Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a communication method and apparatus. In the method, a second apparatus can complete beam weight issuing simply by means of indicating first information, second information and third information to a first apparatus on the basis of a scheduling situation, thereby facilitating the reduction in indication overheads for a beam weight. On the basis of the indication of the first information, the second information and the third information, the first apparatus generates a frequency-domain flat beam weight, such that a beam formed by the first apparatus points to a specified terminal, and the terminal can thus obtain a stable beam gain on a broadband.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on October 31, 2023, with application number 202311442863.X, and priority to the Chinese patent application entitled “A Communication Method and Device”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0003] Intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRSs) can improve channel conditions for terminals by adjusting the phase distribution of the reflective surface to direct the reflected signal from the base station to the IRS, creating a simulated beam toward the designated terminal. However, analog beamforming suffers from a significant loss in beam gain due to beam tilt.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, which uses less indication overhead to instruct a smart reflector to generate a frequency-domain flat beam weight, so that a scheduled terminal can obtain a stable beam gain over a wide bandwidth.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is performed by a first device, or by a component of the first device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), and can also be performed by a logic module that can implement all or part of the functions of the first device. For example, the first device can be a smart reflective surface. The first device receives first information, second information, and third information, wherein the first information indicates the frequency points corresponding to K frequency units; the second information indicates the bandwidth corresponding to K frequency units, where K is a positive integer; and the third information indicates the beam direction of the first device. The first device determines the beam weight of the first device based on the first information, the second information, and the third information.

[0007] In this method, the first device generates a frequency-domain flat beam weight based on the indications of the first information, the second information and the third information, thereby facilitating the beam formed by the first device to point to the designated terminal, so that the terminal can obtain a smooth beam gain over a wide bandwidth.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the first device obtains fourth information, where the fourth information includes at least one of a center frequency and a frequency domain unit.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the first information includes one or more frequency offsets, and the one or more frequency offsets and the center frequency are used to determine frequency points corresponding to the K frequency units.

[0010] In the above method, the frequency indicated by the first information can be determined by sending a central frequency and an offset relative to the central frequency, which is beneficial to reducing the quantization overhead of quantizing an accurate frequency.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the beam weight is a Hadamard product of a first direction vector and a first grouping vector, wherein the first direction vector is related to the first information and the third information, and the first grouping vector is related to the second information and the third information.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the first direction vector is related to the first information, the third information, and the fifth information; the first grouping vector is related to the second information, the third information, and the fifth information; and the fifth information includes at least one of the following: the number of array elements in the horizontal dimension, the number of array elements in the vertical dimension, the array element spacing in the horizontal dimension, or the array element spacing in the vertical dimension of the first device array.

[0013] In the above method, the beam weight can be specifically expressed as the Hadamard product of the first direction vector and the first grouping vector; and the value of the first direction vector or the first grouping vector is related to the first information, second information, and third information received by the first device, thereby generating a frequency-domain flat beam weight based on the instructions of the first information, second information, and third information, thereby facilitating the beam formed by the first device to be directed toward a designated terminal, allowing the terminal to obtain stable beam gain across a wide bandwidth. Optionally, the first direction vector and the first grouping vector are also related to fifth information, such as the number of array elements in the horizontal dimension, the number of array elements in the vertical dimension, the horizontal array element spacing, or the vertical array element spacing of the first device array.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the elements of the first direction vector include multiple phase coefficients, and any one of the phase coefficients is determined based on the first information, the third information, and a frequency point corresponding to the frequency unit.

[0015] In the method, the first direction vector specifically includes a plurality of phase coefficients, thereby facilitating determination of the direction of the beam formed by the first device.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the elements of the first grouping vector include multiple phase adjustment values; any phase adjustment value is determined based on the bandwidth of the frequency unit and the sum of the bandwidths of K frequency units; K is a positive integer.

[0017] In the method, the first grouping vector specifically includes a plurality of phase adjustment values, thereby facilitating adjustment of the direction of the beam formed by the first device.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the first direction vector includes K second direction vectors, and the first grouping vector includes K second grouping vectors; the value of K is determined based on the number of frequency units, and K is a positive integer.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the beam weight is expressed as:

[0020] Among them, a i，g represents the i-th second grouping vector among the K second grouping vectors, a i，DFT (ψ i ) represents the i-th second direction vector among the K second direction vectors, represents the Hadamard product of the i-th second grouping vector and the i-th second direction vector, represents the Hadamard product of the first direction vector and the first grouping vector, and i is a positive integer less than or equal to K.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the dimension of the i-th second direction vector or the dimension of the i-th second grouping vector is determined based on the bandwidth of the i-th frequency unit and the sum of the bandwidths of K frequency units.

[0022] In the above method, the first direction vector can be split into K second direction vectors, and the first group vector can be split into K second group vectors, which is conducive to making the beam gain of the beam formed by the first device on multiple sub-bands flat in the frequency domain, thereby making the beam gain of the beam formed by the first device flat in the frequency domain on the entire band.

[0023] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is executed by a second device, or by a component of the second device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), and can also be executed by a logic module that can realize all or part of the functions of the second device. For example, the second device can be a network device (such as a base station, etc.). The second device determines the first information, the second information and the third information; the first information is used to indicate the frequency points corresponding to K frequency units; the second information is used to indicate the bandwidth corresponding to K frequency units, K is a positive integer; the third information is used to indicate the beam direction of the first device. The second device sends the first information, the second information and the third information to the first device, and the first information, the second information and the third information are used to determine the beam weight of the first device.

[0024] In this method, the second device can complete the distribution of beam weights by indicating the first information, the second information and the third information to the first device according to the scheduling situation, which is beneficial to reducing the indication overhead of the beam weights.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the second device sends fourth information, where the fourth information includes a center frequency and a frequency domain unit.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the first information includes one or more frequency offsets, and the one or more frequency offsets and the center frequency are used to determine frequency points corresponding to the K frequency units.

[0027] In the above method, the frequency indicated by the first information can be determined by sending the center frequency and the offset relative to the center frequency by the second device, which is conducive to reducing the quantization overhead of quantizing an accurate frequency.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the beam weight is a Hadamard product of a first direction vector and a first grouping vector, wherein the first direction vector is related to the first information and the third information, and the first grouping vector is related to the second information and the third information.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the first direction vector is related to the first information, the third information, and the fifth information; the first grouping vector is related to the second information, the third information, and the fifth information; and the fifth information includes at least one of the following: the number of array elements in the horizontal dimension, the number of array elements in the vertical dimension, the array element spacing in the horizontal dimension, or the array element spacing in the vertical dimension of the first device array.

