Communication method and apparatus

By determining the resource association relationship between terminal devices in side link communication, the problem of large resource overhead for beam failure recovery is solved, and the resource utilization rate and communication quality are improved.

WO2025102973A1PCT designated stage expired Publication Date: 2025-05-22HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
PCT/CN2024/120088
Authority / Receiving Office
WO · WO
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2023-11-17
Filing Date
2024-09-20
Publication Date
2025-05-22

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

In side link communication, the resource overhead required for beam failure recovery is large, affecting the communication quality.

Method used

By determining the correlation relationship between M resources and N resources between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the number of beam failure recovery response resources is reduced, and the proportion of resources that can be used for data transmission is increased.

Benefits of technology

It effectively reduces the resource overhead required for beam failure recovery, improves the proportion of available resources for data transmission, and improves communication quality.

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Abstract

The present application is applicable to the fields such as V2X, the Internet of Vehicles and autonomous driving. Disclosed are a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: after determining a beam failure, a first terminal apparatus sending beam failure recovery request information on a first resource among M resources, wherein the M resources are associated with M reference signals on a one-to-one basis, the first resource is determined from among the M resources on the basis of the receiving quality of the M reference signals, and the M resources are used for transmitting beam failure recovery request information; and receiving beam failure recovery response information on a second resource among the N resources, wherein the N resources are used for transmitting beam failure recovery response information, the second resource is associated with at least two of the M resources, and the at least two resources comprise the first resource. In this way, the reduction of resource overheads required for beam failure recovery is facilitated, thereby increasing the proportion of resources available for data transmission.
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Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on November 17, 2023, with application number 202311548971.5 and application name “A Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0004] Fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication systems support frequency range 2 (FR2) communications, which utilize high-frequency signals for data transmission. FR2 signals have weaker interference immunity and poorer penetration, and signal energy decreases dramatically with transmission distance. To overcome this, high-frequency communications employ beamforming technology.

[0005] When using beamforming technology, during communication between a transmitter and receiver, the selected beam may no longer be suitable. For example, the link quality associated with that beam may be poor. This situation is also known as beam failure or beam fault. When the transmitter or receiver detects a beam failure, it can request beam failure recovery (BFR) to align the final selected beams and maintain communication quality.

[0006] However, in the sidelink, how to achieve beam failure recovery is an urgent problem to be solved.

[0007] Summary of the Invention

[0008] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for reducing the resource overhead required for beam failure recovery in sidelink communications.

[0009] In the first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applicable to scenarios such as V2X. The execution subject of the method is a first terminal device or a module in the first terminal device, and the method is described here by taking the first terminal device as the execution subject as an example. In the method, the first terminal device determines that the beam fails; the first terminal device sends a beam failure recovery request message to the second terminal device on a first resource among M resources; the M resources are associated one-to-one with M reference signals, and the first resource is determined from the M resources based on the reception quality of the M reference signals, and the M resources are used to transmit the beam failure recovery request message; the first terminal device receives a beam failure recovery response message from the second terminal device on a second resource among N resources; the N resources are used to transmit the beam failure recovery response message, and the second resource is associated with at least two resources among the M resources, and the at least two resources include the first resource.

[0010] By adopting the above method, since the second resource is associated with at least two of the M resources, the number of beam failure recovery response resources can be reduced, which facilitates reducing the resource overhead required for beam failure recovery and increasing the proportion of resources available for data transmission.

[0011] In one possible design, the first terminal device determines a beam failure, including: if the first terminal device does not receive the information periodically sent by the second terminal device, then the beam fails; or, if the first terminal device determines that the number of consecutive failures to receive sidelink data reaches a first threshold, then the beam fails; or, if the first terminal device determines that the proportion of sidelink positive feedback in the feedback that needs to be received is less than a second threshold, then the beam fails.

[0012] In one possible design, the method further includes: the first terminal device communicating with the second terminal device using the beam associated with the first resource.

[0013] In one possible design, the second resource includes a symbol in the time domain and a resource block in the frequency domain.

[0014] In this way, the resource granularity of the second resource is smaller, which makes it easier to reduce the resource overhead required for beam failure recovery and increase the proportion of resources available for data transmission.

[0015] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving first information from a network device, the first information being used to indicate a set of resource blocks in a resource pool used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information, the N resources belonging to the set of resource blocks in the frequency domain.

[0016] In this way, the resource block set used to transmit beam failure recovery response information is configured through the network device, which facilitates improving the flexibility of network device regulation.

[0017] In one possible design, the first information includes a bit map, each bit in the bit map corresponds to a resource block in the resource pool, and the value of each bit is used to indicate whether the resource block corresponding to each bit is used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information.

[0018] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving second information from a network device, wherein the second information is used to indicate a set of time slots in a resource pool for transmitting the beam failure recovery response information, and the N resources belong to the set of time slots in the time domain.

[0019] In this way, the time slot set for transmitting the beam failure recovery response information is configured by the network device, so as to improve the flexibility of the network device regulation.

[0020] In one possible design, the second information includes a period value, and the interval between two adjacent time slots in the time slot set is K-1 time slots, where K is the period value.

[0021] It should be noted that the network device can send the first information and the second information respectively, that is, respectively configure the frequency domain resources and time domain resources for transmitting the beam failure recovery response information. In other examples, the network device can also send the fourth information, and the fourth information is used to configure the resource set for transmitting the beam failure recovery response information. The fourth information includes the mapping relationship information between the positions and indexes of multiple resource units.

[0022] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving third information from a network device, where the third information is used to indicate an association relationship between the M resources and the N resources.

[0023] It should be noted that the above-mentioned first information, second information, third information or fourth information can be configured by the network device, or can also be configured by the terminal device (for example, the first terminal device is configured to the second terminal device, or the second terminal device is configured to the first terminal device, or other terminal devices are configured to the first terminal device and the second terminal device), or can also be pre-configured in the first terminal device and the second terminal device, or can also be pre-defined by the protocol.

[0024] In one possible design, the association relationship between the M resources and the N resources is predefined or preconfigured.

[0025] In one possible design, the second resources and sidelink feedback resources are frequency division multiplexed.

[0026] In one possible design, the second resource and the sidelink feedback resource are located in different time slots.

[0027] In one possible design, the second resource is located after the at least two resources in the time domain.

[0028] In the second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applicable to scenarios such as V2X. The execution subject of the method is a second terminal device or a module in the second terminal device, and the second terminal device is used as the execution subject for description. In the method, the second terminal device sends M reference signals; the second terminal device receives beam failure recovery request information from the second terminal device on a first resource among the M resources; the M resources are associated one-to-one with the M reference signals, the first resource is determined from the M resources based on the reception quality of the M reference signals, and the M resources are used to transmit the beam failure recovery request information; the second terminal device sends beam failure recovery response information to the second terminal device on a second resource among the N resources; the N resources are used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information, and the second resource is associated with at least two resources among the M resources, and the at least two resources include the first resource.

[0029] In one possible design, the method further includes: the second terminal device communicating with the first terminal device using the beam associated with the first resource.

[0030] In one possible design, the second resource includes a symbol in the time domain and a resource block in the frequency domain.

[0031] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving first information from a network device, the first information being used to indicate a set of resource blocks in a resource pool used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information, the N resources belonging to the set of resource blocks in the frequency domain.

[0032] In one possible design, the first information includes a bit map, each bit in the bit map corresponds to a resource block in the resource pool, and the value of each bit is used to indicate whether the resource block corresponding to each bit is used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information.

[0033] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving second information from a network device, wherein the second information is used to indicate a set of time slots in a resource pool for transmitting the beam failure recovery response information, and the N resources belong to the set of time slots in the time domain.

[0034] In one possible design, the second information includes a period value, and the interval between two adjacent time slots in the time slot set is K-1 time slots, where K is the period value.

[0035] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving third information from a network device, where the third information is used to indicate an association relationship between the M resources and the N resources.

[0036] In one possible design, the association relationship between the M resources and the N resources is predefined or preconfigured.

[0037] In one possible design, the second resources and sidelink feedback resources are frequency division multiplexed.

[0038] In one possible design, the second resource and the sidelink feedback resource are located in different time slots.

[0039] In one possible design, the second resource is located after the at least two resources in the time domain.

[0040] It can be understood that the communication method provided in the above-mentioned second aspect corresponds to the first aspect, and the beneficial effects of the relevant technical features can refer to the description of the first aspect.

[0041] On the third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applicable to scenarios such as V2X. The execution subject of the method is a second terminal device or a module in the second terminal device, and the second terminal device is used as the execution subject for description. In the method, the second terminal device determines that the beam fails; the second terminal device sends beam failure recovery request information and a reference signal to the first terminal device on each of the M resources; the second terminal device receives beam failure recovery response information from the first terminal device on the second resource, and the second resource is associated with the first resource of the M resources, and the first resource is determined by the first terminal device from the M resources based on the reception quality of the reference signal on the M resources.

[0042] Using the above method, the second terminal device can send beam failure recovery request information and reference signals on M resources. Correspondingly, the first terminal device can feedback beam failure recovery response information on the corresponding beam failure recovery response resources based on the reception quality of multiple reference signals, thereby reducing the resource overhead required for beam failure recovery and increasing the proportion of resources available for data transmission.

