Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and an apparatus, which are applied to the technical field of communications. The method comprises: a terminal receiving N reference signals and configuration information from a network device, wherein the configuration information is used for configuring that a terminal needs to feed back, in a channel state information report, M reference signal resource indicators, and a rank indicator and a channel quality indicator associated with each reference signal resource indicator; the terminal performing channel measurement on the N reference signals on the basis of the configuration information to obtain the channel state information report; and sending the channel state information report to the network device. In this way, the terminal can receive the configuration information from the network device to configure that the terminal needs to feed back, in the channel state information report, the M reference signal resource indicators and the rank indicator and the channel quality indicator associated with each reference signal resource indicator, so that the network device can determine appropriate hybrid precoding information on the basis of the channel state information report so as to perform hybrid precoding on data to be transmitted.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on February 8, 2024, with application number 202410177001.7 and application name “Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] In communication systems, the application of massive multi-antenna technology plays a crucial role in improving the system's spectral efficiency. When using multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology, network equipment needs to precode the data before sending it to the terminal.

[0004] Precoding is usually divided into digital precoding, analog precoding and hybrid precoding. Digital precoding usually uses different weights for different RF links (or antenna ports) at the baseband. The weights can include amplitude and / or phase. Different weights can be used for different users at the same time, which is suitable for multi-user multiplexing. Analog precoding usually uses a phase shifter to adjust the phase of the signal before the signal is transmitted to the antenna. This method is low-cost, but does not support the generation of multiple analog beams at the same time and is not suitable for multi-user multiplexing. Hybrid precoding combines digital precoding and analog domain coding, so that hybrid precoding can support multi-user multiplexing and flexibly control costs.

[0005] In order to support the above hybrid precoding method in the communication system, the network equipment needs to obtain a channel state information report. Therefore, how to configure the content that the terminal needs to feedback in the channel state information report is a problem that needs to be solved urgently. Summary of the Invention

[0006] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method and apparatus, which sends configuration information to a terminal through a network device to configure the terminal to feedback M reference signal resource indications and a rank indication and a channel quality indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report, thereby obtaining a channel state information report.

[0007] In the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application proposes a communication method, applied to a terminal, including: receiving N reference signals from a network device, where N is an integer greater than 1; receiving configuration information from the network device, where the configuration information is used to configure the terminal to feedback M reference signal resource indications and a rank indication and a channel quality indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N; performing channel measurement on the N reference signals based on the configuration information to obtain a channel state information report; and sending the channel state information report to the network device.

[0008] In this way, the terminal can receive configuration information from the network device to configure it to feedback M reference signal resource indications and the rank indication and channel quality indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report, and feedback the channel state information report to the network device, so that the network device can determine the appropriate hybrid precoding information based on the channel state information report to perform hybrid precoding on the data to be sent.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feedback the precoding matrix indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report. Thus, when the network device transmits N reference signals to the terminal using different analog precoding methods instead of digital precoding methods, the configuration information can further configure the terminal to feedback the precoding matrix indication in the channel state information report. This allows the network device to obtain the rank indication, channel quality indication, and precoding matrix indication from the terminal for digital precoding, and to obtain the reference signal resource indication from the terminal for analog precoding.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to provide feedback on the reference signal received power associated with each reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report. This allows the network device to obtain the reference signal received power associated with each reference signal resource indication from the terminal for use in simulated precoding.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feedback, in a channel state information report, reference signal received power associated with some of the M reference signal resource indicators. This allows some of the M channel state information sets fed back by the terminal to the network device to include reference signal received power, while other portions of the M channel state information sets do not, which helps reduce feedback overhead.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the configuration information is specifically used to configure the terminal not to feedback, in a channel state information report, a reference signal received power less than a power difference value; the power difference value is the difference between a maximum value of reference signal received powers associated with M reference signal resource indicators and a first threshold. In this way, reference signal received powers less than the power difference value are not fed back in the channel state information report, thereby reducing feedback overhead.

[0013] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: receiving indication information from a network device.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the indication information is used to instruct the terminal not to feedback a reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report. This allows the terminal to perform channel measurement based on one of N reference signals to obtain a channel state information report, which helps reduce the terminal's computational complexity and power consumption.

[0015] In one possible implementation, performing channel measurement on N reference signals based on configuration information to obtain a channel state information report includes performing channel measurement on a reference signal with a smallest index among the N reference signals to obtain the channel state information report. In this way, the terminal may perform channel measurement on the reference signal with the smallest index among the N reference signals by default.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the indication information includes reference signal indication information; the reference signal indication information is used to indicate a reference signal for which the terminal needs to perform channel measurement. In this way, the network device can perform channel measurement based on the reference signal indicated by the reference signal indication information.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the indication information is used to instruct the terminal to feed back P reference signal resource indications in a channel state information report, where P is an integer greater than 1 and less than M. Thus, when the network device again sends indication information to the terminal to instruct the terminal to feed back P reference signal resource indications in the channel state information report, the terminal needs to measure other channel state information corresponding to the P reference signal resource indications, but does not need to measure other channel state information corresponding to the MP reference signal resource indications, which helps reduce computational complexity and power consumption of the terminal.

[0018] In one possible implementation, a channel state information report includes multiple channel state information sets, each reference signal resource indication is associated with a channel state information set; each channel state information set includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication and a channel quality indication associated with the reference signal resource indication. Thus, when a channel state information report fed back by a terminal to a network device includes multiple channel state information sets, it can be determined that beams transmitted to multiple terminals at the same time can use the same analog precoding and different digital precoding. The network device can then generate multiple beams at the same time, enabling the network device to support simultaneous data transmission to multiple terminals.

[0019] In one possible implementation, each channel state information set further includes at least one of a layer indicator, a precoding matrix indicator, and a reference signal received power associated with a reference signal resource indicator; and the individual channel state information included in each channel state information set is arranged in a first order or a second order; the first order is: reference signal resource indicator, rank indicator, layer indicator, precoding matrix indicator, channel quality indicator, and reference signal received power; the second order is: reference signal resource indicator, reference signal received power, rank indicator, layer indicator, precoding matrix indicator, and channel quality indicator. In this way, by sorting the channel state information with higher priority in front among the individual channel state information included in each channel state information set, the network device can have a lower bit error rate for the channel state information with higher priority when decoding the channel state information.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending auxiliary information to the network device; the auxiliary information is used to notify the network device of the number of channel state information sets included in the channel state information report. In this way, the terminal can proactively send the auxiliary information to the network device based on its own processing capabilities to notify the network device of the current terminal processing capabilities.

[0021] In one possible implementation, a channel state information report includes multiple channel state information sets; the reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set among the multiple channel state information sets is an absolute value; the reference signal received power included in other channel state information sets among the multiple channel state information sets except the first channel state information set is a relative value of the reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set. This helps reduce feedback overhead.

[0022] In the second aspect, an embodiment of the present application proposes a communication method, which is applied to a network device, including: sending N reference signals to a terminal, where N is an integer greater than 1; sending configuration information to the terminal, where the configuration information is used to configure the terminal to feedback M reference signal resource indications and a rank indication and a channel quality indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N; and receiving a channel state information report from the terminal, where the channel state information report is obtained by the terminal performing channel measurement on the N reference signals based on the configuration information.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feed back a precoding matrix indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feed back the reference signal received power associated with each reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feed back reference signal received powers associated with some reference signal resource indications among the M reference signal resource indications in a channel state information report.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the configuration information is specifically used to configure the terminal to not feedback a reference signal reception power that is less than a power difference in a channel state information report; the power difference is the difference between the maximum value of the reference signal reception powers associated with M reference signal resource indications and a first threshold.

[0027] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending indication information to the terminal.

[0028] In a possible implementation manner, the indication information is used to indicate that the terminal does not need to feed back a reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report.

