Uplink precoding indication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides an uplink precoding indication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal device sending first information to an access network device, the first information being used to indicate a full power transmission capability of the terminal device, the terminal device comprising a number M of port groups, each port group among the M port groups comprising a number K of transmitting antenna ports, and M and K both being integers greater than 1; the terminal device receiving second information from the access network device, the second information being used to indicate a first precoding matrix, and the first precoding matrix being determined on the basis of the first information; and the terminal device performing uplink transmission on the basis of the first precoding matrix. By means of the present method, an uplink precoding matrix suitable for full-power transmission can be flexibly indicated, thereby effectively improving uplink transmission performance.

Description

Uplink precoding indication method and communication device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] 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 202311440644.8 and application name “A method and communication device for indicating uplink precoding”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to an uplink precoding indication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0004] Fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication systems have higher requirements for system capacity and spectral efficiency. In 5G communication systems, the application of massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology plays a crucial role in improving system spectral efficiency. Using massive MIMO technology, terminal devices must precode uplink data before transmitting it. Codebook-based uplink transmission mode is one such precoding method for uplink transmission.

[0005] Currently, in codebook-based uplink transmission modes, the base station selects an appropriate codeword for the terminal device from a predefined uplink codebook and indicates the selected codeword to the terminal device. The predefined uplink codebook, stored in both the base station and the terminal device, has a limited number of codewords available for selection, supporting a limited number of transmit antenna ports and uplink transmission layers. As communication services place increasing demands on uplink system capacity and terminal devices support an increasing number of transmit antenna ports, the existing predefined uplink codebook is clearly unable to adapt, limiting uplink transmission performance.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The embodiments of the present application provide an uplink precoding indication method and a communication device, so as to adapt to a larger number of transmitting antenna ports through flexible uplink precoding matrix indication, thereby improving the performance of uplink transmission.

[0008] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for indicating uplink precoding, comprising: a terminal device sends first information to an access network device, the first information being used to indicate the full-power transmission capability of the terminal device; wherein the terminal device includes M port groups, each of the M port groups includes K transmitting antenna ports, and M and K are both integers greater than 1; the terminal device receives second information from the access network device, the second information being used to indicate a first precoding matrix, the first precoding matrix being determined based on the first information; and the terminal device performs uplink transmission according to the first precoding matrix.

[0009] The above design takes into account the full-power transmission capability of the terminal device and configures a precoding matrix for the terminal device that is adaptable to full-power transmission. This can meet the requirements of full-power transmission and help improve the performance of uplink transmission.

[0010] Some possible designs of the first information are described in detail below.

[0011] In one possible design, the first information includes a first field, which indicates that the terminal device has at least one of a first capability, a second capability, and a third capability; wherein the first capability indicates that the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the first port group set is full power, the first port group set corresponds to one port group among the M port groups, and the number of the first port group sets is one or more; the second capability indicates that the sum of the transmit powers of the (2*K) transmit antenna ports included in the second port group set is full power, the second port set corresponds to two port groups among the M port groups, and the number of the second port group sets is one or more; the third capability indicates that the sum of the transmit powers of the (3*K) transmit antenna ports included in the third port group set is full power, the third port group set corresponds to three port groups among the M port groups, and the number of the third port group sets is one or more. Such a design defines three capabilities of full-power transmission of the terminal device, which can be applied to a variety of communication scenarios and improve the flexibility of configuring the precoding matrix.

[0012] In one possible design, the first information further includes a second field, where the second field is used to indicate at least one port group among the M port groups that meets the capability indicated by the first field. Based on this design, the access network device can quickly determine which uplink precoding matrices can support full-power transmission based on the first information, thereby improving the accuracy of uplink precoding matrix configuration.

[0013] Exemplarily, when the first field indicates that the terminal device has the first capability, the second field indicates whether the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in each port group in the M port groups is full power; when the first field indicates that the terminal device has the second capability, the second field indicates whether the sum of the transmit powers of the (2*K) transmit antenna ports included in the port group set consisting of each port group in the M port groups and any other port groups is full power; when the first field indicates that the terminal device has the third capability, the second field indicates whether the sum of the transmit powers of the (3*K) transmit antenna ports included in the port group set consisting of each port group in the M port groups and any other two port groups is full power. Such a design provides a definition of the fields in the first information when the terminal device only supports one capability, which is easy to implement; and the information is simple, which can reduce the indication overhead.

[0014] Exemplarily, the first field indicates that the terminal device has the first capability and the second capability, the second field indicates that the M port groups include at least one first port group and at least two second port groups, the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the first port group is the first power value, and the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the second port group is the second power value. The first power value is the full power, and the second power value is the first power value. Such a design provides the definition of the fields in the first information when the terminal device supports multiple capabilities, which is easy to implement; moreover, the information is simple and can reduce indication overhead.

[0015] Optionally, when M is 4 and K is 2, the first power value corresponds to 23 dBm, the second power value corresponds to 20 dBm, and the second field includes an index in the following table:

[0016] The one index indicates the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in each port group in the M port groups; the x is a non-negative number, and the value of the x is not 20 and 23.

[0017] Exemplarily, the first field indicates that the terminal device has the first capability and the third capability, the second field indicates that the M port groups include 1 first port group and 3 third port groups, the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the first port group is the first power value, and the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the third port group is the third power value. The first power value is the full power, and the third power value is the first power value. Such a design provides the definition of the fields in the first information when the terminal device supports multiple capabilities, which is easy to implement; moreover, the information is simple and can reduce indication overhead.

[0018] Exemplarily, the first field indicates that the terminal device has the first capability and the third capability, the second field indicates that the M port groups include 1 first port group, 1 second port group, and 2 fourth port groups, the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the first port group is the first power value, the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the second port group is the second power value, and the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the fourth port group is the fourth power value. The first power value is the full power, and the second power value is the first power value. The fourth power value is the value of the first power value Such a design provides the definition of the fields in the first information when the terminal device supports multiple capabilities, which is easy to implement; moreover, the information is simple and can reduce indication overhead.

[0019] The manner in which the second information indicates the first precoding matrix can be understood with reference to the following design: the second information includes the first precoding matrix; the second information includes at least one predefined codeword selected by the access network device from a predefined codebook based on the first information; the at least one predefined codeword can be combined to generate the first precoding matrix, wherein the number of transmit antenna ports corresponding to each predetermined codeword is less than the number of transmit antenna ports corresponding to the first precoding matrix. This design enables a terminal device with a large number of transmit antenna ports to use codewords with a small number of antenna ports for uplink transmission, thereby improving uplink transmission performance.

[0020] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for indicating uplink precoding, comprising: an access network device receives first information from a terminal device, the first information being used to indicate the full-power transmission capability of the terminal device; wherein the terminal device includes M port groups, each of the M port groups includes K transmitting antenna ports, and both M and K are integers greater than 1; the access network device determines a first precoding matrix based on the first information; and the access network device sends second information to the terminal device, the second information being used to indicate the first precoding matrix, and the first precoding matrix is ​​used for uplink transmission of the terminal device.

[0021] Some possible designs can be understood by referring to the description in the first aspect, and the embodiments of this application will not go into details.

[0022] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which can be used to execute the method of the first aspect. The device can be a terminal device, or the device can be a component in the terminal device (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit), or it can be a device that can be used in conjunction with the terminal device.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the communication device may include a module or unit corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect. The module or unit may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. In one possible implementation, the device may include a processing unit (also referred to as a processing module) and a communication unit (also referred to as a communication module), wherein the communication unit may be used to perform the functions of receiving and / or sending, and the processing unit may be used to perform the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation method of the first aspect.

[0024] Taking the communication device including a communication module and a processing module as an example, the functions of each module can be understood as follows:

[0025] a communication module, configured to send first information to an access network device, the first information being used to indicate the full power transmission capability of the terminal device; wherein the terminal device includes M port groups, each of the M port groups includes K transmit antenna ports, and M and K are both integers greater than 1; and receive second information from the access network device, the second information being used to indicate a first precoding matrix, the first precoding matrix being determined based on the first information;

[0026] A processing module is configured to perform uplink transmission through the communication module according to the first precoding matrix.

[0027] Some possible designs can be understood by referring to the description in the first aspect, and the embodiments of this application will not go into details.

[0028] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which can be used to execute the method of the second aspect. The device may be an access network device, or the device may be a component in the access network device (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit), or it may be a device that can be used in conjunction with the access network device.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the communication device may include a module or unit corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the second aspect. The module or unit may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. In one possible implementation, the device may include a processing unit (also referred to as a processing module) and a communication unit (also referred to as a communication module), wherein the communication unit may be used to perform the functions of receiving and / or sending, and the processing unit may be used to perform the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible implementation method of the second aspect.

[0030] Taking the communication device including a communication module and a processing module as an example, the functions of each module can be understood as follows:

[0031] a communication module, configured to receive first information from a terminal device, the first information being used to indicate the full power transmission capability of the terminal device; wherein the terminal device includes M port groups, each of the M port groups includes K transmit antenna ports, and both M and K are integers greater than 1;

[0032] a processing module, configured to determine a first precoding matrix according to the first information;

[0033] The communication module is further used to send second information to the terminal device, where the second information is used to indicate a first precoding matrix, and the first precoding matrix is ​​used for uplink transmission of the terminal device.

[0034] Some possible designs can be understood by referring to the description in the first aspect, and the embodiments of this application will not go into details.

[0035] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor configured to implement the method described in the first aspect. The processor is coupled to a memory configured to store instructions and data. When the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the first aspect can be implemented. Optionally, the communication device may further comprise a memory; the communication device may further comprise a communication interface configured to enable the communication device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, pin, or other type of communication interface.