[0043] In one possible design, the second terminal device determines beam failure, including: if the second terminal device determines that the number of consecutive failures to receive sidelink feedback data reaches a third threshold, then determines beam failure.

[0044] In one possible design, the method further includes: the second terminal device communicating with the first terminal device using the beam associated with the first resource.

[0045] In one possible design, the method further includes: the second terminal device determining the multiple resources from a resource pool, and the multiple resources are located in different time slots.

[0046] In one possible design, the M resource-associated resources are located in different time slots.

[0047] In one possible design, the first resource is also used to transmit sidelink data.

[0048] In this way, since the first resource can also be used to transmit sidelink data, the flexibility of resource use can be improved and the proportion of resources available for data transmission can be increased.

[0049] In one possible design, the beam failure recovery request information is carried on a physical sidelink control channel, or the beam failure recovery request information is carried on a physical sidelink shared channel.

[0050] In one possible design, the second resource belongs to a physical sidelink feedback channel resource; or, the second resource is dedicated to transmitting the beam failure recovery response information.

[0051] In one possible design, the second resource is located after the M resources in the time domain.

[0052] In one possible design, the association relationship between the second resource and the first resource is configured, preconfigured, or predefined by the network device.

[0053] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applicable to scenarios such as V2X. The execution subject of the method is a first terminal device or a module in the first terminal device, and the method is described here by taking the first terminal device as the execution subject as an example. In the method, the first terminal device receives beam failure recovery request information and a reference signal from the first terminal device on each of the M resources respectively; the first terminal device sends beam failure recovery response information to the first terminal device on a second resource, and the second resource is associated with the first resource of the M resources, and the first resource is determined by the first terminal device from the M resources according to the reception quality of the reference signal on the M resources.

[0054] In one possible design, the method further includes: the first terminal device communicating with the second terminal device using the beam associated with the first resource.

[0055] In one possible design, the M resource-associated resources are located in different time slots.

[0056] In one possible design, the first resource is also used to transmit sidelink data.

[0057] In one possible design, the beam failure recovery request information is carried on a physical sidelink control channel, or the beam failure recovery request information is carried on a physical sidelink shared channel.

[0058] In one possible design, the second resource belongs to a physical sidelink feedback channel resource; or, the second resource is dedicated to transmitting the beam failure recovery response information.

[0059] In one possible design, the second resource is located after the M resources in the time domain.

[0060] In one possible design, the association relationship between the second resource and the first resource is configured, preconfigured, or predefined by the network device.

[0061] It can be understood that the communication method provided in the fourth aspect corresponds to the third aspect, and the beneficial effects of the relevant technical features can refer to the description of the first aspect.

[0062] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which has the ability to implement the functions involved in any one of the first to fourth aspects above. For example, the communication device includes modules or units or means corresponding to the operations involved in any one of the first to fourth aspects above. The functions or units or means can be implemented through software, or through hardware, or the corresponding software can be implemented through hardware.

[0063] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The communication unit can be used to send and receive signals to enable communication between the communication device and other devices; the processing unit can be used to perform certain internal operations of the communication device. The functions performed by the processing unit and the communication unit can correspond to the operations described in any of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0064] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor, which can be coupled to a memory. The memory can store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions of any of the first to fourth aspects. The processor can execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method of any possible design or implementation of the first to fourth aspects.

[0065] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and a memory, and the memory may store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions of any of the first to fourth aspects described above. The processor may execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method of any possible design or implementation of the first to fourth aspects described above.

[0066] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method in any possible design or implementation of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0067] It can be understood that in the fifth aspect above, 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. In addition, the above processors can be one or more, and the memories can be one or more. The memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor can be set separately. In the specific implementation process, the memory can be integrated with the processor on the same chip, or can be set on different chips respectively. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of memory and the setting method of the memory and the processor.

[0068] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer-readable instructions are stored. When a computer reads and executes the computer-readable instructions, the computer executes the method in any possible design of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0069] Exemplarily, a computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, a computer-readable medium can include a non-transitory computer-readable medium, a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer.

[0070] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which, when read and executed by a computer, enables the computer to execute the method in any possible design of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0071] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a chip (or chip system), which includes a processor, and the processor is coupled to a memory, and is used to read and execute a software program stored in the memory to implement the method in any possible design of the first to fourth aspects above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0072] Figures 1A, 1B, and 1C are schematic diagrams of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG2A is a schematic diagram of sidelink data resources provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG2B is a schematic diagram of sidelink feedback resources provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a beam failure between terminal devices A and B according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a reference signal resource, a BFRQ resource, and a BFRR resource provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart corresponding to the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG6A is another schematic diagram of resources where reference signals are located, BFRQ resources, and BFRR resources provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG6B is another schematic diagram of resources where reference signals are located, BFRQ resources, and BFRR resources provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG7A is a schematic diagram of BFRR resources provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG7B is a schematic diagram of a configuration cycle of BFRR resources provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] FIG7C is a schematic diagram of the association relationship between BFRQ resources and BFRR resources provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] FIG8 is another schematic diagram of a flow chart corresponding to the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0084] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of BFRQ resources and BFRR resources provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0085] FIG10 is a possible exemplary block diagram of a device involved in an embodiment of the present application;

[0086] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0087] FIG12 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0088] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, 4th generation (4G) mobile communication system, such as long term evolution (LTE) system, 5G mobile communication system, such as new radio (NR) system, and future evolved communication systems, such as sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, etc.

[0089] In particular, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) communication, Internet of Vehicles, autonomous driving, assisted driving and other fields. Among them, C-V2X is a V2X communication technology developed based on cellular systems. It utilizes and enhances the current cellular network functions and elements to achieve low-latency and high-reliability communication between various nodes in the vehicle network, including vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle to pedestrian (V2P) communication, vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication, and vehicle to network (V2N) communication. With the evolution of cellular systems from 4G LTE to 5G NR, C-V2X has also evolved from LTE-V2X to NR-V2X.

[0090] This application will present various aspects, embodiments or features around a system that may include multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It should be understood and appreciated that each system may include additional devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all the devices, components, modules, etc. discussed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In addition, a combination of these schemes may also be used. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplarily" and "such as" are used to represent examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "example" in this application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of the word "example" is intended to present concepts in a concrete way.

[0091] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application is first described in detail using the communication system shown in Figures 1A to 1C as an example. The present application is applicable to a communication system that supports sidelink communication and supports communication scenarios with and without network coverage, where the sidelink may also be referred to as a sidelink, and is referred to as a sidelink in this application.

[0092] As shown in Figures 1A to 1C, the communication system may include multiple terminal devices (such as terminal device A and terminal device B), and optionally, a network device. In Figure 1A, terminal device A and terminal device B are both within the signal coverage of the network device; in Figure 1B, terminal device A is within the signal coverage of the network device, but terminal device B is outside the signal coverage of the network device. In Figure 1C, terminal device A and terminal device B are both outside the signal coverage of the network device. Among them, terminal device A and terminal device B in Figures 1A and 1B can communicate through a side link using resources scheduled by the network device, and the resources can be authorized resources or authorized frequency bands; terminal device A and terminal device B can also select resources by themselves, that is, select resources for side link communication from a resource pool, and the resources are unauthorized resources or unauthorized frequency bands. Terminal device A and terminal device B in Figure 1C are both outside the signal coverage of the network device, so they can only communicate through a side link using resource self-selection.

[0093] The network devices and terminal devices involved in FIG. 1A to FIG. 1C are described below respectively.

[0094] (1) Network devices

[0095] In the embodiments of the present application, a network device may also be referred to as a network device, and the network device may be a device in a wireless network. For example, the network device may be a radio access network (RAN) node that connects a terminal device to a wireless network, and may also be referred to as an access network device. 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 Node B, 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), and may also be a network device in a 5G mobile communication system. For example, a next-generation NodeB (gNB) or a transmission reception point (TRP) in an NR system; or one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G mobile communication system; or a network device can also be a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a BBU or a distributed unit (DU).

[0096] In some deployments, a 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 is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, implementing the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layers. The DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services, implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC), media access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layers. The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, RF processing, and active antenna-related functions. RRC layer information ultimately becomes PHY layer information, or is converted from PHY layer information. Therefore, in this architecture, higher-layer signaling (such as RRC layer signaling) can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or by both the DU and the AAU. It is understood that the network device can be a device including one or more of a CU node, a DU node, and an AAU node. In addition, the CU may be divided into a network device in the RAN, or may be divided into a network device in the core network (CN), which is not limited in this application.

