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

Abstract

A communication method, apparatus, and system, a chip, a chip module, and a storage medium. The method comprises: a terminal device separately sends a first uplink signal to a first network device and a second network device; the first network device sends first indication information to the terminal device, the first indication information being used for indicating at least one of the following: a path loss difference between a first path loss and a second path loss, and a received power difference between a first received power and a second received power; and, on the basis of the first indication information, the terminal device determines the second path loss. By using the solution of the present application, when the second network device does not have a downlink transmission capability, the first network device indicates the path loss difference or the received power difference to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can determine the second path loss between the terminal device and the second network device on the basis of the indication, thereby improving the accuracy of determining a path loss between the terminal device and the second network device.

Description

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

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on February 7, 2024, with application number 202410175980.2 and invention name “Communication method, device, system, chip, chip module and storage medium”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] In mobile communication systems, the transmit power of terminal devices is generally lower than that of network equipment. Consequently, the signal strength of uplink transmissions is generally lower than that of downlink transmissions. This results in some terminal devices having good downlink performance but poor uplink performance. To address this issue, one approach is to deploy low-cost uplink-only network equipment. If such equipment is nearby, the terminal device can use it for uplink transmission, thereby improving uplink performance.

[0004] As shown in Figure 1, it is a schematic diagram of a communication scenario. The first transmission reception point (TRP) is a TRP with uplink and downlink functions, and the second TRP is a TRP with only uplink function. The terminal device is closer to the second TRP. When the terminal device communicates with the first TRP, although the distance is far, the downlink signal quality is still good due to the large downlink transmission power of the first TRP; however, since the uplink transmission power of the terminal device is small and the terminal device is far away from the first TRP, the uplink signal quality is poor. In this case, the terminal device can further establish a connection with the second TRP and perform joint uplink transmission based on the first TRP and the second TRP, that is, the terminal device can transmit uplink signals to the first TRP and the second TRP to improve its uplink transmission performance.

[0005] However, how does the terminal device determine the uplink transmission power for communicating with the second TRP? The uplink transmission power is calculated based on the signal transmission path loss between the terminal device and the second TRP (i.e., the degree of energy attenuation during signal propagation, referred to as path loss (PL)). The path loss is obtained by the terminal device by receiving and measuring the path loss measurement reference signal sent by the second TRP. However, the second TRP does not have a downlink function and cannot send a path loss measurement reference signal.

[0006] Therefore, when the network device does not have a downlink function, how the terminal device obtains the path loss between it and the network device is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a communication method, apparatus, system, chip, chip module and storage medium to accurately obtain the path loss between a terminal device and a second network device.

[0008] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: sending a first uplink signal to a first network device and a second network device, respectively; receiving first indication information from the first network device, the first indication information being used to indicate at least one of the following: a path loss difference between a first path loss and a second path loss, a received power difference between a first received power and a second received power, wherein the first path loss is the path loss between a terminal device and the first network device, the second path loss is the path loss between the terminal device and the second network device, the first received power is the received power of the first uplink signal received by the first network device, and the second received power is the received power of the first uplink signal received by the second network device; and determining the second path loss based on the first indication information.

[0009] Exemplarily, “the first receiving power is the receiving power of the first uplink signal received by the first network device” can be understood as “the first receiving power is the receiving power used by the first network device to receive the first uplink signal”; “the second receiving power is the receiving power of the first uplink signal received by the second network device” can be understood as “the second receiving power is the receiving power used by the second network device to receive the first uplink signal”.

[0010] Alternatively, the method includes: sending a first uplink signal to a first network device; sending a fourth uplink signal to a second network device; receiving first indication information from the first network device, the first indication information being used to indicate at least one of the following: a path loss difference between a first path loss and a second path loss, a reception power difference between a first reception power and a second reception power, wherein the first path loss is the path loss between a terminal device and the first network device, the second path loss is the path loss between the terminal device and the second network device, the first reception power is the reception power of the first uplink signal received by the first network device, and the second reception power is the reception power of the first uplink signal received by the second network device; and determining the second path loss based on the first indication information.

[0011] Among them, the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: the path loss difference between the first path loss and the second path loss, and the received power difference between the first received power and the second received power. It can be understood that the first indication information includes at least one of the following: the path loss difference between the first path loss and the second path loss, and the received power difference between the first received power and the second received power.

[0012] In this aspect, when the second network device has no downlink transmission capability, the terminal device receives the path loss difference or receiving power difference indicated by the first network device, so that the terminal device can determine the second path loss between the terminal device and the second network device based on the indication, thereby improving the accuracy of determining the path loss between the terminal device and the second network device.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, before determining the second path loss based on the first indication information, the method further includes: receiving a first path loss resource from the first network device; and determining the first path loss between the terminal device and the first network device through the first path loss resource.

[0014] In this implementation, the transmission configuration indicator / indication-state (TCI-state) is an information unit that includes information such as the beam used for uplink and downlink transmission, path loss resources, and power control parameters. The first path loss is the path loss corresponding to the path loss resource in the first TCI-state and can be obtained by measuring the path loss resource.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in another possible implementation, determining the second path loss based on the first indication information includes: determining the second path loss according to the first path loss and the path loss difference, or determining the second path loss according to the first path loss, the receiving power difference, a first transmit power and a second transmit power, wherein the first transmit power is the transmit power corresponding to the first uplink signal sent by the terminal device to the first network device, and the second transmit power is the transmit power corresponding to the first uplink signal sent by the terminal device to the second network device.

[0016] Exemplarily, “the first transmit power is the transmit power corresponding to the first uplink signal sent by the terminal device to the first network device” can be understood as “the first transmit power is the transmit power used by the terminal device to send the first uplink signal to the first network device”; “the second transmit power is the transmit power corresponding to the first uplink signal sent by the terminal device to the second network device” can be understood as “the second transmit power is the transmit power used by the terminal device to send the first uplink signal to the second network device”.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in another possible implementation, the first transmitting power and the second power are the same.

[0018] With reference to the first aspect, in another possible implementation, the second transmit power is determined based on the first path loss.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in another possible implementation, the method further includes: sending first information to the first network device, the first information being used to indicate the transmission power of the first uplink signal, and the transmission power being used by the first network device to calculate the path loss difference.

[0020] Here, "the transmission power of the first uplink signal" refers to the above-mentioned first transmission power and second transmission power.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect, in another possible implementation, the first path loss resource is a path loss resource in a first transmission configuration indication state, and the first TCI state is the first of the two TCI states currently used by the terminal device for uplink transmission.

[0022] In combination with the first aspect, in another possible implementation, the method also includes: receiving second indication information from the first network device, the second indication information being used to indicate the updated first TCI state; sending a third uplink signal to the first network device and the second network device respectively, wherein sending the third uplink signal to the first network device is based on the updated first TCI state; and receiving third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate at least one of the following: an updated path loss difference, or an updated receiving power difference.

[0023] Exemplarily, “sending the third uplink signal to the first network device is based on the updated first TCI state” can be understood as “sending the third uplink signal to the first network device based on the updated first TCI state”.

[0024] In this implementation, after receiving the second indication information, the terminal device receives a path loss measurement reference signal from the first network device on the updated first path loss resource included in the updated first TCI state indicated by the second indication information, measures the path loss measurement reference signal, and obtains the received power of the path loss measurement reference signal. Based on the obtained transmit power of the path loss measurement reference signal and the measured received power, the terminal device calculates a new first path loss. The terminal device transmits a third uplink signal to the first network device based on the calculated new first path loss, and transmits a third uplink signal to the second network device based on the old second path loss. The terminal device receives the third indication information from the first network device, and the third indication information is calculated by the first network device based on the received third uplink signal.

[0025] In combination with the first aspect, in another possible implementation, the method further includes: using the updated path loss difference or the updated received power difference and the updated first path loss to determine an updated second path loss.

[0026] In combination with the first aspect, in another possible implementation, the method further includes: before determining the updated first TCI state, and before receiving the updated path loss difference or the updated received power difference, using the path loss difference before the update or the received power difference before the update, and the first path loss before the update to determine the second path loss.

[0027] In this implementation, as the terminal device moves, the first path loss and the path loss difference used to calculate the second path loss may change. Before determining the updated first TCI-state and receiving the updated path loss difference or the updated received power difference, the terminal device uses the old path loss difference or the old received power difference, and the old first path loss, to determine the second path loss. After determining the updated first TCI-state and receiving the updated path loss difference or the updated received power difference, the terminal device uses the new path loss difference or the new received power difference, and the new first path loss, to determine the second path loss. This improves the accuracy of the second path loss.

[0028] Exemplarily, the method can be applied to a terminal device, such as a terminal device or a communication module in the terminal device, or a circuit or chip in the terminal device responsible for communication functions (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip or system-in-package (SIP) chip containing a modem core). The above method is applied to the terminal device side as an example.

