Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and a related apparatus. In the method, first information received by a network device is from a first entity which is used for sensing or positioning. The first information is used for determining communication beam information, so that the network device can communicate with a terminal device on the basis of the communication beam information. In other words, the network device can determine the communication beam information between the network device and the terminal device on the basis of sensing related data or positioning related data provided by the first entity. In this way, overhead increase and transmission resource occupation caused by transmission of reference signals can be avoided or reduced, so that the power consumption of devices is reduced, and the communication efficiency is improved.

Description

A communication method and related apparatus

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410521310.1, filed on April 26, 2024, entitled "A Communication Method and Related Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and related apparatus. Background Technology

[0003] Wireless communication can be a transmission communication between two or more communication devices that does not propagate through conductors or cables. Generally, the two or more communication devices include network devices and terminal devices, or the two or more communication devices include different terminal devices.

[0004] Currently, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology is used in the communication process between different communication devices to meet the demand for high-speed transmission. Specifically, different communication devices can determine the communication beam by measuring a reference signal, and then use this beam for high-speed data transmission. Generally, the overhead of the reference signal is related to the number of ports on the communication device that transmit that reference signal.

[0005] However, with the increase in frequency bands and the growing demand for high-speed communication, the number of ports used by communication equipment to transmit reference signals may gradually increase. This will lead to an increase in the overhead of reference signals used to determine the communication beam and occupy more transmission resources, which in turn will increase the power consumption of the communication equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method and related apparatus for reducing device power consumption and improving communication efficiency.

[0007] This application provides a communication method applicable to a network device, for example, executed by the network device, or executed by a component (e.g., a processor, circuit, chip, or chip system) within the network device, or executed by a logic module or software implementing all or part of the network device's functions. For ease of explanation, this application uses a network device as an example. In this method, the network device receives first information from a first entity, which is used to determine communication beam information between the network device and a terminal device; the first entity is used for sensing or positioning; the communication beam information is used to indicate the transmitting beam of the network device and / or the receiving beam of the terminal device; the network device communicates with the terminal device based on the communication beam information.

[0008] Based on the above scheme, the first information received by the network device comes from a first entity, which is used for sensing or positioning. Specifically, this first information is used to determine communication beam information, enabling the network device to communicate with the terminal device based on this communication beam information. In other words, the network device can determine the communication beam information between itself and the terminal device based on sensing-related data or positioning-related data provided by the first entity. This approach avoids or reduces the increased overhead and transmission resource consumption caused by the transmission of reference signals, thereby reducing device power consumption and improving communication efficiency.

[0009] For example, when communication beam information is used to indicate the receiving beam of a terminal device, in the above process, the network device, by sensing or locating relevant data to determine the communication beam information, can indicate the perceived (or located) beam direction corresponding to the network device to the terminal device. Compared to the implementation method where the network device performs beam scanning using downlink reference signals to determine the receiving beam of the terminal device, in the above scheme, the terminal device does not need to perform beam scanning (for example, the terminal device does not perform beam scanning, but obtains beam information through first information to achieve beam management) to determine the receiving beam of the terminal device. This reduces the overhead incurred by the terminal device during beam scanning feedback and reduces the power consumption of the terminal device; at the same time, it also reduces the overhead incurred by the network device during beam scanning and reduces the power consumption of the network device.

[0010] For example, when communication beam information is used to indicate the transmitting beam of a network device, in the above process, the network device can indicate the beam direction corresponding to one or more terminal devices by sensing (or locating) the communication beam information determined by sensing or locating relevant data. Compared with the implementation method of the network device performing beam scanning through downlink reference signals to determine the receiving beam of the terminal device, this can reduce the overhead generated by the network device in the beam scanning process and reduce the power consumption of the network device.

[0011] Optionally, the downlink reference signal may include a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB or S-SS / PSBCH block), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), or other downlink reference signals.

[0012] Optionally, the communication beam information determined by the first information is also used to indicate the beam information of the receiving beam of the network device and / or the beam information of the transmitting beam of the terminal device. In other words, the network device can also determine the beam information of the receiving beam of the network device and / or the beam information of the transmitting beam of the terminal device by sensing or locating the relevant data to reduce the implementation complexity.

[0013] It should be noted that the first entity is used for sensing or positioning. This first entity can be an entity integrated into network devices (such as access network devices, core network devices, etc.) or a stand-alone device. There is no limitation here.

[0014] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the first information includes the communication beam information; or, the first information includes any of the following information for determining the communication beam information: location information of one or more terminal devices, environmental map information of the area where the network device is located, and distribution information of one or more terminal devices.

[0015] Based on the above scheme, the first information received by the network device can be realized in the above-mentioned multiple ways, so that the network device can determine the communication beam information between the terminal device and the network device, thereby improving the flexibility of the scheme implementation.

[0016] Optionally, the first information may include cell identification information of one or more cells. The network device may communicate with the terminal device through one or more cells. When the first information includes the cell identification information of the one or more cells, the first information can be used to indicate the communication beam information corresponding to the one or more cells, enabling the network device to determine the communication beam information corresponding to the one or more cells based on the first information. For example, if the communication beam information corresponding to the one or more cells is the same, the subsequent network device can communicate with the terminal device through the one or more cells based on the same communication beam information; or, if the communication beam information corresponding to the one or more cells is different, the subsequent network device can communicate with the terminal device through each cell separately based on the communication beam information corresponding to each cell.

[0017] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the communication beam information is used to indicate at least one of the following: beam index information, beam direction, beam angle, index of a reference signal associated with the beam, or cell identification information.

[0018] Based on the above scheme, communication beam information can be used to indicate the transmitting beam and / or receiving beam through at least one of the above methods, thereby improving the flexibility of the scheme implementation.

[0019] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the network device communicates with the terminal device based on the communication beam information, including: the network device sending the communication beam information to the terminal device.

[0020] Based on the above scheme, the network device can send the communication beam information to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can determine the transmitting beam of the network device and / or the receiving beam of the terminal device based on the communication beam information, so that the terminal device can communicate based on the uplink beam determined by the sensing-related data or positioning-related data.

[0021] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the network device communicates with the terminal device based on the communication beam information, including: the network device sending a signal to the terminal device based on the transmission beam of the network device.

[0022] Based on the above scheme, the network device can send signals to the terminal device based on the transmission beam of the network device, enabling the network device to communicate based on the downlink beam determined by sensing-related data or positioning-related data.

[0023] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes: the network device sending second information to the first entity, the second information being used to request the communication beam information.

[0024] Based on the above scheme, the network device can send a second message to the first entity to request the communication beam information, so that the first entity can provide the communication beam information to the network device based on the request.

[0025] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the second information includes the identifiers of one or more cells corresponding to the network device and / or the identifier of the terminal device.

[0026] Optionally, the second information may further include at least one of the following: the identifier of the network device, the identifier of one or more cells corresponding to the network device, the identifier of the terminal device, the identifier of one or more cells accessed by the terminal device, the request reason value corresponding to the second information, the indication information indicating the beam type corresponding to the communication beam information requested by the second information, or the indication information indicating the reference signal type corresponding to the communication beam information requested by the second information.

[0027] Based on the above scheme, the second information used to request the communication beam information may include at least one of the above, so that the first entity can determine and send the communication beam information corresponding to the request based on the at least one.

[0028] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, before the network device sends the second information to the first entity, the method further includes: the network device receiving third information from the terminal device, the third information being used to request the communication beam information, and / or, the third information being used to indicate beam failure.

[0029] Based on the above scheme, the network device can determine that the current communication quality of the terminal device may be poor (or deteriorated) based on the terminal device's request and / or beam failure indication. To this end, the network device can request communication beam information from the first entity in order to improve the communication quality of the terminal device through the obtained communication beam information.

[0030] A second aspect of this application provides a communication method, which is executed by a first entity, or by a portion of a component of the first entity (e.g., a processor, circuit, chip, or chip system), or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first entity. In this second aspect and its possible implementations, the method is described as being executed by a first entity. In this method, the first entity determines first information, which is determined by the first entity for sensing or positioning; wherein the first information is used to determine communication beam information between a network device and a terminal device; the communication beam information is used to indicate the transmitting beam of the network device, and / or the receiving beam of the terminal device; the first entity sends the first information to the network device.

[0031] Based on the above scheme, the first entity is used for sensing or positioning. The first information sent by the first entity to the network device can be used to determine communication beam information, enabling the network device to communicate with the terminal device based on this communication beam information. In other words, the network device can determine the communication beam information between the network device and the terminal device based on the sensing-related data or positioning-related data provided by the first entity. In this way, the increased overhead and transmission resource occupation caused by the transmission of reference signals can be avoided or reduced, thereby reducing device power consumption and improving communication efficiency.