[0097] (2) Terminal device

[0098] The terminal device involved in the embodiments of the present application may be a wireless terminal device capable of receiving scheduling and instruction information from a network device. The terminal device may be a terminal device, or may be a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), etc. The terminal device may be a device that includes wireless communication capabilities (providing voice / data connectivity to the user). For example, a handheld device with wireless connection capabilities, or an in-vehicle device, an in-vehicle module, etc. Currently, some examples of terminal devices include: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in the Internet of Vehicles, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, or wireless terminals in smart homes, device-to-device (D2D) communication terminal devices, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication terminal devices, smart vehicles, telematics boxes (T-boxes), machine-to-machine / machine-type communications (M2M / MTC) terminal devices, Internet of Things (IoT) The IoT (Internet of Things) terminal devices, etc. For example, the terminal device can be an onboard device, complete vehicle equipment, an onboard module, a vehicle, an onboard unit (OBU), a roadside unit (RSU), a T-box, a chip, or a system on chip (SOC), etc. The above chip or SOC can be installed in the vehicle, OBU, RSU, or T-box. Wireless terminals in industrial control can be cameras, robots, etc. Wireless terminals in smart homes can be TVs, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners, speakers, set-top boxes, etc.The terminal device can also be a V2X device, such as a smart car (or intelligent car), a digital car, an unmanned car (or driverless car or pilotless car or automobile), a self-driving car or autonomous car, a pure electric vehicle (or Battery EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a range extended EV (REEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), a new energy vehicle (new energy vehicle), and a roadside unit (RSU). The terminal device can also be a device in device-to-device (D2D) communication, such as an electricity meter, a water meter, etc. In addition, in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can also be a terminal device in an IoT system. IoT is an important part of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, thereby realizing an intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and object-to-object interconnection.

[0099] "Predefined" in this application generally refers to standard definition, does not require other equipment configuration, and is information recorded / written in advance in the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself, or can be understood as information that cannot be changed by the network device or other terminal devices.

[0100] "Configuration" in this application refers to a network device or server sending configuration information or parameter values ​​of some parameters to a terminal device through messages or signaling, or other terminal devices sending configuration information or parameter values ​​of some parameters to a terminal device through messages or signaling, so that the terminal device determines the communication parameters or resources during transmission based on these values ​​or information.

[0101] "Pre-configuration" in this application is similar to "configuration." It can be a network device or server sending parameter information or values ​​to a terminal device via a link or carrier different from the sidelink. It can also be defining the corresponding parameters or parameter values, or writing the relevant parameters or values ​​to the terminal device in advance. This application does not limit this. Furthermore, these values ​​and parameters can be changed or updated.

[0102] The communication system and scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

[0103] The following first explains the relevant terms involved in the embodiments of this application. When not specifically explained, these explanations are intended to support the meaning of the relevant terms and make the embodiments of this application easier to understand, and should not be regarded as strict limitations on the relevant terms in the scope of protection claimed by this application.

[0104] (1) Sidelink communication

[0105] The time and frequency resources for sidelink communications are configured via a sidelink resource pool, also referred to as a resource pool. A resource pool can be considered a collection of time and frequency domain resources used for sidelink communications. A resource pool can be located on a carrier, or on a bandwidth part (BWP) of a carrier. For example, one or more resource pools can be configured on a carrier (or a carrier's BWP).

[0106] Information transmitted via the sidelink may be referred to as sidelink information or sidelink information. Exemplarily, the sidelink information may include sidelink data and / or sidelink feedback data. The sidelink feedback data may be physical layer hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback data, such as acknowledgment (ACK) / negative acknowledgment (NACK).

[0107] Sidelink data can be carried on the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) and / or the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). For example, one sidelink data item can refer to one / time PSSCH and / or PSCCH transmission. Sidelink feedback data can be carried on the physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH). For example, one sidelink feedback data item can refer to one / time PSFCH transmission.

[0108] (2) Sidelink data resources and sidelink feedback resources

[0109] A resource used to transmit sidelink data may be called a sidelink data resource or a PSSCH-PSCCH resource. A sidelink data resource includes one or more symbols in the time domain and one or more subchannels in the frequency domain, with each subchannel consisting of several resource blocks (RBs). A resource used to transmit sidelink feedback data may be called a sidelink data feedback resource or a PSFCH resource. A sidelink data feedback resource includes one or more symbols in the time domain and one RB in the frequency domain.

[0110] The following describes examples of sidelink data resources and sidelink feedback resources with reference to Figures 2A and 2B . Figures 2A and 2B illustrate an example of a time slot consisting of 14 symbols, where the first symbol is an automatic gain control (AGC) symbol used for AGC adjustment, and the last symbol is a guard period (GAP).

[0111] Figure 2A is a schematic diagram of a sidelink data resource. As shown in Figure 2A, from a time domain perspective, the sidelink data resource includes one time slot (14 symbols). Specifically, the time slot includes three PSCCH symbols and 12 PSSCH symbols, which are transmitted in a frequency division manner. Among them, the 12 PSSCH symbols include four PSSCH reference signal symbols, such as the demodulation reference signal (DMRS).

[0112] Figure 2B is a schematic diagram of sidelink feedback resources. As shown in Figure 2B, from a time domain perspective, the sidelink feedback resources include the last three symbols of the timeslot, namely, one AGC symbol, one PSFCH symbol, and one GAP symbol. Optionally, the timeslot also includes sidelink data resources, which include the first 11 symbols of the timeslot, namely, one AGC symbol, two PSCCH symbols, and nine PSSCH symbols. The nine PSSCH symbols include two PSSCH reference signal symbols, and the two PSCCH symbols and two PSSCH symbols are transmitted in a frequency-division manner.

[0113] It is understandable that the above description is based on the example of "the sidelink feedback resource includes three symbols (AGC symbol, PSFCH symbol, and GAP symbol) in the time domain." Alternatively, it can be described as the sidelink feedback resource including one symbol, that is, the sidelink feedback resource includes PSFCH symbols but does not include AGC symbols and GAP symbols. The embodiments of this application will be described below using the example of "the sidelink feedback resource includes one symbol."

[0114] In addition, in V2X transmission mode 2 (mode 2) scenarios, unlike network device scheduling, terminal devices need to independently select sidelink data resources based on their own listening results. Therefore, to simplify the selection process of sidelink feedback resources, NR-V2X configures an association between sidelink data resources and sidelink feedback resources. For example, if sidelink data resource 1 is associated with sidelink feedback resource 1, then after terminal device A sends sidelink data to terminal device B using sidelink data resource 1, terminal device B can send sidelink feedback data to terminal device A using sidelink feedback resource 1. The sidelink feedback data is used to indicate whether the sidelink data was successfully received.

[0115] (3) Beam failure recovery

[0116] Beam management is a key technology in 5G systems for FR2. It refers to the process of acquiring and maintaining a set of beams for transmission and reception between the network and terminal devices in a 5G system. Beam management includes two key functions: beam training and beam failure recovery. Beam failure recovery involves the process of detecting a serving beam failure according to the beam failure detection criteria configured by the network device and attempting to replace the serving beam with an available candidate beam to restore the transmit and receive beam pair.

[0117] It should be noted that the beam used by the transmitting end to send the signal can be called a transmitting beam, and the beam used by the receiving end to receive the signal can be called a receiving beam. The transmitting beam and the receiving beam are a beam pair; the embodiment of the present application may not make a clear distinction between the transmitting beam and the receiving beam. For example, the transmitting beam x1 and the receiving beam x2 can be collectively referred to as beam x. In this way, it can be understood that the transmitting end uses beam x to send the signal, and accordingly, the receiving end can use beam x to receive the signal.

[0118] For sidelink communications, when the sidelink communication resources are in the FR2 frequency band, beam failure recovery is also required when a beam failure occurs between two terminal devices performing sidelink communication. For example, as shown in Figure 3, the two terminal devices are terminal device A and terminal device B. Terminal device A uses beam a1 to transmit information to terminal device B, and terminal device B receives information using beam a2. Subsequently, due to deterioration in the link quality between beams a1 and a2 (for example, due to obstruction between the transmit beam a1 and the receive beam a2), a beam failure occurs between terminal devices A and B. Terminal devices A and B then need to perform beam failure recovery.

[0119] Exemplarily, the network device may configure the association relationship between the reference signal, beam, beam failure recovery request (BFRQ) resource and beam failure recovery response (BFRR) resource for terminal device A and terminal device B respectively; or, the association relationship between the reference signal, beam, BFRQ resource and BFRR resource is preconfigured or predefined. The reference signal may be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or other possible reference signal, which is not specifically limited. As shown in Table 1, an example of the association relationship between the reference signal, beam, BFRQ resource and BFRR resource is provided.

[0120] Table 1: Example of the association between reference signals, beams, BFRQ resources, and BFRR resources

[0121] In Table 1, reference signal 1, beam 1, BFRQ resource 1, and BFRR resource 1 are associated with each other, and reference signal 2, beam 2, BFRQ resource 2, and BFRR resource 2 are associated with each other. The locations of the reference signal resources, BFRQ resources, and BFRR resources can be shown in Figure 4. The resources where the reference signal resides can also be referred to as the resources used to transmit the reference signal; "association" can also be referred to as "mapping," "correlation," or "correspondence."

[0122] Exemplarily, the resource granularity of the resource where the reference signal is located may be the same as the resource granularity of a sidelink data resource, for example, the resource where the reference signal is located includes a time slot in the time domain and one or more subchannels in the frequency domain. The transmitting end may send a reference signal on some symbols in the resource (as shown in FIG4 ), and may send sidelink data on other symbols other than the part of the symbols, or may not send sidelink data, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. The resource granularity of a BFRQ resource may be the same as the resource granularity of a sidelink feedback resource, for example, a BFRQ resource includes one symbol in the time domain and one or more subchannels in the frequency domain; wherein, the BFRQ information may be transmitted through the PSFCH. The resource granularity of a BFRR resource may be the same as the resource granularity of a sidelink data resource, for example, a BFRR resource includes one time slot in the time domain and one or more subchannels in the frequency domain; wherein, the BFRR information may be transmitted through the PSSCH or PCSCH.

