Method for allocating pilot ports and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a method for allocating pilot ports and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal device sends first indication information to a network device, the first indication information being used for indicating a first number, the first number being less than the sum of the number of second ports corresponding to P first ports of the terminal device, and P being a positive integer; further, the terminal device receives pilot port configuration information from the network device, the pilot port configuration information being used for configuring Q pilot ports, Q being determined on the basis of the first number, and Q being a positive integer less than or equal to the first number. By means of the described method, during channel information measurement, a network device can allocate fewer pilot ports, thereby facilitating saving pilot resource overhead.

Description

A pilot port allocation method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on November 25, 2023, with application number 202311591089.9, and priority to the Chinese patent application entitled “A pilot port allocation method and communication device”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] The network device measures the channel information of the channel between it and the terminal device based on the pilot signal sent by the terminal device. Generally, the number of ports (or pilot ports) through which the terminal device transmits the pilot signal is the same as the number of antenna ports of the terminal device.

[0004] Compared with low-frequency bands (such as the 2.6GHz band), high-frequency bands (such as the upper half of 6GHz, also known as the U6G band) have the advantages of high data transmission rate, large bandwidth and high capacity. However, as the frequency of radio waves used in mobile communications increases, the coverage capability of the network also decreases significantly. It can be understood that when the distance between the terminal device and the network device remains unchanged, the higher the frequency of radio waves used by the network device, the worse the signal quality received by the terminal device. In order to improve the quality of the signal received by the terminal device, the terminal device can use a larger antenna array to receive the signal.

[0005] However, as the antenna array used by the terminal device increases, the number of antenna ports increases accordingly. When measuring the channel information of the terminal device, the number of pilot ports used by the terminal device also increases, resulting in excessive resource overhead.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The embodiments of the present application provide a pilot port allocation method and a communication device, which are helpful in saving pilot resource overhead when measuring channel information of a terminal device.

[0008] In the first aspect, the present application provides a pilot port allocation method. Taking the terminal device executing the method as an example, the method includes: the terminal device sends a first indication information to the network device, and the first indication information is used to indicate a first quantity, and the first quantity is less than the sum of the number of second ports corresponding to P first ports of the terminal device, and P is a positive integer; further, the terminal device receives pilot port configuration information from the network device, and the pilot port configuration information is used to configure Q pilot ports, Q is determined based on the first quantity, and Q is a positive integer less than or equal to the first quantity.

[0009] In the method described in the first aspect, in the process of the network device obtaining the channel information corresponding to the terminal device, the terminal device can report to the network device the number of pilot ports required to obtain the channel information (i.e., the first number), which is less than the sum of the number of second ports corresponding to the P first ports of the terminal device (denoted as the number G). Further, the network device can configure the pilot port for the terminal device based on the first number. Through this pilot port allocation method, compared with the method in which the network device configures the pilot port for the terminal device according to the number G, the network device can allocate fewer pilot ports to obtain channel information, which is conducive to saving resource overhead (such as time domain resources, frequency domain resources and / or code domain resources used by the pilot port, etc.).

[0010] In one possible implementation, the terminal device receives a first threshold from the network device and determines the first quantity based on the first threshold. By implementing this possible implementation, the network device can indicate the accuracy of the channel information desired by the network device using the first threshold. Furthermore, the terminal device can determine the first quantity that meets this accuracy based on the first threshold, thereby saving resource overhead while satisfying the network device's demand for channel information.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the terminal device sends second indication information to the network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate target weights corresponding to P first ports, where the P first ports correspond to Q target weights in total, and the Q target weights correspond one-to-one to the Q pilot ports. By implementing this possible implementation, before sending the pilot signal, the terminal device indicates to the network device the Q target weights corresponding to the Q pilot ports (or understood as Q second ports, or Q beams, or Q precoding matrices, etc.), which is conducive to improving the accuracy of subsequent channel estimation.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the terminal device receives parameters O1 and O2 corresponding to a third port from the network device, where the third port is one of the P first ports; and the terminal device sends third indication information to the network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate parameters M1 and M2 corresponding to the third port; wherein parameters O1 and O2 are used to determine the O1·O2 weight group corresponding to the third port, and parameters M1 and M2 are used to determine the M1·M2 weights included in each weight group in the O1·O2 weight group, and the target weight corresponding to the third port is at least one of the M1·M2 weights in the target weight group corresponding to the third port, and the target weight group corresponding to the third port is one of the O1·O2 weight groups.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the terminal device determines parameters O1 and O2 corresponding to a third port, where the third port is one of the P first ports; and the terminal device sends third indication information to the network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate parameters M1, M2, O1, and O2 corresponding to the third port; wherein parameters O1 and O2 are used to determine the O1·O2 weight group corresponding to the third port, parameters M1 and M2 are used to determine the M1·M2 weights included in each weight group in the O1·O2 weight group, the target weight corresponding to the third port is at least one of the M1·M2 weights in the target weight group corresponding to the third port, and the target weight group corresponding to the third port is one of the O1·O2 weight groups.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the second indication information includes: a group index of the target weight group corresponding to the third port in the O1·O2 weight group, and a weight index of the target weight corresponding to the third port in the target weight group.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the terminal device sends a fourth indication message to the network device, the fourth indication message being used to indicate that the weight index of the target weight in the first target weight group is the same as the weight index of the target weight in the second target weight group, the first target weight group is the target weight group corresponding to the fourth port, the second target weight group is the target weight group corresponding to the fifth port, and the fourth port and the fifth port are at least two of the P first ports; in this case, the second indication message includes a first information element, and the weight index indicated by the first information element is applied to the target weight group corresponding to the fourth port and the target weight group corresponding to the fifth port. By implementing this possible implementation, when the weight indexes corresponding to some first ports of the terminal device are the same, the terminal device can indicate the weight indexes corresponding to these first ports through the same information element of the second indication message, which is conducive to saving communication resources.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the terminal device determines the target weight group corresponding to the sixth port, and updates it from the weight group indicated by the first group index to the weight group indicated by the second group index, where the sixth port is one of the P first ports; further, the terminal device sends fifth indication information to the network device, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate the group index adjustment amount corresponding to the sixth port, where the group index adjustment amount is used to indicate that the group index of the target weight group corresponding to the sixth port is adjusted from the first group index to the second group index. By implementing this possible implementation, when the group index of the target weight group corresponding to a certain first port changes, the terminal device can indicate the changed group index by differential reporting (i.e., only reporting the group index adjustment amount), thereby saving communication resources.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the terminal device determines the target weight corresponding to the seventh port, and updates the weight indicated by the first weight index to the weight indicated by the second weight index, where the seventh port is one of the P first ports; further, the terminal device sends sixth indication information to the network device, where the sixth indication information is used to indicate the weight index adjustment amount corresponding to the seventh port, where the weight index adjustment amount is used to indicate that the weight index of the target weight corresponding to the seventh port is adjusted from the first weight index to the second weight index. By implementing this possible implementation, when the weight index of the target weight corresponding to a certain first port changes, the terminal device can indicate the changed weight index by differential reporting (i.e., only reporting the weight index adjustment amount), thereby saving communication resources.

[0018] In the second aspect, the present application provides a pilot port allocation method. Taking a network device executing the method as an example, the method includes: the network device receives first indication information from a terminal device, and the first indication information is used to indicate a first quantity, and the first quantity is less than the sum of the number of second ports corresponding to P first ports of the terminal device, and P is a positive integer; further, the network device sends pilot port configuration information to the terminal device, and the pilot port configuration information is used to configure Q pilot ports, and Q is determined based on the first quantity, and Q is a positive integer less than or equal to the first quantity.

