Communication methods, terminals, network devices, and storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to communication methods, terminals, network devices, and a storage medium. A communication method comprises: a terminal receiving a first reference signal sent by a network device; and on the basis of the first reference signal, the terminal determining a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal, wherein the first identifier or the second identifier is used for determining random access information and / or a downlink time, and the first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier. The present disclosure realizes flexible determination of random access information, thereby adapting to variable situations, and thus improving the communication efficiency.

Description

Communication methods, terminals, network devices and storage media Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to communication methods, terminals, network devices and storage media. Background Technology

[0002] In communication scenarios, high-frequency bands and massive MIMO (Massively Multi-Sized Antenna Arrays) are introduced to improve spectral efficiency. Massive MIMO can provide greater beamforming gain, effectively compensating for the transmission losses caused by high-frequency bands.

[0003] For an antenna array, its electromagnetic field can be divided into near field and far field. If the terminal is located in the far field, the electromagnetic wave received by the terminal may be a plane wave, and the beam directed at the terminal is a two-dimensional (2D) directional beam pointing towards the terminal. If the terminal is located in the near field, then the electromagnetic wave received by the terminal may be a spherical wave, and the beam directed at the terminal is a three-dimensional (3D) beam surrounding the terminal.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] Since the optimal transmission beams on the network side differ depending on whether the terminal is located in the far field or near field, issues such as how the terminal performs downlink synchronization and random access based on downlink signals are urgent problems to be solved.

[0006] This disclosure presents a communication method, a terminal, a network device, and a storage medium.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: a terminal receiving a first reference signal sent by a network device; the terminal determining a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first reference signal, the first identifier or the second identifier being used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, wherein the first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier.

[0008] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: a network device sending a first reference signal to a terminal, the first reference signal being used by the terminal to determine a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal, the first identifier or the second identifier being used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, wherein the first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier.

[0009] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: a network device sending a first reference signal to a terminal; the terminal receiving the first reference signal sent by the network device; the terminal determining a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first reference signal, wherein the first identifier or the second identifier is used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, and the first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier.

[0010] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal is provided, comprising: a transceiver module for receiving a first reference signal transmitted by a network device; and a processing module for...

[0011] The first reference signal determines a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal. The first identifier or the second identifier is used to determine random access information and / or downlink time. The first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier.

[0012] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a network device is provided, comprising: a transceiver module, configured to send a first reference signal to a terminal, wherein the first reference signal is used by the terminal to determine a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal, the first identifier or the second identifier being used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, wherein the first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier.

[0013] According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal is provided, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processors are configured to execute the first aspect and any one of the communication methods in the first aspect.

[0014] According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a network device is provided, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processors are configured to perform the second aspect and any one of the communication methods in the second aspect.

[0015] According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided, including a terminal and a network device, wherein the terminal is configured to implement the first aspect and any one of the communication methods in the first aspect, and the network device is configured to implement the second aspect and any one of the communication methods in the second aspect.

[0016] According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, a storage medium is provided that stores instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform a communication method as described in the first aspect and any one of the first aspects or the second aspect and any one of the second aspects.

[0017] According to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, a program product is provided, including a computer program that, when executed by a communication device, causes the communication device to perform a communication method as described in the first aspect and any one of the first aspects or the second aspect and any one of the second aspects.

[0018] This disclosure receives a first reference signal and determines a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first reference signal. The first identifier or the second identifier can be used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, so as to flexibly determine random access information, adapt to changing situations, and improve communication efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings required for the description of the embodiments are introduced below. The following drawings are only some embodiments of this disclosure and do not impose specific limitations on the protection scope of this disclosure.

[0020] Figure 1a is a schematic diagram of the near and far fields illustrating an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 1b is a schematic diagram illustrating a far-field UE receiving electromagnetic waves according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 1c is a schematic diagram illustrating near-field UE receiving electromagnetic waves according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure.

[0023] Figure 1d is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication method interaction according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 3a is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 3b is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 4a is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 4b is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication method interaction according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 6a is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 6b is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 7a is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0033] Figure 7b is a schematic diagram of a chip structure according to an exemplary embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0034] This disclosure presents a communication method, a terminal, a network device, and a storage medium.

[0035] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure propose a communication method, the method comprising: a terminal receiving a first reference signal sent by a network device; the terminal determining a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first reference signal, the first identifier or the second identifier being used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, wherein the first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier.

[0036] In the above embodiments, by receiving a first reference signal and determining a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first reference signal, the first identifier or the second identifier can be used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, so as to flexibly determine random access information, adapt to changing situations, and improve communication efficiency.

[0037] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the method further includes: the terminal determining a third identifier based on the first identifier and a pre-configured M, wherein M is the number of preset time units, the first reference signal is transmitted in a first time unit among the M preset time units, wherein the first identifier is greater than or equal to the third identifier, and the third identifier is used to determine the random access information and / or downlink time; and / or, the terminal determining a fourth identifier based on the first reference signal, the fourth identifier being used together with the second identifier to determine the random access information.

[0038] In the above embodiments, the terminal can determine a third identifier based on a pre-configured first identifier and a pre-configured M. The third identifier can then be used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, improving communication efficiency. Alternatively, a fourth identifier can be determined based on a first reference signal. Random access information and / or downlink time can also be determined based on the fourth identifier and the second identifier, further improving communication efficiency.

[0039] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the first reference signal is one of a plurality of reference signals transmitted at the same time, wherein different reference signals among the plurality of reference signals correspond to different reference signal resources; or, different reference signals among the plurality of reference signals correspond to different port information of the same reference signal resource.

[0040] In the above embodiments, when the first reference signal is one of multiple reference signals transmitted simultaneously, these multiple reference signals can correspond to different reference signal resources. That is, each reference signal resource corresponds to one beam, and each reference signal corresponds to a different reference signal resource, meaning each reference signal corresponds to a different beam. In other words, the terminal can receive reference signals in multiple beam directions transmitted simultaneously by the network device, thereby saving beam scanning time and improving efficiency. Alternatively, the multiple reference signals can correspond to different ports of a single reference signal resource. That is, each port of the reference signal resource corresponds to one beam, and each reference signal corresponds to a different port, meaning each reference signal corresponds to a different beam. In other words, the terminal can receive reference signals in multiple beam directions transmitted simultaneously by the network device, thereby saving beam scanning time.

[0041] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, at least two of the plurality of reference signals occupy the same symbol position.

[0042] In the above embodiments, at least two of the multiple reference signals occupy the same symbol position, that is, the time domains of at least two reference signals overlap, so as to save beam scanning time.

[0043] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the terminal receiving a first reference signal sent by the network device includes: the terminal determining a reference signal resource and receiving a first reference signal on the reference signal resource; wherein the reference signal resource is determined based on the configuration of the network device; and / or, the reference signal resource is determined based on a protocol.

[0044] In the above embodiments, the terminal receiving the first reference signal further includes the terminal first determining a reference signal resource and then receiving the first reference signal on the reference signal resource. The reference signal resource can be configured by the network device or defined by a protocol to improve communication efficiency.

[0045] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the first reference signal includes at least one of the following: a synchronization signal block (SSB); and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0046] In the above embodiments, the first reference signal can be at least one of SSB and CSI-RS, which can flexibly respond to different situations and improve communication efficiency.

[0047] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the third identifier corresponds to a first time unit among M preset transmission times; or, the second identifier corresponds to a first time unit among M preset time units.

[0048] In the above embodiments, the third identifier is determined based on the first identifier and M, and the third identifier may correspond to the first time unit among M preset time units. Alternatively, the second identifier may correspond to the first time unit among M preset time units. This facilitates the determination of random access information and / or downlink time, improving communication efficiency.

[0049] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the third identifier is less than or equal to M, or the second identifier is less than or equal to M.

[0050] In the above embodiments, the third identifier is less than or equal to M, meaning the third identifier can indicate which transmission time among the M preset time units corresponding to the terminal, in order to determine the downlink time and / or random access information. Similarly, the second identifier is less than or equal to M, meaning the second identifier can indicate which transmission time among the M preset time units corresponding to the terminal, in order to determine the downlink time and / or random access information.

[0051] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the method further includes: the terminal determining random access information corresponding to the first reference signal; and the terminal performing a random access process based on the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal.

[0052] In the above embodiments, the terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal and performs a random access process based on the information, so as to flexibly adapt to different situations and perform random access.

[0053] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal by: the terminal determining the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first identifier.

[0054] In the above embodiments, the terminal can determine random access information based on the first identifier.

[0055] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal by: the terminal determining the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the second identifier and the fourth identifier, wherein the fourth identifier is determined based on the first reference signal, and the fourth identifier and the second identifier correspond to different bit positions.

[0056] In the above embodiments, the terminal can determine random access information based on the second identifier and the fourth identifier.

[0057] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the terminal is a first type of terminal.

[0058] In the above embodiments, the terminal can be a first type of terminal. That is, when the terminal is a first type of terminal, the above method can be used to determine random access information in order to improve communication efficiency.

[0059] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the terminal is a first type of terminal, wherein the difference between the measurement results corresponding to at least two first reference signals that occupy the same symbol position and occupy different frequency domain resources is greater than or equal to a threshold.

[0060] In the above embodiments, if the difference between the measurement results of at least two first reference signals that occupy the same symbol position and occupy different frequency domain resources is greater than or equal to a threshold, the terminal is a first type terminal. That is, the terminal can determine whether it is a first type terminal based on the measurement results of the received first reference signal, thereby flexibly selecting different methods to determine random access information and improving communication efficiency.

[0061] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal by: the terminal determining the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on a third identifier, wherein the third identifier is determined based on the first identifier and a pre-configured M.

[0062] In the above embodiments, the terminal can determine the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the third identifier, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0063] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal by: the terminal determining the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the second identifier.

[0064] In the above embodiments, the terminal can determine the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the second identifier.

[0065] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the terminal is a second type of terminal.

[0066] In the above embodiments, the terminal can be a second type of terminal. That is, when the terminal is a second type of terminal, the above method can be used to determine random access information in order to improve communication efficiency.

[0067] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the difference between the measurement results corresponding to at least two first reference signals that occupy the same symbol position and occupy different frequency domain resources is less than a threshold, and the terminal is a second type of terminal.