[0123] Based on the associations shown in Table 1, a possible implementation of sidelink beam failure recovery includes:

[0124] ①Beam failure detection.

[0125] During the communication process between terminal device A and terminal device B, terminal device B can determine whether a beam failure occurs, and if it is determined that a beam failure occurs, it can request beam failure recovery.

[0126] ② New beam identification.

[0127] Terminal device A uses multiple beams to send multiple reference signals on multiple resources based on the association between the multiple reference signals and the multiple beams. For example, terminal device A uses beam 1 to send reference signal 1 on resource 1 and uses beam 2 to send reference signal 2 on resource 2. It will be understood that the multiple beams may include the aforementioned beam a.

[0128] Accordingly, terminal device B determines the optimal beam from the multiple beams based on the reception quality of the multiple reference signals received. For example, if the multiple reference signals include reference signal 1 and reference signal 2, and if reference signal 2 has the highest reception quality, terminal device B may select the beam associated with reference signal 2 (i.e., beam 2) as the optimal beam. The reference signal reception quality may be reference signal received power (RSRP).

[0129] It can be understood that the above step ① can occur before step ②, or the step ① can occur after step ②, or the step ① and step ② can occur simultaneously.

[0130] ③ Terminal device B sends BFRQ information to terminal device A, and correspondingly, terminal device A receives BFRQ information from terminal device B.

[0131] Terminal device B sends BFRQ information on the BFRQ resource (i.e., BFRQ resource 1) associated with the best beam (i.e., beam 2). Correspondingly, terminal device A uses the associated beam on each BFRQ resource to attempt to receive BFRQ information. For example, terminal device A uses beam 1 on BFRQ resource 1 to attempt to receive BFRQ information, and uses beam 2 on BFRQ resource 2 to attempt to receive BFRQ information. When terminal device A receives BFRQ information using beam 2 on BFRQ resource 2, it determines that beam 2 is the best beam.

[0132] ④ Terminal device A sends BFRR information to terminal device B; correspondingly, terminal device B receives the BFRR information from terminal device A.

[0133] Terminal A sends BFRR information on the BFRR resource associated with the optimal beam (i.e., beam 2) (i.e., BFRR resource 2). Accordingly, terminal B receives BFRR information on BFRR resource 2 using beam 2, confirming that beam recovery has been successful. Subsequently, terminal A and terminal B can communicate using beam 2.

[0134] As described above regarding beam failure recovery for sidelink communications, reference signals, BFRQ resources, and BFRR resources are associated one-to-one. This means that as many BFRQ and BFRR resources are required as there are beams. Because BFRQ and BFRR resources are configured, preconfigured, or predefined by network devices, they are typically unavailable for transmitting other information. This results in significant resource overhead for beam failure recovery for sidelink communications.

[0135] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method for reducing the resource overhead required for beam failure recovery in sidelink communication.

[0136] The solution provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below. The solution provided by the embodiment of the present application relates to a first terminal device and a second terminal device, and optionally also to a network device. The first terminal device and the second terminal device communicate with each other through sidelink resources. Unless otherwise specified, "terminal device" may refer to a terminal device or a component in a terminal device, such as a chip or a chip system; "network device" may refer to a network device, such as a base station, or a component in a network device, such as a chip or a chip system.

[0137] Example 1

[0138] FIG5 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG5 , the method includes:

[0139] S500, the network device sends configuration information to the first terminal device and the second terminal device respectively; accordingly, the first terminal device and the second terminal device determine the association relationship between M reference signals, M beams, M resources and N resources according to the configuration information.

[0140] Here, M resources are used to transmit BFRQ information, i.e., the M resources can be referred to as M BFRQ resources; N resources are used to transmit BFRR information, i.e., the N resources can be referred to as N BFRR resources. M is an integer greater than 1, N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and N is less than M. The association relationship between the M reference signals, the M beams, the M resources, and the N resources can be: the M reference signals are associated one-to-one with the M beams, the M beams are associated one-to-one with the M resources, and each of the N resources is associated with at least one of the M resources.

[0141] See Table 2, which is an example of the association relationship between M reference signals, M beams, M resources, and N resources, where M=2 and N=1.

[0142] Table 2: Example of the association between M reference signals, M beams, M resources, and N resources

[0143] In Table 2, reference signal 1, beam 1, BFRQ resource 1, and BFRR resource 1 are associated with each other, and reference signal 2, beam 2, BFRQ resource 2, and BFRR resource 1 are associated with each other. The locations of the resources where the reference signal is located, the BFRQ resources, and the BFRR resources can be shown in Figure 6A or Figure 6B. It can be understood that Table 2 is described by taking the example of M BFRQ resources being associated with the same BFRR resource, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. For example, the M BFRQ resources include BFRQ resources 1 to BFRQ resources 5 (i.e., M=5), the N BFRR resources include BFRR resource 1 and BFRQ resource 2 (i.e., N=2), BFRQ resources 1 to BFRQ resource 3 are associated with BFRR resource 1, and BFRQ resource 4 and BFRQ resource 5 are associated with BFRR resource 2.

[0144] The resource granularity of the resources where the reference signal is located and the resource granularity of the BFRQ resources can refer to the description above. Regarding BFRR resources: As a possible implementation, the resource granularity of the BFRR resources is the same as the resource granularity of the sidelink data resources. For example, one BFRR resource includes one time slot in the time domain and one or more subchannels in the frequency domain, as shown in Figure 6A. As another possible implementation, considering that BFRR information is used to indicate that BFRQ information has been received, that is, the amount of information in BFRR information is relatively small, such as 1 bit of information, the resource granularity of the BFRR resources can be the same as the resource granularity of the sidelink feedback resources. For example, one BFRR resource includes one symbol in the time domain (the previous symbol of the symbol is an AGC symbol, and the next symbol is a GAP symbol) and one resource block in the frequency domain, as shown in Figure 6B. In this case, the BFRR information can be transmitted via the PSFCH. The following description will take "one BFRR resource includes one symbol in the time domain and one resource block in the frequency domain" as an example.

[0145] Exemplarily, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: first information, second information, and third information. "Configuration information" may also be replaced by "indication information." There are various ways for a network device to send configuration information, and the configuration information may be carried in an RRC message or other possible messages. The first information, second information, and third information may be carried in the same message or in different messages, without limitation.

[0146] The first information, the second information and the third information are described below respectively.

[0147] (1) First Information

[0148] The first information is used to indicate a resource block set (ie, BFRR frequency domain resources) in the resource pool used for transmitting BFRR information. The N BFRR resources belong to the resource block set in the frequency domain.

[0149] Exemplarily, the first information includes a bitmap, and the number of bits in the bitmap is equal to the number of resource blocks in the resource pool. Each bit in the bitmap corresponds to a resource block in the resource pool, and the value of each bit is used to indicate whether the resource block corresponding to each bit is used to transmit BFRR information. For example, "1" in the bitmap indicates that the corresponding resource block can be used to transmit BFRR information (i.e., it can be used as a BFRR frequency domain resource), and "0" in the bitmap indicates that the corresponding resource block cannot be used to transmit BFRR information (i.e., it cannot be used as a BFRR frequency domain resource).

[0150] As shown in Figure 7A, in a time slot, assuming that a subchannel contains 10 resource blocks and there are 3 subchannels in the resource pool, the bitmap can contain 3*10=30 bits. The bitmap shown in Figure 7A is 111100000011110000001111000000, indicating that the first 4 resource blocks of each subchannel in the resource pool can be used to transmit BFRR information. That is, the resource block set used to transmit BFRR information is {RB0, RB1, RB2, RB3, RB10, RB11, RB12, RB13, RB20, RB21, RB22, RB23}.

[0151] (2) Second information

[0152] The second information is used to indicate a time slot set in the resource pool for transmitting BFRR information, and the N BFRR resources belong to the time slot set in the time domain.

[0153] Exemplarily, the second information includes a BFRR period value. Two adjacent time slots in the time slot set are separated by K-1 time slots, where K is the BFRR period value (i.e., the BFRR period is K time slots), and K is an integer greater than or equal to 1. As shown in FIG7B , when K is 1, it indicates that every time slot in the resource pool can be used to transmit BFRR information; when K is 2, it indicates that one time slot in every two time slots in the resource pool can be used to transmit BFRR information; and when K is 4, it indicates that one time slot in every four time slots in the resource pool can be used to transmit BFRR information. In each time slot in the time slot set, the BFRR resource can occupy the 13th symbol in the time slot.

[0154] (3) Third Party Information

[0155] The third information is used to indicate the association relationship between the M BFRQ resources and the N BFRR resources. There are multiple specific indication methods. The following describes two possible methods in combination with indication method 1 and indication method 2.

[0156] Indication method 1: The third information includes the time-frequency position information of M BFRQ resources, the time-frequency position information of N BFRR resources, and the association relationship information between the M BFRQ resources and the N BFRQ resources. For example, the M BFRQ resources include BFRQ resource 1 and BFRR resource 2, and the N BFRR resources include BFRR resource 1. Then the third information includes {time-frequency position information of BFRQ resource 1, time-frequency position information of BFRR resource 2; time-frequency position information of BFRR resource 1}.

[0157] In this case, the first terminal device or the second terminal device can determine the locations of the N BFRQ resources associated with the M BFRQ resources based on the third information, and the network device does not need to send the first information and the second information to the first terminal device or the second terminal device.

