Communication method and related device

Abstract

The invention discloses an inter-terminal measurement method, a resource configuration method and a related device, and relates to the technical field of communication. A base station can configure M resources for measurement between terminals for N terminals, and indicate a corresponding first resource for sending a signal and corresponding other resources for receiving the signal to each terminal; each terminal can report a plurality of groups of measurement information based on the received signal. Thus, the base station can determine the relative phase difference between the terminals based on the reported measurement information, which is beneficial for realizing synchronization between the terminals in a sensing stage and reducing sensing errors.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Integrated communication and sensing technology is one of the key technologies for expanding the service capabilities of mobile communication networks. The core idea of ​​this technology is to add sensing capabilities to the mobile communication network, building the ability to detect, track, and image targets. This allows communication and sensing capabilities to be integrated into a single network, achieving harmonious coexistence and even mutual benefit. Sensing requires the transmitting end to send radio waves in a specific direction. When these radio waves hit the target surface, they form reflected radio waves. The receiving end then receives and processes these reflected radio waves to obtain information such as the target's position, speed, and type.

[0003] For example, in a multi-terminal collaborative sensing scenario where terminals transmit signals and base stations receive them, multiple terminals send sensing signals. The base station receives the signals reflected from the target surface. Network devices then perform joint processing on the received signals, such as signal-level coherent processing, to obtain information such as the target's location, speed, and type. However, due to the different locations of the multiple terminals, the sensing error is relatively large when the base station performs joint processing. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The communication method and related apparatus provided in this application can reduce perception errors.

[0005] Firstly, this application provides a resource allocation method, which is executed by a terminal device. For example, the terminal device may be a terminal equipment, or it may be executed by a component of the terminal equipment (e.g., a chip, chip system, processor, or circuit), or it may be executed by hardware and / or software implementing all or part of the terminal equipment's functions; this application does not limit this. In this method, the terminal device receives first information, which configures M resources for inter-terminal measurements, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 2; the terminal device receives second information, which indicates that among the M resources, the first resource is used for transmitting signals, and / or, M-1 second resources are used for receiving signals; the terminal device transmits signals on the first resource and receives signals on the M-1 second resources.

[0006] In one possible design, the terminal device reports M-1 sets of measurement information based on the signals received on M-1 second resources.

[0007] Based on this method, the terminal device not only obtains M resources for inter-terminal measurement, but also obtains whether each resource is used for transmitting or receiving signals based on the second information. In this way, the network device can perform relative phase compensation between terminals based on the measurement information reported by the terminal device, thereby reducing perception error.

[0008] Optionally, each set of measurement information includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: phase difference, time delay, or frequency offset.

[0009] Optionally, the measurement information can be used to determine the relative phase difference between terminals, or for synchronization between terminals, or for phase alignment between terminals by network devices, or for synchronization between terminals during the sensing phase, or for relative phase alignment between terminals during the sensing phase.

[0010] In one possible design, the second information is used to indicate that the first resource among the M resources is used to transmit signals, and the terminal device determines that the M-1 resources other than the first resource among the M resources are the second resources, which are used to receive signals.

[0011] Based on this method, the functions of the M-1 resources other than the first resource are determined by the terminal device, which can reduce signaling overhead.

[0012] In another possible design, the second information is used to indicate that M-1 of the M resources are used for receiving signals, and the terminal device determines one of the M resources other than the M-1 second resources as the first resource for transmitting signals.

[0013] Based on this method, the function of one resource other than the M-1 second resources is determined by the terminal device, which can reduce signaling overhead.

[0014] In another possible design, the second information is used to indicate that the first resource out of M resources is used to transmit signals, and the second resources out of M-1 resources are used to receive signals.

[0015] Based on this method, the terminal device can directly know whether each resource is used to send or receive signals, which can reduce the requirements for the processing capabilities of the terminal device and reduce the processing complexity of the terminal device.

[0016] In one possible design, the second information includes a newly added 1-bit information in the configuration of each of the M resources, used to indicate whether the resource is used to transmit or receive signals. For example, if a resource's configuration adds a 1-bit information, and the value of this bit is a first value, it indicates that the resource is used to transmit signals; if the value of this bit is a second value, it indicates that the resource is used to receive signals.

[0017] Optionally, the first and second information can be contained in the same message, such as in the wireless resource control configuration of the resource.

[0018] Based on this method, the terminal device can learn about the function of the resource at the same time as it learns about the resource, which can reduce the requirements for the processing power of the terminal device and reduce the processing complexity of the terminal device.

[0019] In another possible design, the second information includes M bits; each of the M bits corresponds one-to-one with one of the M resources, and the M bits are used to indicate whether the corresponding resource is used to transmit or receive signals. For example, if the value of a bit corresponding to a resource is the first value, it indicates that the resource is used to transmit signals; if the value of the bit is the second value, it indicates that the resource is used to receive signals.

[0020] Based on this method, the functions of M resources and each resource in the M resources are configured separately, and the first information and the second information are received separately. This is beneficial for the first information to be multicast to multiple terminals and reduces the overhead of resource notification.

[0021] In another possible design, the second information includes N bits of information, which are used to indicate the resources among the M resources used to transmit the signal, where N is greater than or equal to the logarithm of M to the base 2.

[0022] Based on this method, in addition to knowing one resource used for transmitting signals based on the second information, the terminal device can determine the remaining M-1 resources used for receiving signals, which can reduce the overhead of resource function notification.

[0023] In another possible design, the second information includes N bits of information in M-1 groups, where each group of N bits is used to indicate one of the M resources used to receive the signal, and N is greater than or equal to the logarithm of M to the base 2.

[0024] In this method, the terminal device can determine that in addition to the M-1 resources used for receiving signals based on the second information, the remaining 1 resource can be used for transmitting signals, which can reduce the processing complexity of the terminal device.

[0025] In one possible design, the first information includes a first indication and a second indication; the first indication is used to indicate the first resource at the beginning of the M resources in the time domain; the second indication is used to indicate the repetition method, wherein the remaining M-1 resources are obtained by repeating the first resource M-1 times in the repetition method; the repetition method includes: repeating in a way that two resources that are adjacent in the time domain are consecutive in the time domain, or repeating in a way that two resources that are adjacent in the time domain have the same interval.

[0026] In this method, the terminal device can obtain the remaining M-1 resources based on the repetition method and the first resource, which can reduce the overhead of resource notification.

[0027] In another possible design, the first information includes first indication information and second indication information. The first indication information indicates the first resource, and the second indication information indicates the period. The remaining M-1 resources are obtained based on the first resource and the period. In yet another possible design, the first indication information indicates the start and end positions of the M resources in the time domain, and the second indication information indicates the time domain interval between adjacent resources. In yet another possible design, the first indication information indicates the last resource in the time domain among the M resources, and the second indication information indicates the repetition pattern. The remaining M-1 resources are obtained based on the last resource and the repetition pattern.

[0028] In one possible design, the antenna port for transmitting signals on the first resource is the same as the antenna ports for receiving signals on M-1 second resources.

[0029] Based on this method, the terminal device can ensure that the phase of the signals of M resources remains consistent during the measurement phase.

