Communication methods and communication devices

Abstract

In the field of communications, a communication method and a communication device are disclosed. The method includes a terminal transmitting data to a network device based on first information transmitted by the network device. The first information indicates a transmission mode and a plurality of precoding matrices corresponding to a plurality of antenna panels. The transmission mode is either a first transmission mode or a second transmission mode. The set of antenna ports used by each antenna panel of the terminal in the first or second transmission mode is part of the set of antenna ports used by the terminal in a third transmission mode. The first transmission mode is SDM mode, the second transmission mode is SFN mode, and the third transmission mode is sTRP mode.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202310388735.5, entitled "COMMUNICATION METHOD AND COMMUNICATION APPARATUS," filed with the State Intellectual Property Administration of China on April 7, 2023, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This application relates to the field of communications, and more specifically to communications methods and communications devices. [Background technology]

[0002] In the new radio access technology (NR) of fifth-generation (5G) communication systems, beamforming (BF) technology is used, which can increase directional power in the transmission direction, improve the signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR), and improve system performance. In the implementation process of beamforming technology, the antenna panel is a core component. The beam is transmitted or received through the antenna panel. Directional beams are used during the deployment implementation of 5G NR. To implement wide-area coverage, both base stations (BS) and terminals are deployed using multiple antenna panels.

[0003] Currently, there is discussion regarding simultaneous uplink transmission from multiple antenna panels of a terminal. For example, suppose a terminal has antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2, with antenna panel 1 having X1 antenna ports and antenna panel 2 having X2 antenna ports. In this case, when antenna panel 1 transmits a sounding reference signal (SRS) or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), X1 digital channels are required, and when antenna panel 2 transmits an SRS or PUSCH, X2 digital channels are required. However, because the capabilities of a terminal are limited (for example, due to the high cost of digital channels, the terminal cannot configure an independent digital channel for each antenna panel), the number of digital channels on the terminal may not be sufficient to meet the simultaneous transmission requirements for all antenna ports of multiple antenna panels. In this scenario, how to implement simultaneous transmission from multiple antenna panels is an issue that needs to be considered. [Overview of the Initiative] [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] This application provides a communication method and communication apparatus for implementing simultaneous transmission across multiple antenna panels in a scenario where the number of digital channels in a terminal cannot satisfy the simultaneous transmission of all antenna ports on multiple antenna panels.

[0005] According to the first embodiment, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a terminal, or by a component of the terminal (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal.

[0006] The method includes receiving first information from a network device and transmitting data to the network device based on the first information. The first information indicates a transmission mode, k precoding matrices, and k stream numbers that correspond one-to-one with the k precoding matrices, where k≥2. The transmission mode is the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode. The k precoding matrices and the k stream numbers correspond one-to-one with k first antenna port sets used in the transmission mode. The first antenna port set is a part of a second antenna port set used by a terminal in a third transmission mode. In the first transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on the k precoding matrices and the k stream numbers, and different precoding matrices and stream numbers correspond to different parts of one transport block. In the second transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on the k precoding matrices and the k stream numbers, and different precoding matrices and stream numbers correspond to the same part of one transport block. In the third transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted based on one precoding matrix and one stream number.

[0007] It should be understood that k is the number of antenna panels of the terminal. The total number of antenna ports included in the k first antenna port sets is less than or equal to the number of digital channels of the terminal.

[0008] For example, the first information may be downlink control information (DCI).

[0009] According to the communication method provided in this application, in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the digital channels of the terminal are shared, or in other words, multiple antenna panels of the terminal share the digital channels. In other words, the antenna ports used by each antenna panel of the terminal in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode are part of the antenna ports used in the third transmission mode. The simultaneous transmission of multiple antenna panels can be implemented based on the precoding matrix associated with the antenna ports used by each antenna panel and the number of streams corresponding to the precoding matrix.

[0010] In a possible implementation form, before transmitting data to the network device based on the first information, the method further includes determining the number of antenna ports included in the first antenna port set and k precoding matrices and k numbers of streams based on the first information.

[0011] In a possible implementation form, before receiving the first information from the network device, the method further includes transmitting second information to the network device, where the second information indicates one or more of the number of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the set of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the type of precoding matrix supported by the terminal in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the sharing of the digital channels of the terminal in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the maximum number of streams that the terminal can transmit in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in the third transmission mode, or the maximum number of streams that the terminal can transmit in the third transmission mode. The number of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode is greater than or equal to the number of antenna ports included in the first antenna port set. The type of precoding matrix is non-coherent or partially coherent.

[0012] According to this solution, a network device can determine, based on first information reported by the terminal, whether the terminal's digital channel is being shared in a first or second transmission mode.

[0013] For example, the first information could be uplink control information (UCI), radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a media access control element (MAC CE).

[0014] In possible implementations, the first information further indicates k sets of first antenna ports.

[0015] According to this solution, the network device provides the terminal with k sets of first antenna ports to be used in either a first or second transmission mode to guarantee the terminal's performance. For example, the network device may select an antenna port configuration that has the best performance for each antenna panel of the terminal in order to maximize the terminal's performance.

[0016] In possible implementations, the SRS resource set indicator field in the first information indicates k first antenna port sets.

[0017] According to this solution, k sets of first antenna ports may be indicated without adding any bits to the current signaling, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0018] In possible implementations, before transmitting data to a network device based on the first information, the method further includes receiving third information from the network device, the third information indicating k sets of SRS resources, each set of SRS resources includes the first SRS resource, and the first SRS resource is associated with the first set of antenna ports.

[0019] Please understand that k SRS resource sets correspond one-to-one with k antenna panels.

[0020] According to this solution, the network device may determine k sets of first antenna ports, and the terminal does not need to report k sets of first antenna ports, thereby reducing the reporting overhead for the terminal.

[0021] In possible implementations, the second piece of information indicates the type of precoding matrix supported by the terminal in either the first or second transmission mode. The number of rows in each of the k precoding matrices is equal to the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in the third transmission mode. The number of non-zero rows in each precoding matrix is ​​equal to the number of antenna ports included in the first set of antenna ports. This solution is compatible with conventional techniques and easy to implement.

[0022] In possible implementations, Y = X / k, where Y is the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode, and X is the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in the third transmission mode.

[0023] According to this solution, Y=X / k may be pre-configured, and as a result, the terminal does not need to report the value of Y, and the network device can know the value of Y.

[0024] In possible implementations, the k sets of first antenna ports are specified in the protocol or set before distribution. This solution reduces the implementation complexity of the terminal and the signaling overhead required by the network device to indicate the k sets of first antenna ports to the terminal.

[0025] According to a second embodiment, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a network device, or by a component of the network device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device.

[0026] The method is to determine k precoding matrices and k stream numbers that have a one-to-one correspondence with the k precoding matrices, where k ≥ 2, and the k precoding matrices and k stream numbers have a one-to-one correspondence with k first antenna port sets used in a first or second transmission mode, where the first antenna port sets are part of a second antenna port set used by the terminal in a third transmission mode, where in the first transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on the k precoding matrices and k stream numbers, and different precoding matrices and stream numbers are transmitted simultaneously in one transport The transmission mode includes: corresponding to different parts of a transport block, in a second transmission mode one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on k precoding matrices and k stream numbers, the precoding matrices and stream numbers corresponding to the same part of a transport block are different, in a third transmission mode one transport block is transmitted based on one precoding matrix and one stream number, and transmitting first information to a terminal, the first information indicating the transmission mode, k precoding matrices, and k stream numbers, where the transmission mode is either the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode.

[0027] According to the communication method provided in this application, in a first or second transmission mode, the digital channel of a terminal is shared, or in other words, multiple antenna panels of a terminal share a digital channel. In other words, the antenna ports used by each antenna panel of a terminal in the first or second transmission mode are part of the antenna ports used in the third transmission mode. Simultaneous transmission of multiple antenna panels can be implemented based on a precoding matrix associated with the antenna ports used by each antenna panel and the number of streams corresponding to the precoding matrix.

[0028] In possible implementations, before determining k precoding matrices and the number of streams corresponding one-to-one with the k precoding matrices, the method further includes receiving second information from the terminal, which indicates one or more of the following: the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in a first or second transmission mode; the set of antenna ports the terminal can use in a first or second transmission mode; the type of precoding matrices supported by the terminal in a first or second transmission mode; the sharing of digital channels of the terminal in a first or second transmission mode; the maximum number of streams the terminal can transmit in a first or second transmission mode; the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in a third transmission mode; or the maximum number of streams the terminal can transmit in a third transmission mode. The number of antenna ports the terminal can use in a first or second transmission mode is greater than or equal to the number of antenna ports included in the first set of antenna ports. The type of precoding matrices is non-coherent or partially coherent.

[0029] In possible implementations, prior to determining k precoding matrices and the number of streams corresponding one-to-one with the k precoding matrices, the method further includes determining, based on second information, one or more of the following: the sharing of digital channels of the terminal in a first or second transmission mode; k first sets of antenna ports; the number of antenna ports available to the terminal in a first or second transmission mode; or the types of precoding matrices supported by the terminal in a first or second transmission mode.

[0030] In possible implementations, the first information further indicates k sets of first antenna ports.

[0031] In possible implementations, the SRS resource set indicator field in the first information indicates k first antenna port sets.

[0032] In possible implementations, prior to determining k precoding matrices and k stream numbers corresponding one-to-one with the k precoding matrices, the method further includes transmitting third information to a terminal, the third information indicating k SRS resource sets, each SRS resource set containing a first SRS resource, and each first SRS resource associated with a first antenna port set.

[0033] In possible implementations, the number of rows in each of the k precoding matrices is equal to the number of antenna ports included in the first set of antenna ports.

[0034] In possible implementations, the second piece of information indicates the type of precoding matrix supported by the terminal in either the first or second transmission mode. The number of rows in each of the k precoding matrices is equal to the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in the third transmission mode. The number of non-zero element rows in each precoding matrix is ​​equal to the number of antenna ports included in the first set of antenna ports.

[0035] For the beneficial effects of the solution in the second embodiment, please refer to the beneficial effects of the corresponding solution in the first embodiment.

[0036] According to a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a terminal, or by a component of the terminal (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal.

[0037] The method includes receiving first information from a network device and transmitting data to the network device based on the first information, the first information indicating a transmission mode, which is one of a first transmission mode, a second transmission mode, and a third transmission mode. When the transmission mode is the first or second transmission mode, the first information further includes k fields, the k fields indicating k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers corresponding one-to-one with the k first precoding matrices. When the transmission mode is the third transmission mode, some or all of the bits obtained by concatenating the k fields, or by concatenating the k fields and the first field, indicate a second precoding matrix and a second stream number. In the first transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on the k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers, with different precoding matrices and stream numbers corresponding to different parts of one transport block. In the second transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers, with different precoding matrices and stream numbers corresponding to the same part of one transport block. In the third transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted based on a second precoding matrix and a second stream number.

[0038] This solution allows us to show the precoding matrix and number of streams for different transmission modes.

[0039] In possible implementations, if the terminal's digital channel is shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. If the terminal's digital channel is not shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports used by the terminal (i.e., the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in a third transmission mode) and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode, or the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode or the number of antenna ports in the terminal, and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. The bit length required to indicate the second precoding matrix and the second number of streams is determined by the number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the third transmission mode.

[0040] Specifically, the lengths of the k fields are L1, L2, ..., and L k The bit length required to represent the second precoding matrix and the second stream number is L. L1 + L2 + ... + L k >If L, when the transmission mode is the third transmission mode, L1 + L2 + ... + L k Of the bits, the L bit indicates the second precoding matrix and the second stream number, while the other bits are set to zero, reserved, skipped by the terminal, or ignored by the terminal. For example, L1 + L2 + ... + L k The first bit of (L1+L2+…+L k) - The -L bits or the last (L1 + L2 + … + L k ) - The -L bits can be set to zero, reserved, skipped by the terminal, or ignored by the terminal. Optionally, the length of the first field is 0 or the first field is default. L1 + L2 + … + L k = L, if so, L1 + L2 + … + L k bits indicate the second precoding matrix and the second number of streams. L1 + L2 + … + L k < L, if so, L1 + L2 + … + L k The L bits obtained by concatenating L1 + L2 + … + L bits and the first field indicate the second precoding matrix and the second number of streams, and the length of the first field is L - (L1 + L2 + … + L k ). In this scenario, when the transmission mode is the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the first field is set to zero, reserved, skipped by the terminal, or ignored by the terminal.

[0041] According to this solution, the bit overhead can be reduced while indicating the precoding matrix and the number of streams in different transmission modes.

[0042] In a possible implementation, before transmitting data to the network device based on the first information, the method further includes determining that the first condition is satisfied, and the first condition includes that the digital channel of the terminal is not shared in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, and / or the digital channel of the terminal is shared in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, and the bit length required to indicate k first precoding matrices and k first numbers of streams is greater than or equal to the bit length required to indicate the second precoding matrix and the second number of streams.

[0043] For example, the first condition is determined to be met if one or more of the following conditions are met: The terminal explicitly or implicitly indicates to the network device that the terminal's digital channel is not shared in the first or second transmission mode; the terminal reports to the network device that the number of antenna ports used by each antenna panel for transmission in the first or second transmission mode is less than the number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode; or the terminal reports to the network device the number of antenna ports used by each antenna panel in the first or second transmission mode.

[0044] According to a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a network device, or by a component of the network device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device.

[0045] The method includes generating a first information and transmitting the first information to a terminal, where the first information indicates a transmission mode, and the transmission mode is one of a first transmission mode, a second transmission mode, and a third transmission mode. When the transmission mode is the first or second transmission mode, the first information further includes k fields, where the k fields indicate k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers that correspond one-to-one with the k first precoding matrices. When the transmission mode is the third transmission mode, some or all of the bits obtained by concatenating the k fields, or by concatenating the k fields and the first field, indicate a second precoding matrix and a second stream number. In the first transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on the k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers, where different precoding matrices and stream numbers correspond to different parts of one transport block. In the second transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers, with different precoding matrices and stream numbers corresponding to the same part of one transport block. In the third transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted based on a second precoding matrix and a second stream number.

[0046] This solution allows us to show the precoding matrix and number of streams for different transmission modes.

[0047] In possible implementations, if the terminal's digital channel is shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. If the terminal's digital channel is not shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports used by the terminal (i.e., the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in a third transmission mode) and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode, or the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode or the number of antenna ports in the terminal, and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. The bit length required to indicate the second precoding matrix and the second number of streams is determined by the number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the third transmission mode. This solution allows for a reduction in bit overhead while demonstrating the precoding matrix and stream count for different transmission modes.

[0048] In possible implementations, before generating the first information, the method further includes determining that a first condition is met, the first condition may include that the terminal's digital channels are not shared in a first or second transmission mode, and / or the terminal's digital channels are shared in a first or second transmission mode, and the bit length required to represent k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers is greater than or equal to the bit length required to represent a second precoding matrix and a second stream number.

[0049] According to the fifth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a terminal, or by a component of the terminal (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal.

[0050] The method includes receiving first information from a network device and transmitting data to the network device based on the first information, the first information indicating a transmission mode, which is one of a first transmission mode, a second transmission mode, and a third transmission mode. The first information further includes k fields, the k fields indicating k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers corresponding one-to-one with the k first precoding matrices. When the transmission mode is the third transmission mode, the first information includes a first field, the first field indicating a second precoding matrix and a second stream number. In the first transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers, with different precoding matrices and stream numbers corresponding to different parts of one transport block. In the second transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers, with different precoding matrices and stream numbers corresponding to the same part of one transport block. In the third transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted based on a second precoding matrix and a second stream number.

[0051] When the terminal's digital channel is shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. When the terminal's digital channel is not shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports used by the terminal (i.e., the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in a third transmission mode) and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode, or the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode or the number of antenna ports of the terminal, and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. The length of the first field is determined by the number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the third transmission mode. Optionally, the starting position of the first field is aligned with the starting positions of k fields, or the ending position of the first field is aligned with the ending positions of K fields.

[0052] Specifically, L1 + L2 + ... + L k >If L, and the transmission mode is the third transmission mode, then the first field is L1 + L2 + ... + L k L bits out of the bits, L1 + L2 + ... + L k Another bit in the set of bits is set to zero, reserved, skipped by the terminal, or ignored by the terminal. For example, the first field is L1 + L2 + ... + L k It could be the first L bit or the last L bit.

[0053] L1 + L2 + ... + L k If =L, then L1+L2+…+L k The bit is the first field.

[0054] L1 + L2 + … + L k When L is <L>, when the transmission mode is the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, L1 + L2 + … + L k The L - (L1 + L2 + … + L k ) bits before or after the bit are set to zero, reserved, skipped by the terminal, or ignored by the terminal so as to be aligned with the first field.

[0055] According to this solution, while the precoding matrix and the number of streams in different transmission modes are shown, the bit overhead can be reduced.

[0056] In a possible implementation, before transmitting data to the network device based on the first information, the method further includes determining that the first condition is satisfied, and the first condition is that the digital channel of the terminal is not shared in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, and / or the digital channel of the terminal is shared in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, and the bit length required to indicate k first precoding matrices and k first numbers of streams is greater than or equal to the bit length required to indicate the second precoding matrix and the second number of streams.

[0057] For example, when one or more of the following conditions are satisfied, it is determined that the first condition is satisfied. The terminal explicitly or implicitly indicates to the network device that the digital channel of the terminal is not shared in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, or the terminal reports to the network device that the number of antenna ports used by each antenna panel for transmission in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode is less than the number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode, or the terminal reports to the network device the antenna ports used by each antenna panel in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode.

