Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and a communication apparatus are provided. A network device can determine a threshold for defining a channel set and indicate this threshold to a terminal device via first information. The terminal device can determine a channel set based on the threshold, wherein the correlation between any two channel sets and the threshold satisfies a preset condition. That is, the terminal device can divide the channels according to the correlation between the channel sets, and then assist communication based on the corresponding reference channel information, thereby helping to reduce the air interface overhead caused by the reference signal.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] In Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology, a large number of antennas can be used to improve wireless capacity and coverage. Channel estimation becomes increasingly important for transmitting and receiving data, acquiring system synchronization, and providing feedback channel state information. Channel estimation refers to the process of reconstructing or recovering the received signal to compensate for signal distortion caused by channel fading and noise fading. It uses a reference signal known at both the transmitting and receiving ends to track the time and frequency domain changes of the channel. This reference signal is also called the reference signal (RS) or pilot. Commonly used reference signals include the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) for measuring the downlink channel and the sounding reference signal (SRS) for measuring the uplink channel, among others.

[0003] However, with the development of multi-antenna technology, the number of antenna ports has increased dramatically, and the reference signal may lead to higher overhead of air interface resources. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method and a communication device to reduce air interface overhead.

[0005] Firstly, a communication method is provided, applicable to a terminal device. For example, it can be executed by the terminal device itself, or by a component configured within the terminal device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) or system-in-package (SIP) chip containing a modem core, etc.); or it can be implemented by a logic module or software capable of realizing some or all of the functions of the terminal device, etc., and this application does not limit this. Alternatively, the method can be executed by a first communication device, which can be a terminal device, a component configured within the terminal device (such as a modem chip, or a SoC or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of realizing some or all of the functions of the terminal device, etc., and this application does not limit this. For ease of explanation, the method of the first aspect will be described below using a terminal device as an example.

[0006] For example, the method includes: receiving first information, the first information being used to indicate a threshold; determining M channel sets according to the threshold, wherein the correlation between any two channel sets and the threshold satisfies a preset condition; M is a positive integer.

[0007] Based on the above scheme, channels are divided according to the correlation between channel sets. Channels with high correlation are grouped into the same channel set, while channels with low correlation are grouped into different channel sets. Since channels with high correlation share similar channel environments, different terminal devices can use the same channel information to assist communication when transmitting data with network devices using different channels within the same channel set. For example, they can send or receive data based on the same channel information, without necessarily requiring the network device to send a reference signal for each terminal device to obtain a channel estimate. This reduces the air interface overhead caused by reference signals.

[0008] Furthermore, due to the high mobility of terminal devices, the allocation of channel sets is not fixed. Terminal devices can update the channel sets in real time based on thresholds indicated by network devices, thereby adapting the channel set allocation to the distribution of terminal devices within the current cell. In other words, the channel set allocation is more accurate, which helps terminal devices obtain more accurate channel information to assist communication and improves spectrum efficiency. Additionally, since network devices can adjust thresholds in real time based on service requirements and the distribution of terminal devices within the cell, air interface overhead can be saved to a greater extent.

[0009] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, determining the M channel sets according to the threshold includes: updating the previously determined N channel sets according to the threshold to obtain the M channel sets, wherein the channels corresponding to the N channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets, and N is a positive integer greater than M.

[0010] The previously determined N channel sets can refer to the N channel sets determined before the current determination of the channel sets. The current determination of the channel sets can be the first update by the terminal device after receiving the configuration information for the channel sets, so the previously determined N channel sets can be the L channel sets configured by the network device; the current determination of the channel sets can also be a subsequent update after the terminal device has performed one or more channel set updates, so the previously determined N channel sets may be less than the configured L channel sets.

[0011] Based on one or more updates to the channel set, the one or more channel sets determined by the terminal device can be better adapted to the distribution of terminal devices in the current cell. That is, the division of the channel set is more accurate, which helps the terminal device obtain more accurate channel information to assist communication and improve spectrum efficiency.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the first information is further used to indicate P channel sets, wherein the P channel sets are multiple channel sets among the N channel sets previously determined, where P is a positive integer less than N and N is a positive integer greater than M; determining M channel sets according to the threshold includes: updating the P channel sets among the N channel sets according to the threshold to obtain the M channel sets; wherein the M channel sets include Q channel sets obtained by updating the P channel sets and (N-P) channel sets other than the P channel sets among the N channel sets, the channels corresponding to the P channel sets include the channels corresponding to the Q channel sets, and the channels corresponding to the N channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets; Q is a positive integer less than P and less than M.

[0013] For details regarding the previously determined set of N channels and the updating of the channel set, please refer to the above text, which will not be repeated here.

[0014] Based on one or more updates to the channel set, the one or more channel sets determined by the terminal device can be better adapted to the distribution of terminal devices in the current cell. That is, the division of the channel set is more accurate, which helps the terminal device obtain more accurate channel information to assist communication and improve spectrum efficiency.

[0015] Furthermore, since the P channel sets can be subsets of the N channel sets, the terminal device can update the channel sets within the range specified by the network device. Because the network device can determine the P channel sets based on factors such as the location of the terminal device and the distribution of terminal devices within the cell, the computational overhead of updating the channel sets by the terminal device can be saved.

[0016] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: obtaining reference channel information for each of the M channel sets.

[0017] Each channel set can correspond to a reference channel, therefore the same channel set can correspond to the same reference channel information. Terminal devices communicating using channels in the same channel set can use the same reference channel information to assist in communication.

[0018] Because the division of the channel sets has changed, the corresponding reference channel information also changes. The terminal device obtains the reference channel information for each of the M channel sets; this can be understood as the terminal device obtaining the updated reference channel information for each channel set. In this way, the terminal device can use the updated reference channel information to assist in communication.

[0019] Optionally, obtaining the reference channel information of each channel set in the M channel sets includes: determining the reference channel information of each channel set in the M channel sets based on the reference channel information of each channel set in the N channel sets.

[0020] Optionally, one of the M channel sets is obtained by merging multiple channel sets from the N channel sets, and the reference channel information of the one channel set is the arithmetic mean of the reference channel information of the multiple channel sets.

[0021] The reference channel information of the merged channel set is determined by taking the arithmetic mean of the reference channel information of multiple channel sets. This method takes into account the characteristics of each channel set, making the determined reference channel information more comprehensive.

[0022] Optionally, one of the M channel sets is obtained by merging multiple channel sets from the N channel sets, and the reference channel information of the single channel set is a weighted average of the reference channel information of the multiple channel sets. Further, the weighting coefficients of the reference channel information of the multiple channel sets are related to one or more of the following: the area of ​​the region corresponding to each of the multiple channel sets, the distribution density of terminal devices within the region corresponding to each of the multiple channel sets, and the distance between the centroid positions of each of the multiple channel sets and the centroid position of the single channel set.

[0023] The reference channel information of the merged channel set is determined by taking a weighted average of the reference channel information of multiple channel sets. This method not only takes into account the characteristics of each channel set, but also reflects the different influences of the reference channel information of each channel set on the reference channel information of the merged channel set through different weights (i.e., the weighting coefficients mentioned above), making the determined reference channel information more comprehensive and accurate.

[0024] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, before receiving the first information, the method further includes: receiving second information, the second information being used to indicate L channel sets and reference channel information for each of the L channel sets, wherein the channels corresponding to the L channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets, and L is a positive integer greater than M.

[0025] The second piece of information can be understood as configuration information used to configure the channel sets. By indicating L channel sets and reference channel information for each channel set, the terminal device can easily update the channel sets and the reference channel information accordingly.

[0026] Secondly, a communication method is provided. This method can be applied to a network device, for example, it can be executed by the network device itself, or by a component configured in the network device (such as a modem chip, or a SoC or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.); or it can be implemented by a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the network device, etc., and this application does not limit this. Alternatively, the method can be executed by a second communication device, which can be a network device, a component configured in the network device (such as a modem chip, or a SoC or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the network device, etc., and this application does not limit this. For ease of explanation, the method of the second aspect will be described below using a network device as an example.

[0027] For example, the method includes: determining a threshold related to the degree of correlation between a set of channels, the threshold being used to determine the set of channels; and sending first information, the first information being used to indicate the threshold.

[0028] Based on the above scheme, network devices can determine and indicate a threshold related to the correlation between channel sets, allowing terminal devices to easily determine the channel set based on this threshold. By dividing channels based on the correlation between channel sets, channels with high correlation are grouped into the same channel set, while channels with low correlation are grouped into different channel sets. Since channels with high correlation have similar channel environments, different terminal devices can use the same channel information to assist communication when transmitting data with the network device using different channels within the same channel set. This eliminates the need for network devices to send different reference signals for different terminal devices; terminal devices using channels within the same channel set can all perform channel measurements based on the same reference signal. This reduces the air interface overhead caused by reference signals.

[0029] Furthermore, due to the high mobility of terminal devices, the channel set allocation is not fixed. Terminal devices can update the channel set in real time based on thresholds indicated by the network device, allowing the channel set allocation to adapt to the distribution of terminal devices within the current cell. This means a more accurate channel set allocation, which helps terminal devices obtain more accurate channel measurement results and improves spectrum efficiency. Additionally, since the network device can adjust the threshold in real time according to service requirements, the channel set determined based on this threshold can adapt to different service needs. For example, for services with high accuracy requirements, adjusting the threshold can make the channel set allocation more refined; for services with lower accuracy requirements, adjusting the threshold can make the channel set allocation coarser. This can significantly reduce air interface overhead.

[0030] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: determining M channel sets based on the threshold; the correlation between any two channel sets in the M channel sets and the threshold satisfies a preset condition; M is a positive integer.

[0031] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, determining the M channel sets according to the threshold includes: updating the previously determined N channel sets according to the threshold to obtain M channel sets, wherein the channels corresponding to the N channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets, and N is a positive integer greater than M.

[0032] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, determining the M channel sets according to the threshold includes: updating P channel sets from the previously determined N channel sets according to the threshold to obtain the M channel sets; wherein the M channel sets include Q channel sets obtained by updating the P channel sets and (N-P) channel sets from the N channel sets excluding the P channel sets, the channels corresponding to the P channel sets include the channels corresponding to the Q channel sets, and the channels corresponding to the N channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets; N is a positive integer greater than M, and Q is a positive integer less than P and less than M.

[0033] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the first information is also used to indicate the P sets of channels.

[0034] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: determining the reference channel information of each of the M channel sets based on the reference channel information of each of the N channel sets.

[0035] Optionally, one of the M channel sets is obtained by merging multiple channel sets from the N channel sets, and the reference channel information of the one channel set is the arithmetic mean of the reference channel information of the multiple channel sets.

[0036] Optionally, one of the M channel sets is obtained by merging multiple channel sets from the N channel sets, and the reference channel information of the single channel set is a weighted average of the reference channel information of the multiple channel sets. Further, the weighting coefficients of the reference channel information of the multiple channel sets are related to one or more of the following: the area of ​​the region corresponding to each of the multiple channel sets, the distribution density of terminal devices within the region corresponding to each of the multiple channel sets, and the distance between the centroid positions of each of the multiple channel sets and the centroid position of the single channel set.

[0037] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations, before determining the threshold, the method further includes: determining L channel sets and reference channel information for each of the L channel sets, wherein the channels corresponding to the L channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets, and L is a positive integer greater than M; and sending second information, the second information being used to indicate the L channel sets and the reference channel information for each of the L channel sets.

[0038] It should be understood that the technical solution of the second aspect corresponds to the technical solution of the first aspect. For some possible implementation methods and beneficial effects of the second aspect, please refer to the relevant description of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0039] In conjunction with the first or second aspect, in some possible implementations, the degree of correlation between two channel sets is determined by one or more of the following: the multipath component (MPC) of the two channel sets, the reference channel of the two channel sets, the projection matrix of the reference channel of the two channel sets, and the precoding of the reference channel of the two channel sets.

[0040] It should be understood that MPC, projection matrix, and precoding are all channel-dependent. Therefore, the correlation between channel sets is determined by one or more of the following: MPC, reference channel, projection matrix of the reference channel, and precoding of the reference channel. In other words, the correlation between channels is determined based on the channel environment. In the channel sets determined in this way, channels within the same channel set correspond to the same or similar channel environments.

[0041] In conjunction with the first or second aspect, in some possible implementations, the threshold is a similarity threshold, and the relationship between the correlation between any two channel sets in the M channel sets and the threshold satisfies a preset condition, including: the similarity between any two channel sets in the M channel sets is less than the similarity threshold.

[0042] In conjunction with the first or second aspect, in some possible implementations, the threshold is a distance threshold, and the correlation between any two channel sets in the M channel sets and the threshold satisfies a preset condition, including: the distance between any two channel sets in the M channel sets is greater than the distance threshold.

[0043] Thirdly, a communication method is provided that can be applied to a terminal device. For example, it can be executed by the terminal device itself, or by a component configured in the terminal device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) or system-in-package (SIP) chip containing a modem core, etc.); or it can be implemented by a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the terminal device, etc., and this application does not limit this. Alternatively, the method can be executed by a first communication device, which can be a terminal device, a component configured in the terminal device (such as a modem chip, or a SoC or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the terminal device, etc., and this application does not limit this. For ease of explanation, the method of the third aspect will be described below using a terminal device as an example.

[0044] For example, the method includes: receiving fourth information, the fourth information indicating A channel sets, wherein the number of the a-th channel set in the A channel sets is determined based on one or more of the following: the probability that reference channel information of the a-th channel set is used, the distribution density of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, the area of ​​the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, and the number of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, where A is a positive integer greater than 1; and determining the A channel sets according to the fourth information.

[0045] Based on the above scheme, the numbering of each channel set can be determined according to the probability of its respective reference channel information being used. The resulting numbering of each channel set can not only identify the channel set but also implicitly indicate the probability of the reference channel information being used for each channel set. Furthermore, the numbering length of each channel set can vary depending on the probability of the reference channel information being used. In this way, channel sets with a higher probability of reference channel information use can be assigned longer numbers, while channel sets with a lower probability of reference channel information use can be assigned shorter numbers. Since the proportion of channel sets with a higher probability of reference channel information use in the A channel sets is relatively large, the average numbering length can be reduced overall, saving the overhead of indicating the A channel sets.