[0068] In the above embodiments, if the difference between the measurement results of at least two first reference signals occupying the same symbol position but different frequency domain resources is less than a threshold, the terminal is a second type of terminal. That is, the terminal can determine whether it is a second type of terminal based on the measurement results of the received first reference signal, thereby flexibly selecting different methods to determine random access information and improving communication efficiency.

[0069] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal by: the terminal receiving first information sent by a network device, the first information being used to configure a first mapping relationship, the first mapping relationship including preset random access information for each first reference signal; the terminal determining the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first mapping relationship; or, the terminal determining the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first mapping relationship and the terminal type.

[0070] In the above embodiments, the terminal can determine the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the configured mapping relationship, and perform random access to improve communication efficiency.

[0071] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, the random access information includes at least one of the following: random access channel timing (RO); random access preamble; and at least one of the random access information determined by the first type of terminal and the second type of terminal is different.

[0072] In the above embodiments, the random access information may include at least one of RO and random access preamble, and at least one of the random access information determined by the first type terminal and the second type terminal may be different to improve communication efficiency.

[0073] In some alternative embodiments of the first aspect, at least one of the first identifier, the second identifier, the third identifier, and the fourth identifier is carried by the demodulation reference signal DMRS and / or the payload of the physical broadcast channel PBCH.

[0074] In the above embodiments, at least one of the identifiers may be carried by the payload of DMRS and or PBCH to save signaling consumption.

[0075] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: a network device sending a first reference signal to a terminal, the first reference signal being used by the terminal to determine a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal, the first identifier or the second identifier being used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, wherein the first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier.

[0076] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, the first reference signal is one of a plurality of reference signals transmitted at the same time; different reference signals among the plurality of reference signals correspond to different reference signal resources; or, different reference signals among the plurality of reference signals correspond to different port information of the same reference signal resource.

[0077] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, at least two of the plurality of reference signals occupy the same symbol position.

[0078] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, the network device sends a first reference signal to the terminal, including: the network device sending the first reference signal on a reference signal resource; wherein the reference signal resource is determined by the network device; and / or, the reference signal resource is determined based on a protocol.

[0079] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, the first reference signal includes at least one of the following: a synchronization signal block (SSB); and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0080] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, the random access information is determined based on the first identifier.

[0081] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, the random access information is determined based on the second identifier and the fourth identifier, the fourth identifier being determined based on the first reference signal, and the fourth identifier and the second identifier corresponding to different bit positions.

[0082] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, the terminal is a first type of terminal.

[0083] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, the terminal is a first type terminal, wherein the difference between the measurement results corresponding to at least two first reference signals that occupy the same symbol position and occupy different frequency domain resources is greater than or equal to a threshold.

[0084] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, the random access information is determined based on a third identifier, which is determined based on the first identifier and a pre-configured M, and the third identifier is used to determine the random access information and / or downlink time.

[0085] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, the third identifier corresponds to a first time unit among M preset time units; or, the second identifier corresponds to a first time unit among M preset time units.

[0086] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, the third identifier is less than or equal to M, or the second identifier is less than or equal to M.

[0087] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, the random access information is determined based on a second identifier.

[0088] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, the terminal is a second type of terminal.

[0089] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, the difference between the measurement results corresponding to at least two first reference signals that occupy the same symbol position and occupy different frequency domain resources is less than a threshold, and the terminal is a second type of terminal.

[0090] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, the method further includes: the network device sending first information to the terminal, the first information being used to configure a first mapping relationship, the first mapping relationship including preset random access information for each first reference signal.

[0091] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, the random access information includes at least one of the following: random access channel timing (RO); random access preamble; and at least one of the random access information determined by the first type of terminal and the second type of terminal is different.

[0092] In some alternative embodiments of the second aspect, at least one of the first identifier, the second identifier, the third identifier, and the fourth identifier is carried by the demodulation reference signal DMRS and / or the payload of the physical broadcast channel PBCH.

[0093] Thirdly, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: a network device sending a first reference signal to a terminal; the terminal receiving the first reference signal sent by the network device; the terminal determining a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first reference signal, the first identifier or the second identifier being used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, wherein the first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier.

[0094] Fourthly, a terminal is provided, comprising: a transceiver module for receiving a first reference signal sent by a network device; and a processing module for determining a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal, wherein the first identifier or the second identifier is used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, and the first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier.

[0095] Fifthly, a network device is provided, comprising: a transceiver module, configured to send a first reference signal to a terminal, wherein the first reference signal is used by the terminal to determine a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal, the first identifier or the second identifier being used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, wherein the first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier.

[0096] A sixth aspect provides a terminal, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the terminal is configured to execute the first aspect and any one of the communication methods in the first aspect.

[0097] A seventh aspect provides a network device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the network device is configured to perform the second aspect and any one of the communication methods in the second aspect.

[0098] Eighthly, a communication system is provided, including a terminal and a network device, wherein the terminal is configured to implement the first aspect and any one of the communication methods in the first aspect, and the network device is configured to implement the second aspect and any one of the communication methods in the second aspect.

[0099] Ninth aspect, a storage medium is provided that stores instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform a communication method as described in the first aspect and any one thereof, or the second aspect and any one thereof.

[0100] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a program product that, when executed by a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the method as described in an optional implementation of the first or second aspect.

[0101] In one aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods described in an optional implementation of the first or second aspect.

[0102] In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a chip or chip system. The chip or chip system includes processing circuitry configured to perform the method described in an optional implementation of the first or second aspect above.

[0103] It is understood that the terminals, access network devices, first network elements, other network elements, core network devices, communication systems, storage media, program products, computer programs, chips, or chip systems involved in the embodiments of this disclosure are all used to execute the methods proposed in the embodiments of this disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can be referred to the beneficial effects in the corresponding methods, and will not be repeated here.

[0104] This disclosure provides communication methods, terminals, network devices, and storage media. In some embodiments, the terms "communication method" and "information processing method" can be used interchangeably, as can the terms "communication device" and "information processing device" and "communication device," and the terms "information processing system" and "communication system."

[0105] This disclosure is not exhaustive, but merely illustrative of some embodiments, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this disclosure. Unless otherwise specified, each step in a particular embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a particular embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily interchanged. Furthermore, the optional implementation methods in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; moreover, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, for example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments.

[0106] In each of the disclosed embodiments, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical environments of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0107] The terminology used in the embodiments of this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0108] In this embodiment of the disclosure, unless otherwise stated, elements expressed in the singular form, such as "a," "an," "the," "the," "the," "the," "the," "the," "this," etc., can mean "one and only one," or "one or more," "at least one," etc. For example, when using articles such as "a," "an," "the," etc. in translation, the noun following the article can be understood as either a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0109] In the embodiments disclosed herein, "multiple" refers to two or more.

[0110] In some embodiments, the terms “at least one of”, “one or more”, “a plurality of”, “multiple”, etc., may be used interchangeably.

[0111] In some embodiments, the notation "at least one of A and B", "A and / or B", "A in one case, B in another", "in response to one case A, in response to another case B", etc., may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execute A regardless of B); in some embodiments, B (execute B regardless of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); in some embodiments, A and B (both A and B are executed). The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0112] In some embodiments, the notation "A or B" may include the following technical solutions, depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execution of A regardless of B); in some embodiments, B (execution of B regardless of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0113] The prefixes "first," "second," etc., used in the embodiments of this disclosure are merely for distinguishing different descriptive objects and do not impose restrictions on the position, order, priority, quantity, or content of the descriptive objects. The description of the descriptive objects is found in the claims or the context of the embodiments, and the use of prefixes should not constitute unnecessary restrictions. For example, if the descriptive object is a "field," the ordinal numbers preceding "field" in "first field" and "second field" do not restrict the position or order of the "fields." "First" and "second" do not restrict whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they restrict the order of "first field" and "second field." Similarly, if the descriptive object is a "level," the ordinal numbers preceding "level" in "first level" and "second level" do not restrict the priority between "levels." Furthermore, the number of descriptive objects is not limited by ordinal numbers and can be one or more. For example, in "first device," the number of "devices" can be one or more. Furthermore, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the object being described is "device", then "first device" and "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different. Similarly, if the object being described is "information", then "first information" and "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their content can be the same or different.

[0114] In some embodiments, “including A,” “containing A,” “for indicating A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0115] In some embodiments, the terms “in response to…”, “in response to determining…”, “in the case of…”, “when…”, “if…”, “if…”, etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0116] In some embodiments, the terms “greater than,” “greater than or equal to,” “not less than,” “more than,” “more than or equal to,” “not less than,” “higher than,” “higher than or equal to,” “not lower than,” and “above” can be used interchangeably, as can the terms “less than,” “less than or equal to,” “not greater than,” “less than,” “less than or equal to,” “not more than,” “lower than,” “lower than or equal to,” “not higher than,” and “below”.

[0117] In some embodiments, the apparatus and device may be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments. In some cases, they may also be understood as "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", "body", etc.

[0118] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in the network, such as access network devices, core network devices, etc.

[0119] In some embodiments, "access network device (AN device)" may also be referred to as "radio access network device (RAN device)," "base station (BS)," "radio base station," or "fixed station." In some embodiments, it may also be understood as "node," "access point," "transmission point (TP)," "reception point (RP)," "transmission / reception point (TRP)," "panel," "antenna panel," "antenna array," "cell," "macro cell," "small cell," "femto cell," "pico cell," "sector," "cell group," "serving cell," "carrier," "component carrier," or "bandwidth part (BWP)."

[0120] In some embodiments, "terminal" or "terminal device" may be referred to as "user equipment (UE)," "user terminal," "mobile station (MS)," "mobile terminal (MT)," "subscriber station," "mobile unit," "subscriber unit," "wireless unit," "remote unit," "mobile device," "wireless device," "wireless communication device," "remote device," "mobile subscriber station," "access terminal," "mobile terminal," "wireless terminal," "remote terminal," "handset," "user agent," "mobile client," "client," etc.

[0121] In some embodiments, the acquisition of data, information, etc., may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the location is situated.

[0122] In some embodiments, data, information, etc., may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0123] Furthermore, each element, each row, or each column in the table of this disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and any combination of any element, any row, or any column can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0124] In communication scenarios, high-frequency bands and massive MIMO (Massively Multi-Sized Antenna Arrays) are introduced to improve spectral efficiency. Massive MIMO can provide greater beamforming gain, effectively compensating for the transmission losses caused by high-frequency bands.