[0058] According to the sixth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a network device, or by a component of the network device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device.

[0059] The method includes generating a first piece of information and transmitting the first piece of information to a terminal, where the first piece of information indicates a transmission mode, which is one of a first transmission mode, a second transmission mode, and a third transmission mode. The first piece of information further includes k fields, where the k fields indicate k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers that correspond one-to-one with the k first precoding matrices. When the transmission mode is the third transmission mode, the first piece of information includes a first field, where the first field indicates a second precoding matrix and a second stream number. Optionally, the start position of the first field is aligned with the start positions of the K fields, or the end position of the first field is aligned with the end positions of the k fields. In the first transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on the k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers, where different precoding matrices and stream numbers correspond to different parts of one transport block. In the second transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers, with different precoding matrices and stream numbers corresponding to the same part of one transport block. In the third transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted based on a second precoding matrix and a second stream number.

[0060] When the terminal's digital channel is shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. When the terminal's digital channel is not shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports used by the terminal (i.e., the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in a third transmission mode) and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode, or the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode or the number of antenna ports of the terminal, and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. The length of the first field is determined by the number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the third transmission mode.

[0061] In possible implementations, before generating the first information, the method further includes determining that a first condition is met, the first condition may include that the terminal's digital channels are not shared in a first or second transmission mode, and / or the terminal's digital channels are shared in a first or second transmission mode, and the bit length required to represent k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers is greater than or equal to the bit length required to represent a second precoding matrix and a second stream number.

[0062] According to the seventh aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a terminal, or by a component of the terminal (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal.

[0063] The method includes receiving first information from a network device and transmitting data to the network device based on the first information, the first information indicating a transmission mode, which is one of a first transmission mode, a second transmission mode, and a third transmission mode. The first information further includes W bits indicating the precoding matrix and the number of streams. W is the larger of L1 + L2 + ... + Lk and L. L1 + L2 + ... + Lk is the sum of the bits required to indicate k first precoding matrices and a first number of streams that correspond one-to-one with the k first precoding matrices in the first or second transmission mode. L is the number of bits required to indicate a second precoding matrix and a second number of streams in the third transmission mode. In the first transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on k first precoding matrices and k first number of streams, and different precoding matrices and number of streams correspond to different parts of one transport block. In the second transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers, with different precoding matrices and stream numbers corresponding to the same part of one transport block. In the third transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted based on a second precoding matrix and a second stream number.

[0064] When the terminal's digital channel is shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. If the terminal's digital channel is not shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports used by the terminal (i.e., the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in a third transmission mode) and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode, or the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode or the number of antenna ports of the terminal, and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. L is determined by the number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the third transmission mode.

[0065] This solution allows for a reduction in bit overhead while demonstrating the precoding matrix and stream count for different transmission modes.

[0066] In possible implementations, before transmitting data to a network device based on the first information, the method further includes determining that a first condition is met, the first condition may include that the terminal's digital channel is not shared in a first or second transmission mode, and / or the terminal's digital channel is shared in a first or second transmission mode, and the bit length required to represent k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers is greater than or equal to the bit length required to represent a second precoding matrix and second stream number.

[0067] For example, the first condition is determined to be met if one or more of the following conditions are met: The terminal explicitly or implicitly indicates to the network device that the terminal's digital channel is not shared in the first or second transmission mode; the terminal reports to the network device that the number of antenna ports used by each antenna panel for transmission in the first or second transmission mode is less than the number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode; or the terminal reports to the network device the number of antenna ports used by each antenna panel in the first or second transmission mode.

[0068] According to the eighth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a network device, or by a component of the network device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device.

[0069] The method includes generating a first information and transmitting the first information to a terminal, where the first information indicates a transmission mode, and the transmission mode is one of a first transmission mode, a second transmission mode, and a third transmission mode. The first information further includes W bits indicating the precoding matrix and the number of streams. W is the larger of L1 + L2 + ... + Lk and L. L1 + L2 + ... + Lk is the sum of the bits required to indicate k first precoding matrices and a first number of streams that correspond one-to-one with the k first precoding matrices in the first or second transmission mode. L is the number of bits required to indicate a second precoding matrix and a second number of streams in the third transmission mode. In the first transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on the k first precoding matrices and k first number of streams, and different precoding matrices and number of streams correspond to different parts of one transport block. In the second transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers, with different precoding matrices and stream numbers corresponding to the same part of one transport block. In the third transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted based on a second precoding matrix and a second stream number.

[0070] When the terminal's digital channel is shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. If the terminal's digital channel is not shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports used by the terminal (i.e., the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in a third transmission mode) and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode, or the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode or the number of antenna ports of the terminal, and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. L is determined by the number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the third transmission mode.

[0071] In possible implementations, before generating the first information, the method further includes determining that a first condition is met, the first condition may include that the terminal's digital channels are not shared in a first or second transmission mode, and / or the terminal's digital channels are shared in a first or second transmission mode, and the bit length required to represent k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers is greater than or equal to the bit length required to represent a second precoding matrix and a second stream number.

[0072] According to the ninth aspect, a communication device is provided that includes a module or unit configured to perform a method in any one of the first aspect or possible implementations of the first aspect, or a module or unit configured to perform a method in any one of the third aspect or possible implementations of the third aspect, or a module or unit configured to perform a method in any one of the fifth aspect or possible implementations of the fifth aspect, or a module or unit configured to perform a method in any one of the seventh aspect or possible implementations of the seventh aspect.

[0073] According to the tenth aspect, a communication device is provided which includes a module or unit configured to perform a method in the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect, or a module or unit configured to perform a method in the fourth aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the fourth aspect, or a module or unit configured to perform a method in the sixth aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the sixth aspect, or a module or unit configured to perform a method in the eighth aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the eighth aspect.

[0074] According to the eleventh aspect, a communication device including a processor is provided. The processor is coupled to memory. The memory is configured to store computer programs or instructions. The processor is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in memory to implement a method in the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, or a method in the third aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the third aspect, or a method in the fifth aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the fifth aspect, or a method in the seventh aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the seventh aspect.

[0075] In possible implementations, the device further includes memory coupled to the processor.

[0076] In possible implementations, there is one or more processors and / or one or more memory.

[0077] In possible implementations, the memory and processor may be integrated together, or they may be located separately.

[0078] In possible implementations, the device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0079] In one implementation, the device is a terminal. For example, the communication interface may be a transceiver or an input / output interface.

[0080] In another implementation, the device is a chip within the terminal. For example, the communication interface may be an input / output interface.

[0081] According to the twelfth aspect, a communication device including a processor is provided. The processor is coupled to memory. The memory is configured to store computer programs or instructions. The processor is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in memory to implement a method in the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect, or a method in the fourth aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the fourth aspect, or a method in the sixth aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the sixth aspect, or an eighth aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the eighth aspect.

[0082] In possible implementations, the device further includes memory coupled to the processor.

[0083] In possible implementations, there is one or more processors and / or one or more memory.

[0084] In possible implementations, the memory and processor may be integrated together, or they may be located separately.

[0085] In possible implementations, the device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0086] In one implementation, the device is a network device. For example, the communication interface may be a transceiver or an input / output interface.

[0087] In another implementation, the device is a chip within a network device. For example, the communication interface may be an input / output interface.

[0088] According to a thirteenth aspect, a processor is provided which includes an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and to transmit a signal through the output circuit, thereby the processor performs a method in any one of the above aspects or any one of the possible implementations of any one of the above aspects.

[0089] In a particular implementation process, the processor may be a chip, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, various logic circuits, etc. The input signal received by the input circuit may be received and input by a receiver, for example, but not limited to this. The signal output by the output circuit may be output to a transmitter, for example, but not limited to this, and transmitted by the transmitter. The input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit, which is used as an input circuit and an output circuit at different times. The specific implementation forms of the processor and various circuits are not limited in this application.

[0090] According to the 14th aspect, a communication system is provided which includes at least one of the communication devices provided in the 9th aspect and the communication devices provided in the 10th aspect, or which includes at least one of the communication devices provided in the 11th aspect and the communication devices provided in the 12th aspect.

[0091] According to the 15th aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product includes a computer program (sometimes referred to as code or instructions). When the computer program is executed, the computer becomes capable of performing a method in any one of the above aspects or in any one of the possible implementations of any one of the above aspects.

[0092] According to the sixteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program (which may also be called code or instructions). When the computer program is executed on the computer, the computer becomes capable of performing a method in any one of the above aspects or in any one of the possible implementations of any one of the above aspects.

[0093] According to the 17th aspect, a chip is provided which includes a processor configured to call a computer program from memory and execute the computer program, and as a result, a communication device in which the chip is installed performs a method in any one of the above aspects or in any one of the possible implementations of any one of the above aspects.

[0094] According to the 18th aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes an interface and a processor. The interface is configured to transmit and / or receive signals, thereby the processor performs a method in any one of the above aspects or any one of the possible implementations of any one of the above aspects. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0095] [Figure 1] These are diagrams of two typical antenna panels according to one embodiment of the present application. [Figure 2] This is a diagram illustrating an example of an application scenario according to one embodiment of this application. [Figure 3] This is a diagram of the structure of a terminal according to one embodiment of the present application. [Figure 4] This is a diagram of the structure of a terminal according to one embodiment of the present application. [Figure 5] This is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to one embodiment of this application. [Figure 6] This is a schematic flowchart of a specific example of a communication method according to one embodiment of this application. [Figure 7] This is a schematic flowchart of a specific example of a communication method according to one embodiment of this application. [Figure 8] This is a schematic flowchart of a specific example of a communication method according to one embodiment of this application. [Figure 9] This is a schematic flowchart of a specific example of a communication method according to one embodiment of this application. [Figure 10] This is a schematic flowchart of another communication method according to one embodiment of this application. [Figure 11] This is a diagram of a first information format according to one embodiment of the present application. [Figure 12] This is a diagram of a first information format according to one embodiment of the present application. [Figure 13] This is a diagram of a first information format according to one embodiment of the present application. [Figure 14] This is a diagram of a first information format according to one embodiment of the present application. [Figure 15] This is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to one embodiment of the present application. [Figure 16] This is a schematic block diagram of another communication device according to one embodiment of this application. [Figure 17] This is a diagram of the structure of a terminal according to one embodiment of this application. [Figure 18] This is a diagram showing the structure of a network device according to one embodiment of this application. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0096] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can represent A or B. The term "and / or" in this specification describes only the related relationship for the purpose of describing the related objects, and indicates that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: that only A exists, that both A and B exist, and that only B exists. A and B may each be singular or plural. In addition, in the description of this application, "plural" means two or more unless otherwise specified. "At least one of the following items(parts)" or similar expressions mean any combination of these items, including a single item(part) or any combination of multiple items(parts). For example, at least one item(part) of a, b, or c may represent a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b, and c, where a, b, and c may be singular or plural. In addition, in order to clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used in the embodiments of this application to distinguish the same or similar items that provide essentially the same function or purpose. Those skilled in the art will understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the number or order of execution, and that terms such as "first" and "second" do not indicate a clear distinction. In this application, similar descriptions such as "if...", "if...", "when...", and "assumed to be..." may be used interchangeably. The association of A and B may be described as A and B corresponding, and the association of A with B may be described as A with B, and so on.

[0097] In embodiments of this application, a terminal may be user equipment (UE), a station, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device. Alternatively, a terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device or computing device with wireless communication capabilities, or another processing device connected to a wireless modem, a large screen, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal in a 5G network, or a terminal in a future advanced public land mobile network (PLMN). This is not limited to embodiments of this application. In this application, the aforementioned terminals and chips or chip systems that can be placed on such terminals are collectively referred to as terminals.

[0098] In embodiments of this application, a network device may be a device configured to communicate with a terminal. For example, a network device may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access point (AP) in a Wi-Fi system. In another example, a network device may be a module or unit that completes part of the functions of a base station, for example, a central unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). In yet another example, a network device may be a radio controller, a relay station, an access point, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, or an access network device in another future evolved communication system in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. The specific technologies and device forms used by the network device are not limited in this application. In this application, the network devices described above, and chips or chip systems that can be placed on the network devices described above, are collectively referred to as network devices.

[0099] In embodiments of this application, a terminal or network device includes a hardware layer, an operating system layer operating on top of the hardware layer, and an application layer operating on top of the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and memory (also referred to as main memory). The operating system may be any one or more types of computer operating systems that implement service processing through processes, such as a Linux® operating system, a Unix operating system, an Android operating system, an iOS operating system, or a Windows operating system. The application layer includes applications such as a browser, an address book, word processing software, and instant messaging software. In addition, the specific structure of the implementer of the method provided in embodiments of this application is not particularly limited in embodiments of this application, as long as a program that records the code of the method provided in embodiments of this application can be executed to perform communication according to the method provided in embodiments of this application. For example, the implementer of the method provided in embodiments of this application may be a terminal or network device, or a functional module located within a terminal or network device that can call and execute a program.

[0100] In addition, aspects or features of this application may be implemented as methods, apparatus, or products using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. As used in this application, the term “product” covers computer programs that can be accessed from any computer-readable component, carrier, or medium. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage components (e.g., hard disk drives, floppy disks, or magnetic tapes), optical discs (e.g., compact discs (CDs) and digital versatile discs (DVDs)), smart cards, and flash memory components (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), cards, sticks, or key drives). Furthermore, the various storage media described in this specification may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media configured to store information. The term “machine-readable media” may include, but are not limited to, wireless channels, as well as various other media that can store, contain, and / or carry instructions and / or data.

[0101] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as long-term evolution (LTE) systems, 5th generation (5G) mobile communication systems, New Radio (NR), and other mobile communication systems that may emerge in the future (e.g., 6G mobile communication systems).

[0102] This application is applicable to uplink transmission scenarios, in which the terminal performing uplink transmission is deployed using multiple antenna panels.

[0103] Generally, mobile devices integrate two or three antenna panels, while fixed devices, such as customer premises equipment (CPE) / fixed wireless access (FWA), may integrate more antenna panels, for example, four or eight.

[0104] For example, Figure 1 shows diagrams of two typical antenna panels, where Figure 1(a) shows a terminal integrating two antenna panels, and Figure 1(b) shows a terminal integrating four antenna panels. Each antenna panel supports four antenna ports, meaning it can transmit four beams.

[0105] In this application, the antenna panel may be referred to as a panel.

[0106] The antenna panel may also be an antenna set. Accordingly, the antenna panel in the embodiments of this application may be an "antenna set" instead.

[0107] Optionally, the antenna set may be one in which the transmission power can be controlled independently or separately. Alternatively, the antenna set may be one in which independent or separate timing is possible. Alternatively, the antenna set may be one in which modulation and coding are performed independently or separately.

[0108] In one implementation, the antenna panel in the embodiment of this application may be a capability set in the capability set list of the terminal. Accordingly, the antenna panel in the embodiment of this application may alternatively be a "capability set". The capability set may include the number of channel sounding reference signal (SRS) ports, the maximum number of SRS ports, the number of layers transmitted in the uplink (UL), the maximum number of layers transmitted in the UL, the coherence type of the antenna port, and so on.

[0109] Optionally, a correspondence exists between the capability value set and the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) resource indicator (SSBRI), or between the capability value set and the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource indicator (CRI-RS resource indicator, CRI). Therefore, the antenna panel may refer to either the SSBRI or the CRI. Furthermore, accordingly, the antenna panel in the embodiments of this application may alternatively be either the "SSBRI" or the "CRI".

[0110] For example, the correspondence between capability sets and SSBRI, or between capability sets and CRI, may be determined by the terminal. The terminal can report the correspondence between capability sets and SSBRI, or between capability sets and CRI, to the network device in the beam report. Alternatively, the terminal may report the capability sets, SSBRI, or CRI to the network device.

[0111] In one implementation configuration, the antenna panel in the embodiment of this application may be an SRS resource set or an SRS port set. Accordingly, the antenna panel in this application may also be referred to as an "SRS resource set" or an "SRS port set".

[0112] Optionally, in embodiments of this application, the definition of the antenna panel can change dynamically. For example, the antenna panel may include a set of capability values ​​for four SRS ports at time 1, and the antenna panel may include a set of capability values ​​for two SRS ports at time 2, after time 1.

[0113] The terminal must perform precoding when performing uplink transmission. Precoding for uplink transmission supports two types of transmission modes: codebook (CB) based uplink transmission mode and non-codebook (NCB) based uplink transmission mode.

[0114] 1. CB-based uplink transmission A network device may configure multiple SRS resources for a terminal, and the terminal sends multiple SRS resources to the network device. Each SRS resource corresponds to one uplink channel. The network device learns different uplink channel qualities using the received SRS resources. The network device selects the appropriate SRS resource based on the uplink channel quality and determines the precoding matrix and number of layers. The network device then informs the terminal of the selected SRS resource and the determined precoding matrix and number of layers by using the SRS resource indicator (SRI) field and the Precoding information and number of layers field in the downlink control information (DCI). The SRI field indicates the SRS resource index, and the SRS resource is a specific SRS resource selected by the network device from among multiple SRS resources. Each SRS resource may consist of (or be associated with) one or more SRS ports, where the number of SRS ports may be configured using RRC. The precoding information and layer number fields display the Transmission rank indicator (TRI) and Transmission precoding matrix indicator (TPMI). The TRI indicates the rank, i.e., the layer number. The TPMI indicates one of several precoding matrices corresponding to the rank indicated by the TRI.