[0019] For the beneficial effects obtained by the method described in the second aspect, reference may be made to the description of the beneficial effects obtained by the method described in the first aspect.

[0020] In a possible implementation manner, the network device sends a first threshold to the terminal device, where the first threshold is used to determine the first quantity.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the network device receives second indication information from the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate target weights corresponding to P first ports, where the P first ports correspond to Q target weights in total, and the Q target weights correspond one-to-one to the Q pilot ports.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the network device sends parameters O1 and O2 corresponding to a third port to the terminal device, where the third port is one of the P first ports; and the network device receives third indication information from the terminal device, where the third indication information is used to indicate parameters M1 and M2 corresponding to the third port; wherein parameters O1 and O2 are used to determine the O1·O2 weight group corresponding to the third port, and parameters M1 and M2 are used to determine the M1·M2 weights included in each weight group in the O1·O2 weight group, and the target weight corresponding to the third port is at least one of the M1·M2 weights in the target weight group corresponding to the third port, and the target weight group corresponding to the third port is one of the O1·O2 weight groups.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the network device receives third indication information from the terminal device, where the third indication information is used to indicate parameters M1, M2, O1, and O2 corresponding to a third port, where the third port is one of the P first ports; wherein parameters O1 and O2 are used to determine the O1·O2 weight group corresponding to the third port, parameters M1 and M2 are used to determine the M1·M2 weights included in each weight group in the O1·O2 weight group, the target weight corresponding to the third port is at least one of the M1·M2 weights in the target weight group corresponding to the third port, and the target weight group corresponding to the third port is one of the O1·O2 weight groups.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the second indication information includes: a group index of the target weight group corresponding to the third port in the O1·O2 weight group, and a weight index of the target weight corresponding to the third port in the target weight group.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the network device receives fourth indication information from the terminal device, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the weight index of the target weight in the first target weight group is the same as the weight index of the target weight in the second target weight group, the first target weight group is the target weight group corresponding to the fourth port, the second target weight group is the target weight group corresponding to the fifth port, and the fourth port and the fifth port are at least two of the P first ports; in this case, the second indication information includes a first information element, and the weight index indicated by the first information element is applied to the target weight group corresponding to the fourth port and the target weight group corresponding to the fifth port.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the network device stores a group index of a target weight group corresponding to each of the P first ports and a weight index of a target weight corresponding to each of the P first ports.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the network device receives fifth indication information from the terminal device, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate an adjustment amount of a group index corresponding to a sixth port, where the group index adjustment amount is used to indicate that the group index of the target weight group corresponding to the sixth port is adjusted from a first group index to a second group index, and the sixth port is one of P first ports; further, the network device adjusts the first group index corresponding to the sixth port to a second group index based on the group index adjustment amount.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the network device receives sixth indication information from the terminal device, where the sixth indication information is used to indicate the weight index adjustment amount corresponding to the seventh port, where the weight index adjustment amount is used to indicate that the weight index of the target weight corresponding to the seventh port is adjusted from the first weight index to the second weight index; further, the network device adjusts the first weight index corresponding to the seventh port to the second weight index based on the weight index adjustment amount.

[0029] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal device, a device in a terminal device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a terminal device. The communication device may also be a chip system. The communication device may execute the method described in the first aspect. The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions. The units or modules may be software and / or hardware. The operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device may refer to the method and beneficial effects described in the first aspect above.

[0030] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a network device, a device in a network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a network device. The communication device may also be a chip system. The communication device may execute the method described in the second aspect. The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions. The units or modules may be software and / or hardware. The operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device may refer to the method and beneficial effects described in the second aspect above.

[0031] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method as described in the first aspect through a logic circuit or executing code instructions, or the processor is used to implement the method as described in the second aspect through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

[0032] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, the method described in the first aspect or the method described in the second aspect is implemented.

[0033] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when a communication device reads and executes the instructions, causes the communication device to execute the method as described in the first aspect, or causes the communication device to execute the method as described in the second aspect.

[0034] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, comprising a communication device for executing the method described in the first aspect above, and a communication device for executing the method described in the second aspect above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a port provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG3 is a flow chart of a pilot port allocation method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] FIG4 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG5 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] In order to facilitate a detailed understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the system architecture involved in the embodiments of the present application is first introduced below.

[0041] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (such as 110a and 110b in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 110), and may also include at least one terminal device (such as 120a-120j in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1). The terminal device 120 is connected to the RAN node 110 wirelessly, and the RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 wirelessly or by wire. The core network devices in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 may be independent and different physical devices, or they may be the same physical device that integrates the logical functions of the core network devices and the logical functions of the RAN nodes. Terminal devices and RAN nodes may be connected to each other via wired or wireless means. It should be noted that the RAN node 110 may also be referred to as a network device 110 in the following text.

[0042] The RAN 100 may be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a new radio (NR) system, or a future radio access system defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The RAN 100 may also include two or more of the aforementioned different radio access systems. The RAN 100 may also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0043] A RAN node, also known as a radio access network device, RAN entity, or access node, facilitates wireless access to a communication system by terminal devices. In one application scenario, a RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system. A RAN node can be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 1), a micro base station, an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 1), a relay node, or a donor node.

[0044] In another application scenario, multiple RAN nodes can collaborate to help terminal devices achieve wireless access, with different RAN nodes implementing portions of the base station's functions. For example, a RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). The CU implements the base station's radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions, as well as the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions. The DU implements the base station's radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer functions, as well as some or all of the physical layer functions. For detailed descriptions of each of these protocol layers, please refer to the relevant 3GPP technical specifications. The RU can be used to implement the transmission and reception of RF signals. The CU and DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or they can be integrated into the same RAN node, such as in a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in RF equipment, such as a remote radio unit (RRU) or an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: CU-control plane and CU-user plane.

[0045] In different systems, RAN nodes may have different names. For example, in an O-RAN system, a CU may be called an open CU (O-CU), a DU may be called an open DU (O-DU), and a RU may be called an open RU (O-RU). The RAN node in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. For example, the RAN node may be a server loaded with the corresponding software module. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the RAN node. For ease of description, the following description takes a base station as an example of a RAN node.

[0046] A terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can send signals to a base station or receive signals from a base station. A terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. A terminal device may be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal device.

[0047] Base stations and terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of base stations and terminal devices.

[0048] The roles of base stations and terminal devices can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminal devices 120j accessing the wireless access network 100 via 120i, terminal device 120i is a base station. However, for base station 110a, 120i is a terminal device, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, 120i is also a base station relative to 110a. Therefore, base stations and terminal devices can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with base station functionality, and 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functionality.

[0049] Communication between base stations and terminal devices, between base stations, and between terminal devices can be carried out through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; communication can be carried out through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0050] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station, or by a control subsystem that includes the base station functions. The control subsystem that includes the base station functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal device, or by a device that includes the terminal device functions.

[0051] In this application, a base station sends downlink signals or downlink information to a terminal device, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel; the terminal device sends uplink signals or uplink information to the base station, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. In order to communicate with the base station, the terminal device needs to establish a wireless connection with the cell controlled by the base station. The cell with which the terminal device has established a wireless connection is called the serving cell of the terminal device. When the terminal device communicates with the serving cell, it will also be interfered with by signals from neighboring cells.

[0052] In order to facilitate understanding of the relevant contents of the embodiments of the present application, some of the terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are explained below. This part is only for ease of understanding and cannot be regarded as a disclosure or specific limitation of the technical solution of the present application.