[0029] In a possible implementation manner, the channel state information report is obtained by the terminal performing channel measurement on a reference signal with the smallest index among N reference signals.

[0030] In a possible implementation manner, the indication information includes reference signal indication information; the reference signal indication information is used to indicate a reference signal for which the terminal needs to perform channel measurement.

[0031] In a possible implementation manner, the indication information is used to instruct the terminal to feed back P reference signal resource indications in a channel state information report; P is an integer greater than 1 and less than M.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the channel state information report includes multiple channel state information sets, each reference signal resource indication is associated with a channel state information set; each channel state information set includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication and a channel quality indication associated with the reference signal resource indication.

[0033] In one possible implementation, each channel state information set also includes at least one of a layer indication, a precoding matrix indication, and a reference signal received power associated with a reference signal resource indication; and, the individual channel state information included in each channel state information set are arranged in a first order or a second order; the first order is: reference signal resource indication, rank indication, layer indication, precoding matrix indication, channel quality indication, and reference signal received power; the second order is: reference signal resource indication, reference signal received power, rank indication, layer indication, precoding matrix indication, and channel quality indication.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving auxiliary information from the terminal; the auxiliary information is used to notify the network device of the number of channel state information sets included in the channel state information report.

[0035] In one possible implementation, the channel state information report includes multiple channel state information sets; the reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set among the multiple channel state information sets is an absolute value; the reference signal received power included in other channel state information sets among the multiple channel state information sets except the first channel state information set is a relative value of the reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set.

[0036] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application proposes a communication device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call the computer program to execute the above-mentioned communication method on the terminal side, or to execute the above-mentioned communication method on the network device side.

[0037] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application proposes a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the communication method on the terminal side mentioned above is implemented, or the communication method on the network device side mentioned above is implemented.

[0038] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application proposes a computer program product, comprising a computer program, which, when run, enables the computer to execute the communication method on the terminal side; or, enables the computer to execute the communication method on the network device side.

[0039] The possible implementation methods of the second to fifth aspects have effects similar to those of the first aspect and the possible designs of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the system structure of a hybrid precoder provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG4 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

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

[0045] FIG6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0048] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), world-wide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, new radio (NR), etc. The 5G mobile communication system in the embodiments of the present application includes a non-standalone (NSA) 5G mobile communication system or a standalone (SA) 5G mobile communication system.

[0049] The technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as the sixth-generation mobile communication system, etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0050] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes a terminal 100 and a network device 200, and communication transmission can be performed between the terminal 100 and the network device 200.

[0051] The terminal in the embodiment of the present application is a terminal that accesses the above-mentioned communication system and has a wireless transceiver function or a chip or chip system that can be set at the terminal. The terminal can also be called terminal equipment, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, PDA, mobile internet device (MID), wearable device, virtual reality (VR) device, augmented reality (AR) device, wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), wireless terminal in self-driving (self driving), wireless terminal in remote surgery (remote medical surgery), wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), wireless terminal in transportation safety (transportation safety), wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), or wireless terminal in smart home (smart home). The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal.

[0052] The network device in the embodiment of the present application is located on the network side of the above-mentioned communication system, and has a device with wireless transceiver function or a chip or chip system that can be set in the device. The network device can also be called an access network device. The network device can be a base station, an evolved Node B (eNodeB), a radio network controller (RNC), a node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (for example, a home evolved Node B or a home node B), a base band unit (BBU), an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WIFI) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP) or a transmission and reception point (TRP / TP) or a remote radio head (RRH), etc. Alternatively, the network device may also be a radio unit (RU), a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a centralized unit control plane (CU control plane, CU-CP) node, or a centralized unit user plane (CU user plane, CU-UP) node.

[0053] In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, some terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are briefly explained below.

[0054] 1. Reference signal

[0055] A reference signal is a signal provided by a transmitter to a receiver for channel measurement or channel estimation. For example, a reference signal can be a signal sent by a network device to a terminal for channel measurement. In embodiments of the present application, a reference signal can be used for channel measurement, interference measurement, and the like.

[0056] The network device can send a reference signal to the terminal based on the reference signal resource. The reference signal resource can be used to configure the transmission properties of the reference signal, such as the time-frequency resource location, port mapping relationship, power factor, and scrambling code.

[0057] In the embodiments of the present application, the reference signal may be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a sounding reference signal (SRS). It should be understood that the reference signals listed above are merely illustrative and should not limit the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of the present application do not exclude the use of other reference signals to achieve the same or similar functions.

[0058] 2. Channel state information (CSI)

[0059] Channel state information is used to characterize the channel characteristics of the communication channel between the terminal and the network device. In an embodiment of the present application, the channel state information may include: a reference signal resource indicator (RSRI), a rank indicator (RI), a layer indicator (LI), a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), and a reference signal received power (RSRP).

[0060] The reference signal resource indicator is used to indicate one of N reference signals. The terminal can measure the channel state information included in the channel state information report based on the reference signal indicated by the reference signal resource indicator. Each channel state information set in the channel state information report corresponds to a reference signal resource indicator. When network devices transmit different reference signals, they typically use different analog precoding. If the terminal provides feedback of the reference signal resource indicator in the channel state information report, it can assist the network device in selecting the appropriate analog precoding.

[0061] The rank indication is associated with at least one reference signal resource indication, and is obtained by the terminal based on the reference signal indicated by the reference signal resource indication. The rank indication is used to indicate the number of MIMO layers for downlink transmission recommended by the terminal.

[0062] The layer indicator is associated with at least one reference signal resource indicator, and the layer indicator is obtained by the terminal based on the reference signal indicated by the reference signal resource indicator. The layer indicator is used to indicate which layer of the multi-layer precoding matrix fed back by the terminal has the best channel quality.

[0063] The channel quality indicator is associated with at least one reference signal resource indicator (RSRI). The channel quality indicator is measured by the terminal based on the reference signal indicated by the RSRI. A mapping relationship exists between the channel quality indicator and the modulation and coding scheme (MCS). Network devices can determine the MCS based on the channel quality indicator.

[0064] A precoding matrix indication is associated with at least one reference signal resource indication. The precoding matrix indication is measured by the terminal based on the reference signal indicated by the reference signal resource indication. The precoding matrix indication indicates the precoding matrix recommended by the terminal for the network device to use in downlink transmission. The precoding matrix indicated by the precoding matrix indication can represent channel information.

[0065] If the channel state information report includes both the precoding matrix indication and the reference signal resource indication, it can facilitate the network equipment to perform hybrid precoding, that is, use the precoding matrix indicated by the precoding matrix indication for digital precoding, and use the reference signal indicated by the reference signal resource indication for analog precoding.

[0066] In some embodiments, the precoding matrix indication may include a first portion of precoding information and a second portion of precoding information. The first portion of precoding information is typically used to indicate basis vector selection information and phase offset information between port groups in the precoding information. The second portion of precoding information is typically used to indicate further basis vector selection information. For example, if the basis vector selection information in the first portion of precoding information indicates K basis vectors, the second portion of precoding information may be used to further indicate the selection of one of the K basis vectors, where K is an integer greater than 1.

[0067] The wideband-related channel state information may include at least one of a wideband channel quality indicator and a wideband precoding matrix indicator. The wideband channel quality indicator or the wideband precoding matrix indicator corresponds to a channel measurement result in the entire frequency domain of the reference signal.

[0068] The subband-related channel state information may include at least one of a subband channel quality indicator and a subband precoding matrix indicator. The subband channel quality indicator or subband precoding matrix indicator corresponds to the channel measurement result of a frequency domain subband within the entire frequency domain range of the reference signal. The entire frequency domain range of the reference signal can be divided into multiple frequency domain subbands. Therefore, the subband-related channel state information may include multiple subband channel quality indicators or subband precoding matrix indicators, each of which corresponds to a frequency domain subband.

