Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of communications, and provides a communication method and a communication apparatus. According to the method provided by the present application, a communication apparatus serving as a receiving end can know in a timely manner by means of which antenna a communication apparatus serving as a sending end sends a reference signal, so that the communication apparatus serving as the receiving end can process the reference signal in a timely manner, thereby improving the efficiency of a measurement task. The method comprises: receiving first information, the first information being used for indicating a mapping relationship between an identifier of a reference signal resource and at least one antenna identifier of a first communication apparatus; receiving second information, the second information being used for indicating an identifier of a first reference signal resource; receiving a first reference signal on the basis of the identifier of the first reference signal resource; and on the basis of the mapping relationship and the identifier of the first reference signal resource, determining an antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal, and using the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal to determine a measurement result.

Description

Communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on November 2, 2023, with application number 202311458427.1 and application name “Communication Method and Communication Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] Communication devices can use different types of reference signals (RS) to perform channel measurement, channel estimation, data demodulation, positioning measurement, etc. For example, a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) is a reference signal used for positioning measurement between terminal devices. A terminal device can obtain measurement quantities of the SL PRS (such as arrival time, arrival angle, etc.) by sending the SL PRS to other terminal devices and / or receiving the SL PRS from other terminal devices, and obtain positioning results of the terminal device or other terminal devices using positioning algorithms such as time difference of arrival (TDOA), time of arrival (TOA), round trip time (RTT), angle of arrival (AOA), or angle of departure (AOD).

[0004] A communication device is generally equipped with multiple antennas, through which reference signals are received or transmitted. The communication device acting as the transmitter decides the antenna selection independently. When performing a measurement task based on the reference signal, the communication device acting as the receiver cannot know which antenna the communication device acting as the transmitter uses to send the reference signal, and thus cannot process the reference signal in a timely manner, affecting the overall efficiency of the measurement task.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and a communication device, which are conducive to a communication device as a receiving end to promptly know which antenna a communication device as a transmitting end uses to send a reference signal, so that the communication device as the receiving end can make timely processing and improve the efficiency of the measurement task.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, comprising: receiving first information, where the first information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between an identifier of a reference signal resource and at least one antenna identifier of a first communication device; receiving second information, where the second information is used to indicate an identifier of a first reference signal resource; receiving a first reference signal based on the identifier of the first reference signal resource; determining the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the mapping relationship and the identifier of the first reference signal resource, and determining a measurement result using the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the method may be executed by a first communication device or a chip in the first communication device. The first communication device may be a terminal device or a network device, which is not limited in this application.

[0009] In an embodiment of the present application, before sending a first reference signal to a second communication device, the first communication device sends a mapping relationship between an identifier of a reference signal resource and at least one antenna identifier of the first communication device to the second communication device through first information, then indicates the identifier of the first reference signal resource selected for sending the first reference signal this time through second information, and uses the first antenna corresponding to the antenna identifier of the first antenna that has a mapping relationship with the identifier of the first reference signal resource to send the first reference signal. In this way, when the second communication device receives the first reference signal, it can determine, based on the identifier of the first reference signal resource and the mapping relationship received through the first information, the antenna corresponding to the antenna identifier of the first communication device through which the first reference signal was sent. This is conducive to timely determining whether there is a reference signal with the same antenna identifier from the first communication device, and timely processing of the received reference signal, which is conducive to improving the overall efficiency of the measurement task corresponding to the reference signal.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving third information, wherein the third information is used to indicate an identifier of a second reference signal resource; receiving a second reference signal according to the identifier of the second reference signal resource; determining the antenna identifier corresponding to the second reference signal according to the mapping relationship and the identifier of the second reference signal resource; and determining the measurement result using the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal, including: when the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal and the antenna identifier corresponding to the second reference signal are the same, merging the first reference signal and the second reference signal to obtain the measurement result.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present application, when the second communication device determines that the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal and the antenna identifier corresponding to the second reference signal are the same, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are merged, which can improve the reference signal strength. Since the first reference signal and the second reference signal are sent through the same antenna of the first communication device, the measurement result error caused by the different angles, phases, etc. of different transmitting antennas can be reduced. Merging the reference signals from the same antenna is beneficial to improving the accuracy of the measurement results.

[0012] With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are received using the same receiving antenna.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present application, the second communication device merges the reference signals received through the same antenna and identified by the same antenna from the first communication device, which can greatly reduce the measurement result error caused by the different channel characteristics (such as timing, angle, signal-to-noise ratio, phase characteristics, etc.) between different transmitting and receiving antennas, and improve the accuracy of the measurement results obtained based on the reference signal.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, receiving the first information includes: receiving the first information from the first communication device or a positioning server.

[0015] It should be understood that a positioning server is a server that provides positioning services. When the location of the first communication device is fixed (for example, a public device dedicated to positioning measurements), or the mapping relationship included in the first information is fixed within a certain period, the first communication device first sends the first information to the positioning server. This can save the signaling overhead of the first communication device and save energy for the first communication device. In addition, in a positioning measurement task managed by a positioning server, the positioning server storing the first information can request positioning measurement at the same time as sending the first information to the second communication device, or can first send the first information to the second communication device and then request positioning measurement from the second communication device. There is no need to wait for the first communication device to send the first information to the second communication device, which is beneficial to improving the overall efficiency of the measurement task in this scenario.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL PRS.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving fourth information, where the fourth information includes a physical sidelink shared channel PSSCH and / or a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the reference signal resource is agreed upon by a protocol, configured at the factory, or configured by a network device or other communication apparatus through signaling.

[0019] With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the antenna identifier is an antenna reference point identifier (ARP ID).

[0020] In the second aspect, the present application further provides a communication method, including: sending first information, where the first information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between an identifier of a reference signal resource and at least one antenna identifier of a transmitting end; sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate an identifier of a first reference signal resource; using a first antenna to send a first reference signal, where the first reference signal is mapped to a reference signal resource corresponding to the identifier of the first reference signal resource, and there is a mapping relationship between the antenna identifier of the first antenna and the identifier of the first reference signal resource.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the method may be executed by a second communication device, or by a chip in the second communication device. The second communication device may be a terminal device or a network device, which is not limited in this application.

[0022] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending third information, wherein the third information is used to indicate an identifier of a second reference signal resource; using the second antenna to send a second reference signal, the second reference signal is mapped to a reference signal resource corresponding to the identifier of the second reference signal resource, and there is a mapping relationship between the antenna identifier of the second antenna and the identifier of the second reference signal resource.

[0023] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, sending the first information includes: sending the first information to a second communication device or a positioning server.

[0024] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL PRS.