[0115] After receiving the DCI, the terminal may first determine the TPMI table based on the number of SRS ports of the SRS resource indicated by the SRI field and the uplink maximum rank (maxRank) and power mode (ul-FullPowerTransmission) indicated by the RRC. For example, Table 1 shown below may be determined. Next, the terminal may determine the rows in the table based on the precoding information and layer number field, where the rows include TRI and TPMI. For example, if the precoding information and layer number field are 001001, i.e., the value is 9, and the codebook subset is fullyAndPartialAndNonCoherent, then by looking at the first and second columns of Table 1, it may be determined that the TRI is 2 (i.e., the number of layers is 2) and the TPMI is 5. Then, the table may be determined based on the number of SRS ports and TRI. For example, Table 2 shown below may be determined. The terminal can then determine the precoding matrix in the table based on the TPMI, i.e., the precoding matrix corresponding to TPMI=5, and perform uplink transmission based on the precoding matrix. The first column in Table 1 is the index to which the precoding information and layer number field are mapped; that is, the first column is the index within the precoding information and layer number field, or the decimal number represented in binary.

[0116] [Table 1]

[0117] [Table 2]

[0118] 2. NCB-based uplink transmission mode Regarding NCB-based uplink transmission modes, the 3GPP® NR R16 protocol enables the SRS resource indicator (SRI) when the number of transmission antennas at the terminal is 2 or 4 and the maximum number of layers at the terminal is 4. Specifically, the network device sends a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to the terminal, and the terminal can estimate downlink channel information based on the CSI-RS transmitted by the network device and obtain uplink channel information based on uplink and downlink channel reciprocity. Based on the estimated uplink channel information, the terminal calculates four 4*1 candidate precoding matrices and the first N SRS N candidate precoding matrices SRS Load the SRS resources and send the SRS resources to the network device. According to the current protocol, the maximum number of SRS resources configured for NCB-based uplink transmission mode is 4, and N SRS The value of can be 2, 3, or 4, and each SRS resource also has one antenna port. The network device receives the SRS sent by the terminal, estimates a candidate precoding matrix, then determines the precoding matrix to be used, and shows the terminal the index of the SRS resource corresponding to the selected precoding matrix by using the SRI field in the DCI. After receiving the DCI, the terminal uses the upper layer parameter N indicated by the RRC. SRS and L max Based on this, identify the table and corresponding column shown by SRI. SRS This is the number of SRS resources used to upload candidate precoding matrices in NCB transmission, as specified by the network device, and the maximum number of uplink layers in NCB transmission, as specified by the network device. For example, N SRSWhen = 4, the sixth column of Table 3 below is arranged. Finally, the terminal determines the corresponding row based on the value of the SRI field, determines the antenna port corresponding to the row, and further determines the precoding matrix and number of layers. The terminal may then perform uplink transmission.

[0119] [Table 3]

[0120] In Table 3, the first, third, and fifth columns are the values ​​of the SRI field, and the second, fourth, and sixth columns are N SRS =2, N SRS =3, and N SRS =4 represents a combination of SRS resources.

[0121] In this application, please understand that the number of layers and spatial layers, rank, number of streams, or number of transport streams are interchangeable. In this application, "field" and "field" are interchangeable. In addition, in the description of this application, the value of a field is a decimal number represented by binary bits filled in the field, and this decimal number is sometimes referred to as an index.

[0122] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an application scenario according to one embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 2, the application scenario includes a network device 210, a network device 220, and a terminal 230. The terminal 230 includes antenna panels 231 and 232. In an optional implementation, in the application scenario shown in Figure 2, network devices 210 and 220 may be two base stations. Alternatively, network devices 210 and 220 may be two transmit / receive points (TRPs) of a single base station.

[0123] It should be understood that the application scenario may include multiple terminals and multiple network devices. Terminal 230 may include multiple antenna panels. This is not limited to this embodiment of the present application.

[0124] The three transmission modes in this application (the first transmission mode, the second transmission mode, and the third transmission mode) will be described below with reference to Figure 2. It should be understood that the transmission modes in the embodiments of this application may alternatively be described as modes, transmission schemes, transmission rules, mapping schemes, mapping rules, and resource determination schemes.

[0125] (1) First transmission mode In the first transmission mode, a single transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on multiple precoding matrices and a number of layers corresponding one-to-one with each precoding matrix, with different precoding matrices and numbers of layers associated with different parts of the transport block. For example, in the first transmission mode, a single transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on two precoding matrices and a number of layers corresponding to each of the two precoding matrices, with different precoding matrices and numbers of layers associated with different parts of the transport block.

[0126] For example, in this application, the precoding matrix and the number of layers corresponding to the precoding matrix may be indicated using the Precoding information and number of layers field or the Sounding Reference Signal Resource Indicator (SRI) field.

[0127] Precoding information and layer count may also be referred to as precoding information and layer count / stream count, precoding information and stream count, etc. Furthermore, precoding information and layer count may be understood as a Transmission Precoding Matrix Indicator (TPMI). For example, precoding information and layer count, precoding information and layer count field, TPMI, and TPMI field may be understood as the same expression. In CB-based uplink transmission mode, network devices can use TPMI to indicate the precoding matrix and layer count used by the terminal for physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission.

[0128] The SRI field is sometimes referred to as SRI. In NCB-based uplink transmission modes, the SRI indicates the SRS resource selected by the network device, and the terminal can determine the SRS resource selected by the network device based on the received SRI. The terminal's determination of the SRS resource selected by the network device is equivalent to determining the precoding matrix and layer number. The terminal may transmit data or PUSCH in the beam direction from which the SRS resource was previously transmitted. Transmitting PUSCH in this specification may also be understood as transmitting data over PUSCH.

[0129] Those skilled in the art will understand that multiple precoding matrices and multiple numbers of layers corresponding one-to-one with multiple precoding matrices correspond one-to-one with multiple antenna panels. For example, if "multiple" means "two," then the one-to-one correspondence between two precoding matrices and two numbers of layers corresponding to two precoding matrices means that one precoding matrix and the number of layers corresponding to each precoding matrix is ​​used for transmission by one antenna panel, and the other precoding matrix and the number of layers corresponding to each precoding matrix is ​​used for transmission by the other antenna panel.

[0130] Therefore, the first transmission mode may also be understood as follows: The first transmission mode is a transmission method in which one transport block is transmitted simultaneously through multiple antenna panels on a terminal, with different antenna panels transmitting different parts of the transport block. Alternatively, the first transmission mode is a transmission method in which one transport block is transmitted simultaneously through multiple antenna panels, with different antenna panels transmitting different parts of the transport block.

[0131] In the first transmission mode, a terminal can transmit transport blocks to the same or different network devices via multiple antenna panels. Below, we will use the application scenario shown in Figure 2 as an example to describe the uplink transmission performed by the terminal's antenna panels 231 and 232 in the first transmission mode.

[0132] For example, antenna panel 231 and antenna panel 232 can transmit one transport block simultaneously, or antenna panel 231 and antenna panel 232 can transmit different parts of one transport block.

[0133] In another example, terminal 230 transmits one portion of the transport block to network device 210 via antenna panel 231, and simultaneously transmits the other portion of the transport block to network device 210 via antenna panel 232.

[0134] In another example, terminal 230 transmits one portion of the transport block to network device 210 via antenna panel 231, and simultaneously transmits the other portion of the transport block to network device 220 via antenna panel 232.

[0135] In possible implementations, the antenna panel in this application corresponds to one or more of the following items: transmission configuration indicator state (TCI state), quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships, beam, precoding information and layer number fields, TPMI field, SRI field, SRS resource set, or SRS resource. Alternatively, the antenna panel in this application may correspond to one or more of the above items.

[0136] For ease of understanding, one or more of the above items will be referred to as Information #A.

[0137] The correspondence of an antenna panel to information #A can also be described as follows: The antenna panel is associated with information #A, or has an associated relationship with information #A.

[0138] It will be understood that the terminal's multiple antenna panels may correspond one-to-one with multiple pieces of information #A. Specifically, the terminal's multiple antenna panels may correspond one-to-one with one or more of the following: multiple TCI states, multiple QCL relationships, multiple beams, multiple precoding information and layer number fields, multiple TPMI fields, multiple SRI fields, multiple SRS resource sets, or multiple SRS resources.

[0139] Accordingly, the first transmission mode can alternatively be understood as a transmission mode in which a terminal transmits different layers of one data (or the same data) at the same time, at the same moment, over the same period of time, or simultaneously, based on (or using) multiple pieces of information #A. For example, layer 0 of the data is transmitted using the first TPMI, and layer 1 of the data is transmitted using the second TPMI.

[0140] Selectively, multiple pieces of information #A are associated with multiple code division multiplexing (CDM) groups.

[0141] Optionally, each SRS resource set, each TPMI field, or each SRI field is associated with the maximum number of streams (max rank).

[0142] Optionally, in embodiments of this application, the first transmission mode may be understood as simultaneously transmitting transport blocks on multiple antenna panels based on SRS resources indicated by multiple SRIs, where each transport block is transmitted on each antenna panel based on one SRS resource. For example, as shown in Figure 2, when a network device indicates SRS resource #1 and SRS resource #4 to a terminal by using two SRIs, the terminal transmits a transport block to network device 210 on antenna panel 231 via channel 1, and simultaneously transmits a transport block to network device 220 on antenna panel 232 via channel 4. When a network device indicates SRS resource #2 and SRS resource #3 to a terminal by using two SRIs, the terminal transmits a transport block to network device 210 on antenna panel 232 via channel 2, and simultaneously transmits a transport block to network device 220 on antenna panel 231 via channel 3. Here, there may be a colocation relationship between the SRS resources indicated by the SRIs and the DMRS ports for transmitting transport blocks on the antenna panels. Therefore, the first transmission mode may alternatively be understood as simultaneously transmitting transport blocks on multiple antenna panels based on multiple collocation relationships.

[0143] In the embodiments of this application, "simultaneous" in the first and second transmission modes may be understood as having an overlap in the time units during which multiple antenna panels on a terminal transmit transport blocks to a network device, or as "simultaneous" may be understood as the same moment, the same time, or the same time unit.

[0144] In the embodiments of this application, the time unit may be one or more symbols, one or more slots, one or more mini-slots, one or more frames, one or more subframes, one or more half-frames, and so on.

[0145] In this application, a transport block (TB) can be a basic unit for data exchange between a media access control (MAC) sublayer and the physical layer, and is processed by the physical layer. In one implementation, the transport block is a data block containing MAC protocol data units (PDUs).

[0146] Optionally, the first transmission mode may be referred to as a space division multiplexing (SDM) mode or an SDM transmission mode.

[0147] (2) Second transmission mode In the second transmission mode, a single transport block (or the same transport block) is transmitted simultaneously based on multiple precoding matrices and multiple layers corresponding one-to-one with each precoding matrix, with different precoding matrices and layer counts associated with the same portion of the transport block. For example, in the second transmission mode, a single transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on two precoding matrices and two layers corresponding to each precoding matrix, with different precoding matrices and layer counts associated with the same portion of the transport block. For further details regarding precoding matrices, layer counts, and antenna panels, please refer to the description of the first transmission mode.

[0148] It should be understood that the second transmission mode can be understood alternatively as follows: The second transmission mode is a transmission mode in which multiple antenna panels simultaneously transmit one transport block (or the same transport block), or the first transmission mode is a transmission method in which multiple antenna panels simultaneously transmit one transport block.

[0149] The term "same transport block" means that the information or data being transported by two or more transport blocks is the same. Alternatively, "same transport block" can refer to the same part of a single transport block. Alternatively, "same transport block" can refer to different redundant versions of a single transport block.

[0150] In the second transmission mode, the terminal may transmit transport blocks to different network devices or the same network device via multiple antenna panels. Below, we will use the application scenario shown in Figure 2 as an example to describe the uplink transmission performed by the terminal's antenna panels 231 and 232 in the second transmission mode.

[0151] For example, terminal 230 transmits a transport block to network device 210 via antenna panel 231 in the first moment, and terminal 230 simultaneously transmits the same transport block to network device 220 via antenna panel 232 in the first moment.

[0152] In another example, terminal 230 sends a transport block to network device 210 via antenna panel 231, and simultaneously sends the same transport block to network device 220 via antenna panel 232.

[0153] In another example, antenna panel 231 and antenna panel 232 transmit one transport block simultaneously, antenna panel 231 and antenna panel 232 transmit the same portion of one transport block, or antenna panel 231 and antenna panel 232 on terminal 230 transmit one transport block simultaneously.

[0154] In another example, terminal 230 transmits a portion of the transport block to network device 210 via antenna panel 231, and simultaneously transmits the same portion of the transport block to network device 210 via antenna panel 232.

[0155] In another example, terminal 230 sends a transport block to network device 210 via antenna panel 231, and the terminal simultaneously sends one transport block to network device 210 via antenna panel 232.

[0156] As described above in the first transmission mode, the antenna panel may correspond to information #A. In this case, the second transmission mode may be alternatively understood as follows: Based on (or using) multiple information #A, the terminals simultaneously transmit the same data, transmit the same data, or transmit the same data or the same data stream simultaneously, at the same time, at the same moment, within the same period, or at the same time. For example, one piece of data is sent by using two TPMIs.

[0157] Selectively, multiple pieces of information #A are associated with a single CDM group.

[0158] Optionally, multiple SRS resource sets, multiple TPMI fields, and / or multiple SRI fields are associated with the same maximum number of streams.

[0159] Optionally, in embodiments of this application, the second transmission mode may be understood as simultaneously transmitting a transport block on multiple antenna panels based on an SRS resource indicated by multiple SRIs, where the transport block is transmitted on each antenna panel based on one SRS resource. For example, as shown in Figure 2, when a network device indicates SRS resource #1 and SRS resource #4 to a terminal by using two SRIs, the terminal transmits a transport block to network device 210 on antenna panel 231 via channel 1, and simultaneously transmits a transport block to network device 220 on antenna panel 232 via channel 4. Here, there may be a colocation relationship between the SRS resource indicated by the SRI and the DMRS port for transmitting the transport block on the antenna panel. Thus, the second mode may be understood as simultaneously transmitting the same transport block on multiple antenna panels based on multiple colocation relationships.

[0160] Optionally, the second transmission mode may be referred to as Single Frequency Network (SFN) mode or SFN transmission mode.

[0161] In some embodiments, the first transmission mode is applicable to Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), i.e., high-capacity scenarios, and the second transmission mode is applicable to Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC), i.e., high-reliability scenarios.

[0162] (3) Third transmission mode In the third transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted based on one precoding matrix and the number of layers corresponding to the precoding matrix.

[0163] It should be understood that the third transmission mode may alternatively be understood as transmitting one transport block based on one precoding information and one layer number, or one channel sounding reference signal resource indicator. For details regarding the precoding matrix, layer number, and antenna panel, please refer to the description of the first transmission mode.

[0164] It should be understood that the third transmission mode may also be understood as a transmission mode in which a terminal transmits a transport block to a network device via one antenna panel, a transmission mode in which a terminal transmits a transport block to a network device based on one antenna panel, or a transmission mode in which a terminal transmits a transport block to a network device on one antenna panel.

[0165] The application scenario shown in Figure 2 is used as an example. In the third transmission mode, terminal 230 transmits one transport block to network device 210 via antenna panel 231. Alternatively, terminal 230 transmits one transport block to both network device 210 and network device 220 via antenna panel 231.

[0166] As described above in the first transmission mode, the antenna panel may correspond to information #A. In this case, the third transmission mode may be understood alternatively as follows: The terminal transmits data based on (or using) information #A.

[0167] In some embodiments, the third transmission mode may be understood as alternatively transmitting a transport block over one antenna panel based on one SRS resource set configuration. Specifically, the third transmission mode means that a network device configures one SRS resource set for a terminal, and the terminal transmits a transport block to the network device over one antenna panel. In this case, the third transmission mode is used. For example, in the application scenario shown in Figure 2, when the SRS resource set configured by the network device for the terminal is SRS resource set #1, the third transmission mode may be understood as terminal 230 transmitting a transport block to network device 210 over antenna panel 231, or terminal 230 transmitting a transport block to network device 210 over antenna panel 232.

[0168] In some embodiments, the third transmission mode may be understood as alternatively transmitting a transport block on one antenna panel based on one SRS resource indicated by one SRI. For example, as shown in Figure 2, when a network device indicates SRS resource 1 to a terminal device using one SRI, the terminal transmits a transport block on antenna panel 231 to the network device 210 via channel 1. Here, there may be a colocation relationship between the SRS resource indicated by the SRI and the DMRS port for transmitting the transport block on the antenna panel. Thus, the third transmission mode may be understood as alternatively transmitting a transport block based on one colocation relationship.

[0169] Optionally, the third transmission mode may also be referred to as single transmission reception point (sTRP) mode or sTRP transmission mode.

[0170] Optionally, the transmission associated with the third transmission mode may be a single transmission or multiple transmissions.

[0171] In the first and second transmission modes described above, multiple antenna panels of a terminal can perform transmission simultaneously. Assume the terminal has antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2, with antenna panel 1 having X1 antenna ports and antenna panel 2 having X2 antenna ports. When antenna panel 1 transmits SRS or PUSCH, X1 digital channels are required, and when antenna panel 2 transmits SRS or PUSCH, X2 digital channels are required. However, the terminal's capabilities are limited (for example, digital channel costs are high, and the terminal cannot configure independent digital channels for each antenna panel), so the number of digital channels in the terminal may not be sufficient to meet the simultaneous transmission requirements for all antenna ports of multiple antenna panels. In this scenario, how to implement simultaneous transmission of multiple panels is a problem that needs to be considered.