[0069] The reference signal received power is associated with at least one reference signal resource indicator, and the reference signal received power is measured by the terminal based on the reference signal indicated by the reference signal resource indicator. The reference signal received power is a key parameter used to represent the strength of a wireless signal.

[0070] In some communication systems, network equipment needs to obtain channel state information reports (CSIs) fed back by terminals and precode the data to be transmitted based on these CSIs. Precoding is generally categorized into digital precoding, analog precoding, and hybrid precoding, with hybrid precoding including both digital and analog precoding.

[0071] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the system architecture of a hybrid precoder provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 2, the network device may include a digital precoder, multiple radio frequency links connected to the digital precoder, a splitter connected to each radio frequency link, multiple phase shifters connected to each splitter, and an antenna connected to each phase shifter.

[0072] The digital precoder can digitally precode the data to be transmitted. The digitally precoded data is transmitted to the phase shifter via the RF link and the splitter. The phase shifter performs analog precoding on the digitally precoded data, thereby achieving hybrid precoding of the data to be transmitted. The hybrid precoded data is transmitted via the antenna.

[0073] In a communication system, before a network device digitally precodes data to be transmitted, the network device may send a reference signal to a terminal, where the reference signal is a signal that has not been digitally precoded or has been fixedly digitally precoded. In addition, the network device may also send first configuration information to the terminal, where the first configuration information is used to configure the terminal to feed back a rank indication, a layer indication, a channel quality indication, and a precoding matrix indication in a channel state information report; the terminal performs channel measurement on the reference signal based on the first configuration information to obtain a channel state information report, where the channel state information report includes a channel state information set, where the channel state information set includes a rank indication, a layer indication, a channel quality indication, and a precoding matrix indication; the terminal sends the channel state information report to the network device, and the network device determines appropriate digital precoding information based on the channel state information report to digitally precode the data to be transmitted.

[0074] In a communication system, before a network device performs analog precoding on data to be transmitted, the network device may send N reference signals to a terminal, where N is an integer greater than 1, and the N reference signals are signals that have undergone different analog precoding. In addition, the network device may also send second configuration information to the terminal, where the second configuration information is used to configure the terminal to feed back a reference signal resource indication and a reference signal receiving power in a channel state information report; the terminal performs channel measurement on the N reference signals based on the second configuration information to obtain a channel state information report, where the channel state information report includes M channel state information sets, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N, and each channel state information set includes a reference signal resource indication and a reference signal receiving power; the terminal sends the channel state information report to the network device, and the network device determines appropriate analog precoding information based on the channel state information report to perform analog precoding on the data to be transmitted.

[0075] In order to support the above hybrid precoding method in the communication system, the network equipment needs to obtain the channel state information report corresponding to the hybrid precoding. Therefore, how to configure the content that the terminal needs to feedback in the channel state information report is an urgent problem to be solved.

[0076] In related technologies, if a hybrid precoding method is to be supported in a communication system, the network device needs to send a first configuration message to the terminal in accordance with the above method to obtain a channel state information report corresponding to the digital precoding fed back by the terminal, and send a second configuration message to the terminal to obtain a channel state information report corresponding to the analog precoding fed back by the terminal. That is, the network device sends two configuration messages (i.e., the first configuration message and the second configuration message) to the terminal respectively, and the network device obtains two channel state information reports fed back by the terminal (i.e., the channel state information report corresponding to the digital precoding and the channel state information report corresponding to the analog precoding). The network device can determine the appropriate digital precoding information based on the channel state information report corresponding to the digital precoding, and determine the appropriate analog precoding information based on the channel state information report corresponding to the analog precoding, thereby determining the appropriate hybrid precoding information. In this way, the network device will have a relatively large delay in determining the appropriate hybrid precoding information.

[0077] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, in which a terminal receives N reference signals from a network device, and receives configuration information from the network device, the configuration information being used to configure the terminal to need to feedback M reference signal resource indications and the rank indication and channel quality indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report, the terminal performs channel measurement on the N reference signals based on the configuration information, obtains a channel state information report, and sends the channel state information report to the network device. In this way, the terminal can receive the configuration information from the network device to configure it to need to feedback M reference signal resource indications and the rank indication and channel quality indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report, and feedback the channel state information report to the network device, so that the network device can determine appropriate hybrid precoding information based on the channel state information report to perform hybrid precoding on the data to be transmitted.

[0078] Furthermore, the network device can send a configuration message to the terminal and obtain a channel state information report fed back by the terminal, thereby determining appropriate hybrid precoding information, thereby reducing the delay of the network device in determining the appropriate hybrid precoding information.

[0079] It's understandable that in communications systems, digital precoding is primarily applicable to low-frequency signals, such as those below 6 GHz. Analog precoding is primarily applicable to high-frequency signals, such as those above 28 GHz. Hybrid precoding can be used for signals in specific frequency bands between 6 GHz and 28 GHz.

[0080] The technical solution of the present application is described in detail below with reference to Figures 3 to 5 using specific method embodiments. The following specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be described in detail in some embodiments.

[0081] For example, FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG3 , the communication method may specifically include the following steps:

[0082] S301: A network device sends N reference signals to a terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the N reference signals from the network device.

[0083] The N reference signals sent by the network device may be N downlink reference signals, where N is an integer greater than 1. The N reference signals are used for channel measurement for channel state information reporting.

[0084] It should be noted that the network device may send the N reference signals periodically, semi-persistently, or dynamically and non-periodically, and this application does not limit this.

[0085] S302: The network device sends configuration information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the configuration information from the network device.

[0086] The configuration information sent by the network device is used to configure the terminal to feedback M channel state information sets in a channel state information report. Exemplarily, the configuration information may be carried in radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0087] It should be noted that when the network device sends N reference signals and configuration information to the terminal, the N reference signals and configuration information are carried in different signaling and sent; and, when the network device sends N reference signals and configuration information to the terminal, it can first send N reference signals and then send the configuration information, or it can first send the configuration information and then send N reference signals, or it can send N reference signals and configuration information synchronously, and this application does not limit this.

[0088] S303: The terminal performs channel measurement on N reference signals based on the configuration information to obtain a channel state information report.

[0089] After receiving N reference signals and configuration information from a network device, the terminal can perform channel measurement on the N reference signals based on the configuration information to obtain a channel state information report. That is, the channel state information report is obtained by the terminal performing channel measurement on the N reference signals based on the configuration information.

[0090] If the channel state information report includes M channel state information sets, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N, the terminal may first measure the reference signal received power of each of the N reference signals separately, and determine the reference signals corresponding to the top M reference signal received powers from the N reference signal received powers in descending order, and measure other channel state information for each of these M reference signals to obtain a channel state information report.

[0091] S304: The terminal sends a channel state information report to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the channel state information report from the terminal.

[0092] Based on the configuration information from the network device, the terminal may send a channel state information report to the network device, where the channel state information report includes M channel state information sets. The network device may determine appropriate hybrid precoding information based on the channel state information report to perform hybrid precoding on the data to be transmitted.

[0093] The following describes in detail the configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal and the channel state information report sent by the terminal to the network device for different scenarios.

[0094] The first scenario: the configuration information is used to configure the terminal to feedback M reference signal resource indications and the rank indication and channel quality indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report; M is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0095] In this scenario, the N reference signals sent by the network device to the terminal can be signals that use the same digital precoding and different analog precoding. When the terminal performs channel measurement on the N reference signals based on the configuration information, it can first measure the reference signal received power of each of the N reference signals, and then determine the reference signals corresponding to the top M reference signal received powers in descending order of the N reference signal received powers. For each of these M reference signals, channel state information such as rank indication and channel quality indication is measured to obtain a channel state information report. The channel state information report includes M channel state information sets, each reference signal resource indication is associated with a channel state information set; each channel state information set includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication and channel quality indication associated with the reference signal resource indication.