[0032] Optionally, the communication beam information determined by the first information is also used to indicate the beam information of the receiving beam of the network device and / or the beam information of the transmitting beam of the terminal device. In other words, the network device can also determine the beam information of the receiving beam of the network device and / or the beam information of the transmitting beam of the terminal device by sensing or locating the relevant data to reduce the implementation complexity.

[0033] It should be understood that the first entity can be an entity used for sensing or positioning. This first entity can be an entity integrated into network devices (such as access network devices, core network devices, etc.) or a separately configured device; no limitation is made here.

[0034] As an example, when the first entity is used for positioning, the first entity can be a location management function (LMF) entity / network element, an access and mobility management function (AMF) entity / network element, or other entities / network elements in the communication network that have positioning functions.

[0035] As another example, when the first entity is used for sensing, the first entity can be a sensing function (SF) entity / network element, the first entity can be a sensing control (SC) entity / network element, or other entities / network elements in the communication network that have sensing functions.

[0036] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the first information includes the communication beam information. Alternatively, the first information includes any of the following information for determining the communication beam information: location information of one or more terminal devices, environmental map information of the area where the network device is located, and distribution information of one or more terminal devices.

[0037] Based on the above scheme, the first information sent by the first entity to the network device can be implemented in the above-mentioned multiple ways, so that the network device can determine the communication beam information between the terminal device and the network device, thereby improving the flexibility of the scheme implementation.

[0038] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the communication beam information is used to indicate at least one of the following: beam index information, beam direction, beam angle, index of the reference signal associated with the beam, or cell identification information.

[0039] Based on the above scheme, communication beam information can be used to indicate the transmitting beam and / or receiving beam through at least one of the above methods, thereby improving the flexibility of the scheme implementation.

[0040] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the method further includes: the first entity receiving second information from the network device, the second information being used to request the communication beam information.

[0041] Based on the above scheme, the network device can send a second message to the first entity to request the communication beam information, so that the first entity can provide the communication beam information to the network device based on the request.

[0042] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the second information includes the identifiers of one or more cells corresponding to the network device and / or the identifier of the terminal device.

[0043] Optionally, the second information may further include at least one of the following: the identifier of the network device, the identifier of one or more cells corresponding to the network device, the identifier of the terminal device, the identifier of one or more cells accessed by the terminal device, the request reason value corresponding to the second information, the indication information indicating the beam type corresponding to the communication beam information requested by the second information, or the indication information indicating the reference signal type corresponding to the communication beam information requested by the second information.

[0044] Based on the above scheme, the second information used to request the communication beam information may include at least one of the above, so that the first entity can determine and send the communication beam information corresponding to the request based on the at least one.

[0045] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the method further includes: the first entity receiving fourth information from the terminal device, the fourth information being used to request the communication beam information, and / or, the fourth information being used to indicate beam failure.

[0046] Based on the above scheme, the terminal device can send a fourth message to the first entity to request the communication beam information, so that the first entity can provide the communication beam information to the network device connected to the terminal device based on the request.

[0047] A third aspect of this application provides a communication method applicable to network devices, such as being executed by a terminal device, or executed by a component (e.g., a processor, circuit, chip, or chip system) within the terminal device, or executed by a logic module or software implementing all or part of the terminal device's functions. For ease of explanation, this application uses a terminal device as an example. In this method, the terminal device receives communication beam information; the communication beam information is used to indicate the receiving beam of the terminal device; and the terminal device receives signals based on the receiving beam.

[0048] Based on the above scheme, the terminal device receives communication beam information from the network device to indicate the receiving beam of the terminal device. Subsequently, the terminal device can receive signals based on this receiving beam. Specifically, the network device, by sensing or locating relevant data to determine the communication beam information, can indicate the beam direction corresponding to the sensed (or located) network device to the terminal device. Compared to the implementation method where the network device uses downlink reference signals to perform beam scanning to determine the receiving beam of the terminal device, this reduces the overhead incurred by the terminal device during beam scanning feedback and lowers the power consumption of the terminal device; simultaneously, it also reduces the overhead incurred by the network device during beam scanning and lowers the power consumption of the network device.

[0049] It should be understood that the communication beam information received by the terminal device is used to indicate the receiving beam of the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device can determine its receiving beam without going through the beam scanning process corresponding to the downlink reference signal. Therefore, the terminal device can determine not to perform beam scanning corresponding to the downlink reference signal (e.g., SSB, CSI-RS, etc.).

[0050] Optionally, the communication beam information received by the terminal device can also be used to indicate the transmit beam of the network device. In other words, by sensing relevant data or determining communication beam information based on location-related data, the network device can indicate the beam direction corresponding to one or more sensed (or located) terminal devices. Compared to the implementation method where the network device performs beam scanning using downlink reference signals to determine the receive beam of the terminal devices, this reduces the overhead incurred by the network device during beam scanning and lowers the power consumption of the network device.

[0051] In one possible implementation of the third aspect, the method further includes: the terminal device sending third information to the network device, the third information being used to request the communication beam information, and / or, the third information being used to indicate beam failure.

[0052] Based on the above scheme, the network device can determine that the current communication quality of the terminal device may be poor (or deteriorated) based on the terminal device's request and / or beam failure indication. To this end, the network device can request communication beam information from the first entity in order to improve the communication quality of the terminal device through the obtained communication beam information.

[0053] In one possible implementation of the third aspect, the method further includes: the terminal device sending fourth information to the first entity, the first entity being used for sensing or locating; wherein the fourth information is used to request the communication beam information, and / or, the fourth information is used to indicate beam failure.

[0054] Based on the above scheme, the first entity can determine that the current communication quality of the terminal device may be poor (or deteriorated) based on the terminal device's request and / or beam failure indication. To this end, the first entity can send communication beam information to the terminal device through the network device so as to improve the communication quality of the terminal device through the obtained communication beam information.

[0055] A fourth aspect of this application provides a communication device, which is a network device or a module within a network device. The communication device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is used to receive first information from a first entity, which is used to determine communication beam information between the network device and a terminal device. The first entity is used for sensing or locating. The communication beam information is used to indicate the transmitting beam of the network device and / or the receiving beam of the terminal device. The processing unit is used to communicate with the terminal device based on the communication beam information.

[0056] In the fourth aspect of this application, the constituent modules of the communication device can also be used to perform the steps executed in various possible implementations of the first aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effects. For details, please refer to the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0057] A fifth aspect of this application provides a communication device, which is a first entity or a module within a first entity. The communication device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The processing unit is used to determine first information, which is determined by the first entity for sensing or positioning. The first information is used to determine communication beam information between a network device and a terminal device. The communication beam information is used to indicate the transmitting beam of the network device and / or the receiving beam of the terminal device. The transceiver unit is used to transmit the first information to the network device.

[0058] In the fifth aspect of this application, the constituent modules of the communication device can also be used to perform the steps executed in various possible implementations of the second aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effects. For details, please refer to the second aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0059] The sixth aspect of this application provides a communication device, which is a terminal device or a module in a terminal device. The communication device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is used to receive communication beam information; the communication beam information is used to indicate the receiving beam of the terminal device; and the processing unit is used to receive signals based on the receiving beam of the terminal device.

[0060] In the sixth aspect of this application, the constituent modules of the communication device can also be used to perform the steps executed in various possible implementations of the third aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effects. For details, please refer to the third aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0061] A seventh aspect of this application provides a communication device including at least one processor coupled to a memory; the memory is used to store a program or instructions; the at least one processor is used to execute the program or instructions to enable the communication device to implement the method described in any possible implementation of any of the first to third aspects. Optionally, the communication device may include the memory.

[0062] The eighth aspect of this application provides a communication device including at least one logic circuit and an input / output interface; the logic circuit is used to perform the method as described in any one of the possible implementations of the first to third aspects described above.

[0063] The ninth aspect of this application provides a communication system that includes at least two of the aforementioned network device, terminal device, and first entity.

[0064] The tenth aspect of this application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing one or more computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, perform the method as described in any possible implementation of any of the first to third aspects described above.

[0065] The eleventh aspect of this application provides a computer program product (or computer program) that, when executed by a processor, performs the method described in any possible implementation of any of the first to third aspects described above.

[0066] The twelfth aspect of this application provides a chip system including at least one processor for supporting a communication device in implementing the method described in any possible implementation of any of the first to third aspects.

[0067] In one possible design, the chip system may further include a memory for storing program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. Optionally, the chip system may also include interface circuitry that provides program instructions and / or data to the at least one processor.

[0068] The technical effects of any of the design methods in aspects four through twelfth can be found in the technical effects of the different design methods in aspects one through three above, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0069] Figures 1a to 1c are some schematic diagrams of the communication system provided in this application;

[0070] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the communication system provided in this application;

[0071] Figures 3a to 3e are some schematic diagrams of the communication system provided in this application;

[0072] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the communication method provided in this application;

[0073] Figures 5 to 8 are some schematic diagrams of the communication device provided in this application. Detailed Implementation

[0074] First, some terms used in the embodiments of this application will be explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0075] (1) Terminal device: can be a wireless terminal device that can receive network device scheduling and instruction information. The wireless terminal device can be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to the user, or a handheld device with wireless connection function, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem.

