Communication method, apparatus and system, and chip module and storage medium

Abstract

A communication method, apparatus and system, and a chip module and a storage medium. The method comprises: a first device sending to a second device N beams in a first direction, wherein energy focus points of the N beams are at different distances to the first device; the first device receiving first information from the second device, wherein the first information is used for indicating signal quality information of the N beams, which is obtained by the second device by performing measurement; and the first device determining a target beam on the basis of the first information, wherein the target beam is used for the communication between the first device and the second device. By means of sending a plurality of near-field beams in a first direction, receiving signal quality information of the plurality of near-field beams, which is reported by a second device, and determining a target beam on the basis of the signal quality information of the plurality of near-field beams, a first device can implement far-field and near-field beam scanning, and implement accurate beam management, such that beam designs are matched to channels.

Description

Communication method, device, system, chip module and storage medium

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on December 4, 2023, with application number 202311656320.8 and invention name “Communication method, device, system, chip module and storage medium”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] High-frequency antenna arrays typically use a hybrid beamforming approach that combines analog beamforming with digital ports. Analog beamforming typically assumes plane waves for beam management, with the beams being discrete Fourier transform (DFT) basis vectors. This divides the entire cell into different areas at different angles for beam management.

[0004] As the frequency band increases and the antenna panel diameter grows, the Rayleigh distance increases. Terminal devices are likely to move into the near-field range, increasing the possibility of mismatch between the existing beam design and the channel. Beam management solutions based on the plane wave assumption will also mismatch with the channel environment, resulting in performance loss.

[0005] In view of this, how to accurately manage beams so that beam design matches the channel is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method, device, system, chip module and storage medium to accurately perform beam management so that the beam design matches the channel.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be implemented by a first device, or a chip or circuit for the first device. For example, the first device can be a terminal device or a network device.

[0008] The method includes: a first device sends N beams in a first direction, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the energy focus points of the N beams are at different distances from the first device; the first device receives first information from a second device, where the first information is used to indicate signal quality information of the N beams measured by the second device; and the first device determines a target beam based on the first information, where the target beam is used for communication between the first device and the second device.

[0009] In this aspect, the first device transmits multiple near-field beams in a first direction, receives signal quality information of multiple near-field beams sent by the second device, and determines the target beam based on the signal quality information of the multiple near-field beams, thereby realizing far-field and near-field beam scanning, achieving precise beam management, and matching the beam design with the channel.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the method also includes: the first device sends M beams in M ​​directions respectively, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the beamforming gain values ​​of the M beams are constants; and the first device receives second information, where the second information is used to indicate a first beam, where the first beam is the beam with the best signal quality among the M beams, and the first beam corresponds to the first direction.

[0011] In this implementation, this step is to perform far-field beam scanning, which can also be called first-level beam scanning. It can be a P-1 stage scan or a P-2 stage scan. The first device sends M beams to the second device in M ​​directions (i.e., M angles). After the second device receives M beams in M ​​directions, it measures the M reference signals received in the M beam directions or M angles to obtain the signal quality of the reference signals on the M beams, and selects the first beam with the best signal quality from the M beams.

[0012] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be implemented by a second device, or a chip or circuit for a second device. For example, the second device can be a network device or a terminal device.

[0013] The method includes: the second device receives N beams from the first device in a first direction, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the energy focus points of the N beams are at different distances from the first device; and the second device sends first information to the first device, where the first information is used to indicate signal quality information of the N beams measured by the second device.

[0014] In this aspect, the second device receives multiple near-field beams sent by the first device in a first direction and sends signal quality information of the multiple near-field beams to the first device, so that the first device can determine the target beam based on the signal quality information of the multiple near-field beams, thereby realizing far-field and near-field beam scanning, achieving accurate beam management, and matching the beam design with the channel. In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the method also includes: the second device receives M beams sent by the first device in M ​​directions respectively, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the beamforming gain values ​​of the M beams are constants; and the second device sends second information to the first device, where the second information is used to indicate the first beam, where the first beam is the beam with the best signal quality among the M beams, and the first beam corresponds to the first direction.

[0015] In this implementation, this step is to perform far-field beam scanning, which can also be called first-level beam scanning. It can be a P-1 stage scan or a P-2 stage scan. The first device sends M beams to the second device in M ​​directions (i.e., M angles). After the second device receives M beams in M ​​directions, it measures the M reference signals received in the M beam directions or M angles to obtain the signal quality of the reference signals on the M beams, and selects the first beam with the best signal quality from the M beams.

[0016] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device can implement the method of the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect. For example, the communication device can be a chip or a circuit. The method can be implemented through software, hardware, or hardware executing corresponding software.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the device includes: a transceiver unit and a processing unit; wherein: the transceiver unit is used to send N beams in a first direction, N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the energy focus points of the N beams are at different distances from the device; the transceiver unit is also used to receive first information, and the first information is used to indicate signal quality information of the N beams measured by the second device; and the processing unit is also used to determine a target beam based on the first information, and the target beam is used for communication between the first device and the second device.

[0018] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further used to send M beams in M ​​directions respectively, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the beamforming gain values ​​of the M beams are constants; and the transceiver unit is further used to receive second information, where the second information is used to indicate a first beam, where the first beam is the beam with the best signal quality among the M beams, and the first beam corresponds to the first direction.

[0019] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device can implement the method of the second aspect or any implementation of the second aspect. For example, the communication device can be a chip or a circuit. The method can be implemented through software, hardware, or hardware executing corresponding software.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the device includes: a transceiver unit, and may also include a processing unit; wherein: the transceiver unit is used to receive N beams sent by a first device in a first direction, N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the energy focus points of the N beams are at different distances from the device; and the transceiver unit is also used to send first information to the first device, and the first information is used to indicate the signal quality information of the N beams measured by the second device.