[0096] In this way, if a network device wants to obtain different analog precoding for transmitting N reference signals under the same digital precoding, it can configure the terminal in the configuration information to feedback M reference signal resource indicators and the rank indicator and channel quality indicator associated with each reference signal resource indicator in the channel state information report. This facilitates the network device to select the appropriate number of MIMO layers (or number of MIMO streams) and modulation and coding strategy when subsequently scheduling the data channel. In this case, the configuration information does not configure the terminal to feedback the precoding matrix indicator in the channel state information report.

[0097] The second scenario: the configuration information is used to configure the terminal to feed back M reference signal resource indicators and the rank indicator, channel quality indicator, and precoding matrix indicator associated with each reference signal resource indicator in a channel state information report.

[0098] In this scenario, the N reference signals sent by the network device to the terminal may be signals that use different analog precoding instead of digital precoding. When the terminal performs channel measurement on the N reference signals based on the configuration information, it may first measure the reference signal received power of each of the N reference signals, and then determine the reference signals corresponding to the top M reference signal received powers in descending order of the N reference signal received powers. For each of these M reference signals, channel state information such as rank indication, channel quality indication, and precoding matrix indication is measured to obtain a channel state information report. The channel state information report includes M channel state information sets, each reference signal resource indication is associated with a channel state information set; each channel state information set includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication, channel quality indication, and precoding matrix indication associated with the reference signal resource indication.

[0099] In this way, the network device can obtain the rank indication, channel quality indication, and precoding matrix indication from the terminal for digital precoding, and can also obtain the reference signal resource indication from the terminal for analog precoding. The configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal can configure the terminal to feedback both the channel state information corresponding to analog precoding and the channel state information corresponding to digital precoding in the channel state information report, so that the network device can send a configuration information to the terminal and obtain a channel state information report fed back by the terminal. Based on the channel state information report fed back by the terminal, the network device selects one of the M channel state information sets to perform hybrid precoding on the data to be transmitted.

[0100] In the first and second scenarios described above, the configuration information is further used to configure whether the terminal needs to feed back the reference signal received power associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report.

[0101] If the configuration information is also used to configure the terminal not to feedback the reference signal received power associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report, then in the first scenario described above, the channel state information report includes M channel state information sets, each of which includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication and channel quality indication associated with the reference signal resource indication. In the second scenario described above, the channel state information report includes M channel state information sets, each of which includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication, channel quality indication, and precoding matrix indication associated with the reference signal resource indication.

[0102] If the configuration information is also used to configure the terminal to feedback the reference signal received power associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report. In the first scenario mentioned above, the channel state information report includes M channel state information sets, each channel state information set includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication, a channel quality indication, and a reference signal received power associated with the reference signal resource indication. In the second scenario mentioned above, the channel state information report includes M channel state information sets, each channel state information set includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication, a channel quality indication, a precoding matrix indication, and a reference signal received power associated with the reference signal resource indication. In this way, the network device can obtain the rank indication, the channel quality indication, and the precoding matrix indication from the terminal for digital precoding, and can also obtain the reference signal resource indication and the reference signal received power from the terminal for analog precoding.

[0103] In the first and second scenarios described above, the configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feed back reference signal received powers associated with some reference signal resource indications among the M reference signal resource indications in a channel state information report.

[0104] If the configuration information is also used to configure the terminal to feedback the reference signal received power associated with some reference signal resource indications among the M reference signal resource indications in the channel state information report, then in the first scenario above, the channel state information report includes M channel state information sets, each reference signal resource indication is associated with one channel state information set, each channel state information set in the M channel state information sets includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication and a channel quality indication associated with the reference signal resource indication; some of the M channel state information sets also include reference signal received power, and another part of the M channel state information sets does not include reference signal received power.

[0105] If the configuration information is also used to configure the terminal to feedback the reference signal received power associated with some reference signal resource indications among the M reference signal resource indications in the channel state information report, then in the above-mentioned second scenario, the channel state information report includes M channel state information sets, each reference signal resource indication is associated with one channel state information set, each channel state information set in the M channel state information sets includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication, a channel quality indication, and a precoding matrix indication associated with the reference signal resource indication; some of the M channel state information sets also include reference signal received power, and another part of the M channel state information sets does not include reference signal received power.

[0106] In a case where the configuration information is also used to configure the terminal to need to feedback, in a channel state information report, the reference signal received power associated with some reference signal resource indications in the M reference signal resource indications, an implementation method is that the configuration information is specifically used to configure the terminal not to need to feedback, in the channel state information report, a reference signal received power that is less than a second threshold.

[0107] After the terminal measures the reference signal received power of each of the N reference signals and determines the top M reference signal received powers from the N reference signal received powers in descending order, if the reference signal received power of any one of the top M reference signal received powers is less than a second threshold, then the reference signal received power does not need to be fed back in the channel state information report. The second threshold can be configured by the network device.

[0108] In the case where the configuration information is also used to configure the terminal to need to feedback the reference signal received power associated with some reference signal resource indications in the channel state information report, another implementation method is that the configuration information is specifically used to configure the terminal not to need to feedback the reference signal received power less than the power difference in the channel state information report; the power difference is the difference between the maximum value of the reference signal received power associated with the M reference signal resource indications and the first threshold.

[0109] After the terminal measures the reference signal received power of each of the N reference signals and determines the top M reference signal received powers from the N reference signal received powers in descending order, if the reference signal received power of any one of the M top reference signal received powers is less than the power difference obtained by subtracting a first threshold from the maximum value of the M top reference signal received powers, then the reference signal received power does not need to be fed back in the channel state information report. The first threshold can be configured by the network device.

[0110] In addition, the configuration information is also used to configure whether the terminal needs to feed back the layer indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report.

[0111] If the configuration information is also used to configure the terminal not to feedback the layer indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report, then in the first scenario described above, the channel state information report includes M channel state information sets, each of which includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication and channel quality indication associated with the reference signal resource indication. In the second scenario described above, the channel state information report includes M channel state information sets, each of which includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication, channel quality indication, and precoding matrix indication associated with the reference signal resource indication.

[0112] If the configuration information is also used to configure the terminal to feedback the layer indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report, then in the first scenario mentioned above, the channel state information report includes M channel state information sets, each of which includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication, channel quality indication, and layer indication associated with the reference signal resource indication. In the second scenario mentioned above, the channel state information report includes M channel state information sets, each of which includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication, channel quality indication, precoding matrix indication, and layer indication associated with the reference signal resource indication.

[0113] In summary, the channel state information report includes multiple channel state information sets, each reference signal resource indication is associated with a channel state information set; each channel state information set includes at least one of a reference signal resource indication, a rank indication associated with the reference signal resource indication, a layer indication associated with the reference signal resource indication, a precoding matrix indication associated with the reference signal resource indication, a channel quality indication associated with the reference signal resource indication, and a reference signal received power associated with the reference signal resource indication. In this case, the channel state information includes broadband-related channel state information, that is, the channel quality indication is a broadband channel state indication, and the precoding matrix indication is a broadband precoding matrix indication. Broadband-related channel state information is beneficial for reducing the feedback overhead and computational complexity of the terminal.

[0114] Furthermore, each channel state information set includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication and a channel quality indication associated with the reference signal resource indication. In addition, each channel state information set also includes at least one of a layer indication, a precoding matrix indication, and a reference signal received power associated with the reference signal resource indication.