[0029] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: receiving a first uplink signal from a terminal device; and sending first indication information to the terminal device, the first indication information being used to indicate at least one of the following: a path loss difference between a first path loss and a second path loss, a reception power difference between a first reception power and a second reception power, wherein the first path loss is the path loss between the terminal device and a first network device, the second path loss is the path loss between the terminal device and a second network device, the first reception power is the reception power of the first uplink signal received by the first network device, and the second reception power is the reception power of the first uplink signal received by the second network device.

[0030] Among them, the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: the path loss difference between the first path loss and the second path loss, and the received power difference between the first received power and the second received power. It can be understood that the first indication information includes at least one of the following: the path loss difference between the first path loss and the second path loss, and the received power difference between the first received power and the second received power.

[0031] In this aspect, when the second network device has no downlink transmission capability, the first network device indicates the path loss difference or the receiving power difference to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can determine the second path loss between the terminal device and the second network device based on the indication, thereby improving the accuracy of determining the path loss between the terminal device and the second network device.

[0032] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the method further includes: sending a first path loss resource to the terminal device, and determining a first path loss between the terminal device and the first network device through the first path loss resource.

[0033] In this implementation, a TCI-state is an information unit that includes information such as the beam used for uplink and downlink transmission, path loss resources, and power control parameters. The first path loss is the path loss corresponding to the path loss resource in the first TCI-state and can be obtained by measuring the path loss resource.

[0034] In combination with the second aspect, in another possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving first information from the terminal device, the first information being used to indicate the transmission power of the first uplink signal; and calculating the path loss difference based on the transmission power.

[0035] In combination with the second aspect, in another possible implementation, the first path loss resource is a path loss resource in a first transmission configuration indication TCI state, and the first TCI state is the first of the two TCI states currently used by the terminal device for uplink transmission.

[0036] In combination with the second aspect, in another possible implementation, the method also includes: sending second indication information to the terminal device, the second indication information is used to indicate the updated first TCI state; receiving a third uplink signal from the terminal device, the third uplink signal is based on the updated first TCI state; and sending third indication information to the terminal device, the third indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: an updated path loss difference, or an updated receiving power difference.

[0037] Exemplarily, the method may be applied to a network device, or to a circuit, chip, or chip system of a network device.

[0038] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the communication method of the first aspect or any one of the implementations of the first aspect. The device may be a terminal device, a module (such as a processor, chip, or chip system) applied to a terminal device, or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0039] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the communication method in the second aspect or any one of the implementations of the second aspect. The device may be a network device, a module (such as a processor, chip, or chip system) applied to a network device, or a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the communication device in the third to fourth aspects includes a unit, module, or means for respectively executing the method in any one of the first to second aspects or any implementation thereof. The unit, module, or means may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0041] Exemplarily, the communication device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit; wherein:

[0042] When the communication device is used to implement the method in the first aspect or any one of the implementations of the first aspect, the transceiver unit is used to send a first uplink signal to the first network device and the second network device respectively; the transceiver unit is also used to receive first indication information from the first network device, the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: a path loss difference between a first path loss and a second path loss, a received power difference between a first received power and a second received power, wherein the first path loss is the path loss between the device and the first network device, the second path loss is the path loss between the device and the second network device, the first received power is the received power of the first uplink signal received by the first network device, and the second received power is the received power of the first uplink signal received by the second network device; and the processing unit is used to determine the second path loss based on the first indication information.

[0043] Alternatively, the transceiver unit is used to send a first uplink signal to the first network device; the transceiver unit is also used to send a fourth uplink signal to the second network device; the transceiver unit is also used to receive first indication information from the first network device, the first indication information being used to indicate at least one of the following: a path loss difference between a first path loss and a second path loss, a received power difference between a first received power and a second received power, wherein the first path loss is the path loss between the device and the first network device, the second path loss is the path loss between the device and the second network device, the first received power is the received power of the first uplink signal received by the first network device, and the second received power is the received power of the first uplink signal received by the second network device; and the processing unit is used to determine the second path loss based on the first indication information.

[0044] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a first path loss resource from the first network device; and the processing unit is further configured to determine a first path loss between the apparatus and the first network device using the first path loss resource.

[0045] Optionally, the processing unit is further used to determine the second path loss based on the first path loss and the path loss difference, or the processing unit is further used to determine the second path loss based on the first path loss, the receiving power difference, a first transmit power and a second transmit power, wherein the first transmit power is the transmit power corresponding to the first uplink signal sent by the terminal device to the first network device, and the second transmit power is the transmit power corresponding to the first uplink signal sent by the terminal device to the second network device.

[0046] Optionally, the first transmit power and the second transmit power are the same.

[0047] Optionally, the second transmit power is determined based on the first path loss.

[0048] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further used to send first information to the first network device, where the first information is used to indicate the transmission power of the first uplink signal, and the transmission power is used by the first network device to calculate the path loss difference.

[0049] Optionally, the first path loss resource is a path loss resource in a first transmission configuration indication TCI state, and the first TCI state is the first of two TCI states currently used by the device for uplink transmission.

[0050] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further used to receive second indication information from the first network device, the second indication information being used to indicate the updated first TCI state; the transceiver unit is further used to send a third uplink signal to the first network device and the second network device, respectively, wherein sending the third uplink signal to the first network device is based on the updated first TCI state; and the transceiver unit is further used to receive third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate at least one of the following: an updated path loss difference, or an updated receiving power difference.

[0051] Optionally, the processing unit is further configured to determine an updated second path loss by using the updated path loss difference or the updated received power difference and the updated first path loss.

[0052] Optionally, the processing unit is also used to determine the second path loss by using the path loss difference before the update or the received power difference before the update, and the first path loss before the update, before determining the updated first TCI state and before receiving the updated path loss difference or the updated received power difference.

[0053] When the communication device is used to implement the method in the second aspect or any one of the implementations of the second aspect, the transceiver unit is used to receive a first uplink signal from a terminal device; the processing unit is used to generate first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: a path loss difference between a first path loss and a second path loss, and a reception power difference between a first reception power and a second reception power, wherein the first path loss is the path loss between the terminal device and the device, the second path loss is the path loss between the terminal device and a second network device, the first reception power is the reception power of the first uplink signal received by the device, and the second reception power is the reception power of the first uplink signal received by the second network device; and the transceiver unit is also used to send the first indication information to the terminal device.

[0054] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further configured to send a first path loss resource to the terminal device; and the processing unit is further configured to determine a first path loss between the terminal device and the apparatus using the first path loss resource.

[0055] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further used to receive first information from the terminal device, where the first information is used to indicate the transmission power of the first uplink signal; and the processing unit is further used to calculate the path loss difference based on the transmission power.

[0056] Optionally, the first path loss resource is a path loss resource in a first transmission configuration indication TCI state, and the first TCI state is the first of two TCI states currently used by the terminal device for uplink transmission.

[0057] Optionally, the processing unit is further used to generate second indication information, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate the updated first TCI state; the transceiver unit is further used to send the second indication information to the terminal device; the transceiver unit is further used to receive a third uplink signal from the terminal device, wherein the third uplink signal is based on the updated first TCI state; the processing unit is further used to generate third indication information, wherein the third indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: an updated path loss difference, or an updated receiving power difference; and the transceiver unit is further used to send the third indication information to the terminal device.

[0058] In another possible implementation, the communication device in the third and fourth aspects includes a processor coupled to a memory; the processor is configured to enable the device to perform the corresponding functions in the above-mentioned communication method. The memory is coupled to the processor and stores the necessary programs (instructions) and / or data for the device. Optionally, the communication device may further include a communication interface for enabling communication between the device and other network elements. Optionally, the memory may be located inside or outside the communication device.

[0059] In another possible implementation, the communication device in the third to fourth aspects includes a processor and a transceiver, the processor being coupled to the transceiver, and the processor being used to execute a computer program or instruction to control the transceiver to receive and send information; when the processor executes the computer program or instruction, the processor is also used to implement the above method through a logic circuit or executing code instructions. The transceiver may be a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or an input / output interface, configured to receive signals from other communication devices other than the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices other than the communication device. When the communication device is a chip, the transceiver is a transceiver circuit or an input / output interface.

[0060] When the communication device in the third and fourth aspects above is a chip, the sending unit may be an output unit, such as an output circuit or a communication interface; the receiving unit may be an input unit, such as an input circuit or a communication interface. When the communication device is a terminal device, the sending unit may be a transmitter or a transmitter; and the receiving unit may be a receiver or a receiver.

[0061] In a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the methods described in the above aspects are implemented.

[0062] In a sixth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a communication device, causes the communication device to execute the methods described in the above aspects.

[0063] In a seventh aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the communication device described in the third aspect and the communication device described in the fourth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0064] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication scenario;

[0065] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of road loss measurement;

[0066] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of an open wireless access network system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of network element function division and protocol layer structure of an open wireless access network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG6 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG7 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the timing requirements for the second path loss update according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0074] The solution of this application is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0075] The following are terms that may be used in the embodiments of this application:

[0076] (1) Beam:

[0077] Beamforming is a special, directional transmission or reception effect created by the antenna array of a transmitter or receiver on a network device or terminal. Much like a flashlight focusing light in a single direction, beaming it together creates a beam. Transmitting and receiving signals using beamforming can effectively increase signal transmission distance.