[0125] For an antenna array (whose aperture is denoted as D), its electromagnetic (EM) field can be divided into a near field and a far field. As shown in Figure 1a, which is a schematic diagram of the near and far fields illustrating an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the boundary between the near and far fields is shown. This is called the Rayleigh distance. Here, λ represents the wavelength. The size of the near-field range depends on both the antenna aperture (D) and the wavelength (λ). If the terminal is in the far field, the electromagnetic wave received by the terminal may be a plane wave, and the beam directed at the terminal is a two-dimensional (2D) directional beam pointing towards the terminal. If the terminal is in the near field, then the electromagnetic wave received by the terminal may be a spherical wave, and the beam directed at the terminal is a three-dimensional (3D) beam surrounding the terminal. In Figure 1a, ∞ represents positive infinity.

[0126] Figure 1b is a schematic diagram illustrating far-field UE electromagnetic wave reception according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 1b, for a UE in the far field, the electromagnetic waves arriving at the UE from its different antenna ports or elements are plane waves, and the beam targeting the UE is a two-dimensional (2D) directional beam pointing towards the target UE. For any path in multipath propagation, the time and phase of arrival at the UE receiving antenna array are equally spaced.

[0127] Figure 1c is a schematic diagram illustrating near-field UE electromagnetic wave reception according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 1c, if the UE is located in the near field, the electromagnetic wave received by the UE is a spherical wave, and the beam targeting the UE is a three-dimensional (3D) beam surrounding the target UE. For any path in multipath propagation, the time and phase of arrival at the UE receiving antenna array will no longer be equally spaced.

[0128] In some embodiments, for far-field terminals, the directions of arrival at the terminal from multiple ports are the same. For far-field terminals, with multiple (e.g., 32) transmit beam directions, it is only necessary to transmit 32 reference signal resources based on the 32 beam directions at any one port to obtain the optimal transmit beam direction for each port. However, for near-field terminals, the distances to the terminal from the first beam direction transmitted by the network device (or base station) at the first port are different from the distances from the first beam direction transmitted by the network device at the second port. Therefore, the network device needs to transmit 32 beam directions separately at each port. If the network device still transmits the reference signals for beam measurement in the traditional single-port manner, the scanning time of the terminal will increase by a multiple of the number of ports. At the same time, since the beams arriving at the terminal in the near field are spherical waves, the number of beams covering the same range is further increased. Therefore, the base station can transmit reference signals simultaneously in multiple ports or multiple beam directions. The terminal can simultaneously measure the measurement results corresponding to different ports or different beams (such as Layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) or Layer 1 signal to interference plus noise ratio (L1-SINR)), and report each reference signal resource identifier, or further report the information of each port / port group and the corresponding measurement results, thereby reducing the beam scanning time on the network side.

[0129] Since the optimal transmission beams on the network side differ depending on whether the terminal is located in the far field or near field, issues such as how the terminal performs downlink synchronization and random access based on downlink signals are urgent problems to be solved.

[0130] Therefore, this disclosure provides a communication method that receives a first reference signal and determines a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first reference signal. The first identifier or the second identifier can be used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, so as to flexibly determine random access information, adapt to changing situations, and improve communication efficiency.

[0131] Figure 1d is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0132] As shown in Figure 1d, the communication system 100 includes a terminal 101 and a network device 102.

[0133] In some embodiments, terminal 101 includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: mobile phone, wearable device, Internet of Things device, car with communication function, smart car, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, virtual reality (VR) terminal device, augmented reality (AR) terminal device, wireless terminal device in industrial control, wireless terminal device in self-driving, wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal device in smart grid, wireless terminal device in transportation safety, wireless terminal device in smart city, and wireless terminal device in smart home.

[0134] In some embodiments, network device 102 may include at least one of access network device and core network device.

[0135] In some embodiments, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that connects a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following in a 5G communication system: evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), next-generation Node B (gNB), node B (NB), home node B (HNB), home evolved node B (HeNB), radio backhaul device, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), base band unit (BBU), mobile switching center, base station in a 6G communication system, open RAN, cloud RAN, base station in other communication systems, and access node in a Wi-Fi system.

[0136] In some embodiments, the technical solutions of this disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within access network devices involved in the embodiments of this disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of Open RAN. The processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented by software or programs.

[0137] In some embodiments, the access network device may be composed of a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The CU may also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can separate the protocol layer of the access network device. Some of the protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while the remaining part or all of the protocol layer functions are distributed in the DU and centrally controlled by the CU. However, this is not the only possibility.

[0138] In some embodiments, a core network device may be a single device comprising one or more network elements, or it may be multiple devices or a group of devices, each comprising all or part of the aforementioned one or more network elements. Network elements may be virtual or physical. The core network may include, for example, at least one of an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a 5G Core Network (5GCN), or a Next Generation Core (NGC).

[0139] It is understood that the communication system described in this disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of this disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions proposed in this disclosure. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions proposed in this disclosure are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0140] The following embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1, or to some of the main bodies, but are not limited thereto. The main bodies shown in FIG1 are illustrative. The communication system may include all or some of the main bodies in FIG1, or may include other main bodies outside of FIG1. ​​The number and form of each main body are arbitrary. Each main body may be physical or virtual. The connection relationship between the main bodies is illustrative. The main bodies may not be connected or may be connected. The connection can be in any way, it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection, it can be a wired connection or a wireless connection.

[0141] The embodiments disclosed herein can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), and IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth (a registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) systems, systems utilizing other communication methods, and next-generation systems built upon them, etc. Furthermore, multiple systems can be combined (e.g., a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0142] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication method interaction according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2, this embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for a communication system 100, the method including:

[0143] In step S2101, network device 102 configures reference signal resources to terminal 101.

[0144] In some embodiments, terminal 101 receives reference signal resources configured by network device 102, the reference signal resources being used to receive a first reference signal. That is, the terminal can receive the first reference signal on the reference signal resources. Of course, the reference signal resources can also be defined by a protocol, meaning step S2101 is optional.

[0145] In some embodiments, the reference signal resource may include, for example, time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, etc. The reference signal resource may also be referred to as a reference signal resource location. Specifically, the time-domain resource may be referred to as a time-domain resource location or a time-domain location. Correspondingly, the frequency-domain resource may be referred to as a frequency-domain resource location or a frequency-domain location.

[0146] In some embodiments, time-domain resources include, but are not limited to, radio subframes, time slots, micro-time slots, symbols, etc. Frequency-domain resources include, but are not limited to, subcarriers, resource blocks (RBs), physical resource blocks (PRBs), bandwidth, etc.

[0147] In step S2102, network device 102 sends a first reference signal to terminal 101.

[0148] In some embodiments, terminal 101 receives a first reference signal sent by network device 102.

[0149] In some embodiments, terminal 101 determines a reference signal resource and receives a first reference signal on the reference signal resource. The reference signal resource may be determined based on the configuration of the network device, and / or, the reference signal resource may be determined based on a protocol.

[0150] In some embodiments, the reference signal resource is determined based on a protocol, which can be understood as either specifying the reference signal resource in the protocol or predefining the reference signal resource in the protocol. Terminals and / or network devices may determine the specified reference signal resource or the predefined reference signal resource in the protocol.

[0151] In some embodiments, the first reference signal may be one of multiple reference signals transmitted simultaneously. For example, to save beam scanning time, the network device may transmit multiple reference signals in multiple beam directions simultaneously, or the network device may transmit reference signals at multiple ports. The terminal may receive at least one of the multiple reference signals transmitted simultaneously by the network device, including at least one first reference signal. Of course, the network device may also transmit only one reference signal at the same time, i.e., only the first reference signal may be transmitted at the same time, and this disclosure does not limit this. Exemplarily, to cover far-field terminals, the network device may transmit one reference signal simultaneously; to cover near-field terminals, the network device may transmit multiple reference signals in multiple beam directions simultaneously, but this is not limited to this. That is, to cover far-field terminals, multiple reference signals in multiple beam directions may be transmitted simultaneously; to cover near-field terminals, only one reference signal may be transmitted simultaneously, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0152] In some embodiments, when the first reference signal is one of multiple reference signals transmitted simultaneously, different reference signals among the multiple reference signals correspond to different reference signal resources, or different reference signals among the multiple reference signals correspond to different port information of the same reference signal resource. Here, the reference signal resource may correspond to a beam, that is, different reference signals may correspond to different beams or the same beam. Alternatively, the port information of the reference signal resource may correspond to a beam, that is, different reference signals may correspond to different beams or the same beam.

[0153] In some embodiments, port information may include at least one of a port, a port group, and an antenna subarray element. That is, different port information corresponding to different reference signal resources may be different ports corresponding to different reference signal resources, different port groups corresponding to different reference signal resources, or different antenna subarray elements corresponding to different reference signal resources.

[0154] In some embodiments, at least two of the multiple reference signals occupy the same symbol position. Here, symbol position can be understood as a time-domain position. Time-domain positions include, but are not limited to, radio subframes, time slots, micro-time slots, and symbols. At least two reference signals occupying the same symbol position means that at least two reference signals overlap in their time-domain positions.

[0155] In some embodiments, the first reference signal includes at least one of the following: a synchronization signal and PBCH block (SSB); and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0156] In step S2103, terminal 101 determines the first identifier or the second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first reference signal.

[0157] In some embodiments, the terminal may determine a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first reference signal. For example, the first reference signal is an SSB, and the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence in the SSB and / or the payload in the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) may carry the first identifier or the second identifier. The terminal can obtain the first identifier or the second identifier from the DMRS sequence in the SSB and / or the payload in the PBCH. The first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier, and the first identifier or the second identifier is used to determine random access information and / or downlink timing.