[0030] Secondly, this application also provides a resource allocation method, which is executed by a network device. For example, the network device may be a network equipment, or it may be executed by a component of the network equipment (e.g., a chip, chip system, processor, or circuit), or it may be executed by hardware and / or software implementing all or part of the functions of the network equipment; this application does not limit this. In this method, the network device sends one or more first messages, which configure M resources for measurements between N terminals, where N and M are integers greater than or equal to 2, and N is less than or equal to M. The network device sends second messages to each of the N terminals, which indicate that among the M resources, the first resources are used for the corresponding terminal to transmit signals, and / or, M-1 second resources are used for the corresponding terminal to receive signals.

[0031] In one possible design, the network device receives M-1 sets of measurement information from N terminals respectively; the M-1 sets of measurement information are obtained by the terminals based on signals received on M-1 second resources.

[0032] Based on this method, network devices can perform relative phase compensation between terminals based on measurement information reported by terminal devices, thereby reducing perception errors.

[0033] Optionally, each set of measurement information includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: phase difference, time delay, or frequency offset.

[0034] In one possible design, the network device determines the phase difference between N terminals based on M-1 sets of measurement information from N terminals. In another possible design, the network device achieves synchronization between terminals or phase alignment between terminals during the sensing phase based on M-1 sets of measurement information from N terminals.

[0035] Based on this method, network devices can achieve synchronization or phase alignment between terminals.

[0036] In one possible design, the second information includes a newly added 1-bit information in the configuration of each of the M resources, used to indicate that the resource is used for the corresponding terminal to send or receive signals.

[0037] In another possible design, the second information includes M bits; each of the M bits corresponds one-to-one with one of the M resources, and the M bits are used to indicate that the corresponding resource is used by the corresponding terminal to send or receive signals.

[0038] In another possible design, the second information includes N bits, which are used to indicate the resources among M resources used for the corresponding terminal to send signals, where N is greater than or equal to the logarithm of M to the base 2.

[0039] In one possible design, the first information includes a first indication and a second indication; the first indication is used to indicate the first resource at the beginning of the time domain of the M resources; the second indication is used to indicate the repetition method, wherein the remaining M-1 resources are obtained by repeating the first resource M-1 times in the repetition method; the repetition method includes: repeating in a way that two resources that are adjacent in the time domain are consecutive in the time domain, or repeating in a way that two resources that are adjacent in the time domain have the same interval.

[0040] Optionally, other alternative implementations of the first information and the second information, as well as the beneficial effects of each alternative implementation, can be found in the relevant content described in the first aspect, and will not be detailed here.

[0041] In one possible design, the first message is sent via multicast.

[0042] Based on this method, the overhead of resource indication can be significantly reduced.

[0043] Thirdly, this application provides a communication device that has the function of implementing the first aspect or the optional implementation of the first aspect. For example, the communication device includes modules, units or means corresponding to the operations involved in the first aspect or the optional implementation of the first aspect. The modules, units or means can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0044] Fourthly, this application provides a communication device including one or more processors. The one or more processors are coupled to a memory. The memory stores part or all of the necessary computer program or instructions for implementing the functions involved in the first aspect or optional embodiments thereof. The one or more processors are executable to carry out the computer program or instructions, which, when executed, cause the communication device to implement the methods in the first aspect or any possible design or implementation thereof.

[0045] In one possible design, the communication device may also include the memory.

[0046] In one possible design, the communication device further includes an interface circuit for implementing communication functions within the communication device and / or communication functions between the communication device and other devices or components. For example, the processor communicates with other devices or components through the interface circuit.

[0047] The aforementioned communication device may be a terminal, or a component of a terminal (such as a chip, chip system, processor, or circuit).

[0048] Fifthly, this application provides a communication device that has the function of implementing the second aspect or the optional implementation of the second aspect. For example, the communication device includes modules, units or means corresponding to the operations involved in the second aspect or the optional implementation of the second aspect. The modules, units or means can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0049] Sixthly, this application provides a communication device including one or more processors. The one or more processors are coupled to a memory. The memory stores part or all of the necessary computer program or instructions for implementing the functions involved in the second aspect or optional embodiments thereof. The one or more processors are executable to carry out the computer program or instructions, which, when executed, cause the communication device to implement the methods in the second aspect or any possible design or implementation thereof.

[0050] In one possible design, the communication device may also include the memory.

[0051] In one possible design, the communication device further includes an interface circuit for implementing communication functions within the communication device and / or communication functions between the communication device and other devices or components. For example, the processor communicates with other devices or components through the interface circuit.

[0052] The aforementioned communication device may be a network device or a component of a network device (such as a chip, chip system, processor, or circuit).

[0053] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a communication system comprising a terminal device and a network device; the terminal device is configured to perform the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, and the network device is configured to perform the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0054] Eighthly, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when read and executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0055] Ninthly, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when read and executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

[0056] In a tenth aspect, this application provides a computer program product that, when read and executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0057] In one aspect, this application provides a computer program product that, when read and executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method in the second aspect or any possible design in the second aspect. Attached Figure Description

[0058] Figure 1 This is a simplified schematic diagram of a communication system;

[0059] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a RAN node architecture;

[0060] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an integrated communication and sensing scenario;

[0061] Figure 4 These are schematic diagrams of various sensing modes in a scene;

[0062] Figure 5 This is a schematic flowchart of an inter-terminal measurement method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0063] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating a resource allocation method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0064] Figures 7 to 9 This is a schematic diagram of the resource indication method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0065] Figures 10a to 10b This is a schematic diagram illustrating the method of sending the first and second information provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0066] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0067] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0068] To facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the following points will be explained before introducing the solutions of this application.

[0069] (1) "And / or" is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, and B existing alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0070] (2) “Instruction” can include direct instruction, indirect instruction, explicit instruction, and implicit instruction. When describing a certain instruction information or when an instruction is used to instruct A, it can be understood that the instruction information carries A, directly instructs A, or indirectly instructs A.

[0071] The instruction information, or the information that the instruction indicates, is called the instruction-to-instruction information. In practical implementation, there are many ways to instruct the instruction-to-instruction information, such as, but not limited to, directly instructing the instruction-to-instruction information itself or its index. It can also indirectly instruct the instruction-to-instruction information by instructing other information, where there is a correlation between the other information and the instruction-to-instruction information. Furthermore, it can instruct only a part of the instruction-to-instruction information, while the other parts are known or pre-agreed upon. For example, the instruction of specific information can be achieved by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-defined) arrangement of various pieces of information, thereby reducing instruction overhead to some extent. In addition, the instruction-to-instruction information can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information pieces, and the sending period and / or timing of these sub-information pieces can be the same or different.

[0072] (3) "Send" and "receive" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which can include sending directly through the air interface or sending indirectly through the air interface by other units or modules. "receive information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which can include receiving directly from YY through the air interface or receiving indirectly from YY through the air interface by other units or modules.

[0073] "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of a chip interface, and "receiving" can be understood as the "input" of a chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can occur between devices, such as between network devices and terminal devices, or within a device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device via buses, traces, or interfaces. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, "transmission" includes receiving and / or sending. For example, transmitting signals can include receiving signals and / or sending signals.

[0074] (4) Information C is used to determine information D, which includes both information D being determined solely based on information C and information D being determined based on information C and other information. In addition, information C can also be used to determine information D indirectly, for example, information D is determined based on information E, and information E is determined based on information C.

[0075] (5) "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, for example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units that are explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not explicitly listed or that are inherent to such process, method, product or device.

[0076] (6) In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0077] (7) In this application, "first" and "second" are used for convenience of description to distinguish objects and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application, nor are they used to describe the order or sequence of features. It should be understood that the objects described in this way can be interchanged where appropriate so as to describe solutions other than those in the embodiments of this application.