[0158] Indication method 2: The third information includes an association rule, which is used to determine the association relationship between M BFRQ resources and N BFRR resources. For example, the association rule is: one BFRR resource is associated with 4 BFRQ resources, and the BFRR resources in a BFRR time slot are sequentially allocated to the BFRQ resources in the BFRR period in the order of time domain first and frequency domain later. Among them, the BFRR time slot is a time slot containing BFRR resources, and the BFRR resources can be configured by the network device through the first information and the second information, or can be pre-configured, or can be predefined; the BFRQ resources can be configured, or pre-configured, or predefined. For example, when the BFRR period value is 4, the BFRQ resources in the first 4 time slots of the BFRR time slot are associated with the BFRR resources, as shown in Figure 7C. In Figure 7C, BFRQ resources numbered 0, 1, 2 and 3 are associated with the BFRR resource numbered 1, BFRQ resources numbered 4, 5, 6 and 7 are associated with the BFRR resource numbered 2, and BFRQ resources numbered 8, 9, 10 and 11 are associated with the BFRR resource numbered 3.

[0159] In this case, the third information includes association rules and does not indicate the location of the BFRR resources. After determining M BFRQ resources, the first terminal device or the second terminal device can combine the association rules to determine N BFRR resources associated with the M BFRQ resources.

[0160] Exemplarily, a BFRR resource is located after the BFRQ resource associated with the BFRR resource in the time domain. Taking Table 2 as an example, BFRR resource 1 is located after BFRQ resource 1 and BFRQ resource 2 in the time domain; for example, the time slot in which BFRR resource 1 is located is located after the time slot in which BFRQ resource 1 is located, and is located after the time slot in which BFRQ resource 2 is located.

[0161] Optionally, the third information is also used to indicate at least one of the following: the association relationship between M reference signals (or the resources where the reference signals are located) and M beams, and the association relationship between M reference signals (or the resources where the reference signals are located) and M BFRQ resources. For example, the third information includes information a, information b, and information c, and information a is used to indicate the association relationship between M BFRQ resources and N BFRR resources. The specific indication method may be the above-mentioned indication method 1 or indication method 2. Information b is used to indicate the association relationship between M reference signals (or the resources where the reference signals are located) and M beams. The specific indication method may refer to the prior art. Information c is used to indicate the association relationship between M reference signals (or the resources where the reference signals are located) and M BFRQ resources. The specific indication method may refer to the prior art.

[0162] In embodiment 1: When information a uses indication mode 1, the first terminal device or the second terminal device can determine the association relationship between M BFRQ resources and N BFRR resources based on information a, determine the association relationship between M reference signals and M beams based on information b, and determine the association relationship between M reference signals and M BFRQ resources based on information c, thereby obtaining the association relationship between M reference signals, M beams, M resources, and N resources. When information a uses indication mode 2, the first terminal device or the second terminal device can determine the association relationship between M resources and N resources based on the first information, the second information, and information a, and then, in combination with information b and information c, obtain the association relationship between M reference signals, M beams, M resources, and N resources.

[0163] At least one of the first information, the second information, information a, information b, and information c may be configured by a network device, or may be configured by a terminal device (e.g., the first terminal device is configured to the second terminal device, or the second terminal device is configured to the first terminal device, or another terminal device is configured to the first terminal device and the second terminal device), or may be preconfigured on the first terminal device and the second terminal device, or may be predefined by a protocol. When the first information, the second information, and the third information are not configured by a network device, S500 may not be performed, i.e., S500 is an optional step.

[0164] In addition, since the resource granularity of the BFRR resources and the resource granularity of the sidelink feedback resources in the embodiment of the present application can be the same, the relationship between the BFRR resources and the sidelink feedback resources is described below in combination with implementation methods 1 to 4.

[0165] Implementation method 1: BFRR resources reuse sidelink feedback resources, or in other words, BFRR resources belong to sidelink feedback resources. For example, the time slot corresponding to the BFRR resource is the same as the time slot corresponding to the sidelink feedback resource, and the resource block corresponding to the BFRR resource is the same as the resource block corresponding to the sidelink feedback resource.

[0166] Implementation method 2: Frequency division multiplexing of BFRR resources and sidelink feedback resources. For example, the time slot corresponding to the BFRR resource is the same as the time slot corresponding to the sidelink feedback resource, but the resource block corresponding to the BFRR resource is different from the resource block corresponding to the sidelink feedback resource. For example, referring to Figure 7A, the resource blocks corresponding to the BFRR resources include {RB0, RB1, RB2, RB3, RB10, RB11, RB12, RB13, RB20, RB21, RB22, RB23}, and the resource blocks corresponding to the sidelink feedback resources may include some or all of the remaining resource blocks.

[0167] Implementation method 3: Time division multiplexing of BFRR resources and sidelink feedback resources. For example, the time slots corresponding to the BFRR resources and the time slots corresponding to the sidelink feedback resources are different, while the resource blocks corresponding to the BFRR resources and the resource blocks corresponding to the sidelink feedback resources are the same. For example, the time slots corresponding to the sidelink feedback resources include {time slot 2, time slot 4, time slot 6, time slot 8, etc.}, and the time slots corresponding to the sidelink feedback resources include {time slot 1, time slot 3, time slot 5, time slot 7, etc.}, or {time slot 1, time slot 5, time slot 9, time slot 11, etc.}.

[0168] Implementation method 4: BFRR resources and sidelink feedback resources are not reused. For example, the time slot corresponding to the BFRR resource is different from the time slot corresponding to the sidelink feedback resource, and the resource block corresponding to the BFRR resource is different from the resource block corresponding to the sidelink feedback resource.

[0169] In implementations 2 to 4, BFRR resources do not belong to sidelink feedback resources, or in other words, BFRR resources are resources dedicated to transmitting BFRR information. In addition, the "BFRR resources" in implementations 1 to 4 above can also be replaced by "BFRQ resources."

[0170] S501: The first terminal device determines that the beam fails.

[0171] For example, before S501, the first and second terminal devices use beam a for sidelink communication. Specifically, the second terminal device uses beam a to transmit a signal to the first terminal device, and the first terminal device receives the signal using beam a. This means the second terminal device is the transmitter and the first terminal device is the receiver. During communication between the first and second terminal devices, due to movement of the first or second terminal device and changes in channel conditions, the channel conditions of the beam originally selected by the first and second terminal devices (i.e., beam a) may deteriorate, resulting in poor communication performance. The first terminal device may then determine that the beam has failed.

[0172] Among them, there are many ways for the first terminal device to determine that the beam has failed, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. For example, if the first terminal device does not receive the information periodically sent by the second terminal device, it can be determined that the beam has failed. For another example, if the first terminal device determines that the number of consecutive sidelink data reception failures (or decoding failures or demodulation failures) reaches a first threshold, it can be determined that the beam has failed. The first threshold can be configured by the network device, or preconfigured, or predefined. For another example, if the first terminal device determines that the proportion of sidelink positive feedback in the feedback that needs to be received is less than the second threshold, it determines that the beam has failed.

[0173] S502 : The first terminal device sends BFRQ information to the second terminal device on a first resource among M resources; correspondingly, the second terminal device receives the BFRQ information on the first resource.

[0174] For example, after the first terminal device determines that the best beam from the M beams is beam 2, it can determine that the BFRQ resource associated with the best beam is BFRQ resource 2 (i.e., the first resource) based on the association relationship between the M beams and the M resources (as shown in Table 2), and then use the best beam to send BFRQ information to the second terminal device on the first resource. Correspondingly, the second terminal device uses M beams to attempt to receive BFRQ information on M resources based on the association relationship between the M beams and the M resources (as shown in Table 2). For example, the second terminal device uses beam 1 to attempt to receive BFRQ information on BFRQ resource 1, and uses beam 2 to attempt to receive BFRQ information on BFRQ resource 2. Since the first terminal device sent BFRQ information on the first resource, the second terminal device can receive BFRQ information on BFRQ resource 2 using beam 2, and then the second terminal device can know that the best beam determined by the first terminal device is beam 2.

[0175] The process of the first terminal device determining the best beam may be as follows: the second terminal device uses M beams to send M reference signals based on the association relationship between the M reference signals and the M beams (as shown in Table 2), for example, terminal device A uses beam 1 to send reference signal 1 and uses beam 2 to send reference signal 2. Correspondingly, the first terminal device uses M beams to attempt to receive M reference signals based on the association relationship between the M reference signals and the M beams (as shown in Table 2), for example, the first terminal device uses beam 1 to attempt to receive reference signal 1 on the corresponding resource and uses beam 2 to attempt to receive reference signal 2 on the corresponding resource. Furthermore, the first terminal device may determine the best beam from the M beams based on the reception quality of the M reference signals received. For example, if the reception quality of reference signal 2 is the highest among the M reference signals, the first terminal device may use the beam associated with reference signal 2 (i.e., beam 2) as the best beam.

[0176] It can be understood that the first terminal device may determine the optimal beam before S501, or after S501, or simultaneously with S501.

[0177] S503: The second terminal apparatus sends BFRR information to the first terminal apparatus on a second resource among the N resources; correspondingly, the first terminal apparatus receives the BFRR information on the second resource.