[0046] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some possible implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: receiving fifth information, the fifth information being used to indicate the number B of the channel sets after updating the A channel sets, where B is a positive integer less than A; updating the A channel sets according to the fifth information to obtain B channel sets, wherein the channels corresponding to the A channel sets include the channels corresponding to the B channel sets.

[0047] Due to the high mobility of terminal devices, the allocation of channel sets is not fixed. Terminal devices can update the channel set in real time according to the updated channel set quantity B indicated by the network device. This allows the allocation of channel sets to be adapted to the distribution of terminal devices within the current cell. In other words, the allocation of channel sets is more accurate, which helps terminal devices obtain more accurate channel information to assist communication and improves spectrum efficiency.

[0048] Fourthly, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a network device. For example, it can be executed by the network device itself, or by a component configured within the network device (such as a modem chip, or a SoC or SIP chip containing a modem core); or it can be implemented by a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the network device, etc., and this application does not limit this. Alternatively, the method can be executed by a second communication device, which can be a network device, a component configured within the network device (such as a modem chip, or a SoC or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the network device, etc., and this application does not limit this. For ease of explanation, the method of the fourth aspect will be described below using a network device as an example.

[0049] For example, the method includes: determining A channel sets, wherein the number of the a-th channel set in the A channel sets is determined based on one or more of the following: the probability that reference channel information of the a-th channel set is used, the distribution density of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, the area of ​​the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, and the number of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set; A is a positive integer greater than 1; and sending fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate the A channel sets.

[0050] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some possible implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: updating the A channel sets to obtain B channel sets, wherein the channels corresponding to the A channel sets include the channels corresponding to the B channel sets, and B is a positive integer less than A.

[0051] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some possible implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: sending fifth information, the fifth information being used to indicate the number B of the updated channel set.

[0052] It should be understood that the technical solution in the fourth aspect corresponds to the technical solution in the third aspect. For some possible implementation methods and beneficial effects of the fourth aspect, please refer to the relevant description in the third aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0053] In conjunction with the third or fourth aspect, in some possible implementations, the fourth information includes the numbering of the A channel sets, the numbering of the A channel sets satisfying the rules of Huffman coding.

[0054] In other words, the numbering of the A channel sets is obtained through Huffman coding. Huffman coding is a variable-length coding method. As those skilled in the art will know, using Huffman coding can minimize the average coding length and improve coding efficiency. Therefore, when the numbering of each channel set satisfies the rules of Huffman coding, coding efficiency can be improved and the overhead of numbering indication can be reduced.

[0055] In conjunction with the third or fourth aspect, in some possible implementations, the probability of the reference channel information of the a-th channel set being used is related to one or more of the following: the distribution density of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, the area of ​​the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, and the number of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set.

[0056] Fifthly, a communication apparatus is provided for performing the methods of any one of the first, second, third, or fourth aspects and any possible implementation thereof. Specifically, the apparatus may include units and / or modules for performing the methods of any one of the first, second, third, or fourth aspects and any possible implementation thereof, such as processing units and / or communication units. These units and / or modules may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software implementations.

[0057] In one implementation, the device is a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device). When the device is a communication device, the communication unit can be a transceiver or an input / output interface; the processing unit can be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0058] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module for communication equipment (such as terminal equipment or network equipment). When the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit for communication equipment, the communication unit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip, chip system, or circuit; the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit.

[0059] A sixth aspect provides a communication device comprising: at least one processor configured to cause the device to perform any one of the first, second, third, or fourth aspects described above, and any possible implementation thereof.

[0060] Optionally, the at least one processor is configured to execute computer programs or instructions to perform any one of the first, second, third, or fourth aspects described above, and the methods in any possible implementation thereof.

[0061] Optionally, the device further includes a memory for storing the computer program or instructions.

[0062] Optionally, the at least one processor is coupled to a memory for storing the computer program or instructions. The memory may be located externally to the device.

[0063] Optionally, the device also includes a communication interface through which the processor reads instructions from memory. This can be understood as the communication interface being coupled to the processor and used to input computer programs or instructions to the processor, or to output information from the processor.

[0064] Unless otherwise specified, or if the transmission and acquisition / reception operations involved do not contradict their actual function or internal logic in the relevant description, they can be understood as output, input, or other operations, or as transmission and reception operations performed by radio frequency circuits and antennas. This application does not limit them in this regard.

[0065] In one implementation, the device is a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device).

[0066] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module for communication devices (such as terminal devices or network devices). Optionally, the chip is a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core.

[0067] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program (e.g., program code) or instructions that, when executed, cause the methods in any of the first, second, third, or fourth aspects and any possible implementation thereof to be performed.

[0068] Eighthly, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product including computer program code or instructions, which, when the computer program code or instructions are executed, cause the method in any one of the first, second, third, or fourth aspects and any possible implementation thereof to be performed.

[0069] A ninth aspect provides a communication system, comprising: a terminal device and a network device. The terminal device is configured to execute the method provided in any implementation of the first aspect, and the network device is configured to execute the method provided in any implementation of the second aspect; or, the terminal device is configured to execute the method provided in any implementation of the third aspect, and the network device is configured to execute the method provided in any implementation of the fourth aspect.

[0070] The fifth to ninth aspects of this application correspond to the technical solutions of the first to fourth aspects of this application. The beneficial effects achieved by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation are similar, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0071] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0072] Figure 2 This is another schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the methods provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0073] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an access network device applicable to embodiments of this application;

[0074] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the reference channel and the target channel;

[0075] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of multiple channel sets;

[0076] Figure 6 This is a schematic flowchart of the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0077] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between the reference channel and the projection matrix provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0078] Figure 8This is a schematic diagram illustrating the nested relationship between the numbering of the L channel sets provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0079] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the transmission pattern of the reference signal determined based on the projection matrix, provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0080] Figure 10 This is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0081] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of multiple channel sets provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0082] Figure 12 and Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the communication device provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0083] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of the chip system provided in the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0084] The technical solution provided in this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0085] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the following points will be explained first:

[0086] First, in this application, the indication includes explicit indication (also known as direct indication) and implicit indication (also known as indirect indication). Explicit indication information A means including information A; implicit indication information A means indicating information A through the correspondence between information A and information B, and direct indication information B. The correspondence between information A and information B can be predefined, pre-stored, pre-burned, or pre-configured; or it can refer to indicating information A through information B and preset rules.

[0087] Second, in this application, information C is used to determine information D, which includes both determining information D based solely on information C and determining it based on information C and other information. Furthermore, information C can also be used to determine information D indirectly, for example, in the case where information D is determined based on information E, and information E is determined based on information C.

[0088] Third, in this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between the preceding and following related objects, but it does not exclude the possibility of indicating an "and" relationship; the specific meaning can be understood in context. "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 mean: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Here, a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0089] Fourth, in this application, the use of prefixes such as "first" and "second" is merely for the purpose of distinguishing and describing different things belonging to the same category, and does not constrain the order, size, or quantity of things. For example, "first information" and "second information" are simply different pieces of information, and there is no temporal sequence, size, or priority relationship between them.

[0090] Fifth, in this application, "send" and "receive" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to the terminal" can be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal, which may include direct transmission via the air interface or indirect transmission via the air interface by other units or modules. "Receive information from a network device" can be understood as the source of the information being the network device, which may include direct reception from the network device via the air interface or indirect reception from the network device via the air interface by other units or modules. "Send" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface.

[0091] In other words, sending and receiving can occur between devices, such as between a terminal and a network device; or they can occur within a device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within a device via a bus, wiring, or interface.

[0092] Sixth, in the embodiments of this application, "when," "if," and "if" all refer to the device making corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, and are not limited to a time, nor do they require the device to make a judgment action when it is implemented, nor do they mean that there are other limitations.

[0093] Seventh, in this application, the words "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design described as "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of the words "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0094] Eighth, the numbers involved in this application, such as m, t, a, etc., can start from 1 and increment, or start from 0 and increment from any other value. This application does not limit the range of values ​​for each number.

[0095] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as 5th generation (5G) or new radio (NR) systems, frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, time division duplex (TDD) systems, wireless local area network (WLAN) systems, satellite communication systems, future communication systems, or integrated systems of multiple systems. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), and Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems or other communication systems.

[0096] In a communication system, a device can send signals to or receive signals from another device. These signals can include information, signaling, or data. The device can also be replaced by an entity, network entity, communication equipment, communication module, node, communication node, etc.; this disclosure uses a device as an example. For instance, a communication system can include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. The network device can send downlink signals to the terminal device, and / or the terminal device can send uplink signals to the network device. It is understood that the terminal device in this disclosure can be replaced by a first communication device, and the network device can be replaced by a second communication device, both performing the corresponding communication methods described in this disclosure.

[0097] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in this application. Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting system architecture is shown. (e.g.) Figure 1 As shown, the communication system 10 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. Optionally, the communication system 10 also includes an Internet 300. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., Figure 1 110a and 110b (collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal (such as Figure 1 RAN 100, denoted as RAN 120a-120j, is collectively referred to as RAN 120. RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay equipment and / or wireless backhaul equipment. Figure 1 (Not shown in the image). Terminal device 120 is connected to RAN node 110 wirelessly. RAN node 110 is connected to core network 200 wirelessly or via wired connection. The core network equipment in core network 200 and RAN node 110 in RAN 100 can be different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device integrating core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0098] RAN 100 can be used for cellular systems related to the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), such as 4G (4G4). th RAN 100 can be a generation (4G), 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolution system. It can also be an open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system. RAN 100 can also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0099] RAN node 110, sometimes also referred to as access network equipment, RAN entity, or access node, is part of the communication system and helps terminals achieve wireless access. Multiple RAN nodes 110 in communication system 10 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 110 and terminal device 120 are relative, for example... Figure 1Network element 120i can be a helicopter or a drone, and it can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminal devices 120j that access RAN 100 through network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal. RAN node 110 and terminal devices 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.

[0100] In one possible scenario, a RAN node can be a base station (BS). A base station can broadly encompass, or be replaced by, various names including: network equipment, access network equipment, NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next-generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master station, auxiliary station, motor slide retainer (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), radio unit (RU), positioning node, etc. A base station can also be a macro base station (e.g., Figure 1 110a), micro base stations or indoor stations (such as Figure 1The term "base station" can refer to 110b), relay nodes, donor nodes, or similar entities, or combinations thereof. A base station can also refer to a communication module, modem, or chip installed within the aforementioned equipment or apparatus. A base station can also be a mobile switching center, a device performing base station functions in D2D, V2X, and M2M communications, or a device performing base station functions in future communication systems. A base station can support networks using the same or different access technologies. Optionally, a RAN node can also be a server, wearable device, vehicle, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, the access network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies or equipment forms used in the network equipment.

[0101] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes each implementing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, RAN nodes can be central units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), CUs (control planes, CPs), CUs (user planes, UPs), or RUs, etc. CUs and DUs can be set up separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs).

[0102] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU can also be called an open CU (O-CU), DU can also be called an open DU (O-DU), CU-CP can also be called an open CU-CP (open-CU-CP, O-CU-CP), CU-UP can also be called an open CU-UP (open-CU-UP, O-CU-UP), and RU can also be called an open RU (open-RU, O-RU). For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

[0103] In this embodiment, the apparatus for implementing the functions of a network device can be a network device itself; it can also be an apparatus capable of supporting the network device in implementing those functions, such as a chip system, hardware circuit, software module, or a hardware circuit plus a software module. This apparatus can be installed in the network device or used in conjunction with the network device. In this embodiment, the example of a network device being used to implement the functions of a network device is provided only and does not constitute a limitation on the solutions described in this embodiment.

[0104] Terminal equipment can also be called a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. A terminal device can be a device that provides voice and / or data, such as a handheld device with wireless connectivity, an in-vehicle device, etc. Currently, examples of terminals include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks, or future public land mobile communication networks. Terminal devices in a network (PLMN), Wi-Fi stations (STAs), etc. This application does not limit this to specific examples.

[0105] Terminal devices can also be terminal devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) system, also known as IoT nodes. IoT is an important component of future information technology development. Its main technical characteristic is connecting objects to networks through communication technologies, thereby realizing an intelligent network that enables human-machine interaction and machine-to-machine interaction. Connections can be made using broadband or narrowband technologies. IoT technology, for example, can achieve massive connectivity, deep coverage, and low power consumption at the terminal through narrowband (NB) technology.

[0106] In addition, terminal devices may also include sensors such as smart printers, train detectors, and gas stations. Their main functions include collecting data (for some terminal devices), receiving control information and downlink data from network devices, and sending electromagnetic waves to transmit uplink data to network devices.

[0107] Terminal devices can also be wearable devices. Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for devices that utilize wearable technology to intelligently design and develop everyday wearables, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not just hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are feature-rich, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smartwatches or smart glasses, as well as those that focus on a specific application function and require the use of other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0108] In this embodiment, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device itself, or it can be any device capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing those functions, such as a chip system. This device can be installed in or used in conjunction with the terminal device. In this embodiment, the chip system can be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete components. This embodiment only uses the terminal device as an example to illustrate the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device, and does not constitute a limitation on the solution of this embodiment.

[0109] This application does not limit the specific form of the terminal device and network device. The terminal device and network device can be hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or software functions running on general-purpose hardware. They can also be virtualized devices, for example, implemented through general-purpose hardware and instantiated virtualization functions, or dedicated hardware and instantiated virtualization functions. Among them, general-purpose hardware can be servers, such as cloud servers.

[0110] Figure 2This is another schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the methods provided in the embodiments of this application. For example... Figure 2 As shown, the RAN devices in this communication system (e.g., eNB, gNB, or next-generation access network devices) have a distributed architecture, including CU, DU, and RU. RAN devices can communicate with core network (CN) devices via backhaul links and with terminals via air interfaces.