[0053] 1. Pilot

[0054] A pilot may also be referred to as pilot information, a pilot signal, a reference signal (RS), a reference sequence, etc. A pilot may be used for channel measurement. A pilot may include an uplink pilot and a downlink pilot. An uplink pilot is used for uplink channel measurement and estimation of uplink channel state information (CSI) (or estimation of the uplink channel matrix). A downlink pilot is used for downlink channel measurement and estimation of downlink CSI (or the downlink channel matrix). For example, an uplink pilot may be a sounding reference signal (SRS), and a downlink pilot may be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0055] It should be noted that the reference signals listed above are only examples and should not constitute any limitation to this application. This application does not exclude the possibility of defining other reference signals in future protocols to achieve the same or similar functions.

[0056] It should also be noted that, unless otherwise specified in the following text, the pilot signals mentioned in this application are all uplink pilot signals.

[0057] 2. Beam

[0058] In the NR protocol, beams can be embodied as spatial filters, spatial parameters, or precoders. The beam used to transmit signals is called a transmission beam (Tx beam), and can be referred to as a spatial transmit filter or spatial transmit parameters. The beam used to receive signals is called a reception beam (Rx beam), and can be referred to as a spatial receive filter or spatial receive parameters.

[0059] The transmit beam may refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space after the signal is transmitted by the antenna, and the receive beam may refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space of the wireless signal received from the antenna.

[0060] It should be understood that the embodiment of beamforming in the NR protocol listed above is only an example and should not constitute any limitation to this application. This application does not exclude the possibility of defining other terms in other protocols to express the same or similar meanings.

[0061] In addition, the beam can be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or other types of beams. Different beams can be considered to correspond to different resources (including one or more of time domain resources, frequency domain resources, or spatial domain resources). Different beams can transmit the same information or different information. The beam forming technology can be beamforming technology or other technologies.

[0062] Optionally, a beam may correspond to one or more antenna ports for transmitting data, control signaling, or sounding signals. The one or more antenna ports forming a beam may also be considered an antenna port set. For a description of antenna ports, please refer to the relevant content later in this application.

[0063] 3. Beamforming technology

[0064] In a single-antenna communication mode (i.e., electromagnetic wave propagation from one antenna to another between a network device and a terminal device), without physical adjustment (i.e., without adjusting the amplitude and / or phase of the antenna's transmitted signal), the antenna radiation direction is fixed, and the number of users that can be served simultaneously on the same frequency is limited. To address this issue, beamforming technology has been proposed. In beamforming technology, a network device has multiple antennas. By adjusting the amplitude and / or phase of the signals transmitted by each antenna, the electromagnetic waves are effectively superimposed at the terminal device's receiving point, generating stronger signal gain to overcome losses and thus improve the received signal strength.

[0065] Generally, beamforming technologies include digital beam forming (DBF), analog beamforming (ABF), or hybrid beam forming (also known as hybrid digital / analog beamforming). DBF adjusts the amplitude and phase weights of the input signal by processing the data in the digital domain, while ABF changes the phase of the signal by applying phase weights to the analog signal (for example, through a phase shifter at the RF level).

[0066] 4. Beamforming Matrix

[0067] The beamforming matrix is ​​a parameter that supports the antenna array to generate a specific beam. The specific beam here includes but is not limited to a beam in a specific direction, a beam in a specific shape, and a beam with a specific power (or energy).

[0068] In one possibility, the beamforming matrix can also be called a weight matrix. That is, each element in the beamforming matrix is ​​a weight, which is used to perform vector multiplication with the wireless signal received and / or transmitted by the antenna, which is also known as "weighting the antenna." The following description uses the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) weight as an example, which should not be considered a specific limitation of this application.

[0069] In an exemplary embodiment, the number of horizontal array elements (or ports in the horizontal direction) of the antenna array is M1, the number of vertical array elements (or ports in the vertical direction) is M2, the horizontal oversampling factor of the antenna array is O1, and the vertical oversampling factor is O2. In this case, the DFT weight corresponding to the antenna array (denoted as w) is Where u is the horizontal steering vector, v is the vertical direction vector, By combining different values ​​of i and different values ​​of k, different DFT weights can be obtained. It can be understood that the number of DFT weights corresponding to the antenna array is M1·M2·O1·O2.

[0070] In the M1·M2·O1·O2 DFT weights corresponding to the antenna array, i can also be expressed as i=o1+k·O1, where k=0,1,…,M1-1, o1∈{0,1,2,…,O1-1}; j can also be expressed as j=o2+l·O2, where l=0,1,…,M2-1, o2∈{0,1,2,…,O2-1}. For each fixed value of o1 and each fixed value of o2, the M1·M2 DFT weights composed of the M1 different values ​​of k (or understood as the corresponding M1 i) and the M2 different values ​​of l (or understood as the corresponding M2 j) are mutually orthogonal. The M1·M2 DFT weights can form a matrix The matrix W can also be called an orthogonal DFT weight group or an orthogonal beam group. Since the M1·M2 DFT weights are mutually orthogonal, the matrix W is a unitary matrix, that is, it satisfies W H W=I, where I is the unit matrix.

[0071] That is to say, when the number of horizontal ports of the antenna array surface is M1, the number of vertical ports is M2, the oversampling factor in the horizontal direction of the antenna array surface is O1, and the oversampling factor in the vertical direction is O2, the antenna array surface corresponds to O1·O2 orthogonal DFT weight groups, and each orthogonal DFT weight group includes M1·M2 DFT weights.

[0072] In other embodiments, the weights may also be replaced by other parameters for implementing beamforming, such as a steering vector, a precoding matrix, a signal amplitude and phase of an antenna port, and the like.

[0073] 5. Port

[0074] Antenna port is referred to as port. It can be understood as a transmitting antenna identified by the receiving end, or a transmitting antenna that can be distinguished in space. The transmitting antenna can be a virtual antenna or a spatial resource. The receiving end can be a network device or a terminal device. Each virtual antenna or spatial resource can correspond to an antenna port, and each virtual antenna can be a weighted combination of multiple physical antennas. Depending on the signal carried, the antenna port can be divided into a reference signal port and a data port. Among them, the reference signal port can include but is not limited to an SRS port, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port, a CSI-RS port, etc. For a DMRS port, each antenna port corresponds to a spatial stream or spatial layer. Each DMRS port corresponds to a port index. Each DMRS port corresponds to a DMRS sequence, and each DMRS port corresponds to one or more time-frequency resources. The corresponding DMRS sequence is mapped according to the rules in the time-frequency resource unit contained in one or more time-frequency resources. The DMRS sequence can also be called a DMRS symbol sequence or a DMRS symbol vector. A time-frequency resource unit can be a frequency-domain subcarrier, an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, or a resource element (RE). For SRS ports, each SRS port corresponds to a terminal antenna port. Each SRS port corresponds to an SRS sequence, which is mapped into the corresponding time-frequency resource unit.

[0075] As shown in Figure 2, a terminal device is deployed with multiple antenna planes, each corresponding to a radio frequency chain (RF chain), and each antenna plane includes multiple antenna ports. The process by which the terminal device receives signals from network devices via these multiple antenna planes can be roughly described as follows: receiving signals from network devices via these multiple antenna planes, performing ABF processing on these signals, transmitting the processed signals to baseband via the corresponding RF chains of each antenna plane, and then performing DBF on these signals to obtain the final signal. In this case, one RF chain (or one antenna plane) can be understood as corresponding to one port. For ease of distinction, this port will be referred to as the first port. Alternatively, one RF chain (or one antenna plane) can be understood as corresponding to multiple ports (i.e., each beam corresponding to one antenna plane corresponds to a port). For ease of distinction, this port will be referred to as the second port.

