Reference signal resource configuration method and communication device

Abstract

The present application provides a reference signal resource configuration method and a communication device, which can be applied to AI or non-AI scenarios. In this method, a second network element (reference signal resource configuration network element) configures a first reference signal resource set for a first network element (reference signal resource measurement network element) based on first information. All reference signal resources configured by the second network element are indicated to the first network element based on second information. The first network element can determine a reference signal resource set group based on the second information. Based on the first information and the second information, the first network element can determine whether the first reference signal resource set is all the reference signal resources configured by the second network element and can determine the status of all the reference signal resources configured by the second network element. Even if the number of reference signal resources configured by the second network element exceeds the maximum number of reference signal resources that the first network element can support, the first network element can determine all the reference signal resources configured by the second network element.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202310156077.7, entitled "Reference Signal Resource Configuration Method and Communication Device," filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on February 16, 2023, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of wireless communication technology, and more particularly to a reference signal resource configuration method and a communication device. [Background technology]

[0003] To combat free-space loss, communication systems typically use large antenna arrays to apply weighting to signals, concentrating signal energy in a smaller area to form beam-shaped signals (called beams), thereby ensuring transmission quality. Due to hardware limitations, it is difficult for a base station to cover the entire cell. Therefore, base stations employ periodic beam sweeping for area coverage. For example, a base station may construct one set of beams at a time to cover a portion of the area, and another set of beams at a different time to cover a different portion of the area. After completing coverage of the entire cell within a certain period of time, the base station resumes a new round of beam sweeping. A terminal device selects a suitable beam for itself by traversing a large number of candidate beams.

[0004] According to current communication protocols, a network device can configure up to 64 beams for each terminal device within one beam sweeping period. However, due to limitations in the terminal device's capabilities, the terminal device cannot support sweeping 64 beams within one beam sweeping period. For example, the terminal device can sweep a maximum of 16 or 32 beams. In other words, the number of beams configured by the network device within one beam sweeping period exceeds the maximum number of beams that the terminal device can support sweeping. In this case, an urgent problem to be solved is how the terminal device can determine all the beams configured by the network device. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a reference signal resource configuration method and a communication device, and provides a solution for a terminal device to determine all reference signal resources configured by a network side when the number of reference signal resources configured by a network side exceeds the maximum number of reference signal resources that the terminal device can support in one reference signal configuration period. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A first aspect provides a reference signal resource configuration method. The method may be performed by a network element, or may be performed by a chip or circuit, which is not limited in the present application. In the following, a first network element is used as an example for description. The method includes: receiving, by a first network element, first information from a second network element, the first information being used to configure a first reference signal resource set; receiving, by the first network element, second information from the second network element, the second information being used to determine a reference signal resource set group, the reference signal resource set group including one or more reference signal resource sets, the one or more reference signal resource sets including the first reference signal resource set; may include:

[0007] In the technical solution of the present application, the second network element configures a first reference signal resource set for the first network element based on first information. All reference signal resources configured by the second network element are indicated to the first network element based on second information. The first network element can determine a reference signal resource set group based on the second information, where the reference signal resource set group includes one or more reference signal resource sets, and the one or more reference signal resource sets include the first reference signal resource set. Based on the first information and the second information, the first network element can determine that the first reference signal resource set includes all reference signal resources configured by the second network element, or can determine that the first reference signal resource set is further associated with one or more other reference signal resource sets. In the former case, the first network element can determine that the reference signal resources in the first reference signal resource set are all reference signal resources configured by the second network element. In the latter case, the first network element can determine that all reference signal resources configured by the second network element include reference signal resources in the first reference signal resource set and reference signal resources in one or more other reference signal resource sets.

[0008] Optionally, the number of reference signal resources included in the first reference signal resource set may be less than or equal to a maximum number of reference signal resources that the second network element can support.

[0009] Based on the above technical solutions provided in the present application, when the second network element configures reference signal resources, the number of reference signal resources is not limited by the maximum number of reference signal resources that the first network element can support. Even if the number of reference signal resources that can be configured by the second network element is greater than the maximum number of reference signal resources, the second network element can send second information to the first network element, so that the first network element can know that the second network element configures at least two reference signal resource sets. In this way, the flexibility of reference signal resource configuration can be increased, and the capability of the reference signal resource measurement network element (i.e., the first network element) is no longer a constraint.

[0010] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method includes: measuring a reference signal based on the first information by the first network element to obtain a measurement result; The first network element generates input information and / or target output information for the AI ​​model based on the measurement result and the second information; Further includes:

[0011] Based on this implementation, the UE can obtain a training dataset for training the AI ​​model once.

[0012] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method includes: measuring a reference signal based on the first information by the first network element to obtain a measurement result; The first network element determines a reporting manner based on the second information, where the reporting manner indicates a reporting frequency of the reporting information; The first network element generates report information based on the determined reporting manner and the measurement result; Further includes:

[0013] Based on this implementation, the second network element can obtain input information and / or target output information corresponding to the network-side AI model based on the reporting information of the first network element, and the second network element can complete training of the AI ​​model once based on the information.

[0014] A second aspect provides a reference signal resource configuration method. The method may be performed by a network element, or may be performed by a chip or circuit, which is not limited in the present application. In the following, a second network element is used as an example for description. The method includes: a second network element transmitting first information to the first network element, the first information being used to configure a first reference signal resource set; transmitting, by the second network element, second information to the first network element, the second information being used to determine a reference signal resource set group, the reference signal resource set group including one or more reference signal resource sets, the one or more reference signal resource sets including the first reference signal resource set; may include:

[0015] In some implementations of the second aspect, the method includes: The method further includes receiving, by the second network element, report information from the first network element, wherein the report information comprises: Measurement results of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; L measurement results of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group, where L is a positive integer; and The information includes one or more of information about L reference signal resources obtained based on measurement results of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in a reference signal resource set group, where L is a positive integer.

[0016] In some implementations of the second aspect, the method includes: The method further includes a step in which the second network element determines input information and / or target output information of the AI ​​model based on the reporting information.

[0017] Based on this implementation, a training dataset can be obtained for training an AI model once.

[0018] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, the second information is: the number of reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; periodicity information of a reference signal resource set group; an identifier for each reference signal resource set included in the reference signal resource set group; an identifier of configuration information of each reference signal resource set included in the reference signal resource set group; Pattern information of one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group in the reference signal resource set group; and The reference signal resource set group includes one or more pieces of information relating to the association relationship of one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group.

[0019] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, the second information is included in one instruction signaling, or the second information is included in multiple instruction signalings, and if the second information is included in multiple instruction signalings, each of the multiple instruction signalings corresponds to one reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group.

[0020] In this implementation, the first network element may obtain the second information by identifying indication signaling configured with a reference signal resource.

[0021] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, the second information is included in a plurality of configuration signalings, and a first configuration signaling of the plurality of configuration signalings includes an identifier of a reference signal resource set group and the first information.

[0022] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, the information about the association relationship includes the following: a sequential number of the relative position of the first reference signal resource set within the reference signal resource set group; and The reference signal resource set group includes one or more of an association relationship between the first reference signal resource set and the second reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group.

[0023] In this implementation, the first network element associates individual reference signal resources based on the association relationship indicated by the second information, and uses the associated reference signal resources as a reference signal resource group or a reference signal resource set group corresponding to one AI operation.

[0024] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, the reporting information is carried in physical layer signaling or in higher layer signaling.

[0025] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, the reporting information is carried in one higher layer signaling, and the number of reports is one. The number of reports depends on a reporting method, and the reporting method is determined by the first network element based on the second information.

[0026] According to this implementation, the first network element sends the report information to the second network element using higher layer signaling, and the number of reports is one, so that the first network element can report the report information with higher accuracy, which helps to expand the data range of the report information.

[0027] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, the reporting information includes the following: Measurement results of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; L measurement results of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group, where L is a positive integer; and The information includes one or more of information about L reference signal resources obtained based on measurement results of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in a reference signal resource set group, where L is a positive integer.

[0028] Based on this implementation, the value of L may be determined using a predetermined rule. When the AI ​​model is on the second network element, the measurement results of the L reference signal resources are reported as input information for the AI ​​model.

[0029] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, the input information for the AI ​​model is: a measurement result of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; and The information includes one or more of M measurement results or information about M reference signal resources determined based on measurement results of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group, where M is a positive integer.