[0036] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor configured to implement the method described in the second aspect. The processor is coupled to a memory configured to store instructions and data. When the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the second aspect can be implemented. Optionally, the communication device may further comprise a memory; the communication device may further comprise a communication interface configured to enable the communication device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, pin, or other type of communication interface.

[0037] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a logic circuit and an interface circuit; the interface circuit is used to communicate with a module outside the communication device; the logic circuit is used to execute a computer program so that the communication device executes the method provided in the first or second aspect above.

[0038] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, comprising a communication device as described in the third aspect or the fifth aspect; and a communication device as described in the fourth aspect or the sixth aspect.

[0039] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method provided in the first or second aspect above.

[0040] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute the method provided in the first or second aspect above.

[0041] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is run on a computer, the computer executes the method provided in the first or second aspect above.

[0042] In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which is used to read a computer program stored in a memory and execute the method provided in the first or second aspect above.

[0043] In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a computer device to implement the method provided in the first or second aspect above. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory for storing the necessary programs and data for the computer device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0044] For the effects of the solutions provided in any of the second to thirteenth aspects above, reference can be made to the corresponding description in the first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system;

[0046] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of interaction between an access network device and a terminal device;

[0047] FIG3 is a flow chart of a method for indicating uplink precoding according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the distribution of transmitting antenna ports provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a method for indicating uplink precoding according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0053] The at least one (item) involved in the embodiments of the present application as follows indicates one (item) or more (items). More than one (item) refers to two (items) or more than two (items). "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. In addition, it should be understood that although the terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe each object in the embodiments of the present application, these objects should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish each object from each other.

[0054] The terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof mentioned in the following description of the embodiments of the present application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally includes other steps or units that are not listed, or optionally includes other steps or units that are inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any method or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other methods or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete way.

[0055] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, wireless local area networks (WLAN) systems, satellite communication systems, future communication systems, such as sixth generation (6G) mobile communication systems, or a fusion system of multiple systems. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to device to device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine to machine (M2M) communication, machine type communication (MTC), and Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems or other communication systems.

[0056] A network element in a communication system can send a signal to another network element or receive a signal from another network element. The signal may include information, signaling, or data, etc. The network element can also be replaced by an entity, a network entity, a device, a communication device, a communication module, a node, a communication node, etc. The network element is used as an example for description in this application. For example, a communication system may include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. The network device can send a downlink signal to the terminal device, and / or the terminal device can send an uplink signal to the network device. In addition, it can be understood that if the communication system includes multiple terminal devices, the multiple terminal devices can also send signals to each other, that is, the signal sending network element and the signal receiving network element can both be terminal devices.

[0057] FIG1 illustrates a communication system 100, which includes a radio access network 100. The radio access network 100 may be a next-generation (e.g., 6G or higher) radio access network, or a traditional (e.g., 5G, 4G, 3G, or 2G) radio access network. One or more terminal devices (120a-120j, collectively referred to as 120) may be connected to each other or to one or more network devices (110a, 110b, collectively referred to as 110) in the radio access network 100. Optionally, FIG1 is merely a schematic diagram, and the wireless communication system may also include other devices, such as core network devices, wireless relay devices, and / or wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in FIG1.

[0058] The network devices and terminal devices involved in FIG1 are described in detail below.

[0059] The network device may be an entity on the network side for transmitting or receiving signals. The network device may be an access device for a terminal device to access the wireless communication system in a wireless manner, such as a base station. The base station can broadly cover the following various names, or be replaced with the following names, such as: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB), access network equipment in open radio access network (O-RAN), relay station, access point, transmission point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master station MeNB, secondary station SeNB, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, radio node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), radio unit (RU), centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) node, centralized unit user plane (CU-UP) node, positioning node, etc. The base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof. The network device can also refer to a communication module, a modem or a chip for being arranged in the aforementioned device or apparatus. The network device can also be a mobile switching center and a device to device (Device-to-Device, D2D), vehicle outreach (vehicle-to-everything, V2X), a device that performs the base station function in machine to machine (machine-to-machine, M2M) communications, a network side device in a 6G network, a device that performs the base station function in a future communication system, etc. The network device can support networks with the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device.

[0060] Network devices can be fixed or mobile. For example, base stations 110a and 110b are stationary and are responsible for wireless transmission and reception in one or more cells from terminal device 120. The helicopter or drone 120i shown in Figure 1 can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move according to the location of the mobile base station 120i. In other examples, the helicopter or drone (120i) can be configured to act as a terminal device communicating with base station 110b.

[0061] The network device in the embodiments of the present application may be an integrated base station, or may be a base station including a centralized unit (CU) and / or a distributed unit (DU). A base station including both a CU and a DU may also be referred to as a base station with separate CU and DU, such as a base station including a gNB-CU and a gNB-DU. The CU may also be separated into a CU control plane (CU-CP) and a CU user plane (CU-UP), such as a base station including a gNB-CU-CP, a gNB-CU-UP, and a gNB-DU. Alternatively, the network device in the embodiments of the present application may also be an antenna unit (RU). Alternatively, the network device in the embodiments of the present application may also be an open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific deployment method of the network device. For example, when the network device is an O-RAN architecture, the network device shown in the embodiments of the present application may be an access network device in the O-RAN, such as a combination of one or more of a CU, DU, or RU, or a module in the access network device. In the ORAN system, CU may also be referred to as open (O)-CU, CU-CP may also be referred to as O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be referred to as O-CU-UP, and RU may also be referred to as O-RU.

[0062] In this application, the communication device used to implement the above-mentioned access network function can be an access network device, a network device having some of the access network functions, or a device capable of supporting the implementation of the access network function, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a hardware circuit and a software module. The device can be installed in the access network device or used in combination with the access network device. In the method of this application, the communication device used to implement the access network device function is described as an access network device.

[0063] A terminal device can be an entity on the user side that receives or transmits signals, such as a mobile phone. A terminal device can be used to connect people, objects, and machines. A terminal device can communicate with one or more core networks via network devices. Terminal devices include handheld devices with wireless connectivity, other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, or in-vehicle devices. A terminal device can be portable, pocket-sized, handheld, built into a computer, or in-vehicle. Terminal device 120 can be widely used in various scenarios, such as cellular communications, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), end-to-end (P2P), machine-to-machine (M2M), machine-type communications (MTC), the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, drones, robots, remote sensing, passive sensing, positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery and mobility, and more. Some examples of the terminal device 120 include: 3GPP standard user equipment (UE), fixed equipment, mobile equipment, handheld equipment, wearable equipment, cellular phones, smart phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, personal computers, smart books, vehicles, satellites, global positioning system (GPS) equipment, target tracking equipment, drones, helicopters, aircraft, ships, remote control equipment, smart home equipment, industrial equipment, personal communication service (PCS) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless network cameras, tablet computers, handheld computers, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices such as smart watches, virtual reality (VR) equipment, augmented reality (AR) equipment, wireless terminals in industrial control, terminals in vehicle networking systems, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, and smart cities. The terminal device 120 may be a wireless device in the above scenarios or a device configured for use in a wireless device, such as a communication module, modem, or chip in the above devices.A terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal, terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. A terminal device may also be a terminal device in a future wireless communication system. A terminal device may be used in a dedicated network device or a general-purpose device. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the terminal device.

[0064] Alternatively, end devices can communicate with each other using sidelink signals. For example, as shown in FIG1 , cellular phone 120 a and car 120 b communicate with each other using sidelink signals. Cellular phone 120 a and smart home device 120 e communicate without relaying the communication signal through base station 110 b.

[0065] In this application, the communication device used to implement the functions of the terminal device can be a terminal device, or a terminal device with some of the functions of the above terminal devices, or a device that can support the implementation of the functions of the above terminal devices, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the terminal device or used in combination with the terminal device. In this application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices. In the technical solution provided in this application, the communication device is described as a terminal device or UE as an example.

[0066] Furthermore, referring to FIG2 , the network device and terminal device involved in the embodiment of the present application may include the following modules:

[0067] Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling interaction module: a module used by network devices and terminal devices to send and receive RRC signaling, such as when a network device sends RRC signaling to a terminal device and a terminal device receives RRC signaling from a network device.

[0068] Media access control (MAC) signaling interaction module: A module used by network devices and terminal devices to send and receive media access control (MAC)-control element (CE) signaling. For example, a network device sends MAC-CE signaling to a terminal device, and a terminal device receives MAC-CE signaling from a network device.

[0069] Physical layer (PHY) signaling and data interaction module: A module used by network devices and terminal devices to send and receive uplink / downlink control signaling and uplink / downlink data. For example, the network device sends a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), such as downlink control information (DCI) in the PDCCH, to the terminal device, and the network device sends a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), such as downlink data in the PDSCH, to the terminal device. The terminal device sends a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), such as uplink control information (UCI) in the PUCCH, to the network device, and the terminal device sends a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), such as uplink data in the PUSCH, to the network device.

[0070] It should be understood that the modules shown in Figure 2 are only exemplary, and the network equipment and terminal equipment may also include other communication modules, such as a radio link control (RLC) module, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) module, or a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) module, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0071] It should be noted that the number and type of each device in the communication system shown in Figure 1 are for illustration only. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. In actual applications, the communication system may also include more terminal devices, more network devices, and other network elements, for example, core network elements, network management equipment such as operation administration and maintenance (OAM) network elements, etc.

[0072] In massive-MIMO technology, a terminal device can send uplink data to a network device through multiple transmit antenna ports. In order to utilize the spatial freedom brought by massive-MIMO technology, the terminal device needs to precode the uplink transmission information during uplink transmission. Among them, the precoding of the uplink transmission can be an uplink transmission mode based on a codebook. It should be noted that in the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the object for precoding is uplink data as an example for explanation. The uplink data can be data such as uplink business data or uplink signaling, and in practice, the object for precoding can also be any uplink transmission information, and the embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0073] To facilitate understanding, some technical terms involved in the embodiments of this application are first introduced.