[0021] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further used to receive M beams sent by the first device in M ​​directions respectively, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the beamforming gain values ​​of the M beams are constants; and the transceiver unit is further used to send second information to the first device, where the second information is used to indicate the first beam, where the first beam is the beam with the best signal quality among the M beams, and the first beam corresponds to the first direction.

[0022] In combination with any one of the first to fourth aspects or the first to fourth aspects, in another possible implementation, the beamforming gain value of the energy focusing point is the largest.

[0023] In combination with the first to fourth aspects or any one implementation of the first to fourth aspects, in another possible implementation, the second information includes an index of the first beam.

[0024] In this implementation, the second information may include an index of the first beam or an identifier of the first beam. Both the network device and the terminal device know the index or identifier of the beam in advance, and thus can indicate the first beam based on the index or identifier of the first beam.

[0025] In combination with any one of the implementations of the first to fourth aspects or the first to fourth aspects, in another possible implementation, the first information includes the relative relationship values ​​of the signal qualities of the N beams and the signal quality of the first beam.

[0026] In this implementation, the second device sends the relative relationship values ​​of the signal qualities of the N beams and the signal quality of the first beam to the first device. After receiving the first information, the first device can determine and configure the beam with the best signal quality based on the relative relationship values ​​of the signal qualities of the N beams and the signal quality of the first beam.

[0027] In combination with any one of the first to fourth aspects or the first to fourth aspects, in another possible implementation, the first information includes the relative relationship values ​​of the signal qualities of N-1 beams and the signal qualities of the second beam, and the second beam is any one of the N beams.

[0028] In this implementation, the second device sends the relative relationship values ​​of the signal qualities of the N-1 beams and the signal qualities of the second beam to the first device. After receiving the first information, the first device can determine and configure the beam with the best signal quality based on the relative relationship values ​​of the signal qualities of the N-1 beams and the signal qualities of the second beam. The second beam is any one of the N beams, and may also be called a reference beam or a reference beam. By introducing the second beam, the feedback relative relationship value can be within a quantization range. In combination with any one of the first to fourth aspects or the first to fourth aspects, in another possible implementation, the first information includes an index of the second beam.

[0029] In this implementation, the first information may further include an index or identifier of the second beam to indicate the base beam or reference beam to which the N-1 relative relationship values ​​in the first information are directed.

[0030] In combination with any one of the implementations of the first to fourth aspects or the first to fourth aspects, in another possible implementation, the relative relationship value is a difference or a ratio.

[0031] In combination with any one of the first to fourth aspects or the first to fourth aspects, in another possible implementation, the second information is also used to indicate that the N beams are sent in the first direction.

[0032] In this implementation, the second information is also used to instruct the network device to send N beams to the terminal device in the first direction (i.e., to enable second-level beam scanning). If the terminal device receives the second information and the second information instructs the terminal device to perform second-level beam scanning, the terminal device can enable second-level beam scanning after receiving the second information; otherwise, the process ends.

[0033] In combination with any one of the implementations of the first to fourth aspects or the first to fourth aspects, in another possible implementation, the first device is a network device, the second device is a terminal, and N is configured by the first device.

[0034] In another possible implementation, the communication device in the third to fourth aspects above includes a processor coupled to a memory; the processor is configured to support the device in performing the corresponding functions in the above communication method. The memory is used to couple with the processor, which stores the necessary computer programs (or computer executable instructions) and / or data for the device. Optionally, the communication device may further include a communication interface for supporting communication between the device and other network elements, such as sending or receiving data and / or signals. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module or other type of communication interface. Optionally, the memory may be located inside the communication device and integrated with the processor; it may also be located outside the communication device.

[0035] In another possible implementation, the communication device in the third to fourth aspects includes a processor and a transceiver, the processor being coupled to the transceiver, and the processor being used to execute a computer program or instruction to control the transceiver to receive and send information; when the processor executes the computer program or instruction, the processor is also used to implement the above method through a logic circuit or executing code instructions. The transceiver may be a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or an input / output interface, configured to receive signals from other communication devices other than the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices other than the communication device. When the communication device is a chip, the transceiver is a transceiver circuit or an input / output interface.

[0036] When the communication device in the third and fourth aspects above is a chip, the sending unit may be an output unit, such as an output circuit or a communication interface; the receiving unit may be an input unit, such as an input circuit or a communication interface. When the communication device is a terminal device, the sending unit may be a transmitter or a transmitter; and the receiving unit may be a receiver or a receiver.

[0037] In a fifth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising a communication device as described in the third aspect or any one implementation of the third aspect, and at least one communication device as described in the fourth aspect or any one implementation of the fourth aspect.

[0038] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, it implements the method described in the first aspect or any one of the implementations of the first aspect, or implements the method described in the second aspect or any one of the implementations of the second aspect.

[0039] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, which, when executed on a computing device, implements the method described in the first aspect or any one of the implementations of the first aspect, or implements the method described in the second aspect or any one of the implementations of the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of analog beamforming;

[0042] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device in a near field range and a far field range;

[0043] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a far-field plane wave and a near-field spherical wave;

[0044] FIG5 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of an example of feedback of channel quality information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of another example of feedback of channel quality information provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] The embodiments of the present application are described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0050] The technical solution provided by this application can be applied to various communication systems, for example, the fifth generation (5 thThe technical solution provided in this application may be applied to various scenarios, such as machine to machine (M2M), macro and micro communications, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-high reliability and ultra-low latency communication (ultra-reliable&low latency communication, uRLLC) and massive machine type communication (mMTC). These scenarios may include but are not limited to: communication scenarios between terminal devices and terminal devices, communication scenarios between network devices and network devices, and communication scenarios between network devices and terminal devices. Among them, network devices include network devices and core network devices. The following description will be based on the scenarios applied to communications between network devices and terminal devices as examples.