[0030] Based on this implementation, the value of M may be determined using a predetermined rule: When the AI ​​model is on the first network element, the measurement results of the M reference signal resources are directly used as input information for the AI ​​model.

[0031] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, the target output information of the AI ​​model is: a measurement result of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; and The information includes one or more of information about N reference signal resources determined based on measurement results of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in a reference signal resource set group, where N is a positive integer.

[0032] Based on this implementation, the value of N may be determined using a predetermined rule. When the AI ​​is deployed in either the first network element or the second network element, the measurement results of the N reference signals compared based on the measurement criteria or the reference signal resource information of the N reference signals are used as the target output information of the AI ​​model.

[0033] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, the second information is included in a plurality of configuration signalings, each of the plurality of configuration signalings being used to configure one reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group; the reporting information is carried on a first uplink time frequency resource, the first uplink time frequency resource being configured using a second configuration signaling of the plurality of configuration signalings; The second configuration signaling is the latest configuration signaling among the multiple configuration signalings, or the second configuration signaling is configuration signaling for configuring a target reference signal resource set, and the target reference signal resource set is a reference signal resource set whose relative position is the latest in the time domain among the reference signal resource set group.

[0034] In this implementation, to determine a reference signal resource set group, the first network element determines the reference signal resource set at the latest relative position and all reference signal resource sets preceding the reference signal resource set as inter-associated reference signal resource sets by identifying a time sequence.

[0035] According to a third aspect, the present application provides a communications device. The communications device may include modules corresponding one-to-one to methods / operations / steps / actions configured to perform the first to second aspects. The modules may be hardware circuits, software, or hardware circuits in combination with software. The communications device may be a first network element, a second network element, or a chip or circuit used in the first or second network element.

[0036] In one implementation, the communication apparatus is a communication device. For example, the communication device may include a communication unit and / or a processing unit. The communication unit may be a transceiver or an input / output interface, and the processing unit may be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0037] In another implementation, the apparatus is a chip, chip system, or circuit used in a communication device. When the apparatus is a chip, chip system, or circuit used in a terminal device, the communication unit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, associated circuit, etc. on the chip, chip system, or circuit, and the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit, logic circuit, etc.

[0038] In one example, the communication device is a terminal device, or the communication device is a chip, chip system, circuit, etc. located within a terminal device. In another example, the communication device is an access network device, or the communication device is a chip, chip system, circuit, etc. located within an access network device.

[0039] According to a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communications device. The communications device includes a processor, and the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in a memory to perform a method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or any one of implementations of the first or second aspect. Optionally, the communications device further includes a memory. The communications device may be a first network element, a second network element, or a chip or circuit used in the first or second network element.

[0040] According to a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communications device, the communications device including a processor and a communications interface, configured to perform a method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or any one of the implementations of the first or second aspects. For example, the communications interface may be a transceiver, a hardware circuit, a bus, a module, a pin, or another type of communications interface.

[0041] According to a sixth aspect, the present application further provides a computer program, which when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or any one of the implementations of the first or second aspect.

[0042] According to a seventh aspect, the present application further provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform a method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or any one of the implementations of the first or second aspect.

[0043] According to an eighth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform a method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or any one of the implementations of the first or second aspect.

[0044] According to a ninth aspect, the present application further provides a chip, the chip being configured to read a computer program stored in a memory to perform a method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or any one of the implementations of the first or second aspect, or the chip including circuitry configured to perform a method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or any one of the implementations of the first or second aspect.

[0045] According to a tenth aspect, the present application further provides a chip system. The chip system includes a processor configured to support an apparatus in performing a method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or any one of the implementations of the first or second aspect. In one possible design, the chip system further includes a memory. The memory is configured to store programs and data required by the apparatus. The chip system may include a chip, or may include a chip and another discrete device.

[0046] According to an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication system including a first network element and a second network element.

[0047] For example, one of the first network element and the second network element is a terminal device, and the other is a network device such as an access network device.

[0048] For the technical effects of the solutions provided in any one of the second to eleventh aspects or the implementations of the second to eleventh aspects, please refer to the corresponding description of the first aspect, and the details will not be described again. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0049] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram of the architecture of a communication system to which an embodiment of the present application is applicable; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram of another communication system architecture to which an embodiment of the present application is applicable. [Figure 3] 2 is a schematic flowchart of a reference signal resource configuration method according to the present application; [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram of a reference signal resource configuration method according to the present application. [Figure 5] 1 illustrates an example of a reference signal resource configuration method according to the present application. [Figure 6] 1 illustrates another example of a reference signal resource configuration method according to the present application. [Figure 7] 1 is a block diagram of a communication device 1000 according to the present application. [Figure 8] 11 is a block diagram of a communication device 1100 according to the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0050] The technical solutions of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0051] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the present application, a brief description of related concepts or techniques in the embodiments of the present application will be given first.

[0052] A beam is a communication resource. The beam may be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or another type of beam. The technology for forming the beam may be beamforming technology or other technical means. Specifically, the beamforming technology may be digital beamforming technology, analog beamforming technology, or hybrid digital / analog beamforming technology. Different beams may be considered as different resources. Optionally, multiple beams having the same or similar communication characteristics may be considered as one beam. One beam may include one or more antenna ports for transmitting a data channel, a control channel, a sounding signal, etc. One or more antenna ports forming a beam may be considered as an antenna port set. Beams include transmit beams and receive beams. A transmit beam refers to the distribution of signal strength formed in different directions in space after a signal is transmitted from an antenna, and a receive beam refers to the distribution of signal reception enhancement or attenuation in different spatial directions by an antenna array.

[0053] According to current communication protocols, beam information may be indicated by the quasi-colocation (QCL) relationship of antenna ports. Specifically, indication information (e.g., downlink control information (DCI)) may indicate that one resource (or antenna port) and another resource (or antenna port) have a quasi-colocation relationship, indicating that the beams corresponding to the two resources (or antenna ports) have one or more identical or similar spatial characteristics (or spatial parameters), and the same receiving beam may be used for reception.

[0054] Optionally, according to the communication protocol, the beam may be specifically represented by using identifiers of various signals, for example, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource index, a synchronous signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB) index, a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource index, and a tracking reference signal (TRS) resource index.

[0055] Additionally, in general, one beam corresponds to one or more of the following: one demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port, one transmission configuration indicator (TCI), or one sounding reference signal resource indicator (SRS resource indicator (SRI). Thus, different beams may also be represented using different DMRS ports, TCIs, or SRIs.

[0056] The technical solutions provided in this application may be applied to various communication systems, including, but not limited to, long term evolution (LTE) systems, fifth generation (5G) communication systems, wireless local area network (WLAN) systems, satellite communication systems, future communication systems such as 6G communication systems, or systems that integrate multiple systems. 5G communication systems are sometimes referred to as new radio (NR) systems.

[0057] A network element in a communication system can transmit a signal to another network element or receive a signal from another network element. The signal can include information, signaling, data, etc. A network element can also be referred to as an entity, a network entity, a device, a communication device, a communication module, a node, a communication node, etc. In this application, a network element is used as an example for description.

[0058] A communication system to which the present application is applicable may include a first network element and a second network element. The number of first network elements and the number of second network elements are not limited. The network element may also be replaced with a device, an entity, a network entity, a communication device, a communication module, a node, a communication node, etc. In the present application, a device or a network element is used as an example for description.

[0059] For example, a communication system to which the present application is applicable may include terminal devices and network devices.

[0060] FIG. 1 is a diagram of the architecture of a communication system to which an embodiment of the present application can be applied. For example, the communication system includes a network device 110 and a terminal device 120. The terminal device 120 can access and communicate with the network device 110. Optionally, the network device 110 may be an access network device. Optionally, the communication system may further include at least one artificial intelligence (AI) node. In one implementation, the AI ​​node is deployed in the network device 110 and / or the terminal device 120. In other words, the AI ​​node is deployed inside the network device 110 or the terminal device 120, i.e., the AI ​​node is a module of the network device 110 or the terminal device 120, which is not shown in FIG. 1. In another implementation, as shown in FIG. 2, at least one AI node is separated from the network device 110 and / or the terminal device 120.