[0074] (1) Transmitting antenna port

[0075] In the embodiments of the present application, the transmit antenna ports of a terminal device are involved. One or more physical antennas of the terminal device constitute a logical antenna, and one transmit antenna port corresponds to a port of a logical antenna. The number of transmit antenna ports of the terminal device can be one or more, for example, the terminal device has 2 transmit antenna ports, 4 transmit antenna ports, 8 transmit antenna ports, 16 transmit antenna ports, 32 transmit antenna ports, etc. Optionally, when the terminal device has 2 transmit antenna ports, it can also be called a 2Tx terminal; when the terminal device has 4 transmit antenna ports, it can be called a 4Tx terminal; when the terminal device has 8 transmit antenna ports, it can also be called an 8Tx terminal; when the terminal device has 16 transmit antenna ports, it can be called a 16Tx terminal; when the terminal device has 32 transmit antenna ports, it can be called a 32Tx terminal.

[0076] In addition, the transmitting antenna port in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as an antenna port (AP).

[0077] (2) Coherence capabilities of terminal equipment

[0078] The coherence capability of a terminal device can be non-coherent, partially coherent, or fully coherent. Non-coherent means that the terminal device can only transmit uplink data through one of the multiple transmit antenna ports at a time, or can be described as being incoherent between the multiple transmit antenna ports. Partial coherence means that the terminal device can simultaneously transmit uplink data through some (at least two) of the multiple transmit antenna ports, or can be described as being partially coherent between the multiple transmit antenna ports. Fully coherent means that the terminal device can simultaneously transmit uplink data through all of the multiple transmit antenna ports, or can be described as being fully coherent between the multiple transmit antenna ports.

[0079] For example, regarding the coherence capability of an 8TX terminal, the embodiment of the present application mainly considers the following four cases A1 to A4:

[0080] A1, the eight transmitting antenna ports of the terminal device have full coherence capability, which is recorded as full coherence.

[0081] A2: The eight transmit antenna ports of the terminal device are divided into two port groups, each with four transmit antenna ports. The four transmit antenna ports in the same group can transmit coherently, while the transmit antenna ports in different groups transmit incoherently. This coherence capability is recorded as partial coherence 1.

[0082] Optionally, at least two transmit antenna ports in the same port group have different polarization directions. As an example, Figures 3(a) and (b) illustrate eight transmit antenna ports of a terminal device, numbered 0 to 7; the first antenna port group includes transmit antenna ports numbered {0, 1, 4, 5}, and the second antenna port group includes transmit antenna ports numbered {2, 3, 6, 7}.

[0083] A3: The eight transmit antenna ports of the terminal device are divided into four port groups, each with two antenna ports. The two antenna ports in the same group can transmit coherently, while the transmit antenna ports in different groups transmit incoherently. This coherence capability is recorded as partial coherence 2.

[0084] Optionally, at least two transmit antenna ports in the same port group have different polarization directions. As an example, Figures 3(a) and (b) illustrate eight transmit antenna ports of a terminal device, numbered 0 to 7; wherein the first antenna port group of the four antenna port groups includes transmit antenna ports numbered {0, 4}, the second antenna port group includes transmit antenna ports numbered {1, 5}, the third antenna port group includes transmit antenna ports numbered {2, 6}, and the fourth antenna port group includes transmit antenna ports numbered {3, 7}.

[0085] A4: The eight antenna ports of the terminal device are incoherent and can only use incoherent transmission.

[0086] (3) Number of uplink transmission layers

[0087] The number of uplink transmission layers refers to the number of uplink data streams, or the number of spatial streams. For spatial multiplexing, the maximum number of uplink transmission layers is the rank of the MIMO channel matrix, and the rank of the MIMO channel matrix is ​​the number of diagonal elements (singular values) of the intermediate diagonal matrix obtained after performing transfer matrix singular value decomposition (SVD) on the MIMO channel matrix. Generally, the maximum number of uplink transmission layers of a terminal device is less than or equal to the number of transmitting antenna ports of the terminal device, and the actual number of uplink transmission layers of the terminal device is less than or equal to the maximum number of uplink transmission layers of the terminal device. Exemplarily, the maximum number of uplink transmission layers of a terminal device is equal to the number of transmitting antenna ports of the terminal device, and the number of transmitting antenna ports of the terminal device is 8, then the maximum number of transmission layers corresponding to the number of transmitting antenna ports of the terminal device is 8, and the number of uplink transmission layers of the terminal device can be any integer from 1 to 8.

[0088] (4) Codebook and codeword

[0089] The codebooks in the embodiments of the present application mainly comply with the codebooks defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard, such as the codebooks defined in the 3GPP technical standard (TS) 38.211 protocol, or can also be described as uplink codebooks. For example, multiple codebooks are defined in the V16.7.0 version of the 3GPP TS 38.211 protocol, each of which contains multiple codewords, also known as uplink precoding matrices. The number of rows of codewords corresponds to the number of transmit antenna ports, and the number of columns corresponds to the number of uplink transmission layers. The codewords in the same codebook correspond to the same number of transmit antenna ports and the same number of uplink transmission layers. For ease of understanding, Tables 1 and 2 below illustrate codebooks corresponding to uplink transmission layers of 1 and 2, and the number of transmit antenna ports is 2; Tables 3 to 6 below illustrate codebooks corresponding to uplink transmission layers from 1 to 4, and the number of transmit antenna ports is 4.

[0090] Table 1

[0091] The six codewords shown in Table 1 have corresponding transmitted precoding matrix indicator (TPMI) values ​​ranging from 0 to 5, from left to right. For example, the first codeword has TPMI = 0, and the sixth codeword has TPMI = 5. Each codeword is a 2×1 matrix, meaning each matrix includes two rows, indicating that the codeword corresponds to two transmit antenna ports; each matrix includes one column, indicating that the codeword corresponds to one uplink transmission layer; and j represents an imaginary number. TPMI can be understood as the sequence number or index of a codeword in a codebook.

[0092] The codewords indicated by TPMI=0 and TPMI=1 have only one non-zero element, indicating that the two transmit antenna ports corresponding to these codewords are incoherent; the codewords indicated by TPMI=2-5 all have non-zero elements, indicating that the two transmit antenna ports corresponding to these codewords are completely coherent.

[0093] Table 2

[0094] Among them, the TPMI values ​​corresponding to the three codewords shown in Table 2 are 0-2 from left to right. Each codeword is a 2×2 matrix, that is, each matrix includes 2 rows, indicating that the number of transmit antenna ports corresponding to the codeword is 2; each matrix includes 2 columns, indicating that the number of uplink transmission layers corresponding to the codeword is 2.

[0095] The codeword indicated by TPMI=0 has only one non-zero element in each column, indicating that the two transmit antenna ports corresponding to the codeword are incoherent. The codewords indicated by TPMI=1 and 2 have all non-zero elements in each column, indicating that the two transmit antenna ports corresponding to these codewords are completely coherent.

[0096] Table 3

[0097] Table 3 shows that the TPMI values ​​corresponding to the eight codewords in the first row from left to right are 0-7, the TPMI values ​​corresponding to the eight codewords in the second row from left to right are 8-15, the TPMI values ​​corresponding to the eight codewords in the third row from left to right are 16-23, and the TPMI values ​​corresponding to the four codewords in the fourth row from left to right are 24-27. Each codeword is a 4×1 matrix, that is, each matrix includes 4 rows, indicating that the number of transmit antenna ports corresponding to the codeword is 4; each matrix includes 1 column, indicating that the number of uplink transmission layers corresponding to the codeword is 1.

[0098] The codewords indicated by TPMI=0-3 have only one non-zero element, indicating that the four transmit antenna ports corresponding to these codewords are incoherent. The codewords indicated by TPMI=4-11 have some non-zero elements and some element values ​​0, indicating that the four transmit antenna ports corresponding to these codewords are partially coherent. The codewords indicated by TPMI=12-27 have all non-zero elements, indicating that the four transmit antenna ports corresponding to these codewords are completely coherent.

[0099] Table 4

[0100] Table 4 shows that the TPMI values ​​corresponding to the four codewords in the first row from left to right are 0-3, the TPMI values ​​corresponding to the four codewords in the second row from left to right are 4-7, the TPMI values ​​corresponding to the four codewords in the third row from left to right are 8-11, the TPMI values ​​corresponding to the four codewords in the fourth row from left to right are 12-15, the TPMI values ​​corresponding to the four codewords in the fifth row from left to right are 16-19, and the TPMI values ​​corresponding to the two codewords in the sixth row from left to right are 20-21. Each codeword is a 4×2 matrix, that is, each matrix includes 4 rows, indicating that the number of transmit antenna ports corresponding to the codeword is 4; each matrix includes 2 columns, indicating that the number of uplink transmission layers corresponding to the codeword is 2.

[0101] There is only one non-zero element in each column of the codeword indicated by TPMI=0-5, indicating that the four transmit antenna ports corresponding to these codewords are incoherent. Some elements in each column of the codeword indicated by TPMI=6-13 are non-zero elements, and some element values ​​are 0, indicating that the four transmit antenna ports corresponding to these codewords are partially coherent. The elements in each column of the codeword indicated by TPMI=14-21 are all non-zero elements, indicating that the four transmit antenna ports corresponding to these codewords are completely coherent.