[0051] 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 wireless access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300. The wireless access network 100 may include at least one network device (such as 110a and 110b in Figure 1 ) and at least one terminal device (such as 120a-120j in Figure 1 ). The terminal device is wirelessly connected to the network device, and the network device is wirelessly or wiredly connected to the core network. The core network device and the network device may be independent, distinct physical devices, or the core network device's functions and the network device's logical functions may be integrated into the same physical device, or a single physical device may integrate some of the core network device's functions and some of the network device's functions. Terminal devices and network devices may be interconnected via wired or wireless connections. Figure 1 is merely a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 1 .

[0052] The network device 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, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc.; it can also be a module or unit that completes part of the functions of the network device, for example, it can be a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The network device can be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 1), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 1), a relay node or a donor node, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device.

[0053] Terminal devices may also be referred to as terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminal devices, etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, for example, 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. Terminal devices can be mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver functions, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal devices.

[0054] Network devices and terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; and in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of network devices and terminal devices.

[0055] The roles of network devices and terminal devices can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile network device. To terminal devices 120j accessing the wireless access network 100 via 120i, terminal device 120i is a network device. However, to network device 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 an interface protocol between network devices. In this case, 120i is also a network device relative to 110a. Therefore, both network devices 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 network device functionality, while 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal device functionality.

[0056] Network devices and terminal devices, network devices and network devices, and terminal devices and terminal devices can communicate through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; can communicate through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz simultaneously. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communications.

[0057] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the network device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the network device, or by a control subsystem that includes the network device functions. The control subsystem that includes the network device 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.

[0058] In this application, a network device sends a downlink signal or downlink information to a terminal device, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel. A terminal device sends an uplink signal or uplink information to a network device, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. In order to communicate with the network device, the terminal device needs to establish a wireless connection with the cell controlled by the network device. 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.

[0059] The following describes terms that may be used in the embodiments of this application:

[0060] (1) Beam:

[0061] A beam is a communication resource. It can be understood as the signal strength distribution formed in different directions in space after the signal is transmitted through the antenna. A beam can be understood as a spatial filter or spatial parameters. The beam used to transmit signals can be called a transmission beam (Tx beam), which can be a spatial domain transmit filter or a spatial domain transmit parameter; the beam used to receive signals can be called a reception beam (Rx beam), which can be a spatial domain receive filter or a spatial domain receive parameter. Beams can be divided into transmit beams and receive beams. The technology used to form beams can be beamforming technology or other technical means. Beamforming includes transmit beamforming and receive beamforming.

[0062] Transmit beam: The transmitting device transmits signals with certain beamforming weights, forming a spatially directional beam. In the uplink direction, the transmitting device can be a terminal; in the downlink direction, the transmitting device can be a network device.

[0063] Receive beam: The receiving device receives signals using certain beamforming weights, forming a spatially directional beam. In the uplink direction, the receiving device can be a network device; in the downlink direction, the receiving device can be a terminal.

[0064] Different beams can be considered different resources. Using (or passing) different beams can send the same or different information. Beam pairs are based on the concept of beams. A beam pair typically consists of a transmit beam from a transmitting device and a receive beam from a receiving device.

[0065] The transmitting device sends a signal or information to the receiving device on the beam. It can be understood that the transmitting device uses a certain time-frequency resource to send a signal or information to another receiving device, but the transmission of the signal or information is directional.

[0066] In communication systems such as 5G New Radio (NR) systems, both network equipment and terminal devices can generate one or more transmit beams and one or more receive beams. Before data transmission, beam alignment is required.

[0067] (2) Beam management

[0068] Beam management includes two important functions: beam training and beam failure recovery. Beam training includes transmit beam training and receive beam training, which can be divided into three steps. The operations of each step are summarized as follows:

[0069] P-1: The network device transmits a reference signal (RS) based on a set of transmit beams. The transmit beams in the set correspond to different transmission directions. The UE selects the network device's transmit beam and the UE's receive beam by measuring and providing feedback.

[0070] P-2: Based on P-1, the network device transmits RSs based on a smaller set of transmit beams. The UE measures the beams and provides feedback to improve the network device's transmit beams.

[0071] P-3: The network device uses a transmit beam to send RS, and the UE improves the UE's receive beam by measuring the beam.

[0072] (3) Beamforming

[0073] As low-frequency spectrum resources become scarce, high-frequency bands, offering greater bandwidth, have become crucial for future mobile communication applications. Due to their shorter wavelengths, high-frequency bands exhibit different propagation characteristics than traditional low-frequency spectrum, such as higher propagation loss and poor reflection and diffraction performance. Therefore, larger antenna arrays are typically employed to form shaped beams with greater gain, overcome propagation loss, and ensure system coverage. High-frequency antenna arrays, with their shorter wavelengths and smaller antenna element spacing and apertures, allow for the integration of more physical antenna elements within a limited two-dimensional array. Furthermore, due to the limited size of the antenna array, digital beamforming, as used in low-frequency bands, cannot be employed due to hardware complexity, cost, and power consumption. Instead, hybrid beamforming, combining analog beamforming with digital ports, is typically employed.

[0074] In a multi-antenna array, each antenna has an independent RF link channel but shares the same digital link channel. This requires that each RF link allow for independent amplitude and phase adjustments of the transmitted signal. The resulting beam is primarily achieved through phase and amplitude adjustments within the RF channel, a process known as analog beamforming. In a fully digital beamforming antenna array, each antenna has an independent digital link channel, allowing for baseband control of the amplitude and phase of each signal. With analog beamforming, the signal transmitted by each antenna is typically phase-shifted using a term shifter. Due to device limitations, analog beamforming operates across the entire bandwidth and cannot be performed on specific subbands like digital beamforming. Therefore, analog beamforming is performed using time division multiplexing (TDM).