[0076] Terminal devices can communicate with one or more core networks or the Internet via a radio access network (RAN). Terminal devices can be mobile terminal devices, such as mobile phones (or "cellular" phones), computers, and data cards. For example, they can be portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-embedded, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices that exchange voice and / or data with the RAN. Examples include personal communication service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablets, and computers with wireless transceiver capabilities. Wireless terminal equipment can also be referred to as a system, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), remote station, access point (AP), remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, user agent, subscriber station (SS), customer premises equipment (CPE), terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile terminal (MT), drone, etc. Terminal equipment can also be wearable devices and next-generation communication systems, such as terminal equipment in 5G communication systems or terminal equipment in future public land mobile networks (PLMNs).

[0077] In IoT (or AIoT) systems, terminal devices include passive IoT terminal devices, semi-passive terminal devices, and some active IoT terminal devices.

[0078] (2) Network equipment (or network element): This can be equipment in a wireless network. For example, network equipment can be a RAN node (or device) that connects terminal devices to the wireless network, and can also be called a base station. Currently, some examples of RAN equipment include: base station, evolved NodeB (eNodeB), gNB (gNodeB) in 5G communication systems, transmission reception point (TRP), evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), base band unit (BBU), or wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point (AP), etc. In addition, in a network structure, network equipment can include centralized unit (CU) nodes, distributed unit (DU) nodes, or RAN equipment including CU nodes and DU nodes.

[0079] Optionally, RAN nodes can also be macro base stations, micro base stations, indoor stations, relay nodes, donor nodes, or radio controllers in cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenarios. RAN nodes can also be servers, wearable devices, vehicles, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, the access network equipment in V2X technology can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0080] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, with each RAN node performing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, RAN nodes can be central units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), CU-control plane (CPs), CU-user plane (UPs), or radio units (RUs), etc. CUs and DUs can be separate entities or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs).

[0081] 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 meaning. For example, in an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN, or ORAN) system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules.

[0082] Communication between access network devices and terminal devices follows a specific protocol layer structure. This 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: radio resource control (RRC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, or physical (PHY) layer, etc. The user plane protocol layer may include at least one of the following: service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, or physical layer, etc.

[0083] The correspondence between network elements and their achievable protocol layer functions in the ORAN system can be found in Table 1 below.

[0084] Table 1

[0085] Network devices can be other devices that provide wireless communication functions for terminal devices. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or form of the network device. For ease of description, the embodiments of this application are not limited.

[0086] Network equipment may also include core network equipment, such as the Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Serving Gateway (S-GW), Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), and Public Data Network Gateway (PDN Gateway, P-GW) in 4th generation (4G) networks; and AMF, User Plane Function (UPF), or Session Management Function (SMF) in 5G networks. Furthermore, this core network equipment may also include other core network equipment in 5G networks and next-generation networks of 5G networks.

[0087] In this application embodiment, the device for implementing the function of the network device can be the network device itself, or it can be a device capable of supporting the network device in implementing that function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the network device. In the technical solutions provided in this application embodiment, the example of a network device being used to implement the function of the network device is used to describe the technical solutions provided in this application embodiment.

[0088] (3) Configuration and Pre-configuration: In this application, both configuration and pre-configuration are used. Configuration refers to the network device sending configuration information or parameter values ​​of some parameters to the terminal device through messages or signaling, so that the terminal device can determine the communication parameters or resources during transmission based on these values ​​or information. Pre-configuration is similar to configuration; it can be parameter information or parameter values ​​that the network device and the terminal device have negotiated in advance, or it can be parameter information or parameter values ​​that the network device or the terminal device uses as specified by the standard protocol, or it can be parameter information or parameter values ​​that are pre-stored in the network device or the terminal device. This application does not limit this.

[0089] Furthermore, these values ​​and parameters can be changed or updated.

[0090] (4) The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of this application can be used interchangeably. "At least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, "at least one of A, B and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. And, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, sequence, priority or importance of multiple objects.

[0091] (5) In the embodiments of this application, "send" and "receive" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which may include sending directly through the air interface or sending indirectly through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receive information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which may include receiving directly from YY through the air interface or receiving indirectly from YY through the air interface by other units or modules. "Send" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface.

[0092] In other words, sending and receiving can occur between devices, such as between network devices and terminal devices, or within a device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device via buses, wiring, or interfaces.

[0093] It is understandable that information may undergo necessary processing, such as encoding and modulation, between the source and destination, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar statements in this application can be interpreted in a similar way and will not be elaborated further.

[0094] (6) In the embodiments of this application, "instruction" may include direct instruction and indirect instruction, as well as explicit instruction and implicit instruction. The information indicated by a certain piece of information (as described below, the instruction information) is called the information to be instructed. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be instructed, such as, but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be instructed, such as the information to be instructed itself or its index. It can also indirectly indicate the information to be instructed by indicating other information, where there is an association between the other information and the information to be instructed; or it can only indicate a part of the information to be instructed, while the other parts of the information to be instructed are known or pre-agreed upon. For example, the instruction can be implemented by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol predefined) arrangement order of various information, thereby reducing the instruction overhead to a certain extent. This application does not limit the specific method of instruction. It is understood that for the sender of the instruction information, the instruction information can be used to indicate the information to be instructed, and for the receiver of the instruction information, the instruction information can be used to determine the information to be instructed.

[0095] In this application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other. In the various embodiments of this application, and in the various implementation methods / methods / implementations within each embodiment, unless otherwise specified or logically conflicting, the terminology and / or descriptions between different embodiments and between the various implementation methods / methods / implementations within each embodiment are consistent and can be mutually referenced. The technical features in different embodiments and the various implementation methods / methods / implementations within each embodiment can be combined according to their inherent logical relationships to form new embodiments, implementation methods, methods, or implementation approaches. The embodiments described below do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0096] To facilitate understanding of the methods provided in the embodiments of this application, the system architecture of the methods provided in the embodiments of this application will be described below. It is understood that the system architecture described in the embodiments of this application is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the solutions of the embodiments of this application and does not constitute a limitation on the solutions provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0097] Please refer to Figure 1a, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system 1000 used in the embodiments of this application. As shown in Figure 1a, the communication system includes a RAN 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include an Internet 300. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (110a and 110b in Figure 1a, collectively referred to as 110), and may also include at least one terminal (120a-120j in Figure 1a, collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1a). The terminal 120 is wirelessly connected to the RAN node 110, and the RAN node 110 is wirelessly or wiredly connected to the core network 200. The core network equipment in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 can be independent and different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device integrating the logical functions of the core network equipment and the logical functions of the RAN node. Terminals can be connected to each other, as can RAN nodes, via wired or wireless means.

[0098] The core network equipment that may be involved in this application includes:

[0099] Access and mobility management function (AMF) devices / network elements / entities are deployed in the wireless core network to manage the access and mobility of terminal devices, performing registration, connection, reachability, and mobility management. AMF can also provide a session management message transmission channel for terminal devices and session management function (SMF) network elements, providing authentication and authorization functions for user access, and serving as an access point for the terminal and the wireless core network control plane.

[0100] User plane function (UPF) devices / network elements / entities refer to the user plane, which carries data traffic and is responsible for forwarding traffic between the radio access network and the Internet, reporting traffic usage, and enforcing quality of service (QoS) policies.

[0101] Figure 1b is a schematic diagram of the application framework involving the RIC module under the O-RAN architecture. As shown in Figure 1b, the communication system includes a RAN intelligent controller (RIC). The RIC includes near-real-time RIC (near-RT RIC) and non-real-time RIC (non-RT RIC).

[0102] As an example, the near real-time RIC in Figure 1b is used for model training and inference. For instance, it can be used to train an AI model, which is then used for inference. The near real-time RIC can obtain network-side and / or terminal-side information from RAN nodes (e.g., CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and / or RU) and / or terminals. This information can be used as training data or inference data. Optionally, the near real-time RIC can deliver the inference results to the RAN nodes and / or terminals. Optionally, inference results can be exchanged between CU and DU, and / or between DU and RU. For example, the near real-time RIC delivers the inference results to the DU, and the DU sends them to the RU.

[0103] As another example, the non-real-time RIC in Figure 1b is used for model training and inference. For example, it can be used to train an AI model and then use that AI model for inference. The non-real-time RIC can obtain network-side and / or terminal-side information from RAN nodes (e.g., CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and / or RU) and / or terminals. This information can be used as training data or inference data, and the inference results can be delivered to the RAN nodes and / or terminals. Optionally, inference results can be exchanged between CU and DU, and / or between DU and RU; for example, the non-real-time RIC delivers the inference results to the DU, which then forwards them to the RU.