[0078] (8) The words “exemplary” or “for example” are used to indicate that they are examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design that is described as “exemplary” or “for example” in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of the words “exemplary” or “for example” is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0079] (9) "Information", such as first information, second information, etc., can be a message or the content of a message.

[0080] (10) “The network device sends to the terminal device”, correspondingly, “the terminal device receives from the network device” or “the terminal device receives the network device sending”; similarly, “the network device receives the terminal device sending”, correspondingly, “the terminal device sends to the network device” or “the network device receives the terminal device sending”, which will not be elaborated here.

[0081] This application can be applied to various communication systems, including but not limited to: Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, 5th Generation (5G) systems, such as new radio access technology (NR), multi-system converged networks, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, open-radio access network (O-RAN) systems, and future communication systems such as 6th Generation (6G) systems.

[0082] For example, Figure 1 This is a simplified schematic diagram of a communication system, which includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., Figure 1110a and 110b, collectively referred to as RAN node 110) and at least one terminal (such as Figure 1 120a-120j, collectively referred to as 120, are included in the RAN. The RAN may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices. Figure 1 (Not shown in the image). Terminal 120 is connected to RAN node 110 wirelessly. RAN node 110 is connected to core network 200 wirelessly or via wired connection. The core network equipment in core network 200 and RAN node 110 in RAN 100 can be different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device integrating core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0083] RAN100 can be a cellular system related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as LTE systems, 5G systems (e.g., NR), multi-system converged networks, IoT systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, O-RAN systems, and future communication systems such as 6G systems. For example, RAN100 can also be a cloud radio access network (CRAN), a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, or a communication system integrating two or more of the above systems. Optionally, RAN100 can be a non-terrestrial network (NTN) system, and can be in transparent or regenerative mode, such as an earth fixed cell or earth moving cell NTN system.

[0084] In one possible scenario, RAN node 110 can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. Figure 1 110a), micro base stations or indoor stations (such as Figure 1In V2X technology, the access network equipment can be a roadside unit (RSU), such as a relay node or donor node (110b), or a radio controller in a CRAN scenario. Alternatively, the RAN node can also be a server, wearable device, vehicle, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, the access network equipment in V2X technology can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0085] In one possible scenario, RAN node 110 could be a satellite, helicopter, or drone, configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells could move based on the location of this mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or drone could be configured as a device to communicate with another base station, and the roles of RAN node 110 and terminal 120 are relative. For example, Figure 1 Network element 120i can be a helicopter or a drone, and it can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminals 120j that access RAN 100 through network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal. RAN node 110 and terminal 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices, for example, Figure 1 Network elements 110a and 110b can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, while network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0086] The multiple RAN nodes 110 in the communication system 1000 can be nodes of the same type or nodes of different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN nodes 110 and terminals 120 are relative, for example, Figure 1 Network element 120i can be a helicopter or a drone, and it can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminals 120j that access RAN 100 through network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal. RAN node 110 and terminal 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices, for example, Figure 1 Network elements 110a and 110b can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, while network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0087] RAN node 110 can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. CUs and DUs can be separate entities or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio equipment or radio units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs). In open radio access networks (O-RAN), a CU can also be called an O-CU (open CU), a DU can also be called an O-DU, a CU-CP can also be called an O-CU-CP, a CU-UP can also be called an O-CU-UP, and a RU can also be called an O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU units in this application can be implemented through a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

[0088] RAN node 110 includes one or more CUs, one or more DUs, and one or more RUs. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a RAN node architecture. For clarity, Figure 2 Only one CU, DU, and RU are shown. The CU is used to connect to the core network and one or more DUs. Optionally, the CU may have some core network functions. The CU may include CU-CP and CU-UP. The midhaul interface carries traffic between the CU and DU, and the backhaul interface carries traffic between the CU and the core network. The DU is configured to perform Layer 1 (L1) and some Layer 2 (L2) functions, and the RU is configured to perform L1 computation and radio frequency (RF) digital functions; the fronthaul and backhaul interfaces carry traffic between the RU and DU, and between the CU and DU. An integrated DU may include the above-mentioned DU and RU functions.

[0089] The hardware of a CU or DU includes a chassis platform, motherboard, peripherals, and cooling system. The motherboard contains processing units, memory, internal input / output (I / O) interfaces, and external connection ports. A DU system typically uses a multi-core processor and one or more hardware accelerators. These hardware accelerators are designed with interfaces, and their functional components include: storage for software, hardware, and system debugging interfaces, and a single-board management controller. Parts of the DU protocol stack can be implemented in software running on the multi-core processor; computationally intensive L1 and L2 functions can be offloaded to FPGA / GPU-based hardware accelerators; or all L1 functions can be offloaded to FPGA / GPU-based hardware accelerators, while other protocol stack content is implemented in software running on the processor; or the entire protocol stack can be implemented in software running on the processor. Hardware accelerators support interconnection with the processor; similarly, they have multi-channel interfaces pointing to the central processing unit (CPU) for external connections.

[0090] The RU comprises three parts: the O-RAN processing unit (OPU), the O-RU's Digital Processing Unit (DPU), and the O-RU's RF processing unit. The OPU receives Enhanced Common Public Radio Interface (eCPRI) frames from the O-RAN fronthaul and performs fronthaul interface processing, the lowest level L1 (coding, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, precoding), synchronization, beamforming, and resource unit mapping. The OPU can be implemented as a CPU, FPGA, or application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The DPU performs synchronization, digital downconversion (DDC) in the uplink, and digital uplink converter (DUC) in the downlink. The DPU can be implemented as an FPGA or ASIC. The O-RU's RF processing unit includes a transceiver module, up / down converters, power amplifiers (PA), low noise amplifiers (LNA), and transmit (Tx) / receive (Rx) filters. Conversions between the analog and digital domains, such as digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), as well as RF sampling, RF usage during up-conversion and down-conversion, and frequency conversion using a combination of intermediate frequency (IF) and local oscillator (LO), are all performed within the transceiver module. The physical and logical partitions within the RF processing unit do not require specific boundaries.

[0091] A terminal can be called a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. It can be a device with wireless transceiver capabilities; it can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on water (such as on ships); and it can also be deployed in the air (such as on airplanes, balloons, and satellites). Terminals can be used to connect people, objects, and machines. Terminal 120 can be widely used in various scenarios, such as cellular communication, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), peer-to-peer (P2P), machine-to-machine (M2M), machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, smart homes, drones, robots, remote sensing, passive sensing, positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery and mobility, etc. Terminal 120 can be a 3GPP standard user equipment (UE), fixed equipment, mobile equipment, handheld device, wearable device, cellular phone, smartphone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, laptop computer, personal computer, smart book, vehicle, satellite, global positioning system (GPS) device, target tracking device, drone, helicopter, aircraft, ship, remote control device, smart home device, or industrial equipment. The terminal can also be a communication device in a future wireless communication system. The device used to implement the terminal's functions can be the terminal itself or a device capable of supporting the terminal in implementing those functions, such as a chip system, communication module, or modem, which can be installed in the terminal. Optionally, the chip system can consist of chips or include chips and other discrete components.