[0178] Exemplarily, after the second terminal device receives BFRQ information on the first resource among M resources, it can determine the second resource among the N resources associated with the first resource based on the association relationship between the M resources and the N resources (as shown in Table 2), and then send BFRR information on the second resource. For example, the first resource is BFRQ resource 2. After the second terminal device receives BFRQ information on BFRQ resource 2 using beam 2, it can use beam 2 to send BFRR information on BFRR resource 1 associated with BFRQ resource 2; accordingly, the first terminal device uses beam 2 to receive BFRR information on BFRR resource 1, thereby completing beam recovery. Subsequently, the first terminal device and the second terminal device can communicate using the optimal beam (i.e., beam 2).

[0179] Using the above method, since one BFRR resource can be associated with at least two BFRQ resources, compared to "one-to-one association of BFRQ resources with BFRR resources," the number of BFRQ resources can be reduced, facilitating the reduction of resource overhead required for beam failure recovery and increasing the proportion of resources available for data transmission. Furthermore, optionally, one BFRR resource includes one resource block in the frequency domain and one symbol in the time domain, i.e., the resource granularity of the BFRR resource is the same as the resource granularity of the sidelink feedback resource. Compared to "the resource granularity of the BFRR resource can be the same as the resource granularity of the sidelink data resource," this can reduce the resource overhead of a single BFRQ resource, facilitate reducing the resource overhead required for beam failure recovery, and increase the proportion of resources available for data transmission.

[0180] Example 2

[0181] FIG8 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG8 , the method includes:

[0182] S801: The second terminal device determines that the beam fails.

[0183] For example, before S801, the first and second terminal devices use beam a for sidelink communication. Specifically, the second terminal device uses beam a to transmit a signal to the first terminal device, and the first terminal device receives the signal using beam a. This means the second terminal device is the transmitter and the first terminal device is the receiver. During communication between the first and second terminal devices, due to movement of the first or second terminal device and changes in channel conditions, the channel conditions of the beam originally selected by the first and second terminal devices (i.e., beam a) may deteriorate, resulting in poor communication performance. Consequently, the second terminal device may determine that the beam has failed.

[0184] The second terminal device may determine beam failure in various ways. For example, if the second terminal device continuously sends multiple sidelink data to the first terminal device using beam a but fails to receive corresponding sidelink feedback data, i.e., the number of consecutive sidelink feedback data reception failures reaches a third threshold, beam failure may be determined. The third threshold may be configured, preconfigured, or predefined by the network device.

[0185] S802, the second terminal device sends BFRQ information and a reference signal to the first terminal device on each of the M resources; correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the BFRQ information and the reference signal on each of the M resources.

[0186] (1) Describe the information transmitted on M resources.

[0187] Each of the M resources can be used to transmit BFRQ information and a reference signal. That is, the resource is where the BFRQ information and reference signal reside. For ease of description, the resource may be referred to as a BFRQ resource or another name. This embodiment of the present application does not limit the name. "M BFRQ resources" will be used as an example below. Optionally, each of the M BFRQ resources can also be used to transmit sidelink data.

[0188] The resource granularity of the BFRQ resource may be the same as the resource granularity of the sidelink data resource. For example, a BFRQ resource includes a time slot in the time domain and one or more subchannels in the frequency domain.

[0189] For example, a BFRQ resource is shown in Figure 2A. The BFRQ information transmitted on the BFRQ resource can be carried on the PSCCH, for example, by adding a field to the sidelink control information of the PSCCH, which includes the BFRQ information. Alternatively, the BFRQ information can be carried on the PSSCH, for example, by indicating in the MAC CE of the PSSCH that the MAC CE is BFRQ information. In addition, the reference signal transmitted on the BFRQ resource can be a PSSCH reference signal, such as a DMRS.

[0190] (2) The implementation of the second terminal device determining M BFRQ resources is described.

[0191] Exemplarily, the M BFRQ resources may be resources autonomously selected by the second terminal device based on its own listening results, or may be resources selected by the second terminal device based on assistance from the first terminal device. This embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation of the second terminal device determining the M BFRQ resources. This is different from the "M resources are configured, preconfigured, or predefined by the network device" in the first embodiment.

[0192] For example, after the second terminal device fails to determine the beam, if the second terminal device has M beams, it may determine M BFRQ resources from the resource pool, where the resource pool may be configured, preconfigured, or predefined by the network device.

[0193] The M BFRQ resources are associated one-to-one with the M beams. For example, the M beams include beam 1 and beam 2, beam 1 is associated with BFRQ resource 1, and beam 2 is associated with BFRQ resource 2. In addition, since only one beam can usually be used for transmission or reception in a time slot, when the second terminal device determines the M BFRQ resources from the resource pool, it needs to ensure that the M BFRQ resources are located in different time slots.

[0194] There are multiple ways to associate the M BFRQ resources with the M beams. For example, the M BFRQ resources can be associated one-to-one with the M beams according to their order in the time domain. This association method can be configured by a network device or a terminal device, or can be preconfigured, or can be predefined. Optionally, a periodic time window can be configured, preconfigured, or predefined, and the M BFRQ resources fall within the time window, and the M BFRQ resources correspond one-to-one to the M beams.

[0195] (3) Describe the specific implementation of S802.

[0196] For example, as shown in Figure 9 , the second terminal device may use beam 1 to send BFRQ information 1 and reference signal 1 on BFRQ resource 1; and use beam 2 to send BFRQ information 2 and reference signal 2 on BFRQ resource 2. It will be understood that the second terminal device may use different beams to send BFRQ information and reference signals on different BFRQ resources, but the sent BFRQ information and reference signals may be the same.

[0197] Accordingly, the first terminal device can determine the first resource from the M resources based on the reception quality of the reference signals on the M BFRQ resources. Specifically, after the first terminal device receives BFRQ information 1 and reference signal 1 on BFRQ resource 1, and receives BFRQ information 2 and reference signal 2 on BFRQ resource 2, the first terminal device learns that the second terminal device has initiated beam failure recovery based on BFRQ information 1 and BFRQ information 2, and then the first terminal device can determine the first resource from the M BFRQ resources based on the reception quality of reference signal 1 and reference signal 2. For example, if the reception quality of reference signal 2 is the highest, the first terminal device can determine that the resource where reference signal 2 is located (i.e., BFRQ resource 2) is the first resource, and the beam associated with the first resource (i.e., beam 2) is the best beam.

[0198] S803 , the first terminal device sends BFRR information to the second terminal device on the second resource; correspondingly, the second terminal device receives the BFRR information from the first terminal device on the second resource.

[0199] Assuming that in S802, the first terminal device determines that BFRQ resource 2 is the first resource and beam 2 associated with BFRQ resource 2 is the optimal beam, then in S803, the first terminal device can determine that the BFRR resource associated with BFRQ resource 2 is the second resource based on the association relationship between the BFRQ resource and the BFRF resource (as shown in Table 3), and then use beam 2 to send BFRR information on the second resource. Correspondingly, the second terminal device can use beam 2 to receive BFRR information on the second resource, thereby completing beam recovery. Subsequently, the first terminal device and the second terminal device can communicate using the optimal beam (i.e., beam 2).

[0200] Table 3: Example of the association between M BFRQ resources, M beams, and M BFRR resources

[0201] Exemplarily, the resource granularity of the second resource can be the same as the resource granularity of the sidelink feedback resource, for example, the second resource includes one symbol in the time domain (the previous symbol of the symbol is an AGC symbol, and the next symbol is a GAP symbol) and one resource block in the frequency domain.

[0202] As a possible implementation, the first resource is a sidelink data resource, and the second resource is a sidelink feedback resource. In this case, the association relationship between the first resource and the second resource can refer to the existing technology.

[0203] As another possible implementation, the first resource is a sidelink data resource, and the second resource is a resource dedicated to transmitting BFRR information (for example, the second resource is frequency-division multiplexed with the sidelink feedback resource, or the second resource is time-division multiplexed with the sidelink feedback resource, or the second resource is not multiplexed with the sidelink feedback resource, for details, refer to the first embodiment). In this case, the association relationship between the first resource and the second resource can be configured by the network device, preconfigured, or predefined.

[0204] Exemplarily, the BFRR resources associated with M BFRQ resources can be located in different time slots. For example, when the second terminal device selects M BFRQ resources, the time domain interval between two adjacent BFRQ resources needs to be greater than or equal to K time slots, where K is the BFRR period value, thereby ensuring that the BFRR resources associated with the M BFRQ resources can be located in different time slots. For example, if the BFRR period value is 2, the time domain interval between two adjacent BFRQ resources in the M BFRQ resources needs to be greater than or equal to 2 time slots. The reason is: after the second terminal device sends BFRQ information and a reference signal on each of the M BFRQ resources, it can use the beam associated with the M BFRQ resources to try to receive BFRR information on the BFRR resources associated with the M BFRQ resources. For example, the second terminal device attempts to receive BFRR information on BFRR resource 1 (BFRR resource 1 is associated with BFRQ resource 1) using beam 1, and attempts to receive BFRR information on BFRR resource 2 (BFRR resource 2 is associated with BFRQ resource 2) using beam 2. Because only one beam can usually be used for transmission or reception in a time slot, if BFRR resource 1 and BFRR resource 2 are in the same time slot, the second terminal device will not know which beam to use for reception in that time slot.

