Method and apparatus for sidelink communication

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for sidelink communication, which is advantageous for performing initial beam pairing based on a sidelink between two or more terminal devices in a sidelink communication system. The method includes the steps of: a first terminal device determining a first transmit beam from a plurality of transmit beams of a second terminal device, wherein the first transmit beam is configured to enable the first and second terminal devices to perform initial beam pairing; and the first terminal device transmitting beam feedback to the second terminal device on a first resource, wherein the first resource is determined based on first information, wherein the first information is configured to indicate a mapping relationship between a plurality of resources, including the first resource, and the plurality of transmit beams, and the first information is further configured to enable the second terminal device to determine the first transmit beam.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The various embodiments described herein generally relate to the field of communication technology, and more specifically to methods and apparatus for sidelink communication. [Background technology]

[0002] When communicating in relatively high frequency bands (e.g., millimeter-wave bands), network equipment can achieve system coverage through beam scanning based on large antenna arrays. Beam scanning requires a certain amount of spatiotemporal resources and consumes a lot of power. Therefore, for uplink / downlink transmission, network equipment and terminal equipment need to determine the optimal transmit / receive beam pair through beam pairing.

[0003] In side-link communication systems, a challenge to address is how to determine the resources for beam feedback when terminal equipment performs initial beam pairing based on the side link. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a method and apparatus for sidelink communication. Various aspects of the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for sidelink communication. The method includes the steps of: a first terminal device determining a first transmit beam from a plurality of transmit beams of a second terminal device, wherein the first transmit beam is configured to perform initial beam pairing between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; and the first terminal device transmitting beam feedback to the second terminal device on a first resource, wherein the first resource is determined based on first information, wherein the first information is configured to indicate a mapping relationship between a plurality of resources, including the first resource, and the plurality of transmit beams, wherein the first information is further configured to cause the second terminal device to determine the first transmit beam.

[0006] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for sidelink communication. The method includes the steps of: a second terminal device transmitting a reference signal through a plurality of transmit beams, the plurality of transmit beams configured such that a first terminal device determines a first transmit beam, the first transmit beam being configured such that the first terminal device and the second terminal device perform initial beam pairing; and the second terminal device receiving beam feedback transmitted by the first terminal device over a first resource, the first resource being determined based on first information, the first information being configured to indicate a mapping relationship between a plurality of resources including the first resource and the plurality of transmit beams, the first information being further configured such that the second terminal device determines the first transmit beam.

[0007] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a device for sidelink communication. The device is a first terminal device and includes a determination unit and a transmit unit. The determination unit is configured to determine a first transmit beam from a plurality of transmit beams of a second terminal device, wherein the first transmit beam is configured to perform initial beam pairing between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the transmit unit is configured to transmit beam feedback to the second terminal device on a first resource, wherein the first resource is determined based on first information, wherein the first information is configured to indicate mapping relationships between a plurality of resources including the first resource and the plurality of transmit beams, and the first information is further configured to cause the second terminal device to determine the first transmit beam.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a device for sidelink communication. The device is a second terminal device and includes a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. The transmitting unit is a transmitting unit configured to transmit a reference signal through a plurality of transmitting beams, the plurality of transmitting beams configured so that a first terminal device determines a first transmitting beam, the first transmitting beam is configured so that the first terminal device and the second terminal device perform initial beam pairing, and the receiving unit is configured to receive beam feedback transmitted by the first terminal device on a first resource, the first resource being determined based on first information, the first information being configured to indicate mapping relationships between a plurality of resources including the first resource and the plurality of transmitting beams, the first information further includes a receiving unit configured so that the second terminal device determines the first transmitting beam.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is configured to store a program, and the processor is configured to call the program in the memory and execute the method described in the first or second aspect.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an apparatus comprising a processor configured to invoke a program from a memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a chip comprising a processor configured to invoke a program from a memory to cause a device equipped with the chip to perform the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a program that causes a computer to perform the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product comprising a program that causes a computer to perform the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program that causes a computer to perform the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0015] The first terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may determine a first transmission beam for performing initial beam pairing with the second terminal device, and then determine a first resource for transmitting beam feedback based on first information. The first information is configured to indicate a correspondence between a plurality of transmission beams and a plurality of resources of the second terminal device. As can be seen from the above, the second terminal device can determine the transmission beam selected by the first terminal device based on the first resource corresponding to the received beam feedback, thereby enabling more effective beam pairing. [BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS]

[0016] [Figure 1] This is a wireless communication system applied to the embodiments of the present application. [Figure 2] It is a diagram illustrating an example of NR-V2X communication. [Figure 3] It is a schematic diagram in which a transmitting terminal and a receiving terminal each perform beam scanning. [Figure 4] It is a schematic diagram of beam scanning in which a plurality of transmitting terminals correspond to one receiving terminal. [Figure 5] It is a flowchart of a method for sidelink communication provided by the embodiments of the present application. [Figure 6] It is a schematic diagram in which a second terminal device performs periodic beam scanning. [Figure 7] It is a schematic diagram of possible mapping relationships between S-SSB and FO. [Figure 8] It is a schematic diagram of possible mapping relationships between S-SSB and resources occupied by FO. [Figure 9] It is a schematic diagram of another possible mapping relationship between S-SSB and resources occupied by FO. [Figure 10] It is a flowchart of a possible embodiment of the method shown in Figure 5. [Figure 11] It is a structural schematic diagram of an apparatus for sidelink communication provided by the embodiments of the present application. [Figure 12] It is a structural schematic diagram of an apparatus for sidelink communication provided by other embodiments of the present application. [Figure 13] It is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application. [Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]

[0017] In the following, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application are described with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts based on the embodiments in the present application shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0018] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the system architecture of a wireless communication system 100 applied to an embodiment of the present invention. This wireless communication system 100 may include network equipment 110 and terminal equipment 121-129. Network equipment 110 can provide communication coverage to a specific geographic area and can communicate with terminals within this coverage area.

[0019] In some embodiments, terminal devices can communicate with each other via sidelink (SL). Sidelink communication may also be called adjacent service communication, one-way communication, sidelink communication, or device-to-device (D2D) communication.

[0020] In other words, terminal equipment can transmit sidelink data through the sidelink. The sidelink data may include data and / or control signaling. In some embodiments, the sidelink data may include, for example, a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a PSCCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a PSSCH DMRS, a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH), etc.

[0021] The following describes some common side-link communication scenarios with reference to Figure 1. In side-link communication, three primary scenarios can be defined depending on whether the terminal devices in the side link are within the coverage area of ​​the network device. In Scenario 1, terminal devices perform side-link communication within the coverage area of ​​the network device. In Scenario 2, some terminal devices perform side-link communication within the coverage area of ​​the network device. In Scenario 3, terminal devices perform side-link communication outside the coverage area of ​​the network device.

[0022] As shown in Figure 1, in Scenario 1, terminal devices 121 and 122 can communicate via a sidelink, and both terminal devices 121 and 122 are within the coverage area of ​​network device 110, or in other words, both terminal devices 121 and 122 are within the coverage of the same network device 110. In this scenario, network device 110 can send configuration signaling to terminal devices 121 and 122, and in response, terminal devices 121 and 122 communicate via the sidelink based on the configuration signaling.

[0023] As shown in Figure 1, in Scenario 2, terminal devices 123 and 124 can communicate via a sidelink. Terminal device 123 is within the coverage of network device 110, while terminal device 124 is outside the coverage of network device 110. In this scenario, terminal device 123 receives configuration information from network device 110 and communicates via the sidelink based on the configuration signaling configuration. However, for terminal device 124, since terminal device 124 is outside the coverage of network device 110, it cannot receive configuration information from network device 110. In this case, terminal device 124 can obtain a configuration for sidelink communication based on pre-configuration information and / or configuration information transmitted from terminal device 123, which is within coverage, and communicates with terminal device 123 via the sidelink based on the obtained configuration.

[0024] In some cases, in order to configure terminal device 124 to communicate via sidelink, terminal device 123 can transmit the above-described configuration information to terminal device 124 via a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH).

[0025] As shown in Figure 1, in Scenario 3, terminal devices 125 to 129 are all outside the coverage of network device 110 and cannot communicate with network device 110. In this case, the terminal devices can perform side-link communication based on pre-configuration information.

[0026] In some cases, terminal devices 127-129 located outside the coverage of a network device can form a single communication group, and terminal devices 127-129 within that communication group can communicate with each other. Furthermore, terminal device 127 within the communication group can be designated as the central control node and may be referred to as the cluster header (CH) terminal, while the other terminal devices within the communication group may be referred to as "cluster members."

[0027] Figure 1 illustrates one network device and multiple terminal devices, and optionally, this wireless communication system 100 may include multiple network devices, and each network device may include another number of terminal devices within its coverage, and the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto.

[0028] The wireless communication system 100 may optionally further include other network entities such as a network controller or a mobility management entity, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0029] It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as 5th generation (5G) systems, new radio (NR) systems, long-term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, and LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems such as 6th generation mobile communication systems and satellite communication systems.

[0030] In the embodiments of the present application, terminal equipment may be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user device. In the embodiments of the present application, terminal equipment may refer to devices that provide voice and / or data connectivity to a user and may be used to connect to people, objects, and machines such as handheld devices and in-vehicle devices with wireless connectivity. The terminal devices in the embodiments of this application may include mobile phones, tablet computers (Pads), laptop computers, palmtop computers, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, vehicles, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, and wireless terminals in smart homes. Optionally, the terminal devices may also be used to function as base stations. For example, the terminal devices may function as scheduling entities that provide sidelink signals between terminal devices in vehicle-to-everything / vehicle-to-infrastructure (Vehicle-to-Everything) communication or device-to-device (D2D) communication. For example, a cellular phone and a car can communicate with each other using sidelink data. A cellular phone communicates with smart home devices without relaying communication signals through a base station.

[0031] The network equipment in the embodiments of this application may be equipment for communicating with terminal equipment. Network equipment may also be called access network equipment or wireless access network equipment. For example, network equipment may be a base station. Network equipment in the embodiments of this application may refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or equipment) for terminal equipment to access a wireless network. Base stations are broadly covered by various names, or can be replaced by these names, such as NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next-generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), access point (AP), master eNB, secondary eNB, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, radio node, transmitting node, transceiver node, base band unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit, and positioning node. A base station may be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node, or something similar, or a combination thereof. A base station may further refer to a communication module, modem, or chip provided within the aforementioned equipment or device.A base station may be a mobile switching center, a device that performs base station functions in D2D, V2X, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, a network-side device in a 6G network, or a device that performs base station functions in a future communication system. A base station can support networks with the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies used in access network equipment or the specific forms of equipment.

[0032] Base stations may be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or drone may be configured as a mobile base station, and one or more cells may move depending on the location of this mobile base station. In another example, a helicopter or drone may be configured as equipment for communicating with another base station.

[0033] In some deployments, the network equipment in the embodiments of the present invention refers to a CU or DU, or the network equipment may include both a CU and a DU. The gNB may further include an AAU.

[0034] Network equipment and terminal equipment may be configured on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted, on water, or in the air on airplanes, balloons, or satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the scenarios in which the network equipment and terminal equipment are located.

[0035] It should be understood that all or some of the functions of the communication equipment in this application may be implemented by software functions running on the hardware, or by virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0036] With the advancement of wireless communication technology, communication systems are facing increasingly higher demands on data transmission speed, connection count, and coverage. For example, 5G mobile standards require improvements based on faster data transmission speeds, more connections, and better coverage in order to provide each of tens of thousands of users with a data rate of tens of megabits per second.