[0030] In the above method, the beam weight can be specifically expressed as the Hadamard product of the first direction vector and the first grouping vector; and the value of the first direction vector or the first grouping vector is related to the first information, second information, and third information sent by the second device to the first device, which facilitates the first device to generate a frequency-domain flat beam weight based on the instructions of the first information, the second information, and the third information, thereby facilitating the beam formed by the first device to be directed to a designated terminal, so that the terminal can obtain a stable beam gain across a wide bandwidth. Optionally, the first direction vector and the first grouping vector are also related to fifth information, such as the number of array elements in the horizontal dimension, the number of array elements in the vertical dimension, the horizontal element spacing, or the vertical element spacing of the array plane of the first device.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the elements of the first direction vector include multiple phase coefficients, and any one of the phase coefficients is determined based on the first information, the third information, and a frequency point corresponding to the frequency unit.

[0032] In the method, the first direction vector specifically includes a plurality of phase coefficients, thereby facilitating determination of the direction of the beam formed by the first device.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the elements of the first grouping vector include multiple phase adjustment values; any phase adjustment value is determined based on the bandwidth of the frequency unit and the sum of the bandwidths of K frequency units; K is a positive integer.

[0034] In the method, the first grouping vector specifically includes a plurality of phase adjustment values, thereby facilitating adjustment of the direction of the beam formed by the first device.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the first direction vector includes K second direction vectors, and the first grouping vector includes K second grouping vectors; the value of K is determined based on the number of frequency units, and K is a positive integer.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the beam weight is expressed as:

[0037] Among them, a i，g represents the i-th second grouping vector among the K second grouping vectors, a i，DFT (ψ i ) represents the i-th second direction vector among the K second direction vectors, represents the Hadamard product of the i-th second grouping vector and the i-th second direction vector, represents the Hadamard product of the first direction vector and the first grouping vector, and i is a positive integer less than or equal to K.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the dimension of the i-th second direction vector or the dimension of the i-th second grouping vector is determined based on the bandwidth of the i-th frequency unit and the sum of the bandwidths of K frequency units.

[0039] In the above method, the first direction vector can be split into K second direction vectors, and the first group vector can be split into K second group vectors, which is conducive to making the beam gain of the beam formed by the first device on multiple sub-bands flat in the frequency domain, thereby helping to make the beam gain of the beam formed by the first device flat in the frequency domain on the entire band.

[0040] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method implemented by interaction between a first device and a second device. For example, the first device may be an IRS, and the second device may be a network device. The communication method includes the following steps: the second device determines first information, second information, and third information; wherein the first information is used to indicate the frequency points corresponding to K frequency units; the second information is used to indicate the bandwidth corresponding to K frequency units, where K is a positive integer; and the third information is used to indicate the beam direction of the first device. The second device sends the first information, the second information, and the third information to the first device; and the first device receives the first information, the second information, and the third information. The first device determines the beam weight of the first device based on the first information, the second information, and the third information.

[0041] In this method, the second device can transmit beam weights by indicating first, second, and third information to the first device based on scheduling conditions, thereby reducing beam weight indication overhead. Based on the first, second, and third information, the first device generates frequency-domain flat beam weights, thereby facilitating the beam formed by the first device to be directed toward a designated terminal, enabling the terminal to achieve stable beam gain across a wide bandwidth.

[0042] Optionally, other implementations of the communication method may refer to the corresponding descriptions in the first aspect and the second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0043] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be a smart reflective surface, a device that is a smart reflective surface, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a smart reflective surface. In one possible implementation, the communication device may include a functional module, which may be implemented as a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a communication unit and a processing unit. The communication unit is configured to receive first information, second information, and third information, wherein the first information indicates the frequencies corresponding to K frequency bins; the second information indicates the bandwidth corresponding to the K frequency bins, where K is a positive integer; and the third information indicates the beam direction of the first device. The processing unit is configured to determine the beam weight of the first device based on the first information, the second information, and the third information.

[0045] In a possible implementation, the communication unit is configured to obtain fourth information, where the fourth information includes at least one of a center frequency and a frequency domain unit.

[0046] In a possible implementation, the first information includes one or more frequency offsets, and the one or more frequency offsets and the center frequency are used to determine frequency points corresponding to the K frequency units.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the beam weight is a Hadamard product of a first direction vector and a first grouping vector, wherein the first direction vector is related to the first information and the third information, and the first grouping vector is related to the second information and the third information.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the first direction vector is related to the first information, the third information, and the fifth information; the first grouping vector is related to the second information, the third information, and the fifth information; and the fifth information includes at least one of the following: the number of array elements in the horizontal dimension, the number of array elements in the vertical dimension, the array element spacing in the horizontal dimension, or the array element spacing in the vertical dimension of the first device array.

[0049] In a possible implementation, the elements of the first direction vector include multiple phase coefficients, and any one of the phase coefficients is determined based on the first information, the third information, and a frequency point corresponding to the frequency unit.

[0050] In a possible implementation, the elements of the first grouping vector include multiple phase adjustment values; any phase adjustment value is determined based on the bandwidth of the frequency unit and the sum of the bandwidths of K frequency units; K is a positive integer.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the first direction vector includes K second direction vectors, and the first grouping vector includes K second grouping vectors; the value of K is determined based on the number of frequency units, and K is a positive integer.

[0052] In one possible implementation, the beam weight is expressed as:

[0053] Among them, a i，g represents the i-th second grouping vector among the K second grouping vectors, a i，DFT (ψ i ) represents the i-th second direction vector among the K second direction vectors, represents the Hadamard product of the i-th second grouping vector and the i-th second direction vector, represents the Hadamard product of the first direction vector and the first grouping vector, and i is a positive integer less than or equal to K.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the dimension of the i-th second direction vector or the dimension of the i-th second grouping vector is determined based on the bandwidth of the i-th frequency unit and the sum of the bandwidths of K frequency units.

[0055] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be a network device, a device of a network device, or a device capable of being used in conjunction with a network device. In one possible implementation, the communication device may include a functional module, which may be implemented as a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0056] In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a communication unit and a processing unit. The processing unit is configured to determine first information, second information, and third information; the first information indicates the frequencies corresponding to K frequency bins; the second information indicates the bandwidth corresponding to the K frequency bins, where K is a positive integer; and the third information indicates a beam direction of the first device. The communication unit is configured to transmit the first information, the second information, and the third information, which are used to determine a beam weight for the first device.