[0061] 2 is a diagram of another communication system architecture to which an embodiment of the present application can be applied. The communication system includes a network device 110, a terminal device 120, a first AI node, and / or a second AI node. The network device 110 can forward AI model-related data reported by the terminal device to the first AI node. The first AI node performs AI-related operations, such as training dataset construction and AI model training, and provides one or more outputs of the AI-related operations, such as a trained AI model, model evaluation, and test results, to the network device 110. The terminal device 120 operates in a similar manner. The terminal device 120 can send the obtained AI model-related data to a second AI node, which then performs the AI-related operations. After completing the AI-related operations, the second AI node provides one or more outputs of the AI-related operations to the terminal device 120.

[0062] It should be understood that Figures 1 and 2 are merely diagrams. The communication system may further include other devices, such as core network devices, wireless relay devices, wireless backhaul devices, and / or devices configured to perform artificial intelligence functions, all of which are not shown in Figures 1 and 2. In addition, in actual applications, the wireless communication system may include multiple network devices (e.g., access network devices and core network devices) or multiple terminal devices. This is not limited. The number of devices shown in Figures 1 and 2 is merely an example, and the number of devices is not limited to one or more and is not limited.

[0063] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may be an entity configured to receive or transmit signals, such as a mobile phone. The terminal device may include a handheld device with wireless connectivity, other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, or an in-vehicle device. The terminal device may be a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-integrated, or in-vehicle mobile device. The terminal device may be widely applied in various scenarios, such as cellular communication, wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems, device to device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X), peer to peer (P2P), machine to machine (M2M), machine type communication (MTC), internet of things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, intelligent transportation, smart city, unmanned aerial vehicles, robotics, remote sensing, passive sensing, positioning, navigation and tracking, and self-delivery and mobility.Some examples of terminal devices are: user equipment (UE) of the 3GPP® standard, a station (STA) of a Wi-Fi system, a fixed device, a mobile device, a handheld device, a wearable device, a cellular phone, a smartphone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a notebook computer, a personal computer, a smartbook, a vehicle, a satellite, a global positioning system (GPS) device, a target tracking device, an unmanned aerial vehicle, a helicopter, an aircraft, a ship, a remote control device, a smart home device, an industrial device, a personal communication service (PCS) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless network camera, a tablet computer, a palmtop computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device such as a smartwatch, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, an industrial control wireless terminals for smart home control, terminals for Internet of Vehicle systems, wireless terminals for self-driving, wireless terminals for smart grids, wireless terminals for transportation safety, wireless terminals for smart cities such as smart fuel dispensers and terminal devices on high-speed trains, and wireless terminals for smart homes such as smart speakers, smart coffee machines, and smart printers. The terminal devices may be wireless devices in the various scenarios mentioned above, or devices located within wireless devices, such as communication modules, modems, or chips within the devices mentioned above.The terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal, UE, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. The terminal device may further include a position reference device, such as an automated guided vehicle (AGV) or a device with similar functions. For ease of explanation, the following description will use an example in which the terminal device is a UE.

[0064] In the present application, a communication device configured to perform the functions of a terminal device may be a terminal device itself, or may be a device capable of supporting a communication device in performing the functions of the terminal device, such as a chip system. The device may be installed in the terminal device or used in combination with the terminal device. The chip system may include a chip, or may include a chip and another discrete device. In the method of the present application, an example in which a communication device configured to perform the functions of a terminal device is a terminal device is used for explanation.

[0065] The network device may be a device that provides wireless communication function services, can communicate with terminal devices, and is usually located on a network side. The network device may be an access network device or a radio access network device. For example, the network device may be a base station. For example, the access network device in the embodiment of the present application includes, but is not limited to, a next-generation Node B (gNodeB, gNB) of a 5G communication system, a base station of a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station of a future mobile communication system, an access node (AP) of a WiFi system, an evolved Node B (eNB) of an LTE system, a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a home Node B (e.g., home evolved Node B or home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), a transmission reception point (TRP), a transmitting point (TP), a base transceiver station (BTS), a satellite, and an unmanned aerial vehicle. In the network structure, the network device may include a centralized unit (CU) node, a distributed unit (DU) node, a RAN device including a CU node and a DU node, or a RAN device including a control plane CP node, a user plane CU node, and a DU node. Alternatively, the network device may be a radio controller, a relay station, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, etc. in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario.Additionally, a base station may be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node, or a combination thereof. Alternatively, a base station may be a communications module, modem, or chip located in any of the aforementioned devices or equipment. Alternatively, a base station may be a mobile switching center, a device performing base station functions in device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), or machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, a network device in a 6G network, a device performing base station functions in future communications systems, etc. Base stations can support networks using the same or different access technologies. This is not limiting. Base stations may be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or unmanned aerial vehicle may be configured as a mobile base station, and one or more cells may move based on the location of the mobile base station. In another example, a helicopter or unmanned aerial vehicle may be configured as a device communicating with another base station.

[0066] The network devices and terminal devices may be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor devices, handheld devices, or vehicle-mounted devices, on water, or in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The deployment scenarios of the network devices and terminal devices are not limited by the embodiments of the present application. Additionally, each of the terminal devices and network devices may be a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, a software function running on general-purpose hardware, for example, a virtualization function instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform), or an entity including dedicated or general-purpose hardware devices and software functions. The specific forms of the terminal devices and network devices are not limited by the present application.

[0067] The apparatus configured to perform the functions of the network device may be a network device, or may be an apparatus capable of supporting a communication device in performing the functions of the network device of the present application, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a hardware circuit plus a software module. The apparatus may be mounted on the network device or used in combination with the network device. In the method of the present application, an example in which the apparatus configured to perform the functions of the network device is a network device is used for explanation.

[0068] The communication system may further include a network element having an artificial intelligence function. Links related to AI model design, such as a data collection link (e.g., collecting training data and / or inference data), a model training link, and a model inference link, may be performed by one or more network elements having the artificial intelligence function. In one possible design, the AI ​​function (e.g., an AI module or an AI entity) may be configured to perform AI-related operations, such as AI model training and / or inference, in an existing network element in the communication system. For example, the existing network element may be an access network device (e.g., a gNB), a terminal device, a core network device, a network management system, etc. The network management system may detect network operating conditions, optimize network connectivity and network performance, improve network stability, and reduce network maintenance costs. Alternatively, in another possible design, an independent network element may be introduced into the communication system to perform AI-related operations, such as AI model training. This independent network element may be referred to as an AI network element, an AI node, etc. The name is not limiting in this disclosure. An AI network element may be directly connected to an access network device in a communication system or indirectly connected to the access network device through a third-party network element, which may be, but is not limited to, a core network device, such as an authentication management function (AMF) network element or a user plane function (UPF) network element, a network management system, a cloud server, or another network element.Optionally, an AI network element may be a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, a software function running on general-purpose hardware, a virtualized function instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform), or an entity including a dedicated or general-purpose hardware device and a software function. Optionally, an AI network element may be located in a server, for example, in a host or cloud server of an OTT system.

[0069] In the present disclosure, one or more parameters may be obtained by inference using one model. The training processes of different models may be deployed on different devices or nodes, or may be deployed on the same device or node. The inference processes of different models may be deployed on different devices or nodes, or may be deployed on the same device or node. This is not a limitation of the present disclosure.

[0070] The reference signal resource configuration method provided in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0071] The embodiments provided in the present application may be applied to the wireless communication system shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2. For example, the first network element may be the terminal device 120 in Figure 1 or Figure 2, and the second network element may be the network device 110 in Figure 1 or Figure 2. It will be understood that when the AI ​​model is not located in the terminal device or the network device, AI model-related information, for example, input-related information or output-related information of the AI ​​model, may be transferred by the terminal device or the network device to the network element located in the AI ​​model.

[0072] The reference signal resource configuration method provided in the present application may be applied to reference signal resource configuration in a non-AI scenario, or may be applied to reference signal resource configuration in an AI scenario, without being limited thereto.

[0073] FIG. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a reference signal resource configuration method 300 according to the present application.

[0074] 310: The second network element transmits first information, and the first network element receives the first information from the second network element, and the first information is used to configure a first reference signal resource set.

[0075] In this application, reference signal resources include reference signal (RS) resources and / or SSB resources. For example, RS resources include CSI resources. The reference signal resources included in the first reference signal resource set may include RS resources, SSB resources, or a combination of RS resources and SSB resources. This is not limited thereto.