[0037] Some wireless communication networks (e.g., 5G or subsequent technological advancements) can support operation in very high and even extremely high frequency (EHF) bands. These high frequency bands (frequency range, FR) include millimeter wave (mmW) frequency bands. Generally, these frequency bands correspond to wavelengths of 1 mm to 10 mm, or frequency ranges of 30 GHz to 300 GHz. For example, the frequency range corresponding to FR2 in a 5G system is 24.25 to 52.6 GHz.

[0038] When these high-frequency bands are used for communications, they can support very high throughput. However, the significant propagation loss that occurs at high frequencies is one challenge in performing wireless communication at these very high, or even extremely high, frequencies. For example, propagation loss can be substantial in the millimeter-wave band.

[0039] To reduce propagation loss, beam transmission can be performed using a large antenna array. A large number of densely distributed antenna units increases the complexity and cost of digital beamforming, and communication equipment generally performs beamforming in the analog domain based on a large antenna array. The beam generated by simulating beamforming points in one direction at a specific time. Communication equipment performs transmission through beam scanning. Beam scanning is also called beam sweeping. For example, network equipment can transmit data to terminal equipment by sweeping beam sets focused in different directions. Network equipment can also achieve system coverage through beam scanning. However, beam scanning requires certain spatiotemporal resources and consumes a lot of power. In other words, the generation and scanning of beam sweep sets are relatively high in terms of power consumption, time, and air resources.

[0040] For communication between network devices and terminal devices, if the terminal device is within the coverage of the network device, beam pairing can be used to determine the optimal transmit / receive beam pairing for uplink / downlink transmission. Beam pairing may also be called beam alignment or beam steering. For example, in communication between network devices and terminal devices based on a Uu communication interface, initial pairing can be performed using a three-stage initial beam pairing process. The three-stage initial beam pairing process includes three processes: P1, P2, and P3.

[0041] For terminal equipment in sidelink communication systems, performing beam pairing can effectively improve transmission speed and increase sidelink communication coverage. However, how to perform beam pairing based on sidelinks remains a challenge. For example, in FR2, how sidelinks establish beam pairing and complete subsequent communication is one of the research topics in R18.

[0042] To analyze this problem, we will first briefly explain the sidelink communication mode by referring to Figures 1 and 2.

[0043] With the advancement of sidelink communication technology, the number of scenarios in which sidelink communication is applied is increasing. For example, various V2X scenarios have been proposed for NR. These V2X scenarios include vehicle platooning, advanced driving, enhanced sensors, and remote driving.

[0044] Sidelink communication technology can handle information interaction between multiple types of terminal devices. Taking the V2X communication system 200 shown in Figure 2 as an example, the vehicle-to-vehicle / vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2V) communication performed by terminal devices 201 and 202 concerns information interaction between vehicles. Terminal devices 201 and 203-205 perform vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication, respectively, concerning information interaction between vehicles and external systems.

[0045] The gradual expansion of the information interaction range places higher demands on communication systems. For example, communication systems are required to support higher throughput, lower latency, higher reliability, wider coverage, and more flexible resource allocation. Taking the development of V2X as an example, LTE-V2X supports only broadcast mode for sidelink communication between terminal devices. NR-V2X can support three communication modes: broadcast, groupcast, and unicast.

[0046] Broadcast is the most basic communication mode in sidelink communication. In broadcast transmission mode, the terminal equipment receiving the sidelink data can be any terminal equipment located in the vicinity of the transmitting terminal equipment. For example, referring to Figure 1, if terminal equipment 125 is the transmitting sidelink data in broadcast mode, then all terminal equipment 121-124 and terminal equipment 126-129 located in the vicinity of terminal equipment 125 can become receiving terminals for the sidelink data.

[0047] Groupcast communication is configured to support information interaction between terminal devices within a specific group (or communication group) to assist in the completion of negotiations and decisions among terminal devices within the group. Sidelink groupcasts are divided into two transmission types. Type 1 is for managed groups with stable connectivity relationships and has clear identifier (ID) information and information about the members within the group. Type 2 is for connectionless groups configured in a disconnected manner, such as groupcasts with dynamic group formation based on distance, and it is necessary to clearly indicate the communication distance of the current service.

[0048] Regarding the transmission mode of groupcast, all terminal devices within a single communication group may be configured to receive sidelink data. Alternatively, all terminal devices within a certain transmission distance may be configured to receive sidelink data. For example, referring to Figure 1, for a communication group including terminal devices 127-129, when terminal device 127 transmits sidelink data in groupcast mode, the other terminal devices 128-129 in that communication group are receiving terminals that receive this sidelink data. Also, for example, referring to Figure 1, assuming that the terminal devices within a pre-configured range include terminal devices 127-129, when terminal device 127 transmits sidelink data in multicast mode, the other terminal devices 128-129 within this pre-configured range are all receiving terminals that receive this sidelink data.

[0049] Unicast communication can enable side-link communication between two terminal devices. Taking NR-V2X as an example, radio resource control (RRC) signaling based on the newly defined PC5 interface can ensure reliable communication between terminal devices. Exemplarily, two terminal devices can achieve unicast communication by establishing a unicast link. A unicast link may also be called a unicast connection. For example, terminal devices can establish a unicast link based on a direct communication request (DCR).

[0050] As can be seen from the above, beam scanning requires significant power consumption and relatively expensive spatiotemporal resources. Therefore, in side-link communication systems, terminal equipment must perform beam pairing based on the side link to establish a unicast or multicast link with other terminal equipment. Regardless of whether a unicast link, groupcast, or broadcast link is established, beam pairing cannot be performed by the receiving or transmitting terminal equipment alone.

[0051] The above describes several communication modes in side-link communication. For unicast mode, initial beam pairing between the two terminal devices may be performed before or after the unicast link is established. The following unicast links may all be replaced with side-link unicast links or side-link unicast connections.

[0052] Performing initial beam pairing before a unicast link is established is achieved by first pairing the initial beams and then establishing the unicast link using the paired beams. The key purpose of performing this initial beam pairing is to enable terminal equipment to establish a unicast link using the paired beams. By performing initial beam pairing, the first terminal equipment can establish a unicast link with other terminal equipment that is further away, thereby meeting greater service demand or higher business use demands. If initial beam pairing is not performed before a unicast link is established, terminal equipment cannot determine the appropriate beam pairing for the necessary information interaction and cannot guarantee basic communication range.

[0053] Furthermore, initial beam pairing can be performed before the unicast link is established to improve resource utilization. Because the unicast link is not yet established, terminal equipment may not be able to identify other communication equipment in the vicinity before beam pairing, and therefore, terminal equipment may perform initial beam pairing based on DCR. For example, a transmitting terminal equipment may need to perform multiple transmit beam scans based on all beams that send DCR messages in order to initiate the process of establishing a unicast link with a target terminal equipment. Since DCR is generally carried by PSSCH, the transmitting terminal equipment may need to establish the unicast link by transmitting multiple PSSCHs, thereby causing inefficient use of time-frequency resources.

[0054] Whether initial beam pairing is performed before or after the unicast link is established, terminal equipment must predetermine the resources related to beam transmission and reception. For example, for SL FR2, initial beam pairing must be specified so that terminal equipment determines the transmission and reception resources.

[0055] Before beam pairing, terminal equipment may not know whether other equipment is present in the vicinity, or it may be unclear when different beam transmissions should be performed, or it may not be determined when a reference signal should be received. This means that information about the reference signal (RS) for initial beam pairing needs to be (pre)configured. The transmission of reference signals corresponding to different beams should be performed on (pre)configured resources to facilitate monitoring by the receiving terminal equipment.

[0056] The reference signal for initial beam pairing indicates that terminal equipment can perform beam pairing by transmitting this reference signal. Exemplarily, the reference signal for initial beam pairing may be a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS). This CSI-RS may be a sidelink CSI-RS. Exemplarily, the reference signal for initial beam pairing may be a synchronization signal such as a CSI-RS. The synchronization signal may consist of, for example, a primary synchronization signal (PSS) block and / or a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) block. For example, the reference signal for initial beam pairing may be an S-SSB (sidelink-synchronization signal block, S-SSB).

[0057] Regarding initial beam pairing, it should be understood that periodic transmission of a reference signal is important for the receiving terminal equipment to determine the resources it expects. Taking S-SSB as an example, the transmitting terminal equipment (pre)configures periodic transmission resources for S-SSB with different beam directions. However, the receiving terminal equipment cannot receive each beam from the transmitting terminal equipment and has no information related to when the beam scan starts or ends. In this scenario, the receiving terminal equipment may miss the desired reception occasion. Therefore, periodic signal transmission makes it easier for the receiving terminal equipment to determine the appropriate reception occasion.

[0058] Furthermore, in beam pairing, the receiving terminal equipment may face the problem of being unable to determine which terminal equipment the received beam originated from. In other words, the terminal equipment cannot determine which terminal equipment each of the multiple received beams originated from. For beam pairing, it is important that the receiving equipment can distinguish whether the multiple received beams originate from a single transmitting equipment or from multiple transmitting equipment. If the terminal equipment cannot distinguish where the received beams came from, it cannot determine which beam is optimal and therefore cannot perform beam pairing based on the received beams.

[0059] To facilitate understanding, the following will describe potential problems in beam communication and beam pairing between terminal devices, referring to Figures 3 and 4. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of beam communication performed between two terminal devices. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of beam communication performed by one receiving terminal device and multiple transmitting terminal devices.

[0060] Referring to Figure 3, terminal device 310 performs data reception (RX) through three receiving beams, and terminal device 320 performs data transmission (TX) through three transmitting beams. The three transmitting beams are TX1, TX2, and TX3, respectively, and the three receiving beams are RX1, RX2, and RX3, respectively. As shown in Figure 3, when terminal devices 310 and 320 communicate based on the beams, they perform scanning of the transmitting beam and scanning of the receiving beam, respectively.

[0061] Referring to Figure 4, terminal device 410 performs data reception through three receive beams, which are RX1, RX2, and RX3, respectively. The transmitting terminal device includes three terminal devices, terminal devices 420, 430, and 440, respectively. As shown in Figure 4, the three transmitting terminal devices can each transmit the same signal through three transmit beams (TX). For example, the three terminal devices may transmit a synchronization signal based on the same synchronization source.

[0062] In this case, if terminal device 410 cannot identify terminal devices on different transmitting sides, problems may occur with the beam report transmitted from terminal device 410. For example, if terminal device 410 is supposed to send a report beam (beam measurement report) to each of terminal devices 420 through 440, terminal device 410 can send the report beam only to terminal device 440 and not to terminal devices 420 and 460.

[0063] To facilitate the identification of receiving terminal equipment, the information structure of the S-SSB can be improved when performing initial beam pairing before establishing a unicast link using S-SSB. For example, by adding identifier information to the S-SSB, receiving terminal equipment can identify transmitting terminal equipment from the transmitting terminal equipment's S-SSB transmission. In embodiments of the present application, the S-SSB may represent a sidelink synchronization signal / physical sidelink broadcast channel signal block (sidelink synchronisation signal and PSBCH block). For example, the sidelink synchronization signal of NRV2X mainly includes a sidelink primary synchronization signal block (sidelink-PSS, S-PSS) and a sidelink secondary synchronization signal block (sidelink-SSS, S-SSS), which, in combination with the PSBCH, constitute the S-SSB in block format.