[0172] For example, Figure 3 is a diagram of the terminal structure. Refer to Figure 3. The terminal has antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2. Each antenna panel includes a baseband precoding portion and an antenna precoding portion, and there are only four digital channels in total. Antenna panel 1 has four antenna ports, and antenna panel 2 also has four antenna ports. In this case, when antenna panel 1 transmits SRS or PUSCH, four digital channels are required, and similarly, when panel 2 transmits SRS or PUSCH, four digital channels are required. When the terminal transmits SRS, the two antenna panels may transmit SRS at different times. Therefore, each antenna panel can use four digital channels. However, when the two antenna panels of the terminal transmit PUSCH, the PUSCH must be transmitted simultaneously, and it is not possible to use four digital channels simultaneously for the total of eight antenna ports of the two antenna panels. In this scenario, it is necessary to consider how to implement simultaneous transmission of the two antenna panels.

[0173] With this in mind, this application provides a communication method in which, in a first or second transmission mode, the digital channel of a terminal is shared, or in other words, multiple antenna panels of a terminal share the digital channel. In other words, the antenna ports used by each antenna panel of the terminal in the first or second transmission mode are part of the antenna ports used in the third transmission mode. Simultaneous transmission of multiple antenna panels can be implemented based on a precoding matrix associated with the antenna ports used by each antenna panel and the number of streams corresponding to the precoding matrix.

[0174] For example, see Figure 4. In the terminal structure shown in Figure 3, antenna port 0 and antenna port 2 of antenna panel 1 may be configured to use digital channel 0 and digital channel 2, respectively, and antenna port 1 and antenna port 3 of antenna panel 2 may be configured to use digital channel 1 and digital channel 3, respectively. In addition, one precoding matrix and corresponding number of streams may be configured for antenna port 0 and antenna port 2 of antenna panel 1, and one precoding matrix and corresponding number of streams may be configured for antenna port 1 and antenna port 3 of antenna panel 2, thereby enabling simultaneous transmission of antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2.

[0175] It should be understood that the digital channel in this application may alternatively be a radio frequency channel, channel, port, antenna port, etc. A radio frequency channel may be an RF (radio frequency) chain, a TXRU (transceiver unit), or a TRX.

[0176] It should be noted that the antenna port in this application may be an SRS port, a port having SRS port functionality, or a port obtained by renaming an SRS port in accordance with technological advancements. The terms SRS port, antenna port, port, PUSCH port, and port in this application are interchangeable. In this application, the SRS resource set may alternatively be a reference signal resource set, or the SRS resource may alternatively be a reference signal resource, where the reference signal is for channel detection.

[0177] It should be understood that the elements within an antenna port set or port set described in this application represent relative numbers only, and not absolute numbers. For example, an antenna panel has four antenna ports, and the relative numbers may be {port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3} or {port 5, port 6, port 7, port 8}. Optionally, {port 0, port 1} is equivalent to {port 0 + Q, port 1 + Q}, where Q is a positive integer.

[0178] The solutions provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to the corresponding flowcharts. It may be understood that the methods are primarily illustrated by using examples in which network devices and terminals function as the implementing entities in the interaction diagrams. However, the implementing entities in the interaction diagrams are not limited in this application. For example, a network device in the schematic flowchart could alternatively be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the network device when implementing the method, or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functionality of the network device. A terminal in the schematic flowchart could alternatively be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the terminal when implementing the method, or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functionality of the terminal.

[0179] Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart of the communication method according to this application. Method 500 may include one or more of S510 to S570. Each step will be described in detail below. In Method 500, in the first or second transmission mode, the digital channel of the terminal is shared, or in other words, k (k≧2) antenna panels of the terminal share the digital channel. In other words, the antenna ports used by each antenna panel of the terminal in the first or second transmission mode are some of the antenna ports used in the third transmission mode. Figure 4 is used as an example. The antenna ports used by each antenna panel of the terminal in the third transmission mode are port{0,1,2,3}. In the first or second transmission mode, the antenna port used by antenna panel 1 of the terminal is port{0,2}, and the antenna port used by antenna panel 2 of the terminal is port{1,3}.

[0180] S510: The terminal transmits the second piece of information to the network device. In response, the network device receives the second piece of information from the terminal.

[0181] The second piece of information may be carried using terminal capability information or other information. Alternatively, the second piece of information is capability information. For example, the second piece of information may be carried using RRC, MAC CE, or UCI. For example, the transmission of the second piece of information by a terminal may also be referred to as the terminal reporting its capability. For example, any one item of the second piece of information may be referred to as terminal capability information.

[0182] The second piece of information may include one or more of the following (1) through (7). For example, in one implementation, the second piece of information may include (6), (7), and one or more of the following (1) through (5). Each item will be explained in detail below.

[0183] (1) Antenna port set that the terminal can use in either the first or second transmission mode The set of antenna ports that a terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode may be described as the set of antenna ports supported by the terminal in the first or second transmission mode, the set of antenna ports that a terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode, the set of antenna ports supported by the terminal in the first or second transmission mode, the set of candidate antenna ports associated with the first or second transmission mode, the set of antenna ports associated with the first or second transmission mode, the set of SRS resources associated with the first or second transmission mode, the SRS resources associated with the first or second transmission mode, and so on.

[0184] In this method, the set of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode is part of the set of antenna ports used by the terminal in the third transmission mode.

[0185] For example, if the antenna ports of each antenna panel are port{0,1,2,3}, the set of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode may include one or more of port{0}, port{1}, port{2}, port{3}, port{0,1}, port{0,2}, port{0,3}, port{1,2}, port{1,3}, and port{2,3}.

[0186] It should be understood that the set of antenna ports used by a terminal in a third transmission mode may also be described as the set of antenna ports supported by the terminal in a third transmission mode, the set of antenna ports in a third transmission mode, or the set of antenna ports associated with a third transmission mode.

[0187] In a possible implementation, the number of antenna port sets available to a terminal in either the first or second transmission mode is equal to the number of antenna panels on the terminal. In other words, the number of antenna port sets available to a terminal in either the first or second transmission mode is k, where k is the number of antenna panels on the terminal, and k ≥ 2. In this scenario, the k antenna port sets correspond one-to-one with the k antenna panels on the terminal.

[0188] For example, the k antenna panels of a terminal are antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2, and the antenna ports of each antenna panel are port{0,1,2,3}. For example, if the set of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode is port{0} and port{1}, it indicates that in the first or second transmission mode, antenna panel 1 uses port{0} and antenna panel 2 uses port{1}. For example, if the set of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode is port{0,2} and port{1,3}, it indicates that in the first or second transmission mode, antenna panel 1 of the terminal uses port{0,2} and antenna panel 2 of the terminal uses port{1,3}.

[0189] For example, the k antenna panels of a terminal are antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2, the antenna ports of antenna panel 1 are port{0,1,2,3}, and the antenna ports of antenna panel 2 are port{4,5,6,7}. For example, if the set of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode is port{0} and port{4}, it indicates that in the first or second transmission mode, antenna panel 1 uses port{0} and antenna panel 2 uses port{4}. For example, if the set of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode is port{0,2} and port{5,7}, it indicates that in the first or second transmission mode, antenna panel 1 of the terminal uses port{0,2} and antenna panel 2 of the terminal uses port{5,7}.

[0190] For example, in this application, it is assumed that the antenna ports of antenna panel 1 are port{a,b,c,d}, the antenna ports of antenna panel 2 are port{e,f,g,h}, and the terminal digital channels are TXRU#1 to TXRU#4. In this case, the following correspondences may exist: port a and port e correspond to TXRU#1 and cannot be connected together to TXRU#1. port b and port f correspond to TXRU#2 and cannot be connected together to TXRU#2. port c and port g correspond to TXRU#3 and cannot be connected together to TXRU#3. port d and port h correspond to TXRU#4 and cannot be connected together to TXRU#4. For example, if antenna panel 1 uses one of port{0,1,2,3}, antenna panel 2 uses one of the remaining three antenna ports from port{0,1,2,3}. If antenna panel 1 uses two of ports {0, 1, 2, 3}, antenna panel 2 will use the other two ports {0, 1, 2, 3}.

[0191] In another possible implementation, the set of antenna ports that a terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode is a set of multiple antenna ports, each set of antenna ports containing k subsets of antenna ports, and each of the k subsets of antenna ports corresponds one-to-one with k antenna panels.

[0192] For example, the k antenna panels of a terminal are antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2, and the antenna ports of each antenna panel are port{0,1,2,3}. For example, the set of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode may be {port{0},{port{1}}, {port{1},{port{2}}, {port{2},{port{3}}, {port{0,1},{port{2,3}}, {port{0,2},{port{1,3}}, {port{0,3},{port{1,2}}}.

[0193] In this implementation, when the third transmission mode is used, the network device must determine one antenna port set from multiple antenna port sets and notify the terminal of the antenna port set determined by the network device. It should be understood that the antenna port sets determined by the network device in this paper are the k first antenna port sets described in S540 below, and each first antenna port set is an antenna port subset of the antenna port set.

[0194] (2) The number of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode: In this application, this number is denoted as Y.

[0195] The number of antenna ports that a terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode may be described as the maximum number of antenna ports that the terminal can use, support, or support in the first or second transmission mode, the maximum number of antenna ports (or the maximum number of antenna ports) supported by the terminal in the first or second transmission mode, the number of antenna ports associated with the first or second transmission mode, or the maximum number of antenna ports associated with the first or second transmission mode.

[0196] In this method, the number of antenna ports that a terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode is less than the number of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the third transmission mode. In this application, the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in the third transmission mode is denoted as X. 1 ≤ Y <Xである。

[0197] It should be understood that the number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode by a terminal may be described as the maximum number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode by the terminal, the number of antenna ports associated with the third transmission mode, the maximum number of antenna ports associated with the third transmission mode, or the number of antenna ports of the terminal in the third transmission mode.

[0198] Note that the number of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode, i.e., X, is (6) below.

[0199] In a possible implementation, if the number of antenna ports that the terminal can use in a first or second transmission mode is Y, it indicates that each antenna panel of the terminal can use up to Y antenna ports in the first or second transmission mode. When the first or second transmission mode is used, the number of antenna ports actually used by each antenna panel of the terminal may be Y, or any value between 1 and Y. For example, the k antenna panels of a terminal are antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2, and the antenna ports of each panel are port{0,1,2,3}. If the Y reported by the terminal is 2, it indicates that in the first or second transmission mode, antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2 may use one of the corresponding port{0,1,2,3} or two of port{0,1,2,3}.

[0200] In another possible implementation, if Y is the number of antenna ports that the terminal can use in a first or second transmission mode, as reported by the terminal, then it indicates that each antenna panel of the terminal uses Y antenna ports in the first or second transmission mode. For example, if Y=2, then in the first or second transmission mode, each antenna panel of the terminal uses two antenna ports instead of one.

[0201] (3) The type of precoding matrix supported by the terminal in the first or second transmission mode: The type of precoding matrix is ​​non-coherent or partially coherent.

[0202] In one implementation, if the terminal reports that the type of precoding matrix supported by the terminal in the first or second transmission mode is non-coherent or partially coherent, it indicates that the terminal's digital channel is shared in the first or second transmission mode. If the terminal reports that the type of precoding matrix supported by the terminal in the first or second transmission mode is fully coherent, it indicates that the terminal's digital channel is not shared in the first or second transmission mode.

[0203] In another implementation, if a terminal reports that the type of precoding matrix supported by the terminal in the first or second transmission mode is non-coherent or partially coherent, it indicates that the terminal's digital channels are shared in the first or second transmission mode. If a terminal does not report the type of precoding matrix supported by the terminal in the first or second transmission mode, it indicates that the terminal's digital channels are not shared in the first or second transmission mode.

[0204] (4) Sharing of the digital path in the first or second transmission mode In one implementation, the terminal reports to the network device whether the digital channel is shared in a first or second transmission mode. For example, whether the digital channel is shared can be indicated using 1-bit information. Specifically, a 1-bit value of 0 indicates that the digital channel is not shared, or a 1-bit value indicates that the digital channel is shared. Alternatively, a 1-bit value indicates that the digital channel is not shared, or a 0-bit value indicates that the digital channel is shared. Based on the 1-bit information, the network device can learn whether the digital path is shared in a first or second transmission mode.

[0205] In another implementation, the terminal reports to the network device only in scenarios where the digital channel is shared in either the first or second transmission mode, and does not report to the network device in scenarios where the digital channel is not shared in either the first or second transmission mode. For example, the sharing of a digital channel in either the first or second transmission mode is indicated using one bit. If the network device receives one bit, it can know that the digital channel is shared in either the first or second transmission mode; or if it does not receive one bit, it can know that the digital channel is not shared in either the first or second transmission mode.

[0206] (5) Maximum number of streams that the terminal can transmit in the first or second transmission mode The maximum number of streams that a terminal can transmit in the first or second transmission mode may also be described as the number of streams that the terminal can transmit in the first or second transmission mode, the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode, the number of streams in the first or second transmission mode, the maximum number of streams associated with the first or second transmission mode, or the number of streams associated with the first or second transmission mode. Although these descriptions are different, they all mean the same thing and should be understood as indicating the maximum number of streams that each antenna panel of the terminal can transmit when the first or second transmission mode is used.

[0207] The maximum number of streams that a terminal can transmit in the first or second transmission mode is less than the maximum number of streams that a terminal can transmit in the third transmission mode.

[0208] In one implementation, if a terminal does not report the maximum number of streams it can transmit in the first or second transmission mode, it indicates that the terminal's digital channel is not shared in the first or second transmission mode; or, if a terminal reports the maximum number of streams it can transmit in the first or second transmission mode, it indicates that the terminal's digital channel is shared in the first or second transmission mode.

[0209] From the above explanation, it can be understood that if a terminal reports one or more of (1) through (5), it indicates that the terminal's digital channel is shared in either the first or second transmission mode. Accordingly, after receiving the second information reported by the terminal, the network device can know that the terminal's digital channel is shared in either the first or second transmission mode. After knowing that the terminal's digital channel is shared in either the first or second transmission mode, the network device can ensure that it does not exceed the terminal's capabilities when performing the uplink transmission configuration in either the first or second transmission mode.

[0210] (6) Number of antenna ports X The number of antenna ports may alternatively be the maximum number of antenna ports or the maximum number of antenna ports.

[0211] The number of antenna ports indicates the number of antenna ports on each antenna panel of the terminal, or the number of antenna ports corresponding to SRS resources within each SRS resource set, or the number of antenna ports that the terminal can use or support in a third transmission mode.

[0212] For example, if the number of antenna ports reported by the terminal is 4, it indicates that the terminal has one or more panels with 4 antenna ports, or if the number of antenna ports reported by the terminal is 2, it indicates that the terminal has one or more panels with 2 antenna ports. The terminal structure shown in Figure 3 or Figure 4 is used as an example. The antenna ports on each antenna panel are port{0,1,2,3}, i.e., the number of antenna ports is 4. In this case, the number of antenna ports reported by the terminal is 4.

[0213] (7) Maximum number of streams that the terminal can transmit The maximum number of streams that a terminal can transmit may also be expressed as the number of streams the terminal can transmit, the maximum number of streams, or the number of streams.

[0214] For example, the maximum number of streams that a terminal can transmit may be specifically maxNumberMIMO-Layers / maxNumberMIMO-LayersCB-PUSCH. For more information on maxNumberMIMO-Layers and maxNumberMIMO-LayersCB-PUSCH, please refer to the prior art.

[0215] The maximum number of streams that a terminal can transmit is the maximum number of streams that the terminal can transmit in the third transmission mode.

[0216] In possible implementations, one or more of (1) through (7) above may be transmitted using the same signaling, or they may be transmitted using multiple signalings. If one or more of (1) through (7) are transmitted using the same signaling, the second information is carried by the signaling. If one or more of (1) through (7) are transmitted using multiple signalings, the multiple signalings may be considered to contain the second information. The transmission sequence of multiple signalings is not limited in this application.

[0217] For example, in this application, the sharing of a terminal's digital channel in the first or second transmission mode may also be understood as any one of the following: (a) The number of antenna ports used when the terminal performs transmission in the third transmission mode is equal to the sum of the number of antenna ports used by k antenna panels when the terminal performs transmission in the first or second transmission mode. (b) The number of antenna ports used when the terminal performs transmission in the third transmission mode is greater than the number of antenna ports used by either antenna panel when the terminal performs transmission in the first or second transmission mode. (c) The number of rows in the precoding matrix corresponding to the third transmission mode is equal to the sum of the number of rows in the k precoding matrices corresponding to the first or second transmission mode, or (d) The number of rows in the precoding matrix corresponding to the third transmission mode is greater than the number of rows in any one of the k precoding matrices corresponding to the first or second transmission mode.

[0218] S520: The network device determines, based on the second piece of information, that the terminal's digital channel is being shared in either the first or second transmission mode.

[0219] This step is optional. In other words, the network device may or may not perform this step. For example, after receiving the second information reported by the terminal, the network device may perform S520, or, after receiving the second information reported by the terminal, the network device may perform the subsequent steps directly without performing S520, for example, S530, S540, or S550.

[0220] Any one of (1) to (5) described in S510 may directly or indirectly indicate that the terminal's digital channel is shared in either the first or second transmission mode. Therefore, in the scenario in which S520 is performed, the network device may determine, based on the second information reported by the terminal, that the terminal's digital channel is shared in either the first or second transmission mode.

[0221] For example, S520 could alternatively be that the network device determines one or more of (a) through (d) described in S510.

[0222] For example, S520 may alternatively be a network device determining Y. Alternatively, S520 may alternatively be S540.

[0223] Y may be reported by the terminal in S510, or Y may be determined according to a default rule. For example, the default rule may be Y = X / k. For example, if Y is 4 and k is 2, then X = 2.