[0158] In some embodiments, the first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier. For example, suppose there are M preset time units at the same transmission time, and the network device transmits N reference signals. Then there are a total of M*N reference signals. * indicates multiplication. The preset time unit is used to transmit the reference signal. The preset time unit can be understood as an available time unit, that is, a time unit that can be used to transmit the reference signal. The preset time unit can also be called the preset transmission time. In subsequent embodiments of this disclosure, the preset transmission time and the preset time unit can be used interchangeably. The first identifier can indicate which reference signal the first reference signal belongs to among the M*N reference signals, that is, the range of the first identifier is 0 to (M*N-1). The second identifier can indicate which transmission time the transmission time corresponding to the first reference signal belongs to among the M preset transmission times, that is, the range of the second identifier is 0 to (M-1). For example, when the first reference signal is the first reference signal at the i-th (i takes values ​​from 1 to M) preset transmission time, the first identifier is i-1, and the second identifier is also i-1. In this case, the first identifier is equal to the second identifier. For example, when the first reference signal is the second reference signal sent at the first preset transmission time, the first identifier is M, and the second identifier is 0. In this case, the first identifier is greater than the second identifier. For another example, when the first reference signal is the second reference signal sent at the second preset transmission time, and two reference signals are sent at each transmission time (i.e., N = 2), the first identifier is M+1, and the second identifier is 1. In this case, the first identifier is also greater than the second identifier. Here, the preset transmission time can also be understood as the available transmission time. The M preset transmission times can be configured by the network device or specified by the protocol; this disclosure does not impose any limitation. The number N of reference signals sent at each transmission time can be configured by the network device or specified by the protocol; this disclosure does not impose any limitation.

[0159] In some embodiments, the first identifier or the second identifier may be used to determine random access information and / or downlink time.

[0160] In some embodiments, the random access information includes at least one of the following: Random Access Channel Occasion (RO); and a random access preamble. The terminal can determine the random access information based on a first identifier or a second identifier. For example, the network device can configure a mapping relationship between the first identifier or the second identifier and the random access information. Alternatively, a mapping relationship between the first identifier or the second identifier and the random access information can be agreed upon in the protocol. The terminal can determine the first identifier or the second identifier and determine the random access information corresponding to the first identifier or the second identifier in the mapping relationship. For example, at least one of the RO and the random access preamble can be determined. The terminal can perform random access based on the determined random access information. For example, the determined random access preamble can be sent on a determined RO. Of course, the determined random access preamble can also be sent on other ROs, or other random access preambles can be sent on determined ROs; this disclosure does not limit this.

[0161] In some embodiments, the downlink time can also be referred to as the downlink transmission time, which includes the downlink transmission time of the first reference signal and can be used by the terminal for downlink synchronization. The terminal can perform downlink synchronization based on a determined downlink time.

[0162] In some embodiments, when the first reference signal is an SSB, different SSBs correspond to different SSB indices. Each SSB index corresponds to a transmission time, and the terminal can obtain downlink synchronization based on the SSB index. The transmission times differ for different SSBs.

[0163] In some embodiments, each SSB can occupy four consecutive symbols, in the following order: Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), PBCH, Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) + PBCH (the middle 12 Resource Blocks (RBs) are the SSS, and the four RBs on each side are the PBCH; that is, the SSB occupies 20 RBs), and PBCH. Some subcarriers in the PBCH are DMRS. The subcarrier spacing of the synchronization signal blocks can be 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz. All synchronization signal blocks are transmitted within a 5-millisecond (ms) timeframe. To support beam transmission, each beam needs to transmit an SSB when there is a beam. Therefore, the maximum number of synchronization signal blocks that can be transmitted within 5 ms is 4 (below 3 GHz), 8 (3 GHz to 7 GHz), or 64 (above 7 GHz). These multiple SSBs within 5 ms are called an SSB Burst Set. The period of the SSB burst set can be 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, etc. Examples are as follows:

[0164] a) At 15kHz, the time-domain distribution of the synchronization signal block is as follows: symbols 2-5 and 8-11 are occupied in every 14 symbols. At 15kHz, the maximum number of synchronization signal blocks is 4 or 8. That is, the starting symbol position of each synchronization signal block is {2,8}+14*n, where n is 0,1 or 0,1,2,3. Here, {} represents a set, and {2,8} means it can be any value in the set, i.e., either 2 or 8.

[0165] b) At 30kHz, the time-domain distribution of the synchronization signal block is as follows: symbols 2-5 and 8-11 are occupied in every 14 symbols. At 30kHz, the maximum number of synchronization signal blocks is 4 or 8. That is, the starting symbol position of each synchronization signal block is {2,8}+14*n, where n is 0,1 or 0,1,2,3.

[0166] c) At 30kHz, the time-domain distribution of the synchronization signal block is as follows: symbols 4-7, 8-11, 16-21, and 20-23 are occupied out of every 28 symbols. However, at 30kHz, the maximum number of synchronization signal blocks is 4 or 8. That is, the starting position of each synchronization signal block is {4,8,16,20}+28*n, where n is 0 or n=0 or 1.

[0167] d) At 120kHz, the time-domain distribution of the synchronization signal blocks is as follows: symbols 4-7, 8-11, 16-21, and 20-23 are occupied out of every 28 symbols. At 120kHz, the maximum number of synchronization signal blocks is 64. That is, the starting position of each synchronization signal block is {4,8,16,20} + 28*n, where n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18.

[0168] e) At 240kHz, the time-domain distribution of the synchronization signal blocks is as follows: symbols 8-11, 12-15, 16-21, 20-23, 32-35, 36-39, 40-43, and 44-47 are occupied out of every 56 symbols. At 240kHz, the maximum number of synchronization signal blocks is 64. That is, the starting position of each synchronization signal block is {8,12,16,20,32,36,40,44} + 56*n, where n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8.

[0169] Of course, the above examples are merely illustrative and this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0170] In some embodiments, to save beam scanning time, network devices can transmit multiple SSBs simultaneously, meaning different SSB indices correspond to the same transmission time. Therefore, the transmission times for different SSB indices need to be redefined. For example, taking a maximum of M transmission times, for the Lth SSB, the SSB index can be L or (L-1). For instance, when the SSB index is L, the SSB index of the first SSB is 1; when the SSB index is (L-1), the SSB index of the first SSB is 0. Assuming the SSB index is L, the transmission time of the Lth SSB is the remainder of L divided by M. For example, when L is 9 and M is 8, the 1st to 8th SSBs correspond one-to-one with the 1st to 8th transmission times, and the 9th SSB is also transmitted at the first transmission time. That is, the transmission time of the SSB index depends on the remainder of the SSB index divided by M. Assuming the remainder is 1, it corresponds to the first transmission time among the M preset transmission times. This disclosure is merely an example and not limited to this. Here, "remainder" can also be called "modulo".

[0171] In some embodiments, the first identifier may be an SSB index. The first identifier can be used to determine the downlink time. For example, if the first identifier is modulo M and the remainder is X, then the downlink time is the Xth transmission time among M preset transmission times.

[0172] In some embodiments, the first identifier may indicate which reference signal the first reference signal belongs to among M*N reference signals. For example, the first identifier may be a value from 0 to (M*N-1). Alternatively, the first identifier may be a value from 1 to M*N. The second identifier may indicate which transmission time the first reference signal corresponds to among M preset transmission times. For example, the second identifier may be a value from 0 to (M-1). Alternatively, the second identifier may be a value from 1 to M.

[0173] In step S2104, terminal 101 determines random access information based on the first identifier or the second identifier.

[0174] In some embodiments, network device 102 may send first information to terminal 101. Terminal 101 receives the first information sent by network device. The first information is used to configure a first mapping relationship. The first mapping relationship includes random access information preset by a first reference signal. For example, the first mapping relationship may be used to indicate the mapping relationship between a first identifier of the first reference signal and random access information. For example, terminal 101 may determine the random access information corresponding to the first identifier in the first mapping relationship based on the first identifier. As another example, the first mapping relationship may be used to indicate the mapping relationship between a second identifier of the first reference signal and random access information. For example, terminal 101 may determine the random access information corresponding to the second identifier in the first mapping relationship based on the second identifier. However, this is not limited to this. For example, in subsequent embodiments, this disclosure also provides a method in which terminal 101 may determine a fourth identifier based on the first reference signal and determine random access information in the first mapping relationship based on the second identifier and the fourth identifier. Alternatively, terminal 101 may also determine a third identifier based on the first identifier and the first identifier, and determine random access information in the first mapping relationship based on the third identifier.

[0175] In some embodiments, the first information may be a system message, but is not limited thereto.

[0176] In some embodiments, terminal 101 can determine random resource information based on a first identifier. For example, the terminal can determine the random access information corresponding to the first identifier in a mapping relationship. For example, if a network device transmits reference signals based on M preset time intervals, and transmits N reference signals at each transmission time interval, then the first identifier represents the number of the first reference signal among the M*N reference signals. The first mapping relationship can represent the mapping relationship between the first identifier and the random access information. Based on the first identifier, the terminal can determine the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal resource in the first mapping relationship.

[0177] In some embodiments, if the first identifier is different, the RO and the random access preamble can be determined separately.

[0178] In some embodiments, terminal 101 can determine a fourth identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first reference signal, and determine random access information based on the second identifier and the fourth identifier. For example, the second identifier can be used to represent the number of the transmission time of the first reference signal among M preset transmission times. The second identifier is less than or equal to M. The fourth identifier can be used to represent the number of N reference signals transmitted by the first reference signal at the same time. That is, the range of the fourth identifier can be 0 to (N-1). The second identifier and the fourth identifier can occupy different bits. For example, the terminal can determine the transmission time of the first reference signal based on the second identifier, and determine which reference signal the first reference signal is at that transmission time based on the fourth identifier. The first mapping relationship can represent the random access information corresponding to each reference signal at each transmission time. The terminal can determine the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal resource based on the second identifier and the fourth identifier in the first mapping relationship.

[0179] In some embodiments, the first mapping relationship may include a second mapping relationship and / or a third mapping relationship. The second mapping relationship may represent the first random access information corresponding to each transmission time, and the terminal may determine the first random access information corresponding to the second identifier based on the second mapping relationship. The third mapping relationship may represent the second random access information corresponding to each of the N reference signals transmitted at the same transmission time, and the terminal may determine the second random access resource corresponding to the fourth identifier based on the third mapping relationship and the determined first random access information corresponding to the second identifier, and perform random access based on the second random access information.