[0102] Table 5

[0103] Table 5 shows that the TPMI values ​​corresponding to the four codewords in the first row, from left to right, are 0-3, and the TPMI values ​​corresponding to the four codewords in the second row, from left to right, are 4-6. Each codeword is a 4×3 matrix, that is, each matrix includes 4 rows, indicating that the number of transmit antenna ports corresponding to the codeword is 4; each matrix includes 3 columns, indicating that the number of uplink transmission layers corresponding to the codeword is 3.

[0104] The codeword indicated by TPMI=0 has only one non-zero element in each column, indicating that the four transmit antenna ports corresponding to the codeword are incoherent. The codeword indicated by TPMI=1-2 has some elements in at least one column that are non-zero elements, and some element values ​​are 0, indicating that the four transmit antenna ports corresponding to these codewords are partially coherent. The codeword indicated by TPMI=3-6 has all elements in each column that are non-zero elements, indicating that the four transmit antenna ports corresponding to these codewords are completely coherent.

[0105] Table 6

[0106] Table 6 shows that the TPMI values ​​corresponding to the four codewords in the first row from left to right are 0-3, and the TPMI value corresponding to the one codeword in the second row is 4. Each codeword is a 4×4 matrix, that is, each matrix includes 4 rows, indicating that the number of transmit antenna ports corresponding to the codeword is 4; each matrix includes 4 columns, indicating that the number of uplink transmission layers corresponding to the codeword is 4.

[0107] The codeword indicated by TPMI=0 has only one non-zero element in each column, indicating that the four transmit antenna ports corresponding to the codeword are incoherent. The codewords indicated by TPMI=1 and 2 have some elements in each column that are non-zero elements and some element values ​​that are 0, indicating that the four transmit antenna ports corresponding to these codewords are partially coherent. The codewords indicated by TPMI=3 and 4 have all elements in each column that are non-zero elements, indicating that the four transmit antenna ports corresponding to these codewords are fully coherent.

[0108] In the existing related technologies, the access network device usually estimates the channel condition of the wireless channel between the terminal device and the access network device based on the reference signal sent by the terminal device for measuring the uplink channel, such as the channel sounding reference signal (SRS). The access network device determines the number of transmitting antenna ports used by the terminal device based on the channel condition, and then calculates the uplink precoding matrix that can be used by the terminal device when sending uplink data based on the number of transmitting antenna ports used by the terminal device and the channel condition. The calculated uplink precoding matrix corresponds to the number of transmitting antenna ports used by the terminal device and the specific number of uplink transmission layers. The access network device selects the codeword closest to the calculated uplink precoding matrix from the codebook predefined by the aforementioned 3GPP protocol based on the specific number of uplink transmission layers, and indicates the codeword to the terminal device.

[0109] It is understood that "predefined" can refer to information defined by a communication protocol and configured in the access network equipment and terminal equipment of both communicating parties; it can also be determined by the access network equipment and configured to the terminal equipment, where the configuration can be explicitly configured through signaling or implicitly configured through other information. "Indication" can include direct indication and indirect indication, and can also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by a certain information is called information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated. For example, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, including the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. For another example, the information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where there is an association between the other information and the information to be indicated. For another example, only a part of the information to be indicated can be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known, agreed in advance, or can be deduced. In addition, the indication of specific information can be achieved by using the pre-agreed (for example, protocol-specified) order of arrangement of each information, thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent.

[0110] The following describes in detail how the access network device indicates codewords to the terminal device.

[0111] Specifically, the access network device can send a DCI to the terminal device, which indicates the uplink transmission layer number (transmission rank indicator, TRI), SRS resource identifier (SRS resource indicator, SRI) and transmission precoding matrix indicator (transmission precoding matrix indicator, TPMI). Among them, TRI is used to indicate the uplink transmission layer number (Rank) of the terminal device, and SRI indicates a specific SRS resource selected by the access network device from multiple SRS resources. For example, the access network device can determine the specific SRS resource based on the reference signal (SRS) sent by the terminal device on multiple SRS resources. SRI can specifically be the identifier (index) of the specific SRS resource. One or more SRS ports are configured in the specific SRS resource, for example, the number of SRS ports is 1, 2, or 4. TPMI is the index of the codeword in the predefined codebook, such as the TPMI in Tables 1 to 6 above.

[0112] It can be understood that the number of SRI ports indicated in the DCI matches the number of transmitting antenna ports of the terminal device. For example, the number of SRS ports of the SRS resources indicated by the SRI in the DCI received by the 4Tx terminal is 4. Correspondingly, the number of transmitting antenna ports of the codeword indicated by the access network device through the DCI is also 4.

[0113] Optionally, taking the example of the access network device indicating to the terminal device that the codeword corresponding to the antenna port 4 in Tables 3 to 6 is sent, according to Table 7.3.1.1.2-2 in the 3GPP TS 38.212V16.7.0 protocol, that is, as shown in Table 7 below, the access network device can use the first index to jointly indicate TRI and TPMI in the DCI.

[0114] Table 7

[0115] The TPMI in Table 7 may be the TPMI in the codebook corresponding to a transmit antenna port number of 4, that is, the TPMI in Table 3-6 above. A first index in Table 7 indicates the number of uplink transmission layers corresponding to a codeword and the TPMI of the codeword, that is, the first index can be understood as a joint index. The incoherent, partially coherent, and fully coherent mentioned in Table 7 correspond to the incoherent codeword, partially coherent codeword, and fully coherent codeword in Table 3-6. For example, when the codebook subset = fully coherent, partially coherent, and incoherent, the first index in Table 7 is 0, indicating 1 layer, TPMI = 0, corresponding to the incoherent codeword indicated by TPMI = 0 in Table 3, and the codeword can be applied to the cases where the transmitting antenna ports are fully coherent, partially coherent, and incoherent; the first index in Table 7 is 19, indicating 1 layer, TPMI = 11, corresponding to the partially coherent codeword indicated by TPMI = 11 in Table 3, and the codeword can be applied to the cases where the transmitting antenna ports are fully coherent and partially coherent; the first index in Table 7 is 32, indicating 1 layer, TPMI = 12, corresponding to the fully coherent codeword indicated by TPMI = 12 in Table 3, and the codeword can be applied to the case where the transmitting antenna ports are fully coherent.

[0116] It can be understood that an ellipsis "..." in Table 7 indicates the omission of the first index between the first index before the ellipsis and the first first index after the ellipsis. For example, first indexes 5 to 8 are omitted between first index 4 and first index 9, where the number of layers (or uplink transmission layers) indicated by first indexes 5 to 8 are all 2, and TPMI increases in sequence. That is, first index 5 specifically indicates layer number 2, TPMI = 1; first index 6 specifically indicates layer number 2, TPMI = 2; first index 7 specifically indicates layer number 2, TPMI = 3; first index 8 specifically indicates layer number 2, TPMI = 4.

[0117] For the terminal device, the access network device can indicate the maximum number of uplink transmission layers (maxRank) and power mode (ul-FullPowerTransmission), as well as the type of codebook subset (codebookSubset) to the terminal device through RRC. The terminal device can determine the specific type of codebook subset in Table 7 based on the number of SRS ports, maxRank and power mode in the SRS resource indicated by the SRI in the DCI, and then determine the TRI and TPMI corresponding to the codeword based on the first index in the DCI. For example, the Precoding information and number of layers field in the DCI is 001001, that is, the value is 9. If the codeword type indicating the codebook subset in the RRC is codebookSubset = fully coherent, partially coherent, and non-coherent (fullyAndPartialAndNonCoherent), then the terminal device can determine the TRI = 2 and TPMI = 5 corresponding to the index (9) in the column "codebookSubset = fully coherent, partially coherent, and non-coherent" in Table 7, and then determine the codeword indicated by TPMI = 5 in Table 4.

[0118] Similarly, taking the example of the access network device indicating to the terminal device that the codeword corresponding to the antenna port 2 in Table 1 to Table 2 is sent, according to Table 7.3.1.1.2-4 in the 3GPP TS 38.212V16.7.0 protocol, that is, as shown in Table 8 below, the access network device can use the first index to jointly indicate TRI and TPMI in the DCI.

[0119] Table 8

[0120] It can be understood that if the codebook predefined by the 3GPP protocol (such as Tables 1 to 6 above) includes the uplink precoding matrix calculated by the access network device, that is, the uplink precoding matrix calculated by the access network device is a codeword in the codebook predefined by the 3GPP protocol, then the codeword selected by the access network device is consistent with the calculated uplink precoding matrix. If the codebook predefined by the 3GPP protocol does not include the uplink precoding matrix calculated by the access network device, that is, the uplink precoding matrix calculated by the access network device is not a codeword in the codebook predefined by the 3GPP protocol, then the codeword selected by the access network device can be a codeword with the smallest difference from the uplink precoding matrix calculated by the access network device. Exemplarily, the smallest difference can be the smallest Euclidean distance between the codeword selected by the access network device in the codebook predefined by the 3GPP protocol and the uplink precoding matrix calculated by the access network device; the smallest difference can also be the codeword selected by the access network device in the codebook predefined by the 3GPP protocol and the uplink precoding matrix calculated by the access network device have the most identical elements.

[0121] In addition, it can be understood that the terminal device uses different codewords to precode the uplink data, which is equivalent to the terminal device using different beam patterns to send uplink data. That is, in any of the aforementioned Tables 1 to 6, one column in each codeword corresponds to a beam pattern. For example, the number of columns of codewords in Table 1 is 1. For the access network device to determine to select one of the 6 codewords in Table 1, it can also be described as selecting one of the 6 beam patterns to indicate to the terminal device, and then the terminal device can send uplink data according to the beam pattern indicated by the access network device. For another example, the number of columns of codewords in Table 4 is 2. For the access network device to determine to select one of the 22 codewords in Table 4, it can also be described as indicating the beam pattern corresponding to the first column of the selected codeword to the terminal device to send the first layer of uplink data, and indicating the beam pattern corresponding to the second column of the selected codeword to the terminal device to send the second layer of uplink data.