[0075] When link transmission is performed through analog beamforming technology, in order to obtain the best transmission performance, it is usually necessary to use a transmit / receive beam scanning measurement method to search for the best transmit and receive beam pair. Since analog beamforming can only send a limited number of shaped beams at the same time (the number of beams depends on the number of digital ports, and one digital port corresponds to one beam), and the beam width is narrow, it can usually only cover a part of the cell. In order to achieve signal coverage of the entire cell, it is necessary to adopt a transmission method of joint scanning of multiple beams in the time domain, that is, through polling within a time period, each beam takes turns to cover different areas of the cell to achieve complete coverage of the cell. For unicast transmission between network equipment and UE, the maximum link gain can be obtained when the transmit and receive beams between the network equipment and UE are aligned. The process of aligning the transmit and receive beams of the network equipment and the UE is called the beam management process.

[0076] Figure 2 illustrates analog beamforming. When a connection is established between a network device and a UE, for example, in downlink transmission, the network device has M analog transmit beams and the UE has N analog receive beams, resulting in a total of MN transmit / receive beam pairs. Typically, in high-frequency communications, the number of beam pairs is large. Effective beam measurement and reporting, while reducing system overhead, are key aspects of large-scale antenna beam management design. The downlink beam measurement process can be described as follows: If a network device is capable of transmitting M analog beams, a set of shaped reference signals can be configured for each beam direction for beam measurement. Each reference signal is shaped in the same direction as the corresponding analog beam. These M reference signals are transmitted across different time and / or frequency domain resources, enabling the network device to adjust the shifter configuration for each beam direction to implement analog beamforming. Simultaneously, the UE measures each of the M shaped reference signals using its N receive beams to select the appropriate receive beam. Therefore, a total of MN beam pairs need to be measured between the network device and the UE to find the best transmit and receive paired beam.

[0077] Transmit beamforming: When a transmitting device with an antenna array transmits a signal, it sets a specific amplitude and phase on each antenna element in the array. This gives the transmitted signal a certain spatial directionality, meaning that the signal power is high in some directions and low in others. The direction with the highest signal power is the direction of the transmit beam. The antenna array consists of multiple antenna elements, and the specific amplitude and phase values ​​assigned to them are the beamforming weights.

[0078] Receive beamforming: When a receiving terminal device with an antenna array receives a signal, it sets a specific amplitude and phase on each antenna element in the array to make the power gain of the received signal directional. Specifically, the power gain is high when receiving signals from certain directions, and low when receiving signals from other directions. The direction with the highest power gain is the direction of the receive beam. The antenna array consists of multiple antenna elements, and the specific amplitude and phase values ​​assigned to them are the beamforming weights.

[0079] Sending a signal using a certain transmit beam means sending a signal using a certain beamforming weight.

[0080] Receiving a signal using a receive beam refers to receiving a signal using a certain beamforming weight.

[0081] At present, analog beamforming generally uses the assumption of plane waves for beam management. The beam is a DFT basis vector, and the entire cell is divided into different areas at different angles for beam measurement. As shown in Figure 3, the terminal device is in the near field range and the far field range. As the frequency band increases and the antenna panel aperture increases, the Rayleigh distance becomes larger. The terminal device is likely to fall into the near field range, and the propagation environment gradually changes from the far field to a mixed field environment of near and far fields. According to the characteristics of the electromagnetic field, the coverage range of the near field can be defined as the Fresnel boundary. Rayleigh distance The Rayleigh distance for distinguishing far and near fields is based on the maximum error between the actual phase of the array and the approximate far-field model, which is equal to Definition. In a near-field environment, each antenna element or antenna port in an antenna array has a different angle (or phase) to the terminal device, conforming to the spherical wave transmission model. As the frequency band increases and the antenna array aperture increases, the Rayleigh distance increases, and the probability of a terminal device falling within the near-field range increases.

[0082] Because radio waves in the near field no longer propagate as plane waves but rather as spherical waves, existing beam designs can lead to channel mismatch. Beam management solutions based on the plane wave assumption can also mismatch the channel environment, resulting in performance loss. Figure 4 shows a diagram of far-field plane waves and near-field spherical waves. Unlike the far-field plane wave assumption, the near-field channel more easily satisfies the spherical wave assumption. This means that the angle from each antenna array to the UE is different, resulting in a phase difference that depends not only on the angle from the antenna panel to the UE but also on the distance between them. Given this trend, designing beam management solutions that better match the channel becomes a key issue.

[0083] In view of this, the present application provides a communication solution, in which a first device sends multiple near-field beams in a first direction, receives signal quality information of multiple near-field beams reported by a second device, and determines a target beam based on the signal quality information of multiple near-field beams, thereby realizing far-field and near-field beam scanning, achieving precise beam management, and matching the beam design with the channel.

[0084] The following embodiments involve interaction between a first device and a second device. This embodiment is described using the example of the first device being a network device and the second device being a terminal device. In practice, the method can also be applied to a scenario where the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a network device.

[0085] As shown in Figure 5, a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. Exemplarily, the method may include the following steps:

[0086] S501. The network device sends M beams to the terminal device in M ​​directions. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives M beams in M ​​directions.

[0087] This step and step S502 perform far-field beam scanning, also known as first-stage beam scanning. This can be the scanning described above in stage P-1 or stage P-2. The network device sends M beams to the terminal device in M ​​directions (i.e., at M angles). M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The beamforming gain values ​​of these M beams are constant, meaning these M beams are far-field beams.

[0088] Sending M beams may mean sending M reference signals in M ​​beam directions or at M angles. Exemplarily, the reference signal may be a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS). This application does not specifically limit the reference signal.

[0089] S502: The terminal device reports the second information to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the second information.

[0090] After receiving M beams in M ​​directions, the terminal device measures the M reference signals received in the M beam directions or at M angles to obtain the signal quality of the reference signals on the M beams, and selects the first beam with the best signal quality from the M beams. For example, the signal quality can be represented by reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), etc. This embodiment is described using RSRP as an example.