[0180] In some embodiments, when the terminal is a first type terminal, random access information can be determined based on a first identifier. Alternatively, when the terminal is a first type terminal, random access information can be determined based on a second identifier and a fourth identifier. For example, the first type terminal may be a near-field terminal. To cover near-field terminals, network devices can transmit multiple reference signals simultaneously. Therefore, the terminal can determine the first identifier of the first reference signal, or determine the second identifier and the fourth identifier of the first reference signal, to determine the transmission time of the first reference signal and which reference signal it is among the multiple reference signals transmitted at that transmission time. This enables the terminal to accurately determine the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal when the network device transmits multiple reference signals simultaneously. However, this is not a limitation. In other embodiments of this disclosure, any terminal can determine random access information based on the first identifier, or based on the second identifier and the fourth identifier.

[0181] In some embodiments, a terminal is classified as a first type terminal if the difference between the measurement results of at least two first reference signals occupying the same symbol position but different frequency domain resources is greater than or equal to a threshold. That is, the terminal can determine whether it is a first type terminal based on the measurement results of at least two first reference signals occupying the same symbol position but different frequency domain resources. If the terminal is determined to be a first type terminal, it can determine random access information based on a first identifier. Alternatively, the terminal can determine random access information based on a second identifier and a fourth identifier. The measurement results include Layer 1 reference signal received power (RSRP) and layer 1 signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), where RSRP can be the RSRP of layer 1 (L1) or layer 3 (L3), and SINR can be the SINR of layer 1 or layer 3.

[0182] In some embodiments, terminal 101 can determine a third identifier based on a first identifier and M. M is the number of preset transmission times, and the third identifier is less than or equal to M. The range of the third identifier is 0 to (M-1). That is, the ranges of the second identifier and the third identifier can be the same. The third identifier is used to determine random access information and / or downlink time. For example, the first identifier can be modulo M to obtain the third identifier. That is, the third identifier can be the remainder after dividing the first identifier by M. The first identifier is greater than or equal to the third identifier. The third identifier can represent the number of the transmission time of the first reference signal among the M preset transmission times, that is, the third identifier can identify which transmission time among the M preset transmission times the transmission time of the first reference signal belongs to. That is, both the second identifier and the third identifier can be used to identify the first time unit corresponding to the first reference signal among the M preset transmission times. Where M is the number of preset transmission times. M is a positive integer. The first mapping relationship can represent the mapping relationship between the third identifier and the random access information. Terminal 101 can determine the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the third identifier in the first mapping relationship.

[0183] In some embodiments, terminal 101 may determine random access information based on a second identifier. A first mapping relationship may represent the mapping relationship between the second identifier and the random access information.

[0184] In some embodiments, when the terminal is a second type terminal, random access information can be determined based on a first identifier. Alternatively, random access resources can be determined based on a second and a fourth identifier. Alternatively, random access resources can be determined based on a third identifier. Alternatively, random access resources can be determined based on a second identifier. Both the second and third identifiers can indicate which of the M preset transmission times the transmission time of the first reference signal belongs to. The second type terminal can be, for example, a far-field terminal. To cover far-field terminals, the network device may transmit only one reference signal or one beam per transmission time, meaning the second and third identifiers uniquely identify the first reference signal or its corresponding beam. The terminal can determine the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal in a first mapping relationship based on the second or third identifier. The network device may also transmit multiple reference signals or multiple beams per transmission time, with the first reference signal being one of the multiple reference signals. In this case, the second and third identifiers do not uniquely identify the first reference signal; that is, other reference signals transmitted at the same time as the first reference signal share the same second and third identifiers. To cover far-field terminals, the differences between multiple reference signals transmitted at the same time are small; therefore, multiple reference signals transmitted at the same time can share random access information. That is, the terminal can determine the random access information corresponding to the second or third identifier in the first mapping relationship.

[0185] In some embodiments, if the difference between the measurement results corresponding to at least two first reference signals occupying the same symbol position but different frequency domain resources is less than a threshold, the terminal is a second type of terminal. That is, the terminal can determine whether it is a second type of terminal based on the measurement results corresponding to at least two first reference signals occupying the same symbol position but different frequency domain resources. If the terminal is determined to be a second type of terminal, the terminal can determine random access information based on a first identifier. Alternatively, the terminal can determine random access information based on a second identifier and a fourth identifier. Alternatively, it can determine random access resources based on a third identifier. Alternatively, it can determine random access resources based on a second identifier. The measurement results include RSRP and SINR, and RSRP can be L1 or L3 RSRP, and SINR can be L1 or L3 SINR.

[0186] In some embodiments, for a first type of terminal, multiple reference signals transmitted simultaneously can correspond to different random access information. The first type of terminal can be, for example, a near-field terminal, but is not limited to this. Taking eight preset transmission times and a first identifier of 9 (i.e., M=8, L=9) as an example, SSB index#0 (i.e., the first SSB) and SSB index#8 (i.e., the ninth SSB) can be transmitted simultaneously. Based on the mapping relationship between SSB, RO, and / or random access preamble, SSB index #0 corresponds to RO #0 and random access preamble subset #0 (subset #0 includes at least one preamble), and SSB index #8 corresponds to RO #8 and random access preamble subset #8 (subset #8 includes at least one preamble). Therefore, if UE #1 (UE #1 represents UE number 1) has a better measurement result for the SSB corresponding to SSB index #0, then UE #1 will transmit one preamble from preamble subset #0 on RO #0. Similarly, if near-field UE #2 (UE #2 represents UE number 2) has a better RSRP for the SSB corresponding to SSB index #8, then UE #2 will transmit one preamble from preamble subset #8 on RO #8. In other words, UE #1 cannot transmit preamble subset #8 on RO #8. Since UE#1 has determined that the measurement result corresponding to SSB index#0 is better, UE#1 uses the RO and random access preamble corresponding to SSB index#0 to let the base station know that the downlink transmission to UE#1 can be based on the transmission beam corresponding to SSB index#0.

[0187] In some embodiments, for the second type of terminal, multiple reference signals transmitted simultaneously can correspond to the same random access information. That is, multiple reference signals can share a set of random access information. For example, the second type of terminal can also randomly select a first identifier from multiple first identifiers (e.g., SSB indexes) transmitted simultaneously, and then transmit based on the RO and / or random access preamble corresponding to that first identifier. As another example, the second type of terminal can directly randomly select the RO and preamble from the ROs and preambles corresponding to multiple first identifiers (e.g., SSB indexes) transmitted simultaneously for transmission.

[0188] In some embodiments, at least one of the random access information determined by the first type of terminal and the second type of terminal is different. For example, multiple SSBs are sent at the same time, some to cover far-field terminals and some to cover near-field terminals, and the first type of terminal and the second type of terminal both determine the RO and preamble based on the first identifier, or based on the second identifier and the fourth identifier, thereby determining different random access information.

[0189] In some embodiments, at least one of the first, second, third, and fourth identifiers is carried by the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) and / or the payload of the physical broadcast channel (PBCH). For example, the second identifier can be carried based on existing bits, and new bits can be designed to carry the fourth identifier. The terminal can obtain the second identifier first, and then obtain the fourth identifier. Alternatively, the existing bits and the newly designed bits can be used together to carry the first identifier, and the terminal can directly obtain the first identifier. For example, for the existing bits, when supporting up to 64 SSBs, the first identifier can be indicated by 6 bits. Among them, the lower 3 bits are carried by the DMRS sequence, and the higher 3 bits are carried by the PBCH payload. The newly designed bits can be carried by the DMRS sequence and / or the PBCH payload.

[0190] In some embodiments, the first information may be carried by a system message, but is not limited thereto.

[0191] In some embodiments, the name of the first information is not limited, and it may be, for example, "configuration information", "instruction information", etc.

[0192] In step S2105, terminal 101 sends a measurement report to network device 102.

[0193] In some embodiments, network device 102 receives a measurement report sent by terminal 101.

[0194] In some embodiments, the measurement report may also be referred to as a beam report, but is not limited thereto.

[0195] In some embodiments, the measurement report includes at least one of the following: a reference signal resource identifier corresponding to the first reference signal, a measurement result of the first reference signal, a port identifier corresponding to the first reference signal, and a port group identifier corresponding to the first reference signal.

[0196] In some embodiments, the measurement results may include L1-RSRP and / or L1-SINR.

[0197] In some embodiments, the measurement report includes at least one of the following: a group-based beam report; or a non-group-based beam report.

[0198] In some embodiments, the combined measurement report includes at least one set of reported content, and each set of reported content includes at least two sets of identifiers; wherein each set of identifiers includes at least one of the following: an identifier of a reference signal resource; a port identifier corresponding to the reference signal resource; and a port group identifier corresponding to the reference signal resource.

[0199] In some embodiments, in at least two sets of identifiers, the identifiers of the reference signal resources included in different sets of identifiers are different; or in at least two sets of identifiers, the identifiers of the reference signal resources included in different sets of identifiers are the same, but the port identifiers corresponding to the reference signal resources or the port group identifiers corresponding to the reference signal resources are different. It can be understood that the beam direction of the same port corresponding to different reference signal resources can be the same, while the same port points to different beam directions at the same time.

[0200] The communication method involved in the embodiments of this disclosure may include at least one of steps S2101 to S2105. For example, steps S2102 and S2103 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0201] In some embodiments, steps S2101, S2104 and S2105 may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0202] In some embodiments, other optional implementations described before or after the specification corresponding to FIG2 may be referred to.

[0203] Figure 3a is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3a, this embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method executed by terminal 101, the method including:

[0204] Step S3101: Obtain reference signal resources.

[0205] The optional implementation of step S3101 can be found in the optional implementation of step S2101 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0206] In some embodiments, terminal 101 receives reference signal resources configured by network device 102, but is not limited thereto; it may also receive first information sent by other entities.

[0207] In some embodiments, terminal 101 acquires reference signal resources as defined by a protocol.

[0208] In some embodiments, terminal 101 obtains reference signal resources from upper layer(s).

[0209] In some embodiments, terminal 101 performs processing to obtain reference signal resources.

[0210] In some embodiments, step S3101 is omitted, and terminal 101 autonomously implements the function indicated by the reference signal resource, or the above function is defaulted or set to default.

[0211] Step S3102: Obtain the first reference signal.

[0212] The optional implementation of step S3102 can be found in the optional implementation of step S2102 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0213] In some embodiments, terminal 101 receives a first reference signal configured by network device 102, but is not limited thereto; it may also receive first information sent by other entities.

[0214] In some embodiments, terminal 101 acquires a first reference signal defined by a protocol.