[0064] The above describes the resources required for (pre)configuration of beam transmit and receive when performing initial beam pairing on a sidelink. Furthermore, regardless of whether the initial beam pairing is performed before or after the unicast link is established, the receiving terminal equipment must perform beam feedback after determining the beam pairing, thereby completing the final beam pairing process. Therefore, how the receiving terminal equipment determines the resources required to perform beam feedback is also an issue that needs to be considered.

[0065] Based on this, embodiments of the present invention provide a method for sidelink communication. In this method, a first terminal device can determine a first transmit beam to perform initial beam pairing, and then determine a first resource for transmitting beam feedback based on first information. The first information can indicate the correspondence between the first resource and the first transmit beam, so that a second terminal device that receives beam feedback can determine the transmit beam selected by the first terminal device based on the resource occupied by the beam feedback.

[0066] To facilitate understanding, the method according to the embodiment of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 5.

[0067] Referring to Figure 5, in step S510, the first terminal device determines the first transmit beam from among the multiple transmit beams of the second terminal device.

[0068] The first and second terminal devices may be terminal devices that perform any two of the sidelink communications described above. For example, the first terminal device may be a vehicle in V2X, and the second terminal device may be a vehicle in V2X or a pedestrian in V2X. Alternatively, for example, the first terminal device may be a sidelink transmitting terminal and the second terminal device may be a receiving terminal. Alternatively, for example, the first terminal device may be a sidelink receiving terminal and the second terminal device may be a transmitting terminal.

[0069] The first and second terminal devices may be two communication devices that need to perform data transmission in sidelink communication. In some embodiments, the first and second terminal devices may be two communication devices that perform initial beam pairing. In some embodiments, the first and second terminal devices may be two communication devices that establish a unicast link. In some embodiments, the first and second terminal devices may be two communication devices that perform beam pairing management.

[0070] The second terminal device can perform unicast, groupcast, or broadcast communication with one or more terminal devices. The first terminal device may be one or more terminal devices. That is, the second terminal device may be a source terminal device, and the first terminal device may be a destination terminal device of one or more destination terminal devices. Exemplaryly, the second terminal device may be a cluster header terminal that initiates groupcast or broadcast communication, and the first terminal device may be any cluster member in the groupcast or broadcast communication. For example, in V2X, the second terminal device may be a vehicle performing groupcast communication with another vehicle, and the first terminal device may be the other vehicle in this groupcast communication.

[0071] The first and second terminal devices may be within or outside the network coverage area. Terminal devices within the network coverage area can perform side-link communication based on the network device configuration.

[0072] The first and second terminal devices may be communication devices that support an antenna array. In some embodiments, the first and second terminal devices can perform analog beamforming based on the antenna array. For example, the second terminal device can generate a transmit beam and transmit a signal to the first terminal device through beam scanning. The transmit beam may also be called a transmission beam. Alternatively, for example, the first terminal device can generate a receive beam and receive a signal transmitted from the second terminal device through beam scanning. In some embodiments, the first and second terminal devices can communicate at high or very high frequencies. For example, the first and second terminal devices can communicate within a frequency range corresponding to FR2.

[0073] The multiple transmit beams of the second terminal device are multiple sidelink transmit beams configured to transmit a reference signal. That is, the second terminal device can transmit a reference signal using multiple transmit beams. The second terminal device is, for example, a source UE, and correspondingly, the first terminal device is, for example, a destination UE.

[0074] In some embodiments, the second terminal device can periodically generate multiple beams for transmitting beam scanning. Exemplarily, each of the multiple transmitting beams may point in a different direction. Therefore, the multiple transmitting beams may be beams in a set of beams focused in different directions generated by the second terminal device.

[0075] In some embodiments, the number of multiple transmit beams of the second terminal device may be determined based on the capabilities of the second terminal device, based on (pre)configuration parameters, or based on communication requests, but is not limited herein.

[0076] In some embodiments, multiple transmit beams are configured to carry a reference signal. This reference signal may be the reference signal of any of the sidelinks described above. For example, the reference signal may include one or more of S-SSB and sidelink CSI-RS. For ease of explanation, S-SSB will be described below as an example of the embodiment of the present application.

[0077] In some embodiments, multiple transmit beams can be associated with time units. For example, different S-SSB time indices can correspond to different sidelink transmit beams. Multiple transmit beams can perform periodic beam scanning based on the transmit resources corresponding to the S-SSB. For example, within one S-SSB period, multiple transmit beams generated by a second terminal device can perform periodic beam scanning based on the repetition period. Also, for example, in release 16 (Rel-16), the S-SSB may be transmitted outside the resource pool with a period of 160 ms.

[0078] To facilitate understanding, the following explanation will refer to Figure 6 and use the periodic beam scanning of the second terminal device as an example. Referring to Figure 6, on the time axis, the second terminal device performs transmit beam scanning based on time intervals corresponding to period 610. Each transmit beam scan in Figure 6 includes four transmit beams, each of which can point in four different directions. The four beams in different directions may be configured to repeatedly transmit to S-SSB.

[0079] In some embodiments, the reference signals carried by multiple transmitting beams do not have to be periodic in order to avoid transmitting unnecessary reference signals and reduce resource congestion. For example, the reference signal for initial beam pairing may be transmitted semi-permanently in both active and inactive states. For example, if a transmitting terminal (e.g., UE) does not intend to trigger the establishment of a unicast link, or has already paired beams for a unicast link, the transmitting terminal does not need to periodically transmit the reference signal for initial beam pairing (e.g., S-SSB or sidelink CSI-RS).

[0080] The first terminal device determining the first transmit beam from the second terminal device's multiple transmit beams means that the first terminal device determines the first transmit beam based on beam reception conditions. The first terminal device may receive some or all of the multiple transmit beams. Based on some or all of the received transmit beams, the first terminal device may determine which transmit beam to perform initial beam pairing with the second terminal device.

[0081] For example, the first transmission beam may be one of several transmission beams of the second terminal device, or one of a subset of transmission beams that the first terminal device can receive.

[0082] The first transmitting beam may be a single beam or multiple beams. For example, in the case of multiple transmitting beams, the first terminal device may receive one or more transmitting beams. When the first terminal device receives a single transmitting beam, the first transmitting beam is this single transmitting beam; when the first terminal device receives multiple transmitting beams, the first transmitting beam is one or more of these transmitting beams.

[0083] The first transmit beam is configured so that the first and second terminal devices perform initial beam pairing. This initial beam pairing may be performed before the unicast link is established or after the unicast link is established, as will be explained below with reference to the first information.

[0084] In some embodiments, performing initial beam pairing before a unicast link is established between two terminal devices facilitates the establishment of a sidelink transmit link between any two or more terminal devices. In some embodiments, performing initial beam pairing after a unicast link has been established between two terminal devices facilitates the establishment of a sidelink transmit link between these two terminal devices in a high-frequency band, thereby improving resource utilization.

[0085] The first terminal device can determine the first transmit beam based on various methods. For example, the first terminal device can measure a reference signal carried by the transmit beam and autonomously determine the first transmit beam based on the measurement results. Alternatively, for example, if the first terminal device is within network coverage, it can determine the first transmit beam based on instructions from network equipment. Furthermore, for example, the first terminal device can determine the first transmit beam based on measurement results and (pre)configuration parameters.

[0086] For the first terminal device, the first transmit beam may be the optimal transmit beam for beam pairing with the second terminal device. In some embodiments, when the first terminal device receives multiple transmit beams carrying a reference signal, the first terminal device can determine the first transmit beam by comparing the signal strengths of the different transmit beams based on signal measurements. The signal strength may include reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and may also include other parameters reflecting signal transmission quality, such as the signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR).

[0087] For example, the first terminal device can measure S-SSB and / or PSBCH-DMRS carried by multiple beams. For example, the first terminal device can perform PSBCH-RSRP measurements. After all S-SSBs have been measured, the optimal transmit beam for the second terminal device is determined based on the measurement results. The optimal transmit beam corresponds to the S-SSB with the highest measured RSRP.

[0088] In some embodiments, the first terminal device can determine the first transmit beam based on instructions from the network device. In the case of network coverage, sidelink transmission occurs only in uplink (UL) slots. In UL slots, uplinks also exist in the same cell or adjacent cells scheduled by the network device (e.g., a base station such as a gNB), and therefore it is necessary to control interference from sidelinks to UL reception.

[0089] In some embodiments, regarding network coverage, network devices can manage data transmission on sidelink unicast links in which the first terminal device participates, as long as they deem it useful. For example, network devices can manage this sidelink data transmission directly without going through a Uu link. For example, network devices can manage this sidelink data transmission through a Uu interface.

[0090] In some embodiments, network equipment can compare which link is suitable for the data transmitted by the first terminal equipment and then instruct a switch between the Uu link and the sidelink unicast link as needed. For network coverage, the first terminal equipment can report the sidelink beam to the network equipment via the Uu link so that the network equipment instructs or configures the sidelink beam. Thus, the network equipment can know the quality of the beamlevel link and thereby make better use of the permissible frequency spectrum.

[0091] For example, with respect to Uu, network equipment can support beam reporting to the current service cell or a different service cell. Furthermore, network equipment can report additional sidelink beam reporting information to this beam. For example, a first terminal device can report sidelink beams to network equipment via a Uu link. After the Uu beam reporting is combined with the sidelink unicast link beam reporting, the network equipment can obtain the channel quality of the Uu link and sidelinks related to the first terminal device and then make a reasonable decision.

[0092] In step S520, the first terminal device transmits beam feedback to the second terminal device on the first resource. That is, the first resource is configured to carry the beam feedback transmitted from the first terminal device to the second terminal device.

[0093] Beam feedback is configured such that the first terminal device feeds back the beam measurement status or the selected first transmit beam to the second terminal device for initial beam pairing or beam management. Beam feedback may also be the beam report described above.

[0094] In some embodiments, the beam feedback may include at least one of the following: the source ID of the reference signal, the destination ID, and the RSRP (L1-RSRP) measurement result for layer 1 (layer1, L1), thereby facilitating the identification of the information. For example, the beam feedback may include the destination ID and the L1-RSRP measurement result.

[0095] In some embodiments, the beam feedback may be a simple RS; that is, the beam feedback does not need to be a payload. Exemplarily, the beam feedback may be associated with one or more of the following: CSI-RS, PSFCH, and sidelink control information (SCI). For example, the beam feedback may be delivered to the CSI-RS or PSFCH. Alternatively, for example, the beam feedback may be delivered to the SCI of the PSCCH.

[0096] The first resource may be, but is not limited to, a time-domain resource and / or a frequency-domain resource.

[0097] In some embodiments, the first resource may be one of the resources dedicated to initial beam pairing. For example, the first terminal device selects the first resource from the dedicated resource pool for initial beam pairing and transmits beam feedback.

[0098] For example, dedicated resources for initial beam pairing can be provided by a dedicated sidelink resource pool. This resource pool can configure specific time / frequency resources for RS transmissions with different beams. Once these resources are (pre)configured, multiple terminal devices in this resource pool share information about these resources.

[0099] In some embodiments, to reduce resource collisions, the first resource may be a dedicated resource for transmitting beam feedback. For example, a source terminal device may have multiple resources configured in a pre-allocated resource pool for initial beam pairing, with each resource being a dedicated resource for transmitting beam feedback. The size of each of these resources may be configured in the pre-configured resource pool. This dedicated resource may be configured for multiple destination terminal devices to transmit beam feedback. If the source terminal device is a second terminal device, these multiple resources are configured for one or more terminal devices other than the second terminal device to transmit beam feedback to the second terminal device, and therefore, these one or more terminal devices include the first terminal device.