[0092] In this application embodiment, taking a terminal device as an example to illustrate the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application, the device used to implement the functions of the terminal is described. The functions of the terminal device can also be executed by modules (such as chips, chip systems, processors, or circuits) within the terminal device, or by a device containing the functions of the terminal device. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or specific device form adopted by the terminal device. In one possible implementation, the terminal can be used to act as a base station. For example, the terminal can act as a scheduling entity, providing sidelink signals between terminals in V2X, D2D, or P2P, etc. Figure 1 As shown, cellular phone 120a and vehicle 120b communicate with each other using a sidelink signal. Cellular phone 120a communicates with smart home device 120d without relaying communication signals through base station 110a. In one possible implementation, the terminal can also be used as a relay node. For example, the UE can act as a relay device or an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node to provide wireless backhaul services to the terminal.

[0093] In this application embodiment, a network device is used as an example to describe the technical solution provided by the embodiment. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the network device. The function of the network device can also be executed by modules (such as chips, chip systems, processors, or circuits) within the network device, or by a control subsystem containing the network device function. This control subsystem containing the network device function can be a control center in the aforementioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities.

[0094] The aforementioned functions can be network elements in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, a combination of hardware and software, or virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0095] Optionally, this application can be applied to integrated communication and sensing scenarios that add sensing capabilities to the aforementioned communication systems. For example, Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an integrated communication and sensing scenario. Solid lines represent communication between the base station and the terminal, while dashed lines indicate that the communication between the base station and the terminal can also sense other objects and receive echo signals returned by those objects.

[0096] The core idea of ​​integrated communication and sensing is to add sensing capabilities to mobile communication networks, building the ability to detect, track, and image targets. This allows communication and sensing capabilities to be integrated into a single network, achieving harmonious coexistence and even mutual benefit. Integrated communication and sensing technology is considered one of the key technologies for expanding the service capabilities of mobile communication networks.

[0097] Sensing and communication differ in some ways. Communication involves the transmitter modulating information onto radio waves and sending it to the receiver, which then demodulates the signal to obtain the information. Sensing, on the other hand, requires the transmitter to send radio waves in a specific direction. When these waves hit a target surface, they are reflected, which the receiver then receives and processes to obtain information such as the target's position, speed, and type. In communication, network devices and terminals can simultaneously communicate and sense objects that lack communication capabilities.

[0098] Sensing can generally be divided into two modes: single-site sensing and dual-site sensing. In single-site sensing, the transmitting and receiving ends of the sensing signal are the same device. From the signal flow perspective, the sensing station both transmits and receives the signal reflected from the target surface (also known as the echo signal). Therefore, single-site sensing is also called the self-transmitting and self-receiving mode. In dual-site sensing, the transmitting and receiving ends of the sensing signal are two different devices. From the signal flow perspective, after sensing station A transmits the sensing signal, the signal reflected from the target surface is received by sensing station B. Therefore, dual-site sensing is also called the A-transmitting and B-receiving mode.

[0099] Figure 3 In the integrated communication and sensing scenario shown, from the perspective of sensing mode, the single-site sensing mode includes three sub-scenarios: Figure 4 The scenario shown is a base station transmitting and receiving signals, where the base station sends sensing signals and receives the reflected signals from the surface of a target (such as a car). Figure 4 The scenario shown illustrates a terminal-driven self-transmitting and self-receiving signal, where the terminal sends a sensing signal and receives the reflected signal from the target surface. The dual-station sensing mode includes four sub-scenarios: Figure 4 The scenario shown is a base station transmitting and a terminal receiving signal, where the base station transmits a sensing signal and the terminal receives the reflected signal of the sensing signal returned to the surface of a target (such as a car). Figure 4 The scenario shown is a terminal transmitting and a base station receiving signals, where the terminal sends a sensing signal and the base station receives the reflected signal from the surface of the sensing signal on a target (such as a car). Figure 4 The scenario shown is where base station A transmits and base station B receives, i.e., base station A transmits a sensing signal and base station B receives the reflected signal of the sensing signal returned to the surface of a target (such as a car).

[0100] Figure 4 The scenario shown is where terminal A sends a sensing signal and terminal B receives it. Terminal A sends a sensing signal, and terminal B receives the reflected signal of the sensing signal returned to the surface of a target (such as a car).

[0101] In scenarios where terminals transmit signals and base stations receive them, multi-terminal collaborative sensing can be employed. This involves the base station jointly processing the sensing signals transmitted by multiple terminals, performing coherent signal processing to determine information such as the target's location, speed, and type. However, due to the different locations of the multiple terminals, the base station experiences significant sensing errors when processing the reflected signals from these multiple signals.

[0102] This application provides a resource allocation method in which a network device allocates resources for inter-terminal measurements to a terminal device. This facilitates the network device in obtaining the phase difference between the terminal devices and performs phase compensation on multiple terminals before jointly processing the sensed signals, thereby reducing sensing errors. For joint processing, the network device needs to know the relative phase difference between the terminals, which is obtained through measurements of signals transmitted and received between the terminals.

[0103] Taking the configuration of channel sounding reference signal (SRS) resources transmitted by the terminal uplink as an example, although the base station can configure multiple SRS resource sets for the terminal, and an SRS resource set can be configured with up to 64 SRS resources, each resource can be configured with different SRS sequences, different time-domain patterns, etc., an SRS resource set can only be configured for one purpose, such as beam management or codebook, and SRS resources are used for uplink transmission by default and cannot be used for inter-terminal measurements. In addition, this SRS resource configuration needs to be configured separately for each terminal, resulting in a large resource configuration overhead.

[0104] In the resource configuration method provided in this application, the network device instructs whether each configured resource is used for transmitting signals by the corresponding terminal device or for receiving signals by the corresponding terminal device. The terminal device can report measurement information based on the received signals, which helps the network device obtain the phase difference between terminal devices based on the measurement information, enabling synchronization between terminals during the sensing phase or performing phase compensation on each terminal, thereby improving sensing accuracy. Furthermore, the resources configured by the network device for inter-terminal measurements can be the same for each terminal device, thus reducing resource configuration overhead.

[0105] The following combination Figure 5 , Figure 6 This paper introduces a resource configuration method provided in the embodiments of this application. Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating a terminal measurement method provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating a resource allocation method provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 5 , Figure 6 The resource allocation method described herein is illustrated by an example executed by a base station and N terminals. Figure 5 As shown, the inter-terminal measurement method includes the following steps:

[0106] 201. The base station sends resource configuration to N terminals respectively. This resource configuration will configure the measurement signal for relative phase measurement between the N terminals.

[0107] In one alternative design, before the base station transmits resource configuration, it selects N terminals. The selection of these N terminals can be performed by the base station or by the core network to achieve relative phase measurement, phase alignment, or synchronization between the terminals. This facilitates coherent detection of echo signals from multiple sensing signals by the network device in a sensing scenario where the terminal device transmits and the network device receives.

[0108] In one possible design, the resource configuration allocates not only the measurement signal for inter-terminal relative phase measurement to each terminal, but also the sensing signal for each terminal for sensing. In another possible design, the measurement signal for inter-terminal relative phase measurement and the sensing signal for sensing are configured separately.

[0109] 202.N terminals, based on resource configuration, send measurement signals on one corresponding resource and receive measurement signals on the remaining resources.

[0110] For terminal 1, the configured measurement signal will be transmitted on resource 1 and received on other resources. For terminal 2, the configured measurement signal will be transmitted on resource 2 and received on other resources. The other terminals will follow the same procedure. However, for any given resource configured for the measurement signal, only one terminal will transmit the measurement signal on any given resource, while the other terminals will receive the measurement signal.