[0224] S530: The network device transmits third information to the terminal, which indicates k sets of SRS resources. The terminal receives the third information accordingly.

[0225] This step is optional. In other words, the network device may or may not send the third information to the terminal.

[0226] In one implementation, S530 may be executed after S520. In other implementations, S530 may be executed after S510.

[0227] k SRS resource sets correspond one-to-one with k antenna panels on a terminal, or k SRS resource sets are associated with each of the k antenna panels on the terminal. Each SRS resource set contains a first SRS resource and a second SRS resource, with X being the number of antenna ports corresponding to the first SRS resource and Y being the number of antenna ports corresponding to the second SRS resource.

[0228] Subsequently, if the network device indicates to the terminal that it will perform a transmission in a third transmission mode, the network device notifies the terminal of a precoding matrix for X ports, the terminal selects the corresponding TPMI table based on the number of antenna ports X, determines the precoding matrix, and performs a transmission on the antenna port corresponding to the first SRS resource based on the precoding matrix. If the network device indicates to the terminal that it will perform a transmission in either the first or second transmission mode, the network device notifies the terminal of a precoding matrix for Y ports, the terminal selects the corresponding TPMI table based on the number of antenna ports Y, determines the precoding matrix, and performs a transmission on the antenna port corresponding to the second SRS resource based on the precoding matrix.

[0229] S540: The network device determines k sets of first antenna ports.

[0230] This step is optional. For example, if a terminal reports k sets of first antenna ports, the network device does not have to determine the k sets of first antenna ports. Alternatively, if the terminal does not report k sets of first antenna ports and the network device cannot obtain the k sets of first antenna ports in any other way, the network device may determine the k sets of first antenna ports.

[0231] k first antenna port sets are antenna ports used by the terminal in a first or second transmission mode. The k first antenna port sets correspond one-to-one with the k antenna panels of the terminal. The number of antenna ports included in the first antenna port set is less than or equal to the number of antenna ports Y that the terminal can use in a first or second transmission mode. The first antenna port set is part of a second antenna port set, which consists of antenna ports used by the terminal in a third transmission mode.

[0232] In possible implementations, when a terminal reports (1) as described in S510, the network device may determine the set of antenna ports reported by the terminal as k first sets of antenna ports, or the network device may determine k first sets of antenna ports from the set of antenna ports reported by the terminal.

[0233] For example, the k antenna panels of a terminal are antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2, and the antenna ports of each antenna panel are port{0,1,2,3}. For example, if the set of antenna ports reported by the terminal is port{0,2} and port{1,3}, then the first set of k antenna ports is port{0,2} and port{1,3}, and it may be determined that antenna panel 1 uses port{0,2} and antenna panel 2 uses port{1,3}. For example, if the antenna port sets reported by the terminal are {port{0},port{1}}, {port{1},port{0}}, {port{1},port{2}}, {port{2},port{1}}, {port{2},port{3}}, {port{3},port{2}}, {ports{0,1},ports{2,3}}, {ports{2,3},ports{0,1}}, {ports{1,3},ports{0,2}}, {ports{0,2},ports{1,3}}, {ports{0,3},ports{1,2}}, and {ports{1,2},ports{0,3}}, the network device may determine k first antenna port sets from these antenna port sets. For example, if the determined k first antenna port sets are {port{0,2},port{1,3}}, and port{0,2} and port{1,3} are each the first antenna port set, then antenna panel 1 uses port{0,2} and antenna panel 2 uses port{1,3}.

[0234] In possible implementations, if a terminal does not report (1) as described in S510, or does not report k sets of first antenna ports, the network device may determine k sets of first antenna ports based on the number Y of antenna ports that the terminal can use in a first transmission mode or a second transmission mode (i.e., (2) as described in S510).

[0235] For example, suppose Y is 2, the terminal's antenna panels are antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2, and the antenna ports of the two antenna panels are port{0,1,2,3}. When Y is 2, the antenna port sets that the terminal can use or support in the first or second transmission mode may be predefined as {port{0,1},port{2,3}}, {port{0,2},port{1,3}}, and {port{0,3},port{1,2}}. In this case, the network device may select one of the three sets as the k first antenna port sets. Furthermore, the network device must also notify the terminal of the k first antenna port sets determined by the network device.

[0236] For example, it is still assumed that Y is 2, the terminal's antenna panels are antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2, and the antenna ports of the two antenna panels are port{0,1,2,3}. It may be predefined that the first sets of antenna ports corresponding to antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2, respectively, when Y is 2 are port{0,2} and port{1,3}. In this case, the network device may determine the predefined sets of antenna ports corresponding to antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2 as k first sets of antenna ports. In this way, the terminal may determine the k first sets of antenna ports directly, and the network device does not need to notify the k first sets of antenna ports.

[0237] In the above-described method, the terminal does not need to report the set of antenna ports associated with each antenna panel in the first or second transmission mode, thereby reducing the terminal's reporting overhead. Furthermore, in the first or second transmission mode, the unique set of antenna ports associated with each antenna panel reduces the complexity of the terminal's implementation and reduces the signaling overhead for notification by network devices.

[0238] In possible implementations, when S530 is executed, the k first set of antenna ports are the antenna ports corresponding to the second set of SRS resources in the k SRS resource sets. Thus, S540 may be executed before S530. Furthermore, since the terminal is notified of the second SRS resource in S530, the network device does not need to notify the terminal of the k first set of antenna ports.

[0239] S550: The network device determines k precoding matrices and k stream numbers that correspond one-to-one with the k precoding matrices.

[0240] k precoding matrices and k stream numbers correspond one-to-one with k sets of first antenna ports. In other words, k precoding matrices and k stream numbers correspond one-to-one with k antenna panels.

[0241] In the case of CB-based uplink transmission, it should be understood that the network device may determine k precoding matrices and the number of streams corresponding to each of the k precoding matrices based on the SRS transmitted by the terminal based on k first SRS resources. The k first SRS resources may be configured for the terminal in S530, or, if S530 is not performed, may be configured for the terminal before S510 or S550.

[0242] In possible implementations, the number of rows in the k precoding matrices is Y.

[0243] In possible implementations, the number of rows in k precoding matrices is X. For any precoding matrix, either only Y rows in the precoding matrix contain non-zero elements, or Y rows of non-zero elements in the precoding matrix are located in different rows. When Y=2, the rows containing non-zero elements in the first precoding matrix do not overlap, intersect, or differ from the rows containing non-zero elements in the second precoding matrix, or the antenna ports corresponding to the rows containing non-zero elements in the first precoding matrix do not overlap, intersect, or differ from the antenna ports corresponding to the rows containing non-zero elements in the second precoding matrix. Optionally, when the number of streams associated with a precoding matrix is ​​less than 2, the precoding matrix can be non-coherent or partially coherent, or when the number of streams associated with a precoding matrix is ​​2 or more, the precoding matrix can be non-coherent.

[0244] S560: The network device transmits the first piece of information to the terminal. In response, the terminal receives the first piece of information from the network device.

[0245] The first piece of information indicates either a first or second transmission mode, and shows k precoding matrices and k stream numbers. The first piece of information may be DCI or other signaling with DCI functionality.

[0246] Please understand that the precoding matrix and the number of layers corresponding to the precoding matrix can be indicated using the Precoding information and number of layers field or the SRI field.

[0247] When it is optionally necessary to inform the terminal of k sets of first antenna ports, the first information may further indicate k sets of first antenna ports. According to this solution, the network device can inform the terminal of the antenna ports used by each panel to transmit in a first or second transmission mode, thereby guaranteeing the performance of the terminal. For example, the network device may select the best-performing antenna port configuration for each antenna panel of the terminal in order to maximize the performance of the terminal.

[0248] Furthermore, the network device may notify the terminal of k sets of first antenna ports using RRC messages, MAC CE, etc.

[0249] For example, suppose Y is 2, the terminal's antenna panels are antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2, and the antenna ports of the two antenna panels are port{0,1,2,3}. When Y is 2, the antenna port sets that the terminal can use or support in the first or second transmission mode are {port{0,1},port{2,3}}, {port{0,2},port{1,3}}, and {port{0,3},port{1,2}}. In this case, the k first antenna port sets may be represented using 2 bits or 3 bits. For example, the relationship between 2 bits and antenna port sets is shown in Table 4, and the relationship between 3 bits and antenna port sets is shown in Table 5.

[0250] [Table 4]

[0251] [Table 5]

[0252] As shown in Table 4, when the network device notifies the terminal with "00", it indicates that the first antenna port set of antenna panel 1 is port{0,1}, and the first antenna port set of antenna panel 2 is port{2,3}. As shown in Table 5, when the network device notifies the terminal with "001", it indicates that the first antenna port set of antenna panel 1 is port{2,3}, and the first antenna port set of antenna panel 2 is port{0,1}, port{2,3}.

[0253] For example, the k first antenna ports may be indicated by adding new bits to the DCI. For example, the above-mentioned 2 bits or 3 bits may be 2-bit information added to the DCI.

[0254] For example, the k first antenna port sets may alternatively be indicated using existing fields in the current protocol. In this way, the addition of a new DCI field can be avoided, and the DCI indication overhead can be reduced.

[0255] For example, the SRS resource set indicator field in the current DCI has a total of 2 bits. The 2 bits have a total of 4 states. The first and second bit states indicate the third transmission mode. The third bit state indicates the first transmission mode / second transmission mode. The fourth bit state is reserved. Assume that Y is 2 and the antenna panel of the terminal is antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2. When Y is 2, if the antenna port sets that the terminal can use or support in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode are port set 1, port set 2, port set 3, and port set 4, for the correspondence between the bit states and the information indicated by the bit states, refer to Table 6, or when Y is 2, if the antenna port sets that the terminal can use or support in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode are port set 1 and port set 2, for the correspondence between the bit states and the information indicated by the bit states, refer to Table 7.

[0256]

Table 6

[0257]

Table 7

[0258] As shown in Table 6, when the network device notifies the terminal with "10", it indicates that the first antenna port set of antenna panel 1 is port set 1, and the first antenna port set of antenna panel 2 is port set 3. As shown in Table 7, when the network device notifies the terminal with "10", it indicates that the first antenna port set of antenna panel 1 is port set 1, and the first antenna port set of antenna panel 2 is port set 2.

[0259] S570: The terminal transmits data to the network device in either the first or second transmission mode based on the first information.

[0260] After receiving the first information, the terminal may first determine, based on the first information, that a first or second transmission mode should be used to transmit data, determine k precoding matrices and the number of layers corresponding to each of the k precoding matrices, and further determine k sets of first antenna ports. Based on the above information, the terminal can perform uplink transmission in the first or second transmission mode.

[0261] In one implementation, if the number of rows in k precoding matrices is Y, the terminal can determine the TPMI table based on Y, and then determine the number of precoding matrices and streams based on the first information and the table.

[0262] CB-based uplink transmission is used as an example. From the above description of CB-based uplink transmission, which states that "after receiving DCI, the terminal may first determine the TPMI table based on the number of SRS ports of the SRS resource indicated by the SRI field, and the uplink maximum rank (maxRank) and power mode (ul-FullPowerTransmission) indicated by RRC," it can be seen that the terminal may determine the table based on the number of antenna ports used by the terminal, the uplink maximum rank (i.e., (5) in S510), and the power mode. In method 500, the number of antenna ports used by the terminal is the number of antenna ports included in the first set of antenna ports. Thus, the terminal may determine the TPMI table based on the number Y of antenna ports included in the first set of antenna ports, and then determine the precoding matrix and the number of layers based on the table and the fields in the first information indicating the precoding matrix and the number of layers. For example, if the number of antenna ports included in the first set of antenna ports is 2 and the number of layers indicated by the first information is 1, the precoding matrix may be determined based on the TPMI table shown in Table 8. In another example, if the number of antenna ports included in the first set of antenna ports is 2 and the number of layers indicated by the first information is 2, the precoding matrix may be determined based on the TPMI table shown in Table 9.

[0263] [Table 8]

[0264] [Table 9]

[0265] In current protocols, the number of antenna ports corresponding to TPMI is the same as the number of SRS ports. In addition, a larger number of ports indicates a larger number of TPMIs and the higher DCI instruction overhead required. In this embodiment of the present application, in either the first or second transmission mode, the number of antenna ports indicates a TPMI where the number of antenna ports is the number of antenna ports used by each antenna panel of the terminal, and as a result, the TPMI instruction overhead can be reduced.

[0266] In one implementation, if the number of rows in k precoding matrices is X, the terminal may select a TPMI table based on X and determine the number of precoding matrices and streams based on the first information and the table.

[0267] For example, if the terminal reports (3) in S510, the terminal assumes that the number of rows in the precoding matrix is ​​X, or if the terminal does not report (3) in S510, the terminal assumes that the number of rows in the precoding matrix is ​​Y.

[0268] In conclusion, according to the communication method provided in this application, in a first or second transmission mode, the digital channel of the terminal is shared, or in other words, multiple antenna panels of the terminal share the digital channel. In other words, the antenna ports used by each antenna panel of the terminal in the first or second transmission mode are part of the antenna ports used in the third transmission mode. Simultaneous transmission of multiple antenna panels can be implemented based on a precoding matrix associated with the antenna ports used by each antenna panel and the number of streams corresponding to the precoding matrix.

[0269] The following describes multiple specific examples of method 500. It should be understood that these examples should not constitute any limitation to the present application. In the following methods, CB-based transmission is used as an example. In the following description, an example where the k antenna panels of the terminal are antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2, and the antenna ports of each panel are port{0, 1, 2, 3} is used for illustration.

[0270] Figure 6 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to the present application. Method 600 may include S610 to S670. Each step will be described below. In the method, the terminal may report the set of antenna ports used by antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2 in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode.

[0271] S610: The terminal transmits information #1 to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives information #1.

[0272] Information #1 includes (1), (5), (6), and (7) described in S510. The set of antenna ports in (1) is port{0, 1} associated with antenna panel 1 and port{2, 3} associated with antenna panel 2.

[0273] For example, information #1 may be carried by using the capability information of the terminal, or may be carried by using other information. Alternatively, information #1 is the capability information. For example, information #1 may be carried by RRC, MAC CE, or UCI.

[0274] S620: The network device transmits information #2 to the terminal based on the first information. Correspondingly, the terminal receives information #2.

[0275] Information #2 shows two SRS resource sets, each corresponding one-to-one with two antenna panels. Each SRS resource set contains one or more SRS resources, and each SRS resource corresponds to four antenna ports.

[0276] S630: The terminal transmits SRS based on multiple SRS resource sets.

[0277] S640: The network device performs channel estimation based on the SRS and determines two precoding matrices and the number of streams corresponding to each of the two precoding matrices.

[0278] The two precoding matrices are precoding matrix #1 and precoding matrix #2. Precoding matrix #1 corresponds to antenna panel #1. Precoding matrix #1 corresponds to antenna port set port{0,1}. Precoding matrix #2 corresponds to antenna panel #2. Precoding matrix #1 corresponds to antenna port set port{2,3}. Both precoding matrix #1 and precoding matrix #2 have 2 rows.

[0279] S650: The network device sends DCI to the terminal. The terminal receives DCI accordingly.

[0280] DCI indicates either the first or second transmission mode, and shows TPMI#1 and TPMI#2. TPMI#1 indicates precoding matrix #1 and the number of layers corresponding to precoding matrix #1 #1. TPMI#2 indicates precoding matrix #2 and the number of layers corresponding to precoding matrix #2 #2.

[0281] S660: The terminal determines, based on DCI, that the transmission mode is either the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, and determines the precoding matrix #1, layer number #1, precoding matrix #2, and layer number #2.

[0282] It should be understood that after receiving DCI, the terminal can obtain TPMI#1 and TPMI#2 based on the DCI, and then determine precoding matrix #1, indicated by TPMI#1, and precoding matrix #2, indicated by TPMI#2, from the corresponding TPMI table based on the number of antenna ports (2).

[0283] S670: The terminal transmits PUSCH in either the first or second transmission mode.

[0284] Specifically, the terminal transmits data on port {0,1} of antenna panel 1 and port {2,3} of antenna panel 2 in either the first or second transmission mode, based on precoding matrix #1, layer number #1, precoding matrix #2, and layer number #2.

[0285] According to the communication method provided in this application, in a scenario where a terminal's digital channel is shared in a first or second transmission mode, or in other words, where multiple antenna panels of a terminal share a digital channel, the terminal reports the antenna ports used by each antenna panel in the first or second transmission mode, and the network device notifies the terminal of the precoding matrix associated with the antenna ports used by each antenna panel and the number of streams corresponding to the precoding matrix, based on the antenna ports and channel estimation results reported by the terminal. Thus, the terminal can implement simultaneous transmission of multiple antenna panels based on the notification from the network device.

[0286] Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of the communication method according to this application. Method 700 may include S710 to S770. Each step will be described below. In the method, the terminal does not report the set of antenna ports used by antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2 in the first or second transmission mode.

[0287] S710: The terminal sends information #1 to the network device. The network device receives information #1 accordingly.

[0288] Information #1 includes (2), (5), (6), and (7) as explained in S510. Y in (2) is 2.

[0289] For example, information #1 may be transported by using terminal capability information, or by using other information. Alternatively, information #1 is capability information. For example, information #1 may be transported by RRC, MAC CE, or UCI.

[0290] S720: The network device sends information #2 to the terminal based on information #1. The terminal receives information #2 accordingly.

[0291] Information #2 shows two SRS resource sets, each corresponding one-to-one with two antenna panels. Each SRS resource set contains one or more SRS resources, and each SRS resource corresponds to four antenna ports.

[0292] S730: The terminal transmits SRS based on multiple SRS resource sets.