[0115] If the channel state information reports fed back by multiple terminals to the network device only include one channel state information set, such as the channel state information reports fed back by the first terminal and the second terminal only include one channel state information set, the analog precoding information determined by the network device based on the channel state information set fed back by the first terminal and the second terminal may be different. This will result in the network device being unable to generate two analog beams at the same time, and the network device being unable to support sending data to the first terminal and the second terminal at the same time.

[0116] Therefore, the channel state information report fed back by the terminal to the network device in the embodiment of the present application may include multiple channel state information sets. For example, the channel state information report fed back by the first terminal and the second terminal to the network device may include multiple channel state information sets. Based on the multiple channel state information sets fed back by the first terminal and the second terminal, the network device can determine that the beams sent to the first terminal and the second terminal at the same time can use the same analog precoding and different digital precoding. Then, the network device can generate two beams at the same time, so that the network device can support sending data to the first terminal and the second terminal at the same time.

[0117] In an embodiment of the present application, the individual channel state information included in each channel state information set is arranged in a first order or a second order; the first order is: reference signal resource indication, rank indication, layer indication, precoding matrix indication, channel quality indication and reference signal received power; the second order is: reference signal resource indication, reference signal received power, rank indication, layer indication, precoding matrix indication and channel quality indication.

[0118] In the case that each channel state information set includes a reference signal resource indication, a rank indication associated with the reference signal resource indication, a layer indication associated with the reference signal resource indication, a precoding matrix indication associated with the reference signal resource indication, a channel quality indication associated with the reference signal resource indication, and a reference signal received power associated with the reference signal resource indication, the individual channel state information arranged in the first order are, from first to last, the reference signal resource indication, the rank indication, the layer indication, the first part of the precoding information in the precoding matrix indication, the second part of the precoding information in the precoding matrix indication, the channel quality indication, and the reference signal received power.

[0119] It should be noted that the terminal may not need to feed back reference signal resource indication, rank indication, layer indication, precoding matrix indication, channel quality indication and part of the channel state information of reference signal received power to the network device.

[0120] For example, if the configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal is used to configure the terminal not to feedback the reference signal received power associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report, then the reference signal received power in the above-mentioned channel state information arranged in the first order does not need to be fed back. In this case, the channel state information arranged in the first order are, from earliest to latest, the following: reference signal resource indication, rank indication, layer indication, the first part of precoding information in the precoding matrix indication, the second part of precoding information in the precoding matrix indication, and the channel quality indication.

[0121] Alternatively, if the configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal does not configure the terminal to feedback the precoding matrix indication in the channel state information report, then, among the various channel state information arranged in the first order, the first part of the precoding information in the precoding matrix indication and the second part of the precoding information in the precoding matrix indication do not need to be fed back. In this case, the various channel state information arranged in the first order are, from earliest to latest, the reference signal resource indication, the rank indication, the layer indication, the channel quality indication, and the reference signal received power.

[0122] In the case that each channel state information set includes a reference signal resource indication, a rank indication associated with the reference signal resource indication, a layer indication associated with the reference signal resource indication, a precoding matrix indication associated with the reference signal resource indication, a channel quality indication associated with the reference signal resource indication, and a reference signal received power associated with the reference signal resource indication, the individual channel state information arranged in the second order are, from first to last, the reference signal resource indication, the reference signal received power, the rank indication, the layer indication, the first part of the precoding information in the precoding matrix indication, the second part of the precoding information in the precoding matrix indication, and the channel quality indication.

[0123] It should be noted that the terminal may not need to feed back reference signal resource indication, rank indication, layer indication, precoding matrix indication, channel quality indication and part of the channel state information of reference signal received power to the network device.

[0124] For example, if the configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal is used to configure the terminal not to feedback the reference signal received power associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report, then the reference signal received power in each channel state information arranged in the second order does not need to be fed back. In this case, the channel state information arranged in the second order are, from earliest to latest, the following: reference signal resource indication, rank indication, layer indication, the first part of precoding information in the precoding matrix indication, the second part of precoding information in the precoding matrix indication, and the channel quality indication.

[0125] Alternatively, if the configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal does not configure the terminal to feedback the precoding matrix indication in the channel state information report, then the channel state information arranged in the second order, the first part of the precoding information in the precoding matrix indication, and the second part of the precoding information in the precoding matrix indication do not need to be fed back. In this case, the channel state information arranged in the second order are, from earliest to latest, the reference signal resource indication, the reference signal received power, the rank indication, the layer indication, and the channel quality indication.

[0126] When the terminal feeds back a channel state information report to the network device, the individual channel state information included in each channel state information set in the channel state information report may be arranged in the first order or the second order described above. The first order is to place the reference signal received power last, and the second order is to place the reference signal received power second.

[0127] By arranging the channel state information included in each channel state information set with the channel state information having a higher priority at the front, the channel state information having a higher priority has a lower bit error rate when the network device decodes the channel state information.

[0128] In some embodiments, the channel state information report includes multiple channel state information sets; the reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set among the multiple channel state information sets is an absolute value (absolute value); the reference signal received power included in other channel state information sets among the multiple channel state information sets except the first channel state information set is a relative value (relative value) of the reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set.

[0129] Therefore, the reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set reports an absolute value, which is the actual measurement value after the channel measurement. The reference signal received power included in other channel state information sets reports a relative value calculated relative to the reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set. The relative value can also be called a differential value, that is, the value of the reference signal received power included in other channel state information sets when reported is the difference between the absolute value corresponding to the reference signal received power included in the other channel state information sets and the absolute value corresponding to the reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set. This helps reduce feedback overhead.

[0130] For example, FIG4 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG4 , the communication method may specifically include the following steps:

[0131] S401: A network device sends N reference signals to a terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the N reference signals from the network device.

[0132] The implementation of this step is similar to that of the above-mentioned S301, and will not be described again here to avoid repetition.

[0133] S402: The network device sends configuration information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the configuration information from the network device.

[0134] The implementation of this step is similar to the implementation of S302 above, and will not be described again here to avoid repetition.

[0135] S403: The network device sends instruction information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the instruction information from the network device.

[0136] The network device may further send indication information to the terminal. Exemplarily, the indication information may be carried in any one of RRC signaling, media access control control element (MAC CE) signaling, and downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

[0137] S404: The terminal performs channel measurement on N reference signals based on the configuration information and the indication information to obtain a channel state information report.

[0138] After receiving N reference signals, configuration information, and indication information from a network device, the terminal can perform channel measurement on the N reference signals based on the configuration information and indication information to obtain a channel state information report. That is, the channel state information report is obtained by the terminal performing channel measurement on the N reference signals based on the configuration information and indication information.

[0139] S405: The terminal sends a channel state information report to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the channel state information report from the terminal.

[0140] The terminal may send a channel state information report to the network device based on the configuration information and instruction information from the network device. The network device may determine appropriate hybrid precoding information based on the channel state information report to perform hybrid precoding on the data to be transmitted.

[0141] In one case, the indication information is used to indicate that the terminal does not need to feed back the reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report. In this way, the terminal does not need to feed back the reference signal resource indication when feeding back the channel state information report to the network device a certain time after receiving the indication information.

[0142] In the first scenario mentioned above, that is, the configuration information is used to configure the terminal to feedback M reference signal resource indications and the rank indication and channel quality indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report, and the configuration information does not configure the terminal to feedback the precoding matrix indication in the channel state information report. In this scenario, the network device may have fixed digital precoding and analog precoding at the same time (or turned off the analog precoding function), then the network device can send indication information to the terminal to indicate that the terminal does not need to feedback the reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report. At this time, the network device only needs the terminal to feedback the channel state information under fixed digital precoding and fixed analog precoding. In this case, the channel state information report only includes one channel state information set, and the channel state information includes a rank indication and a channel quality indication.