[0057] In a possible implementation, the second device sends fourth information, where the fourth information includes a center frequency and a frequency domain unit.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the first information includes one or more frequency offsets, and the one or more frequency offsets and the center frequency are used to determine frequency points corresponding to the K frequency units.

[0059] In one possible implementation, the beam weight is a Hadamard product of a first direction vector and a first grouping vector, wherein the first direction vector is related to the first information and the third information, and the first grouping vector is related to the second information and the third information.

[0060] In one possible implementation, the first direction vector is related to the first information, the third information, and the fifth information; the first grouping vector is related to the second information, the third information, and the fifth information; and the fifth information includes at least one of the following: the number of array elements in the horizontal dimension, the number of array elements in the vertical dimension, the array element spacing in the horizontal dimension, or the array element spacing in the vertical dimension of the first device array.

[0061] In a possible implementation, the elements of the first direction vector include multiple phase coefficients, and any one of the phase coefficients is determined based on the first information, the third information, and a frequency point corresponding to the frequency unit.

[0062] In a possible implementation, the elements of the first grouping vector include multiple phase adjustment values; any phase adjustment value is determined based on the bandwidth of the frequency unit and the sum of the bandwidths of K frequency units; K is a positive integer.

[0063] In a possible implementation, the first direction vector includes K second direction vectors, and the first grouping vector includes K second grouping vectors; the value of K is determined based on the number of frequency units, and K is a positive integer.

[0064] In one possible implementation, the beam weight is expressed as:

[0065] Among them, a i，g represents the i-th second grouping vector among the K second grouping vectors, a i，DFT (ψ i ) represents the i-th second direction vector among the K second direction vectors, represents the Hadamard product of the i-th second grouping vector and the i-th second direction vector, represents the Hadamard product of the first direction vector and the first grouping vector, and i is a positive integer less than or equal to K.

[0066] In a possible implementation, the dimension of the i-th second direction vector or the dimension of the i-th second grouping vector is determined based on the bandwidth of the i-th frequency unit and the sum of the bandwidths of K frequency units.

[0067] For the fourth and fifth aspects, as an example, the processing unit may be a processor, and the communication unit may be a transceiver unit, a transceiver, or a communication interface. It is understood that when the communication device is a communication device (e.g., a network device), the communication unit may be a transceiver in the communication device (e.g., a transceiver includes a transmitter and a receiver), for example, implemented by an antenna, a feeder, and a codec in the communication device, or, if the communication device is a chip provided in the device, the processing unit may be a processing circuit, a logic circuit, etc. of the chip, and the communication unit may be an input / output interface of the chip, such as an input / output circuit, a pin, etc.

[0068] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a processor configured to execute instructions; optionally, the communication device further comprising a memory configured to store the instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the processor, the communication device implements at least one of the following: the method according to the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, and the method according to the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. Optionally, the processor and the memory are coupled.

[0069] In the seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which includes at least one device or equipment among the above-mentioned aspects from the fourth to the sixth, so that the above-mentioned at least one device or equipment performs at least one of the following: the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0070] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute at least one of the following: the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0071] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute at least one of the following: the method of the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, the method of the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0072] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a chip comprising a processor (or a logic circuit). Optionally, the chip may further comprise a communication interface (or interface) for implementing at least one of the following: the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. In one possible implementation, if the chip is the smallest processing unit in the entire machine, the chip may be a processor, or may comprise a processor and a memory, or may comprise a processor, a memory, and a transceiver, for implementing at least one of the following: the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0073] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a chip system. The chip system includes a processor and an interface. Optionally, the chip system may also include a memory for implementing at least one of the following: the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, and the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. The chip system may be composed of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete components. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0074] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided by the present application;

[0075] 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams of non-flat beam gain and beam pointing offset over frequency;

[0076] FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0077] 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams of the frequency domain flat beam principle provided by this application;

[0078] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by the present application;

[0079] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0080] In the embodiments of this application, " / " can indicate that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" can be used to describe the existence of three relationships between associated objects. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: A exists alone, A and B exists simultaneously, or B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural. To facilitate the description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the words "first" and "second" may be used in the embodiments of this application to distinguish between technical features with the same or similar functions. The words "first" and "second" do not limit the number or order of execution, and the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different. In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. The use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner for easier understanding.

[0081] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0082] In order to solve the problem of serious beam gain loss of the simulated beam formed by the smart reflector due to the beam tilt phenomenon, the present application provides a communication method and device. The communication method uses less indication overhead to instruct the smart reflector to generate a frequency-domain flat beam weight, so that the scheduled terminal can obtain a stable beam gain on the broadband.

[0083] The communication method provided in this application can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 1. For example, the communication system includes a network device, an intelligent reflective surface, and a terminal. Figure 1 only describes one network device, one intelligent reflective surface, and one terminal as an example, and this application does not limit the number of the above devices.

[0084] Among them, the communication system of the present application may include but is not limited to communication systems of various radio access technologies (RATs), for example, a narrowband Internet of Things system (NB-IoT), a long term evolution (LTE) communication system, a 5G (or new radio, NR) communication system, or a transition system between an LTE communication system and a 5G communication system, which may also be called a 4.5G communication system. Of course, it may also be a future communication system, such as a sixth generation (6G) or even a seventh generation (7G) system. Optionally, the communication system of the present application may also be a single-hop or multi-hop relay system including a relay node. The relay may be in the form of a network device or terminal as described above. The present application can be used in high-frequency scenarios, such as millimeter wave scenarios, and can also be used in low-frequency sub-6G scenarios, such as 700 / 900 megahertz (MHz), 2.1 / 2.6 / 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) frequency bands, etc. The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of communication network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0085] Among them, the intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) can reflect the signals transmitted from network devices to the IRS in the desired direction by adjusting the phase distribution of the reflective surface, thereby achieving functions such as improving the channel environment in weak coverage areas. For example, the IRS includes a passive antenna array (as shown in the squares in Figure 1) and a terminal module for receiving control signaling from network devices, so its power consumption and cost are very low. As a low-cost passive device, the IRS achieves reflected beam gain by expanding the array size (that is, increasing the number of reflective array elements in the IRS). Expanding the IRS array can achieve greater beam gain, but the corresponding beamwidth of each beam will become smaller (that is, the range that each beam can cover will become smaller).

[0086] Among them, a terminal, also known as a terminal device (terminal), user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc., refers to a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users. For example, a handheld device with wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. Currently, some examples of terminals include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, drones, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control (industrial control), wireless terminals in self-driving (self-driving), wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety (transportation safety), wireless terminals in smart cities (smart cities), wireless terminals in smart homes (smart homes), terminals in 5G networks, terminals in future evolved networks, or terminals in future communication systems.