[0078] Furthermore, the beam can be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or other types of beams. The beam forming technology can be beamforming technology or other technologies. The beamforming technology can specifically be digital beamforming technology, analog beamforming technology, hybrid digital / analog beamforming technology, etc.

[0079] Beams generally correspond to resources. For example, when performing beam measurement, the network device uses different resources to measure different beams. The terminal device then provides feedback on the measured resource quality, allowing the network device to determine the quality of the corresponding beam. During data transmission, beam information is also indicated by its corresponding resource. For example, the network device uses the TCI field in the downlink control information (DCI) to indicate a transmission configuration indication-state (TCI-state). The terminal device determines the reference resource contained in the TCI-state to determine the beam to use for data.

[0080] In communication protocols, beams can be specifically characterized as digital beams, analog beams, spatial domain filters, spatial filters, spatial parameters, TCIs, TCI-states, etc. A beam used to transmit signals can be called a transmission beam (or Tx beam), a spatial domain transmission filter, a spatial transmission filter, a spatial domain transmission parameter, or a spatial transmission parameter. A beam used to receive signals can be called a reception beam (or Rx beam), a spatial domain reception filter, a spatial reception filter, a spatial domain reception parameter, or a spatial reception parameter.

[0081] Beams are uniformly used in this application for explanation, but it should be understood that the beams in this application can be replaced by other equivalent concepts and are not limited to the concepts mentioned above.

[0082] (2) Resources:

[0083] In communication protocols, reference signals are configured as resources. Network devices allocate each reference signal to terminal devices as a resource. A resource is a configuration information unit that typically includes parameters related to a reference signal, such as the reference signal's time-frequency resource location, number of ports, and time domain type (periodic, semi-static, or aperiodic).

[0084] Resources can be uplink signal resources or downlink signal resources. Uplink signals include but are not limited to sounding reference signal (SRS) and demodulation reference signal (DMRS). Downlink signals include but are not limited to channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), cell specific reference signal (CS-RS), user equipment specific reference signal (US-RS), DMRS, and synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (synchronization signal and PBCH block, SS / PBCH block). Among them, SS / PBCH block can be referred to as synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0085] (3)TCIstate:

[0086] During uplink transmission, the network device indicates the beam used for uplink transmission and path loss measurement resources by indicating the TCI-state. Specifically, the TCI-state includes a reference signal resource used as a beam reference. Uplink transmissions using this TCI-state should use the beam corresponding to this reference signal resource for uplink transmission. The TCI-state also includes a reference signal resource for determining path loss. Uplink transmissions using this TCI-state should use the path loss corresponding to this reference signal resource for uplink transmission.

[0087] TCI-state is divided into uplink TCI-state (dedicated to uplink transmission), downlink TCI-state (dedicated to downlink transmission) or uplink and downlink combined TCI-state (can be used for uplink and downlink transmission). Unless otherwise specified in this application, TCI-state refers to uplink TCI-state and / or uplink and downlink combined TCI-state. TCI-state includes combined TCI-state mode and independent TCI-state mode. In the combined TCI-state mode, the uplink and downlink adopt a unified TCI-state, that is, the above-mentioned uplink and downlink combined TCI-state. In the independent TCI-state mode, the uplink and downlink adopt independent TCI-state, the uplink TCI-state is used for uplink transmission, and the downlink TCI-state is used for downlink transmission.

[0088] In mobile communication systems, uplink transmission refers to the transmission of signals from terminal devices to network devices. Downlink transmission refers to the transmission of downlink signals from network devices to terminal devices. Because the transmit power of terminal devices is generally lower than that of network devices, the signal strength of uplink transmissions is generally lower than that of downlink transmissions. This results in some terminal devices having good downlink performance but poor uplink performance. One approach to addressing this issue is to deploy low-cost uplink-only network devices. If such network devices are nearby, terminal devices can use these devices for uplink transmission, thereby improving uplink performance.

[0089] As shown in Figure 1, a schematic diagram of a communication scenario is shown. The first TRP is a TRP with both uplink and downlink functions, and the second TRP is a TRP with only uplink function. The second TRP is closer to the terminal device. When the terminal device communicates through the first TRP, the downlink signal quality is good, but the uplink signal quality is poor. In this case, the terminal device can further establish a connection with the second TRP and perform joint uplink transmission based on the first and second TRPs. That is, the terminal device can transmit uplink signals to the first and second TRPs to improve their uplink transmission performance.

[0090] Transmission of uplink signals by a terminal device to the first TRP and the second TRP may be referred to as uplink multi-TRP transmission. Uplink multi-TRP transmission includes one or more of the following transmission modes. Unless otherwise specified, the method of the present application is applicable to scenarios corresponding to any of the following modes.

[0091] Mode 1: The terminal device transmits the same data to two TRPs at different times. The network side improves the signal strength of the data by combining the same data signals received by the two TRPs.

[0092] Mode 2: The terminal device transmits the same data to two TRPs at the same time. The network side improves the signal strength of the data by combining the same data signals received by the two TRPs.

[0093] Mode 3: The terminal device transmits different data or different data streams of the same data to two TRPs at the same time, thereby increasing the amount of uplink transmission data and improving uplink transmission performance.

[0094] However, in the scenario shown in Figure 1, a key issue is how the terminal device determines the transmit power of the uplink signal sent to the second TRP. Generally, the terminal device calculates the transmit power of the uplink signal based on the loss of the signal transmission path between it and the network device (that is, the degree of energy attenuation during signal propagation, referred to as path loss). Therefore, in order to determine the transmit power of the uplink signal sent to the second TRP, the terminal device needs to first determine the path loss between it and the second TRP.

[0095] The path loss between the terminal device and the network device can be obtained by the terminal device measuring the downlink signal sent to it by the network device. As shown in the path loss measurement diagram of Figure 2, the network device uses a specific transmission power x (the network device informs the terminal device of the transmission power in advance, the unit is dBm) to send a path loss measurement reference signal to the terminal device, and the terminal device measures the received power y (unit is dBm) of the path loss measurement reference signal. The terminal device uses the transmission power x of the path loss measurement reference signal minus the received power y of the path loss measurement reference signal to obtain the path loss xy ​​(unit is dB) between the terminal device and the network device. Note that for the same terminal device and network device, the path loss of the uplink transmission and the path loss of the downlink transmission are the same. Therefore, the terminal device can obtain the path loss experienced by the uplink transmission by measuring the downlink signal.

[0096] In the above method, the terminal device obtains the path loss between the terminal device and the network device by measuring the downlink signal (i.e., the path loss measurement reference signal). However, in the scenario shown in Figure 1, since the second TRP does not have a downlink function, it cannot send a downlink signal and thus cannot measure the path loss.

[0097] If a network device does not have a downlink function, how can a terminal device obtain the path between it and the network device?

[0098] The present application provides a communication solution. When the second network device has no downlink transmission capability, the first network device indicates the path loss difference or the received power difference to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can determine the second path loss between the terminal device and the second network device based on the indication, thereby improving the accuracy of determining the path loss between the terminal device and the second network device.

[0099] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting communication system. As shown in Figure 3, communication system 1000 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. Communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300. RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 110a and 110b in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal device (e.g., 120a-120j in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 120). RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1). Terminal device 120 is wirelessly connected to RAN node 110. RAN node 110 is wirelessly or wiredly connected to core network 200. The core network devices in core network 200 and RAN node 110 in RAN 100 may be separate physical devices, or they may be a single physical device that integrates core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0100] The RAN 100 may be a cellular system related to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as a 4G or 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolutionary system (such as a 6G mobile communication system). The RAN 100 may also be an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN 100 may also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0101] RAN node 110, sometimes also referred to as access network equipment, RAN entity, or access node, constitutes part of the communication system and facilitates wireless access for terminal devices. Multiple RAN nodes 110 in communication system 1000 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 110 and terminal device 120 are relative. For example, network element 120i in Figure 3 can be a helicopter or drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminal device 120j accessing RAN 100 via network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal device. RAN node 110 and terminal device 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices. For example, network elements 110a and 110b in Figure 3 can be understood as communication devices with base station functionality, and network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal device functionality.

[0102] In one possible scenario, a RAN node may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. A RAN node may be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 3 ), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 3 ), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Alternatively, a RAN node may be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an onboard device. For example, the access network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology may be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0103] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes assist terminal devices in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a centralized unit-control plane (CU-CP), a centralized unit-user plane (CU-UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be set separately, or they can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0104] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called an open-centralized unit (opern-CU, O-CU), DU may also be called an open-distributed unit (opern-distributed unit, O-DU), CU-CP may also be called an open-centralized unit-control plane (open-central unit-control plane, O-CU-CP), CU-UP may also be called an open-centralized unit-user plane (open-central unit-user plane, O-CU-UP), and RU may also be called an open-radio unit (open-radio unit, O-RU). For convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0105] Terminal devices may also be referred to as terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminal devices, etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. Terminal devices can be mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver functions, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal device.