[0111] For example, the BBU in the RAN device communicates with the core network device via a backhaul link; the RU in the RAN device can communicate with at least one terminal device via an air interface. The BBU communicates with at least one RU via a fronthaul link; the BBU and RU may or may not be co-located. In some deployments, the BBU may include at least one CU and at least one DU, and the CU and DU can communicate with each other via a midhaul link. The RU can communicate with one or more UEs via a radio link. The DU and RU may or may not be co-located. A DU can be connected to one or more RUs.

[0112] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an access network device applicable to embodiments of this application. Figure 3 The diagram shows the network element function division and protocol layer structure of the O-RAN equipment. Figure 3 The access network equipment shown includes CU, DU, and RU. The CU is a logical node that carries the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, and other control functions of the access network equipment. The CU can connect to network nodes such as the core network through interfaces, such as the E2 interface. The CU may have some core network functions. The CU (e.g., the PDCP layer and / or higher) connects to the DU (e.g., the radio link control (RLC) layer and lower layers of the DU) through interfaces, such as the F1 interface. Optionally, the F1 interface can provide control plane (C-Plane) and user plane (U-Plane) functions (e.g., interface management, system information management, UE context management, RRC message transmission, etc.). F1AP is the application protocol for the F1 interface, defining the signaling procedures for F1 in some examples. The F1 interface supports control plane F1-C and user plane F1-U.

[0113] As an example, a CU can include CU-CP and CU-UP. CU-CP is a logical node carrying the control plane (PDCP-C) layer, which carries the RRC layer and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol layer, and is used to implement the CU's control plane functions. CU-CP can interact with network elements in the core network used to implement control plane functions. These network elements in the core network can be access and mobility function (AMF) network elements, such as the access and mobility management function (AMF) in a 5G system. The AMF network element is responsible for mobility management in the mobile network, such as terminal device location updates, terminal device registration with the network, and terminal device handover. CU-UP is a logical node carrying the user plane (PDCP-U) layer, which carries the SDAP layer and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol layer, and is used to implement the CU's user plane functions. CU-UP can interact with network elements in the core network used to implement user plane functions. These network elements in the core network, such as the user plane function (UPF) in a 5G system, are responsible for data forwarding and receiving in terminal devices. The above CU and DU configurations are merely examples. In practical applications, the functions of the CU and DU can be configured as needed. For instance, the CU or DU can be configured to have more protocol layer functions, or to have only some protocol layer processing functions. For example, some RLC layer functions and protocol layer functions above the RLC layer can be placed in the CU, while the remaining RLC layer functions and protocol layer functions below the RLC layer can be placed in the DU. Furthermore, the functions of the CU or DU can be divided according to service type or other system requirements. For example, based on latency, functions that require low latency can be placed in the DU, while functions that do not require low latency can be placed in the CU.

[0114] A DU (Distributed Unit) is a logical node that carries the RLC (Real-Time Control) layer, the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, the Higher Physical Layer (Higher PHY) layer, and other functions. In some examples, a DU can control at least one RU (Real-Time Root). The DU connects to the RU through interfaces, which can be fronthaul interfaces. In some examples, the Higher PHY layer includes the PHY layer processing, such as forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation, and demodulation.

[0115] The RU (Runner Root) is a logical node that carries both lower physical layer (PHY) and radio frequency (RF) processing. In some examples, the RU can be a 3GPP transmission reception point (TRP), a remote radio head (RRH), or other similar entities. In some examples, the Lower-PHY includes PHY processing functions such as Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT), digital beamforming, and filtering. The RU communicates with one or more UEs via a radio link.

[0116] The DU and RU can be co-located or not. The DU and RU exchange control plane and user plane information via a fronthaul link through a lower-layer split CUS-plane (LLS-CUS) interface. The LLS-CUS may include a lower-layer split control (LLS-C) interface providing the control plane (C-Plane) and a lower-layer split user (LLS-U) interface, respectively. In some examples, the control plane (C-Plane) refers to real-time control between the DU and RU. The DU and RU exchange management information via an LLS-M interface on the fronthaul link; the management plane (M-Plane) refers to non-real-time management operations between the DU and RU.

[0117] DU and RU can cooperate to implement the functions of the PHY layer. A DU can be connected to one or more RUs. The functions of DU and RU can be configured in various ways depending on the design. For example, a DU can be configured to implement baseband functions, and an RU can be configured to implement mid-RF functions. Another example is that a DU can be configured to implement higher-level functions in the PHY layer, and an RU can be configured to implement lower-level functions in the PHY layer, or to implement both lower-level and RF functions. Higher-level functions in the physical layer can include a portion of the physical layer's functions that are closer to the MAC layer, while lower-level functions in the physical layer can include another portion of the physical layer's functions that are closer to the mid-RF side.

[0118] The above Figures 1 to 3 For illustrative purposes only, this application should not be construed as limiting the communication systems to which the methods provided herein are applicable.

[0119] To better understand the methods provided in the embodiments of this application, the terms involved in this application will be briefly explained below.

[0120] 1. Reference Channel and Target Channel: The reference channel is relative to the target channel. The target channel, also called the channel or MIMO channel, can represent the channel carrying data during transmission, or the channel where the terminal device is located, or the channel where the data resides, or the data transmission resource. The reference channel can represent a channel similar to the target channel. When the terminal device uses the target channel for data transmission, because the reference channel and the target channel have certain similarities, the terminal device can perform some operations based on the reference channel, such as acquiring channel state information (CSI) and assisting in data demodulation. For example, the reference channel H1 and the target channel H2 can satisfy at least one of the following: two channels that are similar in space (or spatial domain), two channels that are similar in time domain, or two channels that are similar in frequency domain.

[0121] In one possible design, the reference channel can be determined based on a channel knowledge map (or channel map, radio frequency map, RF map). For example, this channel knowledge map can be used to reconstruct the environment based on sensing data (including but not limited to sensing data acquired from multiple sources such as wireless sensing, cameras, and LiDAR), historical measurement data, etc., to describe the physical world. The channel knowledge map stores channel feature information based on location information. Based on different channel features, a physical cell can be divided into multiple grids (or regions, grids, etc.) based on a two-dimensional grid. Each grid has a similar channel environment and can correspond to a reference channel. The channel feature information can be used to indicate channel characteristics, which can include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: channel statistical covariance matrix, angle spectrum, time delay spectrum, or path loss, space-frequency basis, spatial basis, frequency basis, time domain (or Doppler domain) basis, and combinations of the above basises.

[0122] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the reference channel and the target channel. As shown in the figure, assume H1 is the reference channel and H2 is the target channel. When the terminal device uses the target channel H2 for data transmission, since the reference channel H1 and the target channel H2 have certain similarities, the terminal device can obtain CSI, multipath component (MPC), modulation and coding scheme (MCS), etc. based on the reference channel H1.

[0123] For example, CSI includes, but is not limited to, channel quality indication (CQI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indicator (RI), CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), etc.

[0124] For example, MPC includes, but is not limited to, delay, angle, power, phase, and order (number of bounces of the path). Angle may include, for example, at least one of the following: horizontal angle of arrival (AOA), horizontal angle of departure (AOD), vertical angle of arrival (ZOA), and vertical angle of departure (ZOD). AOA and ZOA refer to the horizontal and vertical angles of arrival of the signal via the wireless channel to the receiving antenna, respectively, while AOD and ZOD refer to the horizontal and vertical angles of departure of the signal transmitted via the transmitting antenna, respectively.

[0125] It should be understood that the reference channel and target channel are names given for ease of distinction and understanding only, and should not constitute any limitation on this application.

[0126] 2. Centroid Channel: Also known as the group centroid channel or the clustering centroid channel. Taking the centroid channel of one or more channels (e.g., P channels, where P is a positive integer) as an example, the centroid channel is determined under the condition of spatial consistency. Given a set of channels, a channel (i.e., the centroid channel) is selected such that the average similarity between the determined centroid channel and one or more channels in the aforementioned channel set satisfies a preset condition. For example, in a given set of channels, the centroid channel has the highest average similarity with the P channels (i.e., an example of the preset condition). The similarity metric can be, for example, similarity or distance. As an example, the centroid channel satisfies:

[0127]

[0128] Among them, H centroid This represents the centroid channel, and argmax represents the parameters that must be satisfied to reach their maximum value; f(H, H p ) represents the measurement of channel H and Hp The similarity between channels can be a function, such as similarity or distance. Here, channel H belongs to the channel set {H... a H b , ...};H p This represents the p-th channel out of P channels.

[0129] In one possible implementation, the reference channel for the aforementioned channel set can be the centroid channel of the channel set. In this embodiment, each channel set may correspond to a reference channel, which can be the centroid channel of the channel set, or a channel determined by other means. This application does not impose any limitations on this.

[0130] 3. Channel Set: This refers to the partitioning of multiple channels based on the similarity of a specific quantity. This specific quantity can be, for example, the location of each terminal device within the cell, the initial measurement results of the multipath component (MPC) of each terminal device within the cell, and the channel characteristics of each terminal device within the cell, including frequency domain channels and channel delay power spectra. The functions used to partition the channel set include, but are not limited to, the following: Kuhl-Becker divergence (KL divergence), Jensen-Shannon divergence (JS divergence), cosine similarity, Euclidean distance (also known as L2 norm), F-norm (Frobenius norm), and the distances corresponding to these terms. The partitioning of the channel set can be performed offline or online, without limitation.

[0131] A channel set can also be viewed as a collection of multiple channels with spatial consistency. Each channel set can correspond to a reference channel, that is, channel information corresponding to a reference channel (hereinafter referred to as reference channel information), such as a channel matrix corresponding to the same reference channel. Therefore, terminal devices that use channels in the same channel set for communication can use the same reference channel information to assist in communication.

[0132] It should be understood that "division" is introduced for ease of understanding and explanation only, and does not mean that network devices or terminal devices will necessarily perform the division operation. Dividing multiple channels according to a specific amount of similarity aims to express that multiple channels identified as belonging to a channel set have spatial consistency; that is, multiple channels with spatial consistency are grouped into one channel set. Multiple channels in this channel set can correspond to the same reference channel, can use the same pattern to transmit reference signals, etc., without emphasizing that a division operation has been performed.

[0133] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of multiple channel sets. (For example...) Figure 5 As shown, the network device communicates with the terminal devices within its coverage area. Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 use spatially consistent channels; therefore, the channels used by Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 belong to the same channel set and can use the same reference channel (reference channel H shown in the figure). A1 The channels used by terminals 3 and 4 are spatially consistent; therefore, the channels used by terminals 3 and 4 belong to another channel set and can use the same reference channel (reference channel H as shown in the figure). B1 ( ) to assist communication. Terminal 1, Terminal 2 and Terminal 3, Terminal 4 use significantly different channels and do not belong to the same channel set.

[0134] It should be understood that "channel set" is merely one possible name and should not be construed as limiting this application. For example, "channel set" can also be called "channel group," "terminal device set," "terminal device group," "cluster," etc. This application includes, but is not limited to, these terms.

[0135] It should also be understood that the channel set shown in the figure represents an area within the coverage of the network equipment, but this should not constitute any limitation on this application. The channel set mentioned in this application is related to the division of geographical space and regions, but it is not entirely determined by the division of geographical space and regions. In addition to geographical space and regions, the division of the channel set also needs to consider the similarity of the channel environment, and whether the channel environment is similar can be determined by comparing the aforementioned specific quantities. Therefore, it can be said that a channel set corresponds to a region, and terminal devices within the region corresponding to the channel set can use the channels within that channel set for data transmission. Therefore, a channel set can correspond to the terminal devices within its corresponding region.

[0136] 4. Pattern: Used to indicate the resources of the reference signal, also known as the resource pattern of the reference signal (RS). The resources of the reference signal may include one or more of the following dimensions: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, antenna ports, etc.

[0137] 5. Reference signal (RS): Also known as reference sequence, pilot, pilot signal, etc. It can be used for channel measurement, channel estimation, or beam quality monitoring. Uplink reference signals can include, for example, sounding reference signal (SRS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), positioning reference signal (PRS), etc. Downlink reference signals can include, for example, synchronization signal block (SSB), DMRS, PTRS, channel status information reference signal (CSI-RS), cell-specific reference signal (CRS) (or common reference signal), tracking reference signal (TRS), PRS, etc.

[0138] The reference signal in this application may also be a reference signal other than those listed above, which will not be listed here.

[0139] To reduce the air interface overhead caused by reference signals, this application provides a communication method that divides multiple channels with similar channel environments into one or more channel sets. The similarity of channel environments can be determined based on the relationship between the correlation between channel sets and a threshold. Furthermore, the same channel set can correspond to the same reference channel information. When a terminal device uses different channels within the same channel set to transmit data with a network device, communication can be assisted by using the same reference channel information.

[0140] The method provided in this application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the embodiments provided below can be applied to the scenarios shown in the above figures and are not intended to limit the scope. Furthermore, the terminology used below will be referenced in the above description and will not be repeated hereafter.

[0141] It should be understood that, for ease of description, the method provided in this application is described below using the interaction between a terminal device and a network device as an example. However, this should not constitute any limitation on this application. The terminal device can also be replaced by internal circuitry or chips (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.); it can also be replaced by logic modules or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the terminal device, etc. Similarly, the network device can also be replaced by internal circuitry or chips (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.); it can also be replaced by logic modules or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the network device, etc. This application does not limit this. Furthermore, the steps described below as being performed by a single execution entity can also be divided into steps performed by multiple execution entities, which can be logically and / or physically separated.

[0142] As an example, Figure 6 This is a schematic flowchart of the communication method 600 provided in an embodiment of this application. For ease of understanding and explanation, the parameters involved in method 600 are briefly explained below:

[0143] L: The number of channel sets configured by the network device through the second information, or the number of channel sets based on the smallest granularity partition, where L is a positive integer greater than 1;

[0144] M: The number of channels determined by the terminal device based on the threshold indicated by the first information, where M is a positive integer less than L;

[0145] N: The number of channel sets determined at one time on the terminal device. N is a positive integer less than or equal to L and greater than or equal to M.