[0143] In the second scenario mentioned above, that is, the configuration information is used to configure the terminal to feedback M reference signal resource indications and the rank indication, channel quality indication and precoding matrix indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report. The network device may have turned off the analog precoding function (or fixedly used the same analog precoding). The network device can send indication information to the terminal to indicate that the terminal does not need to feedback the reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report. At this time, the network device only requires the terminal to feedback the channel state information related to digital precoding. In this case, the channel state information report only includes one channel state information set, and the channel state information includes a rank indication, a channel quality indication and a precoding matrix indication.

[0144] When a network device sends an indication to a terminal, and the indication is used to indicate that the terminal does not need to feedback a reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report, the terminal can perform channel measurement based on one of N reference signals to obtain a channel state information report. This helps reduce the computational complexity and power consumption of the terminal.

[0145] In one implementation, the indication information is used to instruct the terminal, in a channel state information report, that when a reference signal resource indication is not required to be fed back, the terminal should, by default, perform channel measurement on a reference signal with a smallest index among N reference signals. The channel state information report is obtained by the terminal performing channel measurement on the reference signal with the smallest index among the N reference signals. In this case, S404 may specifically include the following step: performing channel measurement on the reference signal with the smallest index among the N reference signals to obtain the channel state information report.

[0146] To distinguish different reference signals, each reference signal may correspond to an index. The terminal may perform channel measurement on a reference signal with the smallest index (or the lowest index) among the N reference signals to obtain a channel state information report.

[0147] In another implementation, when the terminal is not required to provide a reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report, the indication information includes reference signal indication information. The reference signal indication information indicates a reference signal that the terminal needs to perform channel measurement. The reference signal indication information is provided by the network device to the terminal.

[0148] The network device may use the reference signal indication information in the indication information to indicate a reference signal for the terminal to perform channel measurement, and perform channel measurement based on the reference signal indicated by the reference signal indication information to obtain a channel state information report.

[0149] In another case, the indication information is used to instruct the terminal to feedback P reference signal resource indications in the channel state information report; P is an integer greater than 1 and less than M. In this way, a certain time after receiving the indication information, the terminal can feedback P reference signal resource indications when feeding back the channel state information report to the network device.

[0150] In this case, the channel state information report includes P channel state information sets, with each reference signal resource indication associated with one channel state information set. Specifically, the terminal may first measure the reference signal received power of each of the N reference signals, and then, in descending order of the N reference signal received powers, determine the reference signals corresponding to the top P reference signal received powers. The terminal then measures other channel state information for each of these P reference signals to obtain a channel state information report.

[0151] In this way, when the network device sends N reference signals and configuration information to the terminal, and the configuration information is used to configure the terminal to feedback M reference signal resource indications in the channel state information report, when the terminal feeds back M reference signal resource indications to the network device, the terminal needs to measure other channel state information corresponding to the M reference signal resource indications, resulting in high computational complexity and power consumption of the terminal; and when the network device sends indication information to the terminal again to instruct the terminal to feed back P reference signal resource indications in the channel state information report, the terminal needs to measure other channel state information corresponding to the P reference signal resource indications, and other channel state information corresponding to the MP reference signal resource indications does not need to be measured, which is beneficial to reducing the computational complexity and power consumption of the terminal.

[0152] For example, FIG5 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG5 , the communication method may specifically include the following steps:

[0153] S501: A network device sends N reference signals to a terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the N reference signals from the network device.

[0154] S502: The network device sends configuration information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the configuration information from the network device.

[0155] S503: The terminal performs channel measurement on N reference signals based on the configuration information to obtain a channel state information report.

[0156] S504: The terminal sends a channel state information report to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the channel state information report from the terminal.

[0157] The implementation of S501 to S504 is similar to the implementation of S301 to S304 described above, and will not be described again here to avoid repetition.

[0158] S505: The terminal sends auxiliary information to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the auxiliary information from the terminal.

[0159] The assistance information is used to inform the network device of the maximum number of channel state information sets allowed or expected to be included in the channel state information report, that is, the assistance information is used to inform the network device of the number of channel state information sets included in the channel state information report. Exemplarily, the assistance information can be carried in user equipment assistance information (UE assistance information) signaling.

[0160] Furthermore, the auxiliary information may also be used to inform the network device of the maximum number of reference signals allowed or expected to be configured when obtaining a channel state information report.

[0161] Furthermore, the auxiliary information can also be used to notify the network device of at least one of the following information: whether broadband-related channel state information is allowed or expected to be carried in the channel state information report, and whether broadband-related channel state information and subband-related channel state information are allowed or expected to be carried in the channel state information report.

[0162] The terminal can actively send auxiliary information to the network device based on its own processing capability to inform the network device of the current processing capability of the terminal.

[0163] It should be understood that there is no fixed order between the step of the terminal sending auxiliary information to the network device and the step of the terminal sending the channel state information report to the network device. In some embodiments, the network device periodically sends configuration information to the terminal to periodically receive the channel state information report from the network device. Therefore, if the terminal sends the channel state information report after sending the auxiliary information to the network device, the network device can determine the number of reference signals for measuring other channel state information that the terminal needs to determine from the reference signal received power of each of the N reference signals in the next period based on the auxiliary information, and the next time the configuration information is sent to the terminal, the number of reference signals for measuring other channel state information that the terminal needs to determine from the reference signal received power of each of the N reference signals when the terminal measures the reference signal received power of each of the N reference signals. That is, the number of channel state information sets that the terminal needs to feedback in the channel state information report can be configured.

[0164] For example, in certain scenarios, such as when a terminal sends auxiliary information to a network device, and the auxiliary information is used to notify the network device of the number of channel state information sets included in a channel state information report, the network device may send indication information based on the auxiliary information to instruct the terminal to feed back P reference signal resource indications in the channel state information report. Since P is less than M, the computational complexity and power consumption of the terminal can be reduced.

[0165] In some embodiments, the network device may further send an interference measurement signal to the terminal, where the interference measurement signal is a signal used to measure the interference strength between links in different directions. The interference measurement signal is used for interference measurement of channel state information reporting.

[0166] The network device may send an interference measurement signal to the terminal based on the interference measurement resource, where the interference measurement resource is a resource configured by the network device for sending the interference measurement signal.

[0167] Typically, a network device can simultaneously use multiple beams to transmit data for multiple terminals, with each beam corresponding to a single terminal. For example, a network device uses beam 1 and beam 2 to transmit data for a first terminal and a second terminal, respectively. The first terminal receives data transmitted on beam 1, and the second terminal receives data transmitted on beam 2. The first terminal also receives signals on beam 2, and the second terminal also receives signals on beam 1. The signal received by the first terminal on beam 2 is called the interference measurement signal corresponding to the first terminal, and the signal received by the second terminal on beam 1 is called the interference measurement signal corresponding to the second terminal.

[0168] A reference signal for channel measurement can be associated with L interference measurement signals, where L is an integer greater than or equal to 1. For example, a terminal uses a reference signal for channel measurement and L interference measurement signals to obtain corresponding channel state information. This is because a reference signal for channel measurement may be subject to interference from multiple signals, for example, if the L interference measurement signals correspond to different transmission beams.

[0169] Specifically, the terminal may calculate a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) based on the reference signal and L interference measurement signals, and determine a channel quality indicator based on the calculated SINR to obtain corresponding channel state information.

[0170] It can be understood that when the network device does not send the interference measurement signal to the terminal, the channel quality indication is only affected by noise; when the network device sends the interference measurement signal to the terminal, the channel quality indication is affected by noise and interference.

[0171] The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described above in combination with Figures 3 to 5. The communication device for executing the above communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described below.

