoing embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0366] In some embodiments, through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, only the above division of functional modules is taken as an example, and in actual application, the above functions can be completed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. The specific working process of the system, device and unit described above can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0367] The functional units in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. The integrated unit can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit.

[0368] The integrated unit, if realized in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application essentially or say the part that contributes to the prior art or the whole or part of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, includes a number of instructions to make a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor execute all or part of the steps of the method described in various embodiments of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: a flash memory, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

[0369] The above is only a specific implementation of the embodiments of the present application, but the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application is not limited to this. Any change or replacement within the technical scope disclosed in the embodiments of the present application should be covered in the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a terminal, the communication method includes: The network device receives a Media Access Control (MAC) CE sent by the network device; the MAC CE is used to instruct the network device to activate at least one of the pre-configured Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) states for the terminal; the MAC CE also includes or is used to indicate at least one path loss offset, the path loss offset is associated with a first TCI state among the at least one TCI states, and the path loss offset is used to determine the transmission power of the uplink signal corresponding to the first TCI state associated with the path loss offset. Obtain the path loss offset associated with the first TCI state.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The MAC CE includes at least one first field, which corresponds to the at least one path loss offset, and a path loss offset indicated by one first field is associated with one or more first TCI states.

3. The communication method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first field includes M fields, which are associated with M first TCI states in the at least one TCI state. M is less than or equal to the number N of the at least one TCI state, and M and N are both positive integers.

4. The communication method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The sorting of the M first fields is associated with the sorting of the M first TCI states.

5. The communication method according to any one of claims 2-4, characterized in that, The first field includes the numerical value of the at least one path loss offset; or, The first field includes the index corresponding to the value of the at least one path loss offset.

6. The communication method according to any one of claims 2-5, characterized in that, The MAC CE also includes a second field, which indicates whether the MAC CE includes or indicates the at least one path loss offset.

7. The communication method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, The second field is a reserved field in the MAC CE.

8. The communication method according to any one of claims 2-7, characterized in that, The MAC CE includes at least one third field, which corresponds to the at least one TCI state. One of the third fields is used to indicate whether the MAC CE includes or indicates the path loss offset corresponding to one of the at least one TCI states.

9. The communication method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The third field is a reserved field in the MAC CE.

10. The communication method according to any one of claims 2-9, characterized in that, The MAC CE includes a fourth field, which indicates the number of the at least one path loss offset contained in or indicated by the MAC CE.

11. The communication method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The fourth field is a reserved field in the MAC CE.

12. The communication method according to any one of claims 1-11, characterized in that, The MAC CE is a first-type MAC CE; or, The MAC CE is a type II MAC CE; or, The MAC CE is a third type of MAC CE; The first type of MAC CE corresponds to at least one type of TCI code point. The first type of TCI code point is used to indicate a downlink TCI state and an uplink TCI state activated by the first type of MAC CE, or a downlink TCI state, or a combined TCI state, or an uplink TCI state. The second type of MAC CE corresponds to at least one second type of TCI code point, which is used to indicate at most two joint TCI states activated by the second type of MAC CE; The third type MAC CE corresponds to at least one third type TCI code point, which is used to indicate at most two downlink TCI states and / or at most two uplink TCI states activated by the third type MAC CE.

13. The communication method according to any one of claims 1-12, characterized in that, The path loss offset indicated by the MAC CE is used to update the initial path loss offset. Before receiving the MAC CE sent by the network device, the communication method further includes: The network device receives Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling sent by the network device; the RRC signaling is used to preconfigure the TCI state; the RRC signaling is also used to indicate the initial path loss offset associated with the preconfigured TCI state.

14. The communication method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The path loss offset indicated by the MAC CE is zero or the initial path loss offset is zero.

15. The communication method according to any one of claims 1-14, characterized in that, The MAC CE includes a first MAC CE and a second MAC CE. The first MAC CE is used to instruct the network device to activate at least one of the pre-configured TCI states for the terminal. The second MAC CE includes or is used to instruct at least one path loss offset associated with the first TCI state among the at least one TCI states. The second MAC CE is associated with a logical channel identifier (LCID).