[0076] 320: The second network element sends the second information, and the first network element receives the second information from the second network element.

[0077] The second information is used to determine a reference signal resource set group, the reference signal resource set group including one or more reference signal resource sets, the one or more reference signal resource sets including the first reference signal resource set.

[0078] Any reference signal resource set in a reference signal resource set group may include RS resources, SSB resources, or a combination of RS and SSB resources.

[0079] 4 is a diagram of a reference signal resource configuration method according to the present application. Figure 4 shows a reference signal resource set group. The reference signal resource set group includes a total of four reference signal resource sets, each including 16 reference signal resources. For a first network element (e.g., a UE), first information from a second network element (e.g., a base station) is used to configure a reference signal resource set (referred to as a first reference signal resource set), which is a reference signal resource set among one or more reference signal resource sets configured by the second network element. The reference signal resource set group may be determined based on one or more reference signal resource sets.

[0080] In the technical solution of the present application, the second network element configures a first reference signal resource set for the first network element based on the first information. The number of reference signal resources included in the first reference signal resource set may be less than or equal to the maximum number of reference signal resources that the second network element can support. All reference signal resources configured by the second network element are indicated to the first network element based on the second information. The first network element can determine a reference signal resource set group based on the second information, where the reference signal resource set group includes one or more reference signal resource sets, and the one or more reference signal resource sets include the first reference signal resource set. Based on the first information and the second information, the first network element can determine that the first reference signal resource set includes all reference signal resources configured by the second network element, or can determine that the first reference signal resource set is further associated with one or more other reference signal resource sets. In the former case, the first network element can determine that the reference signal resources in the first reference signal resource set are all reference signal resources configured by the second network element. In the latter case, the first network element may determine that the reference signal resources in the first reference signal resource set and the reference signal resources in one or more other reference signal resource sets constitute all of the reference signal resources configured by the second network element.

[0081] Based on the above technical solutions provided in the present application, when the second network element configures reference signal resources, the number of reference signal resources is not limited by the maximum number of reference signal resources that the first network element can support. Even if the number of reference signal resources configured by the second network element is greater than the maximum number of reference signal resources, the second network element can send second information to the first network element, so that the first network element can know that the second network element configures at least two reference signal resource sets. In this way, the flexibility of reference signal resource configuration can be increased, and the capacity of the reference signal resource measurement network element (i.e., the first network element) is no longer a constraint.

[0082] Optionally, the reference signal resource set group includes one or more reference signal resource sets, for example, the reference signal resource set group includes a first reference signal resource set, or the reference signal resource set group includes one reference signal resource set, i.e., the first reference signal resource set includes the set of all reference signal resources configured by the second network element, or the reference signal resource set group includes at least two reference signal resource sets, and the at least two reference signal resource sets include the first reference signal resource set.

[0083] If the reference signal resource set group includes a first reference signal resource set, the first network element determines the first reference signal resource set based on the first information, and the first network element determines the first reference signal resource set to be a reference signal resource set group based on the second information. If the reference signal resource set group includes at least two reference signal resource sets, the first network element determines the first reference signal resource set based on the first information, and the second network element determines reference signal resource sets other than the first reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group based on the second information.

[0084] It should be understood that determining a reference signal resource set group means determining all reference signal resource sets in the reference signal resource set group, in other words, determining one or more reference signal resource sets means determining a reference signal resource set group.

[0085] Optionally, in the present application, the second information is used by the first network element to determine a reference signal resource set group. In other words, the second information indicates an association relationship of one or more reference signal resource sets. It should be understood that when a reference signal resource set group includes a reference signal resource set, the reference signal resource set can also be considered to be associated with the reference signal resource set, or when a reference signal resource set group includes at least two reference signal resource sets, the at least two reference signal resource sets are associated.

[0086] 4 as an example. The second information transmitted by the second network element is used to determine a reference signal resource set group, where the reference signal resource set group includes a total of 64 reference signal resources. The second network element configures a first reference signal resource set based on the first information, where the first reference signal resource set includes 16 reference signal resources.

[0087] Optionally, the second information is: the number of reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; periodicity information of a reference signal resource set group; an identifier for each reference signal resource set included in the reference signal resource set group; an identifier of configuration information of each reference signal resource set included in the reference signal resource set group; Pattern information of one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group in the reference signal resource set group; and The reference signal resource set group includes one or more pieces of information relating to the association relationship of one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group.

[0088] In the following, the above implementation of the second information is described using the reference signal resource set group and the first reference signal resource set (eg, reference signal resource set #1) shown in FIG. 4 as an example.

[0089] For example, the second information may include four reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group, namely, reference signal resource set #1, reference signal resource set #2, reference signal resource set #3, and reference signal resource set #4. Optionally, this implementation may be used when the reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group correspond to consecutive reference signal resource set configuration periods. Using FIG. 4 as an example, the reference signal resource set group includes four reference signal resource sets, and the four reference signal resource sets correspond to four consecutive configuration periods (i.e., reference signal resource set configuration periods). Reference signal resource set #1 corresponds to the first configuration period, reference signal resource set #2 corresponds to the second configuration period, and so on. The first network element determines, as the reference signal resource set group, several reference signal resource sets, the number of which is indicated by the second information, by identifying each reference signal resource set.

[0090] As another example, the second information may include a total number of reference signal resources included in the reference signal resource set group. Optionally, this implementation may be used when the reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group correspond to consecutive reference signal resource set configuration periods. The first network element identifies the number of reference signal resources in each reference signal resource set and determines, as the reference signal resource group or reference signal resource set groups, the reference signal resources in several reference signal resource sets whose total number is equal to the number indicated by the second information.

[0091] As another example, the second information may include periodicity information of the reference signal resource set group.

[0092] Specifically, at least two reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group are periodic, with each period corresponding to a respective reference signal resource set. For example, the reference signal resource set group includes four reference signal resource sets, with each reference signal resource set including 16 reference signal resources. The 16 reference signal resources may be configured based on one piece of configuration information. The configuration information is transmitted periodically, and after four periods, all 64 reference signal resources in the reference signal resource set group may be fully configured. In addition, the second information is also periodic, with one period of the second information corresponding to four periods of the configuration information. The second network element periodically transmits the 16 reference signal resources. Optionally, each reference signal resource corresponds to a respective beam. For example, the 16 reference signal resources transmitted in the first period are used to carry beams #1 through #16, the 16 reference signal resources transmitted in the second period are used to carry beams #17 through #32, the 16 reference signal resources transmitted in the third period are used to carry beams #33 through #48, and the 16 reference signal resources transmitted in the fourth period are used to carry beams #49 through #64. Assume that one period of the configuration information is 20 milliseconds. In this case, the period of the second information is 80 milliseconds. In this example, the second information may indicate 80 milliseconds. In some examples, the configuration information may be carried in one or more of the following fields: a channel state information (CSI) reporting configuration (CSI-ReportConfig) field, a CSI-resource configuration (CSI-ResourceConfig) field, a CSI-resource set (ResourceSet) field, or a CSI-resource set list (ResourceSetList) field. It will be understood that the first information of step 210 is an example of configuration information, or that the configuration information of any reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group may be referred to as first information.The first network element identifies a reference signal resource set within a period corresponding to one piece of configuration information, and determines one or more reference signal resource sets identified within the period of the reference signal resource set group indicated by the second information as a reference signal resource set group.

[0093] As another example, the second information may include an identifier of each reference signal resource set included in the reference signal resource set group. For example, if the identifiers of the four reference signal resource sets shown in FIG. 4 are Identifier 1, Identifier 2, Identifier 3, and Identifier 4, respectively, the second information may include Identifier 1 to Identifier 4. Alternatively, if the identifiers of the four reference signal resource sets are Identifier a, Identifier b, Identifier c, and Identifier d, respectively, the second information may include Identifier a to Identifier d. The identifiers of the reference signal resource sets may be set in multiple manners or may be set in another manner. The first network element identifies the identifiers of the reference signal resource sets indicated by the second information and determines the reference signal resource sets as the reference signal resource set group or the reference signal resource group.

[0094] As another example, the second information may include an identifier of configuration information of each reference signal resource set included in the reference signal resource set group. For example, the second information may include identifiers of configuration information of four reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group, such as CSI-ReportConfig identifiers.