[0172] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 6, the communication device 600 may include a processing unit 601 and a transceiver unit 602. The transceiver unit 602 may communicate with the outside world, and the processing unit 601 is used to perform processing, such as channel measurement. The transceiver unit 602 may also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit. The transceiver unit 602 may be used to perform the transceiver actions performed by the terminal in the above-described method embodiment, or the transceiver unit 602 may be used to perform the transceiver actions performed by the network device in the above-described method embodiment.

[0173] For example, the transceiver unit 602 may include a sending unit and a receiving unit, which are respectively used to perform the sending and receiving steps of the terminal or network device in the above method embodiment.

[0174] In one implementation, a communication device 600 is used to implement the functions performed by the terminal in the above-described method embodiments. The communication device 600 may be the terminal itself, or a chip, chipset, or portion of a chip in the terminal that performs the functions of the related methods. The transceiver unit 602 is used to perform the transceiver-related operations on the terminal side in the above-described method embodiments, and the processing unit 601 is used to perform the processing-related operations on the terminal side in the above-described method embodiments.

[0175] For example, the transceiver unit 602 is used to receive N reference signals from the network device, where N is an integer greater than 1; the transceiver unit 602 is used to receive configuration information from the network device, where the configuration information is used to configure the terminal to feedback M reference signal resource indications and a rank indication and a channel quality indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N; the processing unit 601 is used to perform channel measurement on the N reference signals based on the configuration information to obtain a channel state information report; the transceiver unit 602 is used to send a channel state information report to the network device.

[0176] In a possible implementation, the configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feed back a precoding matrix indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report.

[0177] In a possible implementation, the configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feed back the reference signal received power associated with each reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report.

[0178] In a possible implementation, the configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feed back reference signal received powers associated with some reference signal resource indications among the M reference signal resource indications in a channel state information report.

[0179] In one possible implementation, the configuration information is specifically used to configure the terminal not to feedback a reference signal received power that is less than a power difference in a channel state information report, where the power difference is the difference between the maximum value of the reference signal received powers associated with M reference signal resource indications and a first threshold.

[0180] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 602 is further configured to receive indication information from a network device.

[0181] In a possible implementation manner, the indication information is used to indicate that the terminal does not need to feed back a reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report.

[0182] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 601 is specifically configured to perform channel measurement on a reference signal with the smallest index among the N reference signals to obtain a channel state information report.

[0183] In a possible implementation manner, the indication information includes reference signal indication information; the reference signal indication information is used to indicate a reference signal for which the terminal needs to perform channel measurement.

[0184] In a possible implementation manner, the indication information is used to instruct the terminal to feed back P reference signal resource indications in a channel state information report; P is an integer greater than 1 and less than M.

[0185] In one possible implementation, the channel state information report includes multiple channel state information sets, each reference signal resource indication is associated with a channel state information set; each channel state information set includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication and a channel quality indication associated with the reference signal resource indication.

[0186] In one possible implementation, each channel state information set also includes at least one of a layer indication, a precoding matrix indication, and a reference signal received power associated with a reference signal resource indication; and, the individual channel state information included in each channel state information set are arranged in a first order or a second order; the first order is: reference signal resource indication, rank indication, layer indication, precoding matrix indication, channel quality indication, and reference signal received power; the second order is: reference signal resource indication, reference signal received power, rank indication, layer indication, precoding matrix indication, and channel quality indication.

[0187] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 602 is further configured to send auxiliary information to the network device; the auxiliary information is used to notify the network device of the number of channel state information sets included in the channel state information report.

[0188] In one possible implementation, the channel state information report includes multiple channel state information sets; the reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set among the multiple channel state information sets is an absolute value; the reference signal received power included in other channel state information sets among the multiple channel state information sets except the first channel state information set is a relative value of the reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set.

[0189] In another implementation, a communication device 600 is used to implement the functions performed by the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments. The communication device 600 can be the network device itself, or a chip, chipset, or a portion of a chip in the network device that is used to perform the functions of the related methods. The transceiver unit 602 is used to perform the transceiver-related operations on the network device side in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and the processing unit 601 is used to perform the processing-related operations on the network device side in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0190] For example, the transceiver unit 602 is used to send N reference signals to the terminal, where N is an integer greater than 1; the transceiver unit 602 is used to send configuration information to the terminal, where the configuration information is used to configure the terminal to feedback M reference signal resource indications and a rank indication and a channel quality indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N; the transceiver unit 602 is used to receive a channel state information report from the terminal, where the channel state information report is obtained by the terminal performing channel measurement on the N reference signals based on the configuration information.

[0191] In a possible implementation, the configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feed back a precoding matrix indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report.

[0192] In a possible implementation, the configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feed back the reference signal received power associated with each reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report.

[0193] In a possible implementation, the configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feed back reference signal received powers associated with some reference signal resource indications among the M reference signal resource indications in a channel state information report.

[0194] In one possible implementation, the configuration information is specifically used to configure the terminal not to feedback a reference signal received power that is less than a power difference in a channel state information report, where the power difference is the difference between the maximum value of the reference signal received powers associated with M reference signal resource indications and a first threshold.

[0195] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 602 is further configured to send indication information to the terminal.

[0196] In a possible implementation manner, the indication information is used to indicate that the terminal does not need to feed back a reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report.

[0197] In a possible implementation manner, the channel state information report is obtained by the terminal performing channel measurement on a reference signal with the smallest index among N reference signals.

[0198] In a possible implementation manner, the indication information includes reference signal indication information; the reference signal indication information is used to indicate a reference signal for which the terminal needs to perform channel measurement.

[0199] In a possible implementation manner, the indication information is used to instruct the terminal to feed back P reference signal resource indications in a channel state information report; P is an integer greater than 1 and less than M.

[0200] In one possible implementation, the channel state information report includes multiple channel state information sets, each reference signal resource indication is associated with a channel state information set; each channel state information set includes a reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication and a channel quality indication associated with the reference signal resource indication.

[0201] In one possible implementation, each channel state information set also includes at least one of a layer indication, a precoding matrix indication, and a reference signal received power associated with a reference signal resource indication; and, the individual channel state information included in each channel state information set are arranged in a first order or a second order; the first order is: reference signal resource indication, rank indication, layer indication, precoding matrix indication, channel quality indication, and reference signal received power; the second order is: reference signal resource indication, reference signal received power, rank indication, layer indication, precoding matrix indication, and channel quality indication.

[0202] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 602 is further configured to receive auxiliary information from the terminal; the auxiliary information is used to notify the network device of the number of channel state information sets included in the channel state information report.

[0203] In one possible implementation, the channel state information report includes multiple channel state information sets; the reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set among the multiple channel state information sets is an absolute value; the reference signal received power included in other channel state information sets among the multiple channel state information sets except the first channel state information set is a relative value of the reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set.

[0204] It should be understood that the division of units in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application can be integrated into a processor, or they can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated units can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional units. It is understood that the functions or implementations of the various units in the embodiments of the present application can be further referred to the relevant description of the method embodiment.

[0205] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Referring to Figure 7, the communication device 700 can be a communication device or a chip in a communication device, wherein the communication device can be a terminal or a network device.

[0206] As shown in FIG7 , the communication device 700 may include a processor 701 , a communication interface 702 , and a memory 703 . The processing unit 601 may be the processor 701 , and the transceiver unit 602 may be the communication interface 702 .

[0207] The processor 701 can be a central processing unit (CPU), or a digital processing module, etc. The communication interface 702 can be a transceiver, or an interface circuit such as a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver chip, etc. The memory 703 is used to store the program executed by the processor 701. The memory 703 can be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc., or a volatile memory (volatile memory), such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory 703 is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to this.

[0208] The processor 701 is used to execute the program code stored in the memory 703, specifically to execute the actions of the processing unit 601, which will not be described in detail in this application. The communication interface 702 is used to execute the actions of the transceiver unit 602, which will not be described in detail in this application.