[0087] The network device of the present application refers to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects a terminal to a wireless network, and may also be referred to as a base station. For example, some examples of RAN nodes include: a gNB, a transmission reception point (TRP), an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., a home evolved NodeB, or a home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (Wifi) access point (AP), a satellite in a satellite communication system, a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, a wearable device, a drone, or a device in an Internet of Vehicles (e.g., vehicle to everything (V2X)), or a communication device in device to device (D2D) communication.

[0088] In one possible implementation, the network device may include a centralized unit (CU) node, a distributed unit (DU) node, or a RAN device including a CU node and a DU node. The RAN device including the CU node and the DU node splits the protocol layer of the eNB in ​​the long term evolution (LTE) system, places the functions of some protocol layers in the CU for centralized control, and distributes the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU. In some deployments of network devices, the CU can also be divided into a CU-control plane (CP) and a CU-user plane (UP). In another possible implementation, the network device can also be an antenna unit (RU), etc. In another possible implementation, the network device can also be an open radio access network (ORAN) architecture, etc. This application does not limit the specific type of the network device. For example, when the network device is an ORAN architecture, the network device shown in the embodiment of the present application can be an access network device in the ORAN, or a module in the access network device, etc. In the ORAN system, CU can also be called an open centralized unit (open CU, O-CU), DU can also be called an open distributed unit (O-DU), CU-DU can also be called an open centralized unit-distributed unit (O-CU-DU), CU-UP can also be called an open centralized unit-control plane (O-CU-UP), and RU can also be called an open antenna unit (O-RU).

[0089] It should be noted that:

[0090] "Sending" and "receiving" in the embodiments of the present application indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to a terminal" can be understood as the destination end of the information being the terminal device, which can include direct sending through the air interface, and also includes indirect sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from a network device" can be understood as the source end of the information being the network device, which can include direct receiving from the network device through the air interface, and also includes indirect receiving from the network device through the air interface from other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface.

[0091] In other words, sending and receiving can be performed between devices, for example, between a network device and a terminal device, or can be performed within a device, for example, sending or receiving between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within the device through a bus, wiring or interface.

[0092] It is understandable that information may be processed between the source and destination of information transmission, such as coding, modulation, etc., but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated.

[0093] In the embodiments of the present application, "indication" may include direct indication and indirect indication, and may also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by a certain information (such as the indication information described below) is called information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, wherein there is an association between the other information and the information to be indicated; it is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance, for example, the indication of specific information can be achieved with the help of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (such as predefined by the protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. The present application does not limit the specific method of indication. It is understandable that, for the sender of the indication information, the indication information can be used to indicate the information to be indicated, and for the receiver of the indication information, the indication information can be used to determine the information to be indicated.

[0094] 1. For ease of understanding, the following is a detailed introduction to the definitions of relevant terms involved in this application:

[0095] 1. Simulating beam and beam tilt:

[0096] For example, based on the scheduling results of the scheduler of the network device, the second device can send instructions to the first device, so that the first device adjusts the beam weight so as to realize the analog beam directed to the terminal and enhance the receiving signal strength of the terminal. However, the carrier wavelengths of different frequency points are different, and the weak first device adopts analog beamforming or hybrid beamforming. Using only one set of beam weights may produce different degrees of mismatch at different frequency points, causing the original beam to point to different frequency points, resulting in a loss of beam gain. The above situation is also called the beam tilt phenomenon, in which the greater the difference in frequency points, the more serious the loss of beam gain. With the scarcity of low-frequency bandwidth resources, large bandwidth is an inevitable requirement for the evolution of next-generation communication technology, and the beam tilt phenomenon will be more serious in large bandwidth scenarios. For example, the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) beam has a serious loss of nearly 40% of the bandwidth beam gain under the full-band bandwidth of 800 megahertz (MHz). As shown in Figures 2A and 2B, B w1 =0.6B w , beam tilt angle Δθ>2°, where Bw1 This is the bandwidth range where the beam gain loss is less than 3dB.

[0097] 2. User Scheduling:

[0098] The scheduler of the second device allocates frequency domain resources to different terminals in corresponding time domain units, thereby achieving dynamic terminal scheduling. To reduce computational and signaling overhead, the smallest frequency domain unit used by the scheduler for frequency domain resource allocation is called a resource block group (RBG). An RBG contains multiple resource blocks (RBs). All frequency domain resources are divided into multiple RBGs, which are then allocated to different terminals.

[0099] For example, assuming the full bandwidth is divided into 10 RBGs, if the first device DFT weights forward or reflect the signal, RBG3 to RBG8 can obtain stable beam gains (as shown in Figure 2A). The frequency domain resource allocation of the scheduler may result in the following situations:

[0100] 1) The allocated RBGs are not adjacent: If the UE is allocated RBG1 and RBG10, the beam gain of the first device in these two RBGs will be severely lost, and the communication performance of the UE cannot be improved.

[0101] 2) The assigned RBGs are adjacent but have large bandwidths: If the terminal is assigned RBG1 to RBG10, the terminal suffers from severe beam gain loss in frequency bands such as RBG1, RBG2, RBG9, and RBG10.

[0102] 3) The assigned RBGs are adjacent but far away from the center carrier frequency: The terminal is assigned RBG1 to RBG2, and the beam gain loss is also severe.

[0103] In summary, in large bandwidth scenarios, traditional DFT weights cannot provide stable beam gain, and it is necessary to design beam weights with flat gain over a large bandwidth.

[0104] 2. Communication method provided by this application:

[0105] For example, Figure 3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by this application. The method can be implemented by interaction between a first device and a second device, where the first device is, for example, an IRS or a device with beam forwarding or reflection capabilities, and the second device is, for example, a network device or a device of a network device. The method includes the following steps:

[0106] S101, the second device sends first information, second information and third information; correspondingly, the first device receives the first information, second information and third information.

[0107] Among them, the first information indicates the frequency points corresponding to K frequency units, and the frequency points corresponding to different frequency units are different. The antenna array surface included in the first device, the larger the antenna array surface of the first device, the narrower the corresponding beam width, and therefore the more serious the beam tilt phenomenon will be. This application assumes that the antenna array surface can be logically divided into one or more first sub-arrays (correspondingly, the beam width corresponding to each first sub-array becomes wider), and the beams of one or more first sub-arrays correspond to K frequency units. The frequency points corresponding to the K frequency units are different, that is, the frequency points corresponding to the beams of one or more first sub-arrays are different, which is conducive to the equivalent beam formed by merging one or more beams to be flat in bandwidth. Among them, K is a positive integer.

