Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, which can be used in multi-beam data transmission and in which TCI state groups that respectively correspond to at least one terminal antenna port group of a terminal device are determined, such that multiple beams are used to perform data transmission. The method comprises: a network device determining TCI state groups that respectively correspond to at least one terminal antenna port group of a terminal device, wherein each terminal antenna port group comprises at least one antenna port of the terminal device, and each TCI state group comprises at least one TCI state; the network device sending, to the terminal device, first information indicating the TCI state groups that respectively correspond to the at least one terminal antenna port group; and the terminal device receiving the first information from the network device, and on the basis of the first information, determining the TCI state groups that respectively correspond to the at least one terminal antenna port group of the terminal device, such that beam information that corresponds to each antenna port of the terminal device is determined, and accordingly a corresponding beam is used to transmit data and reference signals on each antenna port of the terminal device, thereby improving the quality and reliability of signal transmission.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on January 31, 2024, with application number 202410144753.3 and application name “A Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] With the rapid development of mobile communication technology, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) plenary meeting defined the upper 6 gigahertz (U6G), or 6425-7125 megahertz (MHz) frequency band, to take advantage of its large bandwidth and high-speed transmission characteristics.

[0004] Because signal energy decreases more rapidly with transmission distance at higher frequencies, the coverage capability of network equipment in the U6G band is significantly reduced when network equipment uses the same number of transmit antennas and transmit power as at 2.6 gigahertz (GHz). Therefore, to achieve coverage performance comparable to 2.6 GHz, terminal devices need to use larger antenna arrays to enhance the energy of received signals. Furthermore, based on cost and deployment considerations, large antenna arrays in terminal devices are typically divided into multiple sub-arrays and employ a hybrid beamforming method combining digital beamforming (DBF) and analog beamforming (ABF).

[0005] At this time, when network equipment uses multi-beam transmission, how to determine the receiving / transmitting beam of the terminal device is a problem that needs to be solved urgently. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus that can indicate the receiving / transmitting beam information of a terminal device.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a network device, or by a component of the network device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the network device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the network device's functions. The method includes: the network device determining a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state group corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group of a terminal device, where the terminal antenna port group includes at least one antenna port of the terminal device, and the TCI state group includes at least one TCI state; and the network device sending first information to the terminal device indicating the TCI state group corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group.

[0008] Based on this solution, a network device sends first information to a terminal device, indicating the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group. This allows the terminal device to determine the beam information corresponding to the terminal device's antenna port and, therefore, use the corresponding beam to transmit data and reference signals on the terminal device's antenna port, thereby improving the quality and reliability of the transmitted signal. Furthermore, if the terminal antenna port group includes multiple antenna ports of the terminal device, there is no need to separately indicate the TCI state groups corresponding to each of the multiple antenna ports, thereby conserving air interface resources.

[0009] In one possible design, the communication method further includes: sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate at least one terminal antenna port group.

[0010] Based on this possible design, the network device sends second information indicating at least one terminal antenna port group to the terminal device, so that the terminal device determines the antenna ports included in the at least one terminal antenna port group.

[0011] In one possible design, the communication method also includes: sending third information, the third information is used to indicate the TCI state group set corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group, the TCI state group set includes at least one TCI state group, the TCI state group corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group belongs to the TCI state group set corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group, and the second terminal antenna port group is any one terminal antenna port group in at least one terminal antenna port group.

[0012] In one possible design, the communication method also includes: sending fourth information, the fourth information is used to configure N TCI state groups, N is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the N TCI state groups.

[0013] In one possible design, the communication method also includes: sending fifth information, the fifth information is used to activate Y TCI state groups among N TCI state groups, Y is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups.

[0014] Based on this possible design, the network device sends the fifth information for activating Y TCI state groups among N TCI state groups to the terminal device. The TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups. The range of the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group can be limited. The range of the TCI state groups indicated by the first information is reduced from N TCI state groups to Y TCI state groups, thereby saving air interface resources.

[0015] In one possible design, the communication method also includes: sending sixth information, the sixth information being used to indicate Y TCI state groups that can be used for TCI state indication of the terminal antenna port group among at least one activated TCI state group among the N TCI state groups, where Y is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups.

[0016] Based on this solution, the network device sends the sixth information to the terminal device, which is used to indicate Y TCI state groups in at least one TCI state group activated among N TCI state groups and can be used for TCI state indication of the terminal antenna port group. The TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups, and the Y TCI state groups can be used for TCI state indication of the terminal antenna port group. The range of the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group can be limited. The range of the TCI state groups indicated by the first information is reduced from N TCI state groups to Y TCI state groups, thereby saving air interface resources.

[0017] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a terminal device, or by a component of the terminal device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the terminal device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the terminal device's functions. The method includes: the terminal device receiving first information indicating a TCI state group corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group, and determining, based on the first information, a TCI state group corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group of the terminal device, where the terminal antenna port group includes at least one antenna port of the terminal device, and the TCI state group includes at least one TCI state.

[0018] Based on this solution, a terminal device receives first information from a network device indicating the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group of the terminal device. Based on the first information, the terminal device determines the TCI state groups corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group of the terminal device. This allows the terminal device to determine the beam information corresponding to the terminal device's antenna port, thereby using the corresponding beam to transmit data and reference signals on the terminal device's antenna port, improving the quality and reliability of the transmitted signal. Furthermore, if the terminal antenna port group includes multiple antenna ports of the terminal device, there is no need to separately indicate the TCI state groups corresponding to the multiple antenna ports, thereby saving air interface resources.

[0019] In one possible design, the communication method further includes: receiving second information, where the second information is used to indicate at least one terminal antenna port group.

[0020] In one possible design, the communication method also includes: receiving third information, the third information is used to indicate the TCI state group sets corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group, the TCI state group set includes at least one TCI state group, the TCI state group corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group belongs to the TCI state group set corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group, and the second terminal antenna port group is any one terminal antenna port group in at least one terminal antenna port group.

[0021] In one possible design, the communication method also includes: receiving fourth information, the fourth information is used to configure N TCI state groups, N is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the N TCI state groups.

[0022] In one possible design, the communication method also includes: receiving fifth information, the fifth information is used to activate Y TCI state groups among N TCI state groups, Y is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups.

[0023] In one possible design, the communication method also includes: receiving sixth information, the sixth information being used to indicate Y TCI state groups that can be used for TCI state indication of the terminal antenna port group among at least one activated TCI state group among the N TCI state groups, where Y is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups.

[0024] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any possible design of the second aspect can refer to the technical effects brought about by the corresponding design in the above-mentioned first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0025] In combination with the first aspect or the second aspect, in one possible design, at least one terminal antenna port group includes M terminal antenna port groups, the second information includes M first bitmaps, the mth first bitmap in the M first bitmaps indicates the antenna ports included in the mth terminal antenna port group in the M terminal antenna port groups, m=1, 2,…, M, M is a positive integer; the first bitmap includes X bits, X is the total number of antenna ports of the terminal device, and the X bits correspond one-to-one to the X antenna ports; when the value of the first bit in the mth first bitmap is a first preset value, the mth terminal antenna port group includes the antenna port corresponding to the first bit, the first bit is any one of the X bits, and X is a positive integer.

[0026] In combination with the first aspect or the second aspect, in one possible design, at least one terminal antenna port group includes M terminal antenna port groups, the first information includes M first fields, and the mth first field of the M first fields is used to indicate the TCI state group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group in the M terminal antenna port groups, m = 1, 2,…, M, where M is a positive integer.

[0027] In combination with the first aspect or the second aspect, in one possible design, the mth first field is used to indicate the TCI status group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group, including: the mth first field is used to carry the identifier of the TCI status group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group.

[0028] In combination with the first aspect or the second aspect, in a possible design, at least one terminal antenna port group corresponds to a TCI state group set respectively, and the TCI state group set includes at least one TCI state group; the first information includes a second bit map, the second bit map includes Y bits, the Y bits correspond one-to-one to the Y TCI state groups, and the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to Y TCI state groups, Y is a positive integer, N is a positive integer, Y is less than or equal to N, and N is the total number of configured TCI state groups; the TCI state group corresponding to the second bit in the second bit map belongs to the TCI state group set corresponding to the first terminal antenna port group, the second bit is any bit in the Y bits, and the first terminal antenna port group is the terminal antenna port group in at least one terminal antenna port group; when the value of the second bit is the second preset value, the TCI state group corresponding to the second bit is the TCI state group corresponding to the first terminal antenna port group.

[0029] In combination with the first aspect or the second aspect, in one possible design, the TCI state group set corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group includes P TCI state groups with consecutive indexes, and the TCI state group set corresponding to the third terminal antenna port group includes Q TCI state groups with consecutive indexes. The P TCI state groups with consecutive indexes do not overlap with the Q TCI state groups with consecutive indexes. The second terminal antenna port group and the third terminal antenna port group are any different terminal antenna port groups in at least one terminal antenna port group, P is a positive integer, and Q is a positive integer.