[0104] As another example, the near real-time RIC and non-real-time RIC in Figure 1b can also be set up as separate network elements. Optionally, the near real-time RIC and non-real-time RIC can also be part of other devices. For example, the near real-time RIC can be set in the RAN node (e.g., in the CU or DU), while the non-real-time RIC can be set in the operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) system, cloud server, core network device, or other network device.

[0105] Figure 1c shows an example diagram of an O-RAN system, which may include other components besides those shown in the figure. As shown, the access network device (RAN, such as an eNB, gNB, or next-generation access network device) communicates with the core network (CN) via a backhaul link and with the UE via an air interface.

[0106] In one possible implementation, this application can be applied to LTE wireless communication systems, NR wireless communication systems, and future evolved NR wireless communication systems. For example, this application can be applied to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems in LTE, OFDM systems in NR, future OFDM systems, and OFDM-like systems.

[0107] In wireless communication systems (such as those shown in Figures 1a, 1b, or 1c), wireless communication sensing fusion is one of the key technologies in current communication network research, and it can be widely used in typical application scenarios such as intelligent transportation, intelligent low-altitude airspace, and intelligent networks. Communication sensing fusion achieves unified design of communication and sensing functions through signal joint design and hardware sharing. Sensing in communication sensing fusion can be understood as wireless sensing technology based on the communication system. For example, a base station transmits wireless signals to a target area or object and receives the echo signals reflected by the object. By analyzing the received signals, corresponding sensing measurements are obtained, such as the number, location, speed, and identification of the target object.

[0108] Generally, based on whether the perception requirement is area-oriented or target-oriented, perception can be divided into per-area and per-object synesthetic scenarios.

[0109] As an example, area-oriented perception targets a specific area, such as urban low-altitude areas, roads, factories, etc. Typical applications include: locating and tracking drones that intrude into the monitored area in urban low-altitude areas, thereby achieving drone intrusion detection for fixed areas; detecting the movement trajectory and speed of vehicles on urban roads in real time and uploading the sensing data to the positioning processing center to perceive the operating status of highways; performing breathing detection, fitness monitoring, gesture / posture recognition, etc., by sensing changes in the sensing channel; and analyzing the relationship between signal attenuation in the communication link and weather indicators to obtain corresponding weather indicators and perform weather detection, etc.

[0110] As another example, target-oriented detection uses sensing technology to perceive and track target objects when the target has an identifier (e.g., the target has a subscriber identification module (SIM) card that can establish an air interface connection with the network) in order to obtain the scenario of dynamic detection of the perceived object.

[0111] The sensing signal may be transmitted between access network devices and terminal devices, between terminal devices, and between access network devices. The process shown in Figure 2 will be described below as an example.

[0112] As shown in Figure 2, the sensing signal can have the following six modes:

[0113] (a) The access network device sends a sensing signal, and the access network device receives the sensing signal.

[0114] (b) The terminal device sends a sensing signal, and the terminal device receives the sensing signal.

[0115] (c) One access network device sends a sensing signal, and another access network device receives the sensing signal.

[0116] (d) One terminal device sends a sensing signal, and another terminal device receives the sensing signal.

[0117] (e) The access network device sends a sensing signal, and the terminal device receives the sensing signal.

[0118] (f) The terminal device sends a sensing signal, and the access network device receives the sensing signal.

[0119] Furthermore, to enable the communication network to possess sensing function (SF), it may be necessary to deploy network elements with sensing capabilities in the network equipment. The following will introduce some possible deployment methods for network elements with sensing capabilities.

[0120] As shown in Figure 3a, devices / network elements / entities with sensing capabilities can be deployed in the core network, i.e., the SF shown in Figure 3a. The SF can be a network element in the core network that provides sensing-related functions, including: management of sensing nodes, coordination of sensing resources, processing of sensing measurements, and sharing of sensing results, etc., i.e., possible sensing-related functions.

[0121] In Figure 3a, access network devices can communicate with UPF network elements through the NG-U interface; access network devices can communicate with AMF network elements through the NG-C interface; access network devices can communicate with each other through the Xn interface; and terminal devices can communicate with access network devices through the Uu interface.

[0122] Optionally, SF is a network element deployed on the network side that can provide sensing-related services. The name is merely an example and can be other names, such as sensing function network element, sensing requirement network element, sensing management network element, etc. Access network devices can connect to SF through AMF or UPF. In a special case, SF and LMF are co-located, or the LMF is extended to implement the functions of SF.

[0123] For example, as shown in Figure 3a, the SF can be divided into SF control plane (SF-C) network elements and SF user plane (SF-U) network elements. In this case, the access network equipment communicates with the SF-U network elements through the UPF network element and with the SF-C network elements through the AMF network element.

[0124] For example, access network devices can also connect directly to the SF, meaning they do not need to communicate with the SF through the UPF and AMF. In this case, the SF can also be divided into SF-C and SF-U.

[0125] It should be understood that the sensing functions deployed in the core network can have other names besides SF, such as sensing function network element, sensing requirement network element, sensing management network element, etc., and there is no limitation here.

[0126] As shown in Figures 3b and 3c, devices / network elements / entities with sensing capabilities can be deployed in the core network, specifically the sensing control (SC) devices / network elements / entities shown in Figure 3b. In Figure 3b, the SC can be a device / network element / entity independently set up in the access network equipment; in Figure 3c, the SC can be a device / network element / entity integrated into the access network equipment. In Figures 3b and 3c, the SF is optional. That is, the SC can exist independently, or the SC and SF can be deployed simultaneously. When deployed simultaneously, the functions between the SC and SF network elements are not limited.

[0127] Here, SC represents a sensing-related network element set up on the RAN side. This network element can be a base station, a network element deployed on a base station, or a network element deployed independently of the base station. This network element may have at least one of the following capabilities:

[0128] It receives sensing requests from SF, manages sensing nodes, coordinates sensing resources within the region, processes sensing measurement results, and directly receives sensing requests (possessing all the functions of SF).

[0129] Optionally, the sensing function deployed in the access network can have other names besides SC, such as sensing control network element, control network element, sensing control node, edge sensing function, edge control network element, edge control node, etc., without limitation here.

[0130] As shown in Figures 3d and 3e, these are examples of scenarios where both the core network and the access network are equipped with sensing devices / network elements / entities.

[0131] For example, in Figure 3d, the devices / network elements / entities with sensing capabilities deployed in the access network may include SC network element #1 and SC network element #2, which are independent of the access network devices. Optionally, the relationship between the access network element and the SC network element can be one-to-one as shown in Figure 3d, or it can be one-to-many, or many-to-one; no limitation is made here.

[0132] For example, in Figure 3e, the devices / network elements / entities with sensing capabilities deployed in the access network may include SC network element #1 and SC network element #2 integrated into the access network devices.

[0133] For example, in Figures 3d and 3e, the sensing-enabled devices / network elements / entities deployed in the core network may include SF network elements.

[0134] In wireless communication systems (such as those shown in Figures 1a, 1b, or 1c), the use of multi-input multi-output (MIMO) technology during communication between different communication devices can meet the demands of high-speed transmission. Specifically, different communication devices can determine a communication beam using the measurement results of a reference signal, and subsequently, high-speed data transmission can be performed through this communication beam.

[0135] Currently, beam management can be used to determine communication beams. The purpose of beam management is to select the optimal transmit and receive beams. Taking the communication process between terminal devices and network devices as an example, when a terminal device accesses the network, it needs to select a suitable serving beam pair for uplink and downlink signal transmission; when the location or channel status of the terminal device changes, the serving beam also needs to be continuously adjusted. The process of selecting the optimal serving beam is achieved through beam management.

[0136] Generally, beam management consists of two phases: SSB beam (coarse beam) scanning and CSI-RS beam (fine beam) scanning. The following will use a network device as the base station and a UE as the terminal device as an example to describe the processes of coarse and fine beam scanning in downlink communication.

[0137] Coarse beam scanning process:

[0138] Step 1. The base station scans the SSB, and the UE performs measurements. For UEs in RRC Idle / Inactive state, the UE can send the optimal transmission beam through the random access pre-guided base station. For UEs in RRC Connected state, the UE reports the SSB measurement report to the base station, and the base station determines the optimal transmission beam.

[0139] Step 2. The UE determines the optimal receive coarse beam by measuring the SSB.

[0140] Fine beam scanning process:

[0141] Step 3. The base station transmits the CSI-RS beam in the determined SSB transmission beam direction. The CSI-RS beam is narrower and can indicate a more granular direction.

[0142] Step 4. The UE measures the CSI-RS beam and reports the measurement. The base station determines the optimal transmission beam based on the measurement report.

[0143] Step 5. The UE measures the CSI-RS to determine the optimal narrow beam for receiving signals.

[0144] In addition, uplink communication can reuse the downlink beam determined through the above process.