[0100] For example, a dedicated resource for transmitting beam feedback is independent of other resources for initial beam pairing. For instance, the beam feedback resource is configured separately (pre-configured) from the PSCCH / PSSCH transmission resource and the reference signal transmission resource.

[0101] In some embodiments, the first resource may be a resource other than the resource pool for initial beam pairing. That is, in addition to the dedicated resource pool for initial beam pairing, a time-frequency resource corresponding to beam feedback is configured.

[0102] The first resource may be any of several resources for beam feedback. These resources may be several time-domain resources and / or frequency-domain resources for beam feedback. These resources may be called beam feedback resources or beam reporting resources. These resources may be dedicated slots or dedicated resources allocated for beam feedback.

[0103] In some embodiments, the multiple resources may be time-frequency resources for a second terminal device to transmit configured beam feedback to multiple destination terminal devices. For example, the multiple resources may be all resources in a dedicated resource pool for beam feedback, or dedicated resources in a side-link resource pool for initial beam pairing.

[0104] For example, when multiple receiving terminal devices transmit beam feedback to a transmitting terminal device, multiple resources may be dedicated to transmitting beam feedback in order to reduce resource collisions with other transmissions in the initial beam pairing.

[0105] Multiple resources may include multiple beamfeedback feedback occasions (FOs). FOs can indicate different resources through different time-domain locations and different frequency-domain locations, thereby allowing both the transmitting and receiving beams of the beamfeedback to identify the beam associated with the resource. After the first transmit beam has been determined, the first terminal device can use the FO associated with the first transmit beam to indicate to the second terminal device that the first transmit beam has been selected.

[0106] In some embodiments, the first resource may be one FO or multiple FOs, and the following description will be illustrative in combination with multiple embodiments of the FOs.

[0107] The first terminal device can determine the first resource based on the first information. The first information can indicate the mapping relationship between multiple resources, including the first resource, and multiple transmit beams. That is, the beam feedback of the first terminal device is related to the first transmit beam determined by the first terminal device. The first resource corresponds to the first transmit beam. That is, after determining the first transmit beam, the first terminal device can find the first resource corresponding to the first transmit beam from multiple resources based on the first information, and then transmit beam feedback on the first resource. Exemplarily, each transmit beam corresponding to each S-SSB or independently configured sidelink CSI-RS has its associated beam feedback occasion.

[0108] For example, the mapping relationship between multiple resources and multiple transmit beams may be one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, or many-to-many. For instance, if the first transmit beam is a single beam, the first resource may be a single resource corresponding to that beam, or it may be multiple resources corresponding to that beam. Similarly, if the first transmit beam consists of multiple beams, the first resource may be a single resource corresponding to those beams, or it may be multiple resources corresponding to those beams.

[0109] For example, the mapping relationship in the first information refers to the relationship between the beam feedback resource of the first terminal device and the transmit beam of the second terminal device from which the resource was determined. When the second terminal device selects the first resource for beam feedback, the first resource may be mapped to the first transmit beam.

[0110] In some embodiments, the mapping relationships between multiple resources for beam feedback and multiple transmit beams of the first terminal device are (pre)configured and known to both the first and second terminal devices. That is, the first information is shared between the first and second terminal devices.

[0111] In some embodiments, the mapping relationship in the first information may refer to the mapping relationship between a beam feedback resource and a reference signal carried by a transmitting beam. For example, a second terminal device can receive reference signals carried by multiple transmitting beams and then determine the corresponding transmitting beam and beam feedback resource based on the index of each reference signal.

[0112] In some embodiments, the first terminal device may also determine the beam to which the beam feedback is transmitted via the first transmitting beam of the second terminal device. For example, the first terminal device may determine the receiving beam via the first transmitting beam. Based on the determined receiving beam, the first terminal device may determine the transmitting beam to which the beam feedback is transmitted.

[0113] To facilitate understanding, the mapping relationship between the transmit beam and beam feedback resources will be illustrated below with reference to Figures 7 and 8. Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of possible mapping relationships between the S-SSB and the FO. Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of possible mapping relationships between the S-SSB and the resources occupied by the FO.

[0114] Referring to Figure 7, the second terminal device transmits four S-SSBs through four beams. The four beams are beam 0 to beam 3. Beam 0 is configured to transmit S-SSB0, beam 1 is configured to transmit S-SSB1, beam 2 is configured to transmit S-SSB2, and beam 3 is configured to transmit S-SSB3. Each of the four S-SSBs corresponds to one of four FOs. Specifically, S-SSB0 corresponds to FO0, S-SSB1 corresponds to FO1, S-SSB2 corresponds to FO2, and S-SSB3 corresponds to FO3.

[0115] As shown in Figure 7, the first terminal device can measure all S-SSBs and, based on the measurement results, determine the optimal transmit beam (first transmit beam) for the second terminal device. For example, the first terminal device can select S-SSB2 as the first transmit beam, and then, based on the first transmit beam, determine the corresponding receive beam for the first terminal device. Using the determined receive beam, the first terminal device can select a transmit beam for beam reporting. Based on the mapping relationship in the first information, the first terminal device transmits the beam report at FO2, and the beam report may be carried to PSFCH or other reference signals.

[0116] The correspondence between S-SSB and FO in Figure 8 is the same as in Figure 7. Referring to Figure 8, when the first terminal device transmits a beam report at FO2, the resource corresponding to FO2 is a time-frequency resource in resource pool 810. Resource pool 810 is a pre-allocated resource pool. Furthermore, the size of the resource corresponding to each FO may also be configured in a pre-configured resource pool.

[0117] In some embodiments, the first information may be shared with the first terminal device by a second terminal device. For example, when the second terminal device transmits reference signals through multiple transmit beams, these reference signals can carry the first information, thereby enabling the first and second terminal devices to transmit and receive beam feedback based on the same mapping relationship.

[0118] The above explains, with reference to Figures 5 to 8, how the second terminal device determines the beam feedback resource during initial beam pairing, and how the first terminal device determines the optimal transmit beam selected based on the beam feedback resource. The first and second terminal devices can each perform the determination of the first resource and the first transmit beam based on shared first information, effectively improving the efficiency of initial beam pairing.

[0119] As can be seen from the above, initial beam pairing may be performed before the unicast link is established by the first and second terminal devices, or it may be performed after the unicast link is established. The transmission of the first information is related to the timing of the initial beam pairing.

[0120] For example, when initial beam pairing is performed before a unicast link is established, PC5-RRC signaling should not be used to provide resource information for the reference signal. In such a scenario, the reference signal may be S-SSB, and the first information may be determined based on the PSFCH. For example, the first information may be carried in the PSFCH.

[0121] For example, by performing initial beam pairing after a unicast link is established, a sidelink channel can be transmitted between two terminal devices. Therefore, the first information may be determined based on SCI. For example, the first information may be carried in SCI.

[0122] To facilitate understanding, the following examples illustrate multiple transmission modes of the first information in initial beam pairing. Example 1 is initial beam pairing before establishing a unicast link, and Example 2 is initial beam pairing after establishing a unicast link.

[0123] In Example 1, performing initial beam pairing enables terminal devices to establish unicast or multicast links using paired beams. That is, initial beam pairing allows a transmitting terminal device to establish a unicast or multicast link with other receiving terminal devices located further away.

[0124] Exemplary, multiple terminal devices can transmit RS for transmit beam scanning in a dedicated sidelink (SL) resource pool. To achieve this, the dedicated SL resource pool for RS transmission for transmit beam scanning has multiple resources (hereinafter referred to as sequence resources for brevity) corresponding to multiple candidate resources and / or multiple candidate sequences for RS transmission in terms of time frequency. A second terminal device can select or determine a resource / sequence resource for RS transmission for transmit beam scanning from among the candidate resources / candidate sequence resources. The selection or determination of the resource / sequence resource for RS transmission should depend on the value of the destination ID in the subsequent unicast link establishment process.

[0125] If any terminal device can be the first terminal device, multiple first terminal devices may waste power on RS measurements and reporting of the first transmit beam. Because (pre)configured resource information is common to multiple terminal devices within the same SL resource pool, resource collisions can occur between RS transmissions from different terminal devices.

[0126] To solve the above problem, resource / sequence resources can be associated with destination IDs. Based on this association, different terminal devices can perform RS transmissions using different resource / sequence resources. That is, when a second terminal device performs a transmit beam scan using S-SSB or sidelink CSI-RS, it is associated with the destination terminal device ID, thereby reducing the probability of resource / sequence resource collisions between multiple terminal devices transmitting RS in at least the same SL resource pool.

[0127] In Example 2, since the pre-configured resource information is common to multiple terminal devices, it can similarly cause resource collisions between RS transmissions from different terminal devices.

[0128] Optionally, resources / sequence resources can also be associated with destination IDs. Terminal devices with different destination IDs can perform RS transmissions using different resources. Source ID and destination ID information may be carried to the SCI, thereby reducing the probability of resource collisions between multiple terminal devices transmitting RS in at least the same SL resource pool.

[0129] Optionally, the first terminal device can determine the transmit beam of the second terminal device and then instruct the second terminal device to use the determined transmit beam. As previously mentioned, the first terminal device can determine the transmit beam based on the RS measurement results for initial beam pairing (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SINR). The first terminal device may also perform further measurements and checks after successfully decoding the PSCCH / PSSCH on which the DCR message is carried.

[0130] Optionally, the first terminal device can detect whether the PSCCH / PSSCH measurement result is higher than a threshold.

[0131] Optionally, the first terminal device can determine the optimal number of N first terminal device transmission beams based on the measurement results.

[0132] To achieve the objective of beam pairing, each transmission occasion of a DCR message may have associated receiving resources or associated response windows to distinguish multiple transmission beams of a second terminal device. The second terminal device may indicate different transmission beam indices depending on the PSCCH / PSSCH on which the unicast link establishment message is carried. Furthermore, the second terminal device may add an information field for beam reporting to the SCI.

[0133] Optionally, the SCI can indicate the relationship between the S-SSB and the FO, and the SCI can carry ID information of the second and first terminal devices to indicate the first information related to the resources for beam feedback.

[0134] Optionally, if a second terminal device knows the Layer 2 (L2) ID of the first terminal device in advance, it can use that L2 ID as the destination ID for sending DCR messages. Each terminal device has one L2 ID when performing V2X PC5 communication. For example, a terminal device may assign an L2 ID to itself. Each frame transmitted over the L2 link contains this ID information.

[0135] Optionally, the second terminal device may use the default ID as the destination identifier for DCR information transmission. The default ID is, for example, a proximity-based services (ProSe) identifier.

[0136] If optional support for V2X messaging based on the Internet Protocol (IP) is selected, the terminal device can automatically configure one IPv6 link as the source IP address.

[0137] The first terminal device can verify the destination ID of the received PSCCH / PSSCH. When the first terminal device detects that the destination identifier of the received DCR message is configured in its own L2 identifier or in an associated ProSe identifier, it can initiate a response. Upon receiving a DCR from the second terminal device, the first terminal device can send a message within the window associated with the received DCR to establish a link with the second terminal device. This message is, for example, a direct communication accept (DCA) message.

[0138] Optionally, the transmission space for sending the above-mentioned DCA or other messages may be configured based on different spatial configurations. For example, this reception space may be configured based on a reception space for receiving DCR, based on a transmission space instructed by a second terminal device transmitting DCR, or based on both.