[0030] In combination with the first aspect or the second aspect, in one possible design, the Y TCI state groups are activated TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups, or are TCI state groups among the activated TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups that can be used for TCI state indication of the terminal antenna port group.

[0031] In combination with the first aspect or the second aspect, in a possible design, the antenna port corresponds to one or more antenna sub-array surfaces of the terminal device.

[0032] Based on this solution, the network device determines the beam information corresponding to one or more antenna sub-array surfaces of the terminal device, thereby using the corresponding beams on the one or more antenna sub-array surfaces of the terminal device to transmit data and reference signals.

[0033] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing various methods. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the methods. The modules, units, or means may be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions.

[0034] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module may be configured to implement the processing functionality of any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module may include a receiving module and a transmitting module, respectively configured to implement the receiving functionality and the transmitting functionality of any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0035] In some possible designs, the transceiver module may be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver or a communication interface.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the communication device executes the method described in any one of the aspects.

[0037] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface is used to communicate with a module outside the communication device; the processor is used to execute a computer program or instruction so that the communication device executes the method described in any aspect.

[0038] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: at least one processor; the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in a memory, so that the communication device performs the method described in any one of the aspects. The memory may be coupled to the processor, or may be independent of the processor.

[0039] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided (for example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system), which includes a processor for implementing the functions involved in any one of the first to second aspects.

[0040] In some possible designs, the communication device includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data.

[0041] In some possible designs, when the device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0042] It can be understood that the communication device provided in the third to seventh aspects can be the network device of the first aspect, or it can be a module or unit (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit) in the network device that corresponds one-to-one to the method / operation / step / action described in the first aspect, or it can be a module or unit that can be matched with the network device, or it can also be a logical node, logical module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the network device; or, the communication device can be the terminal device in the second aspect, or it can be a module or unit (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit) in the terminal device that corresponds one-to-one to the method / operation / step / action described in the second aspect, or it can be a module or unit that can be matched with the terminal device, or it can also be a logical node, logical module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0043] It can be understood that when the communication device provided in any one of the third to seventh aspects is a chip, the sending action / function of the communication device can be understood as output information, and the receiving action / function of the communication device can be understood as input information.

[0044] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a communication device, the communication device can execute the method described in any one of the first to second aspects.

[0045] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the method described in any one of the first to second aspects.

[0046] In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising a network device and a terminal device. The network device is configured to execute the method described in the first aspect and any possible design thereof, and the terminal device is configured to execute the method described in the second aspect and any possible design thereof.

[0047] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design method in the third aspect to the tenth aspect can refer to the technical effects brought about by different design methods in the first aspect to the second aspect, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0048] FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system provided by the present application;

[0049] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an antenna array of a terminal device provided in this application;

[0050] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a multi-beam transmission process provided by the present application;

[0051] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0052] FIG5 is a flow chart of another communication method provided by the present application;

[0053] FIG6 is a flow chart of another communication method provided by the present application;

[0054] FIG7 is a flow chart of another communication method provided by the present application;

[0055] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a TCI state group set provided by the present application;

[0056] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by the present application;

[0057] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by the present application;

[0058] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in this application is merely a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural.

[0060] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" 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.

[0061] In addition, to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "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 the words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different.

[0062] 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 construed as being preferred or advantageous over 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.

[0063] It will be understood that the “embodiment” mentioned throughout the specification means that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It will be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application.

[0064] It can be understood that in this application, "when" and "if" both mean that corresponding processing will be taken under certain objective circumstances, and do not limit the time, nor do they require any judgment action when implementing, nor do they mean that there are other limitations.

[0065] It is understood that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application may, in certain scenarios, be implemented independently of other features, such as the solution on which they are currently based, to solve corresponding technical problems and achieve corresponding effects. They may also be combined with other features in certain scenarios as needed. Accordingly, the devices provided in the embodiments of the present application may also implement these features or functions accordingly, which will not be described in detail here.

[0066] In this application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can refer to each other. In each embodiment of this application, unless otherwise specified and there is no logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other. Different embodiments, and the technical features of each embodiment in each embodiment can be combined to form a new embodiment according to their inherent logical relationships. The embodiments of this application described below do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0067] The technical solution provided in this application can be used in various communication systems, which may be a third generation partnership project (3GPP) communication system, for example, a fourth generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE) system, a fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) system, a vehicle to everything (V2X) system, a system of hybrid LTE and NR networking, a device-to-device (D2D) system, a machine-to-machine (M2M) communication system, an Internet of Things (IoT), and other next generation communication systems. Alternatively, the communication system may also be a non-3GPP communication system, without limitation.

[0068] Among them, the above-mentioned communication system applicable to the present application is only an example, and the communication system applicable to the present application is not limited to this. It is uniformly described here and will not be repeated below.

[0069] Referring to Figure 1 , an exemplary communication system provided by the present application is shown, which includes at least one network device (such as 110a and 110b in Figure 1 ) and at least one terminal device (such as 120a to 120j in Figure 1 ).

[0070] Optionally, terminal devices and network devices can communicate with each other via wired or wireless means. Figure 1 is merely a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices, wireless backhaul devices, and core network devices, which are not shown in Figure 1. The number of network devices and terminal devices shown in Figure 1 is merely an example. The communication system may include more or fewer network devices or terminal devices than shown in Figure 1.

[0071] Optionally, a terminal device may refer to a user-side device with wireless transceiver capabilities. A terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), terminal, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote terminal, mobile terminal (MT), user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user device. The terminal device may be, for example, a terminal device in an IoT, V2X, D2D, M2M, 5G network, or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN).

[0072] Exemplarily, the terminal device may be a drone, an IoT device (e.g., a sensor, an electricity meter, a water meter, etc.), a V2X device, a station (ST) in a wireless local area network (WLAN), a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device (also referred to as a wearable smart device), a tablet computer or a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical care, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, a smart home, or a similar device. The present invention relates to wireless terminal devices in homes, vehicle-mounted terminal devices, vehicles with vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication capabilities, intelligent connected vehicles, drones with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communication capabilities, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the terminal devices.

[0073] Optionally, the network device is a device that connects a terminal device to a wireless network, and may be an evolutionary Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE or evolved LTE system (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A), such as a traditional macro base station eNB and a micro base station eNB in ​​a heterogeneous network scenario; or it may be a next generation node B (gNodeB or gNB) in a 5G system; or it may be a transmission reception point (TRP); or it may be a base station in a future evolved PLMN; or it may be a broadband network gateway (BNG), an aggregation switch or a non-3GPP access device; or it may be a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN); or it may be an access point (AP) in a WiFi system; or it may be a wireless relay node or a wireless backhaul node; or it may be a device that implements base station functions in IoT, V2X, D2D, or M2M. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this. Exemplarily, the network devices in the embodiments of the present application may include various forms of base stations, such as: macro base stations, micro base stations (also called small stations), relay stations, access points, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0074] In some possible scenarios, the network device may also be a module or unit that can implement some or all of the functions of a base station. For example, the network device may be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU and a DU, a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU may be configured separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0075] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, the network device may be a network device or a module of a network device in an open radio access network (open RAN, ORAN) system. In the ORAN system, CU may also be referred to as open (open, O)-CU, DU may also be referred to as O-DU, CU-CP may also be referred to as O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be referred to as O-CU-UP, and RU may also be referred to as O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0076] Network devices and terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. Network devices and terminal devices can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on water (such as ships); and can also be deployed in the air (such as on airplanes, balloons, and artificial satellites). The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of network devices and terminal devices.

[0077] 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 that access the wireless access network 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.

[0078] 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.

[0079] 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 function. The control subsystem that includes the network device function 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 modem) in the terminal device, or by a device that includes the terminal device function.

[0080] It should be noted that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present application is intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0081] In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, a brief introduction to the relevant technologies of the present application is first given as follows.

[0082] 1) Antenna port:

[0083] An antenna port can be understood as a transmit antenna identified by the receiver, or spatially distinguished by the receiver. The receiver can be a network device or a terminal device. The transmit antenna can be a virtual antenna or spatial resource. Each virtual antenna or spatial resource corresponds to an antenna port, and each virtual antenna can be a weighted combination of multiple physical antennas.

[0084] The antenna port may include a reference signal antenna port, which may include but is not limited to a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) antenna port, a sounding reference signal (SRS) antenna port, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) antenna port, etc.