[0215] In some embodiments, terminal 101 obtains a first reference signal from upper layer(s).

[0216] In some embodiments, terminal 101 performs processing to obtain a first reference signal.

[0217] In some embodiments, step S3102 is omitted, and the terminal 101 autonomously implements the function indicated by the first reference signal, or the above function is defaulted or set to default.

[0218] Step S3103: Based on the first reference signal, determine the first identifier or the second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal.

[0219] The optional implementation of step S3103 can be found in the optional implementation of step S2103 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0220] In some embodiments, the first identifier or the second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal is determined based on the first reference signal.

[0221] Step S3104: Determine random access information based on the first identifier or the second identifier.

[0222] The optional implementation of step S3104 can be found in the optional implementation of step S2104 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0223] In some embodiments, random access information is determined based on a first identifier or a second identifier.

[0224] Step S3105: Send the measurement report.

[0225] The optional implementation of step S3105 can be found in the optional implementation of step S2105 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0226] In some embodiments, terminal 101 may send a measurement report to network device 102, but is not limited to that; it may also send a measurement report to other entities.

[0227] Figure 3b is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3b, this embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method executed by terminal 101, the method including:

[0228] Step S3201: Obtain the first reference signal.

[0229] The optional implementation of step S3201 can be found in the optional implementation of step S2102 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0230] In some embodiments, terminal 101 receives a first reference signal configured by network device 102, but is not limited thereto; it may also receive first information sent by other entities.

[0231] In some embodiments, terminal 101 acquires a first reference signal defined by a protocol.

[0232] In some embodiments, terminal 101 obtains a first reference signal from upper layer(s).

[0233] In some embodiments, terminal 101 performs processing to obtain a first reference signal.

[0234] In some embodiments, step S3201 is omitted, and terminal 101 autonomously implements the function indicated by the first reference signal, or the above function is defaulted or set to default.

[0235] Step S3202: Based on the first reference signal, determine the first identifier or the second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal.

[0236] The optional implementation of step S3202 can be found in the optional implementation of step S2103 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0237] Figure 4a is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4a, this embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method executed by a network device 102, the method including:

[0238] Step S4101: Send reference signal resources.

[0239] The optional implementation of step S4101 can be found in the optional implementation of step S2101 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0240] In some embodiments, network device 102 sends reference signal resources to terminal 101, but is not limited thereto; it may also send reference signal resources to other entities.

[0241] Step S4102: Send the first reference signal.

[0242] The optional implementation of step S4102 can be found in the optional implementation of step S2102 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0243] In some embodiments, network device 102 sends a first reference signal to terminal 101, but is not limited thereto; it may also send the first reference signal to other entities.

[0244] Step S4103: Obtain the measurement report.

[0245] The optional implementation of step S4103 can be found in the optional implementation of step S2105 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0246] In some embodiments, network device 102 receives measurement reports sent by terminal 101, but is not limited thereto, and may also receive measurement reports sent by other entities.

[0247] Figure 4b is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4b, this embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method executed by a network device 102, the method comprising:

[0248] Step S4201: Send the first reference signal.

[0249] The optional implementation of step S4201 can be found in the optional implementation of step S2102 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0250] In some embodiments, network device 102 sends a first reference signal to terminal 101, but is not limited thereto; it may also send the first reference signal to other entities.

[0251] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5, the present disclosure relates to a communication method, which includes:

[0252] In step S5101, network device 102 sends a first reference signal to terminal 101.

[0253] The optional implementation of step S5101 can be found in S2102 of Figure 2, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0254] In step S5102, terminal 101 receives the first reference signal sent by network device 102.

[0255] The optional implementation of step S5102 can be found in S2102 of Figure 2, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0256] In step S5103, terminal 101 determines the first identifier or the second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first reference signal.

[0257] The optional implementation of step S5103 can be found in S2103 of Figure 2, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0258] This disclosure provides a communication method as follows:

[0259] In some embodiments, the terminal determines at least one reference signal resource and performs measurements on at least one reference signal on the at least one reference signal resource to obtain measurement results (L1-RSRP / L1-SINR) corresponding to each reference signal in the at least one reference signal.

[0260] In some embodiments, the reference signal resources corresponding to at least one reference signal overlap on at least one symbol, i.e., domain overlap.

[0261] In some embodiments, the terminal determines at least one reference signal resource location in the following manner:

[0262] a) Based on base station configuration. For example, base station configuration includes SSB or CSI-RS resource locations.

[0263] b) Based on protocol agreement. For example, the protocol specifies the location of SSB or CSI-RS resources.

[0264] In some embodiments, if the reference signal resource is a CSI-RS resource, then the reference signal is a CSI-RS, and at least one reference signal corresponds to different CSI-RS resources, or at least one reference signal corresponds to different ports / port groups or different antenna subarray units of the base station for the same CSI-RS resource (hereinafter described by port).

[0265] In some embodiments, if the reference signal resource is an SSB resource, then the reference signal is an SSB, and different reference signals in at least one reference signal correspond to different SSB resources, or different reference signals in at least one reference signal correspond to different ports of the same SSB resource.

[0266] In some embodiments, the protocol specifies the location of SSB resources. Different SSBs correspond to different SSB resource locations; that is, different SSBs can use FDM (Frequency Directed Communication) to communicate, and different SSBs correspond to SSB resources in different frequency domains. Traditionally, each SSB corresponds to a different SSB index, and the SSB index corresponds to different transmission times. The terminal can obtain downlink synchronization based on the SSB index. For example, in a traditional configuration, each synchronization signal block (SSB) occupies four consecutive symbols, in the following order: PSS, PBCH, SSS+PBCH (the middle 12 RBs are SSS, and the four RBs on each side are PBCH, i.e., the SSB occupies 20 RBs), and PBCH. Some subcarriers in PBCH are DMRS (Digital Directed Communication). The subcarrier spacing of the synchronization signal block can be 15kHz, 30kHz, 120kHz, and 240kHz. All synchronization signal blocks are transmitted within a 5ms time interval. To support beam transmission, each beam needs to transmit an SSB when beams are present. Therefore, the maximum number of synchronization signal blocks that can be transmitted within 5ms is 4 (below 3GHz), 8 (3GHz to 6GHz), or 64 (above 6GHz). These multiple SSBs within 5ms are called an SSB burst set. The period of the SSB burst set can be 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, etc. For example:

[0267] a) At 15kHz, the time-domain distribution of the synchronization signal block is as follows: symbols 2-5 and 8-11 are occupied in every 14 symbols. At 15kHz, the maximum number of synchronization signal blocks is 4 or 8. That is, the starting symbol position of each synchronization signal block is {2,8}+14*n, where n is 0,1 or 0,1,2,3. Here, {} represents a set, and {2,8} means it can be any value in the set, i.e., either 2 or 8.

[0268] b) At 30kHz, the time-domain distribution of the synchronization signal block is as follows: symbols 2-5 and 8-11 are occupied in every 14 symbols. At 30kHz, the maximum number of synchronization signal blocks is 4 or 8. That is, the starting symbol position of each synchronization signal block is {2,8}+14*n, where n is 0,1 or 0,1,2,3.

[0269] c) At 30kHz, the time-domain distribution of the synchronization signal block is as follows: symbols 4-7, 8-11, 16-21, and 20-23 are occupied out of every 28 symbols. However, at 30kHz, the maximum number of synchronization signal blocks is 4 or 8. That is, the starting position of each synchronization signal block is {4,8,16,20}+28*n, where n is 0 or n=0 or 1.

[0270] d) At 120kHz, the time-domain distribution of the synchronization signal blocks is as follows: symbols 4-7, 8-11, 16-21, and 20-23 are occupied out of every 28 symbols. At 120kHz, the maximum number of synchronization signal blocks is 64. That is, the starting position of each synchronization signal block is {4,8,16,20} + 28*n, where n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18.

[0271] e) At 240kHz, the time-domain distribution of the synchronization signal blocks is as follows: symbols 8-11, 12-15, 16-21, 20-23, 32-35, 36-39, 40-43, and 44-47 are occupied out of every 56 symbols. At 240kHz, the maximum number of synchronization signal blocks is 64. That is, the starting position of each synchronization signal block is {8,12,16,20,32,36,40,44} + 56*n, where n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8.

[0272] In some embodiments, based on this traditional fixed location of the SSB, after the terminal receives the SSB and obtains the SSB index from the DMRS sequence in the SSB or the payload in the DMRS sequence and PBCH, it can determine which time slot and symbol within 5ms corresponds to the SSB, thus achieving downlink synchronization. In the embodiments of this disclosure, the base station needs to simultaneously transmit SSBs corresponding to multiple beams, and different SSBs correspond to different SSB resources, i.e., different SSBs correspond to different SSB indices. Therefore, it is equivalent to SSBs corresponding to different SSB indices being transmitted at the same time. When the terminal receives the SSB, it must obtain the same downlink timing based on the different SSBs transmitted at the same time. Therefore, the transmission positions corresponding to different SSB indices need to be redefined, and the definition method is as follows:

[0273] i. For example, taking a maximum of M transmission time positions, and the number of beams that the base station needs to transmit, or the number of beams multiplied by the number of base station ports, is L, then the transmission time position of the Lth SSB, or the SSB with index L or L-1, is L mod M. Here, mod represents the modulo operator, and L mod M means L modulo M. For example, if M is 8 and L is 9, then the 1st to 8th SSBs correspond one-to-one with the 1st to 8th transmission time positions, and the 9th SSB is also transmitted at the first transmission time position.

[0274] ii. Therefore, after the terminal obtains the SSB index and determines the value of M (based on base station configuration: system information SIB transmission or protocol specification), it can then obtain the transmission time position corresponding to the SSB index.

[0275] In some embodiments, the terminal measures the RSRP (L1-RSRP or L3-RSRP) corresponding to the SSB, determines the RO and / or random access preamble corresponding to the SSB, and sends the random access preamble corresponding to the SSB on the RO corresponding to the SSB.

[0276] In some embodiments, there is a correspondence between different SSB indices and RO and / or random access preambles, and this correspondence can be determined based on system information sent by the base station.

[0277] In some embodiments, for near-field UEs, different SSB indices correspond to at least one of the RO and / or random access preamble.