[0106] The communication between the access network device and the terminal device follows a certain protocol layer structure. The protocol layer may include a control plane protocol layer and a user plane protocol layer. The control plane protocol layer may include at least one of the following: a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a media access control (MAC) layer, or a physical (PHY) layer. The user plane protocol layer may include at least one of the following: a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, or a physical layer.

[0107] Base stations and terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of base stations and terminal devices.

[0108] The roles of base stations and terminal devices can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 3 can be configured as a mobile base station. To terminal devices 120j accessing the wireless access network 100 via 120i, terminal device 120i is a base station. However, to base station 110a, 120i is a terminal device, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, 120i is also a base station relative to 110a. Therefore, base stations and terminal devices can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 3 can be referred to as communication devices with base station functionality, while 120a-120j in Figure 3 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functionality.

[0109] In the embodiments of the present application, a base station is also referred to as an access network device. The device used to implement the functions of the access network device can be the access network device; it can also be a device that can support the access network device in implementing the functions, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a hardware circuit and a software module. The device can be installed in the access network device or used in conjunction with the access network device. In the embodiments of the present application, only the device used to implement the functions of the access network device is used as an example, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to the solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0110] It can be understood that the present application can be applied between access network equipment and terminal equipment.

[0111] It should be understood that the number and type of each device in the communication system shown in Figure 3 are for illustration only, and the present application is not limited to this. In actual applications, the communication system may also include more terminal devices, more access network devices, and other network elements, such as core network devices, and / or network elements for implementing artificial intelligence functions.

[0112] It is understandable that all or part of the functions implemented by one or more of the terminal equipment, access network equipment, core network equipment, or network elements for implementing artificial intelligence functions can be virtualized, that is, implemented by one or more of the proprietary processors or general-purpose processors and the corresponding software modules. Among them, since the terminal equipment and the access network equipment involve interfaces for air interface transmission, the transceiver functions of the interfaces can be implemented by hardware. Core network equipment, such as operation administration and maintenance (OAM) network elements, can be virtualized. Optionally, one or more functions of the virtualized terminal equipment, access network equipment, core network equipment, or network elements for implementing artificial intelligence functions can be implemented by cloud devices, such as cloud devices in over the top (OTT) systems.

[0113] As shown in Figure 4, a schematic diagram of an O-RAN system provided in an embodiment of the present application is provided. The O-RAN system may include other components in addition to the components shown in Figure 4.

[0114] As shown in FIG4 , the access network equipment communicates with the core network through a backhaul link and communicates with the terminal equipment through an air interface.

[0115] Specifically, the BBU in the access network device communicates with the core network via a backhaul link, and the RU in the access network device communicates with at least one terminal device via an air interface. The BBU communicates with at least one RU via a fronthaul link, and the BBU and RU can be co-located or not.

[0116] The BBU includes at least one CU and at least one DU, which can communicate through at least one midhaul link.

[0117] As shown in Figure 5, a schematic diagram of the network element functional division and protocol layer structure of an O-RAN device provided in an embodiment of the present application is provided. In some examples, the CU is a logical node that carries the RRC layer, SDAP layer, PDCP layer, and other control functions of the access network device. The CU is connected to network nodes such as the core network through certain interfaces, which may be interfaces such as the E2 interface. Optionally, the CU may have some of the core network's functions. The CU (e.g., the PDCP layer and higher layers) is connected to the DU (e.g., the RLC layer and lower layers) through certain interfaces, which may be interfaces such as the F1 interface. In some examples, these interfaces (e.g., the F1 interface) may provide control plane (C-Plane) and user plane (U-Plane) functions (e.g., interface management, system information management, UE context management, RRC message transmission, etc.). F1AP is the application protocol of the F1 interface, which in some examples defines the F1 signaling process. The F1 interface supports the control plane F1-C and the user plane F1-U.

[0118] In some examples, the CU can be split into the CU-CP and the CU-UP, where the CU-CP is a logical node that carries the RRC layer and the control plane part (control plane part of PDCP, PDCP-C) layer of the packet data convergence layer protocol, and is used to implement the control plane function of the CU. The CU-CP can interact with the network elements in the core network that are used to implement the control plane function. The network element in the core network that is used to implement the control plane function can be an access and mobility function network element, such as the access and mobility management function (AMF) in the 5G system. The AMF network element is responsible for mobility management in the mobile network, such as location update of the terminal device, registration network of the terminal device, handover of the terminal device, etc. The CU-UP is a logical node that carries the SDAP layer and the user plane part (user plane part of PDCP, PDCP-U) layer of the packet data convergence layer protocol, and is used to implement the user plane function of the CU. The CU-UP can interact with the network elements in the core network that are used to implement the user plane function. The network element in the core network that is used to implement the user plane function, for example, the user plane network element (user plane function, UPF) in the 5G system, is responsible for forwarding and receiving data in the terminal device. The above configuration of CU and DU is only an example, and the functions of CU and DU can also be configured as needed. For example, the CU or DU can be configured to have the functions of more protocol layers, or the CU or DU can be configured to have partial processing functions of the protocol layer. For example, some functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers above the RLC layer are set in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are set in the DU. For another example, the functions of the CU or DU can be divided according to the service type or other system requirements, such as by delay, and the functions whose processing time needs to meet the smaller delay requirement are set in the DU, and the functions that do not need to meet the delay requirement are set in the CU.

[0119] In some examples, the DU is a logical node that carries the RLC layer, MAC layer, higher physical layer (HigherPHY), and other functions. In some examples, the DU can control at least one RU. The DU is connected to the RU through some interfaces, which can be fronthaul interfaces. In some examples, the HigherPHY layer includes parts of the PHY layer processing, such as forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, and other processing functions.

[0120] In some examples, the RU is a logical node that carries the lower physical layer (LowerPHY) and radio frequency (RF) processing. In some examples, the RU can be a 3GPP transmission reception point (TRP) or a remote radio head (RRH) or other entity with similar functions. In some examples, Low-PHY includes part of the PHY processing, such as fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), digital beamforming and filtering, and other processing functions. The RU communicates with one or more UEs over a wireless link.

[0121] The DU and RU may or may not be co-located. The DU and RU exchange control plane information and user plane information via the lower-layer split CUS-Plane (LLS-CUS) interface over the fronthaul link. The LLS-CUS may include an LLS-C interface and an LLS-U interface that provide a control plane (C-Plane) and a user plane (U-Plane), respectively. In some examples, the control plane (C-Plane) refers to real-time control between the DU and RU. The DU and RU exchange management information via the LLS-M interface of the fronthaul link, and the management plane (M-Plane) refers to non-real-time management operations between the DU and RU.

[0122] The DU and RU can work together to implement the functions of the PHY layer. A DU can be connected to one or more RUs. The functions of the DU and RU can be configured in various ways according to the design. For example, the DU is configured to implement the baseband function, and the RU is configured to implement the mid-RF function. For another example, the DU is configured to implement the high-layer functions in the PHY layer, and the RU is configured to implement the low-layer functions in the PHY layer or to implement the low-layer functions and the RF functions. The high-layer functions in the physical layer may include a part of the functions of the physical layer, which is closer to the MAC layer, and the low-layer functions in the physical layer may include another part of the functions of the physical layer, which is closer to the mid-RF side.

[0123] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples for description.

[0124] As shown in Figure 6, a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. Exemplarily, the method may include the following steps:

[0125] S601a: The terminal device sends a first uplink signal to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the first uplink signal.

[0126] In this embodiment, the first network device may be a network device with uplink and downlink functions. The first network device may be any form of network device described above, such as a TRP.

[0127] The terminal device can determine the first path loss between the terminal device and the second network device by measuring the path loss measurement reference signal sent by the first network device, so that the terminal device can determine the transmission power of the first uplink signal sent to the first network device based on the first path loss, and send the first uplink signal to the first network device with the determined transmission power.

[0128] S601b: The terminal device sends a first uplink signal to the second network device. Correspondingly, the second network device receives the first uplink signal.

[0129] In this embodiment, the second network device is a network device that has only an uplink function but not a downlink function. The second network device can be any form of network device described above, such as a TRP.

[0130] It can be understood that since the second network device does not have a downlink function, the terminal device cannot determine the second path loss between the terminal device and the second network device by measuring the path loss measurement reference signal sent by the second network device. Therefore, at this time, the transmission power used by the first uplink signal sent by the terminal device to the second network device is determined based on the above-mentioned first path loss.

[0131] Exemplarily, the first uplink signal may be a sounding reference signal (SRS), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical random access channel (PRACH), a DMRS, a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), or other uplink signals. The above-mentioned SRS may be an SRS for beam management, or an SRS for uplink transmission based on a codebook, or an SRS for uplink transmission based on a non-codebook, or an SRS for antenna selection. The following will be explained using the first uplink signal as an example of SRS. It should be understood that the SRS in the following method can be replaced by any of the above-mentioned uplink signals.