[0085] For DMRS antenna ports, each DMRS antenna port corresponds to a spatial stream or spatial layer. Each DMRS antenna port corresponds to a DMRS sequence, and the DMRS sequence is mapped in the corresponding time-frequency resource unit according to certain rules. The DMRS sequence can also be called a DMRS symbol sequence or a DMRS symbol vector. For SRS antenna ports, each SRS antenna port corresponds to an antenna port. Each SRS antenna port corresponds to an SRS sequence, and the SRS sequence is mapped in the corresponding time-frequency resource unit according to certain rules. Exemplarily, the time-frequency resource unit can be a frequency domain subcarrier or an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, or a resource element (RE).

[0086] 2) Beam:

[0087] A major issue with high-frequency communications is that signal energy decreases dramatically with transmission distance, resulting in a short transmission distance. To overcome this, high-frequency communications use simulated beamforming technology. This uses a large-scale antenna array for weighted processing, concentrating signal energy within a smaller area, forming a signal similar to a light beam (called a simulated beam, or simply beamforming), thereby increasing transmission distance.

[0088] A beam is a communication resource. A beam can be wide, narrow, or any other type of beam. Different beams can be considered different resources. Different beams can transmit the same or different information. Alternatively, multiple beams with the same or similar communication characteristics can be considered a single beam. Beams include transmit beams and receive beams. A transmit beam refers to the distribution of signal strength in different spatial directions after a signal is transmitted by an antenna. A receive beam refers to the distribution of wireless signal strength in different spatial directions as a result of the antenna array strengthening or weakening the reception.

[0089] The beam forming technology may be a beam forming technology or other technical means. The beam forming technology may specifically be a digital beam forming (DBF) technology, an analog beam forming (ABF) technology, or a hybrid beam forming technology.

[0090] Optionally, the beam can also be called a spatial filter or a spatial transmission filter.

[0091] 3) Quasi co-located (QCL) relationship:

[0092] The QCL relationship is used to indicate that multiple resources have one or more identical or similar communication characteristics. For multiple resources with a QCL relationship, the same or similar communication configuration can be used.

[0093] If two antenna ports have a QCL relationship, the large-scale characteristics of the channel for transmitting a symbol through one antenna port can be inferred from the large-scale characteristics of the channel for transmitting a symbol through the other antenna port. The large-scale characteristics may include one or more of the following: delay spread, Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average gain, average delay, and spatial receive parameters. The spatial receive parameters may include one or more of the following: angle of arrival (AOA), average AOA, AOA spread, angle of departure (AOD), average angle of departure AOD, AOD spread, receive antenna spatial correlation parameter, transmit antenna spatial correlation parameter, transmit beam, receive beam, and resource identifier.

[0094] In the NR protocol, QCL can be divided into the following four types:

[0095] Type A: Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread;

[0096] Type B: Doppler shift, Doppler spread;

[0097] Type C: Doppler shift, average delay;

[0098] Type D: space receiving parameters.

[0099] From the perspective of the transmitting end, if two antenna ports are QCL-D, the corresponding beam directions of the two antenna ports are spatially consistent. From the perspective of the receiving end, if two antenna ports are QCL-D, it may mean that the receiving end can receive the signals sent by the two antenna ports in the same beam direction. The signals transmitted on the antenna ports with a QCL-D relationship may also have corresponding beams, and the corresponding beams include at least one of the following: the same receiving beam, the same transmitting beam, the transmitting beam corresponding to the receiving beam (corresponding to a reciprocal scenario), and the receiving beam corresponding to the transmitting beam (corresponding to a reciprocal scenario). Therefore, QCL-D can be understood as being used to indicate the direction of the receiving beam. The beam can be specifically represented in the protocol by the resource identifiers of various signals, such as the resource index of CSI-RS, the resource index of SRS, the resource index of tracking reference signal (TRS), and the resource index of positioning reference signal (PRS).

[0100] 4) Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state:

[0101] The TCI state is used to indicate the QCL relationship between one reference signal (or reference signal antenna port) and up to two reference signals (or two reference signal antenna ports).

[0102] The TCI state can be used to separately indicate beams corresponding to the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and / or PDCCH DMRS, the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and / or PDSCH DMRS, the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and / or PUCCH DMRS, the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and / or PUSCH DMRS, and / or reference signals. Reference signals include CSI-RS, SRS, PRS, TRS, etc.

[0103] For example, the TCI state can be used to indicate the QCL relationship of the PDCCH or PDSCH. Specifically, the TCI state can be used to indicate which reference signal the PDCCH DMRS or PDSCH DMRS satisfies the QCL relationship with. The terminal device can then use spatial parameters (such as receive beams) that are the same as or similar to the spatial parameters of the reference signal to receive the PDCCH or PDSCH.

[0104] For example, in high-frequency communication, when a network device transmits a PDCCH to a terminal device using a single transmit beam, the method in which the network device indicates to the terminal device a single PDCCH receive beam is as follows:

[0105] Step a: The network device sends radio resource control (RRC) configuration information to the terminal, where the configuration information is used to configure one or more TCI states. For example, the configuration information is used to configure 64 TCI states.

[0106] Step b: The network device activates one of the one or more TCI states through medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling.

[0107] According to the activated TCI state, the terminal device can determine which reference signal the DMRS antenna port of the PDCCH has a QCL relationship with, thereby determining the receiving beam information corresponding to the transmitting beam used for PDCCH transmission, and using the corresponding receiving beam to receive the PDCCH sent by the network device.

[0108] For example, based on the example in step a above, the network device activates the 16th TCI state among the 64 TCI states through MAC CE signaling. If the 16th TCI state indicates that the DMRS antenna port of the PDCCH and the CSI-RS resource with resource index #1 are in a QCL-D relationship, then the receiving beam is the same as the receiving beam corresponding to the CSI-RS resource with resource index #1. The receiving beam corresponding to the CSI-RS resource with resource index #1 can be determined through the beam measurement process and is known to the terminal device. Therefore, the terminal device can determine the receiving beam and adopt the corresponding receiving beam to receive the PDCCH sent by the network device.

[0109] For example, in high-frequency communication, when a network device transmits a PDSCH to a terminal device using multiple transmit beams, the method in which the network device indicates to the terminal device a single PDSCH receive beam is as follows:

[0110] Step A: The network device sends RRC configuration information to the terminal, where the configuration information is used to configure one or more TCI states.

[0111] Step B: The network device activates some TCI states in one or more TCI states through MAC CE signaling.

[0112] Step C: The network device indicates one of the partial TCI states through downlink control information (DCI).

[0113] According to the TCI status of the indication, the terminal device can determine which reference signal the DMRS antenna port of the PDSCH has a QCL relationship with, thereby determining the receiving beam information corresponding to the transmitting beam used for the PDSCH transmission, and using the corresponding receiving beam to receive the PDSCH sent by the network device.

[0114] The TCI states in steps a and b, and steps A through C, can be replaced by a TCI state group, which includes one or more TCI states. When a TCI state group includes one TCI state, the TCI state group can be used to indicate a receive beam corresponding to a single transmit beam. When a TCI state group includes multiple TCI states, the TCI state group can be used to indicate multiple receive beams corresponding to multiple transmit beams, so that a terminal device can determine the TCI states corresponding to the multiple transmit beams of a network device, where the multiple transmit beams correspond one-to-one to the multiple TCI states.

[0115] 5) Unified transmission configuration indicator (Unified TCI) state:

[0116] As standards evolve, 3GPP has introduced Unified TCI states to reduce signaling overhead. Unified TCI states can be used to indicate the TCI state used by a terminal device in the downlink (DL) for receiving at least one of the following: PDCCH, PDCCH DMRS, PDSCH, or PDSCH DMRS, and / or, Unified TCI states can be used to indicate the TCI state used by a terminal device in the uplink (UL) for transmitting at least one of the following: PUCCH, PUCCH DMRS, PUSCH, or PUSCH DMRS.

[0117] Among them, the Unified TCI state can be used to separately indicate the TCI state used by the terminal device in the uplink and downlink, and the Unified TCI state can also be used to jointly indicate the TCI state used by the terminal device in the uplink and downlink. For example, if the network device indicates a DL TCI state, then the DL TCI state can be used to indicate the TCI state used by the terminal device to receive all PDSCHs, part of the PDCCH, and part of the CSI-RS; if the network device indicates a UL TCI state, then the UL TCI state can be used to indicate the TCI state used by the terminal device to send all PUSCHs, part of the PUCCH, and part of the SRS; if the network device indicates a joint TCI state, then the joint TCI state can simultaneously indicate the TCI state used by the terminal device in the uplink and downlink.

[0118] 6) Large antenna array:

[0119] In the upper 6 gigahertz (U6G) frequency band (i.e., 6425-7125 MHz), network equipment can use time division duplexing (TDD) mode. Because the higher the frequency, the faster the signal energy decreases with transmission distance, the coverage capability of network equipment in the U6G frequency band is greatly reduced when the network equipment uses the same number of transmit antennas and transmit power as 2.6 gigahertz (GHz). Therefore, to achieve coverage performance comparable to 2.6 GHz, terminal devices need to use larger antenna arrays to enhance the energy of the received signal.