[0111] In another possible design, if the resource configuration also includes a sensing signal for sensing, then the N terminals can each send a sensing signal.

[0112] 203. Each terminal reports measurement information after receiving measurement signals from other terminals.

[0113] The measurement information includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: phase difference, time delay, or carrier frequency offset (CFO). Optionally, this measurement information can be calculated by the base station or core network to determine the relative phase between terminals.

[0114] For example, if terminal i sends a measurement signal on resource i and terminal j receives the measurement signal on resource i, then the measurement information obtained by terminal j based on the measurement signal received on resource i may include the phase difference between terminal j and terminal i, denoted as γ. i,j The time delay is denoted as Δt. i,j CFO is denoted as β i,j Furthermore, terminal j can report this measurement information to the base station. Accordingly, terminal j transmits a measurement signal on resource j, and terminal i receives the measurement signal on resource j. Therefore, the measurement information obtained by terminal i based on the measurement signal received on resource j may include the phase difference with terminal j, denoted as γ. j,i The time delay is denoted as Δt. j,i CFO is denoted as β j,i Terminal i can report this measurement information to the base station.

[0115] Optionally, the method may further include: the base station or core network determining the relative phase difference between terminals based on measurement information.

[0116] Optionally, if the resource configuration also includes sensing signals for sensing, then as follows: Figure 5 As shown, the method further includes: terminals 1 to N respectively transmitting sensing signals. In this way, the base station processes the echo signals of the received sensing signals based on the relative phase difference between the terminals.

[0117] Optionally, the measurement phase of the measurement signal and the sensing phase of the sensing signal can be performed simultaneously, so that the measurement information obtained by measurement is closer to the real channel conditions of the sensing environment, thereby further improving the accuracy of sensing.

[0118] visible, Figure 5 The aforementioned inter-terminal measurement method can provide measurement information to the base station, enabling the base station to determine the relative phase difference between terminals based on the received measurement information, which is beneficial to improving the accuracy of perception.

[0119] Figure 5 This is a general description of the process of an inter-terminal measurement method provided in the embodiments of this application. The following is a combination of... Figure 6 The resource allocation method shown is for Figure 5 The resource configuration involved in steps 201 and 202 will be described separately. This resource configuration method is illustrated using an example of a network device and N terminal devices. The terminal devices can be terminals or modules within terminals, and the network device can be network equipment or modules within terminal devices. The network device can also be an entity used to implement some or all of the functions of a network device. Figure 6 As shown, this resource configuration method includes the following steps:

[0120] 301. The network device sends first information, which configures M resources for measurement among N terminals, where N and M are integers greater than or equal to 2 and N is less than or equal to M.

[0121] The first information configuration uses M resources for measurement between N terminals, which can also be expressed as: M resources for phase measurement between N terminals, or M resources for synchronization between N terminals, etc.

[0122] The possible designs for the first information include, but are not limited to, the following:

[0123] One possible design, the first information is Figure 5 The resource configuration of the measurement signal includes configuration parameters for each resource. Each resource's configuration parameters include at least one of the following: resource mapping configuration, power offset, period and offset configuration, etc. The resource mapping configuration may include at least one of the following: number of ports, frequency domain resource configuration, time domain resource configuration, or code division multiplexing type, etc. Therefore, based on this method, the terminal device can directly obtain M resources, reducing the processing complexity of the terminal device.

[0124] Another possible design involves the first information comprising a first indication and a second indication. The first indication indicates the first resource at the beginning of the M resources in the time domain. The second indication indicates the repetition method, whereby the remaining M-1 resources are obtained by repeating the first resource M-1 times. The repetition method includes repeating two time-adjacent resources consecutively in the time domain, or repeating two time-adjacent resources with the same interval between them. Therefore, in this method, the terminal device can obtain the remaining M-1 resources based on the repetition method and the first resource, reducing the overhead of resource notification.

[0125] For example, suppose the first instruction information indicates the first resource as follows: Figure 7 The rectangle shown indicates that the second indicator information specifies a repetition pattern where two temporally adjacent resources are repeated consecutively in the temporal domain. Assuming M equals 3, the remaining two resources can be obtained using this repetition pattern, such as... Figure 7 As shown.

[0126] For example, suppose the first instruction information indicates the first resource as follows: Figure 8 The rectangle shown indicates that the second indicator specifies a repetition pattern where the interval between two adjacent resources is two symbols, and M equals 3. Therefore, the remaining two resources can be obtained by repeating the first resource at a two-symbol interval, as follows: Figure 8 As shown.

[0127] In another possible design, the first information includes a first indication information and a second indication information. The first indication information is used to indicate the first resource, and the second indication information is used to indicate the period. The remaining M-1 resources are obtained based on the first resource and the period.

[0128] For example, suppose the first instruction information indicates the first resource as follows: Figure 9 The rectangle shown; the second indicator indicates a period of T; and M equals 3. Therefore, the remaining two resources can be obtained based on the first resource and this period, such as... Figure 9 As shown.

[0129] In another possible design, the first indication information is used to indicate the start and end positions of the M resources in the time domain, and the second indication information is used to indicate the time domain interval between adjacent resources. In yet another possible design, the first indication information is used to indicate the time domain symbol interval between the first and second resources among the M resources, or the time domain symbol interval between two adjacent resources, and the second indication information is used to indicate the value of M or the number of repetitions of the resources. In yet another possible design, the first indication information is used to indicate the last resource in the time domain among the M resources, and the second indication information is used to indicate the repetition method; the remaining M-1 resources are obtained based on this last resource and the repetition method. The repetition method indicated by the second indication information can be found above and will not be detailed here. It is evident that these design methods can reduce the overhead of resource notification.

[0130] The M resources configured in the network device are used for transmission or reception by the same antenna port for the same terminal device. On any given resource, one terminal device transmits measurement signals, while the others receive them. For the same resource, the resource location for all terminal devices to transmit or receive measurement signals is the same, such as the same time-domain resource location and the same frequency-domain resource location. For the same code-domain resource, the resource location for all terminal devices to transmit or receive measurement signals is the same; if the resource locations for terminal devices to transmit or receive measurement signals are different, the other terminal devices need to know the signal sequence transmitted by the terminal device transmitting the measurement signals. Optionally, this signal sequence can be communicated between terminals via a side link.

[0131] In the first method of indicating M resources, for the remaining M-1 resources obtained by repetition, since the resources are directly repeated, the antenna ports for transmitting or receiving signals of the same terminal device are already consistent. For other indication methods, the same terminal device must also transmit or receive measurement signals based on the same antenna port of the terminal device. Optionally, in the repetition method, an additional indication information can be added to indicate the number of times the resource is repeated, such as M-1 times. Optionally, the default number of indicated resources can also be the same as the number of selected terminals.

[0132] 302. The network device sends second information to each terminal respectively, the second information being used to instruct that among M resources, the first resource is used for the corresponding terminal to send signals, and / or, M-1 second resources are used for the corresponding terminal to receive signals.

[0133] The second information may be designed in several ways, including but not limited to the following:

[0134] In one possible design, the second information includes a newly added 1-bit information in the configuration of each of the M resources, used to indicate whether the resource is used to transmit or receive signals. For example, in addition to resource mapping configuration (such as at least one of the following: number of ports, frequency domain resource configuration, time domain resource configuration, code division multiplexing type, etc.), power offset, period, and offset configuration, the configuration parameters of each of the M resources also include 1 bit of information, which indicates whether the corresponding resource is used to transmit or receive signals. Based on this method, when the terminal device learns about a resource, it can directly learn the function of that resource, reducing the processing power requirements and complexity of the terminal device.