[0205] Exemplarily, the BFRR resources associated with M BFRQ resources are located after the M BFRQ resources in the time domain. For example, BFRQ resource 1 is associated with BFRR resource 1, and BFRQ resource 2 is associated with BFRR resource 2. Then BFRR resource 1 is located after BFRQ resource 1 and BFRQ resource 2 in the time domain, and BFRR resource 2 is located after BFRQ resource 1 and BFRQ resource 2 in the time domain. The reason is: after the first terminal device receives M BFRQ information and M reference signals on M BFRQ resources, it sends BFRR information on the BFRR resource associated with one of the M BFRQ resources based on the reception quality of the M reference signals. Therefore, the BFRR resources associated with the M BFRQ resources need to be located after the M BFRQ resources in the time domain.

[0206] Using the above method, the second terminal device can send BFRQ information and reference signals on the BFRQ resources. Correspondingly, the first terminal device can feedback BFRR information on the corresponding BFRR resources based on the reception quality of multiple reference signals, that is, "BFRQ resources and BFRR resources are associated one by one". Compared with the method of "associating the resources where the reference signal is located, BFRQ resources and BFRR resources one by one", it can reduce the resource overhead required for beam failure recovery and increase the proportion of resources available for data transmission. Furthermore, the BFRQ resources in this embodiment can also be used to transmit sidelink data, thereby improving the flexibility of resource use and increasing the proportion of resources available for data transmission.

[0207] With respect to the above embodiment, it can be understood that:

[0208] (1) The above description focuses on the differences between different embodiments, different implementations, or different examples. Except for the differences, different embodiments, different implementations, or different examples can refer to each other. In addition, different embodiments, different implementations, or different examples may be implemented partially, combined, or partially combined, etc., and the embodiments of this application will not be listed one by one.

[0209] (2) The step numbers in the flowcharts described in the above embodiments are merely examples of the execution process and do not limit the order in which the steps are executed. In the embodiments of the present application, steps that do not have a temporal dependency on each other may not be strictly executed in any particular order. Furthermore, not all of the steps shown in the flowcharts are mandatory steps. Some steps may be added or deleted based on actual needs, or only some of the steps in the flowcharts may be executed.

[0210] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of interaction between devices. It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, each device may include a hardware structure and / or software module that performs each function. Those skilled in the art should easily appreciate that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in a hardware or computer software driven hardware manner 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 to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0211] In the embodiments of the present application, the first terminal device or the second terminal device can be divided into functional units according to the above method examples. For example, different functional units can be divided according to different functions, or two or more functions can be integrated into a single unit. The above integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0212] In the case of adopting an integrated unit, Figure 10 shows a possible exemplary block diagram of the device involved in the embodiments of the present application. As shown in Figure 10, the device 1000 may include: a processing unit 1002 and a communication unit 1003. The processing unit 1002 is used to control and manage the actions of the device 1000. The communication unit 1003 is used to support the communication between the device 1000 and other devices. Optionally, the communication unit 1003 is also called a transceiver unit, and may include a receiving unit and / or a sending unit, which are used to perform receiving and sending operations respectively. The device 1000 may also include a storage unit 1001 for storing program code and / or data of the device 1000.

[0213] (1) The apparatus 1000 may be the first terminal apparatus in the above-described embodiments. The processing unit 1002 may support the apparatus 1000 in executing the actions of the first terminal apparatus in each of the above-described method examples. Alternatively, the processing unit 1002 may primarily execute the internal actions of the first terminal apparatus in the method examples, and the communication unit 1003 may support communication between the apparatus 1000 and other devices.

[0214] (1.1) In one embodiment, the processing unit 1002 is used to: determine beam failure; the communication unit 1003 is used to: send beam failure recovery request information to the second terminal device on a first resource among M resources; the M resources are associated one-to-one with M reference signals, the first resource is determined from the M resources based on the reception quality of the M reference signals, and the M resources are used to transmit the beam failure recovery request information; receive beam failure recovery response information from the second terminal device on a second resource among N resources; the N resources are used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information, and the second resource is associated with at least two resources among the M resources, and the at least two resources include the first resource.

[0215] In one possible design, the processing unit 1002 is specifically used to: determine that the beam has failed if the information periodically sent by the second terminal device is not received; or determine that the beam has failed if the number of consecutive failures to receive the sidelink data reaches a first threshold.

[0216] In one possible design, the communication unit 1003 is further used to: communicate with the second terminal device using the beam associated with the first resource.

[0217] In one possible design, the second resource includes a symbol in the time domain and a resource block in the frequency domain.

[0218] In one possible design, the communication unit 1003 is also used to: receive first information from a network device, wherein the first information is used to indicate a set of resource blocks in a resource pool used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information, and the N resources belong to the set of resource blocks in the frequency domain.

[0219] In one possible design, the first information includes a bit map, each bit in the bit map corresponds to a resource block in the resource pool, and the value of each bit is used to indicate whether the resource block corresponding to each bit is used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information.

[0220] In one possible design, the communication unit 1003 is also used to: receive second information from the network device, where the second information is used to indicate a set of time slots in the resource pool used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information, and the N resources belong to the set of time slots in the time domain.

[0221] In one possible design, the second information includes a period value, and an interval between two adjacent time slots in the time slot set is K-1 time slots, where K is the period value.

[0222] In one possible design, the communication unit 1003 is further used to: receive third information from the network device, where the third information is used to indicate an association relationship between the M resources and the N resources.

[0223] In one possible design, the association relationship between the M resources and the N resources is predefined or preconfigured.

[0224] In one possible design, the second resources and sidelink feedback resources are frequency division multiplexed.

[0225] In one possible design, the second resource and the sidelink feedback resource are located in different time slots.

[0226] In one possible design, the second resource is located after the at least two resources in the time domain.

[0227] (1.2) In another embodiment, the communication unit 1003 is used to: receive beam failure recovery request information and a reference signal from a first terminal device on each of M resources, respectively; and send beam failure recovery response information to the first terminal device on a second resource, where the second resource is associated with a first resource among the M resources, and the first resource is determined by the first terminal device from the M resources based on the reception quality of the reference signal on the M resources.

[0228] In one possible design, the communication unit 1003 is further used to: communicate with the second terminal device using the beam associated with the first resource.

[0229] In one possible design, the M resource-associated resources are located in different time slots.

[0230] In one possible design, the first resource is also used to transmit sidelink data.

[0231] In one possible design, the beam failure recovery request information is carried on a physical sidelink control channel, or the beam failure recovery request information is carried on a physical sidelink shared channel.

[0232] In one possible design, the second resource belongs to a physical sidelink feedback channel resource; or, the second resource is dedicated to transmitting the beam failure recovery response information.

[0233] In one possible design, the association relationship between the second resource and the first resource is configured, preconfigured, or predefined by the network device.

[0234] (2) The apparatus 1000 may be the second terminal apparatus in the above-described embodiments. The processing unit 1002 may support the apparatus 1000 in executing the actions of the second terminal apparatus in each of the above-described method examples. Alternatively, the processing unit 1002 may primarily execute the internal actions of the second terminal apparatus in the method examples, and the communication unit 1003 may support communication between the apparatus 1000 and other devices.

[0235] (2.1) In one embodiment, the communication unit 1003 is used to: send M reference signals; receive beam failure recovery request information from a second terminal device on a first resource among the M resources; the M resources are associated one-to-one with the M reference signals, the first resource is determined from the M resources based on the reception quality of the M reference signals, and the M resources are used to transmit the beam failure recovery request information; send beam failure recovery response information to the second terminal device on a second resource among N resources; the N resources are used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information, and the second resource is associated with at least two resources among the M resources, and the at least two resources include the first resource.

[0236] In one possible design, the communication unit 1003 is configured to: enable the second terminal device to communicate with the first terminal device using the beam associated with the first resource.

[0237] In one possible design, the second resource includes a symbol in the time domain and a resource block in the frequency domain.

[0238] In one possible design, the communication unit 1003 is also used to: receive first information from a network device, wherein the first information is used to indicate a set of resource blocks in a resource pool used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information, and the N resources belong to the set of resource blocks in the frequency domain.

[0239] In one possible design, the first information includes a bit map, each bit in the bit map corresponds to a resource block in the resource pool, and the value of each bit is used to indicate whether the resource block corresponding to each bit is used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information.

[0240] In one possible design, the communication unit 1003 is also used to: receive second information from the network device, where the second information is used to indicate a set of time slots in the resource pool used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information, and the N resources belong to the set of time slots in the time domain.

[0241] In one possible design, the second information includes a period value, and the interval between two adjacent time slots in the time slot set is K-1 time slots, where K is the period value.

[0242] In one possible design, the communication unit 1003 is further used to: receive third information from the network device, where the third information is used to indicate an association relationship between the M resources and the N resources.

[0243] In one possible design, the association relationship between the M resources and the N resources is predefined or preconfigured.

[0244] In one possible design, the second resources and sidelink feedback resources are frequency division multiplexed.

[0245] In one possible design, the second resource and the sidelink feedback resource are located in different time slots.

[0246] In one possible design, the second resource is located after the at least two resources in the time domain.

[0247] (2.2) In another embodiment, the processing unit 1002 is used to: determine beam failure; the communication unit 1003 is used to: send beam failure recovery request information and a reference signal to the first terminal device on each of the M resources respectively; the second terminal device receives beam failure recovery response information from the first terminal device on a second resource, and the second resource is associated with a first resource among the M resources, and the first resource is determined by the first terminal device from the M resources based on the reception quality of the reference signal on the M resources.