[0025] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending fourth information, where the fourth information includes a physical layer sidelink shared channel PSSCH and / or a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0026] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the reference signal resource is agreed upon by a protocol, configured at the factory, or configured by a network device or other communication apparatus through signaling.

[0027] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the antenna identifier is an antenna reference point identifier (ARP ID).

[0028] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module is configured to: receive first information indicating a mapping relationship between an identifier of a reference signal resource and at least one antenna identifier of a first communication device; receive second information indicating an identifier of a first reference signal resource; and receive a first reference signal based on the identifier of the first reference signal resource; and the processing module is configured to: determine the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the mapping relationship and the identifier of the first reference signal resource, and determine a measurement result using the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal.

[0029] Optionally, the transceiver module is also used to: receive third information, where the third information is used to indicate an identifier of a second reference signal resource; receive a second reference signal according to the identifier of the second reference signal resource; the processing module is also used to: determine the antenna identifier corresponding to the second reference signal according to the mapping relationship and the identifier of the second reference signal resource; and, when the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal is the same as the antenna identifier corresponding to the second reference signal, merge the first reference signal and the second reference signal to obtain the measurement result.

[0030] Optionally, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are received using the same receiving antenna.

[0031] Optionally, the transceiver module is specifically configured to: receive the first information from the first communication device or a positioning server.

[0032] Optionally, the reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL PRS.

[0033] Optionally, the transceiver module is further configured to: receive fourth information, where the fourth information includes a physical layer sidelink shared channel PSSCH and / or a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0034] Optionally, the reference signal resource is agreed upon by a protocol, configured at the factory, or configured by a network device or other communication apparatus through signaling.

[0035] Optionally, the antenna identifier is an antenna reference point identifier ARP ID.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides another communication device, comprising a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module is configured to: send first information indicating a mapping relationship between an identifier of a reference signal resource and at least one antenna identifier of a transmitting end; send second information indicating an identifier of a first reference signal resource; and, using a first antenna, send a first reference signal, the first reference signal being mapped to a reference signal resource corresponding to the identifier of the first reference signal resource, wherein a mapping relationship exists between the antenna identifier of the first antenna and the identifier of the first reference signal resource.

[0037] Optionally, the transceiver module is also used to: send third information, where the third information is used to indicate the identifier of the second reference signal resource; use the second antenna to send a second reference signal, where the second reference signal is mapped to the reference signal resource corresponding to the identifier of the second reference signal resource, and there is a mapping relationship between the antenna identifier of the second antenna and the identifier of the second reference signal resource.

[0038] Optionally, the transceiver module is specifically configured to send the first information to a second communication device or a positioning server.

[0039] Optionally, the reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL PRS.

[0040] Optionally, the transceiver module is further configured to: send fourth information, where the fourth information includes a physical layer sidelink shared channel PSSCH and / or a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0041] Optionally, the reference signal resource is agreed upon by a protocol, configured at the factory, or configured by a network device or other communication apparatus through signaling.

[0042] Optionally, the antenna identifier is an antenna reference point identifier ARP ID.

[0043] In a fifth aspect, another communication device is provided, comprising a processor coupled to a memory and configured to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method of any possible implementation of the first or second aspect. Optionally, the device further comprises a memory. Optionally, the device further comprises a communication interface, the processor coupled to the communication interface.

[0044] In a sixth aspect, a processor is provided, comprising: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that the processor executes the method of any possible implementation of the first or second aspect.

[0045] In a specific implementation, the processor may be a chip, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, or various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, received and input by a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, output to and transmitted by a transmitter. The input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit, which functions as an input circuit and an output circuit at different times. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

[0046] In a seventh aspect, a processing device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory. The processor is configured to read instructions stored in the memory and receive signals via a receiver and transmit signals via a transmitter to execute the method of any possible implementation of the first or second aspect.

[0047] Optionally, there are one or more processors and one or more memories.

[0048] Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be provided separately from the processor.

[0049] In the specific implementation process, the memory can be a non-transitory memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), which can be integrated with the processor on the same chip or can be set on different chips. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of memory and the setting method of the memory and the processor.

[0050] It should be understood that related data interaction processes, such as sending indication information, can be the process of outputting indication information from the processor, and receiving capability information can be the process of receiving input capability information from the processor. Specifically, the output data of the processing can be output to the transmitter, and the input data received by the processor can come from the receiver. The transmitter and receiver can be collectively referred to as a transceiver.

[0051] The processing device in the seventh aspect mentioned above can be a chip. The processor can be implemented by hardware or by software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc.; when implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, which is implemented by reading the software code stored in the memory. The memory can be integrated in the processor or can be located outside the processor and exist independently.

[0052] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes: a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions), which, when executed, enables a computer to execute a method in any possible implementation of the first or second aspect.

[0053] In the ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions) which, when run on a computer, enables the computer to execute a method in any possible implementation of the first or second aspect above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0054] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a time slot structure provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG3 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG4 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG5 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG6 is a schematic block diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0061] In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. For example, the first and second numerical values ​​are merely used to distinguish different numerical values ​​and do not limit their order. Those skilled in the art will understand that words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different.

[0062] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplarily" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplarily" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0063] In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects and indicates that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may indicate: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B may be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one (item)" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item (item) or plural items (items). For example, at least one (item) of a, b, or c may indicate: a, b, c, a - b, a - c, b - c, or a - b - c, where a, b, and c may be single or multiple.

[0064] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, 5th generation (5G) system or New Radio (NR), 6th generation (6G) system, etc.

[0065] The technical solution provided in this application can also be applied to machine type communication (MTC), long term evolution-machine communication (LTE-M), device to device (D2D) network, machine to machine (M2M) network, Internet of Things (IoT) network or Internet of Vehicles. Among them, the communication mode in the Internet of Vehicles system is collectively referred to as vehicle to other devices (vehicle to X, V2X, X can represent anything), for example, the V2X may include: vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle to pedestrian (V2P) communication or vehicle to network (V2N) communication, etc.

[0066] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, a communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application is first introduced in conjunction with Figure 1.

[0067] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 applicable to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 may include a terminal device 110 and a terminal device 120. Terminal devices 110 and 120 may communicate with each other via proximity communication (PC5), for example, to send signaling and / or data.

[0068] It should be understood that FIG1 is only an example and should not constitute any limitation to the present application. The communication system 100 may also include a greater number of terminal devices.

[0069] Optionally, the communication system 100 may further include a network device 130 , and the terminal device 110 or the terminal device 120 may communicate with the network device 130 via a universal user network interface (Uu) interface.