[0108] For example, Figures 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams of the frequency domain flat beam principle provided by this application. Taking a uniform linear array (ULA) as an example, beam 1 and beam 2 of the first sub-array 1 point in different directions. Beam 1 and beam 2 can be equivalent to beam A (as shown in Figure 4A). Since beam 1 and beam 2 have different gain bandwidths in the frequency domain (as shown in Figure 4B), the sum of the gain bandwidths of beams 1 and 2 is the gain bandwidth of beam A. Beam A has a flat beam gain in sub-band 1, and the center frequency of sub-band 1 is expressed as f c1 Similarly, beams 3 and 4 emitted by the first sub-array 2 point in different directions. The beams of beams 3 and 4 can be equivalent to beam B (as shown in Figure 4A). The beam gain of beam B is flat on sub-band 2. The center frequency of sub-band 2 is expressed as f c2 A subband is composed of a plurality of frequency resources that are continuous in the frequency domain. For example, subband 1 and subband 2 shown in FIG4B include four continuous frequency units.

[0109] Optionally, the first device may further obtain fourth information, where the fourth information includes a center frequency and a frequency domain unit. For example, the second device may transmit a center frequency and a frequency domain unit as a reference, and subsequently only needs to transmit a frequency offset. The first device may calculate the frequencies corresponding to the K frequency units based on the center frequency, the frequency offset, and the frequency domain unit.

[0110] Optionally, the first information includes one or more frequency offsets, and the one or more frequency offsets and the center frequency and the frequency domain unit are used to determine the frequency points corresponding to the K frequency units. For example, the center frequency point is represented by f c , the frequency domain unit is expressed as Δ, and the frequency domain offset corresponding to the i-th frequency unit (subband) is expressed as a i , then the first device determines the frequency point corresponding to the i-th frequency unit based on the above information and represents it as f c，i =f c +a i * Δ.

[0111] The second information indicates the bandwidth corresponding to K frequency units. For example, the bandwidth corresponding to the i-th frequency unit is expressed as B w,i , assuming there are K frequency units in total, the total bandwidth corresponding to K frequency units is expressed as

[0112] Optionally, the second information includes one or more bandwidth quantities, and the one or more bandwidth quantities and frequency domain units are used to determine the bandwidth corresponding to K frequency units. For example, the second information includes the bandwidth quantity of the i-th frequency unit represented as b i , then the bandwidth corresponding to the i-th frequency unit is expressed as B w,i =b i *Δ.

[0113] The third information indicates the beam direction of the first device. For example, the beam direction of the first device can be represented by a normalized emission angle, which can be represented as Where d represents the array element spacing, represents the angle between the beam direction and the front, λ c Indicates wavelength. Optionally, the third information may include ψ, or At least one of the following, for example, the second device may send ψ, or send or

[0114] S102: The first device determines a beam weight of the first device based on the first information, the second information, and the third information.

[0115] The beam weight of the first device is used to adjust the phase of the reflected signal, thereby making the equivalent beam obtained by superimposing multiple beams flat in the frequency domain. For example, based on the description in S101, the beam weight is determined based on the frequency points corresponding to the K frequency units, the bandwidth corresponding to the K frequency units, and the beam direction of the first device. Based on the above parameters, the first device can determine the beam weight as a frequency-domain flat codebook.

[0116] For example, the beam weight can be specifically expressed as the Hadamard product of the first direction vector and the first grouping vector. The first direction vector is associated with the first information, the third information, and the fifth information; the first grouping vector is associated with the second information, the third information, and the fifth information; and the fifth information includes at least one of the following: the number of array elements in the horizontal dimension, the number of array elements in the vertical dimension, the horizontal array element spacing, or the vertical array element spacing of the first device array.

[0117] For example, the beam weight is shown in formula (1):

[0118] Among them, a represents the beam weight, a g represents the first grouping vector, a DFT (ψ) represents the first direction vector.

[0119] Optionally, the elements of the first direction vector include multiple phase coefficients, and any phase coefficient is determined based on the first information, the third information, and the frequency point corresponding to the frequency unit. The elements of the first direction vector are also called phase factors or phase coefficients. For example, the ,th phase coefficient in the first direction vector can be expressed as a DFT,j , wherein the first device determines the carrier frequency of the frequency unit based on the first information, denoted as f c , the normalized exit angle ψ is obtained through the third information, and the number of horizontal dimension elements or vertical dimension elements of the ULA array is determined to be 1 through the fifth information. Then the dimension M of the first direction vector is specifically implemented as shown in formula (2): DFT (ψ)=[1,...,e-j2π(j-1)ψ,...,e-j2π(M-1)ψ]∈C 1×M (2)

[0120] Among them, a DFT，j =e-j2π(j-1)ψ, where j is a positive integer less than or equal to M, and M represents the number of array elements of the first device. Formula (2) is given as an example using a ULA array, and the array form is not specifically limited.

[0121] Optionally, in order to ensure that the beam gain of the first direction vector is flat in the frequency domain, the phase of each array element needs to be adjusted. At this time, the entire antenna array surface is regarded as the first subarray, and the first subarray can be regarded as a combination of multiple second subarrays. By adjusting the phases of multiple second subarrays, it can be ensured that the width of the beam in each subarray is greater than the angle of beam tilt, thereby ensuring the flatness of the beam in the frequency domain. Among them, the first grouping vector includes multiple phase adjustment values ​​of the second subarrays. For example, the elements of the first grouping vector include multiple phase adjustment values, and any phase adjustment value is determined based on the bandwidth of the frequency unit and the sum of the bandwidths of K frequency units, where K is a positive integer. For example, assuming that the first grouping vector corresponds to a first subarray (the first subarray is assumed to be called the first first subarray, and the first first subarray includes V1 second subarrays), the phase adjustment value of the v1th second subarray in the first grouping vector can be expressed as The value of v1 satisfies 0<v1≤V1. The value of is based on the normalized exit angle ψ and the total bandwidth B corresponding to K frequency units w The detailed derivation process will be given in Section 3. For example, the first device determines the elements of the first grouping vector based on the bandwidth of the frequency unit and the sum of the bandwidths of K frequency units. A feasible implementation method is shown in Formula (3):

[0122] in, Represents the phase of the mth element of the v1th second sub-matrix in the first group vector, M s Indicates the number of array elements corresponding to the second sub-matrix of v1. One feasible way is Formula (3) is given as an example using the ULA array, without making any specific limitation on the array form.