[0145] However, the overhead of the reference signal is related to the number of ports on the communication device that transmit the reference signal. As frequency bands increase and the demand for high-speed communication grows, the number of ports on the communication device that transmit the reference signal may gradually increase. This will lead to an increase in the overhead of the reference signal used to determine the communication beam and occupy more transmission resources, thereby increasing the power consumption of the communication device.

[0146] Therefore, optimizing the communication beam determination process is a pressing technical problem. As described above, future communication networks may possess sensing capabilities, but how to use sensing to assist in communication beam determination is currently lacking in research.

[0147] Please refer to Figure 4, which is a schematic diagram of the communication method provided in this application. The method includes the following steps.

[0148] It should be understood that Figure 4 illustrates the method by using different communication devices (e.g., the first entity, network device, terminal device, etc.) as the executing entities of the interaction steps, but this application does not limit the executing entity of the interaction steps. For example, in the implementation process of Figure 4, the interaction steps can be executed by the communication device, or by a chip, chip system, processor, logic module, or software that supports the communication device to implement the interaction steps.

[0149] Optionally, in Figure 4 below, the first entity can be an entity integrated into a network device (e.g., access network device, core network device, etc.) or a stand-alone device. When the first entity is an access network device, it can be an ORAN network element, such as an O-CU, O-DU, or O-RU. In step S401 below, first information can be generated through the O-CU and / or O-DU, and then sent through the O-RU. Alternatively, the first entity can be deployed on an O-CU, O-DU, or O-RU.

[0150] Optionally, in Figure 4 below, the network device can be an access network device, which can be an ORAN network element. For example, the network device may include an O-CU, an O-DU, and an O-RU. In step S401 below, the first information can be received through the O-CU. In step S402 below, the O-RU can be controlled to communicate with the terminal device based on the communication beam information through the O-CU and / or the O-DU.

[0151] S401. A first entity sends first information, and correspondingly, a network device receives the first information. The first information is used to determine communication beam information between the network device and the terminal device; the first entity is used for sensing or positioning; the communication beam information is used to indicate the transmitting beam of the network device and / or the receiving beam of the terminal device.

[0152] Optionally, the first information may include cell identification information of one or more cells. The network device may communicate with the terminal device through one or more cells. When the first information includes the cell identification information of the one or more cells, the first information can be used to indicate the communication beam information corresponding to the one or more cells, enabling the network device to determine the communication beam information corresponding to the one or more cells based on the first information. For example, if the communication beam information corresponding to the one or more cells is the same, in subsequent step S402, the network device can communicate with the terminal device through the one or more cells based on the same communication beam information; or, if the communication beam information corresponding to the one or more cells is different, in subsequent step S402, the network device can communicate with the terminal device through each cell separately based on the communication beam information corresponding to each cell.

[0153] S402. Network devices and terminal devices communicate based on communication beam information.

[0154] Optionally, network devices and terminal devices communicate based on communication beam information, which can also be understood as network devices and terminal devices sending communication data or reference signals through beam-associated wireless resources.

[0155] In one possible implementation, the first information received by the network device in step S401 includes the communication beam information; or, the first information includes any of the following information for determining the communication beam information: location information of one or more terminal devices, environmental map information of the area where the network device is located, or distribution information of one or more terminal devices. Thus, the first information received by the network device can be implemented in various ways as described above, enabling the network device to determine the communication beam information between the terminal devices and the network device, thereby improving the flexibility of the solution implementation. Some examples will be used to illustrate this below.

[0156] Example A: The first information includes communication beam information. This communication beam information includes the transmitting beam of the network device and the receiving beam of the terminal device during communication between the network device and the terminal device. In other words, the first information can be used to determine the communication beam pair between the network device and the terminal device during downlink communication.

[0157] In Example A, a network device is used as a base station. The communication beam information determined by the network device based on the first information in step S401 may include the base station's transmit beam, the corresponding cell identification information (e.g., PCI, cell global identification (CGI)), and the terminal device's receive beam information. The base station's transmit beam information and the terminal device's receive beam information can be represented in various forms, such as: beam index information, beam direction, beam angle, and the index of the reference signal associated with the beam.

[0158] For example, the base station's transmit beam and the terminal device's receive beam can be provided in the form of beam pairs. Optionally, the base station's transmit beam and the terminal device's receive beam can have a one-to-one or one-to-many relationship. Optionally, the first information can also include multiple beam pairs. The multiple beam pairs can correspond to the same cell or different cells; they can correspond to the terminal device's current access cell or to a neighboring cell of the terminal device's current access cell.

[0159] Optionally, the first information may also include signal quality information, such as reference signal received power (RSRP) and reference signal received power quality (RSRQ), etc. When the first information contains multiple sets of communication beam information, the terminal device can select the beam that meets the requirements or has the best signal quality for communication after measuring the multiple sets of communication beam information. Alternatively, when the first information contains multiple sets of communication beam information, the terminal device can also select the beam that meets the requirements or has the best signal quality for communication based on the included RSRP and RSRQ.

[0160] Example B: The first information includes communication beam information. This communication beam information includes the transmission beam of the network device. In other words, the first information can be used to determine the transmission beam used to transmit downlink signals during downlink communication between the network device and the terminal device.

[0161] In Example B, the communication beam information may include: an angle range, a beam set, or one or more of the following: beam pattern. Taking a communication beam as an example, if the beam pattern of the SSB is given as 0101, these four values ​​represent whether an SSB is transmitted at different locations. For example, a value of 1 indicates that an SSB is transmitted and a value of 0 indicates that an SSB is not transmitted. A beam pattern of "0101" means that in an SSB burst, the beam is swept at positions 2 and 4 (i.e., SSBs are transmitted at positions 2 and 4), while no beam is swept at positions 1 and 3 (i.e., no SSBs are transmitted at positions 1 and 3).

[0162] Example C. The first piece of information includes the distribution information of one or more terminal devices. In other words, network devices can determine communication beam information based on the distribution information of one or more terminal devices.

[0163] In Example C, the distribution information of one or more terminal devices can include various implementations. For example, the distribution information of one or more terminal devices can include: the angular range or beam set information indicating whether or not terminal devices are distributed. In this way, the beam direction indicated by the communication beam information determined by the network device can include the angular range where terminal devices are distributed, or the beam indicated by the communication beam information determined by the network device can include one or more beams indicated by the beam set information. Alternatively, the distribution information of one or more terminal devices can include: information on the number of terminal devices in different angles or beam directions. In this way, the beam direction indicated by the communication beam information determined by the network device can include the angle or beam direction with a larger number of terminal devices.

[0164] Example D: The first piece of information includes environmental map information about the area where the network device is located. In other words, the network device can determine the communication beam information based on the environmental map information of the area where the network device is located.

[0165] Optionally, in Example D, the environmental map information of the area where the network device is located may include one or more of the following: obstruction information, reflective surface information, or point cloud information. In this way, the communication beam information determined by the network device can be based on the angle / direction of signal reflective surfaces in the environmental map, thereby improving communication quality.

[0166] For example, obstruction information in the environment can represent information about physical obstacles that the sensing signal may encounter during propagation, such as one or more of the following: size, angle, shape, and material.

[0167] For example, reflective surface information can represent information about the reflective surface that reflects the sensed signal during propagation. For instance, the reflective surface can be a two-dimensional plane that can controllably alter the phase and / or amplitude of the incident signal.

[0168] For example, point cloud information can be understood as a set of points in space. The point cloud information involved in the perception process can include perception-related information, such as one or more of the following: position information, Doppler information, velocity information, distance information, and angle information.

[0169] It should be understood that the first entity can be an entity used for sensing or location. This first entity can be an entity integrated into network devices (such as access network devices, core network devices, etc.) or a standalone device; there is no limitation here. The following will introduce some possible implementation methods of the first entity with some implementation examples.

[0170] In Example 1, the first entity is used for positioning.

[0171] In Example 1, when the first entity is used for positioning, the first entity can be a location management function (LMF) entity / network element, an access and mobility management function (AMF) entity / network element, or other entities / network elements in the communication network that have positioning functions.

[0172] Furthermore, in Implementation Example 1, the first information sent by the first entity to the network device may include the communication beam information, which may be determined by the first entity based on the positioning information.

[0173] Alternatively, the first information sent by the first entity to the network device may include the location information of one or more terminal devices, enabling the network device to determine the communication beam information between the network device and the one or more terminal devices based on the location information of the one or more terminal devices. In the communication environment, factors affecting the reception quality of the communication beam may include the mutual influence (or interference) generated by the communication of different terminal devices.

[0174] Accordingly, in Example 1, for the network device, the network device can obtain the location information of one or more terminal devices based on the first information. In this way, the communication beam information determined by the network device based on the location information of the one or more terminal devices can avoid or reduce the mutual influence (or mutual interference). In subsequent step S402, the network device can obtain higher communication quality when communicating based on the communication beam information.