16. The communication method according to any one of claims 1-15, characterized in that, The first TCI state is either an active uplink TCI state or a combined TCI state.

17. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to network devices, the communication method includes: Obtain a Media Access Control (MAC) CE; the MAC CE is used to instruct the network device to activate at least one of the pre-configured Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) states for the terminal, the MAC CE also includes or is used to instruct at least one path loss offset, the path loss offset is associated with a first TCI state among the at least one TCI states, the path loss offset is used to determine the transmission power of the uplink signal corresponding to the first TCI state associated with the path loss offset. MAC CE sent to the terminal.

18. The communication method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The MAC CE includes at least one first field, which corresponds to the at least one path loss offset, and a path loss offset indicated by one first field is associated with one or more first TCI states.

19. The communication method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The first field includes M fields, which are associated with M first TCI states in the at least one TCI state. M is less than or equal to the number N of the at least one TCI state, and M and N are both positive integers.

20. The communication method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The sorting of the M first fields is associated with the sorting of the M first TCI states.

21. The communication method according to any one of claims 18-20, characterized in that, The first field includes the numerical value of the at least one path loss offset; or, The first field includes the index corresponding to the value of the at least one path loss offset.

22. The communication method according to any one of claims 18-21, characterized in that, The MAC CE also includes a second field, which indicates whether the MAC CE includes or indicates the at least one path loss offset.

23. The communication method according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that, The second field is a reserved field in the MAC CE.

24. The communication method according to any one of claims 18-23, characterized in that, The MAC CE includes at least one third field, which corresponds to the at least one TCI state. One of the third fields is used to indicate whether the MAC CE includes or indicates the path loss offset corresponding to one of the at least one TCI states.

25. The communication method according to claim 24, characterized in that, The third field is a reserved field in the MAC CE.

26. The communication method according to any one of claims 18-25, characterized in that, The MAC CE includes a fourth field that indicates the number of the at least one path loss offset included or indicated in the MAC CE.

27. The communication method according to claim 26, characterized in that, The fourth field is a reserved field in the MAC CE.

28. The communication method according to any one of claims 17-27, characterized in that, The MAC CE is a first-type MAC CE; or, The MAC CE is a type II MAC CE; or, The MAC CE is a third type of MAC CE; The first type of MAC CE corresponds to at least one type of TCI code point. The first type of TCI code point is used to indicate a downlink TCI state and an uplink TCI state activated by the first type of MAC CE, or a downlink TCI state, or a combined TCI state, or an uplink TCI state. The second type of MAC CE corresponds to at least one second type of TCI code point, which is used to indicate at most two joint TCI states activated by the second type of MAC CE; The third type MAC CE corresponds to at least one third type TCI code point, which is used to indicate at most two downlink TCI states and / or at most two uplink TCI states activated by the third type MAC CE.

29. The communication method according to any one of claims 17-28, characterized in that, The path loss offset indicated by the MAC CE is used to update the initial path loss offset. Before receiving the MAC CE sent by the network device, the communication method further includes: The network device receives Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling sent by the network device; the RRC signaling is used to preconfigure the TCI state; the RRC signaling is also used to indicate the initial path loss offset associated with the preconfigured TCI state.

30. The communication method according to claim 29, characterized in that, The path loss offset indicated by the MAC CE is zero or the initial path loss offset is zero.

31. The communication method according to any one of claims 17-30, characterized in that, The MAC CE includes a first MAC CE and a second MAC CE. The first MAC CE is used to instruct the network device to activate at least one of the pre-configured TCI states for the terminal. The second MAC CE includes or is used to instruct at least one path loss offset associated with the first TCI state among the at least one TCI states. The second MAC CE is associated with a logical channel identifier (LCID).

32. The communication method according to any one of claims 17-31, characterized in that, The first TCI status bit activates the uplink TCI status or the combined TCI status.

33. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a transceiver, a memory, and a processor, wherein the transceiver and the memory are both coupled to the processor; The memory stores computer-executed instructions; The processor executes computer execution instructions stored in the memory, causing the communication device to perform the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 32.

34. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 32.

35. A computer program product, characterized in that, It includes a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 32.

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