[0139] Optionally, for subsequent beam management, the first terminal device may report measurement results (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SINR) based on the RS. The RS may be associated with one or more DCRs received from the second terminal device. The time position of the DCR may be configured in a non-periodic manner, and the corresponding response window position may also be configured in a non-periodic manner.

[0140] The first information is further configured to enable the second terminal device to determine the first transmit beam. For example, based on the mapping relationship indicated by the first information, the second terminal device can determine which transmit beam the first terminal device will select after receiving beam feedback on the first resource. That is, the second terminal device can determine the first transmit beam selected by the first terminal device based on the first information and the first resource where the beam feedback is located.

[0141] For example, based on the mapping relationship between S-SSB and FO, the beam index may be implicitly indicated by the time resources of the beam feedback transmission. For instance, a first terminal device may receive PSBCH or SCI. These two information fields implicitly indicate the time resources associated with the beam feedback transmission. Furthermore, ID-related information of the second terminal device may be carried in the beam report so that the second terminal device can identify the corresponding beam report from the first terminal device.

[0142] For example, it is desirable for the second terminal device to configure a corresponding receive beam for each FO. Figure 7 shows that when the second terminal device receives a beam report at FO2, it can identify beam 2, which is the desired beam for transmission. Subsequently, based on the determined transmit / receive beam pair, a unicast link can be established according to an existing link establishment procedure.

[0143] As can be seen from the above, multiple resources for transmitting beam feedback may include multiple FOs. The first information can indicate a mapping relationship between multiple transmitting beams of a second terminal device and multiple resources for transmitting beam feedback by the first terminal device. This mapping relationship can indicate the correspondence between multiple transmitting beams and multiple FOs. For example, any of the multiple transmitting beams may correspond to one or more FOs. For example, the first transmitting beam may correspond to one FO, or the first transmitting beam may correspond to multiple FOs. Therefore, the first terminal device can transmit beam feedback to this one FO, or it can transmit beam feedback to one or more FOs among the multiple FOs.

[0144] In some embodiments, the number of multiple FOs may be greater than the number of multiple transmit beams. To establish correspondence, the multiple FOs may be periodically divided into multiple FO groups as many times as there are transmit beams. Each of the multiple transmit beams corresponds to the multiple FOs at the same position within the multiple FO groups.

[0145] For example, dividing the number of transmission beams into a period means that the division period may be the number of transmission beams or an integer multiple of this number.

[0146] For example, a period determined based on the number of multiple transmit beams may be called the associated period. The associated period for mapping S-SSBs to FOs may be defined as a period during which at least one SSB-to-FO mapping is completed, and each transmitted S-SSB is actually mapped to at least one FO. For example, if beam feedback is performed by a PSFCH, the associated period during which S-SSBs are mapped to FOs may be an integer multiple of the PSFCH configuration period. This associated period may be counted from radio frame 0.

[0147] In some embodiments, if the number of FOs in the last FO group of multiple FO groups is less than the number of multiple transmit beams, the FOs in the last FO group are not configured to transmit beam feedback. Not being configured to transmit beam feedback means that the FOs are not associated with the multiple transmit beams of the second terminal equipment or the reference signal carried by the multiple transmit beams.

[0148] After one S-SSB to FO mapping is completed within a single associated period, the remaining FOs continue to be mapped until there are not enough to complete another S-SSB to FO mapping. If there are not enough remaining FOs to complete another S-SSB to FO mapping, these remaining FOs can be made into an invalid set of FOs. All FOs in this invalid set cannot be associated with an S-SSB.

[0149] For example, if the second terminal device has four transmitting beams (beams 0 to 3) and consists of 10 FOs (FO0 to FO9), then three FO groups can be obtained with a period of 4. The first FO group includes FO0 to FO3, the second FO group includes FO4 to FO7, and the third FO group includes FO8 and FO9.

[0150] As can be seen from the above grouping, the number of FOs in the third FO group is insufficient to complete a single mapping, and it may be called an invalid FO set. FOs in the same position in the first FO group and the second FO group can correspond to the same transmit beam. For example, beam 0 corresponds to FO0 and FO4, beam 1 corresponds to FO1 and beam FO5, and so on.

[0151] In some embodiments, the number of multiple FOs may be determined based on the number of multiple transmit beams. For example, the first information is further configured to indicate that the multiple transmit beams correspond one-to-one with the multiple FOs. For example, the number of FOs may be equal to the number of multiple transmit beams, or it may be an integer multiple of the number of multiple transmit beams.

[0152] For example, the mapping relationship between multiple resources and multiple transmit beams may be a one-to-one mapping. That is, a one-to-one mapping is (pre) configured between the resource to which the second terminal device transmits S-SSB and the occasion to which the first terminal device transmits beam feedback. For the first terminal device, if S-SSB2 is the optimal beam based on its RSRP measurement results, the second terminal device transmits a beam report at FO2 corresponding to the resource where S-SSB2 is located after transmitting all S-SSBs.

[0153] In some embodiments, multiple resources may include M FOs, where M is a natural number greater than 1. The M FOs are configured such that N terminal devices other than the second terminal device transmit beam feedback, where N is a natural number greater than 1 and less than M. The number of FOs corresponding to each of the N terminal devices is further determined based on the service priority of the N terminal devices and / or the communication requests of the N terminal devices.

[0154] For example, the service priority of a terminal device may be the priority of the communication service that the second terminal device is trying to establish with the first terminal device. This service priority can also represent the urgency of communication between the second terminal device and the first terminal device.

[0155] For example, the number of valid FOs included in the relevant period mapped by the S-SSB map is variable. For instance, the number of FOs can be configured based on the urgency and / or service priority of the second terminal device relative to the first terminal device. In such a scenario, the number of FOs for each first terminal device may differ.

[0156] For example, among N terminal devices, at least two terminal devices have different numbers of FOs. Among the N terminal devices, terminal devices with higher service priority have a relatively large number of FOs. In other words, there may be a positive correlation between the number of FOs and service priority. For example, among two terminal devices with different numbers of FOs, the terminal device with the highest service priority has a larger number of FOs.

[0157] To facilitate understanding, the following will explain the number of FOs for different terminal devices by referring to the formula. If we configure independent resources for beam feedback, and assume the number of resource blocks for FOs is M, then let N be the number of terminal devices that currently need to use beam reporting. These N terminal devices may be N destination terminal devices, including the first terminal device.

[0158] Depending on the urgency and priority of the service, valid FOs are assigned to each terminal device. That is, the corresponding FOs are assigned to each of the N terminal devices. The maximum number of valid FO resources assigned to the i-th terminal device out of the N terminal devices is k. i And i ∈ [1, 2, ..., N].

number

number

[0159] For example,

number

number

[0160] After determining the number of FOs for each of the N terminal devices by the above processing method, the number of FOs of the i-th terminal device is k i , and the FO corresponding to the i-th terminal device is {FO si , k i} is denoted as, FO si is the starting position of the FO corresponding to the i-th terminal device, [Math] , j∈[1, 2, ... i-1]. Taking as an example that a transmit beam carries N S-SSBs, the S-SSB among the N S-SSBs i The time index of and [Math] The correspondence established between and may be {S-SSBi, ({FO si , k i})}.

[0161] As can be seen from the above, the second terminal device allocates FOs based on the urgency of the N terminal devices and the priority of the services, and based on the time index of S-SSBi [Math] This allows for the establishment of a correspondence between the two. In this system, the second terminal device can guarantee the maximum number of FOs for the highest priority service, and can also perform beam pairing with the highest possible priority service terminal device.

[0162] In some embodiments, the number of FOs corresponding to each terminal device among N terminal devices may be adjusted by a configuration factor. The configuration factor may be related to the service priority of the terminal devices. That is, a second terminal device can establish a dynamic resource allocation mechanism, i.e., it can adjust the FOs assigned to each destination terminal device.

[0163] For example, a certain base can be configured for each destination terminal device depending on the total number of FOs. For instance, M FOs may first satisfy the base for N terminal devices, and then the remaining FOs may be configured to perform dynamic adjustments according to the configuration coefficient for each destination terminal device.

[0164] Optionally, the configuration factor is a coefficient used to adjust the number of FOs for each destination terminal device. This configuration factor can be configured based on the magnitude of the service priority.

[0165] For example, the number of FOs corresponding to each terminal device among N terminal devices is determined by dividing M FOs into N equal parts. The remaining FOs after dividing M FOs into N equal parts are used for one or more terminal devices among the N terminal devices whose priority is higher than the first threshold. That is, for terminal devices with a priority of the first threshold or less, the corresponding FO is one of the FOs after dividing the FOs into N equal parts. For terminal devices with a priority higher than the first threshold, the corresponding FO may be larger than a portion of this N-part division. The first threshold can be configured or pre-configured.

[0166] For example, the second terminal device first allocates an equal number of available FOs to each destination terminal device using an equal distribution method. Then, the remaining FOs may be used for some destination terminal devices with higher priority. For example, depending on the configuration factor of each destination terminal device, the remaining FOs can be used for destination terminal devices with a configuration factor greater than 1. If the priority is higher than the first threshold, the configuration factor is greater than 1.

[0167] After determining the number of FOs for each of the N terminal devices using the above processing method, the number of FOs for the i-th terminal device is α i ×H, and FO corresponding to the i-th terminal device out of N terminal devices is {FO si , α i It may also be shown as ×H} H represents the cardinal number of FOs corresponding to each terminal device among the N terminal devices, and α i is the configuration coefficient of the i-th terminal device, and α i is an integer,

number

[0168] In some embodiments, multiple resources include one or more dedicated slots configured to transmit beam feedback. One of these one or more dedicated slots may contain a resource occupied by K × X FOs, where K is a natural number greater than or equal to 1, and X is a natural number greater than or equal to 1, where X is a natural number greater than or equal to 1, and the number of FOs in the time domain.

[0169] For example, a dedicated slot for transmitting beam feedback may contain resources occupied by one FO, or resources occupied by multiple FOs. If any of the slots within the dedicated slot contain resources occupied by multiple FOs, the time-frequency resources occupied by the multiple FOs may overlap in the time domain, differ in frequency domain, differ in time domain, or overlap in frequency domain.

[0170] Optionally, the indices of K×X FOs can be in ascending order in the time domain and / or frequency domain. For example, multiple FOs may correspond to multiple S-SSBs incremented by their index. That is, multiple S-SSBs corresponding to multiple FOs may be incremented in index order. Also, for example, if a resource occupied by multiple FOs is included in the frequency domain, the FOs can be incremented according to their frequency domain index. Also, for example, if a resource occupied by multiple FOs is configured within a PSFCH slot, the FOs can be incremented according to their index within the PSFCH slot.

[0171] When multiple FOs are incremented according to the indices of multiple configured PSFCH slots, the impact on automatic gain control (AGC) must be considered. For example, to reduce the impact on AGC, if the destination terminal does not process an S-SSB in the PSFCH slot currently corresponding to the FO, the next FO and the previous nearest S-SSB should be separated by at least Pgap symbols. That is, the next FO is valid only if it is separated from the previous S-SSB symbol by at least Pgap symbols. Pgap is an integer, and its value may be a parameter such as 1, 2, or 3.

[0172] Exemplary, when a separate slot is configured for beam feedback and the beam feedback is fed back by a PSFCH, this slot can be called a PSFCH slot. In a PSFCH slot, there are many frequency-domain PSFCH feedback occasions (FOs) that jointly cover K × X consecutive resource blocks, where K is the number of FOs in the frequency domain and X is the number of FOs in the time domain. For example, within one slot in the time domain, a second terminal device may be configured such that there are multiple time-domain FOs within a single slot.