[0120] However, due to cost and deployment considerations, the large antenna array of a terminal device is typically divided into multiple sub-arrays, employing hybrid beamforming using DBF and ABF. For example, the antenna array architecture of a terminal device is shown in Figure 2. The signal from the network device is first processed by ABF, then transmitted to the baseband via the RF link, and then processed again by DBF to obtain the received signal. Because the multiple sub-arrays of a terminal device are deployed at different locations within the terminal device and the terminal device receives signals in a variety of paths, the channels of different sub-arrays of the terminal device may differ significantly.

[0121] Furthermore, because signal energy decreases more rapidly with transmission distance at higher frequencies, network devices and terminal devices can utilize beam-based transmission and reception in the U6G frequency band. For example, as shown in Figure 3, when a network device utilizes multi-beam transmission, different sub-array surfaces of a terminal device can receive / transmit signals via different beams. The network device-side beams corresponding to each sub-array surface may be the same or different. Therefore, when network devices utilize multi-beam transmission, determining the receive / transmit beams of terminal devices is a pressing issue.

[0122] Based on this, this article proposes a communication method, in which a network device determines the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group of a terminal device, the terminal antenna port group including at least one antenna port of the terminal device, and the TCI state group including at least one TCI state. The network device sends first information indicating the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group to the terminal device. The terminal device receives the first information from the network device and determines the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group of the terminal device based on the first information, so as to determine the beam information corresponding to the antenna port of the terminal device, thereby using the corresponding beam to transmit data and reference signals on the antenna port of the terminal device, thereby improving the quality and reliability of the transmitted signal. In addition, when the terminal antenna port group includes multiple antenna ports of the terminal device, there is no need to separately indicate the TCI state groups corresponding to the multiple antenna ports, thereby saving air interface resources.

[0123] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiments of the present application, the method steps executed by the terminal device can be implemented by at least one chip in the terminal device in a specific implementation, and the method steps executed by the network device can be implemented by at least one chip in the network device in a specific implementation.

[0124] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the network device or terminal device may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present application may also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, the various steps may be performed in a different order than those presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all of the operations in the embodiments of the present application need to be performed.

[0125] It should be noted that the message names between the devices or the names of the parameters in the messages in the following embodiments of the present application are only examples. Other names may be used in specific implementations, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0126] As shown in FIG4 , a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0127] S401. The network device determines a TCI state group corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group of a terminal device.

[0128] The terminal antenna port group includes at least one antenna port of the terminal device, and the TCI state group includes at least one TCI state.

[0129] In a possible implementation manner, the antenna port of the terminal device in this embodiment is the antenna port of the terminal device identified by the network device, and corresponds to the antenna port of the terminal device identified by the terminal device.

[0130] For example, in a TDD system, the network device may identify the antenna port of the terminal device through SRS measurement. Taking the antenna ports of the terminal device identified by the terminal device as port#A, port#B, port#C, port#D, port#E and port#F as an example, the terminal device can send SRS#0 and SRS#1 on port#A and port#B, send SRS#2 on port#C and port#D, send SRS#3 on port#E, and send SRS#4 on port#F. The network device can receive the corresponding SRS#0, SRS#1, SRS#2, SRS#3 and SRS#4, and use the antenna port received (or measured) to the SRS as the antenna port of the identified terminal device, that is, the antenna port of SRS#0 is used as the antenna port #0 of the terminal device, the antenna port of SRS#1 is used as the antenna port #1 of the terminal device, the antenna port of SRS#2 is used as the antenna port #2 of the terminal device, the antenna port of SRS#3 is used as the antenna port #3 of the terminal device, and the antenna port of SRS#4 is used as the antenna port #4 of the terminal device.

[0131] Optionally, at least one terminal antenna port group includes M terminal antenna port groups, where M is a positive integer, and any one of the M terminal antenna port groups includes at least one antenna port of the terminal device, and the antenna ports included in different terminal antenna port groups have no intersection.

[0132] For example, taking the example that the antenna ports of the terminal device include 6 antenna ports, which are respectively recorded as antenna port #0, antenna port #1, antenna port #2, antenna port #3, antenna port #4 and antenna port #5, as a possible example, at least one terminal antenna port group includes 3 terminal antenna port groups (that is, M is 3), and the 3 terminal antenna port groups are respectively recorded as terminal antenna port group #0, terminal antenna port group #1 and terminal antenna port group #2, terminal antenna port group #0 includes antenna port #0 and antenna port #3, terminal antenna port group #1 includes antenna port #1 and antenna port #4, and terminal antenna port group #2 includes antenna port #2 and antenna port #5.

[0133] Optionally, an antenna port of the terminal device corresponds to one or more antenna sub-array surfaces of the terminal device.

[0134] Exemplarily, if multiple antenna ports of a terminal device correspond to the same antenna sub-array plane, then the multiple antenna ports belong to the same terminal antenna port group. For example, if antenna port #3 and antenna port #5 correspond to the same antenna sub-array plane of the terminal device, then antenna port #3 and antenna port #5 belong to the same terminal antenna port group.

[0135] For example, a terminal device includes six antenna ports, which are respectively designated as antenna port #0, antenna port #1, antenna port #2, antenna port #3, antenna port #4, and antenna port #5, and the terminal device includes ten antenna sub-array surfaces, which are respectively designated as AS#0, AS#1, AS#2, AS#3, AS#4, AS#5, AS#6, AS#7, AS#8, and AS#9. Antenna port #0 corresponds to AS#0 and AS#9, antenna port #1 corresponds to AS#1 and AS#2, antenna port #2 corresponds to AS#3 and AS#4, antenna port #3 corresponds to AS#5 and AS#6, antenna port #4 corresponds to AS#7 and AS#8, and antenna port #5 corresponds to AS#5 and AS#6. Antenna port #3 and antenna port #5 belong to the same terminal antenna port group, and the remaining antenna ports may belong to one or more terminal antenna port groups.

[0136] Optionally, the channel states corresponding to at least one antenna port of the terminal device included in the same terminal antenna port group are similar, and the TCI state group corresponding to the terminal antenna port group includes at least one TCI state, and any one of the at least one antenna port corresponds to the at least one TCI state.

[0137] For example, taking the case where the channel states corresponding to antenna port #1 and antenna port #4 are similar, terminal antenna port group #1 includes antenna port #1 and antenna port #4, terminal antenna port group #1 corresponds to TCI state group #1, and TCI state group #1 includes TCI state #1 and TCI state #2, antenna port #1 corresponds to TCI state #1 and TCI state #2, and antenna port #4 corresponds to TCI state #1 and TCI state #2.

[0138] As a possible example, when at least one terminal antenna port group includes multiple terminal antenna port groups, different terminal antenna port groups correspond to different TCI state groups. Exemplarily, taking at least one terminal antenna port group including three terminal antenna port groups (i.e., M is 3), and the three terminal antenna port groups are respectively recorded as terminal antenna port group #0, terminal antenna port group #1, and terminal antenna port group #2 as an example, the network device can determine that terminal antenna port group #0 corresponds to TCI state group #0, terminal antenna port group #1 corresponds to TCI state group #1, and terminal antenna port group #2 corresponds to TCI state group #2.

[0139] Optionally, the TCI state group includes 1 or 2 QCL-D TCI states, and the QCL-D TCI state indicates that there is a QCL-D relationship between the antenna port and the reference signal. As a possible example, when the TCI state group includes 1 QCL-D TCI state, the 1 QCL-D TCI state is used to indicate that the transmit beam and receive beam corresponding to the terminal antenna port group are the same beam. As another possible example, when the TCI state group includes 2 QCL-D TCI states, the 2 QCL-D TCI states are respectively used to indicate that the transmit beam and receive beam corresponding to the terminal antenna port group are 2 different beams.

[0140] Exemplarily, the network device can determine the beam used by each antenna port of the terminal device and the reference signal information associated with the beam through channel measurement, scheduling and other processes, that is, determine the TCI state group corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group of the terminal device.

[0141] S402: The network device sends first information to the terminal device, where the first information is used to indicate TCI status groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the network device.

[0142] For example, taking the example where the network device determines that terminal antenna port group #0 corresponds to TCI state group #0, terminal antenna port group #1 corresponds to TCI state group #1, and terminal antenna port group #2 corresponds to TCI state group #2, the first information is used to indicate that terminal antenna port group #0 corresponds to TCI state group #0, terminal antenna port group #1 corresponds to TCI state group #1, and terminal antenna port group #2 corresponds to TCI state group #2.

[0143] Optionally, the first information may be carried in high-layer signaling (such as RRC, MAC CE) or physical layer signaling (such as DCI).