[0095] As another example, the second information may include pattern information of one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group in the reference signal resource set group. For example, the reference signal resource sets in each group correspond to individual positions in the numbered order. The pattern shown in Figure 4 is used as an example. Reference signal resource set #1 corresponds to the first quarter of the beam sets in the full beam codebook, reference signal resource set #2 corresponds to the second quarter of the beam sets in the full beam codebook, and so on.

[0096] As another example, the second information may include information regarding an association relationship between at least two reference signal resource sets in a reference signal resource set group. In one example, the information regarding the association relationship includes information regarding relative positions of the at least two reference signal resource sets in the reference signal resource set group. Optionally, the relative positions include, but are not limited to, relative positions in the time domain.

[0097] For example, information about relative position can be a sequential number of the relative position of the first reference signal resource set within the reference signal resource set group; or The reference signal resource set group may include an association relationship between the first reference signal resource set and the second reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group.

[0098] The first reference signal resource set generally refers to any reference signal resource set within a reference signal resource set group, and the second reference signal resource set generally refers to another reference signal resource set different from the first reference signal resource set within the reference signal resource set group.

[0099] Based on the relative positions of the at least two reference signal resource sets in the reference signal resource set group, the UE can distinguish between at least two reference signal resource sets corresponding to different beams / resources. For example, if the at least two reference signal resource sets are specifically four reference signal resource sets, the second information can indicate that reference signal resource set #1 corresponds to group #1, reference signal resource set #2 corresponds to group #2, reference signal resource set #3 corresponds to group #3, and reference signal resource set #4 corresponds to group #4. Based on the second information, the UE can distinguish that the reference signal resources included in each of the four groups are different. For example, if each reference signal resource set includes 16 reference signal resources, the reference signal resource set group includes a total of 64 reference signal resources. In this case, the UE can determine that reference signal resources #1 to #16 in group #1 correspond to reference signal resources #1 to #16 of the 64 reference signal resources in the reference signal resource set group, that reference signal resources #1 to #16 in group #2 correspond to reference signal resources #17 to #32 of the 64 reference signal resources in the reference signal resource set group, that reference signal resources #1 to #16 in group #3 correspond to reference signal resources #33 to #48 of the 64 reference signal resources in the reference signal resource set group, and that reference signal resources #1 to #16 in group #4 correspond to reference signal resources #49 to #64 of the 64 reference signal resources in the reference signal resource set group.

[0100] As another example, the information regarding the association relationship may further include an association relationship between a first reference signal resource set and any reference signal resource set (e.g., a second reference signal resource set) in the reference signal resource set group. For example, the first reference signal resource set is a reference signal resource set before or after the second reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group. For example, if the first reference signal resource set is configured using first configuration signaling, the first configuration signaling includes identification information of the second reference signal resource set to associate the first reference signal resource set with the second reference signal resource set.

[0101] The above describes some examples of specific implementations of the second information.

[0102] Optionally, the second information may be included in one indication signaling, or may be included in multiple indication signalings.

[0103] For example, the second information may include the number of reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group and periodicity information, and the second information may be included in one indication signaling.

[0104] For example, the second information may include an identifier of each reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group, an identifier of configuration information of each reference signal resource set, or pattern information of one or more reference signal resource sets in the reference signal resource set group, and the second information may be included in multiple indication signaling. In one example, when the second information is included in multiple indication signaling, each of the multiple indication signalings corresponds to one reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group. Using FIG. 4 as an example, the reference signal resource set group includes four reference signal resource sets, and the second information may be included in four indication signalings. The four indication signalings correspond to the four reference signal resource sets, respectively, and each indication signaling indicates information about the corresponding reference signal resource set. For example, indication signaling #1 indicates information about reference signal resource set #1, such as the identifier of reference signal resource set #1 or the identifier of configuration information of reference signal resource set #1. Of course, the case where each indication signaling corresponds to one reference signal resource set is not limited. For example, some of the plurality of indication signalings may correspond to one reference signal resource set, and some of the plurality of indication signalings may correspond to two or more reference signal resource sets. This is not a limitation.

[0105] Optionally, when the second information is included in one or more indication signalings, configuration information of one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group may be transmitted by the second network element independently of the second information. For example, the second network element transmits the second information to the first network element, thereby causing the first network element to determine the reference signal resource set group. In addition, the second network element transmits configuration information of each reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group to the first network element. The first reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group is used as an example. The configuration information of the first reference signal resource set is referred to herein as first information. The first reference signal resource set generally refers to any reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group. Therefore, each reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group corresponds to one piece of first information, i.e., the configuration information of each reference signal resource set.

[0106] Optionally, as another example, the second information is included in a plurality of configuration signalings, each of which corresponds to one reference signal resource set in a reference signal resource set group. Each configuration signaling includes an identifier of the reference signal resource set group and configuration information of the reference signal resource set corresponding to the configuration signaling. For example, a first configuration signaling of the plurality of configuration signalings corresponds to a first reference signal resource set. The first configuration signaling includes an identifier of the reference signal resource set group and configuration information (i.e., first information) of the first reference signal resource set.

[0107] Use FIG. 4 as an example. A reference signal resource set group includes four reference signal resource sets. Assume that the group identifier of the reference signal resource set group is group #1. The second information is included in four configuration signals, and the four configuration signals #1 to #4 correspond to reference signal resource sets #1 to #4, respectively. Each configuration signal includes an identifier of the reference signal resource set group and configuration information of the reference signal resource set corresponding to the configuration signal. For example, configuration signal #1 includes group identifier group #1 and configuration information for reference signal resource set #1, configuration signal #2 includes group identifier group #1 and configuration information for reference signal resource set #2, and so on. The first network element receives configuration signal #1 to configuration signal #4 and can determine, based on the group identifier group #1, that the four reference signal resource sets configured using the four configuration signals belong to one reference signal resource set group, i.e., group #1.

[0108] The second network element configures a first reference signal resource set for the first network element based on the first information. The first network element can know all reference signal resources (or reference signal resource sets) configured by the second network element based on the second information. After determining all reference signal resources configured by the second network element, the first network element can measure the reference signal resources to obtain measurement results. The measurement results can be used for various purposes in various scenarios. For example, in an AI scenario, the measurement results can be used to determine input information and / or target output information (sometimes referred to as labels or truth values) for an AI model, and then perform AI-related operations on the AI ​​model based on the input information and / or target output information of the AI ​​model. As another example, in a non-AI scenario, the measurement results can be used for channel estimation, etc.

[0109] It should be noted that in this application, a measurement of a reference signal resource may be a measurement of a reference signal on a reference signal resource or a beam scan. Similarly, a measurement of a reference signal resource set may be a measurement of a reference signal on a reference signal resource included in a reference signal resource set or a beam scan.

[0110] The following describes an example in which the technical solution provided in this application is applied to an AI scenario.

[0111] For example, the first network element is a UE and the second network element is a network device (eg, a base station).

[0112] 1. The AI ​​model is deployed to a network device.

[0113] In this scenario, the UE receives first information and second information from the network device and provides report information to the network device based on the first information and the second information. The network device obtains input information and / or target output information for the AI ​​model based on the report information. The input information and / or target output information for the AI ​​model may be used for AI model operation for the AI ​​model deployed on the network device.

[0114] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a reference signal resource configuration method 500 according to the present application.

[0115] 501: Optionally, a UE reports capability information to a network device, where the capability information indicates a maximum number of reference signal resources that can be measured by the UE in a reference signal resource measurement period.

[0116] 502: Optionally, the network device configures reference signal resources and association relationships between the reference signal resources.

[0117] The network device configures the maximum number of reference signal resources that the UE can support in a reference signal resource measurement period (also called a beam management period) based on the capability information reported by the UE. The reference signal resources configured by the network device in the reference signal measurement period are a reference signal resource set, for example, a first reference signal resource set. If the total number of reference signal resources configured by the network device is greater than the maximum number of reference signal resources that the UE can support, the network device needs to further configure association relationships of all reference signal resources. Specifically, this can be implemented by configuring association relationships of reference signal resource sets, whereby the UE determines a reference signal resource set group based on the association relationships of the reference signal resource sets.

[0118] 503: The network device transmits first information, and the UE receives the first information from the network device.

[0119] The UE determines a first reference signal resource set based on the first information.

[0120] 504: The network device transmits the second information, and the UE receives the second information from the network device.