[0146] P: A subset of the N channel sets determined at one time on the terminal device. That is, the P channel sets are subsets of the N channel sets, and P is a positive integer less than N.

[0147] Q: The number of channel sets obtained by updating P channel sets according to the threshold indicated by the first information, where Q is a positive integer less than P and less than M.

[0148] As shown in the figure, method 600 may include steps 601 to 603. Optionally, it may also include one or more steps 604 to 615. The various steps in method 600 are described in detail below.

[0149] In step 601, the network device determines a threshold, which is used to determine the channel set.

[0150] Network devices can determine thresholds when channel measurement is required, such as when data needs to be sent to or from terminal devices, so that terminal devices can determine channel sets based on these thresholds. Because terminal devices are highly mobile, the number of terminal devices within the area corresponding to each channel set within the network device's coverage area may vary, as may the density of terminal devices within that area. Therefore, thresholds can be determined for determining channel sets.

[0151] For example, the threshold could be a threshold used to characterize the correlation between two channel sets, and thus could be used by a terminal device to determine whether to merge two compared channel sets into one channel set. For instance, the threshold could be a similarity threshold; the higher the threshold, the less likely the correlation between the two compared channel sets is to reach (more specifically, be greater than or equal to, or be greater than) the threshold, and therefore the less likely the two channel sets are to be merged; the lower the threshold, the more likely the correlation between the two compared channel sets is to reach the threshold, and therefore the more likely the two channel sets are to be merged. As another example, the threshold could also be a distance threshold; the lower the threshold, the less likely the correlation between the two compared channel sets is to reach the threshold (more specifically, be less than or equal to, or be less than) the threshold, and therefore the less likely the two channel sets are to be merged; the higher the threshold, the more likely the correlation between the two compared channel sets is to reach the threshold, and therefore the more likely the two channel sets are to be merged.

[0152] Since step 603 below will explain in detail the process of determining the M channel sets based on the threshold with specific examples, the threshold will not be described in detail here.

[0153] For example, a network device can determine a threshold based on an initial value, adjusting it according to factors such as service requirements and the distribution of terminal devices within the cell. This initial value can be, for example, a default value pre-configured in the network device, or a predefined value. This application does not limit this. The network device can adjust the initial value, for example, according to the accuracy requirements of the service. For instance, for services with high accuracy requirements, the channel can be divided into multiple channel sets as much as possible to obtain higher estimation or measurement accuracy, thus allowing for a higher similarity threshold or a lower distance threshold. For services with lower accuracy requirements, it is unnecessary to divide the channel into too many channel sets, thereby saving air interface overhead from reference signals, thus allowing for a lower similarity threshold or a higher distance threshold. As another example, for cases with low terminal device density within the cell, it is unnecessary to incur significant air interface overhead, i.e., it is not necessary to divide the channel into too many channel sets, thus allowing for a lower similarity threshold or a higher distance threshold.

[0154] It should be understood that the specific method by which the network device determines the threshold is the internal implementation of the network device, and this application does not limit this.

[0155] In step 602, the network device sends first information to the terminal device, which indicates a threshold. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the network device.

[0156] The network device can indicate the determined threshold to the terminal device through first information, so that the terminal device can determine the channel set based on the threshold. This application does not limit the specific method by which the network device indicates the threshold through the first information.

[0157] In step 603, the terminal device determines M channel sets based on the threshold.

[0158] It should be noted that the number M of the M channel sets is neither predetermined by signaling nor predefined. In other words, the terminal device does not know in advance the number of channel sets that can be determined based on the threshold. The terminal device can determine which channel sets can be merged and which cannot be merged based on the threshold and the currently known multiple channel sets, and then update the multiple channel sets. When the correlation between any two channel sets and the threshold satisfies a preset condition, the updating of the channel sets stops, and the resulting one or more channel sets are the M channel sets.

[0159] The currently known multiple channel sets can be the N channel sets determined by the terminal device in the previous step. The N channel sets determined by the terminal device in the previous step can be understood as follows: the network device can configure L channel sets to the terminal device through signaling. If step 603 is the first update after the terminal device receives the configuration of the L channel sets, then the previously determined N channel sets are the L channel sets, that is, N equals L. If the terminal device has already performed one or more channel set updates before step 603, then the previously determined N channel sets can refer to the channel sets obtained from the previous update, which can be obtained by updating based on the multiple channel sets determined in the previous step. That is, the t-th update of the channel sets can be an update of the channel sets obtained from the (t-1)-th update, where t is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0160] One possible scenario is that the network device may not specify the objects to be updated, and the terminal device can update the channel sets globally within the previously determined N channel sets. Step 603 may specifically include: the terminal device updates the previously determined N channel sets according to a threshold, obtaining M channel sets. The channels corresponding to the N channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets.

[0161] Another possible scenario is that the network device can specify the update target within the range of the previously determined N channel sets, indicating that an update should be performed on a portion of the channel sets. The terminal device can update the channel sets within a local range of the previously determined N channel sets, while other channel sets can remain unchanged. Step 603 may specifically include: the terminal device updates a portion (e.g., P) of the previously determined N channel sets according to a threshold, resulting in M ​​channel sets. These M channel sets include Q channel sets updated from the P channel sets, and (N-P) channel sets other than the P channel sets from the N channel sets. In other words, M = Q + N-P. In this case, the network device can also indicate the update target, i.e., the P channel sets, through the first information. Optionally, the first information is also used to indicate the P channel sets, which are multiple channel sets from the previously determined N channel sets. The channels corresponding to the P channel sets include the channels corresponding to the Q channel sets, and the channels corresponding to the N channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets.

[0162] For example, the P channel set could be a channel set with a low distribution density of terminal devices within the corresponding area. Alternatively, the P channel set could be a channel set where the corresponding area is far from the terminal device.

[0163] In this context, the channel set refers primarily to the channel environment corresponding to that channel set. The channel environment refers to the medium and conditions of signal transmission in wireless communication, including the physical transmission medium and environmental factors affecting signal propagation. The channel environment has a significant impact on communication quality. The physical transmission medium can be radio waves, optical fibers, coaxial cables, etc. Environmental factors affecting signal propagation refer to the various environmental factors that influence the signal during propagation, such as multipath effects, fading, and interference.

[0164] The relationship between N channel sets and M channel sets can be understood through the following example. Assume the N channel sets are actually 4 channel sets, each containing 2 channels, meaning the 4 channel sets contain 8 channels, numbered from channel #1 to channel #8. Updating these N channel sets yields M channel sets. These M channel sets can include channels #1 to #8; or a subset of channels #1 to #8; or channels obtained by merging another subset of channels #1 to #8, such as channels #1 to #6, and channels obtained by merging channels #7 and #8. Although the channels included in these M channel sets differ from those included in the N channel sets, the channel environment corresponding to the M channel sets is the same as that corresponding to the channels in the N channel sets. Therefore, it can be said that the channels corresponding to the N channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets.

[0165] The relationship between the P-channel set and the Q-channel set can be understood by referring to the explanation of the relationship between the N-channel set and the M-channel set above, and will not be repeated here.

[0166] In one possible implementation, the terminal device can update the channel set based on the correlation between the channel sets.

[0167] The correlation between two channel sets can be determined by one or more of the following: the MPC of the two channel sets, the reference channels of the two channel sets, the precoding corresponding to the reference channels of the two channel sets, the projection matrices corresponding to the reference channels of the two channel sets, etc. These items can be understood as several examples of the specific quantities mentioned in the previous terminology explanation. In other words, the terminal device can update the channel sets based on the correlation between the specific quantities of the channel sets. These specific quantities can be determined based on the reference channel information of the previously determined N channel sets. For example, the reference channel information may include the reference channels, from which the corresponding precoding, projection matrices, MPC, etc., can be determined, which will not be elaborated further.

[0168] The degree of correlation can be calculated using functions such as similarity or distance. For example, the correlation between two channel sets can be determined by the similarity of their MPCs; another example is the distance between the channel matrices of their reference channels (i.e., examples of reference channel information); yet another example is the weighted sum of the following terms: the similarity of their MPCs and the similarity of their reference channel matrices, where the weighting coefficients can be predefined or indicated by the network device, without limitation.

[0169] For ease of understanding, the following description uses the update of N channel sets as an example. Assuming relevance is represented by similarity, and the threshold indicated by the first information is the similarity threshold, the terminal device can calculate the pairwise similarity between any two of the N channel sets, resulting in N×(N-1) values. These N×(N-1) values ​​are then sorted in descending order of similarity, and the channel sets with the highest similarity are merged, resulting in (N-1) channel sets. The terminal device can then calculate the pairwise similarity between any two of these (N-1) channel sets, resulting in (N-1)×(N-2) values. These (N-1)×(N-2) values ​​are then sorted in descending order of similarity, and the channel sets with the highest similarity are merged, resulting in (N-2) channel sets. This process is iterated until the similarity between any two of the resulting channel sets is less than the similarity threshold, at which point the update stops. Thus, M channel sets are obtained.

[0170] It should be understood that the above description of the process of a terminal device updating based on N channel sets, using N channel sets and a similarity threshold as an example, should not constitute any limitation on this application. The similarity threshold can also be replaced by a distance threshold, in which case the preset condition for stopping the update can be that the distance between any two channel sets among the multiple updated channel sets is greater than the distance threshold. Furthermore, the process of the terminal device updating based on P channel sets is similar and will not be described again.

[0171] Based on the above scheme, terminal devices can divide channels according to the correlation between channel sets, so that multiple channels with high correlation are assigned to the same channel set, and multiple channels with low correlation are assigned to different channel sets. Since channels with high correlation have similar channel environments, different terminal devices can use the same reference channel information to assist communication when transmitting data with network devices using different channels in the same channel set, without necessarily requiring the network device to send a reference signal for each terminal device to obtain a channel estimate. This reduces the air interface overhead caused by reference signals.

[0172] Furthermore, due to the high mobility of terminal devices, the allocation of channel sets is not fixed. Terminal devices can update the channel sets in real time according to the thresholds indicated by the network devices, thereby adapting the allocation of channel sets to the distribution of terminal devices within the current cell. In other words, the allocation of channel sets is more accurate, which helps terminal devices obtain more accurate channel information to assist communication and improves spectrum efficiency.

[0173] Furthermore, network devices can adjust thresholds in real time based on service requirements and the distribution of terminal devices within the cell. For example, for services with high precision requirements, adjusting the threshold can make the channel set division more granular; for services with lower precision requirements, adjusting the threshold can make the channel set division coarser. Similarly, for cases where the distribution density of terminal devices within the cell is low, adjusting the threshold can make the channel set division coarser. This can significantly reduce air interface overhead.

[0174] In one possible design, the network device can also determine the M channel sets based on a threshold. In this way, the network device's partitioning of the channel sets is synchronized with, or consistent with, the partitioning of the channel sets by the terminal devices. This provides a reference for the network device to determine the threshold for the next channel set update, and also provides a reference for the network device to schedule terminal devices.

[0175] Optionally, the method further includes step 604: the network device determines a set of M channels based on a threshold.

[0176] Through steps 603 and 604, the network device and the terminal device can determine M channel sets based on the same threshold.

[0177] It should be understood that the specific process by which the network device determines the set of M channels based on the threshold is similar to the specific process by which the terminal device determines the set of M channels based on the threshold. Please refer to the detailed explanation in step 603 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0178] It should also be understood that steps 604 and 603 can be executed simultaneously, or they can be executed before or after step 603. This application does not limit this.

[0179] Optionally, prior to step 601, the method further includes:

[0180] Step 605: The network device determines L channel sets and reference channel information for each of the L channel sets; and

[0181] In step 606, the network device sends second information to the terminal device, which indicates L channel sets and reference channel information for each of the L channel sets. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second information from the network device.

[0182] In step 605, the network device may determine L channel sets within its network coverage area, such as within a cell. These L channel sets can be obtained by the network device dividing multiple channels within its network coverage area according to a specific amount of similarity. A more detailed explanation of the division of these L channel sets can be found in the detailed description of channel sets in the terminology explanation above, and will not be repeated here.

[0183] For example, a network device can determine L channel sets based on the cell divisions based on channel characteristics in a channel knowledge map (or channel map). For instance, these L channel sets can be obtained by performing the finest-grained cell division based on channel characteristics. These L channel sets can also be determined using other methods. For example, channels with high correlation can be grouped into one channel set based on their correlation with each other. This application does not limit the method for determining the L channel sets. The smallest granularity can be understood as follows: during the channel set update process based on these L channel sets, after one or more updates, the number of channel sets is less than or equal to L, but not greater than L.

[0184] For each channel set, the network device can determine the corresponding reference channel information. One possible approach is to determine the centroid channel of the channel set as the reference channel. Reference channel information can be used to represent this reference channel. For example, the reference channel information may include the channel matrix of the reference channel, and optionally, it may also include the projection matrix, precoding, etc., of the reference channel. The projection matrix and precoding of the reference channel can be determined by the channel matrix of the reference channel. The relationship between the channel matrix and precoding of the reference channel can be found in existing technologies and will not be elaborated further. The relationship between the channel matrix and projection matrix of the reference channel can be found in the following text. Figure 7 The description. For example, reference channel information may include the MPC of the reference channel.

[0185] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between the reference channel and the projection matrix provided in an embodiment of this application. The reference channel can be represented by a channel matrix. Figure 7 The channel matrix H passing through the centroid channel (i.e., an example of the reference channel) centroid Let U be the projection matrix of the centroid channel (or reference channel). Matrix H is the projection matrix of the centroid channel. centroid The dimension is x×y, where x represents the dimension related to the spatial frequency domain (e.g., the number of transmit antenna ports, the number of frequency domain elements, etc.), which can be equal to the number of transmit antenna ports × the number of frequency domain elements; y represents the dimension related to the spatial domain, time domain, etc. (e.g., the number of receive antenna ports, the number of time domain elements, etc.), which can be equal to the number of receive antenna ports × the number of time domain elements.