[0144] S403: The terminal device determines, based on the first information, the TCI state groups corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group of the terminal device. For details about the terminal antenna port group and the TCI state group, refer to the relevant description in S401 and will not be repeated here.

[0145] For example, taking the first information used to indicate that terminal antenna port group #0 corresponds to TCI state group #0, terminal antenna port group #1 corresponds to TCI state group #1, and terminal antenna port group #2 corresponds to TCI state group #2 as an example, the terminal device parses the first information to determine that terminal antenna port group #0 corresponds to TCI state group #0, terminal antenna port group #1 corresponds to TCI state group #1, and terminal antenna port group #2 corresponds to TCI state group #2.

[0146] Optionally, there is a correspondence between the antenna port of the terminal device identified by the network device and the antenna port of the terminal device identified by the terminal device. When the first information indicates that the network device is the TCI state group corresponding to the terminal antenna port group of the identified terminal device, the terminal device can determine the TCI state groups corresponding to the antenna ports of the terminal device identified by the terminal device based on the correspondence.

[0147] For example, the antenna ports of the terminal device identified by the terminal device are recorded as port#A, port#B, port#C, port#D, port#E and port#F, and the antenna ports of the terminal device identified by the network device are recorded as antenna port#0, antenna port#1, antenna port#2, antenna port#3 and antenna port#4, and antenna port#0 corresponds to port#A and port#B. For example, if antenna port#0 corresponds to TCI state group#0, then port#A and port#B correspond to TCI state group#0.

[0148] Optionally, the terminal device can determine the beam corresponding to at least one antenna port in the terminal antenna port group based on the TCI state group corresponding to the terminal antenna port group, and use the corresponding beam to transmit data and reference signals.

[0149] For example, taking the terminal antenna port group #0 corresponding to TCI state group #0, the terminal antenna port group #0 includes antenna port #0 and antenna port #3, TCI state group #0 includes TCI state #1, TCI state #1 indicates that there is a QCL-D relationship between the terminal antenna port group #0 and the CSI-RS with resource index #1, and the receiving beam corresponding to the CSI-RS with resource index #1 is beam #0, as an example, the beam corresponding to the terminal antenna port group #0 is beam #0, that is, the beams corresponding to antenna port #0 and antenna port #1 are both beam #0, and the terminal device can use beam #0 on antenna port #0 and antenna port #1 to transmit control data such as PDCCH or PUCCH, the terminal device can also use beam #0 on antenna port #0 and antenna port #1 to transmit service data such as PDSCH or PUSCH, and the terminal device can also use beam #0 on antenna port #0 and antenna port #1 to transmit reference signals such as CSI-RS or TRS.

[0150] Based on this solution, the network device determines the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group of the terminal device, the terminal antenna port group includes at least one antenna port of the terminal device, and the TCI state group includes at least one TCI state. The network device sends first information indicating the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group to the terminal device. The terminal device receives the first information from the network device and determines the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group of the terminal device based on the first information, so as to determine the beam information corresponding to the antenna port of the terminal device, thereby using the corresponding beam to transmit data and reference signals on the antenna port of the terminal device, thereby improving the quality and reliability of the transmitted signal. In addition, when the terminal antenna port group includes multiple antenna ports of the terminal device, there is no need to separately indicate the TCI state groups corresponding to the multiple antenna ports, thereby saving air interface resources.

[0151] In a possible implementation, as shown in FIG5 , the communication method further includes step S400a:

[0152] S400a: The network device sends second information to the terminal device, where the second information is used to indicate at least one terminal antenna port group. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second information from the network device.

[0153] As a possible implementation, at least one terminal antenna port group includes M terminal antenna port groups, and the second information includes M first bitmaps, the mth first bitmap in the M first bitmaps indicates the antenna ports included in the mth terminal antenna port group in the M terminal antenna port groups, m=1, 2,…, M, M is a positive integer; the first bitmap includes X bits, X is the total number of antenna ports of the terminal device, and the X bits correspond one-to-one to the X antenna ports; when the value of the first bit in the mth first bitmap is the first preset value, the mth terminal antenna port group includes the antenna port corresponding to the first bit, the first bit is any one of the X bits, and X is a positive integer.

[0154] Exemplarily, taking the case where at least one terminal antenna port group includes three terminal antenna port groups (i.e., M takes a value of 3), and the three terminal antenna port groups are respectively recorded as terminal antenna port group #0, terminal antenna port group #1, and terminal antenna port group #2, and the antenna port of the terminal device includes six antenna ports (i.e., X takes a value of 6), and the six antenna ports are respectively recorded as antenna port #0, antenna port #1, antenna port #2, antenna port #3, antenna port #4, and antenna port #5, as an example, the second information includes three first bit maps, the first bit map includes 6 bits, the first bit corresponds to antenna port #0, and the second bit corresponds to antenna port #1. , the 3rd bit corresponds to antenna port #2, the 4th bit corresponds to antenna port #3, the 5th bit corresponds to antenna port #4, and the 6th bit corresponds to antenna port #5. The first first bitmap (denoted as bitmap1#1) indicates the antenna ports included in the first terminal antenna port group (i.e., terminal antenna port group #0), the second first bitmap (denoted as bitmap1#2) indicates the antenna ports included in the second terminal antenna port group (i.e., terminal antenna port group #1), and the third first bitmap (denoted as bitmap1#3) indicates the antenna ports included in the third terminal antenna port group (i.e., terminal antenna port group #2).

[0155] Taking the first preset value of 1 as an example, if the value of bitmap1#1 is 100100, the terminal antenna port group #0 includes antenna port #0 and antenna port #3; if the value of bitmap1#2 is 010010, the terminal antenna port group #1 includes antenna port #1 and antenna port #4; if the value of bitmap1#3 is 001001, the terminal antenna port group #2 includes antenna port #2 and antenna port #5.

[0156] Optionally, the second information may be carried in high-layer signaling (such as RRC, MAC CE) or physical layer signaling (such as DCI).

[0157] In another possible implementation, as shown in FIG6 , the communication method further includes at least one of steps S400b to S400d:

[0158] S400b: The network device sends fourth information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the fourth information from the network device.

[0159] Among them, the fourth information is used to configure N TCI state groups, N is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the N TCI state groups.

[0160] Exemplarily, the fourth information includes configuration information of N TCI state groups, and the configuration information of each TCI state group includes an index of the TCI state group and an index of at least one TCI state included in the TCI state group. For example, the fourth information includes configuration information of 8 (i.e., N is 8) TCI state groups, the indexes of the 8 TCI state groups are 0-7, the TCI state group with index 0 includes TCI states with indexes 0-3, the TCI state group with index 1 includes TCI states with indexes 4-6, the TCI state group with index 2 includes TCI states with indexes 7-9, the TCI state group with index 3 includes TCI states with indexes 10-12, the TCI state group with index 4 includes TCI states with indexes 13-15, the TCI state group with index 5 includes TCI states with indexes 16-18, the TCI state group with index 6 includes TCI states with indexes 19-22, the TCI state group with index 7 includes TCI states with indexes 23-25, and the TCI state group with index 8 includes TCI states with indexes 26-30.

[0161] Optionally, the fourth information may be carried in higher layer signaling (such as RRC).

[0162] S400c: The network device sends the fifth information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the fifth information from the network device.

[0163] The fifth information is used to activate Y TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups, where Y is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups.

[0164] Exemplarily, based on the example in step S400b above, the fifth information is used to activate 6 (ie, Y is 6) TCI state groups out of 8 (ie, N is 8). For example, the fifth information activates TCI state groups indexed 1-6.

[0165] Optionally, the fifth information may be carried in higher layer signaling (such as MAC CE) or physical layer signaling (such as DCI).

[0166] S400d: The network device sends the sixth information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the sixth information from the network device.

[0167] Among them, the sixth information is used to indicate Y TCI state groups that can be used for TCI state indication of the terminal antenna port group among at least one activated TCI state group in N TCI state groups, Y is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to Y TCI state groups.

[0168] Optionally, at least one activated TCI state group among the N TCI state groups may be activated using the method in step S400c or by other methods, which are not limited here.

[0169] Exemplarily, based on the example in the above step S400b, taking at least one TCI state group activated among the 8 TCI state groups as a TCI state group indexed 1-6 as an example, if the index of the TCI state group that can be used for the TCI state indication of the terminal antenna port group in the TCI state groups indexed 1-6 is 3-6 (that is, the value of Y is 4), then the sixth information is used to indicate the TCI state group indexed 3-6.

[0170] As a possible example, the TCI states included in the Y TCI state groups that can be used for TCI state indication of the terminal antenna port group are used to indicate that there is a QCL-D relationship between the antenna port and the reference signal.

[0171] Optionally, the sixth information may be carried in higher layer signaling (such as MAC CE) or physical layer signaling (such as DCI).

[0172] In another possible implementation, as shown in FIG7 , the communication method further includes step S400e:

[0173] S400e: The network device sends the third information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the third information from the network device.