[0121] The UE determines a reference signal resource set group based on the second information, where the reference signal resource set group includes the first reference signal resource set.

[0122] For the first information in step 503 and the second information in step 504, please refer to the above description, for example, the description of the first information and the second information in method 300. The details will not be described again.

[0123] 505: The UE measures the first reference signal resource set based on the first information to obtain a measurement result.

[0124] Optionally, the network device configures a reference signal resource set group for the UE, where the reference signal resource set group includes one or more reference signal resource sets, and the one or more reference signal resource sets include a first reference signal resource set. Whether the UE measures all reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group depends on a specific implementation of the UE. For example, the UE may measure only the first reference signal resource set to obtain measurement results (or may measure reference signals based on reference signal resources in the first reference signal resource set), or the UE may measure two or more reference signal resource sets in the reference signal resource set group to obtain measurement results, or the UE may measure each reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group to obtain measurement results.

[0125] It should be understood that the UE measuring a reference signal resource set may include the UE measuring at least one reference signal resource in the reference signal resource set. Optionally, the UE may measure each reference signal resource included in the reference signal resource set.

[0126] In addition, it should be understood that since a reference signal resource set group includes one or more reference signal resource sets, the transmission of the reference signal is performed in multiple periods, with each period corresponding to one reference signal resource set.

[0127] 506: The UE generates reporting information.

[0128] Optionally, the UE determines a reporting scheme based on the second information, where the reporting scheme indicates the number of times to report the report information. The UE generates report information based on the determined reporting scheme and the measurement results. Optionally, the UE may determine the reporting scheme based on the UE capability information and the second information. For example, if the UE has the capability to report all the information to be reported, it may determine that the number of times to report the report information is 1, i.e., the report information is reported once. If the UE does not have the capability to report all the information to be reported, it may determine that the number of times to report the report information is n, where n is an integer greater than 1. In one example, if the reference signal resource set group includes at least two reference signal resource sets, the UE may perform reporting once when the UE completes measurement of one reference signal resource set. The UE can achieve a higher accuracy range of the report information by using higher layer signaling instead of the physical layer. In other words, using higher layer signaling allows the report information to be reported with higher accuracy. For example, the metric is a reference signal received power (RSRP) value. In this case, the reporting information reported by the first network element to the second network element is the RSRP value. The data accuracy of the RSRP value reported by the first network element using Layer 3 (abbreviated as L3) is higher than the data accuracy of the RSRP value reported by the first network element using Layer 1 (abbreviated as L1). In one example, the data range of the RSRP value reported by the first network element using Layer 1 may be [-44 dBm, -140 dBm], and the data range of the RSRP value reported using Layer 3 may be [-31 dBm, -156 dBm]. It can be seen that when Layer 3 is used for reporting, the data accuracy of the reporting information may be higher and the data range is wider. Optionally, the reporting information may be one of the following: Measurement results of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; L measurement results of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group, where L is a positive integer; and The information includes one or more of information about L reference signal resources obtained based on measurement results of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in a reference signal resource set group, where L is a positive integer.

[0129] In one example, the UE selects information about L reference signal resources that satisfy a predetermined rule based on measurement results of each reference signal resource in each reference signal resource set included in the reference signal resource set group. For example, the predetermined rule may be that if the measurement quantity is RSRP, then the L reference signal resources corresponding to the L measurement values ​​with the strongest RSRP values ​​are selected. Optionally, L may be equal to 1. Optionally, the information about the L reference signal resources may include identifiers of the L reference signal resources. Additionally, optionally, the L reference signal resources may be from different reference signal resource sets in the reference signal resource set group or from the same reference signal resource set.

[0130] 507: The UE sends reporting information to the network device, and the network device receives the reporting information.

[0131] Optionally, the reporting information is carried in physical layer signaling or higher layer signaling. In one implementation, the reporting information is carried in one higher layer signaling, and the number of reports is one.

[0132] In one example, in step 504, the second information is included in a plurality of configuration signalings, each of which is used to configure one reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group. In step 507, the report information is carried on a first uplink time frequency resource, and the first uplink time frequency resource is configured using a second configuration signaling among the plurality of configuration signalings. For example, the second configuration signaling is the most recent configuration signaling among the plurality of configuration signalings. The second configuration signaling is configuration signaling for configuring a target reference signal resource set, and the target reference signal resource set is the reference signal resource set having the most recent relative position in the time domain among the reference signal resource set group. Specifically, when a network device transmits a plurality of configuration signalings based on a plurality of reference signal resource sets in a reference signal resource set group to separately configure a plurality of reference signal resource sets, the first uplink time frequency resource used by the first network element to transmit the report information may be further configured with the most recent configuration signaling in the time domain. After receiving the multiple configuration signalings, the first network element determines that one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group have been configured based on the latest configuration signaling in the time domain (i.e., the second signaling), and obtains configuration information of the first uplink time-frequency resource based on the second configuration signaling, so as to transmit reporting information on the first uplink time-frequency resource.

[0133] 508: The network device determines input information and / or target output information of the AI ​​model based on the report information.

[0134] Optionally, the input information of the AI ​​model is: a measurement result of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; and The information includes one or more of M measurement results or information about M reference signal resources determined based on measurement results of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group, where M is a positive integer.

[0135] In one example, the UE measures each reference signal resource in each reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group to obtain all measurement results, and selects M measurement results from all measurement results based on a predefined rule. For example, the predefined rule may be the M strongest measurements among all measurement results. Furthermore, if the measurement quantity is RSRP, the M strongest measurements are the M measurements with the strongest RSRP values. Optionally, M may be equal to 1.

[0136] Optionally, the target output information of the AI ​​model is: a measurement result of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; and The information includes one or more of information about N reference signal resources determined based on measurement results of at least one reference signal resource in one or more reference signal resource sets included in a reference signal resource set group, where N is a positive integer.

[0137] In one example, the UE measures each reference signal resource in each reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group to obtain all measurement results, and selects N measurement results from all measurement results based on a predefined rule. For example, the predefined rule may be the N strongest measurements among all measurement results. Furthermore, if the measurement quantity is RSRP, the N strongest measurements are the N measurements with the strongest RSRP values. Optionally, N may be equal to 1.

[0138] 509: The network device performs an AI model operation on the AI ​​model based on the input information and / or target output information of the AI ​​model.

[0139] Optionally, the AI ​​model manipulation includes: The AI ​​model includes one or more of AI model inference, AI model training (including initial training and / or updates), AI model training data collection, or AI model monitoring, where updates include, but are not limited to, fine-tuning, updating, or retaining.

[0140] After obtaining the input information and / or target output information of the AI ​​model, the network device can perform an AI-related operation on the AI ​​model. Optionally, if the AI-related operation needs to be performed multiple times, the procedure shown in FIG. 5 may be repeated.

[0141] It will be appreciated that if the operation of the AI ​​model, such as training and / or inference, is not performed by the network device, step 509 or steps 508 and 509 may be performed by an operation network element of the AI ​​model. The method further includes the network device sending operation-related information or reporting information of the AI ​​model to the operation network element of the AI ​​model.

[0142] 2. The AI ​​model is deployed to the UE.

[0143] In this scenario, the UE receives first information and second information from the network device, and obtains input information and / or target output information of the AI ​​model based on the first information and the second information. The input information and / or target output information of the AI ​​model may be used for AI model operation for the AI ​​model deployed in the UE.

[0144] FIG. 6 illustrates another example of a reference signal resource configuration method 600 according to the present application.

[0145] 601: Optionally, a UE reports capability information to a network device, where the capability information indicates a maximum number of reference signal resources that can be measured by the UE in a reference signal measurement period.

[0146] 602: Optionally, the network device configures reference signal resources and association relationships between the reference signal resources.

[0147] 603: The network device transmits first information, and the UE receives the first information from the network device.

[0148] 604: The network device transmits the second information, and the UE receives the second information from the network device.

[0149] 605: The UE measures the first reference signal resource set based on the first information to obtain a measurement result.

[0150] For steps 601 to 605, please refer to the corresponding descriptions of steps 501 to 505. For the sake of brevity, the details will not be described again.

[0151] 606: The UE generates input information and / or target output information for the AI ​​model based on the measurement result and the second information.

[0152] 607: The UE performs an AI model operation on the AI ​​model based on the input information and / or target output information of the AI ​​model.