[0123] Optionally, the first grouping vector a g Under special values, it can be expressed as a vector whose elements are all 1. In this case, the codebook form of the beam weight is the Hadamard product of a vector of all 1 and the first direction vector.

[0124] Optionally, when the first subarray of the antenna array plane is further divided into smaller array elements (such as multiple second subarrays), the first direction vector includes K second direction vectors, and the first grouping vector includes K second grouping vectors; the value of K is determined based on the number of frequency units, and K is a positive integer. For example, the beam weight can be further expressed as formula (4):

[0125] Among them, a i,g represents the i-th second grouping vector among the K second grouping vectors, a i,DFT (ψ i ) represents the i-th second direction vector among the K second direction vectors, represents the Hadamard product of the i-th second grouping vector and the i-th second direction vector, represents the Hadamard product of the first direction vector and the first grouping vector, and i is a positive integer less than or equal to K. The detailed derivation process of formula (4) will be given in the third section.

[0126] Optionally, the dimension of the i-th second direction vector or the dimension of the i-th second grouping vector is determined based on the bandwidth of the i-th frequency unit and the sum of the bandwidths of K frequency units. For example, the dimension of the i-th second direction vector or the dimension of the i-th second grouping vector is expressed as M i The value of is based on the bandwidth B corresponding to the i-th frequency unit w,i , and the total bandwidth B corresponding to K frequency units w Certainly, one possible approach is

[0127] In this embodiment, the second device can transmit beam weights by indicating the first information, the second information, and the third information to the first device based on the scheduling situation, thereby reducing the overhead of indicating the beam weights. The first device generates frequency-domain flat beam weights based on the indications of the first information, the second information, and the third information, thereby facilitating the beam formed by the first device to be directed toward a designated terminal, enabling the terminal to obtain stable beam gain across a wide bandwidth.

[0128] 3. The embodiments determined by the communication method provided in this application are described in detail:

[0129] 1. The network device sends an instruction message to the IRS to logically divide the antenna array into multiple first sub-arrays, each of which corresponds to a frequency unit.

[0130] For example, assuming that subband 1 and subband 2 scheduled by the network device are not adjacent in the frequency domain (such as subband 1 and subband 2 in Figure 4B), the network device needs to indicate relevant information (such as first information, second information and third information) so that the IRS can achieve beam gain flatness on two independent subbands based on the above relevant information.

[0131] In one possible implementation, the network device logically divides the antenna array into K first sub-arrays (as shown in FIG4B , K=2) based on the number of non-adjacent sub-bands, the first information, and the second information. The IRS logically divides the antenna array into K first sub-arrays (as shown in FIG4B , K=2) based on the number of frequency units in the first information and the second information. The i-th first sub-array (i-th frequency unit) of the K first sub-arrays (corresponding to K frequency units) adopts a beam weight that flattens the i-th sub-band. Assuming that the number of array elements in the first sub-array of the IRS is expressed as M, the number of array elements in the i-th first sub-array can be expressed as Among them B w is the total bandwidth of K subbands, B w,i is the bandwidth of the i-th subband.

[0132] In one possible implementation, the starting frequency of the i-th subband is represented as f i，1 , the cutoff frequency is expressed as f i，2 , then the frequency midpoint f of the i-th sub-band c，i It can be expressed as Optionally, express the signal wavelength as The reflection weight of the ith subband needs to be set according to the wavelength of the carrier signal corresponding to the subband; for example, for the ith subband, the normalized emission angle is expressed as

[0133] In a possible implementation, the first information sent by the network device indicates the frequency points corresponding to the K frequency units. For example, the network device may first send a central frequency point f cand frequency domain unit Δ, the subsequent first information sent may only include the frequency domain offset a corresponding to the i-th frequency unit (subband) i Based on the above information, IRS can determine the frequency point corresponding to the i-th frequency unit as f c,i =f c +a i *Δ. Alternatively, the first information sent by the network device includes the starting frequency point f of the i-th frequency unit i,1 , cutoff frequency f i,2 , frequency domain unit Δ, frequency domain offset a i , IRS can also determine the frequency point corresponding to the i-th frequency unit based on the above information.

[0134] In one possible implementation, the center frequency f c The frequency domain unit Δ may be predefined, and the plurality of first devices may be based on the predefined frequency point and / or frequency domain unit, and the frequency domain offset a i , determine the corresponding frequency point as f c,i =f c +a i *Δ.

[0135] In a possible implementation, the second information sent by the network device indicates the bandwidth corresponding to K frequency units. For example, the bandwidth quantity of the i-th frequency unit sent by the network device may be represented as b i , then the bandwidth corresponding to the i-th frequency unit is expressed as B w,i =b i *Δ. Alternatively, the network device directly sends the bandwidth B of the i-th frequency unit w,i .

[0136] In one possible implementation, the third information sent by the network device indicates the beam direction of the first device, for example, a specified emission angle Optionally, the third information may include ψ, or At least one of the following, for example, the network device can send ψ, or send or

[0137] 2. Without considering further dividing the first sub-array of the antenna array into smaller array elements, determine the beam weight of each first sub-array.

[0138] The following derivation of the beam weights for the i-th first subarray can be similarly derived for the other K-1 subarrays. Note that when K = 1, the K-th first subarray corresponds to the entire IRS antenna array, and the implementation principle remains the same.

[0139] For example, for the i-th first sub-array, if further division into smaller array elements is not considered, the beam weight of the i-th first sub-array can be expressed as formula (2), as shown above.

[0140] It can be understood that the beam weight of the first device in this example is as shown in formula (1), where the first direction vector a DFT (ψ) is expressed as a DFT (ψ)=[a 1,DFT (ψ1), ..., a K,DFT (ψ K )], the first grouping vector is a vector whose elements are all 1, and the codebook form of the beam weight of the first device is a first direction vector of a vector Hadamard product of all 1s.

[0141] 3. Considering that the first sub-array of the antenna array plane is further divided into smaller array elements (such as multiple second sub-arrays), the phase adjustment value corresponding to the second sub-array is determined.

[0142] The following will introduce how to further divide the first sub-matrix of the i-th into multiple parts (assuming it is divided into V i The IRS can determine the V of the ith first sub-array based on the first information, the second information, and the third information sent by the network device. i The grouping method of the second sub-matrices, that is, determining the first grouping vector.