[0278] In some embodiments, the terminal determines whether it is a near-field UE or a far-field UE in the following way: if the difference in L1-RSRP corresponding to SSBs in different frequency domain locations is greater than a threshold value, it is a near-field UE; otherwise, it is a far-field UE.

[0279] In some embodiments, for far-field UEs, when the transmission times corresponding to SSBs are the same, their corresponding ROs and / or random access preambles are the same set. That is, if multiple SSB indices are transmitted at the same transmission time, the ROs and / or random access preambles corresponding to these multiple SSB indices can be shared.

[0280] In some embodiments, such as the example above where M=8 and L=9, where SSB index#0 (the first SSB) and SSB index#8 (the ninth SSB) are transmitted at the same time, based on the mapping relationship between SSB and RO and / or random access preamble, SSB index#0 corresponds to RO#0 and random access preamble subset #0 (subset #0 includes at least one preamble), and SSB index#8 corresponds to RO#8 and random access preamble subset #8 (subset #8 includes at least one preamble). If near-field UE#1 determines that the RSRP of the SSB corresponding to SSB index#0 is better, then UE#1 will transmit one preamble from preamble subset #0 on RO#0. If near-field UE#2 determines that the RSRP of the SSB corresponding to SSB index#8 is better, then UE#2 will transmit one preamble from preamble subset #8 on RO#8. That is, UE#1 cannot transmit preamble subset #8 on RO#8. Since UE#1 has determined that the RSRP corresponding to SSB index#0 is better, UE#1 uses the RO and random access preamble corresponding to SSB index#0 to let the base station know that the downlink transmission to UE#1 can be based on the transmission beam corresponding to SSB index#0.

[0281] In some embodiments, it is sufficient that either the RO or the preamble corresponding to SSB index#0 and SSB index#8 are different.

[0282] In some embodiments, at least one of the RO and preamble used by the far-field UE may be different from or the same as that of the near-field UE. That is, the far-field UE may also randomly select an SSB index from multiple SSB indices transmitted at the same time, and then transmit based on the RO and / or preamble corresponding to that SSB index. Alternatively, the far-field UE may directly randomly select the RO and preamble from the RO and preamble corresponding to multiple SSB indices transmitted at the same time for transmission.

[0283] In some embodiments, since the traditional L is only up to 64, it supports a maximum of 64 SSBs. 6 bits are needed to indicate the SSB index, the other 3 lower bits are carried by the DMRS sequence, and the 3 higher bits are carried by the PBCH payload. In our proposed method, the number of SSBs may be greater than 64, so the additional bits can be carried by the DMRS sequence and / or the PBCH payload.

[0284] In some embodiments, the terminal sends a measurement report, which includes at least one of the following: a reference signal resource identifier, an L1-RSRP / L1-SINR, a port identifier, and a port group identifier.

[0285] In some embodiments, the measurement report includes a group-based beam report or a non-group-based beam report. The group-based beam report contains at least one group, and each group contains at least two different identity (ID) combinations.

[0286] In some embodiments, the ID combination includes a reference signal resource ID and a port / port group ID; if either one is different, the ID combination is different.

[0287] In some embodiments, the reference signal resource IDs corresponding to the ID combinations contained within a Group may be the same.

[0288] In some embodiments, the port / port group IDs corresponding to the ID combinations contained in a Group cannot be the same. This is because the beam direction of the same port corresponding to different reference signal resources is the same, and the same port cannot point to different beam directions at the same time.

[0289] Figure 6a is a schematic diagram of the terminal structure proposed in an embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 6a, the terminal 6100 may include a transceiver module 6101 and a processing module 6102. The transceiver module 6101 is used to receive a first reference signal sent by a network device; the processing module is used to determine a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal, wherein the first identifier or the second identifier is used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, and the first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier.

[0290] In some embodiments, the processing module 6102 is further configured to: determine a third identifier based on a first identifier and a pre-configured M, wherein M is the number of preset time units, the first reference signal is transmitted in the first time unit of the M preset time units, wherein the first identifier is greater than or equal to the third identifier, and the third identifier is used to determine random access information and / or downlink time; and / or, determine a fourth identifier based on the first reference signal, wherein the fourth identifier is used together with the second identifier to determine random access information.

[0291] In some implementations, the first reference signal is one of a plurality of reference signals transmitted at the same time, and different reference signals among the plurality of reference signals correspond to different reference signal resources; or, different reference signals among the plurality of reference signals correspond to different port information of the same reference signal resource.

[0292] In some implementations, at least two of the multiple reference signals occupy the same symbol position.

[0293] In some implementations, the transceiver module 6101 receives a first reference signal sent by the network device in the following manner: the terminal determines a reference signal resource and receives the first reference signal on the reference signal resource; wherein the reference signal resource is determined based on the configuration of the network device; and / or, the reference signal resource is determined based on a protocol.

[0294] In some implementations, the first reference signal includes at least one of the following: a synchronization signal block (SSB); and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0295] In some implementations, M is the number of preset transmission times, and the third identifier corresponds to the first time unit among the M preset transmission times; or, the second identifier corresponds to the first time unit among the M preset transmission times.

[0296] In some implementations, the third identifier is less than or equal to M, or the second identifier is less than or equal to M.

[0297] In some embodiments, the processing module 6102 is further configured to: determine the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal; the transceiver module 6101 is further configured to: perform a random access process based on the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal.

[0298] In some implementations, the processing module 6102 determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal in the following manner: the terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first identifier.

[0299] In some implementations, the processing module 6102 determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal in the following manner: the terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the second identifier and the fourth identifier, the fourth identifier is determined based on the first reference signal, and the fourth identifier and the second identifier correspond to different bit positions.

[0300] In some implementations, the terminal is a first type of terminal.

[0301] In some implementations, if the difference between the measurement results of at least two first reference signals that occupy the same symbol position but occupy different frequency domain resources is greater than or equal to a threshold, the terminal is a first type of terminal.

[0302] In some implementations, the processing module 6102 determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal in the following manner: the terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on a third identifier, wherein the third identifier is determined based on the first identifier and a pre-configured M.

[0303] In some implementations, the processing module 6102 determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal in the following manner: the terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the second identifier.

[0304] In some implementations, the terminal is a second type of terminal.

[0305] In some implementations, if the difference between the measurement results of at least two first reference signals that occupy the same symbol position but occupy different frequency domain resources is less than a threshold, the terminal is a second type of terminal.

[0306] In some implementations, the processing module 6102 determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal in the following manner: the terminal receives first information sent by the network device, the first information being used to configure a first mapping relationship, the first mapping relationship including preset random access information for each first reference signal; the terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first mapping relationship; or, the terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first mapping relationship and the terminal type.

[0307] In some implementations, the random access information includes at least one of the following: random access channel timing (RO); random access preamble; and at least one of the random access information determined by the first type of terminal and the second type of terminal is different.

[0308] In some implementations, at least one of the first identifier, the second identifier, the third identifier, and the fourth identifier is carried by the demodulation reference signal DMRS and / or the payload of the physical broadcast channel PBCH.

[0309] Figure 6b is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device proposed in an embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 6b, the network device 6200 may include: a transceiver module 6201, used to send a first reference signal to a terminal, the first reference signal being used by the terminal to determine a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal, the first identifier or the second identifier being used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, the first identifier being greater than or equal to the second identifier.

[0310] In some implementations, the first reference signal is one of a plurality of reference signals transmitted at the same time; different reference signals among the plurality of reference signals correspond to different reference signal resources; or, different reference signals among the plurality of reference signals correspond to different port information of the same reference signal resource.

[0311] In some implementations, at least two of the multiple reference signals occupy the same symbol position.

[0312] In some implementations, the transceiver module 6201 sends a first reference signal to the terminal in the following manner: the network device sends the first reference signal on a reference signal resource; wherein the reference signal resource is determined by the network device; and / or, the reference signal resource is determined based on a protocol.

[0313] In some implementations, the first reference signal includes at least one of the following: a synchronization signal block (SSB); and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0314] In some implementations, random access information is determined based on a first identifier.

[0315] In some implementations, random access information is determined based on a second identifier and a fourth identifier, the fourth identifier being determined based on a first reference signal, and the fourth identifier and the second identifier corresponding to different bits.

[0316] In some implementations, the terminal is a first type of terminal.

[0317] In some implementations, if the difference between the measurement results of at least two first reference signals that occupy the same symbol position but occupy different frequency domain resources is greater than or equal to a threshold, the terminal is a first type of terminal.

[0318] In some implementations, random access information is determined based on a third identifier, which is determined based on a first identifier and a pre-configured M. The third identifier is used to determine random access information and / or downlink time.

[0319] In some implementations, M is the number of preset transmission times, and the third identifier corresponds to the first time unit among the M preset transmission times; or, the second identifier corresponds to the first time unit among the M preset transmission times.

[0320] In some implementations, the third identifier is less than or equal to M, or the second identifier is less than or equal to M.

[0321] In some implementations, random access information is determined based on a second identifier.

[0322] In some implementations, the terminal is a second type of terminal.

[0323] In some implementations, if the difference between the measurement results of at least two first reference signals that occupy the same symbol position but occupy different frequency domain resources is less than a threshold, the terminal is a second type of terminal.

[0324] In some implementations, the transceiver module 6201 is further configured to: send first information from the network device to the terminal, the first information being used to configure a first mapping relationship, the first mapping relationship including preset random access information for each first reference signal.

[0325] In some implementations, the random access information includes at least one of the following: random access channel timing (RO); random access preamble; and at least one of the random access information determined by the first type of terminal and the second type of terminal is different.

[0326] In some implementations, at least one of the first identifier, the second identifier, the third identifier, and the fourth identifier is carried by the demodulation reference signal DMRS and / or the payload of the physical broadcast channel PBCH.

[0327] In some embodiments, the network device 6200 may further include a processing module 6202 for processing the steps involved in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0328] Figure 7a is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 7100 according to an embodiment of this disclosure. The communication device 7100 can be a network device, a terminal, or a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the network device in implementing any of the above methods; alternatively, the network device can be an access network device, a core network device, etc. Optionally, the terminal can be a user equipment, etc. The communication device 7100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments; for details, please refer to the descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0329] As shown in Figure 7a, the communication device 7100 includes one or more processors 7101. The processor 7101 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, such as a baseband processor or a central processing unit (CPU). The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the CPU can be used to control the communication device, execute programs, and process program data. The communication device 7100 is used to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, the communication device can be a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU (Distributed Unit), or a CU (Computer Integrated Circuit), etc.