[0248] In one possible design, the processing unit 1002 is specifically used to: if it is determined that the number of consecutive failures to receive sidelink feedback data reaches a third threshold, then determine that the beam has failed.

[0249] In one possible design, the communication unit 1003 is further used to: communicate with the first terminal device using the beam associated with the first resource.

[0250] In one possible design, the processing unit 1002 is specifically used to: determine the multiple resources from the resource pool, and the multiple resources are located in different time slots.

[0251] In one possible design, the M resource-associated resources are located in different time slots.

[0252] In one possible design, the first resource is also used to transmit sidelink data.

[0253] In one possible design, the beam failure recovery request information is carried on a physical sidelink control channel, or the beam failure recovery request information is carried on a physical sidelink shared channel.

[0254] In one possible design, the second resource belongs to a physical sidelink feedback channel resource; or, the second resource is dedicated to transmitting the beam failure recovery response information.

[0255] In one possible design, the association relationship between the second resource and the first resource is configured, preconfigured, or predefined by the network device.

[0256] It should be understood that the division of units in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into one physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Moreover, the units in the device can all be implemented in the form of software calling through processing elements; or they can all be implemented in the form of hardware; or some units can be implemented in the form of software calling through processing elements, and some units can be implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit can be a separately established processing element, or it can be integrated into a certain chip of the device. In addition, it can also be stored in the memory in the form of a program, called by a certain processing element of the device and execute the function of the unit. In addition, all or part of these units can be integrated together, or they can be implemented independently. The processing element described here can also be a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each operation of the above method or each unit above can be implemented by the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor element or in the form of software calling through the processing element.

[0257] In one example, the unit in any of the above devices may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. For another example, when the unit in the device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element can be a processor, such as a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), or other processor that can call a program. For another example, these units can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0258] The above-mentioned receiving unit is an interface circuit of the device, which is used to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the receiving unit is the interface circuit of the chip used to receive signals from other chips or devices. The above-mentioned sending unit is an interface circuit of the device, which is used to send signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the sending unit is the interface circuit of the chip used to send signals to other chips or devices.

[0259] As another possible product form, the terminal device described in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by a general bus architecture. For ease of explanation, refer to Figure 11, which is a structural diagram of a communication device 1100 provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein the communication device 1100 includes a processor 1101 and a transceiver 1102. The communication device 1100 can be a first terminal device, or a chip or chip system therein. Figure 11 only shows the main components of the communication device 1100. In addition to the processor 1101 and the transceiver 1102, the communication device 1100 may further include a memory 1103, and an input and output device (not shown).

[0260] Optionally, the processor 1101 is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, as well as control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process software program data. The memory 1103 is primarily used to store software programs and data. The transceiver 1102 may include a radio frequency circuit and an antenna. The radio frequency circuit is primarily used to convert baseband signals into radio frequency signals and process radio frequency signals. The antenna is primarily used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as a touch screen, display, and keyboard, are primarily used to receive user input and output data to the user.

[0261] Optionally, the processor 1101 , the transceiver 1102 , and the memory 1103 may be connected via a communication bus.

[0262] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 1101 can read the software program in the memory 1103, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent wirelessly, the processor 1101 performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1101. The processor 1101 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0263] In another implementation, the RF circuit and antenna may be provided independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the RF circuit and antenna may be remotely arranged independent of the communication device.

[0264] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may conceive that the above-mentioned communication device 1000 may take the form of the communication device 1100 shown in FIG. 11 .

[0265] As an example, the functions / implementation process of the processing unit 1002 in FIG10 may be implemented by the processor 1101 in the communication device 1100 shown in FIG11 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1103. The functions / implementation process of the communication unit 1003 in FIG10 may be implemented by the transceiver 1102 in the communication device 1100 shown in FIG11.

[0266] As another possible product form, the terminal device in the present application may adopt the structure shown in Figure 12, or include the components shown in Figure 12. Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 1200 provided in the present application.

[0267] As shown in FIG12 , the communication device 1200 includes at least one processor 1201. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface 1202.

[0268] When the program instructions are executed in the at least one processor 1201, the apparatus 1200 may implement the method provided in any of the aforementioned embodiments and any possible designs thereof. Alternatively, the processor 1201 may implement the method provided in any of the aforementioned embodiments and any possible designs thereof through logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

[0269] The communication interface 1202 can be used to receive program instructions and transmit them to the processor. Alternatively, the communication interface 1202 can be used for the communication device 1200 to communicate with other communication devices, such as exchanging control signaling and / or service data. Exemplarily, the communication interface 1202 can be used to receive signals from devices other than the communication device 1200 and transmit them to the processor 1201, or to send signals from the processor 1201 to other communication devices other than the communication device 1200.

[0270] Optionally, the communication interface 1202 may be a code and / or data read and write interface circuit, or the communication interface 1202 may be a signal transmission interface circuit between a communication processor and a transceiver, or a pin of a chip.

[0271] Optionally, the communication device 1200 may further include at least one memory 1203, which may be used to store required program instructions and / or data. It should be noted that the memory 1203 may exist independently of the processor 1201 or may be integrated with the processor 1201. The memory 1203 may be located within or outside the communication device 1200, without limitation.

[0272] Optionally, the communication device 1200 may further include a power supply circuit 1204, which may be used to supply power to the processor 1201. The power supply circuit 1204 may be located in the same chip as the processor 1201, or in another chip other than the chip where the processor 1201 is located.

[0273] Optionally, the communication device 1200 may further include a bus 1205 , and various parts of the communication device 1200 may be interconnected via the bus 1205 .

[0274] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may conceive that the communication device 1000 shown in FIG. 10 may take the form of the communication device 1200 shown in FIG. 12 .

[0275] As an example, the functions / implementation process of the processing unit 1002 in FIG10 can be implemented by the processor 1201 in the communication device 1200 shown in FIG12 calling the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1203. The functions / implementation process of the communication unit 1003 in FIG10 can be implemented by the communication interface 1202 in the communication device 1200 shown in FIG12.

[0276] It should be noted that the structure shown in FIG12 does not constitute a specific limitation on the terminal device. For example, in other embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may include more or fewer components than shown, or may combine or separate certain components, or arrange the components differently. The components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0277] Optionally, the processor in the present application may be a CPU, other general-purpose processors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or any conventional processor, etc.

[0278] The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application can be used interchangeably. "At least one" refers to one or more, and "plurality" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, "at least one of A, B or C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC, and "at least one of A, B and C" can also be understood to include A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. And, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects.

[0279] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application can adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application can adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0280] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the flow chart and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more flow charts and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0281] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0282] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a first terminal device, and the method includes: Determine beam failure; Sending beam failure recovery request information to a second terminal device on a first resource among M resources; the M resources are associated one-to-one with M reference signals, the first resource is determined from the M resources according to reception qualities of the M reference signals, and the M resources are used to transmit the beam failure recovery request information; On a second resource among N resources, beam failure recovery response information is received from the second terminal device; the N resources are used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information, and the second resource is associated with at least two resources among the M resources, and the at least two resources include the first resource.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The determining beam failure includes: If it is determined that the information periodically sent by the second terminal device is not received, it is determined that the beam formation fails; or, If it is determined that the number of consecutive failures in receiving the sidelink data reaches a first threshold, it is determined that the beam has failed.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Communicate with the second terminal device using the beam associated with the first resource.

4. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a second terminal device, and the method includes: Send M reference signals; receiving beam failure recovery request information from a second terminal device on a first resource among M resources; the M resources are associated one-to-one with the M reference signals, the first resource is determined from the M resources according to reception qualities of the M reference signals, and the M resources are used to transmit the beam failure recovery request information; On a second resource among the N resources, beam failure recovery response information is sent to the second terminal device; the N resources are used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information, and the second resource is associated with at least two resources among the M resources, and the at least two resources include the first resource.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: Communicate with the first terminal device using the beam associated with the first resource.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The second resource includes one symbol in the time domain and one resource block in the frequency domain.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive first information from a network device, where the first information is used to indicate a resource block set in a resource pool used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information, and the N resources belong to the resource block set in the frequency domain.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first information includes a bit map, each bit in the bit map corresponds to a resource block in the resource pool, and the value of each bit is used to indicate whether the resource block corresponding to each bit is used to transmit the beam failure recovery response information.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive second information from a network device, where the second information is used to indicate a time slot set in a resource pool for transmitting the beam failure recovery response information, and the N resources belong to the time slot set in the time domain.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The second information includes a period value. Two adjacent time slots in the time slot set are spaced apart by K-1 time slots, where K is the period value.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive third information from the network device, where the third information is used to indicate an association relationship between the M resources and the N resources.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that The association relationship between the M resources and the N resources is predefined or preconfigured.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that The second resource and the sidelink feedback resource are frequency division multiplexed; or, the second resource and the sidelink feedback resource are located in different time slots.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that The second resource is located after the at least two resources in the time domain.

15. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising means for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory, and a computer program is stored in the memory; the processor is used to call the computer program in the memory so that the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14 is executed.

17. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14 is executed.

18. A computer program product, characterized in that When a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14 is executed.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

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