[0186] For Hcentroid Singular value decomposition (SVD) yields:

[0187] H centroid =U H ×S H ×(V H ) H .

[0188] The superscript H indicates the conjugate transpose. H U is an x×x dimensional unitary matrix. H The column vectors of V can be called left singular vectors. H ) H V is a unitary matrix of y×y dimensions. H The column vectors of S can be called right singular vectors. H For an x×y dimensional matrix, the elements on the diagonal can be called singular values.

[0189] For matrix U H Taking the first r columns, we can form a matrix U, i.e., U = U H [:,1,r], representing the matrix U H Taking columns 1 to r from the given matrix U, we obtain matrix U as an x×r dimensional matrix, where r is a positive integer less than x. Using this matrix U as the projection matrix, we can obtain the centroid channel H. centroid Its corresponding projection matrix U satisfies:

[0190] H centroid =U×C.

[0191] Wherein, the column number r of the projection matrix U represents the centroid channel H centroid The dimension of the projection onto the subspace, which can be used to determine the transmission resources of the reference signal. Matrix C is an r×y dimensional matrix consisting of r×y coefficients.

[0192] In step 606, the network device can indicate the L channel sets and the reference channel information corresponding to each channel set to the terminal device through the second information. The terminal device can then determine the L channel sets and the reference channel information corresponding to each channel set based on the second information. Subsequently, the terminal device can synchronously update the reference channel information corresponding to each channel set according to the updates to the channel sets.

[0193] In one possible design, the network device can configure basic clustering parameters through second information, which may include one or more of the following: the number of channel sets (i.e., L), the number (or identifier, index) of each channel set in the L channel sets, the specific quantity of each channel set in the L channel sets, the resource pattern corresponding to each channel set in the L channel sets, and the channel estimation auxiliary information for each channel set in the L channel sets.

[0194] The number of each channel set can be used to indicate a channel set.

[0195] In one possible design, the L channel sets are nested. Specifically, the L channel sets can be merged into (L-1) channel sets; (L-1) channel sets can be merged into (L-2) channel sets, and so on. Each merge combines the two most similar channel sets from the previously determined set into one channel set. That is, each update step is one channel set, ultimately resulting in one merged channel set. Conversely, one channel set can be split into two channel sets, two channel sets can be split into three channel sets, and so on. Each split split divides one channel set from the previously determined set into two channel sets. That is, each update step is one channel set, ultimately resulting in L channel sets.

[0196] Accordingly, the numbering of these L channel sets can also be nested. For example, the numbering of each channel set can be represented in the form of xx. When a channel set is split into two channel sets, ".x" can be added to the end of the channel set's number to identify the two split channel sets. When two channel sets are merged into one channel set, the ".x" can be removed from the end of the two channel set numbers to identify the merged single channel set.

[0197] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the nested relationship between the numbering of the L channel sets provided in this application embodiment. For example... Figure 8 As shown in (a), the x-axis and y-axis represent unit length in different directions. Different regions in the figure (shown by curves of different gray levels) correspond to different sets of channels. Figure 8 (b) shows the division based on different criteria. Figure 8 The regions shown in (a) are the channel set numbers when they are divided into regions corresponding to 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 channel sets, respectively. The 5-channel-set division is based on the smallest granularity; that is, the 5-channel-set is an example of L-channel-sets. Figure 8As shown in (b), when the region corresponds to 1 channel set, it is numbered "2"; if the region corresponds to 2 channel sets, that is, the 1 channel set of the previous layer is split, the numbers can be "2.1" and "2.2"; if the region corresponds to 3 channel sets, that is, the 2 channel sets of the previous layer are split, the numbers can be "2.1", "2.2.1" and "2.2.2"; if the region corresponds to 4 channel sets, that is, the 3 channel sets of the previous layer are split, the numbers can be "2.1.1", "2.1.2", "2.2.1" and "2.2.2"; if the region corresponds to 5 channel sets, that is, the 4 channel sets of the previous layer are split, the numbers can be "2.1.1", "2.1.2", "2.2.1.1", "2.2.1.2" and "2.2.2". As can be seen, channel sets "2.2.1.1" and "2.2.1.2" can be obtained by splitting channel set "2.2.2", or in other words, channel set "2.2.2" can be obtained by merging channel sets "2.2.1.1" and "2.2.1.2"; channel sets "2.2.1" and "2.2.2" can be obtained by splitting channel set "2.2", or in other words, channel set "2.2" can be obtained by splitting channel set "2.2". The channel set “2.1.1” and “2.1.2” can be obtained by merging the channel set “2.1” and “2.1.2”; the channel set “2.1” can be obtained by splitting the channel set “2.1”, or in other words, the channel set “2.1” can be obtained by merging the channel sets “2.1.1” and “2.1.2”; the channel set “2.1” and “2.2” can be obtained by splitting the channel set “2”, or in other words, the channel set “2” can be obtained by merging the channel sets “2.1” and “2.2”.

[0198] It should be understood that the above text, in combination with... Figure 8 The numbering of the nested channel sets illustrated is merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this application. The numbering of channel sets can also be defined in other ways, and this application does not impose any limitations on this.

[0199] It should also be understood that the above text, in combination with... Figure 8 The examples provided are merely illustrative to facilitate understanding of the nested relationships between the channel set numbers. This application does not limit the update step size of each channel set. In other words, the update step size of the channel set update based on the scheme provided in this application can be one or more channel sets.

[0200] Specific quantities for each channel set may include, for example, one or more of the following: the MPC of the reference channel (e.g., centroid MPC), the centroid position (or the coordinate / location / position of the centroid channel), the channel matrix of the centroid channel (or the reference channel), the precoding matrix indicator (PMI) corresponding to the centroid channel (or the reference channel), and the projection matrix corresponding to the centroid channel (or the reference channel), etc.

[0201] Each channel set can correspond to a resource pattern. The resource pattern indicates the transmission resources for a reference signal; therefore, terminal devices using channels within the same channel set for data transmission can receive the reference signal based on the same resource pattern. In other words, the resource pattern is common within the channel set.

[0202] Channel estimation auxiliary information can be used to assist terminal devices in channel estimation, thereby improving the accuracy and reliability of channel estimation. The channel estimation auxiliary information can also be public within the channel set. As an example, channel estimation auxiliary information may include, but is not limited to, channel estimation methods (e.g., minimum mean square error estimation (MMSE), maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), etc.), filtering for channel estimation (e.g., Wiener filter), and interpolation coefficients, etc., which are included but not limited to in this application.

[0203] Understandably, if L is 1, meaning the number of channel sets within the network device's coverage area is 1, the aforementioned resource pattern is a common resource pattern within the cell; in other words, this resource pattern is a cell-level resource pattern. Correspondingly, reference channel information, channel estimation auxiliary information, etc., are also cell-level.

[0204] If the number of terminal devices in the region corresponding to a channel set is 1, that is, the resource pattern corresponding to that channel set is a UE-level resource pattern, or a UE-specific resource pattern. Accordingly, reference channel information, channel estimation auxiliary information, etc., are also UE-level.

[0205] For example, the second information mentioned above can be carried in higher-layer signaling, such as radio resource control (RRC) messages or medium access control (MAC) control elements (CE).

[0206] It should be noted that, as can be seen from the description of step 603 above, the channel set update mainly involves merging two channel sets when their correlation is high. Therefore, the number M of the resulting M channel sets is less than the number N of the original N channel sets. It can be understood that if, during step 603, the terminal device, or during step 604, determines that the correlation between any two channel sets among the N channel sets does not meet the preset rule, then updating the N channel sets is unnecessary. The following description focuses on the case where an update has been performed, i.e., M is less than N.

[0207] Optionally, the method further includes step 607: the terminal device obtains reference channel information for the M channel sets.

[0208] There are several ways for a terminal device to obtain reference channel information for a set of M channels. For example, the terminal device can determine the reference channel information for the set of M channels itself; or, the terminal device can receive the reference channel information for the set of M channels from the network device. In other words, the reference channel information for the set of M channels can be determined by the network device and then sent to the terminal device.

[0209] Optionally, the method further includes step 608: the network device determines reference channel information for the M channel sets.

[0210] The following details the process of determining the reference channel information for the M channel sets.

[0211] The terminal device can determine the reference channel information corresponding to each of the M channel sets determined in step 603; alternatively, the network device can determine the reference channel information corresponding to each of the M channel sets determined in step 604. As mentioned above, the M channel sets are mainly obtained by updating the N channel sets, and the update mainly refers to merging the channel sets. Therefore, the reference channel information of the M channel sets can also be determined based on the reference channel information of the N channel sets.

[0212] For ease of understanding and explanation, the channel set obtained by merging M channel sets is denoted as the merged channel set, and the corresponding merged channel set is denoted as the original channel set. Each merged channel set can be obtained by merging multiple original channel sets. The reference channel information of each merged channel set is determined by the reference channel information of its corresponding multiple original channel sets.

[0213] Optionally, the reference channel information of the merged channel set can be the algebraic average of the reference channel information of the corresponding multiple unmerged channel sets. For example, if the m-th channel set in M ​​channel sets is obtained by merging Z channel sets in N channel sets, then the channel matrix h of the reference channel of the m-th channel set in M ​​channel sets is... m (That is, an example of reference channel information) and the channel matrix h of the reference channels of Z channels out of N channel sets. z satisfy:

[0214] Optionally, the reference channel information of the merged channel set is a weighted average of the reference channel information of the corresponding multiple unmerged channel sets. For example, if the m-th channel set in M ​​channel sets is obtained by merging Z channel sets in N channel sets, then the channel matrix h of the reference channel of the m-th channel set in M ​​channel sets is... m (That is, an example of reference channel information) and the channel matrix h of the reference channels of Z channels out of N channel sets. z satisfy: Where, α z The channel matrix h of the reference channel for the z-th channel set z The weighting coefficients, or in other words, the weighting coefficients of the reference channel information for the z-th channel set, 0 ≤ α z ≤1.

[0215] Furthermore, the weighting coefficients of the reference channel information for each pre-merge channel set can be predefined, such as by protocol predefinition. Alternatively, the weighting coefficients of the reference channel information for each pre-merge channel set can be determined based on one or more of the following: the distribution density of terminal devices within the area corresponding to each pre-merge channel set, the area of ​​the area corresponding to each pre-merge channel set, and the distance between the centroid position of each pre-merge channel set and the centroid position of the merged channel set. Comparatively, if the distribution density of terminal devices within the area corresponding to the pre-merge channel set is large, or the area corresponding to the pre-merge channel set is large, or the distance between the centroid position of the pre-merge channel set and the centroid position of the merged channel set is small, then the reference channel information of that pre-merge channel set can be given a larger weight; if the distribution area of ​​terminal devices within the area corresponding to the pre-merge channel set is small, or the area corresponding to the pre-merge channel set is small, or the distance between the centroid position of the merged channel set and the centroid position of the merged channel set is large, then the reference channel information of that pre-merge channel set can be given a smaller weight.

[0216] Based on the above process, both the network device and the terminal device have completed one update of the channel set and the reference channel information of each channel set. Afterwards, the network device and the terminal device can assist in communication based on the updated channel set and the reference channel information of each channel set.

[0217] It should be understood that the specific method for determining the reference channel information of the M channel sets exemplified above is merely an example and should not constitute any limitation on this application. This application does not limit the specific implementation method of the reference channel information of the M channel sets.

[0218] It should also be understood that in the process illustrated above, step 603 can be combined with step 607, and step 604 can be combined with step 608. In other words, the terminal device and network device can directly determine the reference channel information of the M channel sets based on the threshold, without necessarily determining the M channel sets first and then determining the reference channel information of each channel set.

[0219] Although each channel set can correspond to the same reference channel information, the reference channel information may not accurately reflect the CSI, MPC, and other information between the terminal device and the network device. The reference channel information only roughly reflects the channel environment between the terminal device and the network device. Therefore, in some cases, the network device can also obtain feedback from the terminal device on the channel measurement results by sending reference signals, such as CSI-RS, to obtain a more accurate CSI of the target channel. In this embodiment, the network device can determine the transmission resources of the reference signal based on the channel set corresponding to the area where the terminal device is located, and then send the reference signal on the determined transmission resources.

[0220] Optionally, the method further includes step 609, whereby the terminal device determines the target channel set.

[0221] In this embodiment, the target channel set can refer to the channel set corresponding to the region to which the terminal device's location belongs. As mentioned earlier, a channel set can also be understood as a set of terminal devices or a group of terminal devices. Therefore, when a terminal device determines the target channel set, it can also be said that the terminal device determines the set or group of terminal devices it belongs to. Since a channel set can also be called a cluster, when a terminal device determines the target channel set, it can also be said that the terminal device determines the cluster it belongs to.

[0222] In one possible implementation, the terminal device can determine the target channel set based on historical measurement results. For example, after configuring L channel sets using second information, the network device can transmit reference signals, such as SSBs, based on these L channel sets. Transmitting reference signals based on the L channel sets can mean determining resource patterns based on the reference channel information of the L channel sets, and then transmitting reference signals on the resource patterns determined by the reference channel information of the L channel sets respectively. In other words, the L channel sets correspond one-to-one with L resource patterns. Therefore, the reference signals received by the terminal device on different resources correspond to different channel sets. The terminal device can determine the channel set with the highest RSRQ or RSRP from the L channel sets based on the reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ) or reference signal receiving power (RSRP) of the reference signals transmitted on different resources. Since the L channel sets may have been updated once or multiple times, resulting in M ​​channel sets, the terminal device can determine the target channel set as the channel set corresponding to the highest RSRQ or RSRP among the M channel sets.

[0223] In another possible implementation, the terminal device can determine the target channel set based on the reference channel information of the M channel sets and its own corresponding quantities. For example, the terminal device can determine the target channel set based on the M channel sets' MPC (Mean Differential Concordance) and the channel set with the highest similarity or smallest distance to the MPC measured by the terminal device. Alternatively, the terminal device can determine the target channel set based on the centroid positions of the M channel sets and the channel set with the smallest distance between its centroid position and its target position. Yet another example is that the terminal device can determine the target channel set based on the centroid channels of the M channel sets and the channel set with the highest similarity or smallest distance to its target channel.