[0070] Optionally, Figure 1 above may also include a core network device (not shown in the figure), which refers to a device in the core network (CN) that provides service support for the terminal device. The core network device may include: an access and mobility management function (AMF) entity, a location management function (LMF), etc., which are not listed here one by one. Among them, the AMF entity can be responsible for the access management and mobility management of the terminal device, and is the access node responsible for some control plane functions; the LMF entity manages the overall coordination and scheduling of resources required for the location of the user equipment (UE) registered to the 5G CN or accessing the 5G CN, and can calculate or verify the final location and any speed estimate. In some examples of this application, the LMF receives a location request for the target UE from the serving AMF, performs positioning calculation on the terminal device and / or network device, and obtains a location result. It should be noted that the entity in this application may also be referred to as a network element or a functional entity. For example, the AMF entity may also be referred to as an AMF network element or an AMF functional entity, and this application does not limit this.

[0071] Optionally, the terminal device 110 and / or the terminal device 120 in FIG. 1 may further include a location management component (LMC) deployed on the terminal device to support positioning services on the PC5 interface, which may be exemplarily referred to as UE-LMC. However, it should be understood that this application does not specifically limit whether the terminal device includes a location management component or the name of the component having this function.

[0072] In the embodiment of the present application, the network device can be any device with wireless transceiver function. The network device includes, but is not limited to, an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., a home evolved NodeB, or a home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP) or a transmission and reception point (TRP), etc. It may also be a gNB in ​​a 5G, such as NR, system, or a transmission point (TRP or TP), one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU) or a distributed unit (DU), etc.

[0073] In some deployments, the gNB may include a centralized unit (CU) and a DU. The gNB may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some gNB functions, while the DU implements some gNB functions. For example, the CU may be responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, such as the radio resource control (RRC) layer, the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, and / or the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU may be responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services. For example, it may implement the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and the physical (PHY) layer. A DU can be connected to only one CU or to multiple CUs, and a CU can be connected to multiple DUs. Communication between the CU and DU can be achieved through the F1 interface. The AAU may implement some physical layer processing functions, RF processing, and active antenna related functions. Since the information of the RRC layer will eventually be delivered to the PHY layer and become the information of the PHY layer, or converted from the information of the PHY layer, therefore, in this architecture, high-layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling, can also be considered to be sent by DU, or by DU+AAU.

[0074] It is understood that the network device may include one or more of a CU node, a DU node, and an AAU node. In addition, the CU may be classified as a network device in an access network (RAN) or a network device in a core network (CN), which is not limited in this application.

[0075] Network equipment provides services for cells, and terminal devices communicate with cells through transmission resources allocated by the network equipment (for example, frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources). The cell can belong to a macro base station (for example, a macro eNB or macro gNB), or to a base station corresponding to a small cell. Small cells here can include: metro cells, micro cells, pico cells, femto cells, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0076] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device.

[0077] The terminal device may be a device that provides voice / data connectivity to users, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connection function. At present, some examples of terminals may include: mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver functions (such as laptops, PDAs, etc.), mobile internet devices (MIDs), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication functions, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or future evolved public land mobile communication networks (PLMNs). terminal equipment in network, PLMN, etc.

[0078] Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for wearable devices that use wearable technology to intelligently design and develop wearable devices for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not just hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. In a broad sense, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve full or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0079] Furthermore, terminal devices can also be end devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) system. IoT is a crucial component of future information technology development. Its primary technical feature is connecting objects to the Internet through communications technology, thereby enabling intelligent networks that interconnect humans and machines, and objects and things. IoT technology, for example, utilizes narrowband (NB) technology to achieve massive connectivity, deep coverage, and power-saving terminals.

[0080] In addition, terminal devices can also include sensors such as smart printers, train detectors, and gas stations. Their main functions include collecting data (some terminal devices), receiving control information and side data from other terminal devices, and sending electromagnetic waves to transmit side data to other terminal devices.

[0081] In an embodiment of the present application, a terminal device includes a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and memory (also called main memory). The operating system can be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes, such as a Linux operating system, a Unix operating system, an Android operating system, an iOS operating system, or a Windows operating system. The application layer includes applications such as browsers, address books, word processing software, and instant messaging software. In addition, the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the specific structure of the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application. As long as it is possible to communicate according to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application by running a program that records the code of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, for example, the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be a terminal device, or a functional module in the terminal device that can call and execute a program.

[0082] In addition, various aspects or features of the present application can be implemented as methods, apparatuses, or articles of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used in this application encompasses a computer program that can be accessed from any computer-readable device, carrier, or medium. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to: magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, or magnetic tapes, etc.), optical disks (e.g., compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), cards, sticks, or key drives, etc.). In addition, the various storage media described herein may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" may include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and / or carrying instructions and / or data.

[0083] To facilitate understanding, the following is a brief explanation of the terms involved in this application.

[0084] 1. Time domain resources

[0085] Time domain resources include symbols, slots, mini-slots, partial slots, sub-frames, radio frames (or frames), sensing slots, etc.

[0086] A time slot may include at least one symbol, for example, 14 symbols or 12 symbols. Time slots may have different time slot types, each containing a different number of symbols. For example, a mini slot may contain less than 7 symbols, 2 symbols, 3 symbols, or 4 symbols, while a normal slot may contain 7 symbols or 14 symbols.

[0087] 2. Frequency domain resources

[0088] Frequency domain resources include subchannels, frequency bands, carriers, bandwidth parts (BWPs), resource blocks (RBs), etc.

[0089] 3. Resource pool

[0090] The resource pool can be understood as a collection of time-frequency resources. The frequency domain resources contained in the resource pool are continuous. The time domain resources contained in the resource pool can be continuous or discontinuous. Exemplarily, different resource pools are distinguished by different resource pool identifiers (such as SL-resource pool ID). The terminal device receives on the receiving resource pool and sends on the sending resource pool. If the resource pools have the same resource pool index, it can be considered that the time-frequency resources of the resource pools are completely overlapping.

[0091] The SL resource pool used to send the sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) can be divided into two types: a dedicated resource pool and a shared resource pool. The resources in the dedicated resource pool can be specifically used to transmit SL PRS. For example, in order to provide the possibility of a larger bandwidth, they are specially designed to ensure the transmission of SL PRS and cannot be used to transmit the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH). The resources in the shared resource pool can be used to transmit PSSCH or SL PRS. In one possible example, the terminal device can allocate part of the symbols occupied by PSSCH to send to SL PRS.

[0092] It should be understood that the “resources” described in the embodiments of the present application all refer to time-frequency resources.

[0093] 4. Physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH)

[0094] PSCCH is a physical sidelink control channel used to transmit control information on the sidelink (i.e., device-to-device communication) to support device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, and vehicle-to-device (V2X) communication.