[0153] After obtaining the input information and / or target output information of the AI ​​model, the terminal device can perform an AI-related operation on the AI ​​model. Optionally, if the AI-related operation needs to be performed multiple times, the procedure shown in FIG. 5 may be repeated.

[0154] It should be understood that if the operation of the AI ​​model, such as training and / or inference, is not performed by the UE, step 607 or steps 606 and 607 may be performed by an operation network element of the AI ​​model. The method further includes a step in which the UE sends operation-related information or reporting information of the AI ​​model to the operation network element of the AI ​​model.

[0155] The above describes in detail how the reference signal resource configuration method provided in the present application is applied to AI scenarios. As mentioned above, the method of the present application can also be applied to non-AI scenarios. For example, in a non-AI scenario, when a UE needs to measure all reference signal resources configured by the network side and the number of all reference signal resources exceeds the maximum number of reference signal resources that the UE can support in a reference signal resource measurement period, the method of the present application can be used.

[0156]

[0033] Above, the reference signal resource configuration method provided in the present application has been described in detail. The corresponding communication device will be described below. Referring to Fig. 7, the present application provides a communication device 1000.

[0157] 7, the communication device 1000 includes a processing module 1001 and a communication module 1002. The communication device 1000 may be a terminal device, or may be a communication device, such as a chip, chip system, or circuit, used within, used in cooperation with, or capable of implementing a method performed by a terminal device. Alternatively, the communication device 1000 may be a network device, or may be a communication device, such as a chip, chip system, or circuit, used within, used in cooperation with, or capable of implementing a method performed by a network device. For example, the network device may be an access network device in an embodiment of the method of the present application.

[0158] The communication module may also be referred to as a transceiver module, a transceiver, a transceiver machine, a transceiver device, etc. The processing module may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing unit, a processing device, etc. Optionally, the communication module is configured to perform transmitting and receiving operations of the terminal device or the network device in the manner described above. A component configured to perform a receiving function in the communication module may be considered a receiving unit, and a component configured to perform a transmitting function in the communication module may be considered a transmitting unit. In other words, the communication module includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit.

[0159] When the communication apparatus 1000 is used in a terminal device, the processing module 1001 may be configured to perform the processing functions of the terminal device (or the first network element) in the embodiments of Figures 1 to 6, and the communication module 1002 may be configured to perform the receiving and transmitting functions of the terminal device (or the first network element) in the embodiments of Figures 1 to 6.

[0160] When the communication apparatus 1000 is used within a network device, the processing module 1001 may be configured to perform the processing functions of the network device (e.g., a base station) in the embodiments of Figures 1 to 6, and the communication module 1002 may be configured to perform the receiving and transmitting functions of the network device (or a second network element) in the embodiments of Figures 1 to 6.

[0161] Additionally, it should be noted that the communication module and / or the processing module may be implemented using virtual modules. For example, the processing module may be implemented using a software functional unit or a virtual device, and the communication module may be implemented using a software function or a virtual device. Alternatively, the processing module or the communication module may be implemented using a physical device. For example, if the device is implemented using a chip / chip circuit, the communication module may be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface, performing input operations (corresponding to the aforementioned receiving operation) and output operations (corresponding to the aforementioned transmitting operation). The processing module may be an integrated processor, a microprocessor, or an integrated circuit.

[0162] The division into modules in this application is merely an example and is merely a logical division of functions, and may be divided differently in actual implementation. In addition, the functional modules in the examples of this application may be integrated into one processor, each module may exist physically alone, or two or more modules may be integrated into one module. The integrated module may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module.

[0163] 8, the present application further provides a communication device 1100. Optionally, the communication device 1100 may be a chip or a chip system. Optionally, in the present application, a chip system may include a chip, or may include a chip and another discrete device.

[0164] The communications device 1100 may be configured to perform the functions of any of the network elements in the communications system described in the previous examples. The communications device 1100 may include at least one processor 1110. Optionally, the processor 1110 is coupled to a memory. The memory may be located within the device, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be located external to the device. For example, the communications device 1100 may further include at least one memory 1120. The memory 1120 stores computer programs, computer programs or instructions, and / or data necessary to perform any of the previous examples. The processor 1110 can execute the computer programs stored in the memory 1120 to complete the method of any of the previous examples.

[0165] The communication device 1100 may further include a communication interface 1130, through which the communication device 1100 may exchange information with another device. For example, the communication interface 1130 may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, a pin, or another type of communication interface. If the communication device 1100 is a chip-type device or circuit, the communication interface 1130 in the device 1100 may instead be an input / output circuit, capable of inputting information (or receiving information) and outputting information (or transmitting information). The processor may be an integrated processor, a microprocessor, an integrated circuit, or a logic circuit. The processor may determine output information based on the input information.

[0166] The coupling in this application may be an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, and may be implemented in an electrical, mechanical, or other form, and is used for exchanging information between the devices, units, or modules. The processor 1110 can operate in cooperation with the memory 1120 and the communication interface 1130. The specific connection medium between the processor 1110, the memory 1120, and the communication interface 1130 is not limited in this application.

[0167] Optionally, as shown in Figure 8, the processor 1110, the memory 1120, and the communication interface 1130 are connected to each other through a bus 1140. The bus 1140 may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus may be categorized into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one thick line is used to represent a bus in Figure 8, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0168] In this application, a processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, capable of implementing or executing the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in this application. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the methods disclosed with reference to this application may be performed directly by a hardware processor, or may be performed using a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor.

[0169] In this application, memory may be non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD), or volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM). Memory is any other medium capable of carrying or storing expected program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to this. Memory in this application may alternatively be a circuit or any other device capable of performing a storage function and configured to store program instructions and / or data.

[0170] In one possible implementation, the communication device 1100 may be used in a network device, such as an access network device in an embodiment of the present application. Specifically, the communication device 1100 may be a network device or a device capable of supporting a network device in performing corresponding functions of the network device in any one of the above examples. The memory 1120 stores computer programs (or instructions) and / or data for performing corresponding functions of the network device in any one of the above examples. The processor 1110 may execute the computer programs stored in the memory 1120 to complete the method performed by the network device in any one of the above examples. A communication interface in the communication device 1100 may be configured to interact with a terminal device and transmit information to or receive information from the terminal device.

[0171] In another possible implementation, the communications device 1100 may be used in a terminal device. Specifically, the communications device 1100 may be a terminal device or a device capable of supporting a terminal device in performing the functions of the terminal device in any one of the above examples. The memory 1120 stores computer programs (or instructions) and / or data for performing the functions of the terminal device in any one of the above examples. The processor 1110 may execute computer programs stored in the memory 1120 to complete methods performed by the terminal device in any one of the above examples. A communications interface in the communications device 1100 may be configured to interact with a network device (e.g., an access network device) and to send information to or receive information from the network device.

[0172] The communication device 1100 provided in this example may be used in a network device (e.g., an access network device) to complete a method performed by the network device, or may be used in a terminal device to complete a method performed by the terminal device. Therefore, for technical effects that can be achieved by the communication device, please refer to the aforementioned method embodiments. Details will not be described again here.

[0173] Based on the above example, the present application provides a communication system. In one example, the communication system includes a first network element and a second network element. Optionally, the communication system may further include at least one AI node. For details, see the description of FIG. 1 or FIG. 2. The communication system can implement the reference signal resource configuration method provided in the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 6.

[0174] All or part of the technical solutions provided in the present application may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When an embodiment is implemented using software, all or part of the embodiment may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the procedures or functions according to the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a terminal device, an access network device, or another programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, radio wave, or microwave) methods. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or may be a data storage device that integrates one or more available media, such as a server or a data center. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disk drives, or magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media.

[0175] In this application, cross-references are permitted between examples without logical contradiction, e.g., cross-references are permitted between methods and / or terminology of method embodiments, cross-references are permitted between features and / or terminology of apparatus embodiments, and cross-references are permitted between features and / or terminology of apparatus examples and method examples.

[0176] The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and the parts shown as units may or may not be physical units, and may be located in one place or distributed over multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected based on actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.

[0177] In addition, the functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, each of the units may exist physically alone, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0178] In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more. "Plural" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes an association relationship for describing related objects, and indicates that three relationships may exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent the following three cases: when only A exists, when both A and B exist, and when only B exists. The character " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between related objects. In addition, terms such as "first," "second," etc. may be used in the present application to describe objects, but it should be understood that these objects are not limited by these terms. These terms are used merely to distinguish objects from each other.