[0174] Among them, the third information is used to indicate the TCI state group set corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group, the TCI state group set includes at least one TCI state group, the TCI state group corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group belongs to the TCI state group set corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group, and the second terminal antenna port group is any one terminal antenna port group in at least one terminal antenna port group.

[0175] As a possible implementation, the TCI state group set corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group includes P TCI state groups with consecutive indexes, and the TCI state group set corresponding to the third terminal antenna port group includes Q TCI state groups with consecutive indexes. The P TCI state groups with consecutive indexes do not overlap with the Q TCI state groups with consecutive indexes. The second terminal antenna port group and the third terminal antenna port group are any different terminal antenna port groups in at least one terminal antenna port group. P is a positive integer and Q is a positive integer.

[0176] For example, as shown in Figure 8, taking the configuration of 16 TCI state groups (i.e., N is 16), the indexes of the 16 TCI state groups are 0-15 respectively, and at least one terminal antenna port group includes 3 terminal antenna port groups (i.e., M is 3) as an example, the third information is used to indicate that the terminal antenna port group #0 corresponds to the TCI state group set #0, the terminal antenna port group #1 corresponds to the TCI state group set #1, and the terminal antenna port group #2 corresponds to the TCI state group set #2. The indexes of the TCI state groups included in the TCI state group set #0 are 0-5, the indexes of the TCI state groups included in the TCI state group set #1 are 6-10, and the indexes of the TCI state groups included in the TCI state group set #2 are 11-15.

[0177] Optionally, the third information may be carried in higher layer signaling (such as RRC, MAC CE) or physical layer signaling (such as DCI).

[0178] The above describes the overall process of the communication method provided in this application. The following is a detailed introduction to the specific implementation of the first information.

[0179] In one possible embodiment, at least one terminal antenna port group includes M terminal antenna port groups, the first information includes M first fields, and the mth first field of the M first fields is used to indicate the TCI state group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group in the M terminal antenna port groups, m = 1, 2, ..., M, where M is a positive integer.

[0180] Optionally, the mth first field is used to indicate the TCI state group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group, including: the mth first field is used to carry the identifier of the TCI state group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group.

[0181] For example, at least one terminal antenna port group includes three terminal antenna port groups (ie, M is 3), and the three terminal antenna port groups are respectively recorded as terminal antenna port group # 0, terminal antenna port group # 1, and terminal antenna port group # 2, and terminal antenna port group # 0 corresponds to TCI state group # 0, terminal antenna port group # 1 corresponds to TCI state group # 1, and terminal antenna port group # 2 corresponds to TCI state group # 2. For example, the first information includes three first fields, and the first first field (recorded as the first field # 0) is used to indicate the first terminal antenna port group (ie, the terminal The first field #0 is used to carry the identifier of TCI state group #0, the second first field (recorded as the first field #1) is used to indicate the TCI state group corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group (i.e., terminal antenna port group #1), the first field #1 is used to carry the identifier of TCI state group #1, the third first field (recorded as the first field #2) is used to indicate the TCI state group corresponding to the third terminal antenna port group (i.e., terminal antenna port group #2), and the first field #2 is used to carry the identifier of TCI state group #2.

[0182] As a possible implementation, the identifier of the TCI state group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group is the index of the TCI state group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group in the configured N TCI state groups. Exemplarily, the N TCI state groups can be configured through the fourth information in the above-mentioned step S400b, or the identifier of the TCI state group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group is the index of the TCI state group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group in the activated Y TCI state groups. Exemplarily, the Y TCI state groups can be activated through the fifth information in the above-mentioned step S400c, or the identifier of the TCI state group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group is the index of the TCI state group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group in the indicated Y TCI state groups that can be used for terminal antenna port group TCI state indication. Exemplarily, the Y TCI state groups can be indicated by the sixth information in the above-mentioned step S400d.

[0183] In another possible embodiment, at least one terminal antenna port group corresponds to a TCI state group set, and the TCI state group set includes at least one TCI state group; the first information includes a second bit map, the second bit map includes Y bits, and the Y bits correspond one-to-one to the Y TCI state groups. The TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups, Y is a positive integer, N is a positive integer, Y is less than or equal to N, and N is the total number of configured TCI state groups; the TCI state group corresponding to the second bit in the second bit map belongs to the TCI state group set corresponding to the first terminal antenna port group, the second bit is any bit in the Y bits, and the first terminal antenna port group is the terminal antenna port group in the at least one terminal antenna port group; when the value of the second bit is the second preset value, the TCI state group corresponding to the second bit is the TCI state group corresponding to the first terminal antenna port group.

[0184] Exemplarily, the TCI state group sets corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group can be indicated by the third information in the above step S400e.

[0185] Optionally, Y is equal to N, or Y is the total number of at least one activated TCI state group in the N TCI state groups, or Y is the total number of TCI state groups that can be used for TCI state indication of the terminal antenna port group in at least one activated TCI state group in the N TCI state groups, and N is the total number of configured TCI state groups. For example, 16 TCI state groups are configured (i.e., N is 16), the indexes of the 16 TCI state groups are 0-15, at least one terminal antenna port group includes 3 terminal antenna port groups (i.e., M is 3), and the terminal antenna port group #0 corresponds to TCI state group #0, the indexes of the TCI state groups included in TCI state group set #0 are 0-5, and the terminal antenna port group #1 corresponds to TCI state group set #1, the indexes of the TCI state groups included in TCI state group set #1 are 6-10, the terminal antenna port group #2 corresponds to TCI state group set #2, and the indexes of the TCI state groups included in TCI state group set #2 are 11-15.

[0186] As a possible implementation, Y is equal to N, and the value of Y is 16. In this case, the first information includes a second bitmap, and the second bitmap includes 16 bits. The 16 bits correspond one-to-one to the 16 TCI state groups. For example, the first bit corresponds to the TCI state group with an index of 0, the second bit corresponds to the TCI state group with an index of 1, and so on. The 16th bit corresponds to the TCI state group with an index of 15. Taking the second preset value as 1 as an example, if the second bitmap is 0100000001001000, the TCI state group corresponding to the second bit (i.e., the TCI state group with an index of 1) is the TCI state group corresponding to terminal antenna port group #0, the TCI state group corresponding to the 10th bit (i.e., the TCI state group with an index of 9) is the TCI state group corresponding to terminal antenna port group #1, and the TCI state group corresponding to the 13th bit (i.e., the TCI state group with an index of 12) is the TCI state group corresponding to terminal antenna port group #2.

[0187] As another possible implementation, Y is less than N, and Y is the total number of at least one activated TCI state group among the N TCI state groups. If the index of at least one activated TCI state group among the 16 TCI state groups is 1-12, then Y is 12. In this case, the first information includes a second bitmap, which includes 12 bits, with 10 bits corresponding one-to-one to TCI state groups indexed 1-12. For example, the first bit corresponds to the TCI state group indexed 1, the second bit corresponds to the TCI state group indexed 2, and so on, until the 12th bit corresponds to the TCI state group indexed 12. Taking the second preset value of 1 as an example, if the second bit map is 010001000001, the TCI state group corresponding to the 2nd bit (that is, the TCI state group with an index of 2) is the TCI state group corresponding to the terminal antenna port group #0, the TCI state group corresponding to the 6th bit (that is, the TCI state group with an index of 6) is the TCI state group corresponding to the terminal antenna port group #1, and the TCI state group corresponding to the 12th bit (that is, the TCI state group with an index of 12) is the TCI state group corresponding to the terminal antenna port group #2.

[0188] In another possible implementation, Y is less than N, and Y is the total number of TCI state groups that can be used for TCI state indication of a terminal antenna port group in at least one activated TCI state group among the N TCI state groups. If the index of the TCI state group that can be used for TCI state indication of a terminal antenna port group in at least one activated TCI state group among the 16 TCI state groups is 3-11, then Y is 9. In this case, the first information includes a second bitmap, which includes 9 bits. The 9 bits correspond one-to-one to the TCI state groups indexed 3-11. For example, the first bit corresponds to the TCI state group indexed 3, the second bit corresponds to the TCI state group indexed 4, and so on, until the ninth bit corresponds to the TCI state group indexed 11. Taking the second preset value of 1 as an example, if the second bit map is 010010001, the TCI state group corresponding to the 2nd bit (that is, the TCI state group with an index of 4) is the TCI state group corresponding to the terminal antenna port group #0, the TCI state group corresponding to the 5th bit (that is, the TCI state group with an index of 7) is the TCI state group corresponding to the terminal antenna port group #1, and the TCI state group corresponding to the 9th bit (that is, the TCI state group with an index of 11) is the TCI state group corresponding to the terminal antenna port group #2.