[0091] After selecting the first beam with the best signal quality, the terminal device reports second information to the network device. The second information indicates the first beam. The first beam is the beam with the best signal quality among the M beams. The first beam corresponds to a first direction, or in other words, the first beam corresponds to a first angle.

[0092] Exemplarily, the second information may include an index of the first beam or an identity (ID) of the first beam. The network device and the terminal device both know the index or ID of the beam in advance, and thus can indicate the first beam based on the index or identity of the first beam.

[0093] It is understandable that the above steps S501 and S502 are optional, which are indicated by dotted lines in the figure. The network device may also predetermine the first beam or the first direction. For example, the network device may determine the first direction based on historical communication data, or determine the first direction through network planning data. This application does not specifically limit how the network device determines the first direction. In this case, in this embodiment, the terminal device is within the near field range, and the network device only needs to manage the beam within the near field range. Therefore, steps S501 and S502 (i.e., the first level beam scanning) may not be performed, and the subsequent steps may be directly performed, i.e., the second level beam scanning may be performed directly.

[0094] In addition, this embodiment can also enable the second level beam scanning based on the indication information. In one example, the second information is also used to instruct the network device to send N beams to the terminal device in the first direction (i.e., enable the second level beam scanning). The network device receives the second information, and the second information instructs the network device to perform the second level beam scanning. After receiving the second information, the network device can enable the second level beam scanning; otherwise, the process ends.

[0095] For example, the second information may use a single bit to indicate whether to perform the second-level beam scanning. For example, when the value of the single bit is "1," it indicates that the second-level beam scanning is enabled; when the value of the single bit is "0," it indicates that the second-level beam scanning is not enabled. The reverse is also possible.

[0096] S503: The network device sends N beams to the terminal device in a first direction. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the N beams in the first direction.

[0097] This step and step S504 are for performing near-field beam scanning, also known as second-level beam scanning.

[0098] After receiving the second information, the network device obtains the first beam indicated by the second information, where the first beam corresponds to the first direction. Alternatively, after receiving an instruction from the terminal device to start second-level beam scanning, the network device sends N beams to the terminal device in the first direction, i.e., the directions of the N beams are the same, i.e., all in the first direction. Wherein, N is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The beamforming gain of the N beams may vary with the distance from the network device, and the beamforming gain value is maximum at the energy concentration point, i.e., the N beams are near-field beams.

[0099] Among them, the energy focusing points of the N beams sent by the network device are at different distances from the network device. The N beams can also be understood as near-field beams, each of which has an energy focusing point, and the energy focusing point of each beam is at a different distance from the terminal device. The energy focusing point means that the beam has a certain directionality, especially for the near-field beam. Referring to the right figure of Figure 4, due to the concentrated characteristics of the spherical wave beam, the beam energy will be concentrated within a small distance range, which can be called the energy focusing point. The beamforming gain of a near-field beam varies with the distance from the network device, and the change is usually not a linear change. The energy focusing point of the beam corresponds to the maximum beamforming gain of the beam. By way of example, Figure 6 shows the relationship between the beamforming gain and distance of several near-field beams (such as beam1 to beam4), and the distance corresponds to the distance from the network device. Taking near-field beam 2 as an example, it can be seen that beam2's beamforming gain varies with distance. At approximately 20 meters from the example network device, beam2's beamforming gain is maximum. In other words, for beam2, its beam energy concentration point is approximately 20 meters from the example network device.

[0100] The network device sends N beams with different distances in the same direction or angle to detect which beam distance has the best signal quality received by the terminal device.

[0101] The network device may transmit N beams in a line of sight (LOS) or non-line of sight (NLOS) scenario.

[0102] Exemplarily, N may be configured by a network device, for example, it may be indicated by one or more configurations in radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control-control element (MAC-CE), or downlink control information (DCI); or N may be reported by a terminal device, for example, reported by channel state information (CSI), or indicated by a UE capability parameter; or N may be predefined by a protocol; or N may be a default value.

[0103] S504: The terminal device sends first information to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first information.

[0104] The network device sends N beams with different distances in the same direction or angle, and the terminal device receives the N beams in a first direction and measures signal quality information of the N beams.

[0105] After obtaining the signal quality information of the N beams through measurement, the terminal device sends first information to the network device, wherein the first information is used to indicate the signal quality information of the N beams obtained through measurement by the terminal device.

[0106] The terminal device may indicate the signal quality information of N beams through the first information in the following ways:

[0107] In a first implementation, the first information includes relative relationship values ​​of the signal qualities of the N beams relative to the signal quality of the first beam. The first beam is the beam with the best signal quality determined by the terminal device in the first-level beam scanning. The terminal device carries the N relative relationship values ​​in the first information.

[0108] In one example, the relative relationship value may be a difference value. That is, the first information includes the difference between the signal quality of each of the N beams and the signal quality of the first beam. For example, the first beam is beam, and the N beams are beam1, beam2, ... beam N , then the difference between the signal quality of each of the N beams and the signal quality of the first beam is: (RSRP beam1 -RSRP beam )、(RSRP beam2 -RSRP beam ),…(RSRP beamN -RSRP beam ).

[0109] In another example, the relative relationship value may be a ratio. That is, the first information includes the ratio of the signal quality of each of the N beams to the signal quality of the first beam. For example, the first beam is beam, and the N beams are beam1, beam2, ... beam N , then the difference between the signal quality of the N beams and the signal quality of the first beam is: RSRP beam1 / RSRP beam 、RSRP beam2 / RSRP beam ,…RSRP beamN / RSRP beam .