[0173] To facilitate understanding, the following example uses the reference signal S-SSB and, referring to Figure 9, illustrates the correspondence between S-SSB and the resources occupied by FO when configuring a dedicated PSFCH slot.

[0174] Referring to Figure 9, the S-SSB time index and FO have corresponding relationships in the frequency domain and time domain, respectively. The time domain in Figure 9 includes two PSFCH slots, PSFCH slot 910 and PSFCH slot 920.

[0175] As shown in Figure 9, there are two FOs (K = 2) in the frequency domain and three FOs (X = 3) within each PSFCH slot in the time domain. Therefore, each PSFCH slot contains resources occupied by 2 × 3 FOs. Figure 9 shows 12 FOs, and the time index of each S-SSB is associated with resources occupied by 4 FOs. For example, S-SSB0 corresponds to the resources occupied by 2 × 2 FOs before PSFCH slot 910, S-SSB1 corresponds to the resources occupied by 2 × 1 FOs after PSFCH slot 910 and the resources occupied by 2 × 1 FOs before PSFCH slot 920, and S-SSB2 corresponds to the resources occupied by 2 × 2 FOs after PSFCH slot 920.

[0176] The embodiments of the present application will be described more fully below with reference to a specific example in Figure 10. Note that the examples in Figures 5 to 9 are provided to assist those skilled in the art in understanding the embodiments of the present application, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to the specific numerical values ​​or scenarios illustrated. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made based on the examples in Figures 5 to 9, and such modifications and changes are also included within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0177] Figure 10 illustrates the interaction between the first and second terminal devices. The second terminal device may be the source UE, and the first terminal device may be one of several destination UEs.

[0178] As shown in Figure 10, in step S1010, the second terminal device transmits a reference signal through multiple transmit beams.

[0179] In step S1020, the first terminal device determines the first transmit beam from multiple transmit beams. After receiving a reference signal, the first terminal device can perform measurements based on the received reference signal, thereby determining the first transmit beam. Based on the first information, the first terminal device can determine the first resource corresponding to the first transmit beam.

[0180] In step S1030, the first terminal device transmits beam feedback to the second terminal device on the first resource. This beam feedback may be configured so that the second terminal device determines the optimal transmit beam selected by the first terminal device as the first transmit beam.

[0181] The method embodiments of this application will be described in detail above with reference to Figures 1 to 10. The apparatus embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 11 to 13. The description of the apparatus embodiments should be understood to correspond to the description of the method embodiments; therefore, parts not described in detail can be referred to in the previous method embodiments.

[0182] Figure 11 shows a schematic diagram of an apparatus for sidelink communication according to an embodiment of the present invention. This apparatus 1100 may be any of the first terminal devices described above. The apparatus 1100 shown in Figure 11 includes a determination unit 1110 and a transmission unit 1120.

[0183] The decision unit 1110 may be configured to determine a first transmit beam from a plurality of transmit beams of a second terminal device, and the first transmit beam is configured so that the first and second terminal devices perform initial beam pairing.

[0184] The transmitting unit 1120 may be configured to transmit beam feedback to a second terminal device on a first resource, the first resource being determined based on first information, the first information being configured to indicate mapping relationships between multiple resources including the first resource and multiple transmitting beams, and the first information being further configured so that the second terminal device determines the first transmitting beam.

[0185] Optionally, multiple resources are dedicated resources for one or more terminal devices other than the second terminal device to transmit beam feedback to the second terminal device, and one or more terminal devices include the first terminal device.

[0186] Optionally, multiple resources include multiple feedback occasions (FOs), and mapping relationships include any of the multiple transmit beams corresponding to one or more FOs.

[0187] Optionally, the number of multiple FOs is greater than the number of multiple transmit beams, and the multiple FOs are divided into multiple FO groups using the number of transmit beams that make up the period, and each of the multiple transmit beams corresponds to multiple FOs at the same position within the multiple FO groups.

[0188] Optionally, if the number of FOs in the last FO group of multiple FO groups is less than the number of transmit beams, the FOs in the last FO group are not configured to transmit beam feedback.

[0189] Optionally, the number of multiple FOs is determined based on the number of multiple transmit beams, and the first information is further configured to indicate that the multiple transmit beams correspond one-to-one with the multiple FOs.

[0190] Optionally, multiple resources include M FOs, where M is a natural number greater than 1, and the M FOs are configured so that N terminal devices other than the second terminal device transmit beam feedback, where N is a natural number greater than 1 and less than M, and the number of FOs corresponding to each of the N terminal devices is further determined based on the service priority of the N terminal devices and / or the communication requests of the N terminal devices.

[0191] Optionally, at least two of the N terminal devices have different numbers of FOs, and the terminal device with the highest service priority among the two terminal devices has the largest number of FOs.

[0192] If optional, the number of FOs corresponding to the i-th terminal device out of N terminal devices is k. i This is shown, and i∈[1, 2, ..., N],

number

number

number

number

[0193] Optionally, the number of FOs corresponding to each of the N terminal devices is determined by dividing M FOs into N equal parts. The remaining FOs after dividing M FOs into N equal parts are used for one or more terminal devices among the N terminal devices that have a priority higher than the first threshold.

[0194] Optionally, multiple resources include one or more dedicated slots for transmitting beam feedback, and one or more of these dedicated slots contain resources occupied by K×X FOs, where K is a natural number greater than or equal to 1, where X is a natural number greater than or equal to 1, where X is a natural number greater than or equal to 1, and the indices of the K×X FOs are in ascending order in the time and / or frequency domains.

[0195] Optionally, the decision unit 1110 may be configured to further determine the first transmit beam based on instructions from network equipment.

[0196] Optionally, beam feedback may be associated with one or more of the sidelink CSI-RS, PSFCH, or SCI.

[0197] Optionally, initial beam pairing may be performed before the unicast link is established by the first and second terminal devices, with the first information determined based on PSFCH, or initial beam pairing may be performed after the unicast link is established by the first and second terminal devices, with the first information determined based on SCI.

[0198] Optionally, multiple transmit beams are configured to carry a reference signal, which includes one or more of S-SSB, sidelink CSI-RS, etc.

[0199] Figure 12 shows a schematic diagram of an apparatus for sidelink communication according to an embodiment of the present invention. This apparatus 1200 may be any of the second terminal devices described above. The apparatus 1200 shown in Figure 12 includes a transmitting unit 1210 and a receiving unit 1220.

[0200] The transmitting unit 1210 may be configured to transmit a reference signal through multiple transmitting beams, the multiple transmitting beams being configured such that a first terminal device determines the first transmitting beam, and the first transmitting beam being configured such that a first terminal device and a second terminal device perform initial beam pairing.

[0201] The receiving unit 1220 may be configured to receive beam feedback transmitted on a first resource by a first terminal device, the first resource being determined based on first information, the first information being configured to indicate a mapping relationship between a plurality of resources, including the first resource, and a plurality of transmitting beams, and the first information being further configured so that a second terminal device determines the first transmitting beam.

[0202] Optionally, multiple resources are dedicated resources for one or more terminal devices other than the second terminal device to transmit beam feedback to the second terminal device, and one or more terminal devices include the first terminal device.

[0203] Optionally, multiple resources include multiple feedback occasions (FOs), and mapping relationships include any of the multiple transmit beams corresponding to one or more FOs.

[0204] Optionally, the number of FOs is greater than the number of transmit beams, and the FOs are divided into FO groups with the number of transmit beams as the period, and each of the transmit beams corresponds to the FOs at the same position within the FO group.

[0205] Optionally, if the number of FOs in the last FO group of multiple FO groups is less than the number of transmit beams, the FOs in the last FO group are not configured to transmit beam feedback.

[0206] Optionally, the number of multiple FOs is determined based on the number of multiple transmit beams, and the first information is further configured to indicate that the multiple transmit beams correspond one-to-one with the multiple FOs.

[0207] Optionally, multiple resources include M FOs, where M is a natural number greater than 1, and the M FOs are configured so that N terminal devices other than the second terminal device transmit beam feedback, where N is a natural number greater than 1 and less than M, and the number of FOs corresponding to each of the N terminal devices is further determined based on the service priority of the N terminal devices and / or the communication requests of the N terminal devices.

[0208] Optionally, at least two of the N terminal devices have different numbers of FOs, and the terminal device with the highest service priority among the two terminal devices has the largest number of FOs.

[0209] If optional, the number of FOs corresponding to the i-th terminal device out of N terminal devices is k. i This is shown, and i∈[1, 2, ..., N],

number

number

number

[0210] Optionally, the number of FOs corresponding to each terminal device among N terminal devices is adjusted by a configuration factor, which relates to the service priority of the terminal devices, and the FO corresponding to the i-th terminal device among N terminal devices is, {FO si , α i It is shown as ×H}, H represents the cardinal number of FOs corresponding to each terminal device among the N terminal devices, and α i is the configuration coefficient of the i-th terminal device, and α i is an integer,

number

[0211] Optionally, the number of FOs corresponding to each of the N terminal devices is determined by dividing M FOs into N equal parts. The remaining FOs after dividing M FOs into N equal parts are used for one or more terminal devices among the N terminal devices that have a priority higher than the first threshold.

[0212] Optionally, multiple resources include one or more dedicated slots for transmitting beam feedback, and each of the one or more dedicated slots includes a resource occupied by K×X FOs, where K is the number of FOs in the frequency domain and is a natural number greater than or equal to 1, where X is the number of FOs in the time domain and is a natural number greater than or equal to 1, and the indices of the K×X FOs are in ascending order in the time domain and / or frequency domain.

[0213] Optionally, the first transmit beam is determined based on instructions from the network equipment.

[0214] Optionally, beam feedback may be associated with one or more of the sidelink CSI-RS, PSFCH, or SCI.

[0215] Optionally, initial beam pairing may be performed before the unicast link is established by the first and second terminal devices, with the first information determined based on PSFCH, or initial beam pairing may be performed after the unicast link is established by the first and second terminal devices, with the first information determined based on SCI.

[0216] Optionally, the reference signal may include one or more of the following: S-SSB, sidelink CSI-RS.

[0217] Figure 13 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The dashed lines in Figure 13 indicate that this unit or module is optional. The device 1300 may be configured to carry out the method described in the embodiment of the above method. The device 1300 may be a chip or a terminal device.

[0218] The apparatus 1300 may include one or more processors 1310. These processors 1310 can support the apparatus 1300 in implementing the methods described in the above embodiment of the method. These processors 1310 may be general-purpose processors or dedicated processors. Alternatively, these processors may be central processing units (CPUs). Alternatively, these processors may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or these processors may be any conventional processor, etc.

[0219] The device 1300 may further include one or more memories 1320. The memories 1320 store programs that can be executed by the processor 1310, enabling the processor 1310 to perform the methods described in the above embodiment of the method. The memories 1320 may be independent of the processor 1310 or may be integrated with the processor 1310.

[0220] The device 1300 may further include a transceiver 1330. The processor 1310 can communicate with other devices or chips through the transceiver 1330. For example, the processor 1310 can exchange data with other devices or chips through the transceiver 1330.

[0221] Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. This computer-readable storage medium can be applied to a core network device, terminal device, or network device according to embodiments of the present application, and the stored program enables a computer to execute a method executable by the core network device, terminal device, or network device in embodiments of the present application.