[0095] It should be understood that PSCCH can be understood as a physical resource, and can also be understood as data, signaling, etc. transmitted via this physical resource. For example, a terminal device sending control information, such as sidelink control information (SCI), via the PSCCH can also be expressed as the terminal device sending the PSCCH; a PSCCH mapped to a time-frequency resource can also be understood as the SCI transmitted on the PSCCH. Those skilled in the art will understand the meaning of this.

[0096] 5. Physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH)

[0097] PSSCH is a physical sidelink shared channel used to transmit a portion of physical layer control information and data information submitted by the media access control (MAC) layer to the physical layer on the sidelink (i.e., device-to-device communication). It is used to support device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, and vehicle-to-device (V2X) communication.

[0098] It should be understood that the PSCCH can be understood as a physical resource, or as data, signaling, etc. transmitted via this physical resource. A terminal device can use the PSSCH to send some physical layer control information, such as second-stage sidelink control information (SCI). It can also use the PSSCH to send data information delivered by the MAC layer to the physical layer, such as MAC control elements (MAC CEs) and upper-layer transmission information received by the MAC layer from the radio link control (RLC) layer. Those skilled in the art will understand its meaning.

[0099] 6. Sidelink Positioning Reference Signal (SL PRS)

[0100] SL PRS is a reference signal required for positioning measurement between terminal devices. It is sent and received through the side link. With the development of vehicle networking and vehicle autonomous driving technology, it is a reference signal designed for mutual positioning measurement and obtaining relative positions between vehicles and other terminal devices with positioning requirements.

[0101] It should be understood that when sending SL PRS, it is necessary to send indication information of the SL PRS. Exemplarily, the information may include one or more of the following: the priority of the SL PRS, the identification information of the resource pool, the time-frequency resource identification information mapped by the SL PRS, the time-frequency resource identification information reserved for the user to send SL PRS, the device identification information of the transmitting end, the device identification information of the receiving end, the request information for instructing the receiving end to return the SL PRS, etc. The indication information can be SCI, and the SCI can be sent in one level (exclusive resource pool) and only sent through PSCCH; it can also be sent in two levels (shared resource pool), where the first level is sent through PSCCH and the second level is sent through PSSCH.

[0102] Exemplarily, Figure 2 shows the time slot structure for sending SL PRS through a shared resource pool. As shown in Figure 2, a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), PSSCH, SL PRS, etc. can be sent in a time slot of the shared resource pool. The terminal device selects the symbol to which the SL PRS can be mapped according to the resource configuration. Exemplarily, it can be the last M symbols after removing the symbol mapped with the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) (not shown in the figure) (taking a time slot containing 14 symbols as an example, the frequency domain corresponding to the last two symbols of this time slot is mapped with DMRS (DMRS and PSSCH frequency division multiplexing), then remove these two symbols and select M consecutive symbols starting from the third to last symbol to map SL PRS). The resource ID occupied by SL PRS, as well as the number of symbols M, the number of comb teeth, and the comb tooth offset corresponding to the resource ID are indicated by SCI.

[0103] Communication devices can use different types of reference signals (RS) to perform channel measurement, channel estimation, data demodulation, positioning measurement, etc. For example, a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) is a reference signal used for positioning measurement between terminal devices. A terminal device can send SL PRS to other terminal devices (for example, it can be sent through a shared resource pool through the time slot structure shown in FIG2 ), and / or receive SL PRS from other terminal devices to obtain measurement quantities of SL PRS (such as arrival time, arrival angle, etc.), and use positioning algorithms such as time difference of arrival (TDOA), time of arrival (TOA), round trip time (RTT), angle of arrival (AOA), or angle of departure (AOD) to obtain positioning results for the terminal device or other terminal devices.

[0104] Wireless communication devices are generally equipped with multiple antennas, which receive or transmit reference signals. Currently, the transmitting communication device randomly selects an antenna, and the receiving communication device cannot predict its selection. That is, when a reference signal needs to be sent, the transmitting communication device may select an antenna from multiple antennas to transmit the reference signal. However, in a measurement task, sending a reference signal once is often insufficient to obtain a measurement result. The communication device must transmit the reference signal multiple times to provide more usable signals. However, multiple transmissions may cause the transmitting communication device to send the reference signal through different antennas. Furthermore, due to differences in channel characteristics (such as timing, angle, signal-to-noise ratio, and phase characteristics) between different transmitting and receiving antenna pairs between the transmitting and receiving communication devices, the measurement results (such as first-path delay, first-path angle, and first-path phase) obtained by the receiving communication device based on reference signals from different transmitting and receiving antenna pairs may vary.

[0105] To minimize measurement errors caused by these differences, the reference signals corresponding to the same antenna pair between the transmitting and receiving devices can be combined during a measurement task to enhance the signal and improve measurement accuracy. However, currently, when performing a reference signal measurement task, the receiving device cannot know which antenna the transmitting device used to send the reference signal, making it impossible to perform the combination in a timely manner, affecting the overall efficiency of the measurement task.

[0106] In view of this, the present application provides a communication method, in which the communication device at the transmitting end sends the mapping relationship between the reference signal and the transmitting antenna to the communication device at the receiving end before sending the reference signal, so that the communication device at the receiving end can process the reference signal from the same transmitting antenna in a timely manner, thereby improving the overall efficiency of the measurement task.

[0107] In order to make the purpose and technical solution of this application clearer and more intuitive, the network optimization method and communication device adopted in the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain this application and are not intended to limit this application.

[0108] FIG3 shows a schematic flow chart of a communication method 300 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method 300 can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1 above. When the present application is applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1 , there are three possible scenarios:

[0109] In the first possible scenario, the first communication device in the embodiment of the present application may be the terminal device 110 or the terminal device 120 in the above-mentioned communication system 100, and the second communication device may be the network device 130 in the above-mentioned communication system 100. The first communication device and the second communication device execute the method provided in the embodiment of the present application in the uplink communication scenario.

[0110] In a second possible scenario, the first communication device may be the network device 130 in the above-mentioned communication system 100, and the second communication device may be the terminal device 110 or the terminal device 120 in the above-mentioned communication system 100. The first communication device and the second communication device execute the method provided in the embodiment of the present application in the downlink communication scenario.

[0111] In a third possible scenario, the first communication device may be the terminal device 110 in the above-mentioned communication system 100, and the second communication device may be the terminal device 120 in the above-mentioned communication system 100. The first communication device and the second communication device execute the method provided in the embodiment of the present application in the side communication scenario.

[0112] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the form of the first communication device and the second communication device. As shown in Figure 3, the method 300 includes the following steps:

[0113] S301: A first communication device sends first information to a second communication device, where the first information indicates a mapping relationship between an identifier of a reference signal resource and at least one antenna identifier of the first communication device. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first information.

[0114] S302: The first communication device sends second information to the second communication device, where the second information is used to indicate an identifier of a first reference signal resource. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the second information.