[0110] The following is an exemplary description using the relative relationship value as a ratio. As shown in Figure 6, it is a schematic diagram of an example of the feedback of channel quality information provided by an embodiment of the present application. The first beam (i.e., the far-field beam) is beam, and the four beams (i.e., the near-field beams) are beam1, beam2, beam3, and beam4. The terminal device sends the first information to the network device. The first information includes the ratios of the signal qualities of the four beams to the signal quality of the first beam: r1, r2, r3, and r4. Among them, r1 = RSRP beam1 / RSRP beam , r2=RSRP beam2 / RSRP beam , r3=RSRP beam3 / RSRP beam , r4=RSRP beam4 / RSRP beam The representation of r1 and r2 is shown in Figure 6. The intersection of each beam and the terminal device's location represents the RSRP of the beam measured by the terminal device at that location.

[0111] The network device pre-stores the curve graph shown in Figure 6, or the curve graph shown in Figure 6 can be obtained through calculation. After receiving the first information, the network device can determine and configure the beam with the best signal quality based on the ratio of the signal quality of the four beams to the signal quality of the first beam.

[0112] In a second implementation manner, the first information includes relative relationship values ​​between the signal qualities of the N-1 beams and the signal quality of the second beam, where the second beam is any one of the N beams.

[0113] In the first implementation, the terminal device feeds back the relative relationship values ​​of the signal qualities of the N beams and the signal quality of the first beam. However, it is possible that the relative relationship values ​​will exceed the quantization range of the feedback, resulting in excessive feedback overhead.

[0114] In this implementation, the terminal device may also feed back the relative relationship between the signal qualities of the N-1 beams and the signal quality of the second beam. The second beam is any one of the N beams and may also be called a base beam or a reference beam.

[0115] Furthermore, the first information may also include an index or ID of the second beam to indicate the base beam or reference beam to which the N-1 relative relationship values ​​in the first information are directed.

[0116] In one example, the relative relationship value may be a difference value. That is, the first information includes the difference between the signal quality of each of the N-1 beams and the signal quality of the second beam. That is, the first information includes the difference between the signal quality of each of the N-1 beams and the signal quality of the second beam. For example, the second beam is beam2, and the N-1 beams are beam1, beam3, ... beam N , then the difference between the signal quality of the N-1 beams and the signal quality of the second beam is: (RSRP beam1 -RSRP beam2 )、(RSRP beam3 -RSRP beam2 ),…(RSRP beamN -RSRP beam2 ).

[0117] In another example, the relative relationship value may be a ratio. That is, the first information includes the ratio of the signal quality of each of the N-1 beams to the signal quality of the second beam. That is, the first information includes the ratio of the signal quality of each of the N-1 beams to the signal quality of the second beam. For example, the second beam is beam2, and the N-1 beams are beam1, beam3, ... beam1. N , then the difference between the signal quality of the N-1 beams and the signal quality of the second beam is: RSRP beam1 / RSRP beam2 、RSRP beam3 / RSRP beam2 ,…RSRP beamN / RSRP beam2 .

[0118] The following is an exemplary description using the relative relationship value as a ratio. As shown in Figure 7, it is a schematic diagram of another example of the feedback of channel quality information provided in an embodiment of the present application. The first beam (i.e., the far-field beam) is beam, the second beam (reference beam or reference beam) is beam2, and the remaining three near-field beams are beam1, beam3, and beam4. The terminal device sends the first information to the network device. The first information includes the ratio of the signal quality of the three beams to the signal quality of the second beam: r′1, r′3, and r′4. Among them, r′1=RSRP beam1 / RSRP beam2 , r′3=RSRP beam3 / RSRP beam2 , r′4=RSRP beam4 / RSRP beam2 The representation of r′1 is illustrated in Figure 7. The intersection of each beam and the location of the terminal device represents the RSRP of the beam measured by the terminal device at that location.

[0119] The network device pre-stores the curve graph shown in Figure 7, or the curve graph shown in Figure 7 can be obtained through calculation. After the network device receives the first information, it can determine and configure the beam with the best signal quality based on the ratio of the signal quality of the three beams to the signal quality of the second beam.

[0120] S505. The network device determines a target beam based on the first information.

[0121] After receiving the first information, the network device can determine a target beam based on the first information. The target beam is used for communication between the terminal device and the network device. This determination takes into account both far-field and near-field beam scanning results, enabling better channel matching.

[0122] Exemplarily, the network device can determine that the target beam can have its energy concentration point located as far as possible at the position of the terminal device based on the relative relationship values ​​of the obtained signal qualities of the N beams and the signal quality of the first beam, or the relative relationship values ​​of the signal qualities of the N-1 beams and the signal quality of the second beam, that is, the distance between the position where the beamforming gain of the target beam is maximized and the network device is as equal as possible to the distance between the terminal device and the network device.

[0123] It can be seen that the time domain resource overhead of the two-stage beam scanning network equipment is M + N. This achieves accurate beam scanning with a small overhead, allowing the beam design to match the channel.

[0124] According to a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, a network device sends multiple near-field beams in a first direction, receives signal quality information of multiple near-field beams reported by a terminal device, and determines a target beam based on the signal quality information of the multiple near-field beams, thereby realizing far-field and near-field beam scanning, achieving precise beam management, and matching the beam design with the channel.

[0125] In this application, "sending information to... (for example, the first device)" or the related illustrations in the drawings can be understood as the destination end of the information being the first device. This can include sending information to the first device directly or indirectly. "Receiving information from... (for example, the first device)" or "receiving information from... (for example, the first device)", or the related illustrations in the drawings can be understood as the source end of the information being the first device, which can include receiving information from the first device directly or indirectly. The information may be processed as necessary between the source end and the destination end of the information transmission, such as format changes, etc., but the destination end can understand the valid information from the source end. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0126] The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above. It is understandable that the present application uses the first device and the second device as an example to illustrate the execution subject of the interaction diagram, but the present application does not limit the execution subject of the interaction diagram. For example, the first device in the method provided by the present application may also be a chip, a chip system, or a processor applied to the first device, or a logical node, a logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the first device; the second device in the method provided by the present application may also be a chip, a chip system, or a processor applied to the second device, or a logical node, a logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the second device.