[0175] In Example 2, the first entity is used for perception.

[0176] In Example 2, when the first entity is used for sensing, the first entity can be a sensing function (SF) entity / network element, a sensing control (SC) entity / network element, or other entities / network elements in the communication network that have sensing functions. For details, please refer to the implementation process illustrated in any of Figures 3a to 3e above.

[0177] For example, in implementation example two, the network device may not have sensing capabilities, and accordingly, the first entity can be either SF or SC. Alternatively, in implementation example two, the network device may have sensing capabilities (e.g., SC is integrated into the network device), and accordingly, the first entity can be SF.

[0178] Furthermore, in Example 2, the first information sent by the first entity to the network device may include communication beam information, which can be determined by the first entity based on sensing information. For instance, the first information sent by the first entity to the network device may include sensing information (e.g., location information of one or more terminal devices, environmental map information of the area where the network device is located, distribution information of one or more terminal devices, etc.), and correspondingly, the network device can determine the communication beam information based on this sensing information. In the communication environment, factors affecting the reception quality of the communication beam may include characteristic information of the communication environment, which can be reflected by the sensing information obtained through the sensing process.

[0179] Accordingly, in Example 2, for the network device, the communication beam information obtained by the network device can be obtained based on the sensing information. In this way, the network device can determine the communication beam information based on the characteristic information of the communication environment, and the communication beam information can be adapted to the communication environment. In subsequent step S402, the network device can obtain higher communication quality by communicating based on the communication beam information.

[0180] In one possible implementation, the network device uses the communication beam information determined by the first information to indicate at least one of the following: beam index information, beam direction, beam angle, index of the reference signal associated with the beam, or cell identification information. Thus, the communication beam information can indicate the transmit beam and / or receive beam through at least one of the above, thereby improving the flexibility of the implementation.

[0181] It should be noted that in step S402, the network device can communicate with the terminal device in a variety of ways.

[0182] For example, in step S402, the network device sends the communication beam information to the terminal device. Thus, the terminal device can determine the network device's transmitting beam and / or its receiving beam based on the communication beam information sent by the network device, enabling the terminal device to communicate based on the beam determined by sensing-related data or positioning-related data.

[0183] For example, taking a network device as a base station. The base station's transmit beam and the terminal device's receive beam can be provided in the form of beam pairs. Optionally, the base station's transmit beam and the terminal device's receive beam can have a one-to-one or one-to-many relationship. Optionally, the first information can also include multiple beam pairs. The multiple beam pairs can correspond to the same cell or different cells; they can correspond to the cell currently accessed by the terminal device or to neighboring cells of the cell currently accessed by the terminal device.

[0184] Optionally, the first information may also include signal quality-related information such as RSRP and RSRQ. When the first information contains multiple sets of communication beam information, the terminal device can select the beam that meets the requirements or has the best signal quality for communication after measuring the multiple sets of communication beam information. Alternatively, when the first information contains multiple sets of communication beam information, the terminal device can also select the beam that meets the requirements or has the best signal quality for communication based on the included RSRP and RSRQ.

[0185] Optionally, the network device can send the communication beam information to the terminal device via RRC / MAC / DCI messages.

[0186] For example, in step S402, the network device sends a signal to the terminal device based on its transmission beam. This enables the network device to communicate based on a beam determined by sensing-related data or positioning-related data.

[0187] Optionally, the communication beam information determined by the network device through the first information may include the transmission beam between the network device and a specific terminal device (denoted as transmission beam 1). Accordingly, the network device may send unicast signals (such as CSI-RS, unicast data, etc.) to the specific terminal device based on the transmission beam 1.

[0188] Optionally, the communication beam information determined by the network device through the first information may include the transmission beam (denoted as transmission beam 2) between the network device and one or more specific terminal devices. Accordingly, the network device may transmit unicast / broadcast / multicast signals (such as SSB, CSI-RS, unicast data, multicast data, broadcast information, broadcast data, etc.) to the specific area based on the transmission beam 2.

[0189] Based on the scheme shown in Figure 4, the first information received by the network device in step S401 comes from a first entity, which is used for sensing or positioning. This first information is used to determine communication beam information, enabling the network device to communicate with the terminal device in step S402 based on this communication beam information. In other words, the network device can determine the communication beam information between itself and the terminal device based on sensing-related data or positioning-related data provided by the first entity. This approach avoids or reduces the increased overhead and transmission resource consumption caused by the transmission of reference signals, thereby reducing device power consumption and improving communication efficiency.

[0190] For example, when communication beam information is used to indicate the receiving beam of a terminal device, in the above process, the network device, by sensing or locating relevant data to determine the communication beam information, can indicate the perceived (or located) beam direction corresponding to the network device to the terminal device. Compared to the implementation method where the network device performs beam scanning using downlink reference signals to determine the receiving beam of the terminal device, in the above scheme, the network device does not need to perform beam scanning (for example, the network device does not perform beam scanning, but obtains beam information through first information to achieve beam management or energy-saving base stations, etc.) to determine the receiving beam of the terminal device. This reduces the overhead incurred by the terminal device during beam scanning feedback and lowers the power consumption of the terminal device; at the same time, it also reduces the overhead incurred by the network device during beam scanning and lowers the power consumption of the network device.

[0191] For example, when communication beam information is used to indicate the transmitting beam of a network device, in the above process, the network device can indicate the beam direction corresponding to one or more terminal devices by sensing (or locating) the communication beam information determined by sensing or locating relevant data. Compared with the implementation method of the network device performing beam scanning through downlink reference signals to determine the receiving beam of the terminal device, this can reduce the overhead generated by the network device in the beam scanning process and reduce the power consumption of the network device.

[0192] Optionally, the aforementioned downlink reference signal may include SSB, CSI-RS, or other downlink reference signals.

[0193] As an example, when the downlink reference signal includes the SSB, the network device can determine the communication beam information through the first information without going through the coarse beam scanning process corresponding to the SSB, thus reducing the overhead generated by the coarse beam scanning process.

[0194] As another example, when the downlink reference signal includes CSI-RS, the network device can determine the communication beam information using the first information, without needing to go through the fine beam scanning process corresponding to CSI-RS, thus reducing the overhead generated by the fine beam scanning process. In some scenarios, this can reduce the overhead generated by coarse and fine beams.

[0195] Optionally, the first information received by the network device in step S401 can be used to determine communication beam information. This communication beam information can be used to indicate the beam information of the network device's receiving beam and / or the beam information of the terminal device's transmitting beam. In other words, the network device can also determine the beam information of the network device's receiving beam and / or the beam information of the terminal device's transmitting beam by sensing or locating relevant data to reduce implementation complexity.

[0196] In the implementation process shown in Figure 4, the first entity may trigger the transmission of the first information in step S401 in a variety of ways. For example, the first entity may send the first information to the network device based on a pre-configured period, or the first entity may trigger the transmission of the first information to the network device based on an instruction from another device. The latter will be used as an example for illustration below.

[0197] In implementation method A, the first entity sends first information to the network device in step S401 based on the instruction / request / trigger of the network device.

[0198] In implementation method A, the network device can send second information to the first entity to request the communication beam information, so that the first entity can provide the communication beam information to the network device based on the request.

[0199] For example, the second information includes the identifiers of one or more cells corresponding to the network device and / or the identifier of the terminal device. In this way, the first entity indicates communication beam information to the network device based on the second information and the first information. The communication beam information may include the communication beams of the one or more cells and / or the communication beams of the terminal device.

[0200] For example, the second information may further include at least one of the following: the identifier of the network device, the identifier of one or more cells corresponding to the network device, the identifier of the terminal device, the identifier of one or more cells accessed by the terminal device, the request reason value corresponding to the second information, indication information indicating the beam type corresponding to the communication beam information requested by the second information, or indication information indicating the reference signal type corresponding to the communication beam information requested by the second information. Therefore, the second information used to request the communication beam information may include at least one of the above, enabling the first entity to determine and send the communication beam information corresponding to the request based on the at least one of the above information.

[0201] Optionally, the request reason value corresponding to the second information may indicate that the second information requests auxiliary beam management, or auxiliary network device energy saving, or request beam information, etc.

[0202] Optionally, the indication information indicating the beam type corresponding to the communication beam information of the second information request may indicate that the beam type corresponding to the communication beam information of the second information request is one or more of the beams corresponding to downlink reference signals (e.g., SSB, CSI-RS, etc.) and uplink reference signals.

[0203] Optionally, the indication information indicating the reference signal type corresponding to the communication beam information of the second information request may indicate that the reference signal type corresponding to the communication beam information of the second information request is one or more of downlink reference signals (e.g., SSB, CSI-RS, etc.) and uplink reference signals.