[0076] It is understood that an RF chain can correspond to one first port, and an RF chain can also correspond to multiple second ports, that is, a first port can correspond to multiple second ports. The number of second ports corresponding to a first port can be the same as the number of elements (i.e., weights) included in the weight matrix corresponding to the first port, or can be understood to be the same as the number of weights used by the first port.

[0077] 6. Channel information

[0078] Obtaining the channel information corresponding to each antenna array face of a terminal device can be understood as obtaining the terminal device's channel information (or full channel information). Network devices knowing the channel information from the network device to the terminal device (i.e., downlink channel information) helps improve network throughput gain. For ease of explanation, the following example uses the network device obtaining channel information from a certain antenna array face (denoted as the first antenna array face) to the terminal device.

[0079] The downlink channel information of the first antenna array from the network device to the terminal device is recorded as the matrix where N rx is the number of receiving ports corresponding to the antenna array, N tx is the number of transmitting ports corresponding to the network device, and the signal y received by the network device satisfies the condition shown in formula (1).

[0080] y=H H fx+n (1)

[0081] Among them, x is the pilot signal sent by the terminal, and f is the ABF vector. n is the noise.

[0082] Furthermore, the network device uses a suitable orthogonal DFT weight group The downlink channel information matrix H is transformed to obtain the uplink channel information matrix from the first antenna array to the network device The uplink channel information matrix The conditions shown in formula (2) are satisfied.

[0083] For the first antenna array, if a column in the weight matrix W (for example, the nth column, denoted as w n ) as the ABF vector, the pilot signal y received by the network device from the first antenna array surface satisfies the condition shown in formula (3).

[0084] in represents the uplink channel information matrix Based on the pilot signal y, the network device can estimate That is to say, by performing ABF through one column (i.e., one weight) in the weight matrix W and then sending a pilot signal (occupying one pilot port, or understanding it as occupying the time-frequency code resource corresponding to one pilot port), the network device can obtain the uplink channel information matrix each time. A line. By N rx After the secondary pilot signal is sent, the complete uplink channel information matrix can be obtained Then pass The complete downlink channel information corresponding to the first antenna array surface can be obtained.

[0085] Typically, in the process of acquiring channel information, the number of pilot ports corresponding to the terminal device is the same as the number of antenna ports (i.e., the second ports mentioned in this application) of the terminal device. As the antenna array used by the terminal device becomes larger (or the number of second ports corresponding to the terminal device increases), the number of pilot ports required to measure the channel information of the terminal device also increases, resulting in excessive resource overhead.

[0086] In order to save resource overhead, the present application provides a pilot port allocation method and a communication device. The pilot port allocation method and the communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the pilot port allocation (or configuration of the pilot port) mentioned in this application can be understood as allocating the time-frequency code resources (that is, time domain resources, frequency domain resources and code domain resources) required to send the pilot signal to the second port corresponding to the terminal device, and the full text is as follows. For example, the pilot configuration information is used to configure Q pilot ports, that is, the pilot configuration information allocates the time-frequency code resources required to send the pilot signal to the Q second ports of the terminal device.

[0087] Please refer to Figure 3, which is a flow chart of a pilot port allocation method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 3, the pilot port allocation method includes the following steps S301 to S302. The method execution subject shown in Figure 3 is illustrated by taking a terminal device and a network device as an example. It can be understood that the method execution subject shown in Figure 3 can also be a module in a terminal device (for example, a chip) and a module in a network device (for example, a chip, or a CU, or a DU). Wherein:

[0088] S301: A terminal device sends first indication information to a network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first quantity. In response, the network device receives the first indication information from the terminal device. The first quantity is less than the sum of the number of second ports corresponding to P first ports of the terminal device, where P is a positive integer.

[0089] That is, when P first ports of the terminal device correspond to a total of G second ports (that is, the sum of the number of second ports corresponding to the P first ports of the terminal device is G), the terminal device determines the number of pilot ports required to measure the corresponding channel information (that is, the first number), and the first number is a positive integer less than G. Further, the terminal device sends first indication information to the network device for indicating the first number.

[0090] It should be noted that the first port mentioned in this application corresponds one-to-one to the radio frequency link of the terminal device, that is, the P first ports of the terminal device correspond to the P radio frequency links of the terminal device; the second port mentioned in this application corresponds one-to-one to the orthogonal beam (or understood as the port for transmitting orthogonal beams), and one radio frequency link of the terminal device can correspond to multiple orthogonal beams, that is, one first port can correspond to multiple second ports. Alternatively, the first port mentioned in this application can also be understood as a weight matrix, and the second port is the weight included in the weight matrix. Alternatively, the first port mentioned in this application can also be understood as a precoding matrix group, and the second port is the precoding matrix in the precoding matrix group. It can be understood that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the orthogonal beams and the weights, and the weights mentioned later can be replaced by orthogonal beams.

[0091] It is important to understand that the channel information matrix of the antenna array is The rows in the channel correspond to the weights corresponding to the antenna array. There are rows with less information (or smaller values) and rows with more information (or larger values). The part of the row with more information can be obtained from the channel information matrix Closer channel information matrix Furthermore, the complexity of obtaining the channel information matrix can be reduced.

[0092] Based on this, the terminal device can determine the first number according to the first threshold value, and the first threshold value can reflect the channel information obtained through the first number of pilot ports (ie, the channel information matrix ), the first threshold can be understood as the channel information matrix The amount of information included in the channel information matrix The first threshold is a percentage of the amount of information included, and the first threshold is a value greater than 0 and less than 1. It should be noted that the first threshold can be determined by the network device, that is, the network device sends the first threshold (or is understood as sending indication information for indicating the first threshold) to the terminal device, and then the terminal device determines the first quantity based on the first threshold. Alternatively, the first threshold can also be determined by the terminal device.

[0093] In one possible implementation, the terminal device determines the second quantity corresponding to each first port based on the first threshold, where the first quantity is the sum of the second quantities corresponding to the P first ports. For example, the terminal device corresponds to four first ports: ports P1 to P4. The terminal device determines, based on the first threshold, that the second quantity corresponding to port P1 is 2, the second quantity corresponding to port P2 is 1, the second quantity corresponding to port P3 is 4, and the second quantity corresponding to port P4 is 2. In this case, the first quantity corresponding to the terminal device is 9.

[0094] In order to facilitate understanding of the process in which the terminal device determines the second quantity corresponding to each first port based on the first threshold, the following is an example of determining the second quantity corresponding to a certain port among the P first ports (referred to as the third port in this application). The parameters of the third port include: parameter M1, parameter M2, parameter O1 and parameter O2, that is, the number of ports in the horizontal direction of the antenna array connected to the radio frequency link corresponding to the third port is M1, the number of ports in the vertical direction is M2, the horizontal oversampling factor of the antenna array is O1, and the vertical oversampling factor is O2. In this case, the third port corresponds to O1·O2 groups of weight groups, and each weight group includes M1·M2 weights. Furthermore, the terminal device obtains the reference signal receiving power (RSRP) corresponding to each weight of the M1·M2 weights included in each weight group through beam management (or beam scanning), and sorts the weights in each weight group from large to small according to the RSRP value. Furthermore, the terminal device determines N of each weight group according to the first threshold and the RSRP value of the weight in each weight group. p Among them, any set of weight groups corresponding to the third port (recorded as weight group s i ) corresponds to Np The conditions shown in formula (4) are satisfied.

[0095] Where γ is the first threshold, is the sum of the RSRP values ​​corresponding to all weights included in the weight group si; is the weight group s i The weight corresponding to the nth largest RSRP value; is the weight group s i After the weights in the RSRP value are sorted from large to small, the top N p The sum of the RSRP values ​​of the beams.