[0135] Optionally, in this design, the first and second information can be located in the same message, such as in the configuration parameters of a resource.

[0136] For example, assuming the measurement signal is CSI-RS, the resource configuration of this CSI-RS (CSI-RS-Resource) includes, but is not limited to, the following sequence of information cells (SEQUENCE): CSI-RS-ResourceId represents the identifier of the configured resource, resourceMapping represents the resource mapping configuration, powerControlOffset represents the power offset, scramblingID represents the scrambling code identifier, and the newly added information cell TxOrRx is used to indicate whether the resource configured is used for transmitting or receiving signals. For example, a value of 0 for the newly added information cell TxOrRx indicates that it is used for transmitting signals; a value of 1 for the newly added information cell TxOrRx indicates that it is used for receiving signals, and vice versa.

[0137]

[0138] In another possible design, the second information includes M bits; each of the M bits corresponds one-to-one with one of the M resources, and the M bits indicate whether the corresponding resource is used to transmit or receive signals. For example, if the value of a bit corresponding to a resource is a first value, it indicates that the resource is used to transmit signals; if the value of the bit is a second value, it indicates that the resource is used to receive signals. Based on this method, the M resources and the functions of each resource within those M resources are configured separately, and the first and second information are received separately. This facilitates multicasting the first information to multiple terminals and reduces the overhead of resource notification.

[0139] For example, assuming the measurement signal is CSI-RS, the resource set (CSI-RS-ResourceSet) configuration for each CSI-RS includes, but is not limited to, the following information element sequence (SEQUENCE), where CSI-RS-ResourceId represents the identifier of the configured resource, and CSI-RS-Resources represents each resource corresponding to the CSI-RS, such as resource identifiers ranging from 1 to the maximum number of resources in the resource set (maxNrof CSI-RS-ResourcesPerSet). The newly added information element TxOrRx is a bit stream of the maximum number of resources in the resource set (BIT STRING(SIZE(maxNrofCSI-RS-ResourcesPerSet))), where each bit corresponds to a resource and is used to indicate whether the corresponding resource is used to transmit or receive signals.

[0140]

[0141] In another possible design, the second information includes L bits, which indicate the resources among the M resources used for signal transmission, where L is greater than or equal to the logarithm of M to the base 2. Based on this method, the terminal device, in addition to knowing one resource used for signal transmission based on the second information, can determine the remaining M-1 resources used for signal reception, thus reducing the overhead of resource function notification.

[0142] For example, assuming M equals 3 and L equals 2, the three resources configured in the first information are resource 1, resource 2 and resource 3 respectively. Then, the value of the 2-bit information can be the index of the resource. Assuming that the second information received by terminal device 1 includes 2 bits of information of 10, it means that terminal device 1 is targeting the three resources, resource 2 is used to send signals, and resources 1 and resource 3 are used to receive signals.

[0143] In another possible design, the second information includes M-1 groups of N bits, where each group of N bits indicates one of the M resources used for receiving the signal, and N is greater than or equal to the logarithm of M to the base 2. In this method, the terminal device, based on the second information, not only knows the M-1 resources used for receiving the signal, but can also determine the remaining resource used for transmitting the signal, thus reducing the processing complexity of the terminal device.

[0144] For example, assuming M equals 3 and L equals 2, the three resources configured in the first information are resource 1, resource 2 and resource 3 respectively. Then, the value of the 2-bit information can be the index of the resource. Assuming that the 2-bit information included in the second information received by terminal device 1 is 01 and 11 respectively, it means that for the three resources, resource 2 is used by terminal device 1 to send signals, and resources 1 and resource 3 are used to receive signals.

[0145] Optionally, steps 301 and 302 may be one step or two steps, and this application embodiment does not limit them.

[0146] For example, suppose the base station is configured to measure three resources between three terminals. Figure 10a In the resource indication method shown, the base station indicates the three resources to each terminal respectively through the first information; the base station indicates to each terminal respectively through the second information, one of the three resources is used to transmit signals, and the other two resources are used to receive signals.

[0147] For example, suppose the base station is configured to measure three resources between three terminals. Figure 10b In the resource indication method shown, the base station indicates the three resources to each terminal via multicast of the first information; the base station then indicates the resources to each terminal via the second information, wherein one of the three resources is used for transmitting signals, and the other two are used for receiving signals. It is evident that in this example, the first information is shared by multiple terminals, reducing resource indication overhead.

[0148] Optionally, the first and second information may be carried on radio resource control signaling or on downlink control signaling.

[0149] 303. N terminal devices determine M resources for inter-terminal measurement based on first information, and determine the first resources for transmitting signals and M-1 second resources for receiving signals based on corresponding second information.

[0150] 304. Each terminal device transmits a measurement signal on the corresponding first resource and receives measurement signals on the corresponding M-1 second resources.

[0151] The first resource corresponding to each terminal device is the resource for transmitting measurement signals determined by the terminal device based on the second information; the second resource corresponding to each terminal device is the resource for receiving measurement signals determined by the terminal device based on the second information.

[0152] 305. Each terminal device reports M-1 sets of measurement information based on the measurement signals received on the corresponding M-1 second resources.

[0153] For a description of steps 304 to 305, please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 5 The explanations of steps 202 to 203 are not detailed here. Optionally, steps 305 and / or 303 are optional steps.

[0154] visible, Figure 6 In the resource allocation method for multiple terminals, the terminal device not only obtains M resources for inter-terminal measurement, but also obtains whether each resource is used for transmitting or receiving signals based on the second information, which is beneficial for realizing relative phase measurement between terminals.

[0155] Optional, Figure 6 The method further includes: the network device determining the relative phase difference between terminals based on M-1 sets of measurement information reported by each terminal device. In another optional design, step 306 is: the network device aligns the phase between terminals, or achieves phase alignment between terminals, or achieves synchronization between terminals, based on the M-1 sets of measurement information reported by each terminal device during the sensing phase. Therefore, based on this method, the network device achieves synchronization or relative phase alignment between terminals, thereby improving sensing accuracy.

[0156] The above combination Figures 5 to 10a ,as well as Figure 10b The methods provided in the embodiments of this application are explained. In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between the various embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0157] The following is combined with Figures 11 to 12 This application describes the communication device or modules provided in the embodiments of the application. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiments corresponds to the description of the method embodiments. Therefore, for content not described in detail, please refer to the above method embodiments. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0158] Figure 11 A possible exemplary block diagram of the communication device involved in an embodiment of this application is shown. For example... Figure 11As shown, the communication device may include modules or units for implementing the methods described in the embodiments above. In one possible design, the communication device includes a communication unit 401 and a processing unit 402. Optionally, the communication device may further include a storage unit 403 for storing device program code and / or data.

[0159] The communication device can be the terminal device in the above embodiments, such as a terminal or a module or component in a terminal (e.g., a chip, chip system, processor or circuit, etc.).