[0189] In another possible implementation, at least one terminal antenna port group includes M terminal antenna port groups, and the first information includes M third bitmaps, where the mth third bitmap in the M third bitmaps is used to indicate the TCI state group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group in the M terminal antenna port groups, where m=1, 2, …, M, and M is a positive integer. For details about the third bitmap, refer to the description of the second bitmap above and are not repeated here.

[0190] The method provided in this application is described above. In addition, this application also provides a communication device for implementing the functions described in the above method embodiments.

[0191] It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be easily appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0192] The embodiment of the present application can divide the functional modules of the communication device according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0193] Communication Device Figure 9 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 90. The communication device 90 includes a processing module 901 and a transceiver module 902. The communication device 90 can be used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned network device or terminal device.

[0194] In some embodiments, the communication device 90 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 9 ) for storing program instructions and data.

[0195] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 902, which may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement a transmitting and / or receiving function. The transceiver module 902 may be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0196] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 902 may include a receiving module and a sending module, which are respectively used to execute the receiving and sending steps performed by the network device or terminal device in the above method embodiment, and / or used to support other processes of the technology described in this document; the processing module 901 may be used to execute the processing steps performed by the network device or terminal device in the above method embodiment, and / or used to support other processes of the technology described in this document.

[0197] When the communication device 90 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned network device, in a possible implementation manner:

[0198] Processing module 901 is configured to determine a TCI state group corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group of a terminal device, where the terminal antenna port group includes at least one antenna port of the terminal device, and the TCI state group includes at least one TCI state. Transceiver module 902 is configured to send first information indicating the TCI state group corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group.

[0199] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is further configured to send second information, where the second information is used to indicate at least one terminal antenna port group.

[0200] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is also used to send third information, where the third information is used to indicate a TCI state group set corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group, the TCI state group set includes at least one TCI state group, the TCI state group corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group belongs to the TCI state group set corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group, and the second terminal antenna port group is any one terminal antenna port group in at least one terminal antenna port group.

[0201] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is further used to send fourth information, where the fourth information is used to configure N TCI state groups, where N is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the N TCI state groups.

[0202] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is also used to send fifth information, where the fifth information is used to activate Y TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups, where Y is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups.

[0203] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is also used to send sixth information, where the sixth information is used to indicate Y TCI state groups that can be used for TCI state indication of the terminal antenna port group among at least one activated TCI state group among the N TCI state groups, where Y is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups.

[0204] When the communication device 90 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned terminal device, in a possible implementation manner:

[0205] The transceiver module 902 is configured to receive first information indicating TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group, where the terminal antenna port group includes at least one antenna port of the terminal device, and the TCI state group includes at least one TCI state. The processing module 901 is configured to determine the TCI state groups corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group of the terminal device.

[0206] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is further configured to receive second information, where the second information is used to indicate at least one terminal antenna port group.

[0207] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is also used to receive third information, where the third information is used to indicate a TCI state group set corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group, the TCI state group set includes at least one TCI state group, the TCI state group corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group belongs to the TCI state group set corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group, and the second terminal antenna port group is any one terminal antenna port group in at least one terminal antenna port group.

[0208] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is further used to receive fourth information, where the fourth information is used to configure N TCI state groups, where N is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the N TCI state groups.

[0209] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is also used to receive fifth information, where the fifth information is used to activate Y TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups, where Y is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups.

[0210] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is also used to receive sixth information, where the sixth information is used to indicate Y TCI state groups that can be used for TCI state indication of the terminal antenna port group among at least one activated TCI state group among the N TCI state groups, where Y is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups.

[0211] Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module and will not be repeated here.

[0212] In the present application, the communication device 90 may be presented in the form of functional modules divided in an integrated manner. The "module" here may refer to a specific application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions.

[0213] In some embodiments, when the communication device 90 in Figure 9 is a chip or a chip system, the function / implementation process of the transceiver module 902 can be implemented through the input and output interface (or communication interface) of the chip or chip system, and the function / implementation process of the processing module 901 can be implemented through the processor (or processing circuit) of the chip or chip system.

[0214] Since the communication device 90 provided in this embodiment can execute the above method, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0215] As a possible product form, the network device or terminal device described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented using the following: one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuits, or any combination of circuits capable of performing the various functions described throughout this application.

[0216] As another possible product form, the network device or terminal device described in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by a general bus architecture. For ease of explanation, refer to Figure 10, which is a structural diagram of a communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1000 includes a processor 1001 and a transceiver 1002. The communication device 1000 can be a network device, or a chip or chip system therein; or, the communication device 1000 can be a terminal device, or a chip or module therein. Figure 10 only shows the main components of the communication device 1000. In addition to the processor 1001 and the transceiver 1002, the communication device may further include a memory 1003, and an input and output device (not shown in the figure).

[0217] Optionally, the processor 1001 is mainly used to process the communication protocol and communication data, as well as to control the entire communication device, execute the software program, and process the data of the software program, thereby implementing the method provided in the above method embodiment. The memory 1003 is mainly used to store software programs and data. The transceiver 1002 may include a radio frequency circuit and an antenna. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used to convert baseband signals into radio frequency signals and process radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as a touch screen, display screen, keyboard, etc., are mainly used to receive data input by the user and output data to the user.

[0218] Optionally, the processor 1001 , the transceiver 1002 , and the memory 1003 may be connected via a communication bus.

[0219] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 1001 can read the software program in the memory 1003, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent wirelessly, the processor 1001 performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1001. The processor 1001 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0220] In another implementation, the RF circuit and antenna may be provided independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the RF circuit and antenna may be remotely arranged independent of the communication device.

[0221] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may conceive that the above-mentioned communication device 90 may take the form of the communication device 1000 shown in FIG. 10 .

[0222] As an example, the functions / implementation process of the processing module 901 in FIG9 can be implemented by the processor 1001 in the communication device 1000 shown in FIG10 calling the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1003. The functions / implementation process of the transceiver module 902 in FIG9 can be implemented by the transceiver 1002 in the communication device 1000 shown in FIG10.

[0223] As another possible product form, the network device or terminal device in this application may adopt the structure shown in Figure 11, or include the components shown in Figure 11. Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 1100 provided in this application. The communication device 1100 may be a network device or a chip or system-on-chip in a network device; or it may be a terminal device or a module or chip or system-on-chip in a terminal device.

[0224] As shown in FIG11 , the communication device 1100 includes at least one processor 1101 and at least one communication interface ( FIG11 is merely illustrative, and is illustrated by taking one communication interface 1104 and one processor 1101 as an example). Optionally, the communication device 1100 may further include a communication bus 1102 and a memory 1103.

[0225] Processor 1101 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a programmable logic device (PLD), or any combination thereof. Processor 1101 may also be other devices with processing capabilities, such as circuits, devices, or software modules, without limitation.

[0226] Communication bus 1102 is used to connect the various components in communication device 1100, enabling communication between them. Communication bus 1102 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, for example. This bus can be categorized as an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and so on. For ease of illustration, FIG11 shows only one thick line, but this does not imply that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0227] Communication interface 1104 is used to communicate with other devices or communication networks. Exemplarily, communication interface 1104 can be a module, circuit, transceiver, or any other device capable of communication. Optionally, communication interface 1104 can also be an input / output interface within processor 1101, used to implement signal input and output to the processor.

[0228] The memory 1103 may be a device with a storage function, used to store instructions and / or data, wherein the instructions may be computer programs.

[0229] Exemplarily, the memory 1103 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and / or instructions, or a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and / or instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, etc., without limitation.

[0230] It should be noted that the memory 1103 can exist independently of the processor 1101 or can be integrated with the processor 1101. The memory 1103 can be located within the communication device 1100 or outside the communication device 1100, without limitation. The processor 1101 can be used to execute instructions stored in the memory 1103 to implement the methods provided in the following embodiments of the present application.

[0231] As an optional implementation, the communication device 1100 may further include an output device 1105 and an input device 1106. The output device 1105 communicates with the processor 1101 and can display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 1105 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector. The input device 1106 communicates with the processor 1101 and can receive user input in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 1106 can be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, or a sensor device.

[0232] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may conceive that the communication device 90 shown in FIG. 9 may take the form of the communication device 1100 shown in FIG. 11 .

[0233] As an example, the functions / implementation process of the processing module 901 in FIG9 can be implemented by the processor 1101 in the communication device 1100 shown in FIG11 calling the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1103. The functions / implementation process of the transceiver module 902 in FIG9 can be implemented by the communication interface 1104 in the communication device 1100 shown in FIG11.

[0234] It should be noted that the structure shown in FIG11 does not constitute a specific limitation on the network device or terminal device. For example, in other embodiments of the present application, the network device or terminal device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine or split certain components, or arrange the components differently. The components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0235] In some embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, which includes a processor for implementing the method in any of the above method embodiments.