[0330] In some embodiments, the communication device 7100 further includes one or more memories 7102 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 7102 may also be located outside the communication device 7100.

[0331] In some embodiments, the communication device 7100 further includes one or more transceivers 7103. When the communication device 7100 includes one or more transceivers 7103, the transceivers 7103 perform communication steps S2101 such as sending and / or receiving in the above method, and the processor 7101 performs other steps.

[0332] In some embodiments, a transceiver may include a receiver and / or a transmitter, which may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver circuit, etc., may be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, transmitting circuit, etc., may be used interchangeably; and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, receiving circuit, etc., may be used interchangeably.

[0333] In some embodiments, the communication device 7100 may include one or more interface circuits 7104. Optionally, the interface circuit 7104 is connected to the memory 7102, and the interface circuit 7104 can be used to receive signals from the memory 7102 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory 7102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 7104 can read instructions stored in the memory 7102 and send the instructions to the processor 7101.

[0334] The communication device 7100 described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 7100 described in this disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 7100 may not be limited by FIG. 7a. The communication device may be a standalone device or a part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: (1) a standalone integrated circuit IC, or chip, or chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the IC collection may also include storage components for storing data and programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, terminal device, smart terminal device, cellular phone, wireless device, handheld device, mobile unit, vehicle device, network device, cloud device, artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0335] Figure 7b is a schematic diagram of the structure of chip 7200 according to an embodiment of this disclosure. For cases where the communication device 7100 can be a chip or a chip system, the schematic diagram of the chip 7200 shown in Figure 7b can be referred to, but is not limited thereto.

[0336] Chip 7200 includes one or more processors 7201, which are used to perform any of the above methods.

[0337] In some embodiments, chip 7200 further includes one or more interface circuits 7202. Optionally, the interface circuit 7202 is connected to memory 7203, and the interface circuit 7202 can be used to receive signals from memory 7203 or other devices, and the interface circuit 7202 can be used to send signals to memory 7203 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 7202 can read instructions stored in memory 7203 and send the instructions to processor 7201.

[0338] In some embodiments, the interface circuit 7202 performs communication steps S2101 such as sending and / or receiving in the above method, and the processor 7201 performs other steps.

[0339] In some embodiments, the terms interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, transceiver, etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0340] In some embodiments, chip 7200 further includes one or more memories 7203 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 7203 may be located outside of chip 7200.

[0341] This disclosure also proposes a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on the communication device 7100, cause the communication device 7100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but not limited thereto; it may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but not limited thereto; it may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0342] This disclosure also provides a program product that, when executed by the communication device 7100, causes the communication device 7100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

[0343] This disclosure also proposes a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the above methods.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: The terminal receives a first reference signal sent by a network device; The terminal determines a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first reference signal, the first identifier or the second identifier being used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, the first identifier being greater than or equal to the second identifier.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: The terminal determines a third identifier based on the first identifier and a preconfigured M, the M being a number of preset time units, the first reference signal being sent in a first time unit of the M preset time units, wherein the first identifier is greater than or equal to the third identifier, the third identifier being used to determine the random access information and / or the downlink time; and / or, The terminal determines a fourth identifier based on the first reference signal, the fourth identifier being used to determine the random access information together with the second identifier.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first reference signal is one of a plurality of reference signals sent at the same time, different reference signals in the plurality of reference signals corresponding to different reference signal resources; or, Different reference signals in the plurality of reference signals correspond to different port information of the same reference signal resource.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, At least two reference signals in the plurality of reference signals occupy the same symbol position.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, The terminal receives a first reference signal sent by a network device, comprising: The terminal determines a reference signal resource and receives the first reference signal on the reference signal resource; The reference signal resource is determined based on a configuration of the network device; and / or, the reference signal resource is determined based on a protocol.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first reference signal comprises at least one of: A synchronization signal block (SSB); A channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

7. The method of claim 2, wherein, The third identifier corresponds to a first time unit of the M preset time units; or, The second identifier corresponds to a first time unit of the M preset time units.

8. The method according to claim 1 or 7, characterized in that, The third identifier is less than or equal to M, or the second identifier is less than or equal to M.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The method further comprises: The terminal determines random access information corresponding to the first reference signal; The terminal performs a random access process based on the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The terminal determines random access information corresponding to the first reference signal, comprising: The terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first identifier.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The terminal determines random access information corresponding to the first reference signal, comprising: The terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the second identifier and a fourth identifier, the fourth identifier being determined based on the first reference signal, the fourth identifier and the second identifier corresponding to different bit positions.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The terminal is a first type terminal.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein, The terminal is a first type terminal, a difference between measurement results corresponding to at least two first reference signals occupying the same symbol position and occupying different frequency domain resources being greater than or equal to a threshold value.

14. The method of any one of claims 1-9, wherein, The terminal determines random access information corresponding to the first reference signal, comprising: The terminal determines random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on a third identifier, the third identifier being determined based on the first identifier and a preconfigured M.

15. The method of any one of claims 1-9, wherein, The terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal, including: The terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the second identifier.

16. The method according to claim 10 or 11 or 14 or 15, characterized in that, The terminal is a second type terminal.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein, The difference between the measurement results corresponding to at least two first reference signals occupying the same symbol position and different frequency domain resources is less than a threshold value, and the terminal is a second type terminal.

18. The method of any of claims 10-15, wherein, The terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal, including: The terminal receives first information sent by the network device, the first information being used for configuring a first mapping relationship, the first mapping relationship including preconfigured random access information of each first reference signal; The terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first mapping relationship; or, the terminal determines the random access information corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first mapping relationship and the terminal type.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein, The random access information includes at least one of the following: a random access channel occasion RO; a random access preamble; At least one of the random access information determined by the first type terminal and the second type terminal is different.

20. The method of claim 2, wherein, At least one of the first identifier, the second identifier, the third identifier and the fourth identifier is carried by a demodulation reference signal DMRS and / or a payload of a physical broadcast channel PBCH.

21. A method of communication, comprising: The method includes: The network device sends a first reference signal to a terminal, the first reference signal being used for the terminal to determine a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal, the first identifier or the second identifier being used for determining random access information and / or downlink time, the first identifier being greater than or equal to the second identifier.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein, The first reference signal is one of a plurality of reference signals sent at the same time; Different reference signals in the plurality of reference signals correspond to different reference signal resources; or, different reference signals in the plurality of reference signals correspond to different port information of the same reference signal resource.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein, At least two reference signals in the plurality of reference signals occupy the same symbol position.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein, The network device sends a first reference signal to a terminal, including: The network device sends a first reference signal on a reference signal resource; Wherein, the reference signal resource is determined by the network device; and / or, the reference signal resource is determined based on a protocol.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein, The first reference signal includes at least one of the following: A synchronization signal block SSB; A channel state information reference signal CSI-RS.

26. The method of any of claims 21-25, wherein, The random access information is determined based on the first identifier.

27. The method of any of claims 21-25, wherein, The random access information is determined based on the second identifier and a fourth identifier, the fourth identifier being determined based on the first reference signal, the fourth identifier and the second identifier corresponding to different bit positions.

28. The method of any of claims 26-27, wherein, The terminal is a first type terminal.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein, The difference between the measurement results corresponding to at least two first reference signals occupying the same symbol position and different frequency domain resources is greater than or equal to a threshold value, and the terminal is a first type terminal.

30. The method of any of claims 21-25, wherein, The random access information is determined based on a third identifier, the third identifier is determined based on the first identifier and a preconfigured M, and the third identifier is used to determine the random access information and / or downlink time.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein, The third identifier corresponds to a first time unit of M preset time units; or The second identifier corresponds to a first time unit of M preset time units.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein, The third identifier is less than or equal to M, or the second identifier is less than or equal to M.

33. The method of any of claims 21-25, wherein, The random access information is determined based on a second identifier.

34. The method of claim 26 or 27 or 30 or 31, wherein, The terminal is a second type terminal.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein, A difference between measurement results corresponding to at least two first reference signals occupying the same symbol position and different frequency domain resources is less than a threshold value, and the terminal is a second type terminal.

36. The method of any one of claims 26-31, wherein, The method further includes: The network device sends first information to the terminal, and the first information is used to configure a first mapping relationship, and the first mapping relationship includes preconfigured random access information of each first reference signal.

37. The method of claim 21, wherein, The random access information includes at least one of the following: random access channel occasion RO; random access preamble; At least one of the random access information determined by the first type terminal and the second type terminal is different.

38. The method of claim 21, wherein, At least one of the first identifier, the second identifier, the third identifier, and the fourth identifier is carried by a demodulation reference signal DMRS and / or a payload of a physical broadcast channel PBCH.

39. A method of communication, comprising: The method includes: The network device sends a first reference signal to the terminal; The terminal receives the first reference signal sent by the network device; The terminal determines a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first reference signal, the first identifier or the second identifier is used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, and the first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier.

40. A terminal, characterized by It includes: The transceiver module is used to receive the first reference signal sent by the network device; The processing module is used to determine a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first reference signal, the first identifier or the second identifier is used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, and the first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier.

41. A network device, comprising: It includes: The transceiver module is used to send a first reference signal to the terminal, the first reference signal is used for the terminal to determine a first identifier or a second identifier corresponding to the first reference signal, the first identifier or the second identifier is used to determine random access information and / or downlink time, and the first identifier is greater than or equal to the second identifier.

42. A terminal, characterized by It includes: One or more processors; The processor is used to execute the communication method in any one of claims 1-20.

43. A network device, comprising: It includes: One or more processors; The processor is used to execute the communication method in any one of claims 21-38.

44. A communication system, characterized by It includes: The terminal and the network device, wherein the terminal is configured to implement the communication method in any one of claims 1-20, and the network device is configured to implement the communication method in any one of claims 21-38.

45. A storage medium, characterized by It includes: The storage medium stores instructions which, when executed on the communication device, cause the communication device to perform the communication method of any one of claims 1-20 or 21-38.

46. A program product, characterized by comprising: A computer program which, when executed by a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the communication method of any one of claims 1-20 or 21-38.

Images