[0209] The communication interface 702, the processor 701, and the memory 703 can communicate with each other through an internal connection path to transmit control and / or data signals. The memory 703 is used to store computer programs, and the processor 701 is used to call and execute the computer programs from the memory 703 to control the communication interface 702 to send and receive signals. Optionally, the communication device 700 may further include an antenna for transmitting data or control signaling or information or messages output by the communication interface 702 via wireless signals.

[0210] The processor 701 and the memory 703 may be combined into a processing device, and the processor 701 is configured to execute the program code stored in the memory 703 to implement the above functions. In a specific implementation, the memory 703 may also be integrated into the processor 701 or independent of the processor 701. The processor 701 may correspond to the processing unit 601 in FIG. 6 .

[0211] The communication interface 702 may correspond to the transceiver unit 602 in FIG6 and may also be referred to as a transceiver. The communication interface 702 may include a receiver (or receiver, receiving circuit) and a transmitter (or transmitter, transmitting circuit). The receiver is used to receive signals, and the transmitter is used to transmit signals.

[0212] The specific connection medium between the communication interface 702, processor 701, and memory 703 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In Figure 7, the memory 703, processor 701, and communication interface 702 are connected via bus 704. The bus is represented by a bold line in Figure 7. The connection between other components is only for illustrative purposes and is not intended to be limiting. Bus 704 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, Figure 7 only uses a single bold line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0213] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the steps executed by the terminal in the above method embodiment are implemented, or the steps executed by the network device in the above method embodiment are executed.

[0214] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, including a computer program. When the computer program is run, it enables the computer to execute the steps performed by the terminal in the above method embodiment, or execute the steps performed by the network device in the above method embodiment.

[0215] According to the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, which includes the above-mentioned terminal and network equipment.

[0216] The present application embodiment is described with reference to the flow chart and / or block diagram according to the method, device (system) and computer program product of the embodiment of the present application.It should be understood that each flow process and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram and the combination of the flow process and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram can be realized by computer program instructions.These computer program instructions can be provided to the processing unit of general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processing machine or other programmable data processing equipment to produce a machine, so that the instruction executed by the processing unit of computer or other programmable data processing equipment produces the device for realizing the function specified in one flow chart flow chart or multiple flow charts and / or one block or multiple blocks of block diagram.

[0217] The above specific implementation methods further illustrate the purpose, technical solutions and beneficial effects of this application in detail. It should be understood that the above are only specific implementation methods of this application and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made on the basis of the technical solutions of this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to terminals, including: Receiving N reference signals from a network device, wherein N is an integer greater than 1; receiving configuration information from the network device; the configuration information is used to configure the terminal to feedback M reference signal resource indications and a rank indication and a channel quality indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report; where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N; Performing channel measurement on the N reference signals based on the configuration information to obtain the channel state information report; Sending the channel state information report to the network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feed back a precoding matrix indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feed back the reference signal received power associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feed back reference signal received powers associated with some of the reference signal resource indicators among the M reference signal resource indicators in the channel state information report.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The configuration information is specifically used to configure the terminal not to feed back a reference signal received power less than a power difference value in the channel state information report; the power difference value is the difference between a maximum value of the reference signal received powers associated with the M reference signal resource indications and a first threshold.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive instruction information from the network device.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The indication information is used to indicate that the terminal does not need to feed back the reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The performing channel measurement on the N reference signals based on the configuration information to obtain the channel state information report includes: Channel measurement is performed on a reference signal with a smallest index among the N reference signals to obtain the channel state information report.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The indication information includes reference signal indication information; the reference signal indication information is used to indicate a reference signal on which the terminal needs to perform channel measurement.

10. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The indication information is used to instruct the terminal to feed back P reference signal resource indications in the channel state information report; the P is an integer greater than 1 and less than M.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein The channel state information report includes multiple channel state information sets, and each reference signal resource indication is associated with one channel state information set; Each of the channel state information sets includes the reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication and a channel quality indication associated with the reference signal resource indication.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that Each of the channel state information sets further includes at least one of a layer indicator, a precoding matrix indicator, and a reference signal received power associated with the reference signal resource indicator; Moreover, each channel state information set includes individual channel state information that is arranged in a first order or a second order; the first order is: the reference signal resource indication, the rank indication, the layer indication, the precoding matrix indication, the channel quality indication, and the reference signal received power; the second order is: the reference signal resource indication, the reference signal received power, the rank indication, the layer indication, the precoding matrix indication, and the channel quality indication.

13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The method further comprises: Auxiliary information is sent to the network device; the auxiliary information is used to notify the network device of the number of the channel state information sets included in the channel state information report.

14. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The channel state information report includes multiple channel state information sets; The reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set among the multiple channel state information sets is an absolute value; the reference signal received power included in other channel state information sets among the multiple channel state information sets except the first channel state information set is a relative value of the reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set.

15. A communication method, characterized in that: Applicable to network equipment, including: Sending N reference signals to the terminal, where N is an integer greater than 1; Sending configuration information to the terminal; the configuration information is used to configure the terminal to feedback M reference signal resource indications and a rank indication and a channel quality indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in a channel state information report; where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N; Receive the channel state information report from the terminal; the channel state information report is obtained by the terminal performing channel measurement on the N reference signals based on the configuration information.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feed back a precoding matrix indication associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that The configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feed back the reference signal received power associated with each reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report.

18. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that The configuration information is further used to configure the terminal to feed back reference signal received powers associated with some of the reference signal resource indicators among the M reference signal resource indicators in the channel state information report.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The configuration information is specifically used to configure the terminal not to feed back a reference signal received power less than a power difference value in the channel state information report; the power difference value is the difference between a maximum value of the reference signal received powers associated with the M reference signal resource indications and a first threshold.

20. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending instruction information to the terminal.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The indication information is used to indicate that the terminal does not need to feed back the reference signal resource indication in the channel state information report.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The channel state information report is obtained by the terminal performing channel measurement on a reference signal with the smallest index among the N reference signals.

23. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The indication information includes reference signal indication information; the reference signal indication information is used to indicate a reference signal on which the terminal needs to perform channel measurement.

24. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The indication information is used to instruct the terminal to feed back P reference signal resource indications in the channel state information report; the P is an integer greater than 1 and less than M.

25. The method according to claim 15, wherein The channel state information report includes multiple channel state information sets, and each reference signal resource indication is associated with one channel state information set; Each of the channel state information sets includes the reference signal resource indication, and a rank indication and a channel quality indication associated with the reference signal resource indication.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that Each of the channel state information sets further includes at least one of a layer indicator, a precoding matrix indicator, and a reference signal received power associated with the reference signal resource indicator; Moreover, each channel state information set includes individual channel state information that is arranged in a first order or a second order; the first order is: the reference signal resource indication, the rank indication, the layer indication, the precoding matrix indication, the channel quality indication, and the reference signal received power; the second order is: the reference signal resource indication, the reference signal received power, the rank indication, the layer indication, the precoding matrix indication, and the channel quality indication.

27. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive auxiliary information from the terminal; the auxiliary information is used to notify the network device of the number of the channel state information sets included in the channel state information report.

28. The method according to claim 17, wherein The channel state information report includes multiple channel state information sets; The reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set among the multiple channel state information sets is an absolute value; the reference signal received power included in other channel state information sets among the multiple channel state information sets except the first channel state information set is a relative value of the reference signal received power included in the first channel state information set.

29. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call the computer program to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, or execute the communication method according to any one of claims 15 to 28.

30. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 14 is implemented, or the communication method according to any one of claims 15 to 28 is implemented.

31. A computer program product, characterized in that The invention comprises a computer program, which, when being executed, causes a computer to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 14; or causes a computer to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 15 to 28.

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