[0096] Further, based on N of each weight group in the third port p , the terminal device will take the smallest N in the O1·O2 weight group corresponding to the third port p It is determined to be the second number corresponding to the third port. It should be understood that the smallest N in the O1·O2 weight group p The corresponding weight group is the target weight group corresponding to the third port mentioned later. For example, the third port corresponds to 4 weight groups: weight group 1 to weight group 4, where N of weight group 1 is p is 3, N of weight group 2 p is 2, N of weight group 3 p is 5, N of weight group 4 p is 4; in this case, the second quantity corresponding to the third port is 2, and the weight group 2 is the target weight group corresponding to the third port.

[0097] In one possible implementation, both the terminal device and the network device can determine multiple weight groups corresponding to each first port, and multiple weights in each weight group, based on parameters corresponding to each first port (i.e., the number of ports in the horizontal direction, the number of ports in the vertical direction, the horizontal oversampling factor, and the vertical oversampling factor corresponding to each first port). It should be noted that the parameters corresponding to the first ports can be partially or completely the same, and this application does not specifically limit this.

[0098] In one example, taking the third port as an example, the terminal device determines the horizontal oversampling factor O1 and the vertical oversampling factor O2 corresponding to the third port, and sends third indication information to the network device. The third indication information is used to indicate parameters corresponding to the third port (including the number of ports in the horizontal direction M1 and the number of ports in the vertical direction M2, as well as the horizontal oversampling factor O1 and the vertical oversampling factor O2). Furthermore, based on the third indication information, the network device can know the M1·M2 weights included in each weight group in the O1·O2 weight groups corresponding to the third port.

[0099] In another example, taking the third port as an example, the network device determines the horizontal oversampling factor O1 and the vertical oversampling factor O2 corresponding to the third port, and sends indication information indicating the parameters O1 and O2 corresponding to each first port to the terminal device. Furthermore, the terminal device sends third indication information to the network device, where the third indication information indicates that the number of ports in the horizontal direction M1 and the number of ports in the vertical direction M2 corresponding to the third port are M1. Furthermore, the network device and the terminal device determine the M1·M2 weights included in each weight group in the O1·O2 weight group corresponding to the third port based on the parameters M1 and M2 corresponding to the third port, as well as the parameter O1 and the parameter factor O2.

[0100] S302: The network device sends pilot port configuration information to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the pilot port configuration information from the network device. The pilot port configuration information is used to configure Q pilot ports, where Q is determined based on a first number and is a positive integer less than or equal to the first number.

[0101] That is, the network device allocates a pilot port to the terminal device based on the first quantity indicated by the first indication information. It is understandable that the network device may also allocate a pilot port to the terminal device based on the number of currently available resources for sending pilot signals (or understood as currently unused resources for sending pilot signals) and the first quantity. That is, the number of pilot ports configured in the pilot port configuration information may be less than or equal to the first quantity, that is, Q is a value less than or equal to the first quantity.

[0102] Furthermore, the terminal device sends a pilot signal to the network device through the Q pilot ports; the network device determines the channel information corresponding to the terminal device (i.e., the aforementioned downlink channel information matrix H and / or uplink channel information matrix H) based on the pilot signal. ). It can be understood that when the terminal device sends a pilot signal through the Q pilot ports, the number of weights used (i.e., the target weights mentioned in this application) is also Q, that is, when the terminal device sends a pilot signal through the pilot port, the P first ports correspond to a total of Q target weights, and the pilot ports correspond to the target weights one-to-one.

[0103] It can be understood that when Q is equal to the first number, the target weight corresponding to the third port (i.e., any one of the P first ports) is: after sorting the weights of the target weight group corresponding to the third port from large to small according to the RSRP value, the first N in the target weight group are p (i.e., the second number corresponding to the third port) weights. When Q is a numerical value less than the first number, in a possible implementation, the terminal device can determine Q target weights from the target weight groups corresponding to the P first ports based on the numerical value of Q. Exemplarily, when Q is a numerical value less than the first number, the priority corresponding to each first port is determined based on the sum of the RSRP values ​​of the target weight groups corresponding to each first port (i.e., the sum of the RSRP values ​​corresponding to the weights in the target weight group). The larger the sum of the RSRP values ​​of the target weight group corresponding to the first port, the higher the priority corresponding to the first port when determining the target weight (or understood as when allocating the pilot port). Furthermore, on the premise of ensuring that each first port has at least one target weight (i.e., corresponding to at least one pilot port), the target weight can be determined preferentially from the target weight group corresponding to the first port with a high priority (i.e., the pilot port is preferentially allocated to the first port with a high priority).

[0104] It should be noted that, for the sake of ease of description, the following text uses Q as an example with a value equal to the first quantity, which should not be regarded as a specific limitation of the present application.

[0105] In one possible implementation, the terminal device may send second indication information to the network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate target weights corresponding to the P first ports. It is understandable that after the network device sends the pilot port configuration information for allocating the Q pilot ports, and before the network device receives the Q pilot signals through the Q pilot ports, the network device may know which weights the terminal device will use to send the Q pilot signals to the network device.

[0106] The second indication information may include a group index of the target weight group corresponding to each first port and a weight index of the target weight corresponding to each first port. Taking the third port as an example, the second indication information includes the group index corresponding to the third port, which is used to identify the target weight group from the O1·O2 weight group corresponding to the third port; the second indication information also includes the weight index corresponding to the third port, which is used to identify the target weight from the target weight group corresponding to the third port.

[0107] For example, the terminal device corresponds to four first ports: port P1 to port P4. The parameter corresponding to port P1 is and The parameters corresponding to port P2 are and The parameters corresponding to port P3 are and The parameters corresponding to port P3 are and The multiple weight group indexes corresponding to each first port and the weight index in each weight group are shown in Table 1.

[0108] Table 1

[0109] In this case, if the target weight corresponding to port P1 is weight index #2 in the weight group indicated by group index #1 corresponding to port P1, the target weight corresponding to port P2 is weight index #2 in the weight group indicated by group index #3 corresponding to port P2, the target weight corresponding to port P3 is weight indexes #4 to #7 in the weight group indicated by group index #3 corresponding to port P3, and the target weight corresponding to port P4 is weight indexes #4 to #7 in the weight group indicated by group index #4 corresponding to port P4, then the second indication information includes: {group index #1, weight index #2} corresponding to port P1, {group index #3, weight index #2} corresponding to port P2, {group index #3, weight index #4 to #7} corresponding to port P3, and {group index #4, weight index #4 to #7} corresponding to port P4.

[0110] It can be understood that the group index corresponding to each first port can be numbered starting from the same group index number (for example, group index #1 in Table 1), and the weight index in each weight group can also be numbered starting from the same weight index number (for example, weight index #1 in Table 1). Therefore, there may be a situation where the group index corresponding to at least two of the P first ports is the same or the weight index is the same, and the target weight groups or target weights corresponding to the at least two first ports (for example, the fourth port and the fifth port are taken as an example later) are different. For example, the target weight group corresponding to port P1 is weight group 1A, and the group index of this weight group 1A in the multiple weight groups corresponding to port P1 is group index #1; the target weight group corresponding to port P2 is weight group 2A, and the group index of this weight group 2A in the multiple weight groups corresponding to port P2 is group index #1. In this case, it can be understood that the group indexes corresponding to port P1 and port P2 are the same (both are group index #1), but the corresponding target weight groups are different.