[0236] As a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory. The memory is used to store necessary computer programs and data. The computer program may include instructions, and the processor may invoke the instructions in the computer program stored in the memory to instruct the communication device to execute any of the above-described method embodiments. Of course, the memory may not be located in the communication device.

[0237] As another possible implementation, the communication device also includes an interface circuit, which is a code / data read / write interface circuit, and the interface circuit is used to receive computer execution instructions (computer execution instructions are stored in a memory, may be read directly from the memory, or may pass through other devices) and transmit them to the processor.

[0238] As another possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface, where the communication interface is used to communicate with a module outside the communication device.

[0239] It can be understood that the communication device can be a chip or a chip system. When the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or include chips and other discrete devices. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0240] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instruction stored thereon, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0241] The present application also provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0242] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, for the sake of convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, devices, and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0243] It is understood that the systems, devices, and methods described in this application may also be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interface, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0244] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, i.e., they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Components shown as units may or may not be physical units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the objectives of this embodiment as needed.

[0245] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0246] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented 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, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may 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 may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state drive (SSD)). In the embodiment of the present application, the computer may include the aforementioned device.

[0247] 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.

[0248] Although the present application has been described with reference to specific features and embodiments thereof, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are merely illustrative of the present application as defined by the appended claims and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Determine a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state group corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group of a terminal device, where the terminal antenna port group includes at least one antenna port of the terminal device, and the TCI state group includes at least one TCI state; Sending first information, where the first information is used to indicate the TCI state groups corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Second information is sent, where the second information is used to indicate the at least one terminal antenna port group.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The at least one terminal antenna port group includes M terminal antenna port groups, the second information includes M first bitmaps, an m-th first bitmap in the M first bitmaps indicates an antenna port included in the m-th terminal antenna port group in the M terminal antenna port groups, where m=1, 2, ..., M, where M is a positive integer; The first bitmap includes X bits, where X is the total number of antenna ports of the terminal device, and the X bits correspond one-to-one to the X antenna ports; When the value of the first bit in the mth first bit bitmap is a first preset value, the mth terminal antenna port group includes the antenna port corresponding to the first bit, and the first bit is any one of the X bits, where X is a positive integer.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The at least one terminal antenna port group includes M terminal antenna port groups, the first information includes M first fields, and the mth first field of the M first fields is used to indicate the TCI state group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group in the M terminal antenna port groups, m = 1, 2, ..., M, where M is a positive integer.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The mth first field is used to indicate the TCI state group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group, including: The mth first field is used to carry the identifier of the TCI status group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that Each of the at least one terminal antenna port group corresponds to a TCI state group set, and the TCI state group set includes at least one TCI state group; The first information includes a second bitmap, the second bitmap includes Y bits, the Y bits correspond one-to-one to Y TCI state groups, the TCI state groups corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups, Y is a positive integer, N is a positive integer, Y is less than or equal to N, and N is the total number of configured TCI state groups; The TCI state group corresponding to the second bit in the second bitmap belongs to the TCI state group set corresponding to the first terminal antenna port group, the second bit is any bit among the Y bits, and the first terminal antenna port group is a terminal antenna port group in the at least one terminal antenna port group; When the value of the second bit is a second preset value, the TCI state group corresponding to the second bit is the TCI state group corresponding to the first terminal antenna port group.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send third information, where the third information is used to indicate the TCI state group sets corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group, where the TCI state group set includes at least one TCI state group, and the TCI state group corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group belongs to the TCI state group set corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group, where the second terminal antenna port group is any one of the at least one terminal antenna port group.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The TCI state group set corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group includes P TCI state groups with consecutive indexes, and the TCI state group set corresponding to the third terminal antenna port group includes Q TCI state groups with consecutive indexes. The P TCI state groups with consecutive indexes do not overlap with the Q TCI state groups with consecutive indexes. The second terminal antenna port group and the third terminal antenna port group are any different terminal antenna port groups in the at least one terminal antenna port group. P is a positive integer and Q is a positive integer.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that: The Y TCI state groups are activated TCI state groups in the N TCI state groups, or are TCI state groups in the N TCI state groups that can be used for TCI state indication of the terminal antenna port group.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send fourth information, where the fourth information is used to configure N TCI state groups, where N is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the N TCI state groups.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send fifth information, where the fifth information is used to activate Y TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups, where Y is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: The sixth information is sent, where the sixth information is used to indicate Y TCI state groups that can be used for TCI state indication of the terminal antenna port group in at least one activated TCI state group among the N TCI state groups, where Y is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that The antenna port corresponds to one or more antenna sub-array surfaces of the terminal device.

14. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving first information, where the first information is used to indicate a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state group corresponding to at least one terminal antenna port group of a terminal device, the terminal antenna port group including at least one antenna port of the terminal device, and the TCI state group including at least one TCI state; Determine, according to the first information, the TCI state groups corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The method further comprises: Second information is received, where the second information is used to indicate the at least one terminal antenna port group.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The at least one terminal antenna port group includes M terminal antenna port groups, the second information includes M first bitmaps, an m-th first bitmap in the M first bitmaps indicates an antenna port included in the m-th terminal antenna port group in the M terminal antenna port groups, where m=1, 2, ..., M, where M is a positive integer; The first bitmap includes X bits, where X is the total number of antenna ports of the terminal device, and the X bits correspond one-to-one to the X antenna ports; When the value of the first bit in the mth first bit bitmap is a first preset value, the mth terminal antenna port group includes the antenna port corresponding to the first bit, and the first bit is any one of the X bits, where X is a positive integer.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that: The at least one terminal antenna port group includes M terminal antenna port groups, the first information includes M first fields, and the mth first field of the M first fields is used to indicate the TCI state group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group in the M terminal antenna port groups, m = 1, 2, ..., M, where M is a positive integer.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The mth first field is used to indicate the TCI state group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group, including: The mth first field is used to carry the identifier of the TCI status group corresponding to the mth terminal antenna port group.

19. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that: Each of the at least one terminal antenna port group corresponds to a TCI state group set, and the TCI state group set includes at least one TCI state group; The first information includes a second bitmap, the second bitmap includes Y bits, the Y bits correspond one-to-one to Y TCI state groups, the TCI state groups corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups, Y is a positive integer, N is a positive integer, Y is less than or equal to N, and N is the total number of configured TCI state groups; The TCI state group corresponding to the second bit in the second bitmap belongs to the TCI state group set corresponding to the first terminal antenna port group, the second bit is any bit among the Y bits, and the first terminal antenna port group is a terminal antenna port group in the at least one terminal antenna port group; When the value of the second bit is a second preset value, the TCI state group corresponding to the second bit is the TCI state group corresponding to the first terminal antenna port group.

20. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 19, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive third information, where the third information is used to indicate the TCI state group sets corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group, where the TCI state group set includes at least one TCI state group, and the TCI state group corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group belongs to the TCI state group set corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group, where the second terminal antenna port group is any one of the at least one terminal antenna port group.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The TCI state group set corresponding to the second terminal antenna port group includes P TCI state groups with consecutive indexes, and the TCI state group set corresponding to the third terminal antenna port group includes Q TCI state groups with consecutive indexes. The P TCI state groups with consecutive indexes do not overlap with the Q TCI state groups with consecutive indexes. The second terminal antenna port group and the third terminal antenna port group are any different terminal antenna port groups in the at least one terminal antenna port group. P is a positive integer and Q is a positive integer.

22. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 21, characterized in that The Y TCI state groups are activated TCI state groups in the N TCI state groups, or are TCI state groups in the N TCI state groups that can be used for TCI state indication of the terminal antenna port group.

23. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 22, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive fourth information, where the fourth information is used to configure N TCI state groups, where N is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the N TCI state groups.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein The method further comprises: Receive fifth information, where the fifth information is used to activate Y TCI state groups among the N TCI state groups, where Y is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups.

25. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive sixth information, where the sixth information is used to indicate Y TCI state groups that can be used for TCI state indication of the terminal antenna port group among at least one activated TCI state group among the N TCI state groups, where Y is a positive integer, and the TCI state groups corresponding to the at least one terminal antenna port group belong to the Y TCI state groups.

26. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 25, characterized in that The antenna port corresponds to one or more antenna sub-array surfaces of the terminal device.

27. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a processor; the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction to enable the communication device to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or to enable the communication device to execute the method according to any one of claims 14 to 26.

28. A chip or a chip system, characterized in that: The chip or chip system includes a processor, which is coupled to a memory, and the memory is used to store programs or instructions. When the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the method described in any one of claims 1 to 13 is executed, or the method described in any one of claims 14 to 26 is executed.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions or programs. When the computer instructions or programs are executed on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 14 to 26 is executed.

30. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product includes computer instructions; when part or all of the computer instructions are run on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 14 to 26 is executed.

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