[0224] It is easy to understand that, based on the above implementation method, the channel environment corresponding to the target channel set determined by the terminal device is relatively close to the channel environment of the terminal device. The terminal device can use the reference channel information of the target channel set to assist communication, for example, to perform data demodulation based on the reference channel information of the target channel set, etc., without limitation.

[0225] The foregoing provides examples of various possible implementations for a terminal device to determine a target channel set. These examples are provided for ease of understanding only and should not be construed as limiting this application. Based on the same concept, those skilled in the art can conceive of many more ways for a terminal device to determine a target channel set, and this application includes, but is not limited to, these methods.

[0226] Optionally, the method further includes step 610, in which the terminal device sends third information to the network device, the third information indicating a target channel set. Accordingly, the network device receives the third information from the terminal device.

[0227] In one possible implementation, the third information can indicate the target channel set using a bitmap. For example, the bitmap can include M indicator bits, each corresponding to one of the M channel sets, where each indicator bit can indicate whether the corresponding channel set is the target channel set. In this case, the third information can indicate the target channel set using an overhead of M bits. For example, if M is 4, and the target channel set is the 4th channel set among the M channel sets, then the target channel set can be indicated using the bitmap "0001". The order of the M channel sets can be determined according to a preset rule, for example, according to the above... Figure 8 The numbering method shown in (b) determines the M channel sets, thus indicating that they correspond to... Figure 8 In the layer with 4 channel sets in (b), the 4 indicator bits correspond one-to-one with the 4 channel sets in the order from left to right. The 4th channel set in the M channel sets can be the channel set numbered "2.2.2".

[0228] In another possible implementation, the third information can indicate the target channel set through its number or the information corresponding to that number. For example, if M is 3 and the target channel set is the second of the three channel sets, it can be indicated through the number of that second channel set or the information corresponding to that number. The numbers corresponding to the M channel sets can be determined by combining the above... Figure 8The numbering method shown in (b) determines that the second channel set in the M channel sets can be indicated by the number "2.2.1". Alternatively, the network device and the terminal device can also correspond the multiple numbers to multiple identifiers according to pre-negotiated rules to obtain the correspondence between the multiple numbers and multiple identifiers, and then indicate the target channel set by the identifier corresponding to the number of the target channel set. For example, in order from top to bottom and from left to right, the correspondence between the multiple numbers and multiple identifiers is as follows: number "2" corresponds to "0001", number "2.1" corresponds to "0010", number "2.2" corresponds to "0011", number "2.2.1" corresponds to "0100", number "2.2.2" corresponds to "0101", number "2.1.1" corresponds to "0110", number "2.1.2" corresponds to "0111", number "2.2.1.1" corresponds to "1000", and number "2.2.1.2" corresponds to "1001".

[0229] It should be understood that the indication of the target channel set exemplified above is merely an example and should not constitute any limitation on this application. This application includes, but is not limited to, this.

[0230] Optionally, the method further includes step 611: the terminal device determines the transmission resources of the reference signal based on the target channel set.

[0231] The terminal device can determine the transmission resources of the reference signal based on the reference channels of the target channel set. For example, the terminal device can determine the projection matrix corresponding to the target channel set from the reference channels of the target channel set, and then determine the resource pattern of the reference signal from the projection matrix, that is, determine the transmission resources of the reference signal.

[0232] The process of determining the projection matrix from the reference channels of the target channel set can be found in the above text. Figure 7 To understand this from the description, after matrix decomposition, the channel matrix of the reference channel (e.g., the centroid channel H mentioned above) can be obtained. centroid The resource map is decomposed into a projection matrix U and a coefficient matrix C. The process of determining the resource map based on the projection and the reference signal can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 9 .like Figure 9 As shown, a projection matrix U of dimension x×r can be decomposed to obtain r principal components of the projection matrix U, such as... Figure 9 The r principal components are shown by the thick black solid line in the diagram. Their positions in the projection matrix U can be considered as a resource pattern for the reference signal, which can be used to determine the transmission resources of the reference signal. As mentioned earlier, the dimension x of the projection matrix U is equal to the number of transmit antenna ports × the number of frequency domain elements. That is, the x rows correspond to x combinations of transmit antenna ports and frequency domain elements. Therefore, the transmit antenna ports and frequency domain elements of the reference signal can be determined by the row numbers of the r principal components in the projection matrix U.

[0233] It can be understood that by performing matrix decomposition on the projection matrix U, r principal components are obtained, thereby achieving dimensionality reduction of the projection matrix U. Here, r is much smaller than x (i.e., r << x), and the transmission resources of the reference signal determined by this are sparse, thus reducing the resource overhead of the reference signal.

[0234] Optionally, the method further includes step 612: the network device determines the transmission resources of the reference signal based on the target channel set indicated by the third information.

[0235] Network devices can determine the target channel set based on third-party information, and then determine the transmission resources of the reference signal based on the reference channel information of the target channel set. The specific process by which the network device determines the transmission resources of the reference signal based on the reference channel information of the target channel set can be found in the detailed explanation of step 611 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0236] Optionally, the method further includes step 613: the network device sends a reference signal. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the reference signal.

[0237] For example, the network device may transmit the reference signal, such as CSI-RS, on the transmission resources of the reference signal determined in step 612. The terminal device may receive the reference signal on the transmission resources of the reference signal determined in step 611.

[0238] Optionally, the method further includes step 614: the terminal device performs channel measurement based on the reference signal to obtain the measurement result.

[0239] The specific implementation of channel measurement based on the reference channel by the terminal device can be found in existing technologies and will not be detailed here. For example, assuming the terminal device is the k-th terminal device among multiple terminal devices communicating with the network device, and the determined target channel set is the j-th channel set among M channel sets, the measurement result includes one or more of the following: the channel matrix h measured by the terminal device. j，k , and the channel matrix h j，k The corresponding coefficient c j，k The corresponding RI, PMI, RSRP, RSRQ, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR) are associated with the target channel.

[0240] Among them, h j，k This represents the channel matrix obtained by measuring the reference signal transmitted by the k-th terminal device based on the reference channel information of the j-th channel set; the measured channel matrix h j，kChannel matrix H of the target channel k The following conditions must be met between H: k =U j ×θ j -1 ×h j，k U j θ represents the projection matrix corresponding to the reference channel of the target channel set. j This represents the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the target channel set.

[0241] coefficient c j，k Satisfy: c j，k =θ j -1 ×h j，k That is, the coefficients can be obtained by measuring the channel matrix h from the reference signal transmitted by the k-th terminal device based on the reference channel information of the j-th channel set. j，k Calculated. Coefficient c j，k Channel matrix H of the target channel k The following conditions must be met between H: k =U j ×c j，k .

[0242] The PMI corresponding to the target channel can be determined by the channel matrix of the target channel. For specific determination methods, please refer to existing technologies, which will not be detailed here.

[0243] Optionally, the method further includes step 615: the terminal device sends the measurement results to the network device. Accordingly, the network device receives the measurement results from the terminal device.

[0244] The terminal device can feed back the measurement result to the network device through CSI.

[0245] Based on this measurement result, network devices can perform corresponding operations as needed. For example, network devices can use the channel matrix h obtained from the measurement fed back by the terminal device. j，k or coefficient c j，k Determine the channel matrix H of the target channel. k And can be based on the channel matrix H of the target channel. k This involves determining information such as precoding and MPC. For example, network devices can determine precoding based on the PMI of the target channel fed back by the terminal device.

[0246] It should be understood that the operations performed by the network device based on the measurement results are part of the network device's internal implementation, and this application does not limit this.

[0247] It should also be understood that although only one update of the channel set is shown in this embodiment, this should not constitute any limitation on this application. Network devices and terminal devices can update the channel set once or multiple times based on the aforementioned steps 601 to 604; they can also obtain updated reference channel information, perform target channel measurement and feedback, etc., based on the aforementioned steps 607 to 615. In other words, after steps 605 and 606, steps 601 to 604 and steps 607 to 615 can be repeated. Each update of the channel set can be based on the channel set obtained from the previous update, and each acquisition of updated reference channel information can be determined based on the reference channel information from the previous update. For simplicity, further details are omitted here.

[0248] Based on the above scheme, the network device determines the transmission resources for the reference signal according to the target channel set, and then transmits the reference signal on these transmission resources. The terminal device can then perform channel measurements based on the reference channel received on these transmission resources. Since the transmission resources for the reference signal are determined based on the reference channel information of the target channel set, the determination of these transmission resources takes into account the channel environment between the terminal device and the network device. For example, it could be the principal components of the projection matrix. This means that the transmission resources are selected from various combinations of transmit antenna ports and frequency domain resource elements, choosing the r most important resource elements. This achieves both overhead reduction and preservation of important features. Therefore, it helps the terminal device obtain more accurate measurement results of the target channel and contributes to improving spectrum efficiency.

[0249] Furthermore, since multiple terminal devices may exist within the area corresponding to this channel set, all of these terminal devices can receive the reference signal and perform channel measurements based on it. Thus, network devices do not need to send a reference signal to each terminal device; terminal devices corresponding to the same channel set can perform channel measurements based on the same reference signal, further reducing the air interface overhead caused by the reference signal.

[0250] As an example, Figure 10 This is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 1000 provided in another embodiment of this application. For ease of understanding and explanation, several parameters involved in method 1000 are briefly explained below:

[0251] A: The number of channel sets configured by the network device through the fourth information, where A is a positive integer greater than 1;

[0252] B: The number of channel sets obtained by the network device by updating A channel sets, where B is a positive integer less than A.

[0253] It should be noted that the fourth information in Method 1000 is similar to the second information in Method 600; both can be considered as configuration information for channel sets and can be used to configure the basic clustering parameters of the channel sets. The A channel sets in Method 1000 are similar to the L channel sets in Method 600; they are multiple channel sets configured by the network device using the channel set configuration information. These multiple channel sets can be obtained based on the smallest granularity partitioning. For details regarding the channel set configuration information, basic clustering parameters, and the A channel sets, please refer to the detailed explanation of the second information and the L channel sets in Method 600 above; further elaboration will not be repeated here.

[0254] As shown in the figure, the method 1000 may include steps 1010 to 1030. Optionally, it may also include one or more steps 1040 to 1060. The various steps in method 1000 are described in detail below.

[0255] In step 1010, the network device determines A sets of channels.

[0256] The method by which the network device determines the A sets of channels is the same as the method by which the network device determines the L sets of channels in step 605 of method 600 above. Please refer to the relevant description in step 605, which will not be repeated here.

[0257] In step 1020, the network device sends fourth information to the first terminal device, which indicates A channel sets. Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the fourth information from the network device.

[0258] To facilitate differentiation between the terminal device used to execute method 1000 and other terminal devices, in this embodiment, the terminal device used to execute method 1000 is referred to as the first terminal device. It can be understood that the first terminal device can be any terminal device within the coverage area of ​​the network device, and the first terminal device can be a terminal device with a communication connection to the network device. For example, the first terminal device can be a service terminal of the network device.

[0259] Similar to the second information in method 600 above, this fourth information can be used to indicate A channel sets, specifically indicating one or more of the following: the number of the A channel sets (i.e., A), the number of the A channel sets, a specific quantity of each channel set in the A channel sets, the resource pattern corresponding to each channel set in the L channel sets, and the channel estimation auxiliary information for each channel set in the A two channel sets. A more detailed explanation of how the second information is used to indicate A channel sets can be found in the relevant description in step 606 of method 600 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0260] The difference is that in this embodiment, the number of the a-th channel set in the A channel sets is determined according to one or more of the following: the probability that the reference channel information of the a-th channel set is used, the distribution density of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, the area of ​​the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, and the number of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set.

[0261] The probability that the reference channel information of a channel set is used can also be understood as the probability that a channel in the channel set is used, or the probability that a terminal device is located in the area corresponding to the channel set, and so on. Since a channel set can also be called a terminal device group or a set of terminal devices, the probability that the reference channel of a channel set is used can also be understood as the probability of joining the terminal device group or the set of terminal devices.

[0262] The probability of using the reference channel information of a channel set is related to one or more of the following: the distribution density of terminal devices within the area corresponding to the channel set, the area corresponding to the channel set, and the number of terminal devices within the area corresponding to the channel set. Therefore, the number of the aforementioned a-th channel set is determined based on one or more of the following: the probability of using the reference channel information of the a-th channel set, the distribution density of terminal devices within the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, and the number of terminal devices within the area corresponding to the a-th channel set. Alternatively, the number of the a-th channel set can be determined based on the probability of using the reference channel information of the a-th channel set.

[0263] Assuming terminal devices are uniformly distributed within the cell, the probability of using the reference channel information of a channel set is affected by either the area of ​​the region corresponding to the channel set or the number of terminal devices within that region. If the terminal devices are uniformly distributed within the cell, the larger the area of ​​the region corresponding to a channel set and the more terminal devices within that region, the greater the probability of using the reference channel information of that channel set. Conversely, the smaller the area of ​​the region corresponding to a channel set and the fewer terminal devices within that region, the lower the probability of using the reference channel information of that channel set.

[0264] Assuming terminal devices are not uniformly distributed within a cell, the probability of a reference channel information set being used is influenced by the distribution density of terminal devices within the area corresponding to the channel set. If the terminal devices are not uniformly distributed within the cell, for a given area, the higher the distribution density of terminal devices within the area corresponding to a channel set, the more terminal devices there are in that area, and the higher the probability of the reference channel information being used. Conversely, the lower the distribution density of terminal devices within the area corresponding to a channel set, the fewer terminal devices there are in that area, and the lower the probability of the reference channel information being used. Of course, the probability of the reference channel information being used is also affected by the area of ​​the region corresponding to the channel set. The larger the area of ​​the region corresponding to a channel set, and the higher the distribution density of terminal devices within that area, the higher the probability of the reference channel information being used; the smaller the area, and the lower the distribution density of terminal devices within the region, the lower the probability of the reference channel information being used.