[0111] In one possible implementation of this case, when the weight index of the target weight in the first target weight group corresponding to the fourth port is the same as the weight index of the target weight in the second target weight group corresponding to the fifth port, the terminal device can send a fourth indication message to the network device, and the fourth indication message is used to indicate that the weight index of the target weight in the first target weight group is the same as the weight index of the target weight in the second target weight group. In this case, the second indication message can jointly indicate the weight index corresponding to the fourth port and the fifth port through one information element (or understood as, for example, the first information element), that is, the weight index indicated by the first information element is applied to the target weight group corresponding to the fourth port and the target weight group corresponding to the fifth port.

[0112] For example, port P1 corresponds to {group index #1, weight index #2}, and port P2 corresponds to {group index #3, weight index #2}. The terminal device can indicate through the fourth indication information that the weight indexes of port P1 and port P2 are the same, and indicate through a cell that weight index #2 is applied to the weight group corresponding to port P1 (i.e., the weight group indicated by group index #1) and the weight group corresponding to port P2 (i.e., the weight group indicated by group index #3).

[0113] Similarly, in another possible implementation of this situation, when the group index of the first target weight group corresponding to the fourth port is the same as the group index of the second target weight group corresponding to the fifth port, the terminal device can send a fourth indication message to the network device, and the fourth indication message is used to indicate that the group index of the first target weight group is the same as the group index of the second target weight group. In this case, the second indication message can jointly indicate the group indexes corresponding to the fourth port and the fifth port through one information element (or understood as, for example, a second information element), that is, the group index indicated by the first information element is applied to the fourth port and the fifth port.

[0114] It should be noted that the fourth indication information and the second indication information mentioned in this application may be different indication information or the same indication information, and this application does not specifically limit this. When the fourth indication information and the second indication information are the same, the content indicated by the fourth indication information may be indicated by a certain information element (e.g., the third information element) in the second indication information.

[0115] Further, after the terminal device sends a second indication information to the network device indicating the target weights corresponding to each first port, the terminal device sends a pilot signal to the network device based on the Q target weights and the Q pilot ports; the network device determines the channel information matrix based on the Q target weights indicated by the second indication information. The corresponding Q rows in the channel information matrix In addition to the Q target weight corresponding rows, other rows are set to 0, and according to Get the channel information matrix H.

[0116] In one possible embodiment, after the network device receives the group index and weight index corresponding to each of the P first ports indicated by the second indication information, the network device stores the group index of the target weight group corresponding to each of the P first ports, and stores the weight index of the target weight corresponding to each of the P first ports, so as to facilitate subsequent measurement of channel information.

[0117] During the next channel information measurement process, the terminal device determines that the target weight group corresponding to a first port (denoted as the sixth port) among the P first ports has changed, for example, the target weight group corresponding to the sixth port is updated from the weight group indicated by the first group index to the weight group indicated by the second group index. In this case, the terminal device can send fifth indication information to the network device, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate an adjustment amount of the group index corresponding to the sixth port, where the group index adjustment amount is used to indicate that the group index of the target weight group corresponding to the sixth port is adjusted from the first group index to the second group index.

[0118] Example 1, the multiple weight group indexes and weight indexes corresponding to port P1 are shown in Table 1. During a certain channel information measurement process, the target weight corresponding to the port P1 is the weight indicated by the group index #1 and weight index #2 corresponding to port P1. In this case, the terminal device indicates to the network device through indication information (such as the aforementioned second indication information): the group index of the target weight group corresponding to the port P1 is group index #1, and the weight index of the target weight corresponding to the port P1 is weight index #2. The network device stores the group index of the target weight group corresponding to the port P1 (i.e., group index #1) and the weight index of the target weight corresponding to the port P1 (i.e., weight index #2). During a subsequent channel information measurement process, the terminal device determines that the target weight corresponding to the port P1 is the weight indicated by the group index #5 and weight index #2 corresponding to the port P1. In this case, the terminal device can indicate the group index adjustment amount corresponding to the port P1 (i.e., the difference between group index #5 and group index #1 is 4) through the fifth indication information, and the network device adjusts (or understands as changes) the group index #1 of the stored target weight group corresponding to the port P1 to group index #5 according to the group index adjustment amount.

[0119] Alternatively, during the next channel information measurement process, the terminal device determines that the target weight corresponding to a first port (denoted as the seventh port) among the P first ports has changed, for example, the target weight corresponding to the seventh port is updated from the weight indicated by the first weight index to the weight indicated by the second weight index. In this case, the terminal device can send sixth indication information to the network device, where the sixth indication information is used to indicate an adjustment amount of the weight index corresponding to the seventh port, where the weight index adjustment amount is used to indicate that the weight index of the target weight corresponding to the seventh port is adjusted from the first weight index to the second weight index.

[0120] Continuing with Example 1 above, in a subsequent channel information measurement process, the terminal device determines that the target weight corresponding to the port P1 is the weight indicated by the group index #1 and weight index #6 corresponding to the port P1. In this case, the terminal device can indicate the weight index adjustment amount corresponding to the port P1 (i.e., the difference between weight index #6 and weight index #2 is 4) through the sixth indication information, and the network device adjusts (or understands as changes) the stored weight index #2 of the target weight corresponding to the port P1 to weight index #6 according to the weight index adjustment amount.

[0121] In summary, in the process of a network device acquiring channel information corresponding to a terminal device, the terminal device can report to the network device the number of pilot ports required to obtain the channel information (i.e., a first number), where the first number is less than the sum of the number of second ports corresponding to the P first ports of the terminal device (denoted as number G). Furthermore, the network device can configure pilot ports for the terminal device based on the first number. This pilot port allocation method can allocate fewer pilot ports than a method in which the network device configures pilot ports for the terminal device based on number G, which is beneficial for saving resource overhead.

[0122] It is understandable that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and method steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software transceiver components driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0123] Figures 4 and 5 are schematic diagrams of the structures of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments. In an embodiment of the present application, the communication device can be the terminal device 120 as shown in Figure 1, or a module (such as a chip) applied to the terminal device, or the communication device can be the network device 110 as shown in Figure 1, or a module (such as a chip) applied to the network device.

[0124] As shown in Figure 4, the communication device 400 includes a processing unit 410 and a transceiver unit 420. The communication device 400 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3 above. When the communication device 400 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3: the transceiver unit 420 is used to send first indication information to the network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first quantity, where the first quantity is less than the sum of the number of second ports corresponding to P first ports of the terminal device, where P is a positive integer; the transceiver unit 420 is also used to receive pilot port configuration information from the network device, where the pilot port configuration information is used to configure Q pilot ports, where Q is determined based on the first quantity, and Q is a positive integer less than or equal to the first quantity.

[0125] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 420 is further configured to receive a first threshold from the network device; and the processing unit 410 is configured to determine the first number based on the first threshold.

[0126] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 420 is also used to send second indication information to the network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate target weights corresponding to P first ports, where the P first ports correspond to Q target weights in total, and the Q target weights correspond one-to-one to the Q pilot ports.

[0127] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 420 is further used to receive parameters O1 and O2 corresponding to a third port from the network device, where the third port is one of the P first ports; the transceiver unit 420 is further used to send third indication information to the network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate parameters M1 and M2 corresponding to the third port; wherein the parameters O1 and O2 are used to determine the O1·O2 weight group corresponding to the third port, the parameters M1 and M2 are used to determine the M1·M2 weights included in each weight group in the O1·O2 weight group, the target weight corresponding to the third port is at least one of the M1·M2 weights in the target weight group corresponding to the third port, and the target weight group corresponding to the third port is one of the O1·O2 weight groups.