[0122] (5) Full power transmission

[0123] Currently, the protocol defines three full-power transmission schemes: fullpower, fullpowerMode1, and fullpowerMode2. Network devices can configure the above to terminal devices through RRC signaling based on the capabilities of the terminal devices.

[0124] In the fullpower transmission scheme, the power scaling factor of PUSCH is fixed at 1, requiring all transmitting antenna ports of the terminal device to support full-power transmission. For example, the power amplifier (PA) corresponding to each antenna port of the terminal device can transmit at full power.

[0125] In the full power transmission scheme of fullpowerMode1, the power scaling factor of PUSCH is equal to the ratio of the number of PUSCH antenna ports with non-zero power in the uplink precoding matrix to the number of SRS ports of the SRS resources indicated by SRI. For partially coherent and incoherent terminal devices, fully coherent codewords can be used for uplink data transmission to achieve full power transmission. For example, on the basis of the codebook subset shown in Table 7, codewords supporting full power transmission can be added for some layers (ranks) that cannot be transmitted at full power, as shown in Table 9 below. Compared with the "Codebook Subset = Partial Coherence and Incoherence" column in Table 7, an indication of the fully coherent codeword corresponding to 1 layer is added, such as "1 layer, TPMI = 13", "1 layer, TPMI = 12", "1 layer, TPMI = 14", and "1 layer, TPMI = 15". For example, assuming the network device calculates that the optimal TPMI is "1 layer, TPMI = 0", in order to transmit at full power, the network device can indicate "1 layer, TPMI = 13" to the terminal device, so that the terminal device calculates the PUSCH power scaling factor to be 1. Because the terminal device's own capabilities do not support fully coherent transmission, using the codeword corresponding to "1 layer, TPMI = 13" for uplink transmission will cause performance loss. In this scenario, the terminal device can adopt solutions such as small delay cyclic delay diversity to reduce performance loss.

[0126] Table 9

[0127] In the fullpowerMode2 full-power transmission scheme, terminal devices with incoherent or partially coherent transmitting antenna ports are allowed to achieve full-power transmission of PUSCH based on the power amplifier PA corresponding to one transmitting antenna port and a specific codeword; or, terminal devices with incoherent or partially coherent transmitting antenna ports are allowed to achieve full-power transmission of PUSCH based on the sum of the PAs corresponding to some (multiple) transmitting antenna ports and a specific codeword.

[0128] In one possible design, the terminal device reports codewords that can be transmitted at full power to the network device. The terminal device uses the PUSCH power scaling factor corresponding to these codewords as 1, thereby achieving full-power transmission of the PUSCH. As an example, the following Table 10 illustrates the set of codewords that support full-power transmission corresponding to four transmit antenna ports. That is, the codewords reported by the terminal device to the network device can be one or more of the codewords in Table 10.

[0129] Table 10

[0130] In another possible design, for codewords not reported by the terminal device, the terminal device can implement full-power transmission in accordance with antenna virtualization. Such a full-power transmission scheme requires that the power scaling factor of the PUSCH = the number of non-zero-power PUSCH antenna ports / the number of SRS ports of the SRS resource = 1. The SRS resource is indicated to the terminal device by the access network device through the SRI in the DCI. For example, for a partially coherent 4TX terminal, the access network device can indicate an SRS resource corresponding to 2 SRS ports and an irrelevant 2TX codeword. The terminal device can map every 2 antenna ports of the 4 antenna ports to 1 SRS port of the SRS resource in accordance with the antenna virtualization method shown in Figure 4, thereby forming 2 virtual PUSCH ports. Furthermore, the terminal device uses the 2TX codeword indicated by the access network device to transmit the PUSCH. It can be understood that the number of non-zero-power PUSCH antenna ports corresponds to the number of non-zero rows in the codeword indicated to the terminal device by the access network device.

[0131] From the technical terms introduced above, it can be seen that the maximum number of uplink transmission layers corresponding to the codewords indicated by the access network device supported by the current 3GPP protocol is 4, and the maximum number of transmit antenna ports is 4 (i.e., 4Tx). With the development of antenna technology, terminal devices support more and more transmit antenna ports. For example, the number of transmit antenna ports of terminal devices can be further increased to 8 or 16. It can be seen that the number of transmit antenna ports used by the terminal device may exceed the maximum number of transmit antenna ports corresponding to the codewords supported by the current 3GPP protocol; accordingly, the number of uplink transmission layers may also exceed the maximum number of transmission layers corresponding to the codewords supported by the current 3GPP protocol. If the method of selecting codewords from the codebook predefined by the current 3GPP protocol to indicate to the terminal device is still adopted, it will not be able to adapt to a larger number of transmit antenna ports, and it will be difficult to effectively apply the massive-MIMO technology in the terminal device, thereby limiting the performance of uplink transmission.

[0132] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides an uplink precoding indication method, which generates an uplink precoding matrix based on at least one predefined codeword that is suitable for terminal devices with a number of transmitting antenna ports greater than 4 and meets the full power transmission requirements of fullpowerMode2, thereby realizing PUSCH full power transmission on the terminal device side that supports more antenna ports, and can effectively improve the performance of uplink transmission.

[0133] The method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to FIG5 .

[0134] FIG5 shows a method for indicating uplink precoding, which mainly includes the following steps.

[0135] S501: The terminal device sends first information to the network device.

[0136] All transmit antenna ports of the terminal device are divided into M port groups, i.e., the terminal device includes M port groups, each port group corresponds to K transmit antenna ports, and M and K are both integers greater than 1. Optionally, M*K>4. Exemplarily, M is 4. Further, taking an 8Tx terminal with partial coherence 2 as an example, the total number of transmit antenna ports of the terminal device is 8, and K is 2.

[0137] Specifically, the first information indicates the full-power transmission capability of the terminal device, or alternatively, the first information may be described as indicating that the terminal device transmits at full power based on one or more of the M port groups. The first information includes a first field and a second field. The first field indicates that the terminal device has at least one of the first capability, the second capability, and the third capability; and the second field is used to determine at least one port group among the M port groups that meets the capability indicated by the first field.

[0138] It can be understood that the first capability, the second capability and the third capability are three terminal capabilities that support full power Mode 2 full power transmission.

[0139] The first capability indicates that the sum of the powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the first port group set is full power, or alternatively, the first capability indicates that the sum of the power amplifiers (PAs) corresponding to the K transmit antenna ports included in the first port group set is full power. The first port group set corresponds to one of the M port groups of the terminal device, that is, the first port group set can be composed of the K transmit antenna ports in one port group of the terminal device.

[0140] The second capability indicates that the sum of the powers of the (2*K) transmit antenna ports included in the second port group set is full power, or alternatively, the first capability may be described as indicating that the sum of the power amplifiers (PAs) corresponding to the (2*K) transmit antenna ports included in the second port group set is full power. The second port group set corresponds to two of the M port groups of the terminal device, i.e., the second port group set may be composed of the (2*K) transmit antenna ports corresponding to the two port groups of the terminal device.

[0141] The third capability indicates that the sum of the powers of the (3*K) transmit antenna ports included in the third port group set is full power, or alternatively, the first capability may be described as indicating that the sum of the power amplifiers (PAs) corresponding to the (3*K) transmit antenna ports included in the third port group set is full power. The third port group set corresponds to three of the M port groups of the terminal device, i.e., the third port group set may be composed of the (3*K) transmit antenna ports corresponding to the three port groups of the terminal device.

[0142] It can be understood that the full power involved in the embodiments of the present application refers to the maximum transmission power corresponding to the predefined terminal device. For example, the power in dBm corresponding to the full power is 23dBm.

[0143] Based on this, the implementation of the first field and the second field is further described in detail below.

[0144] (1) Implementation method of the first field and the second field

[0145] The first field is 2 bits, indicating that the terminal device supports one of the aforementioned first to third capabilities.

[0146] In the embodiment of the present application, the following 1 bit has a value of 1 or 0. For example, if the first field is 00, it indicates that the terminal device has the first capability; for example, if the first field is 01, it indicates that the terminal device has the second capability; and for example, if the first field is 10, it indicates that the terminal device supports the third capability.

[0147] Taking M as 4 as an example, the second field is 4 bits, which are used to determine at least one port group among the four port groups of the terminal device that meets the capabilities indicated by the first field.

[0148] When the first field indicates that the terminal device has the first capability, the second field indicates whether the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in each of the four port groups is full power. Taking an 8TX terminal as an example, K is 2. In a possible design, the second field uses a 4-bit bitmap to indicate whether the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two ports of each of the four port groups is full power. Each bit in the 4-bit bitmap corresponds to one of the four port groups, 1 means yes, and 0 means no. For example, 1000 means that the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two ports included in the first port group is full power, and the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two ports included in each of the other three port groups is not full power. For another example, 1100 means that the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two ports included in the first port group or the second port group is full power, and the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two ports included in the other two port groups is not full power.

[0149] When the first field indicates that the terminal device has the second capability, the second field indicates whether the sum of the transmit powers of the (2*K) transmit antenna ports corresponding to each port group in the four port groups and any other port group is full power. Taking the 8TX terminal as an example, K is 2, and the second field can use a 4-bit bitmap to indicate whether the sum of the PAs corresponding to the four ports included in the port group set consisting of each port group in the four port groups and any other port group is full power. Each bit in the 4-bit bitmap corresponds to one port group in the four port groups, 1 means yes, and 0 means no. For example, 1100 means that the sum of the PAs corresponding to the four ports included in the port group set consisting of the first port group and the second port group is full power. For another example, 1110 means that the sum of the PAs corresponding to the four ports included in any two port groups in the first port group, the second port group and the third port group is full power.