[0179] The term "comprises" and any other variations thereof referred to in the embodiments of the present application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device comprising a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, and may optionally further include unlisted steps or units, or may optionally further include other inherent steps or units of the process, method, product, or device. It should be noted that in this application, words such as "example" or "for example" are used to provide an example, illustration, or explanation. Any method or design manner described in this application as "example" or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred over other methods or design manners, or as having more advantages than other methods or design manners. Specifically, the use of words such as "example" or "for example" is intended to describe a related technical solution or concept by using an example in a specific way.

[0180] When a function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the function may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application may essentially be implemented, or a portion of the technical solution may be implemented in the form of a software product. The computer software product includes instructions stored in a storage medium and instructing a computing device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in the embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes any medium capable of storing program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk drive, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc.

[0181] The above description is merely a specific implementation of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application shall fall within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application shall be subject to the scope of protection of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0182] 110 Network Devices 120 Terminal Devices 300 Reference signal resource configuration method 500 Reference signal resource configuration method 600 Reference signal resource configuration method 1000 Communication Equipment 1001 Processing Module 1002 communication module 1100 Communication equipment 1110 processor 1120 memory 1130 Communication Interface 1140 Bus

Claims

1. 1. A reference signal resource configuration method performed by a first network element or a chip used within the first network element, comprising: receiving first information from a second network element, the first information being used to configure a first reference signal resource set; receiving second information from the second network element, the second information being used to determine a reference signal resource set group, the reference signal resource set group including one or more reference signal resource sets, the one or more reference signal resource sets including the first reference signal resource set; A method comprising:

2. The second information is: the number of reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; periodicity information of the reference signal resource set group; an identifier for each reference signal resource set included in the reference signal resource set group; an identifier of configuration information of each reference signal resource set included in the reference signal resource set group; pattern information of the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group in the reference signal resource set group; or Information regarding an association relationship of the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group The method of claim 1 , comprising one or more of:

3. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second information is included in one instruction signaling, or the second information is included in a plurality of instruction signalings, and when the second information is included in the plurality of instruction signalings, each of the plurality of instruction signalings corresponds to one reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group.

4. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second information is included in a plurality of configuration signals, and a first configuration signal of the plurality of configuration signals includes an identifier of the reference signal resource set group and the first information.

5. The information regarding the association relationship may be: a sequential number of the relative position of the first reference signal resource set within the reference signal resource set group; and an association relationship between the first reference signal resource set and a second reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group; 5. The method of claim 2, comprising one or more of:

6. The method comprises: measuring, by the first network element, a reference signal based on the first information to obtain a measurement result; generating, by the first network element, input information and / or target output information for an AI model based on the measurement result and the second information; 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

7. The input information of the AI ​​model is as follows: a measurement result of at least one reference signal resource in the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; and information about M measurement results or M reference signal resources, wherein the information about the M measurement results or M reference signal resources is determined based on the measurement results of the at least one reference signal resource in the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group, and M is a positive integer. The method of claim 6, comprising one or more of:

8. The target output information of the AI ​​model is as follows: a measurement result of at least one reference signal resource in the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; and information about N reference signal resources determined based on the measurement result of the at least one reference signal resource in the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group, where N is a positive integer; The method of claim 6, comprising one or more of:

9. The method comprises: measuring a reference signal based on the first information to obtain a measurement result; determining a reporting method based on the second information, the reporting method indicating a number of times to report the report information; generating the report information based on the determined reporting method and the measurement results; 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the reporting information is carried in physical layer signaling or in higher layer signaling.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the reporting information is carried in one higher layer signaling, and the number of reports is one.

12. The reporting information includes the following: a measurement result of at least one reference signal resource in the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; L measurement results among the measurement results of the at least one reference signal resource in the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group, where L is a positive integer; and information about L reference signal resources obtained based on the measurement result of the at least one reference signal resource in the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group, where L is a positive integer; 12. The method of claim 9, comprising one or more of:

13. the second information is included in the plurality of configuration signals, each of the plurality of configuration signals being used to configure one reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group; the reporting information is carried on a first uplink time frequency resource, the first uplink time frequency resource being configured using a second configuration signaling of the plurality of configuration signalings; 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the second configuration signaling is a latest configuration signaling among the plurality of configuration signalings, or the second configuration signaling is a configuration signaling for configuring a target reference signal resource set, and the target reference signal resource set is a reference signal resource set whose relative position is latest in the time domain among the reference signal resource set group.

14. 1. A reference signal resource configuration method performed by a second network element or a chip used within the second network element, the method comprising: transmitting first information to a first network element, the first information being used to configure a first reference signal resource set; transmitting second information to the first network element, the second information being used to determine a reference signal resource set group, the reference signal resource set group including one or more reference signal resource sets, the one or more reference signal resource sets including the first reference signal resource set; A method comprising:

15. The method comprises: Further comprising receiving report information from the first network element, wherein the report information comprises: a measurement result of at least one reference signal resource in the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; L measurement results among the measurement results of the at least one reference signal resource in the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group, where L is a positive integer; and 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: information about L reference signal resources obtained based on the measurement result of the at least one reference signal resource in the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group, where L is a positive integer.

16. The method comprises: The method of claim 15 , further comprising determining input information and / or target output information for an AI model based on the report information.

17. The second information is: the number of reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; periodicity information of the reference signal resource set group; an identifier for each reference signal resource set included in the reference signal resource set group; an identifier of configuration information of each reference signal resource set included in the reference signal resource set group; pattern information of the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group in the reference signal resource set group; and Information regarding an association relationship of the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group 17. The method of any one of claims 14 to 16, comprising one or more of:

18. 18. The method of claim 14, wherein the second information is included in one instruction signaling, or the second information is included in a plurality of instruction signalings, and when the second information is included in the plurality of instruction signalings, each of the plurality of instruction signalings corresponds to one reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group.

19. 19. The method of claim 14, wherein the second information is included in a plurality of configuration signals, and a first configuration signal of the plurality of configuration signals includes an identifier of the reference signal resource set group and the first information.

20. The information regarding the association relationship may be: a sequential number of the relative position of the first reference signal resource set within the reference signal resource set group; and an association relationship between the first reference signal resource set and a second reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group; 20. The method of any one of claims 17 to 19, comprising one or more of:

21. The input information of the AI ​​model is as follows: the measurement result of the at least one reference signal resource in the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; and information about M measurement results or M reference signal resources determined based on the measurement results of the at least one reference signal resource in the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group, where M is a positive integer; 21. The method of any one of claims 16 to 20, comprising one or more of:

22. The target output information of the AI ​​model is as follows: the measurement result of the at least one reference signal resource in the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group; and information about N reference signal resources determined based on the measurement result of the at least one reference signal resource in the one or more reference signal resource sets included in the reference signal resource set group, where N is a positive integer; 22. The method of any one of claims 16 to 21, comprising one or more of:

23. 23. The method according to claim 15, wherein the reporting information is carried in physical layer signaling or in higher layer signaling.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the reporting information is carried in one higher layer signaling and the number of reports is one.

25. the second information is included in the plurality of configuration signals, each of the plurality of configuration signals being used to configure one reference signal resource set in the reference signal resource set group; the reporting information is carried on a first uplink time frequency resource, the first uplink time frequency resource being configured using a second configuration signaling of the plurality of configuration signalings; 25. The method of claim 15, wherein the second configuration signaling is a latest configuration signaling among the plurality of configuration signalings, or the second configuration signaling is a configuration signaling for configuring a target reference signal resource set, the target reference signal resource set being a reference signal resource set whose relative position is latest in the time domain among the reference signal resource set group.

26. 1. A communication device comprising a processor, 26. A communications device, the processor coupled to a memory, the processor configured to invoke computer program instructions stored in the memory to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 25.

27. 26. A communications device comprising a processor and a communications interface, wherein the communications interface is configured to receive data and / or information and to transmit the received data and / or information to the processor, wherein the processor processes the data and / or information, and wherein the communications interface is further configured to output the data and / or information processed by the processor, to cause the communications device to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 25.

28. 26. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 25.

29. 26. A computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 25.

30. A communication system comprising a communication device according to claim 26 or 27.

Images