[0143] For example, it is known that the bandwidth of the i-th subband corresponding to the i-th first sub-array is B w,i , assuming that the maximum beam tilt angle of the first sub-array of the i-th array is expressed as The beamwidth corresponding to the first sub-array of the i-th array is expressed as In order to make the beam gain on the i-th sub-band flat, it is necessary to satisfy This constraint condition. Among them, the beam width of the first sub-array of the i-th can be specifically expressed as formula (5):

[0144] Among them, M i,s Indicates V i The number of array elements in the second sub-array, Indicates that x is rounded down. The above formula (5) can be further expressed as formula (6):

[0145] Solving the above inequality, we can get formula (7):

[0146] According to formula (7), the number of array elements in each second sub-array in the i-th first sub-array can be determined. It can be understood that the number of array elements in each second sub-array is as large as possible while satisfying formula (7), which is conducive to making the corresponding beam gain of each second sub-array larger. Optionally, the number of array elements in each second sub-array in the i-th first sub-array is determined based on formula (7), which also determines the number of second sub-arrays V i .

[0147] 4. Determine the beam weight of the first device as the Hadamard product of the first direction vector and the first grouping vector.

[0148] Assuming that the beam emitted by the first ith sub-array of the IRS is a narrow beam determined by ψ, it may not be possible to ensure that the beam gain of the beam in the ith sub-band is flat in the frequency domain. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the V i For example, assuming that the phase of the vth first sub-array after adjustment is i The phase of the mth element of the second sub-array can be expressed as formula (8):

[0149] Correspondingly, the beam weight of the first sub-array of the i-th array can be expressed as formula (9):

[0150] in, It is used to compensate the phase of each second sub-array in the i-th first sub-array, so that each frequency point of the i-th sub-band falls within the gain bandwidth of the second sub-array (that is, the beam width corresponding to a 3dB attenuation of the beam gain relative to the peak point).

[0151] In one possible implementation, since there are frequencies that fall within the beamwidths of the two second sub-arrays, it is necessary to further consider the phase relationship between the beams of the two second sub-arrays, which is beneficial for achieving a better superposition effect of the reflected beams of the two second sub-arrays. The network device can superimpose different phase adjustment values ​​before the weights corresponding to each second sub-array of the i-th first sub-array. Formula (8) can be further converted into Formula (10):

[0152] in, represents the vth of the first sub-matrix of the i-th i The phase adjustment value of the mth array element phase of the second sub-array.

[0153] For example, for the two adjacent second sub-matrices v in the i-th first sub-matrix i and v i +1, the two adjacent second sub-arrays correspond to different equivalent beam exit angles, which are respectively expressed as as well as Solve the mean of the two adjacent second sub-arrays corresponding to different equivalent beam exit angles, and the mean can be expressed as If you consider The beam gain in the direction is the largest, then formula (11) can be derived:

[0154] Simplifying formula (10), we get formula (12):

[0155] It can be deduced that formula (12) and The maximum value is achieved when the signals are superimposed in phase.

[0156] Therefore, for the adjusted phase of the second sub-array, formula (13) is satisfied:

[0157] By performing phase shift on formula (13), we can obtain formula (14):

[0158] The phase adjustment value is not unique. In one possible implementation, for the vth i The phase adjustment value can be expressed as formula (15):

[0159] In summary, for the i-th first sub-array, the beam weight of the first sub-array can be expressed as formula (16):

[0160] Assumptions Formula (17) can be further derived:

[0161] Therefore, for the entire IRS array, the beam weight of the first device can be derived as formula (4), as shown above. According to the above steps, the first device determines the reflection weight and reflects the beam with a frequency-domain flat weight.

[0162] In order to realize the various functions in the method provided by the present application, the device or equipment provided by the present application may include a hardware structure and / or a software module, and realize the above-mentioned various functions in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. Whether a certain function among the above-mentioned functions is executed in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. The division of modules in the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. In addition, the various functional modules in the various embodiments of the present application can be integrated into a processor, or they can exist physically separately, or two or more modules can be integrated into one module. The above-mentioned integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules.

[0163] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by the present application. The device may include modules corresponding to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the above method embodiments, and the modules may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software.

[0164] The apparatus 500 includes a communication unit 501 and a processing unit 502, which are used to implement the methods executed by the devices in the above embodiments. The communication unit 501 is also called a transceiver unit, which includes a sending unit and a receiving unit. The sending unit is used to send signals, and the receiving unit is used to receive signals.

[0165] In one possible implementation, the device is a smart reflective surface or a device of a smart reflective surface. Specifically, the communication unit 501 is configured to receive first information, second information, and third information, where the first information indicates the frequencies corresponding to the K frequency bins; the second information indicates the bandwidth corresponding to the K frequency bins; and the third information indicates the beam direction of the first device. The processing unit 502 is configured to determine the beam weight of the first device based on the first information, the second information, and the third information.

[0166] The specific execution process of the communication unit 501 and the processing unit 502 in this embodiment can be referred to the description of the steps performed by the first device in the method embodiment above, as well as related descriptions, and will not be repeated here. In the communication method implemented by this device, the first device generates a frequency-domain flat beam weight based on the indication of the first information, the second information, and the third information, thereby facilitating the beam formed after reflection by the first device to be directed to the designated terminal, so that the terminal can obtain a stable beam gain across a wide bandwidth.

[0167] In one possible implementation, the apparatus is a network device or a device of a network device. Specifically, the processing unit 502 is configured to determine first information, second information, and third information; wherein the first information indicates the frequency points corresponding to the K frequency units; the second information indicates the bandwidth corresponding to the K frequency units; and the third information indicates the beam direction of the first apparatus. The communication unit 501 is configured to send the first information, the second information, and the third information to the first apparatus, and the first information, the second information, and the third information are used to determine the beam weight of the first apparatus.

[0168] The specific execution process of communication unit 501 and processing unit 502 in this embodiment can refer to the description of the steps performed by the second device in the method embodiment above, as well as related descriptions, and will not be repeated here. In the communication method implemented by this device, the second device can complete the distribution of beam weights by indicating the first information, the second information, and the third information to the first device based on the scheduling situation, which is beneficial for reducing the indication overhead of beam weights.

[0169] In one possible implementation, when the communication device is a chip, the chip includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processing unit may be a processor, microprocessor, integrated circuit, or logic circuit integrated on the chip.

[0170] The present application also provides a communication device, see Figure 6, another structural diagram of the communication device of the present application embodiment. The communication device can be used to execute the steps performed by the first device or the second device in the above method embodiment, and reference can be made to the relevant description in the above method embodiment.

[0171] The communication device includes a processor 601. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory 602 and a transceiver 603.