[0265] For example, the probability p of using the reference channel information of the a-th channel set in A channel sets. a It can satisfy:

[0266]

[0267] in, S represents the distribution density of terminal devices within the region corresponding to the a-th channel set. a This represents the area of ​​the region corresponding to the a-th channel set, which can be understood as... This represents the number of terminal devices within the area corresponding to the a-th channel set. If the terminal devices are evenly distributed within the cell, For a fixed value, p a Mainly affected by area S a The impact; if the terminal devices are not uniformly distributed within the cell, p a Simultaneously affected by distribution density and area S a The impact.

[0268] In this embodiment, the number of the a-th channel set is related to the probability that the reference channel information of the a-th channel set is used. That is, the network device can number the a-th channel set based on the probability that the reference channel information of the a-th channel set is used. For example, the network device can use variable-length encoding to number each channel set. Variable-length encoding refers to using codes of different lengths to represent data elements with different frequencies of occurrence, thereby reducing the overall data storage space.

[0269] In this embodiment, the network device can number each channel set according to the probability that the reference channel information of each channel set is used. For example, the network device can use a shorter number for a channel set with a higher probability, and a longer number for a channel set with a lower probability.

[0270] Optionally, the numbering of the A channel sets satisfies the rules of Huffman coding.

[0271] It should be understood that Huffman coding is an example of variable-length coding. In this embodiment, the numbering of each channel set can be determined based on the probability that the reference channel information of each channel set is used. For channel sets with a higher probability, a shorter numbering can be used; for channel sets with a lower probability, a longer numbering can be used.

[0272] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of multiple channel sets provided in the embodiments of this application. Figure 11 (a) shows the probability of reference channel information being used for each channel set, and the nesting relationships between channel sets. A more detailed explanation of the nesting relationships between channel sets can be found in the above text. Figure 8 The explanations already provided will not be repeated here. Figure 11 As shown in (a), at the smallest granularity, the network device can determine five channel sets. The network device can then calculate the probability of reference channel information being used for each of the five channel sets. For example, according to... Figure 11In (a), the five channel sets, from left to right, have reference channel information usage probabilities of 0.3, 0.28, 0.12, 0.1, and 0.2, respectively. To merge these five channel sets into four, we can first select the two channel sets with the lowest probabilities (0.12 and 0.1) and merge them, resulting in four channel sets. The reference channel information usage probabilities of these four channel sets, from left to right, are 0.3, 0.28, 0.22, and 0.2, respectively. To merge these four channel sets into three, we can first select the two channel sets with the lowest probabilities (0.22 and 0.2) and merge them, resulting in three channel sets. The reference channel information usage probabilities of these three channel sets, from left to right, are 0.3, 0.28, and 0.42, respectively. To merge these three channel sets into two, we can first select the two channel sets with the lowest probabilities of 0.3 and 0.28 and merge them, resulting in two channel sets. From left to right, the probabilities of using the reference channel information in these two channel sets are 0.58 and 0.42, respectively. To merge these two channel sets into one, we obtain a single channel set with a probability of 1 for the reference channel information to be used.

[0273] Based on the rules of Huffman coding, when splitting a channel set into two channel sets, a digit can be added after the number of the split channel set. The size of this addition can be determined by the probability that the reference channel information of the two split channel sets will be used. For example, adding "1" indicates that the reference channel information of the split channel set has a higher probability of being used, while adding "0" indicates that the reference channel information of the split channel set has a lower probability of being used.

[0274] In the example above, the probability of using the reference channel information for each channel set has been determined. The network device can number each channel set in descending order based on the probability of using the reference channel information for each channel set. Figure 11(b) shows the numbering of each channel set. For example, the one channel set in layer 1 can be numbered "1". The two channel sets in layer 2 are obtained by splitting the one channel set in layer 1, and the probabilities of the reference channel information being used are 0.58 and 0.42, respectively, so they can be numbered "11" and "10". In the three channel sets in layer 3, the first two channel sets are obtained by splitting the first channel set in layer 2, and the probabilities of the reference channel information being used are 0.3 and 0.28, respectively, so they can be numbered "111" and "110"; the other channel set is retained from layer 2, and its number can also remain unchanged, still "10". In the four channel sets of layer 4, the first two channel sets are retained from layer 3, and their numbering can remain unchanged as "111" and "110". The last two channel sets are obtained by splitting the third channel set of layer 3, and the probabilities of their corresponding reference channel information being used are 0.22 and 0.2, respectively, so they can be numbered "101" and "100". In the five channel sets of layer 5, the first two and the last channel set are retained from layer 4, and their numbering can remain unchanged as "111", "110", and "100". The two middle channel sets are obtained by splitting the third channel set of layer 4, and the probabilities of their corresponding reference channel information being used are 0.12 and 0.1, respectively, so they can be numbered "1011" and "1010".

[0275] Based on the above numbering, it is easy to see that within the same layer, the channel sets with a higher probability of using reference channel information have shorter numbering lengths, while those with a higher probability of using reference channel information have longer numbering lengths. Furthermore, the nesting relationship between channel sets in different layers can also be reflected through numbering. For example, the two channel sets numbered "1011" and "1010" are obtained by splitting the channel set numbered "101," or in other words, the two channel sets numbered "1011" and "1010" can be merged to obtain the channel set numbered "101." And so on, without further examples.

[0276] It should be understood that Huffman coding is merely one example of a variable-length coding system and should not be construed as limiting this application. For example, variable-length coding can also be arithmetic coding, and this application includes, but is not limited to, this type of coding.

[0277] In step 1030, the first terminal device determines A sets of channels based on the fourth information.

[0278] By parsing the fourth information, the first terminal device can determine one or more of the following for the A channel sets: the number of the A channel sets, the specific quantity of each channel set in the A channel sets, the resource pattern corresponding to each channel set in the A channel sets, and the channel estimation auxiliary information for each channel set in the A channel sets.

[0279] Based on the above scheme, network devices can number each channel set according to the probability that the reference channel information of each channel set is used. The resulting number for each channel set can not only identify the channel set but also implicitly indicate the probability that the reference channel information of each channel set is used. Furthermore, the number length of each channel set can vary depending on the probability of the reference channel information being used. In this way, channel sets with a higher probability of reference channel information use can be assigned longer numbers, while channel sets with a lower probability of reference channel information use can be assigned shorter numbers. Since the proportion of channel sets with a higher probability of reference channel information use in the A channel sets is relatively large, the average number length can be reduced overall, saving the overhead of indicating the A channel sets.

[0280] Optionally, the method further includes step 1040, in which the network device updates the A channel sets to obtain B channel sets.

[0281] As mentioned earlier, due to the high mobility of terminal devices, the allocation of channel sets is not fixed. Network devices can update the channel sets before sending data to terminal devices, or before terminal devices send data to network devices, to ensure that the allocation of channel sets is adapted to the distribution of terminal devices within the current cell. In other words, a more accurate allocation of channel sets helps terminal devices obtain more accurate channel information to assist communication and improves spectrum efficiency.

[0282] It is understandable that the channels corresponding to the A channel sets include the channels corresponding to the B channel sets. For an explanation of the relationship between the A channel sets and the B channel sets, please refer to the explanation of the relationship between the N channel sets and the M channel sets in Method 600 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0283] Optionally, the method further includes step 1050, in which the network device sends fifth information to the first terminal device, the fifth information indicating the number B of the updated channel set. Accordingly, the first terminal device receives the fifth information from the network device.

[0284] After updating the A channel sets, the network device can also indicate the updated channel set quantity B to the first terminal device, so that the first terminal device can also update its channel set based on this fifth piece of information. This ensures that the channel set allocation is consistent between the first terminal device and the network device.

[0285] Optionally, the method further includes step 1060, in which the first terminal device updates the A channel sets according to the fifth information to obtain the B channel sets.

[0286] The first terminal device can update the A channel sets according to the number B of the channel sets indicated by the fifth information.

[0287] The first terminal device and the network device update the A channel sets in the same way, and they can negotiate the update method in advance. For example, both the first terminal device and the network device can update the channel sets according to the correlation between the channel sets. The specific process of the first terminal device and the network device updating the channel sets according to the correlation between the channel sets can be referred to the relevant description in method 600 above. The difference is that in this embodiment, the network device does not indicate the threshold used to determine the channel sets, but rather indicates the number of channel sets after the update.

[0288] In one possible implementation, both the first terminal device and the network device can update the A channel sets according to the numbers of the A channel sets. Accordingly, step 1040 includes: the network device updating the A channel sets according to the numbers of the A channel sets to obtain B channel sets. Step 1060 includes: the terminal device updating the A channel sets according to the fifth information and the numbers of the A channel sets to obtain B channel sets.

[0289] Because the channel set numbers are nested, the first terminal device and the network device can update the channel sets based on the numbers of the A channel sets. For example, when updating the channel sets based on the numbers of the A channel sets, the two channel sets with longer number lengths can be merged first; if the number lengths of the A channel sets are the same, the two channel sets with shorter number lengths can be merged first.

[0290] by Figure 11Taking the channel sets and their corresponding numbers shown in (b) as an example, assuming A is 5 and B is 4, the first terminal device and the network device can merge the two channel sets numbered "1011" and "1010" (i.e., the two channel sets with longer numbering) into one channel set, numbered "101"; assuming A is 5 and B is 3, the first terminal device and the network device can merge the two channel sets numbered "1011" and "1010" into one channel set, numbered "101"; the first terminal device and the network device can further merge the two channel sets numbered "101" and "100" (i.e., the two channel sets with smaller numbering) into one channel set, numbered "10".

[0291] After updating the channel sets, the first terminal device and the network device can also obtain the updated reference channel information, i.e., the reference channel information of the M channel sets. The first terminal device can determine the target channel set based on the reference channel information of the M channel sets and report the target channel set to the network device. The network device can determine the transmission resources of the reference signal based on the target channel set and send the reference signal through the transmission resources. The terminal device can determine the transmission resources of the reference signal based on the target channel set, receive the reference signal on the transmission resources, and then perform channel measurement based on the received reference signal, and feed the measurement result back to the network device. It should be understood that the subsequent steps can be referred to steps 607 to 615 of method 600 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0292] In this embodiment, the numbering of each channel set is determined based on the probability that the reference channel information of the channel set is used. Channel sets with higher probabilities have shorter numbering lengths, while channel sets with lower probabilities have longer numbering lengths. Since the probability of each channel set being identified as a target channel set is the same as the probability of the reference channel information being used, the target channel set is usually a channel set with a shorter numbering length. Therefore, based on the above numbering method, the feedback overhead of the terminal device can be reduced.

[0293] It should be understood that in the embodiments shown above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the sequence number of each step does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each step should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0294] The above, combined with Figures 6 to 11 The methods provided in the embodiments of this application are described in detail below. Figures 12 to 14 The apparatus provided in the embodiments of this application is described in detail. It should be understood that the description of the apparatus embodiments corresponds to the description of the method embodiments. Therefore, for content not described in detail, please refer to the method embodiments above. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated.

[0295] As an example, Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of a communication device 1200 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 1200 includes a transceiver unit 1210 and a processing unit 1220. The transceiver unit 1210 can be used to implement corresponding communication functions. The transceiver unit 1210 can also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit. The processing unit 1220 can be used to perform processing.

[0296] Optionally, the device 1200 may further include a storage unit, which can be used to store instructions and / or data, and the processing unit 1220 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage unit to enable the device to implement the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0297] In one possible design of one embodiment, the device 1200 may be Figure 6 The terminal device in method 600 shown can be used to implement the steps or processes executed by the terminal device in the corresponding method embodiments above. The transceiver unit 1210 can be used to perform operations related to transmission and reception in the method embodiments above, such as... Figure 6 Step 602 in the process can optionally also be used to perform Figure 6 Steps 606, 610, 613, and 615 in the above process can be used to perform one or more of the processing-related operations in the method embodiments described above, or operations other than sending and receiving, such as... Figure 6 Step 603 in the process can optionally also be used to perform Figure 6 One or more of steps 607, 609, 611, and 614 in the process.

[0298] For example, the transceiver unit 1210 can be used to receive first information, which is used to indicate a threshold. The processing unit 1220 can be used to determine M channel sets according to the threshold, wherein the correlation between any two channel sets and the threshold satisfies a preset condition; M is a positive integer.

[0299] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 may be used to: update the previously determined N channel sets according to the threshold to obtain the M channel sets, wherein the channels corresponding to the N channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets, and N is a positive integer greater than M.

[0300] Optionally, the first information is further used to indicate P channel sets, wherein the P channel sets are multiple channel sets among the N channel sets determined in the previous step, where P is a positive integer less than N and N is a positive integer greater than N; the processing unit 1220 is specifically used to: update the P channel sets among the N channel sets according to the threshold to obtain the M channel sets; wherein the M channel sets include Q channel sets obtained by updating the P channel sets and (N-P) channel sets other than the P channel sets among the N channel sets, the channels corresponding to the P channel sets include the channels corresponding to the Q channel sets, and the channels corresponding to the N channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets; Q is a positive integer less than P and less than M.

[0301] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 can also be used to obtain reference channel information for each of the M channel sets.

[0302] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 can also be used to receive second information, which is used to indicate L channel sets and reference channel information for each of the L channel sets, wherein the channels corresponding to the L channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets, and L is a positive integer greater than M.

[0303] In another possible design of one embodiment, the device 1200 may be Figure 6 The network device in method 600 shown can be used to implement the steps or processes executed by the network device in the corresponding method embodiments above. Specifically, the transceiver unit 1210 can be used to perform operations related to transmission and reception in the method embodiments above, such as... Figure 6 Step 602 in the process can optionally also be used to perform Figure 6 Steps 606, 610, 613, and 615 in the above process can be used to perform one or more of the processing-related operations in the method embodiments described above, or operations other than sending and receiving, such as... Figure 6 Step 601 in the process can optionally also be used to perform Figure 6 One or more of steps 604, 605, 608, and 612 in the process.