[0204] In one possible implementation of implementation A, before the network device sends the second information to the first entity, the method further includes: the network device receiving third information from the terminal device, the third information being used to request the communication beam information, and / or, the third information being used to indicate beam failure. In other words, the network device can determine, based on the terminal device's request and / or the beam failure indication, that the terminal device's current communication quality may be poor (or deteriorated). Therefore, the network device can, based on the third information, request the communication beam information from the first entity via the second information, so as to improve the terminal device's communication quality through the obtained communication beam information.

[0205] In implementation method B, the first entity sends first information to the network device in step S401 based on the instruction / request / trigger of the terminal device.

[0206] In implementation B, the terminal device sends a fourth message to the first entity. This fourth message requests the communication beam information and / or indicates beam failure. Therefore, based on the terminal device's request and / or the beam failure indication, the first entity can determine that the terminal device's current communication quality may be poor (or deteriorated). To this end, the first entity can send communication beam information to the terminal device via a network device to improve the terminal device's communication quality using the obtained communication beam information.

[0207] Referring to Figure 5, this application embodiment provides a communication device 500. This communication device 500 can implement the functions of the communication equipment (e.g., network equipment, terminal equipment, or first entity) in the above method embodiments, and therefore can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In this application embodiment, the communication device 500 can be a communication device, or it can be an integrated circuit or component inside the communication device, such as a chip.

[0208] It should be noted that the transceiver unit 502 may include a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, which are used to perform transmitting and receiving respectively.

[0209] In one possible implementation, when the device 500 is used to execute the method performed by the network device in the foregoing embodiments, the device 500 includes a processing unit 501 and a transceiver unit 502; the transceiver unit 502 receives first information from a first entity, the first information being used to determine communication beam information between the network device and the terminal device; the first entity is used for sensing or locating; the communication beam information is used to indicate the transmitting beam of the network device, and / or the receiving beam of the terminal device; the processing unit 501 is used to communicate with the terminal device based on the communication beam information.

[0210] In one possible implementation, when the device 500 is used to execute the method performed by the first entity in the foregoing embodiments, the device 500 includes a processing unit 501 and a transceiver unit 502; the processing unit 501 is used to determine first information, which is determined by the first entity for sensing or locating; wherein, the first information is used to determine communication beam information between the network device and the terminal device; the communication beam information is used to indicate the transmitting beam of the network device, and / or the receiving beam of the terminal device; the transceiver unit 502 is used to send the first information to the network device.

[0211] In one possible implementation, when the device 500 is used to execute the method performed by the terminal device in the foregoing embodiments, the device 500 includes a processing unit 501 and a transceiver unit 502; the transceiver unit 502 is used to receive communication beam information; the communication beam information is used to indicate the receiving beam of the terminal device; the processing unit 501 is used to receive signals based on the receiving beam of the terminal device.

[0212] It should be noted that the information execution process of the unit of the above-mentioned communication device 500 can be specifically described in the method embodiment shown above in this application, and will not be repeated here.

[0213] Please refer to Figure 6, which is another schematic structural diagram of the communication device 600 provided in this application. The communication device 600 includes a logic circuit 601 and an input / output interface 602. The communication device 600 can be a chip or an integrated circuit.

[0214] In Figure 5, the transceiver unit 502 can be a communication interface, which can be the input / output interface 602 in Figure 6, and the input / output interface 602 can include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the communication interface can also be a transceiver circuit, which can include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

[0215] Optionally, the input / output interface 602 is used to receive first information from a first entity, the first information being used to determine communication beam information between the network device and the terminal device; the first entity is used for sensing or positioning; the communication beam information is used to indicate the transmitting beam of the network device, and / or the receiving beam of the terminal device; the logic circuit 601 is used to communicate with the terminal device based on the communication beam information.

[0216] Optionally, logic circuit 601 is used to determine first information, which is determined by a first entity for sensing or locating; wherein, the first information is used to determine communication beam information between the network device and the terminal device; the communication beam information is used to indicate the transmitting beam of the network device, and / or the receiving beam of the terminal device; the input / output interface 602 is used to send the first information to the network device.

[0217] Optionally, the input / output interface 602 is used to receive communication beam information; the communication beam information is used to indicate the receiving beam of the terminal device; the logic circuit 601 is used to receive signals based on the receiving beam of the terminal device.

[0218] The logic circuit 601 and the input / output interface 602 can also perform other steps performed by the communication device (e.g., network device, terminal device, or first entity) in any embodiment and achieve corresponding beneficial effects, which will not be elaborated here.

[0219] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 501 shown in FIG5 can be the logic circuit 601 in FIG6.

[0220] Optionally, the logic circuit 601 can be a processing device, the functions of which can be partially or entirely implemented in software.

[0221] Optionally, the processing apparatus may include a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor reads and executes the computer program stored in the memory to perform the corresponding processing and / or steps in any of the method embodiments.

[0222] Optionally, the processing device may consist of only a processor. A memory for storing computer programs is located outside the processing device, and the processor is connected to the memory via circuitry / wires to read and execute the computer programs stored in the memory. The memory and processor may be integrated together or physically independent of each other.

[0223] Optionally, the processing device may be one or more chips, or one or more integrated circuits. For example, the processing device may be one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), system-on-chips (SoCs), central processing units (CPUs), network processors (NPs), digital signal processors (DSPs), microcontroller units (MCUs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), or other integrated chips, or any combination of the above chips or processors.

[0224] Please refer to Figure 7, which shows the communication device 700 involved in the above embodiments provided in the embodiments of this application. Specifically, the communication device 700 can be the communication device that serves as a terminal device in the above embodiments.

[0225] The present invention is a schematic diagram of a possible logical structure of the communication device 700, which may include, but is not limited to, at least one processor 701 and a communication port 702.

[0226] In Figure 5, the transceiver unit 502 can be a communication interface, which can be the communication port 702 in Figure 7. The communication port 702 can include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the communication port 702 can also be a transceiver circuit, which can include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

[0227] Further optionally, the device may also include at least one of a memory 703 and a bus 704. In the embodiments of this application, the at least one processor 701 is used to control the operation of the communication device 700.

[0228] Furthermore, the processor 701 can be a central processing unit, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of this application. The processor can also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, etc. Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0229] It should be noted that the communication device 700 shown in Figure 7 can be used to implement the steps implemented by the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiments and to achieve the corresponding technical effects of the terminal device. The specific implementation of the communication device shown in Figure 7 can be referred to the description in the aforementioned method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0230] Please refer to Figure 8, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device 800 involved in the above embodiments provided by the present application. The communication device 800 can specifically be a communication device (e.g., a network device or a first entity) in the above embodiments, or a component in a network device. The structure of the communication device can be referred to the structure shown in Figure 8.

[0231] The communication device 800 includes at least one processor 811 and at least one network interface 814. Optionally, the communication device further includes at least one memory 812, at least one transceiver 813, and one or more antennas 815. The processor 811, memory 812, transceiver 813, and network interface 814 are connected, for example, via a bus. In this embodiment, the connection may include various interfaces, transmission lines, or buses, etc., and this embodiment is not limited thereto. The antenna 815 is connected to the transceiver 813. The network interface 814 enables the communication device to communicate with other communication devices through a communication link. For example, the network interface 814 may include a network interface between the communication device and core network equipment, such as an S1 interface, or a network interface between the communication device and other communication devices (e.g., other network devices or core network equipment), such as an X2 or Xn interface.

[0232] In Figure 5, the transceiver unit 502 can be a communication interface, which can be the network interface 814 in Figure 8. The network interface 814 can include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the network interface 814 can also be a transceiver circuit, which can include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

[0233] The processor 811 is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process data from these programs, for example, to support the actions described in the embodiments of the communication device. The communication device may include a baseband processor and a central processing unit (CPU). The baseband processor is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the CPU is primarily used to control the entire terminal device, execute software programs, and process data from these programs. The processor 811 in Figure 8 can integrate the functions of both a baseband processor and a CPU. Those skilled in the art will understand that the baseband processor and CPU can also be independent processors interconnected via technologies such as buses. Those skilled in the art will understand that a terminal device may include multiple baseband processors to adapt to different network standards, and multiple CPUs to enhance its processing capabilities. The various components of the terminal device can be connected via various buses. The baseband processor can also be described as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The CPU can also be described as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing communication protocols and communication data can be built into the processor or stored in memory as a software program, which is then executed by the processor to implement the baseband processing function.

[0234] The memory is primarily used to store software programs and data. The memory 812 can exist independently or be connected to the processor 811. Optionally, the memory 812 can be integrated with the processor 811, for example, integrated into a single chip. The memory 812 can store program code that executes the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and its execution is controlled by the processor 811. The various types of computer program code being executed can also be considered as drivers for the processor 811.

[0235] Figure 8 shows only one memory and one processor. In actual terminal devices, there may be multiple processors and multiple memories. Memory can also be called storage medium or storage device, etc. Memory can be a storage element on the same chip as the processor, i.e., an on-chip storage element, or it can be a separate storage element; this application does not limit this.