[0160] For example, in one embodiment, the communication unit 401 is configured to: receive first information, the first information configuring M resources for inter-terminal measurement, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 2; receive second information, the second information indicating that among the M resources, the first resource is used for transmitting signals, and / or, M-1 second resources are used for receiving signals; transmit signals on the first resource, and receive signals on the M-1 second resources; and report M-1 sets of measurement information based on the signals received on the M-1 second resources. Optionally, the processing unit 402 is configured to: generate signals corresponding to the transmitting resources based on the first information and the second information; and / or, determine the corresponding measurement information based on the received signals.

[0161] In one possible design, the second information includes a new 1-bit information added to the configuration of each of the M resources, indicating that the resource is used to send or receive signals.

[0162] In one possible design, the second information includes M bits of information; the M bits of information correspond one-to-one with M resources, and the M bits of information are used to indicate that the corresponding resource is used to send or receive signals.

[0163] In one possible design, the second information includes N bits of information, which are used to indicate the resources among M resources used to transmit the signal, where N is greater than or equal to the logarithm of M to the base 2.

[0164] In one possible design, the first information includes first indication information and second indication information; the first indication information is used to indicate the first resource at the beginning of the time domain of M resources; the second indication information is used to indicate the repetition method, and the remaining M-1 resources are obtained by repeating the first resource M-1 times in the repetition method; the repetition method includes: repeating in a way that two adjacent resources in the time domain are consecutive in the time domain, or repeating in a way that two adjacent resources in the time domain have the same interval.

[0165] In one possible design, the antenna port for transmitting signals on the first resource is the same as the antenna ports for receiving signals on M-1 second resources.

[0166] In one possible design, the measurement information is used for synchronization between terminals, or for phase alignment between terminals by network devices.

[0167] In one possible design, when the communication device is a terminal or a communication module within a terminal, the functionality of the processing unit 402 can be implemented by one or more processors. Specifically, the processor may include a modem chip, or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) chip or a SIP chip containing a modem core. The functionality of the communication unit 401 can be implemented by transceiver circuitry.

[0168] In one possible design, when the communication device is a circuit or chip in a terminal responsible for communication functions, such as a modem chip or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) or SIP chip containing a modem core, the function of the processing unit 402 can be implemented by a circuit system in the aforementioned chip that includes one or more processors or processor cores. The function of the communication unit 401 can be implemented by an interface circuit or data transceiver circuit on the aforementioned chip.

[0169] In one possible design, when the communication device is a terminal or a processing module within a terminal, the functionality of the processing unit 402 can be implemented by one or more processors. Specifically, the processor may include a GPU, or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) or SIP chip containing a GPU. The functionality of the communication unit 401 can be implemented by transceiver circuitry.

[0170] The communication device can be a network device as described in the above embodiments, such as a network device or a module or component (e.g., a chip, chip system, processor, or circuit) in a network device.

[0171] For example, in one embodiment, the communication unit 401 is configured to: send one or more first messages, the first messages configuring M resources for measurements among N terminals, where N and M are integers greater than or equal to 2, and N is less than or equal to M; send second messages to the N terminals respectively, the second messages indicating that among the M resources, the first resources are used for the corresponding terminals to send signals, and / or, M-1 second resources are used for the corresponding terminals to receive signals; and receive M-1 sets of measurement information from the N terminals respectively; the M-1 sets of measurement information are obtained by the terminals based on the signals received on the M-1 second resources. Optionally, the processing unit 402 is configured to: determine the first messages and the second messages.

[0172] In one possible design, the first message is sent via multicast.

[0173] In one possible design, the measurement information is used for synchronization between terminals, or for phase alignment between terminals by network devices.

[0174] Optional, other possible designs for the first and second information can be found in the previous text, and will not be detailed here.

[0175] In one possible design, when the communication device is a network device or a communication module within a network device, the functionality of the processing unit 402 can be implemented by one or more processors. Specifically, the processor may include a modem chip, or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) chip or a SIP chip containing a modem core. The functionality of the communication unit 401 can be implemented by transceiver circuitry.

[0176] In one possible design, when the communication device is a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions in a network device, such as a modem chip or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) or SIP chip containing a modem core, the function of the processing unit 402 can be implemented by a circuit system in the aforementioned chip that includes one or more processors or processor cores. The function of the communication unit 401 can be implemented by interface circuits or data transceiver circuits on the aforementioned chip.

[0177] In one possible design, when the communication device is a network device or a processing module within a network device, the functionality of the processing unit 402 can be implemented by one or more processors. Specifically, the processor may include a GPU, or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) or SIP chip containing a GPU. The functionality of the communication unit 401 can be implemented by transceiver circuitry.

[0178] It is understood that the division of units in the above-described device is a logical functional division. One function can correspond to one functional unit, or two or more functions can be integrated into one functional unit. In actual implementation, all or some units can be integrated into one physical entity, or distributed across different physical entities. Furthermore, the aforementioned functional units can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both. Whether a function is executed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for specific applications, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0179] In one example, the functional unit in any of the above devices may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as: one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more central processing units (CPUs), one or more microcontroller units (MCUs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms.

[0180] In one example, storage unit 403 may include random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory or electrically erasable programmable memory and / or registers, etc.

[0181] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal provided in an embodiment of this application. The terminal can correspond to... Figures 1 to 10a ,as well as Figure 10b The terminal or terminal device shown is used to implement the operation of the terminal or terminal device in the above embodiments. For example... Figure 12 As shown, the terminal includes: one or more antennas 510, a radio frequency processing system 520, and a processor system 530.

[0182] In the downlink or sidelink direction, the RF processing system 520 receives RF signals through the antenna 510 and sends the RF-processed signals to the processor system 530 for further processing. In the uplink or sidelink direction, the processor system 530 processes the terminal-side information and sends it to the RF processing system 520, which then processes the signal and transmits it through the antenna 510.

[0183] In one example, the radio frequency (RF) processing system 520 serves as the communication interface for external communication of the terminal and may include a radio frequency front end (RFFE) 521 and a radio frequency transceiver 522. The RFFE 521 is primarily used for one or more processing operations, such as shaping, passband selection, or gain adjustment, on the RF signals received by the antenna or those to be transmitted through the antenna. It may include one or more components such as RF switches, duplexers, filters, power amplifiers, antenna tuning, and low-noise amplifiers. The RFFE 521 can be a circuit system composed of multiple discrete components or integrated into one or more chips. The RF transceiver 522 processes the RF signals received by the RFFE 521 into baseband / IF signals for further processing by the processor system 530, and processes the baseband / IF signals provided by the processor system 530 into RF signals for transmission to the RFFE 521. The baseband / IF signals transmitted between the RF transceiver 522 and the processor system 530 can be digital or analog signals. The radio frequency transceiver 522 can be implemented by one or more chips, which are usually referred to as radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs).

[0184] In one example, processor system 530 may include one or more processors for processing signals and executing one or more communication protocols. Optionally, processor system 530 may also include memory 536. In one example, the one or more processors include at least one baseband processor 531 (also known as a modem processor). Memory 536 is used to store data and / or computer program instructions. Optionally, processor system 530 may also include one or more application processors 532 for implementing processing of the terminal operating system and application layer. Application processor 532 may include, for example, a GPU. Optionally, processor system 530 may also include one or more of a voice subsystem 533, a multimedia subsystem 534, or an interface circuit 535. The voice subsystem 533 is used to process voice signals, the multimedia subsystem 534 is used to handle multimedia-related operations, such as video encoding / decoding, image processing, etc., and the interface circuit 535 is used to implement communication with other terminal components, such as a display 540, an input device 550, memory 560, etc. The above-mentioned components in processor system 530 can communicate with each other via a bus or communication interface circuit.