[0132] The first uplink signal can be an SRS. That is, the terminal device sends an SRS to the first network device and the second network device. Optionally, the terminal device sends the SRS once, and both the first network device and the second network device receive it. Alternatively, the terminal device repeatedly sends the SRS twice, sending it to the two network devices twice respectively, such as sending it to the first network device for the first time and sending it to the second network device for the second time. Optionally, the transmission power used in the two transmissions is the same (that is, the power of the first uplink signal sent by the terminal device to the first network device and the first uplink signal sent to the second network device are the same. This is for the first network device to calculate the difference in path loss between the terminal device and the first network device and the second network device. See the description below for details). Optionally, the two transmissions use the TCI-state corresponding to the two network devices respectively. TCI-state is an information unit that includes information such as the beam used for uplink and downlink transmission, path loss resources, power control parameters, etc. The network device can configure multiple TCI-states for the terminal device and indicate two of the TCI-states (i.e., the first TCI-state and the second TCI-state) for transmission. The first TCI-state is a TCI-state used for transmission with the first network device, and the second TCI-state is a TCI-state used for transmission with the second network device. The TCI-states corresponding to the two network devices are the first TCI-state and the second TCI-state.

[0133] The first uplink signal can also be multiple SRSs. For example, the first uplink signal includes a first SRS and a second SRS (on different SRS resources) (this can be considered as the terminal device sending a first uplink signal to the first network device and the terminal device sending a fourth uplink signal to the second network device, i.e., the first uplink signal and the fourth uplink signal are different signals). The first SRS is the SRS sent to the first network device, and the second SRS is the SRS sent to the second network device. The first SRS can specifically include one or more SRSs, i.e., the terminal device sends one or more first SRSs to the first network device. The second SRS can also include one or more SRSs, i.e., the terminal device sends one or more second SRSs to the second network device. Optionally, the first transmit power corresponding to the first SRS and the second transmit power corresponding to the second SRS are the same (i.e., the power of the first uplink signal sent by the terminal device to the first network device and the first uplink signal sent to the second network device are the same. This is to enable the first network device to calculate the difference in path loss between the terminal device and the first and second network devices; see the description below for details). Optionally, the first SRS and the second SRS use a first TCI-state and a second TCI-state, respectively.

[0134] Optionally, the terminal device may report the transmission power used by the above-mentioned SRS to the network device. For example, the terminal device sends first information to the first network device, and the first information is used to indicate the transmission power of the first uplink signal. The transmission power is used by the first network device to calculate the difference in path loss between the terminal device and the first network device and the second network device. For example, the terminal device repeatedly sends the same SRS twice, and sends it to the first network device and the second network device respectively. The terminal device may report the power or power difference of the two transmissions to the network device. For another example, the terminal device sends the first SRS and the second SRS to the first network device and the second network device. The terminal device may report the transmission power or power difference of the first SRS and the second SRS to the network device.

[0135] S602: The first network device sends first indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information.

[0136] After the first network device and the second network device receive the first uplink signal, they can determine at least one of the following information: a first path loss, a second path loss, a path loss difference between the first path loss and the second path loss, a first received power, a second received power, and a received power difference between the first received power and the second received power, wherein the first path loss is the path loss between the terminal device and the first network device, the second path loss is the path loss between the terminal device and the second network device, the first received power is the received power of the first uplink signal received by the first network device, and the second received power is the received power of the first uplink signal received by the second network device.

[0137] The first network device and the second network device respectively measure the first uplink signal sent to them by the terminal device, and respectively determine the first received power and the second received power. Exemplarily, the received power can be a reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), etc., which is not limited in this application.

[0138] After determining the second received power, the second network device may also send the second received power to the first network device. The first network device determines the received power difference between the first received power and the second received power based on the first received power determined by itself and the second received power received from the second network device.

[0139] The first network device may determine a first path loss based on a transmit power pre-negotiated or reported by the terminal device and a first receive power determined by itself, where the first path loss is the transmit power minus the first receive power.

[0140] The second network device may determine the second path loss based on a transmit power pre-negotiated or reported by the terminal device and the second receive power determined by itself. Alternatively, the second network device may send the second receive power to the first network device, and the first network device may determine the second path loss based on the transmit power pre-negotiated or reported by the terminal device and the received second receive power. The second path loss is the transmit power minus the second receive power.

[0141] After determining the second path loss, the second network device may send the second path loss to the first network device; alternatively, the second path loss may be determined by the first network device (i.e., the second network device may send the second receive power to the first network device, and the first network device determines the second path loss based on a pre-negotiated or reported transmit power by the terminal device and the received second receive power). The first network device calculates the difference between the first path loss and the second path loss to obtain a path loss difference between the first path loss and the second path loss.

[0142] After obtaining at least one of the above-mentioned information, the first network device sends first indication information to the terminal device. The first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: the first path loss, the second path loss, the path loss difference between the first path loss and the second path loss, the first received power, the second received power, and the received power difference between the first received power and the second received power. Alternatively, the first indication information may include at least one of the following: the first path loss, the second path loss, the path loss difference between the first path loss and the second path loss, the first received power, the second received power, and the received power difference between the first received power and the second received power.

[0143] When the first uplink signal sent to the second network device is multiple second SRSs, the first network device can indicate multiple sets of the above information to the terminal device, each set of information corresponding to a second SRS. This allows the terminal device to send different SRSs through different beams, and the network side can calculate the path loss differences corresponding to the different beams.

[0144] Exemplarily, the first indication information may be carried in at least one of the following signalings: RRC signaling, media / medium access control-control element (MAC-CE), and DCI.

[0145] S603. The terminal device determines a second path loss based on the first indication information.

[0146] After receiving the first indication information, the terminal device may determine the second path loss based on the first indication information.

[0147] In one implementation, the terminal device may determine the second path loss based on the first path loss and the path loss difference. For example, the second path loss satisfies: second path loss = first path loss + path loss difference.

[0148] In another implementation, the terminal device may determine the second path loss based on the first path loss, the receive power difference, and the transmit power of the first uplink signal sent by the terminal device to the first network device and the second network device, respectively. Exemplarily, the second path loss satisfies the following: second path loss = first path loss + (second receive power - transmit power) - (first receive power - transmit power) = first path loss + receive power difference.

[0149] Since the second network device does not have downlink transmission capability, the terminal device cannot use existing methods to directly measure the second path loss between it and the second network device. In this embodiment, the first path loss between it and the first network device is used as a reference, and the difference in path loss between it and the two network devices is added to obtain the second path loss between it and the second network device.

[0150] To determine the second path loss, you need to first determine the first path loss and the path loss difference.

[0151] (1) Determination of the first path loss:

[0152] The path loss between a terminal device and a network device is not unique because the energy loss of signals reaching the network device varies depending on the direction the terminal device sends them. To distinguish different path loss values, path loss can be associated with a path loss resource, with each path loss resource corresponding to a path loss value. A path loss resource can be a downlink resource, where the path loss value corresponds to the energy loss experienced by the resource when it is sent from the network device to the terminal device. A path loss resource can also be an uplink resource, where the path loss value corresponds to the energy loss experienced by the resource when it is sent from the terminal device to the network device.

[0153] The first path loss is a path loss corresponding to a path loss resource of the first network device. For ease of description, the path loss resource corresponding to the first path loss is referred to as the first path loss resource. The first path loss resource can be determined by the following method, namely, determining which path loss resource corresponds to the path loss used as the first path loss.

[0154] Method 1: The first path loss resource is the path loss resource in the first TCI-state currently used by the terminal device. The first path loss is the path loss corresponding to the path loss resource in the first TCI-state currently used by the terminal device. Before step S603, the first network device may send the first path loss resource (downlink resource) to the terminal device. The path loss resource in the first TCI-state is the downlink resource sent by the first network device to the terminal device. The terminal device can measure the path loss corresponding to the downlink resource using existing methods. The first TCI-state refers to the first of the two TCI-states indicated by the network device to the terminal device. In other words, the first TCI-state is the first of the two currently effective TCI-states. In this method, regardless of the path loss resource in the second TCI-state used by the terminal device, the terminal device always uses (i.e., defaults to) the path loss resource in the first TCI-state as the first path loss resource. The first TCI-state is the first of the two TCI-states currently used by the terminal device for uplink transmission (the two TCI-states currently used by the terminal device for uplink transmission are used for uplink communication with the first network device and uplink communication with the second network device, respectively).

[0155] Method 2: The first path loss resource is the path loss resource in the second TCI-state used by the terminal device. The path loss resource in the second TCI-state is the downlink resource sent by the second network device to the terminal device, and the terminal device can measure the path loss corresponding to the downlink resource through existing methods. In this method, the first path loss resource is related to the second TCI-state. When the terminal device uses different second TCI-states, the corresponding first path loss resources may be different. That is to say, when the terminal device uses a TCI-state to send data to the second network device, the path loss resource in the TCI-state is directly used as the first path loss resource.

[0156] The terminal device can choose to adopt method one or method two according to the conditions. For example, when the terminal device uses a TCI-state to send data to the second network device, if the path loss resource in the TCI-state is a downlink resource (such as a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) resource or a synchronization signal block (SSB) resource), method two is directly adopted. If the path loss resource in the TCI-state is an uplink resource (such as an SRS resource), method one is adopted. Alternatively, if there is no path loss resource in the TCI-state (that is, the path loss resource is default), method one is adopted.