[0304] For example, the processing unit 1220 can be used to determine a threshold that is related to the degree of correlation between the channel sets, and the threshold is used to determine the channel sets; the transceiver unit 1210 can be used to send first information that indicates the threshold.

[0305] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 is further configured to: determine M channel sets according to the threshold; the correlation between any two channel sets in the M channel sets and the threshold satisfies a preset condition; M is a positive integer.

[0306] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 is specifically used to: update the previously determined N channel sets according to the threshold to obtain M channel sets, wherein the channels corresponding to the N channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets, and N is a positive integer greater than M.

[0307] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 is specifically configured to: update P channel sets out of the previously determined N channel sets according to the threshold to obtain the M channel sets; wherein the M channel sets include Q channel sets obtained by updating the P channel sets and (N-P) channel sets other than the P channel sets in the N channel sets, the channels corresponding to the P channel sets include the channels corresponding to the Q channel sets, and the channels corresponding to the N channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets; N is a positive integer greater than 0, and Q is a positive integer less than P and less than M.

[0308] Optionally, the first information is also used to indicate the P channel sets.

[0309] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 is further configured to: determine the reference channel information of each of the M channel sets based on the reference channel information of each of the N channel sets.

[0310] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 is further configured to determine L channel sets and reference channel information for each of the L channel sets, wherein the channels corresponding to the L channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets, and L is a positive integer greater than M; the transceiver unit 1210 is further configured to send second information, the second information being used to indicate the L channel sets and reference channel information for each of the L channel sets.

[0311] In another possible design of an embodiment, the device 1200 may be Figure 10 The first terminal device in method 1000 shown can be used to implement the steps or processes executed by the first terminal device in the corresponding method embodiments above. The transceiver unit 1210 can be used to perform operations related to transmission and reception in the method embodiments above, such as... Figure 10 Step 1020 in the process can optionally also be used to perform Figure 10 Step 1050 in the above method embodiment. The processing unit 1220 can be used to perform processing-related operations in the above method embodiment, or operations other than sending and receiving, such as... Figure 10 Step 1030 in the process can optionally also be used to perform Figure 10 Step 1060 in the process.

[0312] For example, the transceiver unit 1210 can be used to receive fourth information, which indicates A channel sets. The number of the a-th channel set in the A channel sets is determined based on one or more of the following: the probability that the reference channel information of the a-th channel set is used, the distribution density of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, the area of ​​the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, and the number of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, where A is a positive integer greater than 1. The processing unit 1220 can be used to determine the A channel sets according to the fourth information.

[0313] Optionally, the fourth information includes the number of the A channel sets, the number of the A channel sets satisfying the rules of Huffman coding.

[0314] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 can also be used to receive fifth information, which is used to indicate the number B of the channel sets after updating the A channel sets, where B is a positive integer less than A; the processing unit 1220 can also be used to update the A channel sets according to the fifth information to obtain B channel sets, wherein the channels corresponding to the A channel sets include the channels corresponding to the B channel sets.

[0315] In another possible design of another embodiment, the device 1200 may be Figure 10 The unit terminal device in method 1000 shown can be used to implement the steps or processes executed by the network device in the corresponding method embodiments above. The transceiver unit 1210 can be used to perform operations related to transmission and reception in the method embodiments above, such as... Figure 10 Step 1020 in the process can optionally also be used to perform Figure 10 Step 1050 in the above method embodiment. The processing unit 1220 can be used to perform processing-related operations in the above method embodiment, or operations other than sending and receiving, such as... Figure 10 Step 1010 in the process can optionally also be used to perform Figure 10 Step 1040 in the process.

[0316] For example, processing unit 1220 can be used to determine A channel sets, wherein the number of the a-th channel set in the A channel sets is determined based on one or more of the following: the probability that the reference channel information of the a-th channel set is used, the distribution density of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, the area of ​​the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, and the number of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set; A is a positive integer greater than 1; transceiver unit 1210 can be used to send fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate the A channel sets.

[0317] Optionally, the fourth information includes the number of the A channel sets, the number of the A channel sets satisfying the rules of Huffman coding.

[0318] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 can also be used to update the A channel sets to obtain B channel sets, wherein the channels corresponding to the A channel sets include the channels corresponding to the B channel sets, and B is a positive integer less than A.

[0319] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 can also be used to transmit fifth information, which is used to indicate the number B of the updated channel set.

[0320] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit performing the above-mentioned corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0321] It should also be understood that the device 1200 here is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" here can refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), electronic circuitry, a processor (e.g., a shared processor, a proprietary processor, or a group processor, etc.) and memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuitry, and / or other suitable components supporting the described functions. In an alternative example, those skilled in the art will understand that the device 1200 can be specifically the communication device in the above embodiments, and can be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the communication device in the above method embodiments; to avoid repetition, these will not be described again here.

[0322] The apparatus 1200 of each of the above-described schemes has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the terminal device or network device in the above-described methods. The function can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions; for example, the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transceiver (e.g., the sending unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as processing units, can be replaced by processors, each executing the transceiver operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0323] In addition, the transceiver unit 1210 may also be a transceiver circuit (for example, it may include a receiving circuit and a transmitting circuit), and the processing unit 1220 may be a processing circuit.

[0324] It should be pointed out that, Figure 12 The device mentioned can be the communication equipment (such as a terminal device or a network device) in the foregoing embodiments, or it can be a circuit, chip, or chip system, such as a SoC or SIP system. The transceiver unit can be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processing unit is a processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. No limitations are imposed here.

[0325] As an example, Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of another communication device 1300 provided in an embodiment of this application. The device 1300 includes a processor 1310, which is coupled to a memory 1320. The memory 1320 is used to store computer programs or instructions and / or data. The processor 1310 is used to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 1320, or to read the data stored in the memory 1320, in order to perform the methods in the above method embodiments.

[0326] Optionally, there may be one or more processors 1310.

[0327] Optionally, the memory 1320 may be one or more.

[0328] Alternatively, the memory 1320 can be integrated with the processor 1310, or it can be set separately.

[0329] Optionally, such as Figure 13 As shown, the device 1300 also includes a transceiver 1330 for receiving and / or transmitting signals. For example, a processor 1310 is used to control the transceiver 1330 to receive and / or transmit signals.

[0330] As an example, processor 1310 may have Figure 12The processing unit 1220 shown has the function of a storage unit, the memory 1320 can have the function of a storage unit, and the transceiver 1330 can have... Figure 12 The function of the transceiver unit 1210 shown is illustrated.

[0331] As one option, the device 1300 is used to implement the operations performed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments.

[0332] For example, processor 1310 is used to execute computer programs or instructions stored in memory 1320 to implement the relevant operations of terminal devices or network devices in the various method embodiments described above.

[0333] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0334] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM). For example, RAM can be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM includes the following forms: static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0335] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0336] It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0337] As an example, Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of a chip system 1400 provided in an embodiment of this application. The chip system 1400 (or may also be referred to as a processing system) includes logic circuitry 1410 and an input / output interface 1420.

[0338] The logic circuit 1410 can be a processing circuit in the chip system 1400. The logic circuit 1410 can be coupled to a memory unit, calling instructions from the memory unit, enabling the chip system 1400 to implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of this application. The input / output interface 1420 can be an input / output circuit in the chip system 1400, outputting processed information from the chip system 1400, or inputting data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 1400 for processing.

[0339] As one option, the chip system 1400 is used to implement the operations performed by the terminal device or network device in the various method embodiments described above.

[0340] For example, logic circuit 1410 is used to implement processing-related operations performed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments; input / output interface 1420 is used to implement sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments.

[0341] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions for implementing the methods executed by a terminal device or network device in the above-described method embodiments. For example, when the computer program or instructions are run, they cause... Figure 6 The method 600 shown is executed, or, makes... Figure 10 The method 1000 shown is executed.

[0342] This application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer, implement the methods described in the method embodiments, which are executed by a terminal device (including a first terminal device) or a network device. For example, when the computer program or instructions are run, they cause... Figure 6 The method 600 shown is executed, or, makes... Figure 10 The method 1000 shown is executed.

[0343] This application also provides a communication system, which includes a terminal device and a network device. The terminal device can be used to execute the methods described in the above method embodiments, for example... Figure 6 The method executed by the terminal device in method 600 shown, or Figure 10 The method executed by the first terminal device in method 1000 shown. This network device can be used to execute the method executed by the network device in the above method embodiments, for example... Figure 6 The method executed by the network device in method 600 shown, or Figure 10 The method executed by the network device in method 1000 is shown.

[0344] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working process and beneficial effects of the systems, devices and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0345] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of apparatus or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0346] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0347] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0348] In the above embodiments, the functions of each functional unit can be implemented entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. This computer program product includes one or more computer instructions (programs). When the computer program instructions (programs) are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks (SSDs)).

[0349] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0350] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive first information, which is used to indicate a threshold; Based on the threshold, M channel sets are determined, wherein the correlation between any two channel sets and the threshold satisfies a preset condition; M is a positive integer.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The step of determining the M channel sets based on the threshold includes: Based on the threshold, the previously determined N channel sets are updated to obtain the M channel sets. The channels corresponding to the N channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets, where N is a positive integer greater than M.

3. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first information is also used to indicate P channel sets, which are multiple channel sets among the N channel sets determined in the previous step, where P is a positive integer less than N and N is a positive integer greater than M. The step of determining the M channel sets based on the threshold includes: Based on the threshold, the P channel sets in the N channel sets are updated to obtain the M channel sets; wherein, the M channel sets include the Q channel sets obtained by updating the P channel sets and the (N-P) channel sets other than the P channel sets in the N channel sets, the channels corresponding to the P channel sets include the channels corresponding to the Q channel sets, and the channels corresponding to the N channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets; Q is a positive integer less than P and less than M.

4. The method as described in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: Based on the reference channel information of each of the N channel sets, the reference channel information of each of the M channel sets is determined.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, Before receiving the first information, the method further includes: Receive second information, which is used to indicate L channel sets and reference channel information for each of the L channel sets, wherein the channels corresponding to the L channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets, and L is a positive integer greater than M.

6. A communication method, characterized in that, include: A threshold is determined, which is used to determine the channel set; Send a first message, which is used to indicate the threshold.

7. The method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Based on the threshold, M channel sets are determined; the correlation between any two channel sets in the M channel sets and the threshold satisfies a preset condition; M is a positive integer.

8. The method as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The step of determining the M channel sets based on the threshold includes: Based on the threshold, the previously determined N channel sets are updated to obtain M channel sets. The channels corresponding to the N channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets, where N is a positive integer greater than M.

9. The method as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The step of determining the M channel sets based on the threshold includes: Based on the threshold, P channel sets out of the previously determined N channel sets are updated to obtain the M channel sets; wherein, the M channel sets include Q channel sets obtained by updating the P channel sets and (N-P) channel sets other than the P channel sets in the N channel sets, the channels corresponding to the P channel sets include the channels corresponding to the Q channel sets, and the channels corresponding to the N channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets; N is a positive integer greater than M, and Q is a positive integer less than P and less than M.

10. The method as described in claim 9, characterized in that, The first information is also used to indicate the P channel sets.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Based on the reference channel information of each of the N channel sets, the reference channel information of each of the M channel sets is determined.

12. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 11, characterized in that, Prior to determining the threshold, the method further includes: Determine L channel sets and reference channel information for each of the L channel sets, wherein the channels corresponding to the L channel sets include the channels corresponding to the M channel sets, and L is a positive integer greater than M; Send a second message, which is used to indicate the L channel sets and the reference channel information of each of the L channel sets.

13. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive fourth information, which is used to indicate A channel sets, wherein the number of the a-th channel set in the A channel sets is determined based on one or more of the following: the probability that the reference channel information of the a-th channel set is used, the distribution density of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, the area of ​​the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, and the number of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, where A is a positive integer greater than 1; Based on the fourth information, the A sets of channels are determined.

14. The method as described in claim 13, characterized in that, The fourth information includes the numbers of the A channel sets, and the numbers of the A channel sets satisfy the rules of Huffman coding.

15. The method as described in claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The probability that the reference channel information of the a-th channel set is used is related to one or more of the following: the distribution density of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, the area of ​​the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, and the number of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive fifth information, which is used to indicate the number B of the channel sets after updating the A channel sets, where B is a positive integer less than A; Based on the fifth information, the A channel sets are updated to obtain B channel sets, and the channels corresponding to the A channel sets include the channels corresponding to the B channel sets.

17. A communication method, characterized in that, include: A channel sets are determined, and the number of the a-th channel set in the A channel sets is determined based on one or more of the following: the probability that the reference channel information of the a-th channel set is used, the distribution density of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, the area of ​​the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, and the number of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set; A is a positive integer greater than 1; Send a fourth message, which is used to indicate the A channel sets.

18. The method as described in claim 17, characterized in that, The fourth information includes the numbers of the A channel sets, and the numbers of the A channel sets satisfy the rules of Huffman coding.

19. The method as described in claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, The probability that the reference channel information of the a-th channel set is used is related to one or more of the following: the distribution density of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, the area of ​​the area corresponding to the a-th channel set, and the number of terminal devices in the area corresponding to the a-th channel set.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, characterized in that, The method further includes: The A channel sets are updated to obtain B channel sets, where the channels corresponding to the A channel sets include the channels corresponding to the B channel sets, and B is a positive integer less than A.

21. The method as described in claim 20, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a fifth message, which indicates the number B of the updated channel set.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes modules or units for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 5, or modules or units for performing the method of any one of claims 6 to 12, or modules or units for performing the method of any one of claims 13 to 16, or modules or units for performing the method of any one of claims 17 to 21.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes a processor configured to cause the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 5, or to cause the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 6 to 12, or to cause the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 13 to 16, or to cause the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 17 to 21.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, or cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 6 to 12, or cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 13 to 16, or cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 17 to 21.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, or cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 6 to 12, or cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 13 to 16, or cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 17 to 21.

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