[0150] When the first field indicates that the terminal device has the third capability, the second field indicates whether the sum of the transmission powers of the (3*K) transmitting antenna ports corresponding to each port group in the four port groups and any two other port groups is full power. Taking the 8TX terminal as an example, K is 2, and the second field uses a 4-bit bitmap to indicate whether the sum of the PAs corresponding to the six ports included in the port group set consisting of each port group in the four port groups and any two other port groups is full power. Each bit in the 4-bit bitmap corresponds to one port group in the four port groups, 1 means yes, and 0 means no. For example, 1110 means that the sum of the PAs corresponding to the six ports corresponding to the first port group, the second port group and the third port group is full power.

[0151] (2) Implementation Method 2 of the First Field and the Second Field

[0152] The first field is 3 bits, indicating that the terminal device has one or more capabilities among the aforementioned first to third capabilities.

[0153] (1) The first field is 100,010,001, indicating that the terminal device has one of the first to third capabilities. Accordingly, the second field can be understood according to the description in (1), and this application will not elaborate on this.

[0154] (2) The first field is 110, indicating that the terminal device has the aforementioned first capability and second capability, and M is 4, then the second field indicates that the four port groups include at least one first port group and at least two second port groups, the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the first port group is the first power value, and the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the second port group is the second power value. The first power value is full power, and the second power value is the first power value. It is understandable that the units of the first power value and the second power value may be watts (W), milliwatts (mW), kilowatts (kW), megawatts (MW), etc. For example, when the power in dBm corresponding to full power is 23 dBm, the first power value corresponds to the power in dBm of 23 dBm, which is referred to as the first power value corresponding to 23 dBm; the second power value corresponds to the power in dBm of 20 dBm, which is referred to as the second power value corresponding to 20 dBm.

[0155] Based on this, taking an 8Tx terminal with M of 4 and K of 2 as an example, the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two ports of the first port group corresponds to 23dBm, and the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two ports of the second port group corresponds to 20dBm. In the first possible design, the second field is 6 bits, of which 4 bits use a bitmap to indicate whether the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two ports of each of the four port groups corresponds to 20dBm. One bit corresponds to one port group, 1 indicates yes, 0 indicates no, and at least 2 bits of the 4 bits are 1; the remaining 2 bits of the 6 bits use a bitmap to indicate whether the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two ports included in the port group corresponding to the 4-bit bitmap with a value of 0 corresponds to 23dBm. In the second possible design, the second field is 5 bits, of which 1 bit indicates whether the number of the first port groups is 1 or 2, or indicates whether the number of the second port groups is 2 or 3; the remaining 4 bits of the 5 bits are used to indicate whether the PAs corresponding to the two ports included in each of the four port groups correspond to 23dBm or 20dBm. In a third possible design, the second field is 5 bits and includes the indexes in Table 11 below. The second field is used to indicate which of the following Table 11 the sum of the transmit powers (PA) corresponding to the two ports included in each of the four port groups of the terminal device is, where x is a non-negative number and is not equal to 23 or 20. In addition, it can be understood that Table 11 only uses 1 to 31 as an example of index numbering. In actual applications, the index numbering and the order of the numbering can also be described in other ways. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the numbering and order of the indexes.

[0156] Table 11

[0157] (3) The first field is 101, indicating that the terminal device has the aforementioned first capability and third capability, and M is 4. The second field indicates that the four port groups include one first port group and three third port groups, the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the first port group is the first power value, and the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the third port group is the third power value. The first power value is full power, and the third power value is 3 of the first power value. 1 It is understandable that the units of the first power value and the third power value may be watts (W), milliwatts (mW), kilowatts (kW), megawatts (MW), etc. For example, when the power in dBm corresponding to full power is 23 dBm, the first power value corresponds to a power in dBm of 23 dBm, which is referred to as the first power value corresponding to 23 dBm; the third power value corresponds to a power in dBm of 18.2 dBm, which is referred to as the third power value corresponding to 18.2 dBm.

[0158] Based on this, taking an 8Tx terminal with M being 4 and K being 2 as an example, the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two transmit antenna ports included in the first port group corresponds to 23dBm, and the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two transmit antenna ports included in the third port group corresponds to 18.2dBm. The second field can use a 4-bit bitmap to indicate whether the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two transmit antenna ports included in each of the four port groups corresponds to 23dBm; alternatively, the second field can use 2 bits to indicate the port group in which the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two transmit antenna ports included in the four port groups corresponds to 23dBm, that is, to indicate which of the four port groups the first port group belongs to.

[0159] (4) The first field is 101, indicating that the terminal device has the aforementioned first capability and third capability, then the second field indicates that the four port groups include one first port group, one second port group, and two fourth port groups, the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the first port group is the first power value, the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the second port group is the second power value, and the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the fourth port group is the fourth power value. Among them, the first power value is full power, the second power value is the first power value The fourth power value is the same as the first power value It is understandable that the units of the first power value, the second power value, and the fourth power value may be watts (W), milliwatts (mW), kilowatts (kW), megawatts (MW), etc. For example, when the power in dBm corresponding to full power is 23 dBm, the first power value corresponds to a power in dBm of 23 dBm, which is referred to as the first power value corresponding to 23 dBm; the second power value corresponds to a power in dBm of 20 dBm, which is referred to as the second power value corresponding to 20 dBm; and the fourth power value corresponds to a power in dBm of 17 dBm, which is referred to as the fourth power value corresponding to 17 dBm.

[0160] Based on this, taking the 8Tx terminal, M is 4, and K is 2 as an example, the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two transmitting antenna ports included in the first port group corresponds to 23dBm, the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two transmitting antenna ports included in the second port group corresponds to 20dBm, and the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two transmitting antenna ports included in the fourth port group corresponds to 17dBm. In one possible design, the second field is 6 bits, of which 4 bits use a bitmap to indicate whether the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two ports of each of the four port groups corresponds to 17dBm, 1 bit corresponds to one port group, 1 bit takes a value of 1 to indicate yes, and 1 bit takes a value of 0 to indicate no, then at least 2 bits of the 4 bits take a value of 1; the remaining 2 bits of the 6 bits use a bitmap to indicate that the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two ports included in the port group corresponding to the value of 0 in the aforementioned 4-bit bitmap corresponds to 23dBm or 20dBm, 1 bit of the remaining 2 bits takes a value of 1 to indicate 23dBm, and 1 bit of the remaining 2 bits takes a value of 0 to indicate 20dBm. In another possible design, the second field is 4 bits, including the indexes in Table 12 below, and the second field is used to indicate which of the following Table 12 the sum of the transmit powers (PAs) corresponding to the two ports included in each of the four port groups of the terminal device is. In addition, it can be understood that Table 12 only uses 1 to 15 as an example of index numbering. In actual application, the index numbering and the order of the numbering can also be described in other ways. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the index numbering and order.

[0161] Table 12

[0162] (3) Implementation method 3 of the first field and the second field

[0163] The first field is 3 bits, indicating that the terminal device has one or more capabilities among the first capability to the third capability. Different values ​​of the 3 bits correspond to different indicated capabilities. For example, 000 indicates that the terminal device has the first capability, 001 indicates that the terminal device has the second capability, 010 indicates that the terminal device has the third capability, 011 indicates that the terminal device has the first capability and the second capability, 100 indicates that the terminal device has the first capability and the third capability, 101 indicates that the terminal device has the second capability and the third capability, and 110 indicates that the terminal device has the first capability, the second capability, and the third capability. Accordingly, the implementation method of the second field corresponds to the capability indicated by the first field. For details, please refer to the description in the aforementioned implementation methods (1) and (2), and this embodiment of the present application will not be elaborated on.

[0164] S502: The access network device determines a first precoding matrix according to the first information.

[0165] Specifically, the access network device may select at least one predefined codeword from a predefined codebook according to the first information, and then generate a first precoding matrix based on the at least one predefined codeword.

[0166] Taking the 8Tx terminal of partial coherence 2 as an example, M is 4 and K is 2. Table 13 illustrates the multiple stream number allocation information corresponding to the 4 port groups of the 8Tx terminal device of partial coherence 2. Each type of stream number allocation information in the multiple stream number allocation information indicates the number of streams corresponding to each port group in the 4 port groups.

[0167] Table 13

[0168] For example, the stream number allocation information (1,0,0,0) corresponding to Group 11 (or Group 1) indicates that the number of streams corresponding to the first port group among the four port groups is 1, and the number of streams corresponding to the second to fourth port groups is 0. Corresponding the stream number allocation information to the uplink precoding matrix, it can be understood that the number of streams corresponding to one port group among the four port groups refers to the number of columns corresponding to the port group in the uplink precoding matrix, and the sum of the number of streams corresponding to the four port groups is equal to the number of uplink transmission layers corresponding to the uplink precoding matrix, that is, the number of uplink transmission layers of the terminal device. In the flow number allocation information corresponding to Group to Group4, the number of uplink transmission layers is equal to the number of flows corresponding to one port group, and the four port groups include one port group with a non-zero flow number; in the flow number allocation information corresponding to Group5 to Group10, the number of uplink transmission layers is the sum of the flow numbers corresponding to two port groups, and the four port groups include two port groups with non-zero flow numbers; in the flow number allocation information corresponding to Group11 to Group14, the number of uplink transmission layers is the sum of the flow numbers corresponding to three port groups, and the four port groups include three port groups with non-zero flow numbers.

[0169] Based on this, the access network device can determine a matching power combination index from Table 13 based on the first and second fields in the first information. Furthermore, the access network device can determine stream number allocation information based on the actual number of uplink transmission layers and the matching power combination index, and determine at least one predefined codeword based on the stream number allocation information. It is understood that for an 8Tx terminal with partial coherence 2, the predefined codeword can be a 2Tx codeword.