[0128] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 410 is further used to determine the parameter O1 and parameter O2 corresponding to the third port, where the third port is one of the P first ports; the transceiver unit 420 is further used to send third indication information to the network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate the parameter M1, parameter M2, parameter O1 and parameter O2 corresponding to the third port; wherein the parameter O1 and parameter O2 are used to determine the O1·O2 weight group corresponding to the third port, the parameter M1 and parameter M2 are used to determine the M1·M2 weights included in each weight group in the O1·O2 weight group, the target weight corresponding to the third port is at least one of the M1·M2 weights in the target weight group corresponding to the third port, and the target weight group corresponding to the third port is one of the O1·O2 weight groups.

[0129] In a possible implementation, the second indication information includes: a group index of the target weight group corresponding to the third port in the O1·O2 weight group, and a weight index of the target weight corresponding to the third port in the target weight group.

[0130] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 420 is also used to send fourth indication information to the network device, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the weight index of the target weight in the first target weight group is the same as the weight index of the target weight in the second target weight group, the first target weight group is the target weight group corresponding to the fourth port, the second target weight group is the target weight group corresponding to the fifth port, and the fourth port and the fifth port are at least two of the P first ports; in this case, the second indication information includes a first information element, and the weight index indicated by the first information element is applied to the target weight group corresponding to the fourth port and the target weight group corresponding to the fifth port.

[0131] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 410 is also used to determine the target weight group corresponding to the sixth port, and update it from the weight group indicated by the first group index to the weight group indicated by the second group index, and the sixth port is one of the P first ports; the transceiver unit 420 is also used to send fifth indication information to the network device, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate the group index adjustment amount corresponding to the sixth port, and the group index adjustment amount is used to indicate that the group index of the target weight group corresponding to the sixth port is adjusted from the first group index to the second group index.

[0132] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 410 is further used to determine the target weight corresponding to the seventh port, updating the weight indicated by the first weight index to the weight indicated by the second weight index, and the seventh port is one of the P first ports; the transceiver unit 420 is further used to send sixth indication information to the network device, and the sixth indication information is used to indicate the weight index adjustment amount corresponding to the seventh port, and the weight index adjustment amount is used to indicate that the weight index of the target weight corresponding to the seventh port is adjusted from the first weight index to the second weight index.

[0133] For a more detailed description of the transceiver unit 420 and the processing unit 410 , reference may be made to the relevant description of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 3 .

[0134] As shown in Figure 4 , the communication device 400 includes a processing unit 410 and a transceiver unit 420. The communication device 400 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3 above.

[0135] When the communication device 400 is used to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3: the transceiver unit 420 is used to receive first indication information from the terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first quantity, where the first quantity is less than the sum of the number of second ports corresponding to P first ports of the terminal device, where P is a positive integer; the transceiver unit 420 is also used to send pilot port configuration information to the terminal device, where the pilot port configuration information is used to configure Q pilot ports, where Q is determined based on the first quantity, and Q is a positive integer less than or equal to the first quantity.

[0136] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 420 is further configured to send a first threshold to the terminal device, where the first threshold is used to determine the first quantity.

[0137] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 420 is also used to receive second indication information from the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate target weights corresponding to P first ports, where the P first ports correspond to Q target weights in total, and the Q target weights correspond one-to-one to the Q pilot ports.

[0138] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 410 is further used to determine the parameters O1 and O2 corresponding to the third port, the parameters O1 and O2 corresponding to the third port; the transceiver unit 420 is further used to send the parameters O1 and O2 corresponding to the third port to the terminal device; the transceiver unit 420 is further used to receive third indication information from the terminal device, the third indication information is used to indicate the parameters M1 and M2 corresponding to the third port; wherein the parameters O1 and O2 are used to determine the O1·O2 group weight group corresponding to the third port, the parameters M1 and M2 are used to determine the M1·M2 weights included in each weight group in the O1·O2 group weight group, the target weight corresponding to the third port is at least one of the M1·M2 weights in the target weight group corresponding to the third port, and the target weight group corresponding to the third port is one of the O1·O2 group weight groups.

[0139] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 420 is further used to receive third indication information from the terminal device, where the third indication information is used to indicate parameters M1, M2, O1, and O2 corresponding to the third port, where the third port is one of the P first ports; wherein parameters O1 and O2 are used to determine the O1·O2 weight group corresponding to the third port, parameters M1 and M2 are used to determine the M1·M2 weights included in each weight group in the O1·O2 weight group, the target weight corresponding to the third port is at least one of the M1·M2 weights in the target weight group corresponding to the third port, and the target weight group corresponding to the third port is one of the O1·O2 weight groups.

[0140] In a possible implementation, the second indication information includes: a group index of the target weight group corresponding to the third port in the O1·O2 weight group, and a weight index of the target weight corresponding to the third port in the target weight group.

[0141] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 420 is also used to receive fourth indication information from the terminal device, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the weight index of the target weight in the first target weight group is the same as the weight index of the target weight in the second target weight group, the first target weight group is the target weight group corresponding to the fourth port, the second target weight group is the target weight group corresponding to the fifth port, and the fourth port and the fifth port are at least two of the P first ports; in this case, the second indication information includes a first information element, and the weight index indicated by the first information element is applied to the target weight group corresponding to the fourth port and the target weight group corresponding to the fifth port.

[0142] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 410 is further configured to schedule the memory to store a group index of a target weight group corresponding to each of the P first ports, and a weight index of a target weight corresponding to each of the P first ports.

[0143] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 420 is also used to receive fifth indication information from the terminal device, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate the group index adjustment amount corresponding to the sixth port, where the group index adjustment amount is used to indicate that the group index of the target weight group corresponding to the sixth port is adjusted from the first group index to the second group index, and the sixth port is one of the P first ports; further, the processing unit 410 is also used to adjust the first group index corresponding to the sixth port to the second group index based on the group index adjustment amount.

[0144] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 420 is further used to receive sixth indication information from the terminal device, where the sixth indication information is used to indicate the weight index adjustment amount corresponding to the seventh port, where the weight index adjustment amount is used to indicate that the weight index of the target weight corresponding to the seventh port is adjusted from the first weight index to the second weight index; further, the processing unit 410 is also used to adjust the first weight index corresponding to the seventh port to the second weight index based on the weight index adjustment amount.

[0145] For a more detailed description of the transceiver unit 420 and the processing unit 410 , reference may be made to the relevant description of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 3 .

[0146] As shown in Figure 5, communication device 500 includes a processor 510 and an interface circuit 520. Processor 510 and interface circuit 520 are coupled to each other. It is understood that interface circuit 520 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, communication device 500 may also include a memory 530 for storing instructions executed by processor 510, input data required by processor 510 to execute instructions, or data generated after processor 510 executes instructions.

[0147] When the communication device 500 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 3 , the processor 510 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 410 , and the interface circuit 520 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 420 .

[0148] When the above-mentioned communication device is a chip applied to a terminal device, the terminal device chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. When the terminal device chip receives information from the base station, it can be understood that the information is first received by other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the terminal device chip by these modules. When the terminal device chip sends information to the base station, it can be understood that the information is first sent to other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the base station by these modules.

[0149] When the communication device is a chip used in a network device, the network device chip implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. When the network device chip receives information from a terminal device, it can be understood that the information is first received by other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the network device chip by these modules. When the network device chip sends information to a terminal device, it can be understood that the information is sent to other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the terminal device by these modules.

[0150] In this application, when entity A sends information to entity B, it can be done directly from A to B or indirectly through another entity. Similarly, when entity B receives information from entity A, it can be done directly from entity B or indirectly through another entity. Entities A and B herein can be RAN nodes or terminal devices, or modules within a RAN node or terminal device. The sending and receiving of information can be information exchange between a RAN node and a terminal device, for example, information exchange between a base station and a terminal device; the sending and receiving of information can also be information exchange between two RAN nodes, for example, information exchange between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can also be information exchange between different modules within a device, for example, information exchange between a terminal device chip and other modules of the terminal device, or information exchange between a base station chip and other modules within the base station.