[0293] S740: The network device determines the antenna ports used by antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2 in the first or second transmission mode, two precoding matrices, and the number of streams corresponding to each of the two precoding matrices.

[0294] The two precoding matrices are precoding matrix #1 and precoding matrix #2. Precoding matrix #1 corresponds to antenna panel #1. Precoding matrix #1 corresponds to antenna port set ports{0,1}. Precoding matrix #2 corresponds to antenna panel #2. Precoding matrix #1 corresponds to antenna port set port{2,3}.

[0295] In the first method, port{0,1} and port{2,3} are sets of antenna ports selected by the network device based on the channel estimation results. For example, the network device may select a set of antenna ports with good channel conditions based on the channel estimation results.

[0296] In the second method, port{0,1} and port{2,3} are predefined sets of antenna ports used by two antenna panels, respectively, in either the first or second transmission mode when Y=2.

[0297] In the third method, multiple candidate combinations are predefined, and port{0,1} and port{2,3} are sets of antenna ports selected by the network device based on the channel estimation results.

[0298] S750: The network device sends DCI to the terminal. The terminal receives DCI accordingly.

[0299] DCI indicates either the first or second transmission mode, and shows TPMI#1 and TPMI#2. TPMI#1 shows precoding matrix #1 and the number of layers corresponding to precoding matrix #1. TPMI#2 shows precoding matrix #2 and the number of layers corresponding to precoding matrix #2. Both precoding matrix #1 and precoding matrix #2 have 2 rows.

[0300] If the set of antenna ports used by antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2 in the first or second transmission mode is determined in S740 by the first or third method, the set of antenna ports used by antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2 in the first or second transmission mode must be further indicated to the terminal in S750, or by using RRC or MAC CE. If the set of antenna ports used by antenna panel 1 and antenna panel 2 in the first or second transmission mode is determined in S740 by the second method, the terminal does not need to be notified.

[0301] S760: The terminal determines, based on DCI, that the transmission mode is either the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, and determines the precoding matrix #1, layer number #1, precoding matrix #2, and layer number #2.

[0302] It should be understood that after receiving DCI, the terminal can obtain TPMI#1 and TPMI#2 based on the DCI, and then determine precoding matrix #1, indicated by TPMI#1, and precoding matrix #2, indicated by TPMI#2, from the corresponding TPMI table based on the number of antenna ports (2).

[0303] S770: The terminal transmits PUSCH in either the first or second transmission mode.

[0304] Specifically, the terminal transmits data on port {0,1} of antenna panel 1 and port {2,3} of antenna panel 2 in either the first or second transmission mode, based on precoding matrix #1, layer number #1, precoding matrix #2, and layer number #2.

[0305] According to the communication method provided in this application, in a scenario where a terminal's digital channel is shared in a first or second transmission mode, or in other words, where multiple antenna panels of a terminal share a digital channel, the terminal reports the number of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode, and the network device can determine, based on the information or predefined rules, which antenna ports to be used by each antenna panel in the first or second transmission mode. In addition, the network device can determine and notify the terminal of the precoding matrix associated with the antenna ports used by each antenna panel and the number of streams corresponding to the precoding matrix, and can further notify the terminal of the antenna ports to be used by each antenna panel in the first or second transmission mode. Thus, the terminal can implement simultaneous transmission of multiple antenna panels based on the notification from the network device.

[0306] Figure 8 is a schematic flowchart of the communication method according to this application. Method 800 may include S810 to S870. Each step is described below. In the method, the terminal reports that the type of precoding matrix supported in the first or second transmission mode is a non-coherent or partially coherent precoding matrix.

[0307] S810: The terminal sends information #1 to the network device. The network device receives information #1 accordingly.

[0308] Information #1 includes (3), (5), (6), and (7) as described in S510. Optionally, information #1 may further include (1) and / or (2) as described in S510. In (2), Y is 2.

[0309] For example, information #1 may be transported by using terminal capability information, or by using other information. Alternatively, information #1 is capability information. For example, information #1 may be transported by RRC, MAC CE, or UCI.

[0310] S820: The network device sends information #2 to the terminal based on information #1. The terminal receives information #2 accordingly.

[0311] Information #2 shows two SRS resource sets, each corresponding one-to-one with two antenna panels. Each SRS resource set contains one or more SRS resources, and each SRS resource corresponds to four antenna ports.

[0312] S830: The terminal transmits SRS based on multiple SRS resource sets.

[0313] S840: The network device performs channel estimation based on the SRS and determines two precoding matrices and the number of streams corresponding to each of the two precoding matrices.

[0314] The two precoding matrices have 4 rows each. Furthermore, each precoding matrix has 2 rows of non-zero elements. The number of rows of non-zero elements may be determined according to a default rule. For example, a pre-set rule is Y=2 / X=2 / 4=2. Alternatively, the number of rows of non-zero elements may be reported in S810, i.e., Y=2 is reported in S810.

[0315] The two precoding matrices are precoding matrix #1 and precoding matrix #2. Precoding matrix #1 corresponds to antenna panel #1, and precoding matrix #2 corresponds to antenna panel #2. Both precoding matrix #1 and precoding matrix #2 are non-coherent or partially coherent precoding matrices. For example, the antenna port set corresponding to the non-zero rows in precoding matrix #1 is port{0,1}, and the antenna port set corresponding to the non-zero rows in precoding matrix #2 is port{2,3}.

[0316] In the first method, ports {0,1} and {2,3} are selected by the network device based on the channel estimation result. For example, ports {0,1} and ports {2,3} are selected by the network device based on the channel estimation result and are an antenna port set with good channel conditions.

[0317] In the second method, port{0,1} and port{2,3} are predefined sets of antenna ports used by two antenna panels, respectively, in either the first or second transmission mode when Y=2.

[0318] In the third method, multiple candidate combinations are predefined, and port{0,1} and port{2,3} are combinations selected by the network device from among these candidate combinations based on the channel estimation results.

[0319] In the fourth method, the antenna port set reported by the terminal in information #1 is port{0,1} and port{2,3}.

[0320] Please understand that rows containing non-zero elements in precoding matrix #1 do not overlap, intersect, or are different from rows containing non-zero elements in precoding matrix #2.

[0321] Optionally, if the number of streams associated with precoding matrix #1 (or precoding matrix #2) is less than 2, precoding matrix #1 (or precoding matrix #2) may be a non-coherent or partially-coherent precoding matrix, or if the number of streams associated with precoding matrix #1 (or precoding matrix #2) is 2 or more, precoding matrix #1 (or precoding matrix #2) may be a non-coherent precoding matrix.

[0322] S850: The network device sends DCI to the terminal. The terminal receives DCI accordingly.

[0323] DCI indicates either the first or second transmission mode, and shows TPMI#1 and TPMI#2. TPMI#1 shows precoding matrix #1 and the number of layers corresponding to precoding matrix #1. TPMI#2 shows precoding matrix #2 and the number of layers corresponding to precoding matrix #2. Both precoding matrix #1 and precoding matrix #2 have 2 rows.

[0324] S860: The terminal determines, based on DCI, that the transmission mode is either the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, and determines the precoding matrix #1, layer number #1, precoding matrix #2, and layer number #2.

[0325] After receiving the DCI, the terminal can obtain TPMI#1 and TPMI#2 based on the DCI, and then determine precoding matrix #1, indicated by TPMI#1, and precoding matrix #2, indicated by TPMI#2, from the corresponding TPMI table based on the number of antenna ports (4).

[0326] S870: The terminal transmits PUSCH in either the first or second transmission mode.

[0327] Specifically, the terminal transmits data on port {0,1} of antenna panel 1 and port {2,3} of antenna panel 2 in either the first or second transmission mode, based on precoding matrix #1, layer number #1, precoding matrix #2, and layer number #2.

[0328] According to the communication method provided in this application, in a scenario where a terminal's digital channel is shared in a first or second transmission mode, or in other words, where multiple antenna panels of a terminal share a digital channel, the terminal reports that the type of precoding matrix supported by the terminal in the first or second transmission mode is non-coherent or a non-coherent precoding matrix, and the network device may, based on this information, determine the precoding matrix associated with each antenna panel and the number of streams corresponding to the precoding matrix and notify the terminal. Based on the information notified by the network device, the terminal can determine the antenna port used by each antenna panel in the first or second transmission mode, the corresponding precoding matrix, and the corresponding number of layers. Thus, based on the notification from the network device, the terminal can implement simultaneous transmission of multiple antenna panels.

[0329] Figure 9 is a schematic flowchart of the communication method according to this application. Method 900 may include S910 to S970. Each step will be described below. In the method, the network device configures an SRS resource for each antenna panel of the terminal to be used in a first transmission mode or a second transmission mode.

[0330] S910: The terminal sends information #1 to the network device. The network device receives information #1 accordingly.

[0331] Information #1 includes (2), (5), (6), and (7) as described in S510. Optionally, Information #1 may further include (4) as described in S510.

[0332] For example, information #1 may be transported by using terminal capability information, or by using other information. Alternatively, information #1 is capability information. For example, information #1 may be transported by RRC, MAC CE, or UCI.

[0333] S920: The network device sends information #2 to the terminal based on information #1. The terminal receives information #2 accordingly.

[0334] Information #2 shows SRS resource sets #1 and #2. SRS resource set #1 includes SRS resource #B, corresponds to antenna panel #1, and the number of antenna ports corresponding to SRS resource #B is 2. SRS resource set #2 includes S SRS resources #D, corresponds to antenna panel #2, and the number of antenna ports corresponding to SRS resource #D is 2. SRS resources #B and #D are for transmission in the first or second transmission mode. Optionally, SRS resource set #1 includes SRS resource #A, and the number of antenna ports corresponding to SRS resource #A is 4. SRS resource set #2 includes SRS resource #C, and the number of antenna ports corresponding to SRS resource #C is 4. SRS resources #A and #C are used in the third transmission mode.

[0335] S930: The terminal transmits SRS based on SRS resource set #1 and SRS resource set #2.

[0336] S940: The network device performs channel estimation based on the SRS and determines two precoding matrices and the number of streams corresponding to each of the two precoding matrices.

[0337] The two precoding matrices are precoding matrix #1 and precoding matrix #2, and both precoding matrix #1 and precoding matrix #2 have 2 rows.

[0338] S950: The network device sends DCI to the terminal. The terminal receives DCI accordingly.

[0339] DCI indicates either the first or second transmission mode, and shows TPMI#1 and TPMI#2. TPMI#1 indicates precoding matrix #1 and the number of layers corresponding to precoding matrix #1 #1. TPMI#2 indicates precoding matrix #2 and the number of layers corresponding to precoding matrix #2 #2.

[0340] S960: The terminal determines, based on DCI, that the transmission mode is either the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, and determines the precoding matrix #1, layer number #1, precoding matrix #2, and layer number #2.

[0341] It should be understood that after receiving DCI, the terminal can obtain TPMI#1 and TPMI#2 based on the DCI, and then, based on the number of antenna ports (which can be learned based on SRS resource #B and SRS resource #D), determine precoding matrix #1 indicated by TPMI#1 and precoding matrix #2 indicated by TPMI#2 from the corresponding TPMI table.

[0342] S970: The terminal transmits PUSCH in either the first or second transmission mode.

[0343] Specifically, the terminal transmits data on the antenna port associated with SRS resource #B and SRS resource #D in a first or second transmission mode based on precoding matrix #1, layer number #1, precoding matrix #2, and layer number #2, or on the antenna port used to transmit SRS resource #B and SRS resource #D.

[0344] According to the communication method provided in this application, in a scenario where a terminal's digital channel is shared in a first or second transmission mode, or in other words, multiple antenna panels of a terminal share a digital channel, the network device configures the SRS resources used in the first / second transmission mode for each antenna panel of the terminal, and as a result, the terminal can know, based on the configuration, the antenna ports used by each antenna panel in the first or second transmission mode. The network device can then determine the precoding matrix and number of layers corresponding to each antenna panel in the first or second transmission mode and notify the terminal. Thus, the terminal can implement simultaneous transmission of multiple antenna panels based on the notification from the network device. In this method, when antenna panels share a digital channel, the terminal can prevent the correspondence between each panel and the digital channel from being exposed. The above describes one communication method in this application. This application further provides another communication method, which is described below.

[0345] In the third transmission mode, the network device needs to show only one precoding matrix. In the first or second transmission mode, the network device needs to show multiple precoding matrices. Specifically, how to show precoding matrices in different transmission modes is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0346] Taking this into consideration, several methods provided in this application can be used to indicate precoding matrices in different transmission modes, thereby reducing instruction overhead. These methods are described below.

[0347] Note that in the above method, the terminal's digital channel is shared in either the first or second transmission mode. However, in the method described below, the terminal's digital channel may or may not be shared in either the first or second transmission mode.

[0348] Figure 10 is a schematic flowchart of the communication method according to this application. The method may include steps S1010 to S1040. Each step will be described below.

[0349] S1010: The network device determines the transmission mode of the terminal.

[0350] The transmission mode is one of the first, second, and third transmission modes. For details regarding the first, second, and third transmission modes, please refer to the description above.

[0351] S1020: The network device sends the first piece of information to the terminal. The terminal receives the first piece of information accordingly.

[0352] For example, the first piece of information may be DCI, or it may be other signaling that has DCI functionality.

[0353] The first piece of information indicates the transmission mode determined by the network device in S1010, and shows the precoding matrix and number of streams corresponding to the transmission mode.

[0354] When the transmission mode is either the first or second transmission mode, the first information indicates k precoding matrices and the number of streams corresponding to each of the k precoding matrices. Consistent with the meaning of k in the method described above, k represents the number of antenna panels on the terminal.

[0355] When the transmission mode is the third transmission mode, the first information indicates one precoding matrix and one stream number.

[0356] S1030: The terminal is determined based on the first piece of information, the transmission mode, and the precoding matrix and number of streams corresponding to the transmission mode.

[0357] S1040: The terminal transmits data to the network device based on the transmission mode, as well as the precoding matrix and number of streams corresponding to the transmission mode.

[0358] To facilitate the distinction between the precoding matrix and the number of streams in different modes, the precoding matrix and the number of streams in the first or second transmission mode will be referred to as the first precoding matrix and the first number of streams, and the precoding matrix and the number of streams in the third transmission mode will be referred to as the second precoding matrix and the second number of streams.

[0359] The following describes several methods for representing the first precoding matrix, the first number of streams, the second precoding matrix, and the second number of streams.

[0360] Method 1 The first information consists of k fields, the i-th of which the i-th field represents the i-th first precoding matrix and the i-th first stream number, where i = 1, 2, ..., or k. In the third transmission mode, some or all of the bits obtained by concatenating the k fields, or by concatenating the k fields and the first field, represent the second precoding matrix and the second stream number.

[0361] When the terminal's digital channel is shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. When the terminal's digital channel is not shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports used by the terminal (i.e., the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in a third transmission mode) and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode, or the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode or the number of antenna ports in the terminal, and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode.

[0362] The bit length required to represent the second precoding matrix and the second number of streams is determined by the number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the third transmission mode.

[0363] In method 1000, it should be noted that the sharing of the digital channels of the terminal in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode may be understood as follows. The terminal reports one or more of (1) to (5) described in S510 or one or more of (a) to (d) described in S510. Regarding how to determine whether the digital channels of the terminal are shared in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, refer to the relevant description of method 500. Details will not be described again here.

[0364] Scheme 1 uses an example where the lengths of k fields are L1, L2, …, and L k and the bit length required to indicate the second precoding matrix and the second number of streams is L, and will be described in detail below.

[0365] Specifically, when L1 + L2 + … + L k > L, when the transmission mode is the third transmission mode, L bits out of L1 + L2 + … + L k bits indicate the second precoding matrix and the second number of streams, and the other bits are set to zero, reserved, skipped by the terminal, or ignored by the terminal. For example, the first (L1 + L2 + … + L k ) - L bits or the last (L1 + L2 + … + L k ) - L bits out of L1 + L2 + … + L k bits may be set to zero, reserved, skipped by the terminal, or ignored by the terminal. Optionally, the length of the first field is 0 or the first field is default.

[0366] L1 + L2 + … + L k = L, L1 + L2 + … + L k bits indicate the second precoding matrix and the second number of streams.

[0367] L1 + L2 + … + L k < L, L1 + L2 + … + Lk The L bits obtained by concatenating individual bits and the first field indicate a second precoding matrix and a second stream number, and the length of the first field is L - (L1 + L2 + … + L k ) In this scenario, when the transmission mode is the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the first field is set to zero, reserved, skipped by the terminal, or ignored by the terminal.

[0368] FIG. 11 is a diagram of a format for implementing the first information in Method 1. (a) of FIG. 11 shows the case where L1 + L2 + … + L k > L, (b) of FIG. 11 shows the case where L1 + L2 + … + L k = L, and (c) of FIG. 11 shows the case where L1 + L2 + … + L k < L.

[0369] FIG. 12 is a diagram of another format for implementing the first information in Method 1. (a) of FIG. 12 shows the case where L1 + L2 + … + L k > L, (b) of FIG. 12 shows the case where L1 + L2 + … + L k = L, and (c) of FIG. 12 shows the case where L1 + L2 + … + L k < L.

[0370] In the formats shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the i-th first precoding matrix and the i-th first stream number are indicated by TPMI_i, and the second precoding matrix and the second stream number are indicated by TPMI_sTRP.

[0371] Method 2 When the transmission mode is the first or second transmission mode, the first information includes k fields, each of which represents k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers that correspond one-to-one with the k first precoding matrices. When the transmission mode is the third transmission mode, the first information includes a first field, each of which represents a second precoding matrix and a second stream number. Optionally, the start position of the first field is aligned with the start position of the k fields, or the end position of the first field is aligned with the end position of the k fields.