[0170] The access network device can determine which stream number allocation in Table 13 the terminal device uses to achieve full power transmission based on the number of uplink transmission layers and the first field and the second field in the first information.

[0171] Example 1, corresponding to the implementation method 1 described in S501, if the first field in the first information indicates that the terminal device has the first capability, and the second field is 1000, it means that only the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two transmitting antenna ports included in the first port group among the four port groups is full power. The access network device can find Group 1 in Table 13 based on the first information, and the precoding matrix that satisfies the 8TX partial coherence 2 of the stream number allocation in Group 1 supports full power transmission. In addition, since the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two transmitting antenna ports included in the first port group is full power, the set consisting of the first port group and any one or more other port groups must also support full power transmission, that is, the precoding matrix that satisfies the 8TX partial coherence 2 of the stream number allocation in Group 5 to Group 7 and Group 11 to Group 13 supports full power transmission.

[0172] Furthermore, the access network device may determine one type of stream allocation information among Group 1, Group 5 to Group 7, and Group 11 to Group 13 according to the number of uplink transmission layers, and then determine at least one predefined codeword according to the stream allocation information. For example, the number of uplink transmission layers is 1, and the stream allocation information is (1, 0, 0, 0), or the number of uplink transmission layers is 2, and the stream allocation information is (2, 0, 0, 0) or (1, 1, 0, 0); when the stream allocation information is (1, 0, 0, 0), the predefined codeword may be a fully coherent 2Tx codeword with 1 column number, and the first precoding matrix generated based on the precoding matrix is ​​an 8TX partially coherent 2 precoding matrix that satisfies the stream allocation in (1, 0, 0, 0), and the precoding matrix corresponds to the precoding information of the first port group of the first precoding matrix; or, when the stream allocation information is (2, 0, 0, 0), the predefined codeword may be a fully coherent 2Tx codeword with 2 columns. Codeword, the first precoding matrix generated based on the predefined codeword is a precoding matrix of 8TX partial coherence 2 that satisfies the stream number allocation in (2, 0, 0, 0), and the predefined codeword corresponds to the precoding information of the first port group of the first precoding matrix; or, when the stream number allocation information is (1, 1, 0, 0), the number of predefined codewords is 2, and the predefined codeword can be a fully coherent 2Tx codeword with 1 column number. The first precoding matrix generated based on the two predefined codewords is a precoding matrix of 8TX partial coherence 2 that satisfies the stream number allocation in (1, 1, 0, 0), and the two predefined codewords correspond to the precoding information of the first port group and the second port group of the first precoding matrix, respectively.

[0173] Example 2, corresponding to the implementation method 1 described in S501, if the first field in the first information indicates that the terminal device has the first capability, and the second field is 1100, indicating that the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two transmit antenna ports included in the first port group or the second port group in the four port groups is full power, the access network device can find Group 1 and Group 2 in Table 13 based on the first information, and the 8TX partially coherent 2-precoding matrix that satisfies the stream number allocation in Group 1 or Group 2 supports full-power transmission. In addition, since the sum of the PAs corresponding to the two transmit antenna ports included in the first port group or the second port group is full power, the set consisting of the first port group (or the second port group) and any other one or more port groups must also support full-power transmission, that is, the 8TX partially coherent 2-precoding matrix that satisfies the stream number allocation in Group 5 to Group 9 and Group 11 to Group 14 supports full-power transmission.

[0174] Furthermore, the access network device may determine stream number allocation information of one of Group 1, Group 2, Groups 5 to 9, and Groups 11 to 14 based on the number of uplink transmission layers, and further determine at least one predefined codeword based on the stream number allocation information. For example, if the number of uplink transmission layers is 1, the stream number allocation information is (1, 0, 0, 0), or if the number of uplink transmission layers is 2, the stream number allocation information is (2, 0, 0, 0) or (1, 1, 0, 0). When the stream number allocation information is (1, 0, 0, 0), the predefined codeword may be a fully coherent 2Tx codeword with 1 column. Alternatively, when the stream number allocation information is (2, 0, 0, 0), the predefined codeword may be a fully coherent 2Tx codeword with 2 columns. Alternatively, when the stream number allocation information is (1, 1, 0, 0), the number of predefined codewords is 2, and both predefined codewords may be fully coherent 2Tx codewords with 1 column. Specifically, the first precoding matrix generated based on at least one predetermined codeword can be understood with reference to the description in Example 1, and will not be elaborated in detail in the embodiment of the present application.

[0175] Example 3, corresponding to the implementation method 1 described in S501, if the first field in the first information indicates that the terminal device has the second capability, and the second field is 1100, it means that the sum of the PAs corresponding to the four ports included in the port group set consisting of the first port group and the second port group in the four port groups is full power, and the access network device can find Group 5 in Table 13 based on the first information, and the 8TX partially coherent 2 precoding matrix allocated by the number of streams in Group 5 supports full power transmission. In addition, the first port group and the second port group, together with any one or more other port groups, must also support full power transmission, that is, the 8TX partially coherent 2 precoding matrix allocated by the number of streams in Group 11 and Group 12 supports full power transmission.

[0176] Furthermore, the access network device can determine one type of stream number allocation information among Group 5, Group 11, and Group 12 based on the number of uplink transmission layers, and then determine at least one predefined codeword based on the stream number allocation information. For example, the number of uplink transmission layers is 3, the stream number allocation information is (2, 1, 0, 0), and the number of predefined codewords is 2. For example, the first predefined codeword can be a fully coherent 2Tx codeword with a column number of 2; the second predefined codeword can be a fully coherent 2Tx codeword with a column number of 1. Specifically, the first precoding matrix generated based on at least one predetermined codeword can be understood with reference to the description in Example 1, and this embodiment of the present application will not be described in detail.

[0177] Example 4, corresponding to implementation method 1 described in S501, if the first field in the first information indicates that the terminal device has the second capability, and the second field is 1110, indicating that the sum of the PAs corresponding to the four ports included in the port group set consisting of any two port groups in the first port group, the second port, and the third port group in the four port groups is full power, the access network device can find Group 5 and Group 6 in Table 13 based on the first information, and the 8TX partially coherent 2 precoding matrix that meets the stream number allocation in Group 5 and Group 6 supports full power transmission. In addition, the 8TX partially coherent 2 precoding matrix that meets the stream number allocation in Group 11 to Group 14 supports full power transmission.

[0178] Furthermore, the access network device can determine one type of stream number allocation information among Group 5, Group 6, and Group 11 to Group 14 based on the number of uplink transmission layers, and then determine at least one predefined codeword based on the stream number allocation information. For example, the number of uplink transmission layers is 3, the stream number allocation information is (2, 1, 0, 0), and the number of predefined codewords is 2. For example, the first predefined codeword can be a fully coherent 2Tx codeword with a column number of 2; the second predefined codeword can be a fully coherent 2Tx codeword with a column number of 1. Specifically, the first precoding matrix generated based on at least one predetermined codeword can be understood with reference to the description in Example 1, and this embodiment of the present application will not be described in detail.

[0179] Example 5, corresponding to the implementation method 1 described in S501, if the first field in the first information indicates that the terminal device has the third capability, and the second field is 1110, it means that the sum of the PAs corresponding to the six ports included in the port group set consisting of the first port group, the second port and the third port group in the four port groups is full power. The access network device can find Group 11 in Table 13 according to the first information, and the 8TX partially coherent 2 precoding matrix allocated for the number of streams in Group 11 supports full power transmission.

[0180] Furthermore, the access network device can determine a type of stream number allocation information in Group 11 based on the number of uplink transmission layers, and then determine at least one predefined codeword based on the stream number allocation information. For example, if the number of uplink transmission layers is 3, the stream number allocation information is (1, 1, 1, 0), the number of predefined codewords is 3, and each of the three predefined codewords can be a fully coherent 2Tx codeword with a column number of 1. Specifically, the first precoding matrix generated based on the at least one predetermined codeword can be understood with reference to the description in Example 1, and is not further described in this embodiment of the present application.

[0181] S503: The access network device sends second information to the terminal device.

[0182] The second information is used to indicate the first precoding matrix. In one possible design, the second information includes the first precoding matrix; or the second information includes at least one predefined codeword selected by the access network device from a predefined codebook based on the first information; or the second information includes index information corresponding to the at least one predefined codeword. For example, the second information may be DCI, and the DCI includes a joint index indication corresponding to each predefined codeword in the at least one predefined codeword, where the joint index corresponds to the TRI and TPMI of the predefined codeword.

[0183] The terminal device can independently generate a first precoding matrix based on at least one predefined codeword and corresponding stream number allocation information, where the number of transmit antenna ports corresponding to each predetermined codeword in the at least one predefined codeword is less than the number of transmit antenna ports corresponding to the aforementioned first precoding matrix. Taking the terminal device as an 8Tx terminal with partial coherence 2 as an example, the terminal device can determine the 8Tx precoding matrix for partial coherence 2, i.e., the first precoding matrix, based on the at least one predefined codeword and the stream number allocation information shown in Table 13.

[0184] S504: The terminal device performs uplink transmission according to the first precoding matrix.

[0185] For example, the terminal device sends uplink data to the access network device according to the first precoding matrix.

[0186] In the above method provided in the embodiment of the present application, based on the 2Tx codeword, an uplink precoding matrix adapted to a larger number of uplink transmitting antenna ports (such as 8Tx) is flexibly generated, and meets the requirements of fullpowerMode2 full power transmission, which helps to improve the efficiency and performance of uplink transmission.