[0115] S303: The first communication device transmits a first reference signal to the second communication device using the first antenna. The first reference signal is mapped to a reference signal resource corresponding to an identifier of the first reference signal resource. A mapping relationship exists between the antenna identifier of the first antenna and the identifier of the first reference signal resource. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first reference signal based on the identifier of the first reference signal resource.

[0116] S304. The second communication device determines the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal according to the mapping relationship included in the first information and the identifier of the first reference signal resource included in the second information, and determines a measurement result using the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal.

[0117] In an embodiment of the present application, before sending a first reference signal to a second communication device, the first communication device sends a mapping relationship between an identifier of a reference signal resource and at least one antenna identifier of the first communication device to the second communication device through first information, and then indicates the identifier of the first reference signal resource selected for sending the first reference signal this time through second information, and uses the first antenna corresponding to the antenna identifier of the first antenna that has a mapping relationship with the identifier of the first reference signal resource to send the first reference signal. In this way, when the second communication device receives the first reference signal, it can determine, based on the identifier of the first reference signal resource and the mapping relationship in the first information, the antenna corresponding to the antenna identifier of the first communication device through which the first reference signal is sent. This is conducive to timely determining whether there is a reference signal with the same antenna identifier from the first communication device, and timely processing of the received reference signal, which is conducive to improving the overall efficiency of the measurement task corresponding to the reference signal.

[0118] It should be understood that the identifier of the reference signal resource is an identifier corresponding to the reference signal resource that the first communication apparatus is configured to use to send a reference signal, and the first communication apparatus may be configured with one or more reference signal resources.

[0119] In one possible implementation, the one or more reference signal resources are agreed upon in a protocol, factory-configured, or configured by a network device or other communication device through signaling. Optionally, the network device may be a base station, a vehicle-to-X (V2X) wireless communication technology server, or a network device that is factory-configured for the first communication device, which is not limited in this application.

[0120] It should also be understood that the above-mentioned reference signal can be a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a channel status indication reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS), a phase tracking signal (PT-RS), a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), etc. The above-mentioned reference signal can be applicable to uplink, downlink or sidelink scenarios, and this application does not limit this. For example, taking the above-mentioned reference signal as a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) as an example, the resources configured by the first communication device may include resource pool information, and one or more SL PRS resource IDs on the resource pool, the number of symbols corresponding to the SL PRS, the number of comb teeth, and the comb tooth offset, etc. In the positioning-specific resource pool, it may also include the starting symbol of the SL PRS.

[0121] It is worth noting that the at least one antenna identifier of the above-mentioned first communication device refers to the identifier of the antenna used to send signals on the first communication device. The antenna can be an antenna with both transmitting and receiving functions, or an antenna with only transmitting function. This application does not limit this.

[0122] Optionally, the antenna identification involved in the embodiments of the present application may have various forms, such as antenna position identification (AP ID), antenna reference point identification (ARP ID), etc., and the present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0123] It should be understood that the antenna position identifier is used to mark the antenna position and is not necessarily associated with a specific antenna. Multiple antennas in the same position can correspond to the same antenna position identifier. In an embodiment of the present application, multiple reference signal resources of the first communication device are mapped to the same antenna position identifier (which can also be understood as multiple reference signal resources marked with the same antenna position identifier). When the first communication device uses these multiple reference signal resources to send reference signals, the antenna corresponding to the same antenna position identifier is used.

[0124] It should also be understood that the antenna reference point identifier is used to mark the antenna reference point and is not necessarily associated with a specific antenna. When multiple physical antennas in different positions are used to transmit simultaneously, a single antenna reference point identifier can be used. This is usually used in scenarios where array antennas are used for beamforming. The selected single antenna reference point can be the geometric center or phase center of multiple arrays, or the geometric center or phase center of one of the antennas. This application does not limit this. In an embodiment of the present application, a mapping relationship is established between multiple reference signal resources of the first communication device and the same antenna reference point identifier (it can be understood that multiple reference signal resources are marked with the same antenna reference point identifier). Then, when the first communication device uses these multiple reference signal resources to send reference signals, it uses the antenna corresponding to the marked same antenna reference point identifier, or the antenna array corresponding to the same antenna reference point identifier.

[0125] Optionally, the above-mentioned first information can indicate the mapping relationship between the identifier of the reference signal resource and at least one antenna identifier of the first communication device in the form of a mapping relationship list. The list may include a mapping relationship pair between the identifier of each signal resource and the antenna identifier, but the present application does not specifically limit the presentation form of the mapping relationship. For example, as shown in Table 1 below, the identifiers of the reference signal resources of the first communication device are 0, 1, and 2, and the antenna identifiers used by the first communication device for transmitting antennas are 0 and 1. The mapping relationship can be presented in the following list format, where each row in the list represents a mapping relationship pair between the identifier of a signal resource and the antenna identifier. For example, the mapping relationship presented in Table 1 below can be interpreted as: when the first communication device selects a resource with an identifier of 0 for the reference signal resource to send a reference signal, the reference signal is sent through the antenna with an antenna identifier of 0; when the first communication device selects a resource with an identifier of 1 for the reference signal resource to send a reference signal, the reference signal is sent through the antenna with an antenna identifier of 1; when the first communication device selects a resource with an identifier of 2 for the reference signal resource to send a reference signal, the reference signal is sent through the antenna with an antenna identifier of 0.

[0126] Table 1

[0127] Optionally, the above mapping relationship may be fixed, or may be re-determined by the first communication device before each measurement task starts or before the reference signal is sent, which is not limited in this application.

[0128] Optionally, the above-mentioned mapping relationship can also be a mapping relationship between the resource index of the reference signal resource, the identifier of the reference signal resource and the antenna identifier of the first communication device. The resource index can be an index established by the first communication device for the identifier of the reference signal resource, which is used to identify the reference signal resource configured by the first communication device. This application does not limit the specific form of the mapping relationship. Its essence is the correspondence between the identifier of the reference signal resource and the antenna identifier. The relationship can be one-to-one (one antenna identifier corresponds to only one reference signal resource identifier) ​​or many-to-one (multiple reference signal resource identifiers correspond to one antenna identifier). This application does not limit this.

[0129] It should be understood that the reference signal resources configured by the first communication device for sending reference signals are not available at all times and may be occupied by other communication devices at the current moment. Therefore, in the above method 300, before the first communication device executes the above S303, the first communication device needs to first select the reference signal resource to determine the identifier of the reference signal resource that can currently be used by the first communication device, and then map the reference signal to the reference signal resource corresponding to the identifier of the reference signal resource, and transmit the reference signal using the antenna corresponding to the antenna identifier that has a mapping relationship with the identifier of the reference signal resource.