[0372] When the terminal's digital channel is shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. When the terminal's digital channel is not shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports used by the terminal (i.e., the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in a third transmission mode) and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode, or the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode or the number of antenna ports of the terminal, and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. The length of the first field is determined by the number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the third transmission mode.

[0373] It should be understood that k sets of first antenna ports correspond one-to-one with k antenna panels.

[0374] The lengths of the k fields are L1, L2, ..., and L kUsing an example where the length of the first field is L, Method 2 is described in detail below.

[0375] Specifically, when L1 + L2 + … + L k > L, when the transmission mode is the third transmission mode, the first field is L bits out of L1 + L2 + … + L k bits, and the other bits out of L1 + L2 + … + L k bits are set to zero, reserved, skipped by the terminal, or ignored by the terminal. For example, the first field can be the first L bits or the last L bits out of L1 + L2 + … + L k bits.

[0376] L1 + L2 + … + L k = L, then L1 + L2 + … + L k bits are the first field.

[0377] L1 + L2 + … + L k < L, when the transmission mode is the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the L - (L1 + L2 + … + L k ) bits before or after the L1 + L2 + … + L k bits are set to zero, reserved, skipped by the terminal, or ignored by the terminal so as to be aligned with the first field.

[0378] Those skilled in the art can understand that the effects achieved by Method 2 are the same as those achieved by Method 1.

[0379] Method 3 The first information includes W bits indicating a pre - coding matrix and the number of streams. W is the larger of L1 + L2 + … + L k and L. L1 + L2 + … + L kL is the sum of the bits required to indicate k first precoding matrices and a first stream number that corresponds one-to-one with each of the k first precoding matrices in the first or second transmission mode. Here, L is the number of bits required to indicate the second precoding matrices and the second stream number in the third transmission mode.

[0380] When the terminal's digital channel is shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. When the terminal's digital channel is not shared in a first or second transmission mode, the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports used by the terminal (i.e., the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in a third transmission mode) and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode, or the length of each of the k fields is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode or the number of antenna ports of the terminal, and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. L is determined by the number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the third transmission mode.

[0381] A person skilled in the art can understand that the effect achieved by method 3 is the same as that achieved by method 1.

[0382] The precoding matrix and number of streams in different transmission modes are shown in one of the above methods 1 to 3, which can reduce bit overhead, reduce the length of the DCI, and increase the success rate of blind detection of the DCI by the terminal.

[0383] Method 4 K=2, and the first piece of information includes the first field and the second field. The length of the first field is the larger of the first length and the second length.

[0384] The first length is determined by the number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the third transmission mode.

[0385] If the terminal's digital channel is shared in the first or second transmission mode, the second length is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. If the terminal's digital channel is not shared in the first or second transmission mode, the second length is determined by the number of antenna ports used by the terminal (i.e., the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in the third transmission mode) and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. Alternatively, the second length is determined by the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in the first or second transmission mode or the number of antenna ports in the terminal and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. The length of the second field is the second length.

[0386] When the transmission mode is the first or second transmission mode, the first field indicates the first precoding matrix and the first first stream number, and the second field indicates the second first precoding matrix and the second first stream number. When the transmission mode is the third transmission mode, the first field indicates the second precoding matrix and the second stream number, and the second field is set to zero, reserved, skipped by the terminal, or ignored by the terminal.

[0387] Figure 13 is a diagram of the format for implementing the first information in Scheme 4. See Figure 13. The length of the first field is L bits, and the length of the second field is N bits. The first precoding matrix and the first stream number are denoted by TPMI 1, the second precoding matrix and the second stream number are denoted by TPMI 2, and the second precoding matrix and the second stream number are denoted by TPMI_sTRP.

[0388] Method 5 K=2, and the first piece of information includes the first field and the second field. The length of the first field is the larger of the first length and the second length.

[0389] The first length is determined by the number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the third transmission mode. If the terminal's digital channel is shared in the first or second transmission mode, the second length is determined by the number of antenna ports available to the terminal in the first or second transmission mode and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. If the terminal's digital channel is not shared in the first or second transmission mode, the second length is determined by the number of antenna ports used by the terminal (i.e., the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in the third transmission mode) and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. Alternatively, the second length is determined by the number of antenna ports available to the terminal in the first or second transmission mode or the number of antenna ports in the terminal and the maximum number of streams in the first or second transmission mode. The length of the second field is the same as the length of the first field.

[0390] When the transmission mode is the first or second transmission mode, the first field indicates the first precoding matrix and the first first stream number, and the second field indicates the second first precoding matrix and the second first stream number. When the transmission mode is the third transmission mode, the first field indicates the second precoding matrix and the second stream number, and the second field is set to zero, reserved, skipped by the terminal, or ignored by the terminal.

[0391] For example, Figure 14 is a diagram of the format for implementing the first information in scheme 5. See Figure 14. The average length of the first and second fields is L bits. The first precoding matrix and the first stream number are denoted by TPMI 1, the second precoding matrix and the second stream number are denoted by TPMI 2, and the second precoding matrix and the second stream number are denoted by TPMI_sTRP.

[0392] If the first condition is met, then Method 1, Method 2, or Method 3 is used at the discretion of the party.

[0393] The first condition may include that the terminal's digital channel is not shared in a first or second transmission mode, and / or that the terminal's digital channel is shared in a first or second transmission mode, and the bit length required to represent k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers is greater than or equal to the bit length required to represent a second precoding matrix and second stream number.

[0394] Optionally, if the second condition is met, either Method 4 or Method 5 is used.

[0395] The second condition is that the terminal's digital channel is shared in either the first or second transmission mode, or that the terminal's digital channel is shared in either the first or second transmission mode, and the bit length required to represent k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers is shorter than the bit length required to represent a second precoding matrix and a second stream number.

[0396] Optionally, if the terminal's digital channel is not shared in the first or second transmission mode, method 1 is used; or if the terminal's digital channel is shared in the first or second transmission mode, method 4 or method 5 is used.

[0397] Selectively, if the terminal's digital channels are not shared in the first or second transmission mode, or if the terminal's digital channels are shared in the first or second transmission mode and the bit length required to indicate k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers is smaller than the bit length required to indicate a second precoding matrix and a second stream number, then Method 1 is adopted; or if the terminal's digital channels are shared in the first or second transmission mode, or if the terminal's digital channels are not shared in the first or second transmission mode and the bit length required to indicate k first precoding matrices and k first stream numbers is greater than or equal to the bit length required to indicate a second precoding matrix and a second stream number, then Method 4 or Method 5 is adopted.

[0398] For example, one or more of the following may be used to determine that the terminal's digital channel is not shared in the first or second transmission mode: The terminal explicitly or implicitly indicates to the network device that the terminal's digital channel is not shared in the first or second transmission mode. The terminal reports to the network device that the number of antenna ports used by each antenna panel for transmission in the first or second transmission mode is less than the number of antenna ports used in the third transmission mode, or The terminal reports to the network device the antenna ports used by each antenna panel in either the first or second transmission mode.

[0399] It should be understood that the fact that the terminal's digital channel is not shared in either the first or second transmission mode may be understood as any one of the above.

[0400] For information on how to determine whether a terminal's digital channel is shared in the first or second transmission mode, please refer to the relevant explanation above. Furthermore, to understand whether a terminal's digital channel is shared in the first or second transmission mode, please refer to the relevant explanation above. Further details are not provided here.

[0401] Embodiments of the method of this application primarily describe the case where the number of antenna ports used by each antenna panel is the same in the first or second transmission mode. However, this application does not exclude the case where the number of antenna ports used by at least two antenna panels differs in the first or second transmission mode. Those skilled in the art can perform uplink transmission according to the method described above in scenarios where the number of antenna ports used by at least two antenna panels differs in the first or second transmission mode.

[0402] In addition, in the method described herein, the example in which the antenna ports corresponding to each panel are port{0,1,2,3} is used to illustrate the relevant solution. In practice, the indices of the antenna ports corresponding to the panels may be the same or different. For example, the antenna ports corresponding to antenna panel 1 are port{0,1,2,3}, and the antenna ports corresponding to antenna panel 2 are port{4,5,6,7}. In the method described herein, the values ​​of X and Y are also not limited. For example, X may be 4, 2, or another value, and Y may be 2, 1, or another value.

[0403] The above describes embodiments of the method provided in this application, and the following describes embodiments of the apparatus provided in this application. It should be understood that the description of the apparatus embodiments corresponds to the description of the method embodiments. Therefore, for details not described in detail, please refer to the method embodiments described above. For brevity, further details are not described here.

[0404] Figure 15 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to one embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 15, the communication device 2000 may include a communication unit 2100 and may further include a processing unit 2200. The communication unit 2100 may implement a corresponding communication function. The communication may be internal communication of the communication device 2000 or communication between the communication device 2000 and other devices. The processing unit 2200 may implement a corresponding processing function. The communication unit 2100 may also be referred to as a communication interface or transceiver unit. Optionally, the communication device 2000 may further include a storage unit. The storage unit may be configured to store instructions and / or data. The processing unit 2200 may read instructions and / or data from the storage unit so that the device implements an embodiment of the method described above.

[0405] In a possible design, the communication device 2000 may be a terminal in Method 500, Method 600, Method 700, Method 800, or Method 900, or it may be a module or chip used in a terminal. The communication device 2000 may be configured to perform steps or procedures performed by the terminal in the embodiments of the above-described scheme.

[0406] Specifically, the communication unit 2100 is configured to receive first information from a network device and transmit data to the network device based on the first information, where the first information indicates a transmission mode, k precoding matrices, and k stream numbers that correspond one-to-one with the k precoding matrices, and k ≥ 2. The transmission mode is either a first transmission mode or a second transmission mode. The k precoding matrices and k stream numbers correspond one-to-one with a first set of k antenna ports used in the transmission mode. The first set of antenna ports is part of a second set of antenna ports used by the communication device 2000 in a third transmission mode. In the first transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on the k precoding matrices and k stream numbers, with different precoding matrices and stream numbers corresponding to different parts of the transport block. In the second transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on the k precoding matrices and k stream numbers, with different precoding matrices and stream numbers corresponding to the same part of the transport block. In the third transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted based on one precoding matrix and one stream count.

[0407] Optionally, the processing unit 2200 is configured to determine k precoding matrices and k streams based on the number of antenna ports included in the first antenna port set and the first information.

[0408] Optionally, the communication unit 2100 is further configured to transmit second information to a network device, the second information indicating one or more of the following: the number of antenna ports that the communication device 2000 can use in a first or second transmission mode; the set of antenna ports that the communication device 2000 can use in a first or second transmission mode; the type of precoding matrix supported by the communication device 2000 in a first or second transmission mode; the sharing of digital channels by the communication device 2000 in a first or second transmission mode; the maximum number of streams that the communication device 2000 can transmit in a first or second transmission mode; the number of antenna ports used by the communication device 2000 in a third transmission mode; or the maximum number of streams that the communication device 2000 can transmit in a third transmission mode. The number of antenna ports that the communication device 2000 can use in a first or second transmission mode is greater than or equal to the number of antenna ports included in the first set of antenna ports. The type of precoding matrix is ​​non-coherent or partially coherent.

[0409] Optionally, the first information further indicates k sets of first antenna ports.

[0410] Optionally, the SRS resource set indicator field in the first information indicates k first antenna port sets.

[0411] Optionally, the communication unit 2100 is further configured to receive third information from a network device, where the third information indicates k SRS resource sets, each SRS resource set includes a first SRS resource, and the first SRS resource is associated with a first antenna port set.

[0412] Optionally, the second piece of information indicates the type of precoding matrix supported by the communication device 2000 in either the first or second transmission mode. The number of rows in each of the k precoding matrices is equal to the number of antenna ports used by the communication device 2000 in the third transmission mode. The number of non-zero element rows in each precoding matrix is ​​equal to the number of antenna ports included in the first antenna port set.

[0413] Optionally, Y = X / k, where Y is the number of antenna ports that the communication device 2000 can use in the first or second transmission mode, and X is the number of antenna ports that the communication device 2000 uses in the third transmission mode.

[0414] In another possible design, the communication device 2000 may be a network device in Method 500, Method 600, Method 700, Method 800, or Method 900, or it may be a module or chip used in a network device. The communication device 2000 may be configured to perform steps or procedures performed by the network device in the embodiments of the above-described scheme.

[0415] Specifically, the processing unit 2200 is configured to determine k precoding matrices and k stream numbers that correspond one-to-one with the k precoding matrices, where k ≥ 2. The k precoding matrices and k stream numbers correspond one-to-one with k first antenna port sets used in a first or second transmission mode. The first antenna port sets are part of a second antenna port set used by terminals in a third transmission mode. In the first transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on the k precoding matrices and k stream numbers, with different precoding matrices and stream numbers corresponding to different parts of the transport block. In the second transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on the k precoding matrices and k stream numbers, with different precoding matrices and stream numbers corresponding to the same part of the transport block. In the third transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted based on one precoding matrix and one stream number. The communication unit 2100 is configured to transmit first information to a terminal, the first information indicating a transmission mode, k precoding matrices, and k stream numbers, and the transmission mode is either a first transmission mode or a second transmission mode.

[0416] Optionally, the communication unit 2100 is further configured to receive second information from the terminal, which indicates one or more of the following: the number of antenna ports the terminal can use in a first or second transmission mode; the set of antenna ports the terminal can use in a first or second transmission mode; the type of precoding matrix supported by the terminal in a first or second transmission mode; the sharing of digital channels of the terminal in a first or second transmission mode; the maximum number of streams the terminal can transmit in a first or second transmission mode; the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in a third transmission mode; or the maximum number of streams the terminal can transmit in a third transmission mode. The number of antenna ports the terminal can use in a first or second transmission mode is greater than or equal to the number of antenna ports included in the first set of antenna ports. The type of precoding matrix is ​​non-coherent or partially coherent.

[0417] Optionally, the processing unit 2200 is further configured to determine, based on the second information, one or more of the following: the sharing of digital channels of the terminal in a first or second transmission mode, k sets of first antenna ports, the number of antenna ports that the terminal can use in a first or second transmission mode, or the types of precoding matrices supported by the terminal in a first or second transmission mode.

[0418] Optionally, the first information further indicates k sets of first antenna ports.

[0419] Optionally, the SRS resource set indicator field in the first information indicates k first antenna port sets.

[0420] Optionally, the communication unit 2100 is further configured to transmit third information to a terminal, where the third information indicates k SRS resource sets, each SRS resource set includes a first SRS resource, and the first SRS resource is associated with a first antenna port set.

[0421] For details regarding the steps or procedures performed by each unit within the communication device 2000, please refer to the embodiments of the method described above. Further details are not provided here.

[0422] It should be understood that the communication device 2000 may perform further operations performed by the terminal or network device in Method 1000. For details of the steps or procedures performed by each of the communication devices 2000, please refer to Method 1000. Further details are not described here.

[0423] It should be understood that the “units” of the communication device 2000 may be implemented by hardware, by software, or by hardware running the corresponding software. For example, the “units” may be application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), electronic circuits, processors configured to run one or more software or firmware programs (e.g., shared processors, dedicated processors, or group processors), memory, combinational logic circuits, and / or other suitable components that support the functions described. In other examples, the communication unit 2100 may alternatively be a transceiver or transceiver circuit (e.g., including receiver and transmitter circuits), and the processing unit 2200 may alternatively be a processor or processing circuit.

[0424] Figure 16 is a schematic block diagram of another communication device 3000 according to one embodiment of the present application. The device 3000 may be a terminal or network device, or may be a chip, chip system, processor, etc., that supports a terminal or network device when implementing the method described above. The device may be configured to implement the method described in the embodiments of the method described above. For further details, please refer to the description of the embodiments of the method described above.

[0425] The device 3000 may include one or more processors 3100. A processor 3100 may also be referred to as a processing unit and can implement specific control functions. A processor 3100 may be a general-purpose processor, a dedicated processor, or, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. A baseband processor may be configured to process communication protocols and communication data. A central processing unit may be configured to control communication equipment (e.g., a base station, baseband chip, user chip, DU, or CU), execute software programs, and process data from the software programs.

[0426] In an optional design, the processor 3100 may also store instructions and / or data, which may be executed by the processor 3100 so that the device 3000 performs the method described in the embodiments of the above-described method.

[0427] In another optional design, the device 3000 may include a communication interface 3200 configured to implement receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the communication interface 3200 may be a transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver. The transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver configured to implement receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated together. The transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver may be configured to read and write code / data, or the transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver may be configured to transmit or forward signals.

[0428] Optionally, the device 3000 may include one or more memories 3300 that can store instructions. Instructions may be executed on the processor 3100 so that the device 3000 performs the method described in the embodiments of the above-described method. Optionally, the memories 3300 may further store data. Optionally, the processor 3100 may also store instructions and / or data. The processor 3100 and the memories 3300 may be located separately or integrated together.

[0429] Figure 17 is a diagram of the structure of terminal 4000 according to this application. A communication device 2000 or a communication device 3000 may be configured within terminal 4000. Alternatively, the communication device 2000 or the communication device 3000 may be terminal 4000. In other words, terminal 4000 can perform the operations performed by the terminal in the embodiments of the method described above. Optionally, for ease of explanation, Figure 17 shows only the main components of the terminal. As shown in Figure 17, terminal 4000 includes a processor, memory, control circuitry, antenna, and input / output devices.