[0151] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0152] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal device. The processor and storage medium can also exist in a base station or a terminal device as discrete components.

[0153] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. A computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions of the embodiments of the present application are performed. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media, such as floppy disks, hard disks, or magnetic tapes; optical media, such as digital video disks; or semiconductor media, such as solid-state drives. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0154] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0155] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of this application, the character " / " indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in a "division" relationship. "Including at least one of A, B and C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0156] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A pilot port allocation method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending first indication information to the network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first quantity, where the first quantity is less than the sum of the quantities of the second ports corresponding to P first ports of the terminal device, where P is a positive integer; Receive pilot port configuration information from the network device, where the pilot port configuration information is used to configure Q pilot ports, where Q is determined based on the first number, and where Q is a positive integer less than or equal to the first number.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving a first threshold from the network device; The first number is determined based on the first threshold.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Sending second indication information to the network device, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate target weights corresponding to the P first ports, the P first ports correspond to Q target weights in total, and the Q target weights correspond one-to-one to the Q pilot ports.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving a parameter O1 and a parameter O2 corresponding to a third port of the network device, wherein the third port is one of the P first ports; Sending third indication information to the network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate a parameter M1 and a parameter M2 corresponding to the third port; Among them, the parameters O1 and O2 are used to determine the O1·O2 group weight group corresponding to the third port, the parameters M1 and M2 are used to determine the M1·M2 weights included in each weight group in the O1·O2 group weight group, the target weight corresponding to the third port is at least one of the M1·M2 weights in the target weight group corresponding to the third port, and the target weight group corresponding to the third port is a group in the O1·O2 group weight group.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Determine a parameter O1 and a parameter O2 corresponding to a third port, wherein the third port is one of the P first ports; Sending third indication information to the network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate a parameter M1, a parameter M2, a parameter O1, and a parameter O2 corresponding to the third port; Among them, the parameters O1 and O2 are used to determine the O1·O2 group weight group corresponding to the third port, the parameters M1 and M2 are used to determine the M1·M2 weights included in each weight group in the O1·O2 group weight group, the target weight corresponding to the third port is at least one of the M1·M2 weights in the target weight group corresponding to the third port, and the target weight group corresponding to the third port is a group in the O1·O2 group weight group.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The second indication information includes: a group index of the target weight group corresponding to the third port in the O1·O2 group weight group, and a weight index of the target weight corresponding to the third port in the target weight group.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Sending fourth indication information to the network device, the fourth indication information is used to indicate that a weight index of a target weight in a first target weight group is the same as a weight index of a target weight in a second target weight group, the first target weight group is a target weight group corresponding to a fourth port, the second target weight group is a target weight group corresponding to the fifth port, and the fourth port and the fifth port are at least two of the P first ports; The second indication information includes a first information element, and a weight index indicated by the first information element is applied to a target weight group corresponding to the fourth port and a target weight group corresponding to the fifth port.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Determine a target weight group corresponding to a sixth port, and update the weight group indicated by the first group of indexes to the weight group indicated by the second group of indexes, wherein the sixth port is one of the P first ports; Send fifth indication information to the network device, wherein the fifth indication information is used to indicate an adjustment amount of a group index corresponding to the sixth port, and the group index adjustment amount is used to indicate that the group index of the target weight group corresponding to the sixth port is adjusted from the first group index to the second group index.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Determine a target weight corresponding to a seventh port, and update the weight indicated by the first weight index to the weight indicated by the second weight index, wherein the seventh port is one of the P first ports; Send sixth indication information to the network device, wherein the sixth indication information is used to indicate an adjustment amount of a weight index corresponding to the seventh port, and the weight index adjustment amount is used to indicate that a weight index of a target weight corresponding to the seventh port is adjusted from the first weight index to the second weight index.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receive first indication information from a terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first quantity, where the first quantity is less than the sum of the quantities of second ports corresponding to P first ports of the terminal device, where P is a positive integer; Send pilot port configuration information to the terminal device, where the pilot port configuration information is used to configure Q pilot ports, where Q is determined based on the first number, and where Q is a positive integer less than or equal to the first number.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A first threshold is sent to the terminal device, where the first threshold is used to determine the first number.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive second indication information from the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate target weights corresponding to the P first ports, the P first ports correspond to Q target weights in total, and the Q target weights correspond one-to-one to the Q pilot ports.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Determine the parameter O1 and the parameter O2 corresponding to the third port, the parameter O1 and the parameter O2 corresponding to the third port; Sending the parameter O1 and the parameter O2 corresponding to the third port to the terminal device; receiving third indication information from the terminal device, where the third indication information is used to indicate a parameter M1 and a parameter M2 corresponding to a third port; Among them, the parameters O1 and O2 are used to determine the O1·O2 group weight group corresponding to the third port, the parameters M1 and M2 are used to determine the M1·M2 weights included in each weight group in the O1·O2 group weight group, the target weight corresponding to the third port is at least one of the M1·M2 weights in the target weight group corresponding to the third port, and the target weight group corresponding to the third port is a group in the O1·O2 group weight group.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving third indication information from the terminal device, the third indication information being used to indicate parameters M1, M2, O1 and O2 corresponding to a third port, the third port being one of the P first ports; Among them, the parameters O1 and O2 are used to determine the O1·O2 group weight group corresponding to the third port, the parameters M1 and M2 are used to determine the M1·M2 weights included in each weight group in the O1·O2 group weight group, the target weight corresponding to the third port is at least one of the M1·M2 weights in the target weight group corresponding to the third port, and the target weight group corresponding to the third port is a group in the O1·O2 group weight group.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that: The second indication information includes: a group index of the target weight group corresponding to the third port in the O1·O2 group weight group, and a weight index of the target weight corresponding to the third port in the target weight group.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive fourth indication information from the terminal device, the fourth indication information is used to indicate that a weight index of a target weight in a first target weight group is the same as a weight index of a target weight in a second target weight group, the first target weight group is a target weight group corresponding to a fourth port, the second target weight group is a target weight group corresponding to the fifth port, and the fourth port and the fifth port are at least two of the P first ports; The second indication information includes a first information element, and a weight index indicated by the first information element is applied to a target weight group corresponding to the fourth port and a target weight group corresponding to the fifth port.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The group index of the target weight group corresponding to each of the P first ports and the weight index of the target weight corresponding to each of the P first ports are stored.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive fifth indication information from the terminal device, the fifth indication information is used to indicate a group index adjustment amount corresponding to a sixth port, the group index adjustment amount is used to indicate that the group index of the target weight group corresponding to the sixth port is adjusted from the first group index to the second group index, and the sixth port is one of the P first ports; Based on the group index adjustment amount, the first group index corresponding to the sixth port is adjusted to the second group index.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving sixth indication information from the terminal device, the sixth indication information being used to indicate an adjustment amount of a weight index corresponding to the seventh port, the weight index adjustment amount being used to indicate that a weight index of a target weight corresponding to the seventh port is adjusted from a first weight index to a second weight index; Based on the weight index adjustment amount, the first weight index corresponding to the seventh port is adjusted to the second weight index.

20. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or comprises a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 10 to 19.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: It includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9 through a logic circuit or by executing code instructions, or the processor is used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 10 to 19 through a logic circuit or by executing code instructions.

22. 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 the communication device, the communication device implements the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, or implements the method as described in any one of claims 10 to 19.

23. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed by a communication device, the communication device implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or implements the method according to any one of claims 10 to 19.

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