[0185] In one example, the processor system 530 can be packaged as a single processor chip, such as a SoC chip or a SIP chip. In another example, the processor system 530 can be a system of multiple chips, for example, the baseband processor 531 can be packaged as a single chip, or packaged with part or all of the circuitry of the radio frequency processing system into a single chip.

[0186] In one example, memory 536 can be on-chip memory, i.e., located on the processor system 530 chip. In another example, memory 560 can be off-chip memory, i.e. located outside the processor system 530 chip.

[0187] In one example, the baseband processor 531 may include one or more processor cores 5311 and interface circuitry 5314. The one or more processor cores 5311 are used to process signals and execute one or more communication protocols. Optionally, the baseband processor 531 may also include a memory 5312 for storing at least a portion of the corresponding computer program instructions and / or data. In one example, the one or more processor cores 5311 execute the computer program instructions stored in the memory 5312 to implement the relevant operations (such as generating and sending first information) in the above method embodiments. In this application, the memory 5312 storing the corresponding computer program instructions and / or data may mean that the memory 5312 stores all the corresponding computer program instructions and / or data for the processor core 5311 to execute; or it may mean that the memory 5312 stores a portion of the corresponding computer program instructions and / or data, which includes the computer program instructions and / or data that the processor core 5311 currently needs to execute. The memory 5312 can store different portions of computer program instructions and / or data multiple times for the processor core 5311 to execute in order to implement the relevant operations in the above method embodiments. Interface circuit 5314 serves as a communication interface for communication with other components, such as transmitting signals with RF processing system 520, communicating with other subsystems and related components of processor system 530 via bus, such as transmitting data control signals with application processor 532, and transmitting data or computer program instructions with memory 536 or memory 560. Optionally, to reduce the load on the processor core, baseband signal processing circuit 5313 can also be provided to perform at least some baseband signal processing, including one or more of signal demodulation, modulation, encoding, or decoding.

[0188] The processor, processor system, application processor, baseband processor, processor circuit, or processor core mentioned above can be collectively referred to as a processor. The processor may include one or more of the following: central processing unit (CPU), digital signal processor (DSP), microprocessor unit (MPU), microcontroller unit (MCU), graphics processing unit (GPU), field programmable gate array (FPGA), artificial intelligence processor (AI processor), or neural processing unit (NPU).

[0189] The aforementioned memory may include one or more of the following storage media: random access memory (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), phase-change memory (PCM), resistive random access memory (RERAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM), cache, register, read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), hard disk, etc. In one example, computer program instructions for executing the above embodiments may be stored in non-volatile memory, such as at least a portion of the aforementioned memory 760 (e.g., one or more of ROM, flash memory, EPROM, or hard disk). When the terminal is running, the corresponding computer program instructions may be partially or wholly loaded onto a memory with a faster transfer speed than the processor, such as at least a portion of memory 736 and / or memory 7312 (e.g., one or more of RAM, SRAM, DRAM, PCM, RERAM, MRAM, FRAM, cache, or register), for the processor to execute in order to implement the steps in the above method embodiments.

[0190] In one example, the RF transceiver 722 and the RF front-end 721 can also be packaged in a single chip. In another example, the RF transceiver 722, the RF front-end 721, and the baseband processor 731 can also be packaged in a single chip.

[0191] The terms "system" and "network" in this application embodiment are used interchangeably. "At least one" refers to one or more, and "multiple" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, "at least one of A, B, or C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC; "at least one of A, B, and C" can also be understood as including A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in this application embodiment are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, sequence, priority, or importance of multiple objects.

[0192] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0193] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to this application. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, generate instructions for implementing the flowchart illustrations. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0194] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means, which are implemented in a process Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0195] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable equipment for implementing the process. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps of the function specified in one or more boxes.

[0196] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the scope of this application. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive first information, the first information configuring M resources for inter-terminal measurement, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 2; Receive second information, the second information being used to indicate that among the M resources, the first resource is used to transmit a signal, and / or, M-1 second resources are used to receive a signal; Send a signal on the first resource and receive a signal on the M-1 second resources; Based on the signals received on the M-1 second resources, M-1 sets of measurement information are reported.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second information includes a newly added 1-bit information in the configuration of each of the M resources, used to indicate that the resource is used to send or receive signals.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second information includes M bits; each of the M bits corresponds one-to-one with one of the M resources, and the M bits are used to indicate whether the corresponding resource is used to send or receive signals.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second information includes N bits of information, which are used to indicate the resources among the M resources used for transmitting signals, where N is greater than or equal to the logarithm of M to the base 2.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The first information includes first indication information and second indication information; The first indication information is used to indicate the first resource at the start of the time domain of the M resources; The second indication information is used to indicate the repetition method. The remaining M-1 resources are obtained by repeating the first resource M-1 times in the repetition method. The repetition method includes: repeating two resources that are adjacent in the time domain consecutively in the time domain, or repeating two resources that are adjacent in the time domain with the same interval.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The antenna port for transmitting signals on the first resource is the same as the antenna port for receiving signals on the M-1 second resources.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The measurement information is used for synchronization between terminals, or for phase alignment between terminals by network devices.

8. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Send one or more first messages, the first messages configuring M resources for measurement among N terminals, where N and M are integers greater than or equal to 2, and N is less than or equal to M; Send second information to each of the N terminals respectively. The second information is used to instruct the first resource in the M resources to be used for the corresponding terminal to send signals, and / or the M-1 second resources to be used for the corresponding terminal to receive signals. Each terminal receives M-1 sets of measurement information from the N terminals; the M-1 sets of measurement information are obtained by the terminals based on the signals received on the M-1 second resources.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The second information includes a newly added 1-bit information in the configuration of each of the M resources, which is used to indicate that the resource is used for the corresponding terminal to send or receive signals.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The second information includes M bits; each of the M bits corresponds one-to-one with one of the M resources, and the M bits are used to indicate that the corresponding resource is used by the corresponding terminal to send or receive signals.

11. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The second information includes N bits, which are used to indicate the resources among the M resources used for the corresponding terminal to send signals, where N is greater than or equal to the logarithm of M to the base 2.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that, The first information includes first indication information and second indication information; The first indication information is used to indicate the first resource at the start of the time domain of the M resources; The second indication information is used to indicate the repetition method. The remaining M-1 resources are obtained by repeating the first resource M-1 times in the repetition method. The repetition method includes: repeating two resources that are adjacent in the time domain consecutively in the time domain, or repeating two resources that are adjacent in the time domain with the same interval.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that, The first message was sent via multicast.

14. The method according to claims 8 to 13, characterized in that, The measurement information is used for synchronization between terminals, or for phase alignment between terminals by network devices.

15. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes units or modules for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes at least one processor; the at least one processor is configured to enable the communication device to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 14.

17. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions that, when executed, cause the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 14.

18. A communication system, characterized in that, The communication system includes at least a first device and a second device; The first device is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7; The second device is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 8 to 14.

19. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes: computer program code, which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 14.

20. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes logic circuitry and an interface, the interface being used for inputting and / or outputting information, and the logic circuitry being used to cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 14.

21. A chip, characterized in that, It includes at least one processor, the processor being configured to execute instructions to cause a communication device including the chip to perform the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 14.

22. The chip according to claim 21, characterized in that, The chip also includes an interface circuit, which is used to receive the executed instructions and transmit them to the processor, or to output information from the processor.

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