[0130] Optionally, the first communication device can determine whether a certain reference signal resource is currently available by interacting with the base station, or it can determine whether a certain reference signal resource is currently available by listening to the identifiers of reference signal resources broadcast by other communication devices and occupied by other communication devices. The specific steps can be referred to relevant existing technologies and will not be repeated here.

[0131] In one possible implementation, the first communication device may send the second information and the first reference signal on the resources corresponding to the same time slot, and the symbol occupied by the second information is before the first reference signal. In this way, after receiving the second information and the first reference signal, the second communication device first learns through the second information that the first reference signal is mapped on the reference signal resource corresponding to the identifier of the first reference signal resource, and then receives the first reference signal from the reference signal resource position corresponding to the identifier of the first reference signal resource.

[0132] As an optional embodiment, the above method 300 also includes the following steps: Step 1: The first communication device sends third information, where the third information is used to indicate the identifier of the second reference signal resource. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the third information; Step 2: The first communication device uses the second antenna to send a second reference signal, where the second reference signal is mapped to the reference signal resource corresponding to the identifier of the second reference signal resource, and there is a mapping relationship between the antenna identifier of the second antenna and the identifier of the second reference signal resource. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the second reference signal based on the identifier of the second reference signal resource; Step 3: The second communication device determines the antenna identifier corresponding to the second reference signal based on the mapping relationship and the identifier of the second reference signal resource. Then, a possible implementation method for the second communication device to determine the measurement result using the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal in the above S304 is: when the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal and the antenna identifier corresponding to the second reference signal are the same, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are merged to obtain the measurement result.

[0133] Optionally, the merging of the first reference signal and the second reference signal can be understood as obtaining a signal with more parameters after merging the first reference signal and the second reference signal, or can be understood as merging the first measurement quantity corresponding to the first reference signal and the second-side measurement corresponding to the second reference signal to obtain a merged measurement quantity (the measurement quantity may refer to an intermediate quantity in the process of obtaining a final result based on the reference signal. For example, in a positioning measurement task, the measurement quantity may be an arrival angle, arrival time, arrival time difference, etc. obtained based on the reference signal). The above-mentioned measurement result may refer to the obtained merged measurement quantity, or it may be a final result calculated based on the merged measurement quantity (for example, in a positioning measurement task, the final result may refer to a position result such as the absolute position or relative position of the communication device under test). This application is not limited to this.

[0134] In one possible implementation, the merging of the first measurement amount corresponding to the first reference signal and the second-side measurement corresponding to the second reference signal may be performed by adding and averaging the first measurement amount and the second measurement amount, or by weighting the first measurement amount and the second measurement amount according to a channel signal-to-noise ratio parameter when receiving the first reference signal and the second reference signal, and taking the weighted average of the first measurement amount and the second measurement amount as the merged measurement amount. This application is not limited to this.

[0135] It should be understood that in a measurement task, the first communication device can send multiple reference signals to the second communication device to provide more available signals. The above-mentioned first reference signal and second reference signal can be understood as two reference signals respectively sent by the first communication device in a measurement task. The way in which the first communication device sends the second reference signal is similar to the way in which it sends the first reference signal, and will not be repeated here.

[0136] In an embodiment of the present application, when the second communication device determines that the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal and the antenna identifier corresponding to the second reference signal are the same, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are merged. Since the first reference signal and the second reference signal are sent through the same antenna of the first communication device, merging the first reference signal and the second reference signal can reduce the measurement result error caused by different angles, phases, etc. of different transmitting antennas. Merging reference signals from the same antenna is beneficial to improving the accuracy of the measurement results, and can make the final measurement results more accurate.

[0137] As an optional embodiment, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are received by the second communication device using the same receiving antenna.

[0138] In an embodiment of the present application, the second communication device merges the reference signals received through the same antenna and identified by the same antenna from the first communication device, which can greatly reduce the measurement result error caused by the different channel characteristics (such as timing, angle, signal-to-noise ratio, phase characteristics, etc.) between different transmitting and receiving antenna pairs, and improve the accuracy of the measurement results obtained based on the reference signal.

[0139] As an optional embodiment, the above-mentioned reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL PRS.

[0140] Below, taking the first communication device as the transmitting user equipment (transport user equipment, Tx UE), the second communication device as the receiving user equipment (receive user equipment, Rx UE), and the positioning measurement between the first communication device and the second communication device through SL PRS as an example, the embodiment of the present application is further described in detail.

[0141] Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 400 provided in an embodiment of the present application. This method 400 can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in Figure 1 above. In this embodiment, the Tx UE can be the terminal device 110 in the above communication system 100, and the Rx UE can be the terminal device 120 in the above communication system 100, but this application is not limited to this.

[0142] As shown in FIG4 , the method 400 includes the following steps:

[0143] S401: A network device sends a SL PRS resource configuration to a Tx UE, where the SL PRS resource configuration includes an identifier of the SL PRS resource. Correspondingly, the Tx UE receives the resource configuration information.

[0144] S402: The Tx UE sends auxiliary information to the Rx UE, where the auxiliary information includes a mapping relationship between the ARP identifier of the Tx UE and the identifier of the SL PRS resource. Correspondingly, the Rx UE receives the auxiliary information.

[0145] S403. The Tx UE selects a currently available first SL PRS resource from the resources indicated by the SL PRS resource configuration.

[0146] S404: The Tx UE sends the identifier of the first SL PRS resource to the Rx UE. Correspondingly, the Rx UE receives the identifier of the first SL PRS resource.

[0147] S405: The Tx UE determines the identifier of the first ARP corresponding to the identifier of the first SL PRS resource based on the mapping relationship, and transmits the first SL PRS mapped on the first SL PRS resource via the antenna corresponding to the identifier of the first ARP. Correspondingly, the Rx UE receives the first SL PRS according to the identifier of the first SL PRS resource.

[0148] S406. The Rx UE determines, based on the mapping relationship, that the first SL PRS is sent through the antenna corresponding to the identifier of the first ARP.

[0149] S407. The Tx UE selects a currently available second SL PRS resource from the resources indicated by the SL PRS resource configuration.

[0150] S408: The Tx UE sends the identifier of the second SL PRS resource to the Rx UE. Correspondingly, the Rx UE receives the identifier of the second SL PRS resource.

[0151] S409: The Tx UE determines the identifier of the first ARP corresponding to the identifier of the second SL PRS resource based on the mapping relationship, and transmits the second SL PRS mapped on the first SL PRS resource through the antenna corresponding to the identifier of the first ARP. Correspondingly, the Rx UE receives the second SL PRS according to the identifier of the second SL PRS resource.

[0152] S410. The Rx UE determines, based on the mapping relationship, that the second SL PRS and the first SL PRS are both sent through the antenna corresponding to the identifier of the first ARP, and combines the second SL PRS and the first SL PRS to obtain a measurement result.