[0172] In a possible implementation, the processor 601 , the memory 602 , and the transceiver 603 are connected via buses, and computer instructions are stored in the memory.

[0173] Optionally, the processing unit 502 in the aforementioned embodiment may specifically be the processor 601 in this embodiment, so the specific implementation of the processor 601 is not repeated. The communication unit 501 in the aforementioned embodiment may specifically be the transceiver 603 in this embodiment, so the specific implementation of the transceiver 603 is not repeated.

[0174] In this application, a processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in this application. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in this application may be directly executed by a hardware processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules within the processor.

[0175] In the present application, the memory may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), or a volatile memory, such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the present application may also be a circuit or any other device that can implement a storage function, for storing program instructions and / or data.

[0176] The present application provides another communication device, which includes a processor and an interface. Optionally, it also includes a memory, the processor is coupled to the memory, and the processor is used to read and execute computer instructions stored in the memory to implement the communication method in the method embodiment as described above.

[0177] The present application also provides a communication system including a first device and a second device. The first device is configured to execute all or part of the steps executed by the first device in the above embodiment. The second device is configured to execute all or part of the steps executed by the second device in the above embodiment.

[0178] The present application provides a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium stores a program or instruction. When the program or instruction is executed on a computer, the computer executes the communication method in the above method embodiment.

[0179] The present application provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes instructions. When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes the communication method in the above method embodiment.

[0180] The present application provides a chip or chip system, which includes at least one processor and an interface, the interface and the at least one processor are interconnected through lines, and the at least one processor is used to run computer programs or instructions to execute the communication method in the method embodiment as described above.

[0181] The interface in the chip may be an input / output interface, a pin, or a circuit.

[0182] The chip system may be a system on chip (SOC) or a baseband chip, wherein the baseband chip may include a processor, a channel encoder, a digital signal processor, a modem, an interface module, and the like.

[0183] In one implementation, the chip or chip system described above in this application further includes at least one memory, in which instructions are stored. The memory may be a storage unit within the chip, such as a register, a cache, etc., or a storage unit of the chip (e.g., a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.).

[0184] The technical solutions provided in this application can be implemented in whole or in part through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, they can 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 and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in this application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a terminal, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium.

[0185] In this application, under the premise that there is no logical contradiction, the various embodiments may reference each other, for example, the methods and / or terms between method embodiments may reference each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments may reference each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments and method embodiments may reference each other.

[0186] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving first information, second information and third information, wherein the first information indicates the frequency points corresponding to K frequency units; the second information indicates the bandwidth corresponding to the K frequency units; the third information indicates the beam direction of the first device, and K is a positive integer; Based on the first information, the second information and the third information, a beam weight of the first device is determined.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The beam weight is the Hadamard product of the first direction vector and the first grouping vector; The first direction vector is related to the first information and the third information; The first grouping vector is related to the second information and the third information.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The elements of the first direction vector include multiple phase coefficients, and any one of the phase coefficients is determined based on the first information, the third information, and the frequency point corresponding to the frequency unit.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The elements of the first grouping vector include multiple phase adjustment values; any one of the phase adjustment values ​​is determined based on the bandwidth of the frequency unit and the sum of the bandwidths of K frequency units.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first direction vector includes K second direction vectors, and the first grouping vector includes K second grouping vectors; the value of K is determined based on the number of frequency units.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The beam weight is expressed as: Among them, the a i,g represents the i-th second grouping vector among the K second grouping vectors, and the a i,DFT (ψ i ) represents the i-th second direction vector among the K second direction vectors, the represents the Hadamard product of the i-th second grouping vector and the i-th second direction vector, represents the Hadamard product of the first direction vector and the first grouping vector, and i is a positive integer less than or equal to K.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The dimension of the i-th second direction vector or the dimension of the i-th second grouping vector is determined based on the bandwidth of the i-th frequency unit and the sum of the bandwidths of K frequency units.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Fourth information is acquired, where the fourth information includes a center frequency and a frequency domain unit.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The first information includes one or more frequency offsets, and the one or more frequency offsets and the center frequency are used to determine frequency points corresponding to the K frequency units.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Determine first information, second information, and third information, wherein the first information is used to indicate the frequency points corresponding to the K frequency units; the second information is used to indicate the bandwidth corresponding to the K frequency units; the third information is used to indicate the beam direction of the first device, and K is a positive integer; The first information, the second information, and the third information are sent to the first device, where the first information, the second information, and the third information are used to determine a beam weight of the first device.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The beam weight is the Hadamard product of the first direction vector and the first grouping vector; The first direction vector is related to the first information and the third information; The first grouping vector is related to the second information and the third information.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The elements of the first direction vector include multiple phase coefficients, and any one of the phase coefficients is determined based on the first information, the third information, and the frequency point corresponding to the frequency unit.

13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The elements of the first grouping vector include multiple phase adjustment values; any one of the phase adjustment values ​​is determined based on the bandwidth of the frequency unit and the sum of the bandwidths of K frequency units; and K is a positive integer.

14. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The first direction vector includes K second direction vectors, and the first grouping vector includes K second grouping vectors; the value of K is determined based on the number of frequency units, and K is a positive integer.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The beam weight is expressed as: Among them, the a i,g represents the i-th second grouping vector among the K second grouping vectors, and the a i,DFT (ψ i ) represents the i-th second direction vector among the K second direction vectors, the represents the Hadamard product of the i-th second grouping vector and the i-th second direction vector, Indicates the first The Hadamard product of the direction vector and the first grouping vector, wherein i is a positive integer less than or equal to K.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The dimension of the i-th second direction vector or the dimension of the i-th second grouping vector is determined based on the bandwidth of the i-th frequency unit and the sum of the bandwidths of K frequency units.

17. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: Fourth information is sent, where the fourth information includes a center frequency and a frequency domain unit.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The first information includes one or more frequency offsets, and the one or more frequency offsets and the center frequency are used to determine frequency points corresponding to the K frequency units.

19. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a communication unit and a processing unit, wherein the communication unit and the processing unit are used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or 10 to 18.

20. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, wherein the processor is configured to enable the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or 10 to 18 through a logic circuit and / or an execution instruction.

21. The device according to claim 20, characterized in that Also included is a memory for storing the instructions.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or 10 to 18.

23. A chip system, characterized in that: The chip system comprises a processor and an interface, wherein the processor is configured to execute a computer program so that the chip system implements the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 or 10 to 18.

24. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or 10 to 18.

25. A communication system, characterized in that: The method comprises at least one of the following devices: a device for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, and a device for executing the method according to any one of claims 10 to 18.

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