[0127] It is understandable that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the first device and the second device include 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 each example 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 in a computer software-driven hardware manner depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0128] Figures 8 and 9 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 first device or the second device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, thereby also achieving the beneficial effects possessed by the above-mentioned method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be one of the terminal devices 120a-120j as shown in Figure 1, or it can be the network device 110a or 110b as shown in Figure 1, or it can be a module (such as a chip) applied to the first device or the second device.

[0129] As shown in Figure 8 , a communication device 800 includes a processing unit 810 and a transceiver unit 820. The communication device 800 is used to implement the functions of the first device or the second device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 5 above.

[0130] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the first device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 5: the transceiver unit 820 is used to implement the function of the network device in steps S501 to S504 in the embodiment shown in Figure 5, and the processing unit 810 is used to implement step S505 in the embodiment shown in Figure 5.

[0131] When the communication apparatus 800 is used to implement the function of the second device in the method embodiment shown in FIG5 : the transceiver unit 820 is used to implement the function of the terminal device in steps S501 to S504 in the embodiment shown in FIG5 .

[0132] A more detailed description of the processing unit 810 and the transceiver unit 820 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in FIG5 , and is not repeated here.

[0133] When the communication device is a chip implemented in a first device, the chip implements the functions of the first device in the above method embodiment. The chip receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) in the first device, where the information is sent from the second device to the first device; or sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) in the first device, where the information is sent from the first device to the second device.

[0134] When the communication device is a chip implemented in a second device, the chip implements the functions of the second device in the method embodiment. The chip receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) in the second device, which is information sent by the first device to the second device; or sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) in the second device, which is information sent by the second device to the first device.

[0135] In addition, it should be noted that the aforementioned transceiver unit and / or processing unit may be implemented through virtual modules, for example, the processing unit may be implemented through a software function unit or a virtual device, and the transceiver unit may be implemented through a software function or a virtual device. Alternatively, the processing unit or transceiver unit may also be implemented through a physical device, for example, if the device is implemented using a chip / chip circuit, the transceiver unit may be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface, performing input operations (corresponding to the aforementioned receiving operations) and output operations (corresponding to the aforementioned sending operations); the processing unit may be an integrated processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit.

[0136] As shown in Figure 9, the communication device 900 includes a processor 910 and may also include an interface circuit 920. The processor 910 and the interface circuit 920 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 920 may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 900 may also include a memory 930 (indicated by a dotted line in the figure) for storing instructions executed by the processor 910, or storing input data required by the processor 910 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 910 executes instructions.

[0137] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the first device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 5: the interface circuit 920 is used to implement the function of the network device in steps S501 to S504 in the embodiment shown in Figure 5, and the processor 910 is used to implement step S505 in the embodiment shown in Figure 5.

[0138] When the communication apparatus 800 is used to implement the function of the second device in the method embodiment shown in FIG5 : the interface circuit 920 is used to implement the function of the terminal device in steps S501 to S504 in the embodiment shown in FIG5 .

[0139] A more detailed description of the processor 910 and the interface circuit 920 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in FIG5 , and is not repeated here.

[0140] The division of modules in this application is illustrative and represents only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the examples of this application may be integrated into a single processor, exist physically as separate modules, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The aforementioned integrated modules may be implemented in either hardware or software functional modules.

[0141] 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.

[0142] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the method in the above embodiment is implemented.

[0143] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method in the above embodiment.

[0144] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including the above-mentioned communication device.

[0145] The present application also provides a circuit, which is coupled to a memory and is used to execute the method shown in the above embodiment. The circuit may include a chip circuit.

[0146] When the above-mentioned communication device is a module applied to the first device, the first device module implements the function of the first device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The first device module receives information from other modules in the first device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the second device to the first device; or, the first device module sends information to other modules in the first device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the first device to the second device. The first device module here can be the baseband chip of the first device, or it can be a CU, DU or other module, or it can be a device under the open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture, such as an open CU, open DU and other devices.

[0147] It should be noted that the above units or one or more of the units can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of the two. When any of the above units or units is implemented by software, the software exists in the form of computer program instructions and is stored in a memory, and a processor can be used to execute the program instructions and implement the above method flow.

[0148] In this application, a processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, or all or part of the circuitry in the aforementioned devices used to implement processing functions, which may implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in this application. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the methods disclosed in this application may be directly implemented as being executed by a hardware processor, or may be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0149] When the above units or units are implemented in hardware, the hardware can be any one or any combination of a CPU, a microprocessor, a digital signal processing (DSP) chip, a microcontroller unit (MCU), an artificial intelligence processor, an ASIC, a SoC, an FPGA, a PLD, a dedicated digital circuit, a hardware accelerator or a non-integrated discrete device, which can run the necessary software or not rely on the software to execute the above method flow.

[0150] Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, comprising: at least one processor and an interface, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to a memory via the interface, and when the at least one processor executes a computer program or instruction in the memory, the chip system executes the method in any of the above method embodiments. Optionally, the chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0151] The memory in the present application may also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing a storage function for storing program instructions and / or data. A memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store a desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. For example, the memory may be a non-volatile memory, such as a digital versatile disc (DVD), a hard disk drive (HDD), or a solid-state drive (SSD), or a volatile memory, such as a random-access memory (RAM).

[0152] It should be understood that in the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can mean A or B; where A and B can be singular or plural. Also, in the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or plural. In addition, to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, in the embodiments of this application, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different. At the same time, in the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner to facilitate understanding.

[0153] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means.

[0154] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art can understand and implement other changes to the disclosed embodiments by reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0155] 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.

[0156] In the above embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own focus. For parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0157] The components in the device of the embodiment of the present application can be merged, divided, or deleted according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can combine or combine the different embodiments and features of the different embodiments described in this specification.