[0236] Transceiver 813 can be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency (RF) signals between a communication device and a terminal. Transceiver 813 can be connected to antenna 815. Transceiver 813 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 815 can receive RF signals. The receiver Rx of transceiver 813 receives the RF signals from the antennas, converts the RF signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency (IF) signals, and provides the digital baseband signals or IF signals to processor 811 so that processor 811 can perform further processing on the digital baseband signals or IF signals, such as demodulation and decoding. Furthermore, the transmitter Tx in transceiver 813 is also used to receive modulated digital baseband signals or IF signals from processor 811, convert the modulated digital baseband signals or IF signals into RF signals, and transmit the RF signals through one or more antennas 815. Specifically, the receiver Rx can selectively perform one or more stages of downmixing and analog-to-digital conversion on the radio frequency signal to obtain a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency (IF) signal. The order of these downmixing and IF conversion processes is adjustable. The transmitter Tx can selectively perform one or more stages of upmixing and digital-to-analog conversion on the modulated digital baseband signal or digital IF signal to obtain a radio frequency signal. The order of these upmixing and IF conversion processes is also adjustable. The digital baseband signal and the digital IF signal can be collectively referred to as digital signals.

[0237] The transceiver 813 can also be called a transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver device, etc. Optionally, the device in the transceiver unit that performs the receiving function can be regarded as the receiving unit, and the device in the transceiver unit that performs the transmitting function can be regarded as the transmitting unit. That is, the transceiver unit includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The receiving unit can also be called a receiver, input port, receiving circuit, etc., and the transmitting unit can be called a transmitter, transmitter, or transmitting circuit, etc.

[0238] It should be noted that the communication device 800 shown in Figure 8 can be used to implement the steps implemented by the network device in the aforementioned method embodiments and achieve the corresponding technical effects of the network device. The specific implementation of the communication device 800 shown in Figure 8 can be referred to the description in the aforementioned method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0239] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing one or more computer-executable instructions. When the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, the processor performs the method described in the possible implementation of the communication device (e.g., network device, terminal device, or first entity) as described in the foregoing embodiments.

[0240] This application also provides a computer program product (or computer program) that, when executed by a processor, allows the processor to execute the method described above for possible implementations of the communication device (e.g., network device, terminal device, or first entity).

[0241] This application also provides a chip system including at least one processor for supporting a communication device in implementing the functions involved in the possible implementations of the communication device described above. Optionally, the chip system further includes an interface circuit that provides program instructions and / or data to the at least one processor. In one possible design, the chip system may further include a memory for storing the program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices, wherein the communication device may specifically be a communication device (e.g., a network device, a terminal device, or a first entity) as described in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0242] This application also provides a communication system, the network system architecture of which includes at least two of the network devices, terminal devices and first entities in any of the above embodiments.

[0243] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be an indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units through some interfaces, and may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0244] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0245] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit. If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive first information from a first entity, the first information being used to determine communication beam information between the network device and the terminal device; The first entity is used for sensing or positioning; the communication beam information is used to indicate the transmitting beam of the network device, and / or the receiving beam of the terminal device; The device communicates with the terminal device based on the communication beam information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first information includes the communication beam information; or, The first information includes any one of the following information used to determine the communication beam information: location information of one or more terminal devices, environmental map information of the area where the network device is located, and distribution information of one or more terminal devices.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The communication beam information is used to indicate at least one of the following: Beam index information, beam direction, beam angle, index of the reference signal associated with the beam, or cell identification information.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The communication with the terminal device based on the communication beam information includes: The communication beam information is sent to the terminal device.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The communication with the terminal device based on the communication beam information includes: The network device transmits signals to the terminal device based on its transmit beam.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second message to the first entity, the second message being used to request the communication beam information.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The second information includes the identifiers of one or more cells corresponding to the network device and / or the identifier of the terminal device.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that, Before sending the second information to the first entity, the method further includes: Receive third information from the terminal device, the third information being used to request the communication beam information, and / or, the third information being used to indicate beam failure.

9. A communication method, characterized in that, include: First information is determined, which is determined by a first entity used for sensing or positioning; wherein, the first information is used to determine communication beam information between the network device and the terminal device; the communication beam information is used to indicate the transmitting beam of the network device, and / or the receiving beam of the terminal device; The first information is sent to the network device.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The first information includes the communication beam information; or, The first information includes any one of the following information used to determine the communication beam information: location information of one or more terminal devices, environmental map information of the area where the network device is located, and distribution information of one or more terminal devices.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, The communication beam information is used to indicate at least one of the following: Beam index information, beam direction, beam angle, index of the reference signal associated with the beam, or cell identification information.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive second information from the network device, the second information being used to request the communication beam information.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The second information includes the identifiers of one or more cells corresponding to the network device and / or the identifier of the terminal device.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive fourth information from the terminal device, the fourth information being used to request the communication beam information, and / or, the fourth information being used to indicate beam failure.

15. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive communication beam information; The communication beam information is used to indicate the receiving beam of the terminal device; The terminal device receives signals based on its receiving beam.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a third message to the network device, the third message being used to request the communication beam information, and / or, the third message being used to indicate beam failure.

17. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: A fourth message is sent to a first entity, which is used for sensing or locating; wherein the fourth message is used to request the communication beam information, and / or, the fourth message is used to indicate beam failure.

18. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit; The transceiver unit is used to receive first information from a first entity, the first information being used to determine communication beam information between the network device and the terminal device; the first entity is used for sensing or positioning; the communication beam information is used to indicate the transmitting beam of the network device, and / or the receiving beam of the terminal device; The processing unit is used to communicate with the terminal device based on the communication beam information.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, characterized in that, The first information includes the communication beam information; or, The first information includes any one of the following information used to determine the communication beam information: location information of one or more terminal devices, environmental map information of the area where the network device is located, and distribution information of one or more terminal devices.

20. The apparatus according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that, The communication beam information is used to indicate at least one of the following: Beam index information, beam direction, beam angle, index of the reference signal associated with the beam, or cell identification information.

21. The apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 20, characterized in that, The processing unit communicates with the terminal device based on the communication beam information, including: The processing unit sends the communication beam information to the terminal device through the transceiver unit.

22. The apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 21, characterized in that, The processing unit communicates with the terminal device based on the communication beam information, including: The processing unit sends a signal to the terminal device based on the transmission beam of the network device.

23. The apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 22, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is also used to send second information to the first entity, the second information being used to request the communication beam information.

24. The apparatus according to claim 23, characterized in that, The second information includes the identifiers of one or more cells corresponding to the network device and / or the identifier of the terminal device.

25. The apparatus according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is also configured to receive third information from the terminal device, the third information being used to request the communication beam information, and / or, the third information being used to indicate beam failure.

26. A communication device, characterized in that, Transceiver unit and processing unit; The processing unit is used to determine first information, which is determined by a first entity used for sensing or locating; wherein, the first information is used to determine communication beam information between the network device and the terminal device; the communication beam information is used to indicate the transmitting beam of the network device, and / or the receiving beam of the terminal device; The transceiver unit is used to send the first information to the network device.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, characterized in that, The first information includes the communication beam information; or, The first information includes any one of the following information used to determine the communication beam information: location information of one or more terminal devices, environmental map information of the area where the network device is located, and distribution information of one or more terminal devices.

28. The apparatus according to claim 26 or 27, characterized in that, The communication beam information is used to indicate at least one of the following: Beam index information, beam direction, beam angle, index of the reference signal associated with the beam, or cell identification information.

29. The apparatus according to any one of claims 26 to 28, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is also configured to receive second information from the network device, the second information being used to request the communication beam information.

30. The apparatus according to claim 29, characterized in that, The second information includes the identifiers of one or more cells corresponding to the network device and / or the identifier of the terminal device.

31. The apparatus according to any one of claims 26 to 28, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is also configured to receive fourth information from the terminal device, the fourth information being used to request the communication beam information, and / or, the fourth information being used to indicate beam failure.

32. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit; The transceiver unit is used to receive communication beam information; the communication beam information is used to indicate the receiving beam of the terminal device. The processing unit is used to receive beam signals based on the terminal device.

33. The apparatus according to claim 32, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is also configured to send third information to the network device, the third information being used to request the communication beam information, and / or, the third information being used to indicate beam failure.

34. The apparatus according to claim 32, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is further configured to send fourth information to a first entity, which is configured to sense or locate; wherein the fourth information is configured to request the communication beam information, and / or, the fourth information is configured to indicate beam failure.

35. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes at least one processor, said at least one processor being used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 17.

36. The communication device according to claim 35, characterized in that, The communication device is a chip or chip system.

37. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed by a communication device, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 17.

38. A computer program product, characterized in that, It includes a computer program or instructions that, when executed by a computer, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 17.

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