[0222] Computer-readable storage media may be any available medium that a computer can read, or data storage devices such as servers or data centers that integrate one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (such as floppy disks, hard disks, and magnetic tapes), optical media (such as digital versatile discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media (such as solid state disks (SSDs)).

[0223] Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product. This computer program product includes a program. This computer program product can be applied to terminal equipment or network equipment provided by embodiments of the present application, and the program enables a computer to perform methods that can be executed by core network equipment or terminal equipment or network equipment in embodiments of the present application.

[0224] In the above embodiments, the functional unit may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, the unit may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded into a computer and executed, all or part of the process or function described in the embodiments of the present application is 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 means (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless means (such as infrared, radio, microwave).

[0225] The embodiments of this application also provide a computer program. This computer program can be applied to terminal equipment or network equipment according to the embodiments of this application, and this computer program enables a computer to execute the methods that can be executed by the terminal equipment or network equipment in the embodiments of this application.

[0226] In this application, the terms “system” and “network” may be used interchangeably. Furthermore, the terms used in this application are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” and “fourth,” etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application do not indicate a specific order but are used to distinguish different subjects. Furthermore, the terms “include,” “have,” and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.

[0227] In the embodiments of this application, the “instruction” referred to may indicate direct instruction, indirect instruction, or a related relationship. For example, when A instructs B, it may mean that A instructs B directly. For example, when B can be obtained through A, it may also mean that A indirectly instructs B. For example, when A instructs C and B can be obtained through C, it may also mean that there is a related relationship between A and B. In the embodiments of this application, it should be understood that determining B based on A does not mean determining B based solely on A, but rather that B can be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0228] In the embodiments of this application, the term "corresponding" may mean a direct or indirect correspondence between two objects, an association between two objects, or a relationship such as referential and referred, or constituent and constituted.

[0229] In the embodiments of this application, “predefined” or “preconfigured” means that means for indicating corresponding codes, tables, or related information are pre-stored in the device (e.g., including terminal devices and network devices), or that other means available for indicating related information are used, and this application does not limit any particular embodiment. For example, “predefined” may mean defined in a protocol.

[0230] In the embodiments of this application, the term “protocol” may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, and may include, for example, the LTE protocol, the NR protocol, and related protocols applicable to future communications systems, but is not limited thereto.

[0231] In the embodiments of this application, the term "and / or" simply describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that there may be three types of relationships. For example, A and / or B can cover three situations: A existing only, A and B existing simultaneously, and B existing only. Also, in this specification, the symbol " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after the " / " have an "or" relationship.

[0232] In the various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the processes described above do not indicate the order of execution and do not impose any restrictions on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application. The execution order of each process should be determined based on its function and inherent logic.

[0233] In some embodiments relating to this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other forms. For example, the embodiments of the devices described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of units is merely a division according to logical function. In actual implementations, different division methods may be used. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not implemented. On the other hand, the mutual coupling, direct coupling, or communication connection illustrated or discussed may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via an electrical, mechanical, or other form of interface, device, or unit.

[0234] Units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, these components may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Depending on the actual needs, some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the objectives of the means of this embodiment.

[0235] Furthermore, the functional units in various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more functional units may be integrated into one unit.

[0236] The foregoing describes only the specific embodiments of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art can easily conceive of alterations or replacements without departing from the technical scope disclosed by the present application. These alterations or replacements shall fall within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the appended claims.

Description of Reference Signs

[0237] 0 to 3 Beam 16 Release 100 Wireless communication system 110 Network device 121 to 129 Terminal device 200 V2X communication system 201 to 205 Terminal device 310, 320 Terminal device 410 to 440 Terminal device 460 Terminal device 610 Period 810 Resource pool 910, 920 PSFCH slot 1100 Apparatus 1110 Determination unit 1120 Transmission unit 1200 Apparatus 1210 Transmission unit 1220 Reception unit 1300 Apparatus 1310 Processor 1320 Memory 1330 Transceiver

Claims

1. A method for sidelink communication, A step in which a first terminal device determines a first transmit beam from a plurality of transmit beams of a second terminal device, wherein the first transmit beam is configured for initial beam pairing between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. A method comprising the steps of transmitting beam feedback to a second terminal device on a first resource by a first terminal device, wherein the first resource is determined based on first information, the first information is configured to indicate a mapping relationship between a plurality of resources including the first resource and the plurality of transmit beams, and the first information is further configured to cause the second terminal device to determine the first transmit beam.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of resources are dedicated resources for one or more terminal devices other than the second terminal device for transmitting beam feedback to the second terminal device, and the one or more terminal devices include the first terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of resources include a plurality of feedback occasions (FOs), and the mapping relationship includes the fact that any of the plurality of transmit beams corresponds to one or more FOs.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the number of the plurality of FOs is greater than the number of the plurality of transmission beams, the plurality of FOs are divided into a plurality of FO groups with the number of the plurality of transmission beams as the period, and each of the plurality of transmission beams corresponds to an FO at the same position in the plurality of FO groups.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein, in response to the number of FOs in the last FO group of the plurality of FO groups being less than the number of the plurality of transmit beams, the FOs in the last FO group are not configured to transmit beam feedback.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein the number of the plurality of FOs is determined based on the number of the plurality of transmit beams, and the first information is further configured to indicate that the plurality of transmit beams correspond one-to-one with the plurality of FOs.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the plurality of resources include M FOs, where M is a natural number greater than 1, and the M FOs are configured such that N terminal devices other than the second terminal device transmit beam feedback, where N is a natural number greater than 1 and less than M, and the number of FOs corresponding to each of the N terminal devices is further determined based on the service priority of the N terminal devices and / or the communication requests of the N terminal devices.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein at least two of the N terminal devices have different numbers of FOs, and the terminal device with the highest service priority among the at least two terminal devices corresponds to the maximum number of FOs.

9. The number of FOs corresponding to the i-th terminal device among the N terminal devices is k. ｉ This is shown to be true, and i ∈ [1, 2, ..., N], [Math 1] In response to that, k １ ~k Ｎ The maximum value among them is [Math 2] Until it reaches this point, it is processed according to the first downward slope, and the FO corresponding to the i-th terminal device is, {FO ｓｉ , k ｉ It is shown as}, FO ｓｉ This indicates the starting position of the FO corresponding to the i-th terminal device, [Math 3] The method according to claim 8, wherein j ∈ [1, 2, ..., i-1].

10. The number of FOs corresponding to each terminal device among the N terminal devices is adjusted by a configuration factor, the configuration factor is related to the service priority of the terminal device, and the FO corresponding to the i-th terminal device among the N terminal devices is {FO ｓｉ , α ｉ It is shown as ×H}, H denotes the base number of the FO corresponding to each of the N terminal devices, α ｉ denotes the configuration coefficient of the i-th terminal device, α ｉ is an integer, [Math 4] , and [Math 5] The method according to claim 8, wherein j ∈ [1, 2, ..., i-1].

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the number of FOs corresponding to each terminal device among the N terminal devices is determined by dividing M FOs into N equal parts, and the remaining FOs after dividing M FOs into N equal parts are configured for one or more terminal devices among the N terminal devices, each having a priority higher than a first threshold.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the plurality of resources include one or more dedicated slots for transmitting beam feedback, and each of the one or more dedicated slots contains resources occupied by K × X FOs, where K is the number of FOs in the frequency domain and is a natural number of 1 or more, where X is the number of FOs in the time domain and is a natural number of 1 or more, and the indices of the K × X FOs are in ascending order in the time domain and / or the frequency domain.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising the step of determining the first transmit beam based on instructions from a network device using the first terminal device.

14. The aforementioned beam feedback is, Sidelink channel status information reference signal (CSI-RS), Physical side-link feedback channel (PSFCH), and The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, relating to one or more of the side link control information (SCI).

15. The initial beam pairing is performed before the first terminal device and the second terminal device establish a unicast link, and the first information is determined based on PSFCH, or The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the initial beam pairing is performed after the first terminal device and the second terminal device establish the unicast link, and the first information is determined based on SCI.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the plurality of transmitting beams are configured to carry a reference signal, and each of the reference signals includes one or more of S-SSB and sidelink CSI-RS.

17. A method for sidelink communication, A second terminal device transmits a reference signal through a plurality of transmit beams, wherein the plurality of transmit beams are configured such that the first terminal device determines the first transmit beam, and the first transmit beam is configured such that the first terminal device performs initial beam pairing with the second terminal device. A method comprising the steps of: receiving beam feedback transmitted by the first terminal device on a first resource by the second terminal device, wherein the first resource is determined based on first information, the first information is configured to indicate a mapping relationship between a plurality of resources including the first resource and the plurality of transmitting beams, and the first information is further configured to cause the second terminal device to determine the first transmitting beam.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the plurality of resources are dedicated resources for one or more terminal devices other than the second terminal device for transmitting beam feedback to the second terminal device, and the one or more terminal devices include the first terminal device.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the plurality of resources include a plurality of feedback occasions (FOs), and the mapping relationship includes the fact that any of the plurality of transmit beams corresponds to one or more FOs.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the number of the plurality of FOs is greater than the number of the plurality of transmission beams, the plurality of FOs are divided into a plurality of FO groups with the number of the plurality of transmission beams as the period, and each of the plurality of transmission beams corresponds to an FO at the same position in the plurality of FO groups.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein, in response to the number of FOs in the last FO group of the plurality of FO groups being less than the number of the plurality of transmit beams, the FOs in the last FO group are not configured to transmit beam feedback.

22. The method according to claim 19, wherein the number of the plurality of FOs is determined based on the number of the plurality of transmit beams, and the first information is further configured to indicate that the plurality of transmit beams correspond one-to-one with the plurality of FOs.

23. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 22, wherein the plurality of resources include M FOs, where M is a natural number greater than 1, and the M FOs are configured such that N terminal devices other than the second terminal device transmit beam feedback, where N is a natural number greater than 1 and less than M, and the number of FOs corresponding to each terminal device among the N terminal devices is further determined based on the service priority of the N terminal devices and / or the communication requests of the N terminal devices.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein at least two of the N terminal devices have different numbers of FOs, and the terminal device with the highest service priority among the at least two terminal devices corresponds to the maximum number of FOs.

25. The number of FOs corresponding to the i-th terminal device among the N terminal devices is k. ｉ This is shown to be true, and i ∈ [1, 2, ..., N], [Math 6] In response to that, k １ ~k Ｎ The maximum value among them is [Number 7] Until it reaches this point, it is processed according to the first downward slope, and the FO corresponding to the i-th terminal device is, {FO ｓｉ , k ｉ It is shown as}, FO ｓｉ This indicates the starting position of the FO corresponding to the i-th terminal device, [Number 8] The method according to claim 24, wherein j ∈ [1, 2, ..., i-1].

26. The number of FOs corresponding to each terminal device among the N terminal devices is adjusted by a configuration factor, the configuration factor is related to the service priority of the terminal device, and the FO corresponding to the i-th terminal device among the N terminal devices is {FO ｓｉ , α ｉ It is shown as ×H}, H represents the base number of the FO corresponding to each terminal device among the N terminal devices, and α ｉ α represents the constituent coefficient of the i-th terminal device, and ｉ is an integer, [Number 9] , and [Number 10] The method according to claim 24, wherein j ∈ [1, 2, ..., i-1].

27. The method according to claim 24, wherein the number of FOs corresponding to each terminal device among the N terminal devices is determined by dividing M FOs into N equal parts, and the remaining FOs after dividing M FOs into N equal parts are configured for one or more terminal devices among the N terminal devices, each having a priority higher than a first threshold.

28. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 27, wherein the plurality of resources include one or more dedicated slots for transmitting beam feedback, and each of the one or more dedicated slots contains resources occupied by K × X FOs, where K is the number of FOs in the frequency domain and K is a natural number of 1 or more, where X is the number of FOs in the time domain and X is a natural number of 1 or more, and the indices of the K × X FOs are in ascending order in the time domain and / or the frequency domain.

29. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 28, wherein the first transmit beam is determined based on instructions from network equipment.

30. The aforementioned beam feedback is, Sidelink channel status information reference signal (CSI-RS), Physical side-link feedback channel (PSFCH), and The method according to any one of claims 17 to 29, relating to one or more of the side link control information (SCI).

31. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 30, wherein the initial beam pairing is performed before the first terminal device and the second terminal device establish a unicast link, and the first information is determined based on PSFCH, or the initial beam pairing is performed after the first terminal device and the second terminal device establish the unicast link, and the first information is determined based on SCI.

32. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 31, wherein each of the reference signals includes one or more of S-SSB and sidelink CSI-RS.

33. A device for sidelink communication, wherein the device is a first terminal device, A determination unit configured to determine a first transmit beam from a plurality of transmit beams of a second terminal device, wherein the first transmit beam is configured for initial beam pairing between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. A device comprising: a transmitting unit configured to transmit beam feedback to a second terminal device on a first resource, wherein the first resource is determined based on first information, the first information is configured to indicate a mapping relationship between a plurality of resources including the first resource and the plurality of transmitting beams, and the first information is further configured to cause the second terminal device to determine the first transmitting beam.

34. The apparatus according to claim 33, wherein the plurality of resources are dedicated resources for one or more terminal devices other than the second terminal device for transmitting beam feedback to the second terminal device, and the one or more terminal devices include the first terminal device.

35. The apparatus according to claim 33 or 34, wherein the plurality of resources include a plurality of feedback occasions (FOs), and the mapping relationship includes the fact that any of the plurality of transmit beams corresponds to one or more FOs.

36. The apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the number of the plurality of FOs is greater than the number of the plurality of transmitting beams, the plurality of FOs are divided into a plurality of FO groups with the number of the plurality of transmitting beams as a period, and each of the plurality of transmitting beams corresponds to an FO at the same position in the plurality of FO groups.

37. The apparatus according to claim 36, wherein, in response to the number of FOs in the last FO group of the plurality of FO groups being less than the number of the plurality of transmit beams, the FOs in the last FO group are not configured to transmit beam feedback.

38. The apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the number of the plurality of FOs is determined based on the number of the plurality of transmit beams, and the first information is further configured to indicate that the plurality of transmit beams correspond one-to-one with the plurality of FOs.

39. The apparatus according to any one of claims 33 to 38, wherein the plurality of resources include M FOs, where M is a natural number greater than 1, and the M FOs are configured such that N terminal devices other than the second terminal device transmit beam feedback, where N is a natural number greater than 1 and less than M, and the number of FOs corresponding to each terminal device among the N terminal devices is further determined based on the service priority of the N terminal devices and / or the communication requests of the N terminal devices.

40. The apparatus according to claim 39, wherein the number of FOs corresponding to at least two of the N terminal devices are different, and the terminal device with the highest service priority among the at least two terminal devices corresponds to the maximum number of FOs.

41. The number of FOs corresponding to the i-th terminal device among the N terminal devices is k. ｉ This is shown to be true, and i ∈ [1, 2, ..., N], [Math 11] In response to that, k １ ~k Ｎ The maximum value among them is [Math 12] Until it reaches this point, it is processed according to the first downward slope, and the FO corresponding to the i-th terminal device is, {FO ｓｉ , k ｉ It is shown as}, FO ｓｉ This indicates the starting position of the FO corresponding to the i-th terminal device, [Number 13] The apparatus according to claim 40, wherein j ∈ [1, 2, ..., i-1].

42. The number of FOs corresponding to each terminal device among the N terminal devices is adjusted by a configuration factor, the configuration factor is related to the service priority of the terminal device, and the FO corresponding to the i-th terminal device among the N terminal devices is {FO ｓｉ , α ｉ It is shown as ×H}, H represents the base number of the FO corresponding to each terminal device among the N terminal devices, and α ｉ α represents the constituent coefficient of the i-th terminal device, and ｉ is an integer, [Number 14] , and [Number 15] The apparatus according to claim 40, wherein j ∈ [1, 2, ..., i-1].

43. The apparatus according to claim 40, wherein the number of FOs corresponding to each terminal device among the N terminal devices is determined by dividing M FOs into N equal parts, and the remaining FOs after dividing M FOs into N equal parts are configured for one or more terminal devices among the N terminal devices, each having a priority higher than a first threshold.

44. The apparatus according to any one of claims 33 to 43, wherein the plurality of resources include one or more dedicated slots for transmitting beam feedback, and each of the one or more dedicated slots contains resources occupied by K × X FOs, where K is the number of FOs in the frequency domain and K is a natural number of 1 or more, and X is the number of FOs in the time domain and X is a natural number of 1 or more, and the indices of the K × X FOs are in ascending order in the time domain and / or the frequency domain.

45. The apparatus according to any one of claims 33 to 44, wherein the decision unit is further configured to determine the first transmit beam based on instructions from network equipment.

46. The aforementioned beam feedback is, Sidelink channel status information reference signal (CSI-RS), Physical side-link feedback channel (PSFCH), and The apparatus according to any one of claims 33 to 45, relating to one or more of the side link control information (SCI).

47. The apparatus according to any one of claims 33 to 46, wherein the initial beam pairing is performed before the first terminal device and the second terminal device establish a unicast link, and the first information is determined based on PSFCH, or the initial beam pairing is performed after the first terminal device and the second terminal device establish the unicast link, and the first information is determined based on SCI.

48. The apparatus according to any one of claims 33 to 47, wherein the plurality of transmitting beams are configured to carry a reference signal, and each of the reference signals includes one or more of S-SSB and sidelink CSI-RS.

49. A device for sidelink communication, wherein the device is a second terminal device, A transmitting unit configured to transmit a reference signal through multiple transmitting beams, wherein the multiple transmitting beams are configured such that a first terminal device determines the first transmitting beam, and the first transmitting beam is configured such that the first terminal device performs initial beam pairing with the second terminal device. An apparatus comprising: a receiving unit configured to receive beam feedback transmitted on a first resource by a first terminal device, wherein the first resource is determined based on first information, the first information is configured to indicate a mapping relationship between a plurality of resources including the first resource and the plurality of transmitting beams, and the first information is further configured so that the second terminal device determines the first transmitting beam.

50. The apparatus according to claim 49, wherein the plurality of resources are dedicated resources for one or more terminal devices other than the second terminal device for transmitting beam feedback to the second terminal device, and the one or more terminal devices include the first terminal device.

51. The apparatus according to claim 49 or 50, wherein the plurality of resources include a plurality of feedback occasions (FOs), and the mapping relationship includes the fact that any of the plurality of transmit beams corresponds to one or more FOs.

52. The apparatus according to claim 51, wherein the number of the plurality of FOs is greater than the number of the plurality of transmitting beams, the plurality of FOs are divided into a plurality of FO groups with the number of the plurality of transmitting beams as a period, and each of the plurality of transmitting beams corresponds to an FO at the same position in the plurality of FO groups.

53. The apparatus according to claim 52, wherein, in response to the number of FOs in the last FO group of the plurality of FO groups being less than the number of the plurality of transmit beams, the FOs in the last FO group are not configured to transmit beam feedback.

54. The apparatus according to claim 51, wherein the number of the plurality of FOs is determined based on the number of the plurality of transmit beams, and the first information is further configured to indicate that the plurality of transmit beams correspond one-to-one with the plurality of FOs.

55. The apparatus according to any one of claims 49 to 54, wherein the plurality of resources include M FOs, where M is a natural number greater than 1, and the M FOs are configured such that N terminal devices other than the second terminal device transmit beam feedback, where N is a natural number greater than 1 and less than M, and the number of FOs corresponding to each of the N terminal devices is further determined based on the service priority of the N terminal devices and / or the communication requests of the N terminal devices.

56. The apparatus according to claim 55, wherein the number of FOs corresponding to at least two of the N terminal devices are different, and the terminal device with the highest service priority among the at least two terminal devices corresponds to the maximum number of FOs.

57. The number of FOs corresponding to the i-th terminal device among the N terminal devices is k. ｉ This is shown to be true, and i ∈ [1, 2, ..., N], [Number 16] In response to that, k １ ~k Ｎ The maximum value among them is [Number 17] Until it reaches this point, it is processed according to the first downward slope, and the FO corresponding to the i-th terminal device is, {FO ｓｉ , k ｉ It is shown as}, FO ｓｉ This indicates the starting position of the FO corresponding to the i-th terminal device, [Number 18] The apparatus according to claim 56, wherein j ∈ [1, 2, ..., i-1].

58. The number of FOs corresponding to each terminal device among the N terminal devices is adjusted by a configuration factor, the configuration factor is related to the service priority of the terminal device, and the FO corresponding to the i-th terminal device among the N terminal devices is {FO ｓｉ , α ｉ It is shown as ×H}, H represents the base number of the FO corresponding to each terminal device among the N terminal devices, and α ｉ α represents the constituent coefficient of the i-th terminal device, and ｉ is an integer, [Number 19] , and [Number 20] The apparatus according to claim 56, wherein j ∈ [1, 2, ..., i-1].

59. The apparatus according to claim 56, wherein the number of FOs corresponding to each terminal device among the N terminal devices is determined by dividing M FOs into N equal parts, and the remaining FOs after dividing M FOs into N equal parts are configured for one or more terminal devices among the N terminal devices, each having a priority higher than a first threshold.

60. The apparatus according to any one of claims 49 to 59, wherein the plurality of resources include one or more dedicated slots for transmitting beam feedback, and each of the one or more dedicated slots contains resources occupied by K × X FOs, where K is the number of FOs in the frequency domain and K is a natural number of 1 or more, and X is the number of FOs in the time domain and X is a natural number of 1 or more, and the indices of the K × X FOs are in ascending order in the time domain and / or the frequency domain.

61. The apparatus according to any one of claims 49 to 60, wherein the first transmit beam is determined based on instructions from network equipment.

62. The aforementioned beam feedback is, Sidelink channel status information reference signal (CSI-RS), Physical side-link feedback channel (PSFCH), and The apparatus according to any one of claims 49 to 61, relating to one or more of the side link control information (SCI).

63. The apparatus according to any one of claims 49 to 62, wherein the initial beam pairing is performed before the first terminal device and the second terminal device establish a unicast link, and the first information is determined based on PSFCH, or the initial beam pairing is performed after the first terminal device and the second terminal device establish the unicast link, and the first information is determined based on SCI.

64. The apparatus according to any one of claims 49 to 63, wherein each of the reference signals includes one or more of S-SSB and sidelink CSI-RS.

65. A communication device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is configured to store a program, and the processor is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 32 by calling the program stored in the memory.

66. A device comprising a processor configured to call a program from memory to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 32.

67. A chip comprising a processor configured to cause a device on which the chip is installed to execute a method according to any one of claims 1 to 32 by calling a program from memory.

68. A computer-readable storage medium comprising a program that causes a computer to execute the method described in any one of claims 1 to 32.

69. A computer program product comprising a program that causes a computer to execute the method described in any one of claims 1 to 32.

70. A computer program that causes a computer to execute the method described in any one of claims 1 to 32.

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