[0153] In one possible implementation, the Rx UE combines the second SL PRS and the first SL PRS to obtain a measurement quantity, or combines the measurement quantity corresponding to the second SL PRS and the measurement quantity corresponding to the first SL PRS to obtain a combined measurement quantity (for example, arrival time, arrival angle, etc.), and sends the combined measurement quantity to the network device, which sends it to the LMF through the AMF. The LMF performs positioning calculations to obtain a positioning result. The positioning result may be position information such as the absolute position or relative position of the Tx UE and the Rx UE. At this time, the measurement result in S410 may refer to the measurement quantity.

[0154] In another possible implementation, the Rx UE combines the measurement amount corresponding to the second SL PRS and the measurement amount corresponding to the first SL PRS, and obtains the positioning result by the Rx UE, or the Rx UE combines the positioning result obtained based on the second SL PRS and the positioning result obtained based on the first SL PRS to obtain the final positioning result. At this time, the measurement result in S410 may refer to the positioning result. This application does not limit the specific meaning of the measurement result obtained by the Rx UE.

[0155] It should be understood that the above S401 is not a necessary step to implement this application. The SL PRS resource configuration can also be agreed upon through a protocol, factory configured, or configured to the Tx UE by other terminal devices through signaling. This application does not limit this.

[0156] Another possible implementation of "the Tx UE sends the auxiliary information to the Rx UE" in S403 is that the Tx UE sends the auxiliary information to a location server, which then sends the auxiliary information to the Rx UE. The auxiliary information has the same meaning as the "first information" in method 300.

[0157] It should be understood that after the Tx UE sends the auxiliary information to the positioning server, the positioning server may store the information and send the auxiliary information to the Rx UE when it is necessary to initiate a positioning measurement task related to the Tx UE. Optionally, the positioning server may store the auxiliary information of one or more UEs, which is not limited in this application.

[0158] Optionally, the positioning server is a server that provides positioning services for terminal equipment, which can be the LMF of the core network, or a user equipment (SL positioning server UE) for providing side positioning services. This application does not limit this. When the position of the Tx UE is a fixed position (for example, a public device dedicated to positioning measurement), or the mapping relationship included in its auxiliary information is fixed within a certain period, the Tx UE first sends the auxiliary information to the positioning server, which can save the signaling overhead of the Tx UE and save energy for the Tx UE. In addition, in the positioning measurement task managed by the positioning server, the positioning server that stores the auxiliary information can request positioning measurement while sending the auxiliary information to the Rx UE, or can first send the auxiliary information to the Rx UE and then request positioning measurement from the Rx UE. There is no need to wait for the Tx UE to provide the Rx UE with auxiliary information, which is beneficial to improving the overall efficiency of the measurement task in this scenario.

[0159] Optionally, the auxiliary information may be transmitted between the Tx UE and the Rx UE, between the Tx UE and the positioning server, and between the positioning server and the Rx UE using the sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP), but this application does not limit this.

[0160] It should be understood that the above S404 and S405 can be sent by the Tx UE through one message or separately through two messages. However, the Rx UE needs to first decode and obtain the identifier of the first SL PRS resource before it can receive the first SL PRS based on the identifier of the first SL PRS resource. The execution logic of S408 and S409 is the same as that of S404 and S405 and will not be repeated here.

[0161] Optionally, the Tx UE can indicate the corresponding SL PRS resource each time the SL PRS is sent by mapping the SCI on the PSCCH / PSSCH. One way of sending S404 and S405 through a message is: indicating the first SL PRS resource through the SCI, the first SL PRS is mapped on the first SL PRS resource indicated by the SCI, and the symbol occupied by the PSCCH to which the SCI is mapped is before the symbol occupied by the first SL PRS. So that the Rx UE can obtain the indication information of the SL PRS resource by decoding the PSCCH / PSSCH after receiving the PSCCH / PSSCH, so that the Rx UE can further receive the SL PRS according to the first SL PRS resource indicated by the indication information. Optionally, the SCI may include an identifier of the SL PRS resource, or a resource index corresponding to the identifier of the SL PRS resource, which is not limited in this application.

[0162] Optionally, when SL PRS is sent through the shared resource pool, PSSCH and / or DMRS may be mapped to other symbols besides the symbols occupied by SL PRS in one transmission, and this application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0163] In an embodiment of the present application, before sending the SL PRS, the Tx UE has sent auxiliary information containing the mapping relationship between the identifier of the ARP of the Tx UE and the identifier of the SL PRS resource to the Rx UE, so that the Rx UE can promptly obtain the identifier of the ARP of the Tx UE corresponding to the SL PRS through the identifier of the SL PRS resource each time it receives the SL PRS. In the positioning measurement task that requires sending multiple SL PRSs, the SL PRSs from the same antenna identifier can be merged and processed in a timely manner, which is conducive to improving the efficiency and accuracy of the positioning measurement task and bringing users a faster and more accurate positioning service experience.

[0164] It should be understood that the steps of the above embodiments may be coupled to each other, and this application does not limit this. Furthermore, the order of the sequence numbers of the above processes does not imply a specific order of execution. The order of execution of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0165] The communication method according to the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 . The communication device according to the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 .

[0166] FIG5 shows a communication device 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 500 includes a transceiver module 501 and a processing module 502 .

[0167] In a possible implementation, the communication device 500 is used to implement the steps and processes corresponding to the first communication device described above.

[0168] Among them, the transceiver module 501 is used to: receive first information, where the first information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between an identifier of a reference signal resource and at least one antenna identifier of a first communication device; receive second information, where the second information is used to indicate an identifier of a first reference signal resource; and receive a first reference signal based on the identifier of the first reference signal resource; the processing module 502 is used to: determine the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the mapping relationship and the identifier of the first reference signal resource, and determine a measurement result using the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal.

[0169] Optionally, the transceiver module 501 is also used to: receive third information, where the third information is used to indicate an identifier of a second reference signal resource; receive a second reference signal based on the identifier of the second reference signal resource; the processing module is also used to: determine the antenna identifier corresponding to the second reference signal based on the mapping relationship and the identifier of the second reference signal resource; and, when the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal and the antenna identifier corresponding to the second reference signal are the same, merge the first reference signal and the second reference signal to obtain a measurement result.

[0170] Optionally, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are received using the same receiving antenna.

[0171] Optionally, the transceiver module is specifically configured to: receive first information from a first communication device or a positioning server.

[0172] Optionally, the reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL PRS.

[0173] Optionally, the transceiver module 501 is further configured to: receive fourth information, where the fourth information includes a physical sidelink shared channel PSSCH and / or a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0174] Optionally, the reference signal resource is agreed upon by a protocol, configured at the factory, or configured by a network device or other communication apparatus through signaling.