[0157] (2) Determination of path loss difference:

[0158] In one implementation, the path loss difference may be directly indicated by the first indication information in step S602. That is, after the first network device determines the path loss difference in step S602, it directly notifies the terminal device through the first indication information.

[0159] In another implementation, the path loss difference can also be calculated by at least one of the first path loss, the second path loss, the first received power, the second received power, and the received power difference between the first received power and the second received power indicated by the first indication information in step S602. For example, if the first indication information indicates the first received power and the second received power, the terminal device can calculate the path loss difference based on the two received powers and the transmit power of the first uplink signal. For another example, if the first indication information indicates the receive power difference of the first uplink signals received by the two network devices, the terminal device can calculate the path loss difference between the terminal device and the two network devices based on the receive power difference and the transmit power of the first uplink signal.

[0160] In addition, the network device can indicate multiple sets of information corresponding to multiple second SRSs to the terminal device through the first indication message, and the terminal device can determine the path loss differences corresponding to the multiple second SRSs through the above method. Then, the second path loss corresponding to the multiple second SRSs can be obtained using the above formula.

[0161] Furthermore, the following steps may be included (this step is optional and is indicated by a dotted line in the figure):

[0162] S604a. The terminal device sends a second uplink signal to the first network device.

[0163] When sending a second uplink signal to the first network device, the terminal device can calculate the transmission power of the second uplink signal based on the first path loss corresponding to the path loss resource in the TCI-state used by the second uplink signal, and send the second uplink signal to the first network device at the transmission power.

[0164] S604b. The terminal device sends a second uplink signal to the second network device.

[0165] When sending a second uplink signal to a second network device, the terminal device may use the second path loss corresponding to the reference SRS in the TCI-state used by the second uplink signal and use the transmission power to send the second uplink signal to the second network device. The reference SRS in the TCI-state may refer to a path loss resource in the TCI-state, or a beam reference resource. In addition, a priority may be introduced. If the path loss resource included in the TCI-state is an SRS, the SRS is preferentially used as the reference SRS. Otherwise, the beam reference SRS is used as the SRS.

[0166] The terminal device may determine whether the second uplink signal is sent to the first network device or the second network device based on the following conditions: For example, when the first condition is met, the second uplink signal is sent to the first network device; when the second condition is met, the second uplink signal is sent to the second network device.

[0167] The first condition may include one or more of the following:

[0168] The TCI-state used by the second uplink signal includes path loss resources;

[0169] The path loss resources in the TCI-state used by the second uplink signal are downlink resources, such as CSI-RS resources or SSB resources.

[0170] The second condition may include one or more of the following:

[0171] The TCI-state used by the second uplink signal does not include path loss resources;

[0172] The path loss resources in the TCI-state used by the second uplink signal are uplink resources, such as SRS resources.

[0173] It can be understood that the second uplink signal sent by the terminal device to the first network device in step S604a and the second uplink signal sent by the terminal device to the second network device in step S604b can be the same signal or different signals.

[0174] According to a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, when the second network device has no downlink transmission capability, the first network device indicates the path loss difference or the received power difference to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can determine the second path loss between the terminal device and the second network device based on the indication, thereby improving the accuracy of determining the path loss between the terminal device and the second network device.

[0175] As the terminal device moves, the values ​​of the first path loss and the path loss difference used to calculate the second path loss may change, and therefore, the second path loss also needs to be updated.

[0176] As shown in Figure 7, it is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Exemplarily, the method may include the following steps:

[0177] S701. A first network device sends second indication information to a terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second indication information.

[0178] The first path loss and path loss difference change as the first TCI-state used by the first network device changes. Therefore, when the first TCI-state is updated, second indication information needs to be sent to the terminal device. The second indication information is used to indicate the updated first TCI-state.

[0179] Exemplarily, the second indication information may be carried in DCI or MAC-CE signaling.

[0180] For ease of description, in this embodiment, the TCI-state before the update is referred to as the old first TCI-state, and the TCI-state after the update is referred to as the new first TCI-state.

[0181] S702. The terminal device determines an updated first path loss according to the updated first TCI-state.

[0182] The first path loss is the path loss corresponding to the path loss resource in the first TCI-state currently used by the terminal device. The first path loss changes with the first TCI-state. That is, if the first TCI-state is updated, the first path loss is also updated.

[0183] For ease of description, in this embodiment, the first path loss corresponding to the old first TCI-state is referred to as the old first path loss, and the first path loss corresponding to the new first TCI-state is referred to as the new first path loss. The path loss difference corresponding to the old first TCI-state is referred to as the old path loss difference, and the path loss difference corresponding to the new first TCI-state is referred to as the new path loss difference.

[0184] Since the first path loss corresponds to the path loss resources in the first TCI-state, it can be obtained by measuring these path loss resources. When the first TCI-state is updated to a new first TCI-state, the terminal device determines a new first path loss based on the path loss resources in the new first TCI-state. In other words, regardless of how the first TCI-state changes, the terminal device always uses the path loss corresponding to the path loss resources in the currently effective first TCI-state as the first path loss.

[0185] S703a: The terminal device sends a third uplink signal to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the third uplink signal.

[0186] After the first TCI-state is updated, the terminal device needs to send a third uplink signal to the first network device based on the updated first TCI-state, that is, the third uplink signal sent to the first network device needs to adopt the new first TCI-state.

[0187] S703b: The terminal device sends a third uplink signal to the second network device. Correspondingly, the second network device receives the third uplink signal.

[0188] It can be understood that, as shown in Figure 8, which is a schematic diagram of the timing requirements for the second path loss update of an example embodiment of the present application, before determining the updated first TCI-state, and before receiving the updated path loss difference or the updated received power difference, the terminal device uses the path loss difference before the update (i.e., the old path loss difference) or the received power difference before the update (i.e., the old received power difference), and the first path loss before the update (i.e., the old first path loss) to determine the second path loss.

[0189] The terminal device determines the transmission power based on the old second path loss, and uses the transmission power to send a third uplink signal to the second network device.

[0190] Exemplarily, the third uplink signal may be SRS, PUCCH, PUSCH, PRACH, DMRS, PTRS, or other uplink signals.

[0191] The third uplink signal can be an SRS. That is, the terminal device sends an SRS to the first network device and the second network device. Optionally, the terminal device sends the SRS once, and both the first network device and the second network device receive it. Alternatively, the terminal device repeatedly sends the SRS twice, sending it to the two network devices respectively, such as sending it to the first network device once and sending it to the second network device twice. Optionally, the transmission power used in the two transmissions is the same (that is, the power of the third uplink signal sent by the terminal device to the first network device is the same as the power of the third uplink signal sent to the second network device).

[0192] The third uplink signal can also be multiple SRSs. For example, the third uplink signal includes the first SRS and the second SRS (different SRS resources) (here it can be considered that the terminal device sends the third uplink signal to the first network device, and the terminal device sends the fifth uplink signal to the second network device, that is, the third uplink signal and the fifth uplink signal are different signals). The first SRS is the SRS sent to the first network device, and the second SRS is the SRS sent to the second network device. The first SRS can specifically include one or more SRSs, that is, the terminal device sends one or more first SRSs to the first network device. The second SRS can also include one or more SRSs, that is, the terminal device sends one or more second SRSs to the second network device. Optionally, the transmission power of the first SRS and the second SRS is the same (that is, the power of the first uplink signal sent by the terminal device to the first network device is the same as the power of the first uplink signal sent to the second network device).

[0193] S704: The first network device sends third indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the third indication information.

[0194] After receiving the third uplink signal, the first network device and the second network device may determine an updated path loss difference with reference to step S602 of the embodiment shown in Figure 6. The first network device sends third indication information to the terminal device, where the third indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: an updated path loss difference and an updated receive power difference.

[0195] Exemplarily, when the second SRS includes multiple SRSs, the first network device may indicate multiple new path loss differences, each new path loss difference corresponding to a second SRS.

[0196] S705. The terminal device uses the updated path loss difference or the updated received power difference and the updated first path loss to determine an updated second path loss.

[0197] After the terminal device obtains the updated path loss difference or the updated received power difference, and the updated first path loss, it uses the updated path loss difference or the updated received power difference, and the updated first path loss to determine the updated second path loss.

[0198] The terminal device uses the updated path loss difference or the updated received power difference and the updated first path loss to determine the updated second path loss, which must meet the following timing requirements:

[0199] Still referring to Figure 8, after the new first TCI-state indicated by the network device to the terminal device takes effect, the terminal device obtains a new first path loss based on the new first TCI-state. The time when the terminal device determines the new first path loss is assumed to be T1. T1 can be the time when the new first TCI-state takes effect, or the time when the first TCI-state takes effect plus a time offset. The time when the first TCI-state takes effect refers to the time when the second indication message of the new first TCI-state is received, or the time plus a time offset, or the time when the terminal device feeds back an acknowledgment (ACK) message of the second indication message plus a time offset.