[0430] The processor is primarily configured to process communication protocols and data, control the entire terminal, execute software programs, process data from software programs, and, for example, support the terminal when performing the operations described in the embodiments of the above-described method. Memory is primarily configured to store software programs and data. Control circuits are primarily configured to convert baseband signals and radio frequency signals and process radio frequency signals. The control circuits and antennas together are sometimes referred to as a transceiver and are primarily configured to receive and transmit radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices, such as touchscreens, displays, or keyboards, are primarily configured to receive data entered by the user and output data to the user.

[0431] After the terminal is powered on, the processor can read the software program from the memory unit, interpret and execute the software program's instructions, and process the software program's data. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and then outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal in the form of electromagnetic waves via the antenna. When data is transmitted to the terminal, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal via the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal back to a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal back to data and processes the data.

[0432] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of clarity, Figure 17 shows only one memory and one processor. In actual terminals, multiple processors and memories may be present. Memory may also be referred to as a storage medium, storage device, etc. This is not limited to this embodiment of the present application.

[0433] For example, the processor may include a baseband processor and a central processing unit. The baseband processor is primarily configured to process communication protocols and communication data. The central processing unit is primarily configured to control the entire terminal, execute software programs, and process data from the software programs. The processor in Figure 17 integrates the functions of a baseband processor and a central processing unit. Those skilled in the art will understand that the baseband processor and the central processing unit may, alternatively, be independent processors interconnected by using technologies such as buses. Those skilled in the art will understand that a terminal may include multiple baseband processors to adapt to different network standards, and that a terminal may include multiple central processing units to improve its processing capabilities. All components of the terminal may be connected via various buses. The baseband processor may also be represented as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processing unit may also be represented as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The functions for processing communication protocols and communication data may be incorporated into the processor or stored in a storage unit in the form of a software program, and the processor executes the software program to implement the baseband processing functions.

[0434] For example, in this embodiment of the present application, the antenna and control circuit having receiving and transmitting functions may be considered as the transceiver unit 4100 of the terminal 4000, and the processor having processing functions may be considered as the processing unit 4200 of the terminal 4000. As shown in Figure 17, the terminal 4000 includes the transceiver unit 4100 and the processing unit 4200. The transceiver unit may also be referred to as a transceiver, transceiver machine, transceiver device, etc. Optionally, components configured to implement the receiving function within the transceiver unit 4100 may be considered as receiving units, and components configured to implement the transmitting function within the transceiver unit 4100 may be considered as transmitting units. That is, the transceiver unit 4100 includes receiving units and transmitting units. For example, the receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, receiving machine, or receiving circuit, and the transmitting unit may also be referred to as a transmitter, transmitting machine, or transmitting circuit.

[0435] Figure 18 shows the structure of a network device 5000 according to one embodiment of the present application. A communication device 2000 or a communication device 3000 may be configured within the network device 5000. Alternatively, the communication device 2000 or the communication device 3000 may be the network device 5000. Alternatively, the network device 5000 may perform the operations performed by the network device in the embodiments of the method described above (for example, if the method described above is applied to an uplink scenario, the second communication device is the network device).

[0436] As shown in Figure 18, the network device 5000 may include one or more DU 5010s and one or more CU 5020s. The CU 5020s may communicate with the NG core (next generation core network, NC). The DU 5010 may include at least one antenna 5011, at least one radio frequency unit 5012, at least one processor 5013, and at least one memory 5014. The DU 5010s are primarily configured to receive and transmit radio frequency signals, convert radio frequency signals to baseband signals, and perform partial baseband processing. The CU 5020s may include at least one processor 5022 and at least one memory 5021. The CU 5020s and DU 5010s can communicate with each other via an interface. The control plane (CP) interface may be Fs-C, for example F1-C, and the user plane (UP) interface may be Fs-U, for example F1-U.

[0437] CU 5020 is primarily configured to perform baseband processing, control the network device 5000, and so on. DU 5010 and CU 5020 may be physically located together or physically separated, i.e., they may be in a distributed base station. CU 5020 is the control center for the network device 5000, sometimes referred to as a processing unit, and is primarily configured to complete baseband processing functions. For example, CU 5020 may be configured to control the network device 5000 to perform operational procedures related to the first or second device in the embodiments of the method described above.

[0438] Specifically, the baseband processing of the CU and DU may be divided based on the protocol layer of the wireless network. For example, the functions of the PDCP layer and higher protocol layers are configured on the CU, while the functions of lower protocol layers such as the RLC layer and MAC layer are configured on the DU. In another example, the CU implements the functions of the RRC layer and PDCP layer, and the DU implements the functions of the RLC layer, MAC layer, and PHY layer.

[0439] In addition, the network device 5000 may optionally include one or more radio units (RUs), one or more DUs, and one or more CUs. The DU may include at least one processor 5013 and at least one memory 5014, the RU may include at least one antenna 5011 and at least one radio frequency unit 5012, and the CU may include at least one processor 5022 and at least one memory 5021.

[0440] For example, CU 5020 may include one or more boards. Multiple boards may jointly support a single access standard radio access network (e.g., a 5G network) or separately support different access standards radio access networks (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G network, or another network). Memory 5021 and processor 5022 can serve one or more boards. In other words, memory and processor can be located on each board. Alternatively, multiple boards may share the same memory and the same processor. In addition, necessary circuitry can be further located on each board. DU 5010 may include one or more boards. Multiple boards may jointly support a single access standard radio access network (e.g., a 5G network) or separately support different access standards radio access networks (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G network, or another network). Memory 5014 and processor 5013 can serve one or more boards. In other words, memory and processor can be located on each board. Alternatively, multiple boards may share the same memory and the same processor. In addition, any necessary circuitry can be placed on each board.

[0441] It should be understood that the network device 5000 shown in Figure 18 can implement processes related to actions performed by the network device in the embodiments of the method described above. The operation and / or function of the modules in the network device 5000 are, respectively, for implementing the corresponding procedures in the embodiments of the method described above. For details, please refer to the description of the embodiments of the method described above. To avoid repetition, detailed explanations are appropriately omitted here.

[0442] It should be understood that the network device 5000 shown in Figure 18 is merely a possible architecture for a network device and should not constitute any limitation to this application. The methods provided in this application are applicable to network devices of other architectures, such as network devices including CUs, DUs, and AAUs. The specific architecture of a network device is not limited in this application.

[0443] It should be understood that, in possible designs, the steps in embodiments of the methods provided in this application may be completed by using hardware-integrated logic circuits within a processor or by using instructions in the form of software. The steps of the methods disclosed with reference to embodiments of this application may be performed directly by a hardware processor or by using a combination of hardware and software modules within the processor. The software modules may be located in mature storage media in the art, such as random-access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or registers. The storage media is located in memory, and the processor reads information in memory and, in combination with the processor's hardware, completes the steps of the methods described above. To avoid repetition, further details are not described here again.

[0444] Note that the processor in the embodiments of this application may be an integrated circuit chip and has signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, the steps in the embodiments of the method described above may be implemented by using hardware integrated logic circuits within the processor or by using instructions in the form of software. The processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in embodiments of this application may be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc. The steps in the methods disclosed with reference to embodiments of this application may be performed and completed directly by a hardware decoding processor, or by using a combination of hardware and software modules within the decoding processor. The software modules may be located in mature storage media in the art, such as random-access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or registers. The storage medium is placed in memory, the processor reads the information in memory, and, in combination with the processor's hardware, completes the steps of the method described above.

[0445] It can be understood that the memory in this embodiment of the present application may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory may be random access memory (RAM) used as an external cache. Rather than providing a limited explanation, many forms of RAM may be used, such as static random access memory (static RAM, SRAM), dynamic random access memory (dynamic RAM, DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (double data rate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), synchlink dynamic random access memory (synchlink DRAM, SLDRAM), and direct rambus random access memory (direct rambus RAM, DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein includes, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0446] This application further provides a computer program product, which includes computer program code. When the computer program code is executed on a computer, the computer becomes capable of performing steps or procedures that are performed by a terminal or network device in any one of the embodiments of the method described above.

[0447] This application further provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing program code. When the program code is executed on a computer, the computer becomes capable of performing steps or procedures that are performed by a terminal or network device in any one of the embodiments of the method described above.

[0448] This application further provides a communication device including a processor and an interface. The interface is configured to transmit and / or receive signals, and as a result, the processor performs steps or procedures performed by a terminal or network device in any one of the embodiments of the method described above.

[0449] This application further provides a communication system including at least one of a terminal and a network device.

[0450] The embodiments of the apparatus described above correspond in full to the embodiments of the method, and the corresponding modules or units perform the corresponding steps. For example, a communication unit or communication interface may perform the receiving step or the transmitting step in the embodiments of the method, and a processing unit or processor may perform steps other than the transmitting step and the receiving step.

[0451] In the embodiments of this application, all terms and English abbreviations are given for illustrative purposes only and should not constitute any limitation to this application. This application does not preclude the possibility of defining other terms that may implement the same or similar functions in existing or future protocols.

[0452] As used herein, terms such as “component,” “module,” and “system” are used to describe computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, hardware-software combinations, software, or running software. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, an execution thread, a program, and / or a computer. As illustrated by the use of diagrams, both computing devices and applications running on computing devices can be components. One or more components may reside within a process and / or an execution thread, and components may be located on one computer and / or distributed across two or more computers. In addition, these components may run from various computer-readable storage media having various data structures stored thereon. For example, components may communicate based on signals, for example, having one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with another component within a local system, within a distributed system, and / or across a network such as the Internet, interacting with other systems by using signals) by using local and / or remote processes.

[0453] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the illustrative logical blocks and steps described in the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware or by a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are performed by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art may implement the functions described for each specific application using different methods, but such implementations should not be considered to exceed the scope of this application.

[0454] For the sake of convenience and simplicity, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the detailed operating processes of the above-described systems, apparatus, and units are not described again herein, but rather refer to the corresponding processes in the embodiments of the methods described above.

[0455] In the various embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatus, and methods may be implemented in other ways. For example, the embodiments of the apparatus described above are merely examples. For example, the division into units is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementations, other division methods may exist. For example, multiple units or components may be coupled or integrated into other systems, or some features may be ignored or not performed. Furthermore, the mutual coupling, direct coupling, or communication connection shown or discussed may be implemented by using some interfaces. Indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatus or units may be implemented electronically, mechanically, or in other ways.

[0456] Units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected based on the actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solution of the embodiment.

[0457] In addition, the functional units in the embodiments of this application may be integrated into a single processing unit, each unit may exist physically independently, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit.

[0458] In the embodiments described above, all or part of the functionality of the functional unit may be implemented by using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement the embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. A computer program product includes one or more computer instructions (programs). When the computer program instructions (programs) are loaded into a computer and executed, all or part of the procedures or functions according to the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a computer network, or other 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, computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, radio, or microwave) means. Computer-readable storage media can be any usable medium accessible by a computer, or a data storage device that integrates one or more usable media, such as a server or data center. Usable media can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disk drives, or magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., DVDs), semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state drives (SSDs)), and so on.

[0459] When a function is implemented in the form of a software function unit and sold or used as an independent product, the function may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or in part with respect to the prior art, or a part of the technical solution, may be implemented in the form of a software product. A computer software product is stored on a storage medium and includes a number of instructions for instructing a computing device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in embodiments of this application. The storage medium mentioned above includes any medium capable of storing program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk drive, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0460] The above description merely outlines a specific implementation of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection. Any modification or substitution readily understood by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed herein shall fall within the scope of protection. Accordingly, the scope of protection of this application shall be subject to the scope of protection of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0461] 210 Network Devices 220 network devices 230 devices 231 Antenna Panel 232 Antenna Panel 2000 Communication equipment 2100 Communication Unit 2200 processing units 3000 Communication devices 3100 Processor 3200 Communication Interfaces 3300 memory 4000 terminals 4100 Transceiver Unit 4200 processing units 5000 network devices 5010 Distributed Unit (DU) 5011 Antenna 5012 Radio frequency unit 5013 Processor 5014 memory 5020 Central Unit (CU) 5021 memory 5022 Processor

Claims

1. A method of communication, A step of receiving first information from a network device, wherein the first information indicates a transmission mode, k precoding matrices, and k stream numbers that correspond one-to-one with the k precoding matrices, k ≥ 2, the transmission mode is either a first transmission mode or a second transmission mode, the k precoding matrices and the k stream numbers correspond one-to-one with k first antenna port sets used in the transmission mode, the first antenna port sets are part of a second antenna port set used by the terminal in a third transmission mode, and in the first transmission mode, one transport block The lock is transmitted simultaneously based on the k precoding matrices and the k number of streams, where different precoding matrices and number of streams correspond to different parts of the transport block; in the second transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on the k precoding matrices and the k number of streams, where different precoding matrices and number of streams correspond to the same part of the transport block; in the third transmission mode, one transport block is transmitted based on one precoding matrices and one number of streams; and A method comprising the step of transmitting data to the network device based on the first information.

2. Prior to the step of transmitting data to the network device based on the first information, the method The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of determining the k precoding matrices and the k number of streams based on the number of antenna ports included in the first set of antenna ports and the first information.

3. Prior to the step of receiving first information from a network device, the method A step of transmitting second information to the network device, wherein the second information is: The number of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the set of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the type of precoding matrix supported by the terminal in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the sharing of the terminal's digital channels in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the maximum number of streams that the terminal can transmit in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in the third transmission mode, or the maximum number of streams that the terminal can transmit in the third transmission mode. Show one or more of the following: The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising the step that the number of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode is greater than or equal to the number of antenna ports included in the first set of antenna ports, and the type of the precoding matrix is ​​non-coherent or partially coherent.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first information further indicates the k sets of first antenna ports.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the SRS resource set indicator field in the first information indicates the k first antenna port sets.

6. Prior to the step of transmitting data to the network device based on the first information, the method: The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising the step of receiving third information from the network device, wherein the third information indicates k SRS resource sets, the SRS resource sets include a first SRS resource, and the first SRS resource is associated with the first antenna port set.

7. The second information indicates the type of the precoding matrix supported by the terminal in the first or second transmission mode, The method according to claim 3, wherein the number of rows in each of the k precoding matrices is equal to the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in the third transmission mode, and the number of rows of non-zero elements in each precoding matrix is ​​equal to the number of antenna ports included in the first set of antenna ports.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein Y = X / k, where Y is the number of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, and X is the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in the third transmission mode.

9. A method of communication, A step of determining k precoding matrices and k stream numbers that correspond one-to-one with the k precoding matrices, wherein k ≥ 2, the k precoding matrices and the k stream numbers correspond one-to-one with k first antenna port sets used in a first or second transmission mode, the first antenna port sets being part of a second antenna port set used by a terminal in a third transmission mode, in the first transmission mode one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on the k precoding matrices and the k stream numbers, different precoding matrices and stream numbers correspond to different parts of the one transport block, in the second transmission mode one transport block is transmitted simultaneously based on the k precoding matrices and the k stream numbers, different precoding matrices and stream numbers correspond to the same part of the one transport block, and in the third transmission mode one transport block is transmitted based on one precoding matrix and one stream number. A communication method comprising the step of transmitting first information to the terminal, wherein the first information indicates a transmission mode, the k precoding matrices, and the k number of streams, and the transmission mode is either the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode.

10. Prior to the step of determining k precoding matrices and the number of streams corresponding one-to-one with each of the k precoding matrices, the method: The step of receiving second information from the terminal, wherein the second information is The number of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the set of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the type of precoding matrix supported by the terminal in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the sharing of the terminal's digital channels in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the maximum number of streams that the terminal can transmit in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in the third transmission mode, or the maximum number of streams that the terminal can transmit in the third transmission mode. Show one or more of the following: The method according to claim 9, further comprising the step that the number of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode is greater than or equal to the number of antenna ports included in the first set of antenna ports, and the type of the precoding matrix is ​​non-coherent or partially coherent.

11. Prior to the step of determining k precoding matrices and the number of streams corresponding one-to-one with each of the k precoding matrices, the method: Based on the second piece of information above, Sharing of the digital channels of the terminal in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, the k sets of first antenna ports, the number of antenna ports that the terminal can use in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, or the type of precoding matrix supported by the terminal in the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode. The method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of determining one or more of the following.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the first information further indicates the k sets of first antenna ports.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the SRS resource set indicator field in the first information indicates the k first antenna port sets.

14. Prior to the step of determining k precoding matrices and the number of streams corresponding one-to-one with each of the k precoding matrices, the method: The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, further comprising the step of transmitting third information to the terminal, wherein the third information indicates k SRS resource sets, the SRS resource sets include a first SRS resource, and the first SRS resource is associated with a first antenna port set.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein the number of rows in each of the k precoding matrices is equal to the number of antenna ports included in the first antenna port set.

16. The second information indicates the type of the precoding matrix supported by the terminal in the first or second transmission mode, The method according to claim 10, wherein the number of rows in each of the k precoding matrices is equal to the number of antenna ports used by the terminal in the third transmission mode, and the number of rows of non-zero elements in each precoding matrix is ​​equal to the number of antenna ports included in the first set of antenna ports.

17. A communication device comprising a unit configured to perform each step of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or a unit configured to perform each step of the method according to any one of claims 9 to 16.

18. A communication device comprising a processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory is configured to store a program or instruction, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the communication device becomes capable of performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 or any one of claims 9 to 16.

19. A communication device comprising a processor and an interface, wherein the interface is configured to transmit and / or receive signals so that the processor performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 or any one of claims 9 to 16.

20. A readable storage medium, the readable storage medium storing a computer program or instruction, and when the computer program or instruction is executed, the computer is able to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 or the method according to any one of claims 9 to 16.

21. A computer program comprising computer program instructions, wherein the computer program instructions enable a computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 or any one of claims 9 to 16.

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