[0175] Optionally, the antenna identifier is an antenna reference point identifier ARP ID.

[0176] In another possible implementation, the communication device 500 is used to implement the steps and processes corresponding to the second communication device described above.

[0177] Among them, the transceiver module 501 is used to: send first information, where the first information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between an identifier of a reference signal resource and at least one antenna identifier of a transmitting end; send second information, where the second information is used to indicate an identifier of a first reference signal resource; and use a first antenna to send a first reference signal, where the first reference signal is mapped to a reference signal resource corresponding to the identifier of the first reference signal resource, and there is a mapping relationship between the antenna identifier of the first antenna and the identifier of the first reference signal resource.

[0178] Optionally, the transceiver module 501 is also used to: send third information, where the third information is used to indicate an identifier of a second reference signal resource; use the second antenna to send a second reference signal, where the second reference signal is mapped to a reference signal resource corresponding to the identifier of the second reference signal resource, and there is a mapping relationship between the antenna identifier of the second antenna and the identifier of the second reference signal resource.

[0179] Optionally, the transceiver module 501 is specifically configured to: send the first information to the second communication device or the positioning server;

[0180] Optionally, the reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL PRS.

[0181] Optionally, the transceiver module 501 is further configured to: send fourth information, where the fourth information includes a physical sidelink shared channel PSSCH and / or a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0182] Optionally, the multiple reference signal resources are agreed upon by a protocol, configured at the factory, or configured by a network device or other communication apparatus through signaling.

[0183] Optionally, the antenna identifier is an antenna reference point identifier ARP ID.

[0184] It should be understood that the device 500 here is embodied in the form of a functional module. The term "module" here may refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (such as a shared processor, a dedicated processor or a group processor, etc.) and a memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, a merging logic circuit and / or other suitable components that support the described functions. In an optional example, those skilled in the art will understand that the device 500 may be specifically the first communication device or the second communication device in the above embodiment, or the functions described in the above embodiment may be integrated in the device 500, and the device 500 may be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiment. To avoid repetition, they will not be described here.

[0185] The apparatus 500 has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus in the above method. The above functions can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0186] In an embodiment of the present application, the device 500 in FIG. 5 may also be a chip or a chip system, such as a system on chip (SoC).

[0187] Figure 6 shows a schematic block diagram of a communication device 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 600 includes a processor 601, a transceiver 602, and a memory 603. The processor 601, the transceiver 602, and the memory 603 communicate with each other via an internal connection path. The memory 603 is used to store instructions, and the processor 601 is used to execute the instructions stored in the memory 603 to control the transceiver 602 to send and / or receive signals.

[0188] It should be understood that the device 600 can be specifically the first communication device or the second communication device in the above-mentioned embodiment, and can be used to execute the various steps and / or processes corresponding to the first communication device or the second communication device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. Optionally, the memory 603 may include read-only memory and random access memory, and provide instructions and data to the processor. A portion of the memory may also include non-volatile random access memory. For example, the memory may also store device type information. The processor 601 can be used to execute instructions stored in the memory, and when the processor 601 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 601 is used to execute the various steps and / or processes of the above-mentioned method embodiment. The transceiver 602 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter can be used to implement the various steps and / or processes corresponding to the above-mentioned transceiver for performing the sending action, and the receiver can be used to implement the various steps and / or processes corresponding to the above-mentioned transceiver for performing the receiving action.

[0189] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0190] During implementation, each step of the above method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor or by instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art, such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in a memory, and the processor executes the instructions in the memory, and completes the steps of the above method in conjunction with its hardware. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

[0191] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is used to store a computer program, and the computer program is used to implement the method shown in the above method embodiment.

[0192] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions). When the computer program runs on a computer, the computer can execute the method shown in the above method embodiment.

[0193] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0194] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0195] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0196] Units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0197] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0198] If the function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk or optical disk, etc., various media that can store program codes.

[0199] The above are only specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving first information, where the first information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between an identifier of a reference signal resource and at least one antenna identifier of a first communication device; receiving second information, where the second information is used to indicate an identifier of a first reference signal resource; receiving a first reference signal according to an identifier of the first reference signal resource; According to the mapping relationship and the identifier of the first reference signal resource, the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal is determined, and the measurement result is determined using the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving third information, where the third information is used to indicate an identifier of a second reference signal resource; receiving a second reference signal according to an identifier of the second reference signal resource; Determine, according to the mapping relationship and the identifier of the second reference signal resource, an antenna identifier corresponding to the second reference signal; The determining the measurement result by using the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal includes: When the antenna identifier corresponding to the first reference signal and the antenna identifier corresponding to the second reference signal are the same, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are combined to obtain the measurement result.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first reference signal and the second reference signal are received using the same receiving antenna.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The receiving of the first information comprises: The first information is received from the first communication device or a positioning server.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL PRS.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: Fourth information is received, where the fourth information includes a physical layer sidelink shared channel PSSCH and / or a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The reference signal resources are agreed upon by the protocol, configured at the factory, or configured by network equipment or other communication devices through signaling.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The antenna identifier is an antenna reference point identifier ARP ID.

9. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending first information, where the first information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between an identifier of a reference signal resource and at least one antenna identifier of a transmitting end; sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate an identifier of the first reference signal resource; A first reference signal is sent using a first antenna, the first reference signal is mapped to a reference signal resource corresponding to an identifier of the first reference signal resource, and there is a mapping relationship between the antenna identifier of the first antenna and the identifier of the first reference signal resource.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending third information, where the third information is used to indicate an identifier of a second reference signal resource; A second reference signal is sent using the second antenna, the second reference signal is mapped to a reference signal resource corresponding to the identifier of the second reference signal resource, and there is a mapping relationship between the antenna identifier of the second antenna and the identifier of the second reference signal resource.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that: The sending of the first information includes: The first information is sent to a second communication device or a positioning server.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that The reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL PRS.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: Fourth information is sent, where the fourth information includes a physical layer sidelink shared channel PSSCH and / or a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that The reference signal resources are agreed upon by the protocol, configured at the factory, or configured by network equipment or other communication devices through signaling.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that The antenna identifier is an antenna reference point identifier ARP ID.

16. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 9 to 15.

17. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory stores computer-executable instructions, and the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the processor executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or executes the method according to any one of claims 9 to 15.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: Used to store a computer program, the computer program comprising instructions for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or instructions for executing the method according to any one of claims 9 to 15.

19. A computer program product, comprising computer program code, characterized in that: When the computer program code runs on a computer, the computer is enabled to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 or to execute the method according to any one of claims 9 to 15.

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