[0200] The terminal device uses the new first TCI-state to send a third uplink signal, and then receives at least one of the following information sent by the first network device: the first path loss, the second path loss, the path loss difference between the first path loss and the second path loss, the first receiving power, the second receiving power, and the receiving power difference between the first receiving power and the second receiving power, thereby determining a new path loss difference. The time when the terminal device determines the new path loss difference is assumed to be T2 (T2>T1). T2 can be the time when the third indication message is received, or the time when the third indication message takes effect. The time when the third indication message takes effect can specifically refer to the time when the third indication message is received plus a time offset, or the time when the terminal device feeds back an ACK message of the third indication message plus a time offset.

[0201] Before T1, the terminal device uses the old first path loss and the old path loss difference to calculate the second path loss.

[0202] Between T1 and T2, the terminal device also uses the old first path loss and the old path loss difference to calculate the second path loss. This is because the terminal device has not yet determined the new path loss difference. If the new first path loss and the old path loss difference are used to calculate the second path loss, the obtained second path loss will be inaccurate because the new first path loss and the old path loss difference correspond to different first TCI-states.

[0203] After T2, the terminal device calculates the second path loss using the new first path loss and the new path loss difference.

[0204] In other words, when the first network device indicates a new first TCI-state to the terminal device, and the new first path loss corresponding to the new first TCI-state and the new path loss difference corresponding to the new first TCI-state are not determined simultaneously, the terminal device uses the old first path loss and the old path loss difference corresponding to the old first TCI-state to calculate the second path loss. The new path loss difference corresponding to the new first TCI-state refers to the path loss difference determined by sending the third uplink signal through the new first TCI-state. For specific information on how to determine the path loss difference, please refer to the method in the embodiment shown in Figure 6.

[0205] In other words, when the first network device indicates a new first TCI-state to the terminal device, the terminal device uses the old first path loss and the old path loss difference corresponding to the old first TCI-state to calculate the second path loss before determining the path loss difference corresponding to the new first TCI-state. The time when the terminal device determines the path loss difference corresponding to the new first TCI-state refers to the time when the third indication message sent by the first network device to the terminal device takes effect after the terminal device first uses the first TCI-state to send the third uplink signal to the first network device and the second network device. The third indication message carries information determined by the first network device through the third uplink signal sent for the first time using the new first TCI-state (at least one of the first path loss, the second path loss, the path loss difference between the first path loss and the second path loss, the first receiving power, the second receiving power, and the receiving power difference between the first receiving power and the second receiving power).

[0206] Alternatively, from the perspective of a specific second SRS, when the first network device indicates a new first TCI-state to the terminal device, the terminal device uses the old first path loss and the old path loss difference corresponding to the old first TCI-state to calculate the second path loss of the SRS before determining the path loss difference between the path loss corresponding to the SRS and the first path loss.

[0207] The above method is applicable to the case where the second SRS includes multiple SRSs. That is, for each second SRS, the above method can be used to determine the second path loss of the second SRS.

[0208] It can be stipulated that the above method can only be used in scenarios where the independent TCI-state mode is configured. Or, conversely, in the scenarios corresponding to this application, only the independent TCI-state mode can be used.

[0209] Alternatively, it may be specified that the above method can only be used in scenarios where the joint TCI-state mode is configured. Or, conversely, in the scenarios corresponding to this application, only the joint TCI-state mode can be used.

[0210] According to a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, as the terminal device moves, the values ​​of the first path loss and the path loss difference used to calculate the second path loss may change. Before determining the updated first TCI-state and receiving the updated path loss difference or the updated received power difference, the terminal device uses the old path loss difference or the old received power difference, and the old first path loss to determine the second path loss. After determining the updated first TCI-state and receiving the updated path loss difference or the updated received power difference, the terminal device uses the new path loss difference or the new received power difference, and the new first path loss to determine the second path loss. This improves the accuracy of the second path loss.

[0211] It is understandable that this application uses network devices and terminal devices as examples of the execution entities of the interaction diagram, but this application does not limit the execution entities of the interaction diagram. For example, the network device in the method provided by this application can also be a chip, chip system, or processor applied to the network device, or a logical node, logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the network device; the terminal device in the method provided by this application can also be a chip, chip system, or processor applied to the terminal device, or a logical node, logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0212] In this application, when entity A sends information to entity B, it can be done directly from A to B or indirectly through another entity. Similarly, when entity B receives information from entity A, it can be done directly from entity B or indirectly through another entity. Entities A and B herein can be RAN nodes or terminal devices, or modules within a RAN node or terminal device. The sending and receiving of information can be information exchange between a RAN node and a terminal device, for example, information exchange between a base station and a terminal device; the sending and receiving of information can also be information exchange between two RAN nodes, for example, information exchange between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can also be information exchange between different modules within a device, for example, information exchange between a terminal device chip and other modules of the terminal device, or information exchange between a base station chip and other modules within the base station.

[0213] It can be understood that in the above embodiments, the methods and / or steps implemented by the network device can also be implemented by components that can be used for the network device (such as chips or circuits); the methods and / or steps implemented by the terminal device can also be implemented by components that can be used for the terminal device (such as chips or circuits).

[0214] The above description primarily describes the solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of interaction between various network elements. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device for implementing the various methods described above. This communication device can be the network device described in the method embodiments described above, or a component that can be used in a network device; alternatively, this communication device can be the terminal device described in the method embodiments described above, or a component that can be used in a terminal device. It will be understood that, to implement the aforementioned functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to each function. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that, in conjunction with the various exemplary units and algorithm steps described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented in hardware or in a hardware-driven manner by computer software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0215] In the embodiment of the present application, the functional modules of the communication device can be divided according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing unit. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0216] Based on the same concept of the above communication method, the present application also provides the following communication device:

[0217] As shown in Figure 9, it is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 900 includes a processor 901. Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include an interface circuit 902 (indicated by a dotted line in the figure), and the processor 901 and the interface circuit 902 are coupled to each other. It will be understood that the interface circuit 902 can be a transceiver or an input and output interface. Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include a memory 903 (indicated by a dotted line in the figure), and the memory 903 is used to store instructions executed by the processor 901, or to store input data required by the processor 901 to run the instructions, or to store data generated after the processor 901 runs the instructions.

[0218] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device, the interface circuit 902 is used to implement at least one action performed by the terminal device in steps S601a, S601b, S602, S604a, and S604b in the embodiment shown in Figure 6, and the processor 901 is used to implement step S603 in the embodiment shown in Figure 6; or, the interface circuit 902 is used to implement at least one action performed by the terminal device in steps S701, S703a, S703b, and S704 in the embodiment shown in Figure 7, and the processor 901 is used to implement steps S702 and S705 in the embodiment shown in Figure 7.

[0219] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of a network device, the interface circuit 902 is used to implement at least one action performed by the network device in steps S601a, S601b, S602, S604a, and S604b in the embodiment shown in Figure 6; or, the interface circuit 902 is used to implement at least one action performed by the network device in steps S701, S703a, S703b, and S704 in the embodiment shown in Figure 7.

[0220] When the communication device is a chip used in a network device, the chip implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. The chip receives information from other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the network device; or the chip sends information to other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the network device to the terminal device.

[0221] When the communication device is a chip used in a terminal device, the chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The chip receives information from other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the network device to the terminal device; or the chip sends information to other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the network device.

[0222] In addition, it should be noted that the aforementioned transceiver unit and / or processing unit may be implemented through virtual modules, for example, the processing unit may be implemented through a software function unit or a virtual device, and the transceiver unit may be implemented through a software function or a virtual device. Alternatively, the processing unit or transceiver unit may also be implemented through a physical device, for example, if the device is implemented using a chip / chip circuit, the transceiver unit may be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface, performing input operations (corresponding to the aforementioned receiving operations) and output operations (corresponding to the aforementioned sending operations); the processing unit is an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit.

[0223] As shown in FIG10 , it is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein the communication device 1000 includes a transceiver unit 1001 and a processing unit 1002.

[0224] Illustratively, the transceiver unit 1001 may include a receiving unit and a sending unit. The receiving unit and the sending unit may be a whole or independent units.

[0225] When the communication apparatus 1000 is used to implement the functions of a terminal device, the receiving unit is used to implement the receiving action in step S602 of the embodiment shown in FIG6 , the sending unit is used to implement the sending action in at least one of steps S601a, S601b, S604a, and S604b of the embodiment shown in FIG6 , and the remaining steps in the embodiment, such as determining the second path loss, are implemented by the processing unit 1002; alternatively, the receiving unit is used to implement the receiving action in steps S701 and / or S704 of the embodiment shown in FIG7 , the sending unit is used to implement the sending action in steps S703a and / or S703b of the embodiment shown in FIG7 , and the remaining steps in the embodiment, such as determining the updated first path loss and the updated second path loss, are implemented by the processing unit 1002.