[0187] Based on the same concept, referring to FIG6 , an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device 600, which includes a processing module 601 and a communication module 602. The communication device 600 can be a terminal device, or a communication device applied to or used in conjunction with a terminal device, capable of implementing a communication method executed on the terminal device side; or the communication device 600 can be an access network device, or a communication device applied to or used in conjunction with an access network device, capable of implementing a communication method executed on the access network device side.

[0188] The communication module may also be referred to as a transceiver module, transceiver, transceiver, or transceiver device. The processing module may also be referred to as a processor, processing board, processing unit, or processing device. Optionally, the communication module is used to perform the sending and receiving operations on the terminal device side or the access network device side in the above method. The device in the communication module that implements the receiving function can be considered a receiving unit, and the device in the communication module that implements the sending function can be considered a sending unit. That is, the communication module includes a receiving unit and a sending unit.

[0189] When the communication device 600 is applied to a terminal device, the processing module 601 can be used to implement the processing functions of the terminal device in the embodiment shown in FIG5 , and the communication module 602 can be used to implement the transceiver functions of the terminal device in the embodiment shown in FIG5 . Alternatively, the communication device can be understood with reference to the third aspect and possible designs of the third aspect in the Summary of the Invention.

[0190] When the communication device 600 is applied to an access network device, the processing module 601 can be used to implement the processing functions of the access network device in the embodiment shown in FIG5 , and the communication module 602 can be used to implement the transceiver functions of the access network device in the embodiment shown in FIG5 . Alternatively, the communication device can also be understood with reference to the fourth aspect and possible designs of the fourth aspect in the Summary of the Invention.

[0191] In addition, it should be noted that the aforementioned communication module and / or processing module can be implemented through virtual modules, for example, the processing module can be implemented through a software functional unit or a virtual device, and the communication module can be implemented through a software function or a virtual device. Alternatively, the processing module or the communication module can also be implemented through a physical device. For example, if the communication device is implemented using a chip / chip circuit, the communication module can be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface that performs input operations (corresponding to the aforementioned receiving operations) and output operations (corresponding to the aforementioned sending operations); the processing module is an integrated processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit.

[0192] The division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processor, or may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The aforementioned integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules.

[0193] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 700. For example, the communication device 700 can be a chip or a chip system. Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0194] The communication device 700 can be used to implement the functions of any network element in the communication system described in the aforementioned embodiments. The communication device 700 may include at least one processor 710, which is coupled to a memory. Optionally, the memory may be located within the communication device, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be located outside the communication device. For example, the communication device 700 may also include at least one memory 720. The memory 720 stores the necessary computer programs, computer programs or instructions and / or data for implementing any of the aforementioned embodiments; the processor 710 may execute the computer program stored in the memory 720 to complete the method in any of the aforementioned embodiments.

[0195] The communication device 700 may also include a communication interface 730, and the communication device 700 may exchange information with other devices through the communication interface 730. Exemplarily, the communication interface 730 may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, a pin, or other types of communication interfaces. When the communication device 700 is a chip-type device or circuit, the communication interface 730 in the communication device 700 may also be an input-output circuit that can input information (or receive information) and output information (or send information). The processor is an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit or logic circuit, and the processor can determine output information based on the input information.

[0196] The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units, or modules. The processor 710 may operate in conjunction with the memory 720 and the communication interface 730. The specific connection medium between the processor 710, memory 720, and communication interface 730 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0197] Optionally, referring to FIG7 , the processor 710, the memory 720, and the communication interface 730 are interconnected via a bus 740. The bus 740 may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus may be classified as an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, FIG7 shows only one thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0198] In the embodiments of the present application, the 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 the embodiments of the present application. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented as being executed by a hardware processor, or may be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0199] In an embodiment of the present application, the memory may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc., or a volatile memory (volatile memory), such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store a desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiment of 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.

[0200] In one possible implementation, the communication device 700 can be applied to an access network device. Specifically, the communication device 700 can be an access network device, or a device that can support the access network device and implement the functions of the access network device in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. The memory 720 stores computer programs (or instructions) and / or data that implement the functions of the access network device in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. The processor 710 can execute the computer program stored in the memory 720 to complete the method performed by the access network device in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. Applied to an access network device, the communication interface in the communication device 700 can be used to interact with a terminal device, send information to the terminal device, or receive information from the terminal device.

[0201] In another possible implementation, the communication device 700 can be applied to a terminal device. Specifically, the communication device 700 can be a terminal device, or a device that can support the terminal device and implement the functions of the terminal device in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. The memory 720 stores a computer program (or instruction) and / or data that implements the functions of the terminal device in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. The processor 710 can execute the computer program stored in the memory 720 to complete the method executed by the terminal device in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. Applied to a terminal device, the communication interface in the communication device 700 can be used to interact with an access network device, send information to the access network device, or receive information from the access network device.

[0202] Since the communication device 700 provided in this embodiment can be applied to an access network device to implement the method executed by the access network device, or applied to a terminal device to implement the method executed by the terminal device, the technical effects that can be achieved can be referred to the above method examples and will not be repeated here.

[0203] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, including an access network device and a terminal device, wherein the access network device and the terminal device can implement the method provided in the embodiment shown in Figure 5.

[0204] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in whole or in part by 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 the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a terminal device, an access network device, 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 computer-readable storage medium. 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 a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. 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 integrated therein. 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.

[0205] In the embodiments of the present application, under the premise that there is no logical contradiction, the 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.

[0206] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the embodiments of the present application without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the embodiments of the present application and their equivalents, the embodiments of the present application are intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method for indicating uplink precoding, characterized in that: Applied to terminal equipment, including: Sending first information to an access network device, where the first information is used to indicate the full power transmission capability of the terminal device; wherein the terminal device includes M port groups, each of the M port groups includes K transmitting antenna ports, and M and K are both integers greater than 1; receiving second information from an access network device, where the second information is used to indicate a first precoding matrix, where the first precoding matrix is ​​determined based on the first information; Perform uplink transmission according to the first precoding matrix.

2. A method for indicating uplink precoding, characterized in that: Applied to access network equipment, including: Receive first information from a terminal device, where the first information is used to indicate the full power transmission capability of the terminal device; wherein the terminal device includes M port groups, each of the M port groups includes K transmitting antenna ports, and both M and K are integers greater than 1; Determine a first precoding matrix according to the first information; Sending second information to the terminal device, where the second information is used to indicate a first precoding matrix, and the first precoding matrix is ​​used for uplink transmission of the terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first information includes a first field, and the first field indicates that the terminal device has at least one of a first capability, a second capability, and a third capability; wherein, The first capability indicates that a sum of transmit powers of K transmit antenna ports included in a first port group set is full power, the first port group set corresponds to one port group among the M port groups, and the number of the first port group sets is one or more; The second capability indicates that the sum of the transmit powers of the (2*K) transmit antenna ports included in the second port group set is full power, the second port group corresponds to two port groups in the M port groups, and the number of the second port group sets is one or more; The third capability indicates that the sum of the transmission powers of the (3*K) transmitting antenna ports included in the third port group set is full power, the third port group set corresponds to three port groups among the M port groups, and the number of the third port group sets is one or more.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The first information further includes a second field, where the second field is used to indicate at least one port group among the four port groups that meets the capabilities indicated by the first field.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that When the first field indicates that the terminal device has the first capability, the second field indicates whether the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in each port group in the M port groups is full power; When the first field indicates that the terminal device has the second capability, the second field indicates whether the sum of the transmit powers of the (2*K) transmit antenna ports included in the port group set formed by each port group in the M port groups and any other port group is full power; When the first field indicates that the terminal device has the third capability, the second field indicates whether the sum of the transmission powers of the (3*K) transmitting antenna ports included in the port group set formed by each port group in the M port groups and any other two port groups is full power.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The first field indicates that the terminal device has the first capability and the second capability, the second field indicates that the M port groups include at least one first port group and at least two second port groups, the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the first port group is the first power value, and the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the second port group is the second power value; the first power value is the full power, and the second power value is the first power value 7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The M is 4, K is 2, the first power value corresponds to 23dBm, the second power value corresponds to 20dBm, and the second field includes an index in the following table: Among them, the one index indicates the sum of the transmission powers of the two transmitting antenna ports included in each of the four port groups; the x is a non-negative number, and the value of the x is not 20 and 23.

8. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The first field indicates that the terminal device has the first capability and the third capability, the second field indicates that the M port groups include 1 first port group and 3 third port groups, the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the first port group is the first power value, and the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the third port group is the third power value; the first power value is the full power, and the third power value is the first power value 9. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The first field indicates that the terminal device has the first capability and the third capability, the second field indicates that the M port groups include 1 first port group, 1 second port group, and 2 fourth port groups, the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the first port group is the first power value, the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the second port group is the second power value, and the sum of the transmit powers of the K transmit antenna ports included in the fourth port group is the fourth power value; the first power value is the full power, and the second power value is the first power value The fourth power value is the value of the first power value.

10. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising modules for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 and 3-9.

11. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9.

12. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory is used to store a computer program or instructions, and the processor is used to execute the computer program or instructions to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 and 3-9, or to implement the method as described in any one of claims 2-9.

13. A communication device, characterized in that: Including interface circuit and logic circuit; The interface circuit is used to communicate with a module outside the communication device; The logic circuit is used to execute a computer program to enable the communication device to execute the method according to claim 1 and any one of claims 3 to 9, or to enable the communication device to execute the method according to any one of claims 2 to 9.

14. A communication system, characterized in that: Includes the communication device as claimed in claim 10 and the communication device as claimed in claim 11.

15. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instruction, and when the instruction is executed on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 and claims 3-9 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 2-9 is implemented.

16. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises computer-executable instructions, and when the computer-executable instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 and claims 3-9, or execute the method according to any one of claims 2-9.

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