[0158] In this application, under the premise of no logical contradiction, the examples can reference each other, for example, the methods and / or terms between method embodiments can reference each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments can reference each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device examples and method examples can reference each other.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The first device sends N beams in a first direction, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and energy focus points of the N beams are at different distances from the first device; The first device receives first information from the second device, where the first information is used to indicate signal quality information of the N beams measured by the second device; The first device determines a target beam based on the first information, where the target beam is used for communication between the first device and the second device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The beamforming gain value of the energy concentration point is the largest.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first device sends M beams in M ​​directions respectively, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and beamforming gain values ​​of the M beams are constants; The first device receives second information, where the second information is used to indicate a first beam, where the first beam is a beam with the best signal quality among the M beams, and the first beam corresponds to the first direction.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The second information includes an index of the first beam.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that The first information includes relative relationship values ​​between the signal qualities of the N beams and the signal quality of the first beam.

6. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that The first information includes relative relationship values ​​of signal qualities of N-1 beams and signal qualities of a second beam, where the second beam is any one of the N beams.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first information includes an index of the second beam.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that The relative relationship value is a difference or a ratio.

9. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 8, characterized in that The second information is also used to instruct the first device to send the N beams in the first direction.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The first device is a network device, the second device is a terminal, and N is configured by the first device.

11. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The second device receives N beams from the first device in a first direction, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and energy focus points of the N beams are at different distances from the first device; The second device sends first information to the first device, where the first information is used to indicate signal quality information of the N beams measured by the second device.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The beamforming gain value of the energy focusing point is the largest.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: The second device receives M beams respectively sent by the first device in M ​​directions, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and beamforming gain values ​​of the M beams are constants; The second device sends second information to the first device, where the second information is used to indicate a first beam, where the first beam is a beam with the best signal quality among the M beams, and the first beam corresponds to the first direction.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The second information includes an index of the first beam.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The first information includes relative relationship values ​​between the signal qualities of the N beams and the signal quality of the first beam.

16. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The first information includes relative relationship values ​​of signal qualities of N-1 beams and signal qualities of a second beam, where the second beam is any one of the N beams.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The first information includes an index of the second beam.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that The relative relationship value is a difference or a ratio.

19. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 18, characterized in that The second information is also used to instruct the first device to send the N beams in the first direction.

20. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 19, characterized in that The first device is a network device, the second device is a terminal, and N is configured by the first device.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: a transceiver unit and a processing unit; wherein: The transceiver unit is configured to send N beams in a first direction, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and energy focus points of the N beams are at different distances from the device; The transceiver unit is further used to receive first information from a second device, where the first information is used to indicate signal quality information of the N beams measured by the second device; The processing unit is used to determine a target beam based on the first information, where the target beam is used for communication between the apparatus and the second device.

22. The device according to claim 21, characterized in that The beamforming gain value of the energy concentration point is the largest.

23. The device according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that: The transceiver unit is further used to send M beams in M ​​directions respectively, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the beamforming gain values ​​of the M beams are constants; The transceiver unit is further used to receive second information, where the second information is used to indicate a first beam, where the first beam is a beam with the best signal quality among the M beams, and the first beam corresponds to the first direction.

24. The device according to claim 23, characterized in that The second information includes an index of the first beam.

25. The device according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that The first information includes relative relationship values ​​between the signal qualities of the N beams and the signal quality of the first beam.

26. The device according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that The first information includes relative relationship values ​​of signal qualities of N-1 beams and signal qualities of a second beam, where the second beam is any one of the N beams.

27. The device according to claim 26, characterized in that The first information includes an index of the second beam.

28. The device according to any one of claims 25 to 27, characterized in that The relative relationship value is a difference or a ratio.

29. The device according to any one of claims 23 to 28, characterized in that The second information is also used to instruct the device to send the N beams in the first direction.

30. The device according to any one of claims 21 to 29, characterized in that The apparatus is a network device, the second device is a terminal, and N is configured by the apparatus.

31. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: a transceiver unit and a processing unit; wherein: The transceiver unit is configured to receive N beams from a first device in a first direction, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and energy focus points of the N beams are at different distances from the first device; a processing unit, configured to determine first information, wherein the first information is used to indicate signal quality information of the N beams measured by the device; The transceiver unit is further configured to send the first information to the first device.

32. The device according to claim 31, characterized in that The beamforming gain value of the energy concentration point is the largest.

33. The device according to claim 31 or 32, characterized in that: The transceiver unit is further used to receive M beams respectively sent by the first device in M ​​directions, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and beamforming gain values ​​of the M beams are constants; The transceiver unit is further used to send second information to the first device, where the second information is used to indicate a first beam, where the first beam is the beam with the best signal quality among the M beams, and the first beam corresponds to the first direction.

34. The device according to claim 33, characterized in that The second information includes an index of the first beam.

35. The device according to claim 33 or 34, characterized in that The first information includes relative relationship values ​​between the signal qualities of the N beams and the signal quality of the first beam.

36. The device according to claim 33 or 34, characterized in that The first information includes relative relationship values ​​of signal qualities of N-1 beams and signal qualities of a second beam, where the second beam is any one of the N beams.

37. The device according to claim 36, characterized in that The first information includes an index of the second beam.

38. The device according to any one of claims 35 to 37, characterized in that The relative relationship value is a difference or a ratio.

39. The device according to any one of claims 33 to 38, characterized in that The second information is also used to indicate that the N beams are sent in the first direction.

40. The device according to any one of claims 31 to 39, characterized in that The first device is a network device, the apparatus is a terminal, and N is configured by the first device.

41. A communication system, characterized in that: The system comprises a first device and a second device, wherein the first device is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-10, and the second device is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 11-20.

42. 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 1-10 or implement the method as described in any one of claims 11-20 through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

43. The device according to claim 42, characterized in that The device is a chip.

44. A chip module, characterized in that: It comprises a transceiver component and a chip, wherein the chip is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20.

45. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the program is executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20 is implemented.

46. ​​A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program code, and when the computer program code is executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20 is implemented.

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