[0226] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the function of a network device, the sending unit is used to implement the action of sending in step S602 in the embodiment shown in Figure 6, and the receiving unit is used to implement the action of receiving in at least one of steps S601a, S601b, S604a, and S604b in the embodiment shown in Figure 6, and the remaining steps in the embodiment, such as the generation of the first indication information, are implemented by the processing unit 1002; or, the sending unit is used to implement the action of sending in steps S701 and / or S704 in the embodiment shown in Figure 7, and the receiving unit is used to implement the action of receiving in steps S703a and / or S703b in the embodiment shown in Figure 7, and the remaining steps in the embodiment, such as the generation of the second indication information and the third indication information, are implemented by the processing unit 1002.

[0227] For the specific implementation of the above-mentioned transceiver unit 1001 and the processing unit 1002, reference may be made to the relevant descriptions in the embodiments shown in FIG6 and FIG7.

[0228] The division of modules in this application is illustrative and represents only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the examples of this application may be integrated into a single processor, exist physically as separate modules, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The aforementioned integrated modules may be implemented in either hardware or software functional modules.

[0229] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0230] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the method in the above embodiment is implemented.

[0231] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method in the above embodiment.

[0232] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including the above-mentioned communication device.

[0233] The present application also provides a circuit, which is coupled to a memory and is used to execute the method shown in the above embodiment. The circuit may include a chip circuit.

[0234] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip device, including a processor, for calling a computer program or computer instruction stored in the memory so that the processor executes the method provided in any one of the embodiments shown in Figures 6 and 7 above.

[0235] In a possible implementation, the input of the chip device corresponds to the receiving operation in any one of the embodiments shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , and the output of the chip device corresponds to the sending operation in any one of the embodiments shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 .

[0236] Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory via an interface.

[0237] Optionally, the chip device further includes a memory, in which computer programs or computer instructions are stored.

[0238] When the above-mentioned communication device is a module applied to a network device, the network device module implements the functions of the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The network device module receives information from other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the network device; or, the network device module sends information to other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the network device to the terminal device. The network device module here can be a baseband chip of the network device, or a CU, DU or other module, or a device under the O-RAN architecture, such as an open CU, open DU and other devices.

[0239] It should be noted that the above units or one or more of the units can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of the two. When any of the above units or units is implemented by software, the software exists in the form of computer program instructions and is stored in a memory, and a processor can be used to execute the program instructions and implement the above method flow.

[0240] In this application, a processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in this application. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in this application may be directly executed by a hardware processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules within the processor.

[0241] When the above units or units are implemented in hardware, the hardware can be any one or any combination of a CPU, a microprocessor, a digital signal processing (DSP) chip, a microcontroller unit (MCU), an artificial intelligence processor, an ASIC, a SoC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device (PLD), a dedicated digital circuit, a hardware accelerator or a non-integrated discrete device, which can run the necessary software or not rely on the software to execute the above method flow.

[0242] Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, comprising: at least one processor and an interface, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to a memory via the interface, and when the at least one processor executes a computer program or instruction in the memory, the chip system executes the method in any of the above method embodiments. Optionally, the chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0243] The memory in the present application may also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing a storage function for storing program instructions and / or data. A memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store a desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. For example, the memory may be a non-volatile memory, such as a digital versatile disc (DVD), a hard disk drive (HDD), or a solid-state drive (SSD), or a volatile memory, such as a random-access memory (RAM).

[0244] It is understood that, in this application, "indication" can include direct indication, indirect indication, explicit indication, and implicit indication. When describing a certain indication information as indicating A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A. In this application, the information indicated by the indication information is referred to as the information to be indicated. In specific implementations, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated. For example, but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or its index, or it can be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where the other information is associated with the information to be indicated. It is also possible to indicate only a portion of the information to be indicated, while the rest of the information to be indicated is known or agreed upon in advance. For example, it is also possible to indicate specific information by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-specified) order of arrangement of various information, thereby reducing indication overhead to a certain extent. The information to be indicated can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately. The transmission period and / or transmission timing of these sub-information can be the same or different. This application does not limit the specific transmission method. The sending period and / or sending timing of these sub-information may be predefined, for example, predefined according to a protocol, or may be configured by the transmitting end device by sending configuration information to the receiving end device.

[0245] The at least one (item) involved in this application indicates one (item) or more (items). More than one (item) refers to two (items) or more than two (items). "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. In addition, it should be understood that although the terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe each object in this application, these objects should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish each object from each other.

[0246] The terms "including" and "having" mentioned above and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include other steps or units that are not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units that are inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. It should be noted that, in this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any method or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other methods or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete way.

[0247] A network element in a communication system can send a signal to another network element or receive a signal from another network element. The signal may include information, signaling, or data, etc. The network element can also be replaced by an entity, a network entity, a device, a terminal device, a communication module, a node, a communication node, etc. The present application uses the network element as an example for description. For example, the communication system may include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. The network device can send a downlink signal to the terminal device, and / or the terminal device can send an uplink signal to the network device. In addition, it can be understood that if the communication system includes multiple terminal devices, the multiple terminal devices can also send signals to each other, that is, the signal sending network element and the signal receiving network element can both be terminal devices.

[0248] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means.

[0249] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art can understand and implement other changes to the disclosed embodiments by reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0250] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

[0251] In the above embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own focus. For parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0252] The components in the device of the embodiment of the present application can be merged, divided, or deleted according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can combine or combine the different embodiments and features of the different embodiments described in this specification.

[0253] In this application, under the premise of no logical contradiction, the examples can reference each other, for example, the methods and / or terms between method embodiments can reference each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments can reference each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device examples and method examples can reference each other.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending a first uplink signal to the first network device and the second network device respectively; receiving first indication information from the first network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: a path loss difference between a first path loss and a second path loss, and a received power difference between a first received power and a second received power, wherein the first path loss is the path loss between the terminal device and the first network device, the second path loss is the path loss between the terminal device and the second network device, the first received power is the received power of the first uplink signal received by the first network device, and the second received power is the received power of the first uplink signal received by the second network device; The second path loss is determined based on the first indication information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein Before determining the second path loss based on the first indication information, the method further includes: receiving a first path loss resource from the first network device; A first path loss between the terminal device and the first network device is determined using the first path loss resource.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The determining the second path loss based on the first indication information includes: Determine the second path loss according to the first path loss and the path loss difference, or, The second path loss is determined based on the first path loss, the receiving power difference, the first transmit power and the second transmit power, where the first transmit power is the transmit power corresponding to the first uplink signal sent by the terminal device to the first network device, and the second transmit power is the transmit power corresponding to the first uplink signal sent by the terminal device to the second network device.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein The first transmission power and the second transmission power are the same.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein: The second transmit power being the same is determined based on the first path loss.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The method further comprises: First information is sent to the first network device, where the first information is used to indicate the transmit power of the first uplink signal, and the transmit power is used by the first network device to calculate the path loss difference.

7. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein The first path loss resource is a path loss resource in a first transmission configuration indication TCI state, and the first TCI state is the first of the two TCI states currently used by the terminal device for uplink transmission.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein The method further comprises: receiving second indication information from the first network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate an updated first TCI state; Sending a third uplink signal to the first network device and the second network device respectively, wherein sending the third uplink signal to the first network device is based on the updated first TCI state; Receive third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: an updated path loss difference, or an updated received power difference.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The method further comprises: An updated second path loss is determined using the updated path loss difference or the updated received power difference and the updated first path loss.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: Before determining the updated first TCI state and receiving the updated path loss difference or the updated received power difference, the second path loss is determined using the path loss difference before the update or the received power difference before the update and the first path loss before the update.

11. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving a first uplink signal from a terminal device; Send first indication information to the terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: a path loss difference between a first path loss and a second path loss, and a received power difference between a first received power and a second received power, wherein the first path loss is the path loss between the terminal device and the first network device, the second path loss is the path loss between the terminal device and the second network device, the first received power is the received power of the first uplink signal received by the first network device, and the second received power is the received power of the first uplink signal received by the second network device.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The method further comprises: A first path loss resource is sent to the terminal device, so that the terminal device determines a first path loss between the terminal device and the first network device through the first path loss resource.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein: The method further comprises: receiving first information from the terminal device, where the first information is used to indicate the transmit power of the first uplink signal; The path loss difference is calculated based on the transmit power.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein: The first path loss resource is a path loss resource in a first transmission configuration indication TCI state, and the first TCI state is the first of the two TCI states currently used by the terminal device for uplink transmission.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein The method further comprises: Sending second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate the updated first TCI state; receiving a third uplink signal from the terminal device, where the third uplink signal is based on the updated first TCI state; Send third indication information to the terminal device, where the third indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: an updated path loss difference, or an updated receiving power difference.

16. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a unit for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or comprises a unit for implementing the method according to any one of claims 11 to 15.

17. A communication system, characterized in that: The method comprises a first communication device and a second communication device, wherein the first communication device is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, and the second communication device is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 11 to 15.

18. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 when executing the computer program, or implements the method according to any one of claims 11 to 15 when executing the computer program.

19. A chip, characterized in that: The chip is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or to execute the method according to any one of claims 11 to 15.

20. A chip module, characterized in that: The method comprises an interface component and a chip, wherein the chip is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or to execute the method according to any one of claims 11 to 15.

21. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 15 is implemented.

Images