Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: a satellite sends a first reference signal to a terminal; the terminal sends a first message to the satellite, wherein the first message is used for indicating an interference parameter and / or precoding indication information; and on the basis of the first message, the satellite determines whether to precode data sent to the terminal, wherein the interference parameter is estimated on the basis of the first reference signal, and is used for representing a channel interference status between the terminal and the satellite, the precoding indication information is used for indicating whether the satellite precodes the data sent to the terminal, and the precoding indication information is obtained on the basis of the interference parameter. By means of the method, a satellite does not need to precode data of each terminal, and for a terminal with small interference, precoding is not required, thereby reducing the number of terminals requiring precoding, and thus the complexity of precoding matrix calculation at the satellite is reduced, system throughput is improved, calculation capability requirements for the satellite are reduced, and services are provided for more terminals.

Description

A communication method and apparatus

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202410781590.X, filed on June 17, 2024, and entitled “A communication method and apparatus”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0004] In order to realize truly global seamless network coverage, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) are proposed in the 5th generation mobile communication system (5G). In recent years, low earth orbit (LEO) satellites located 200km to 2000km from the ground have attracted widespread attention from academia and industry. The advantages of LEO satellites include small communication delay, small path loss, and low manufacturing cost, so LEO has been considered as one of the key infrastructures to achieve global network coverage.

[0005] In a satellite communication system, a satellite allocates a beam to each user equipment (UE) to establish a communication link with the UE. In order to improve the throughput of the satellite communication system, the satellite should serve as many UEs as possible on the same time-frequency resource, i.e., the satellite should generate as many beams as possible on the same time-frequency resource. However, interference occurs between different beams, so it is necessary to effectively suppress the interference between different beams. In the traditional method, in order to suppress the interference between different beams, a certain protection distance is forcibly reserved between two UEs or two beams based on geographical position, ground wave position, UV plane, etc., as shown in FIG. 1. However, in order to control the interference, the reserved protection distance is usually large, which reduces the number of UEs served by the satellite on the same time-frequency resource, and thus wastes the spatial degrees of freedom of the satellite. In order to realize frequency domain resource reuse, the satellite can precode the transmitted data to suppress the intra-satellite beam interference and serve more number of UEs, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0006] In a satellite communication system, the process of precoding by the satellite requires matrix inversion, and the dimension of the matrix inversion is equal to the number K of beams (i.e., the number of UEs) for which precoding is performed, and the complexity of the matrix inversion is about O(K 3). Obviously, if all the data of the UEs is precoded, the complexity of the matrix inversion of the satellite is very high. The calculation cost is too large, which means that the requirement for the computing capacity of the satellite is also high, which is not conducive to the wide application of satellite communication. SUMMARY

[0007] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and device, which are used to reduce the precoding calculation complexity under the condition of meeting the requirement of suppressing beam interference, so as to reduce the requirement for the load capacity and improve the user throughput.

[0008] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which can be applied to a terminal device side, such as a terminal device or a communication module in the terminal device, or a circuit or chip responsible for the communication function in the terminal device, such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system on chip (SoC) chip or a system in package (SIP) chip containing a modem core.

[0009] Taking the case that the method is applied to a terminal, the method comprises: receiving a first reference signal sent by a network device; sending a first message to the network device, the first message being used to indicate an interference parameter and / or precoding indication information; the interference parameter being obtained according to the first reference signal, the interference parameter being used to represent the channel interference condition between the terminal device and the network device; the precoding indication information being used to indicate whether the data sent to the terminal device by the network device is precoded, the precoding indication information being obtained according to the interference parameter.

[0010] In the above communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the network device first sends a first reference signal to the terminal device, so that the terminal device estimates the channel interference condition between the terminal device and the network device according to the first reference signal, and feeds back the estimation result to the network device, so that the network device determines whether the data of the terminal device needs to be precoded according to the estimation result of the terminal device. Therefore, after the above method is adopted, the network device does not need to precode the data of each terminal device, but determines whether each terminal device needs to be precoded according to the channel interference condition of each terminal device. For the terminal device with smaller interference, precoding can not be performed, so as to reduce the number of terminal devices that need to be precoded, and further reduce the complexity of the matrix inversion in the process of calculating the precoding matrix of the network device, which is conducive to improving the throughput of the system, reducing the network delay of the terminal device, reducing the requirement for the computing capacity of the network device, and helping to provide services for more terminal devices.

[0011] In a possible implementation, when the interference parameter is in a first preset range, the precoding indication information is used to indicate that the network device precodes data sent to the terminal device; and / or when the interference parameter is in a second preset range, the precoding indication information is used to indicate that the network device does not precode data sent to the terminal device; the value in the first preset range is greater than the value in the second preset range. In the embodiment of the present application, the preset range of the interference parameter can be preconfigured, so that the terminal device or the network device can quickly evaluate the current channel interference according to the preset range, and quickly determine whether the terminal device needs to be precoded.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the interference parameter includes a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and / or an interference-to-noise ratio (INR). The SNR can represent the signal strength, and the INR can represent the interference strength. Evaluating the channel interference of the terminal device according to the SNR and the INR can more accurately evaluate the current channel interference of the terminal device.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the first reference signal is a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS), and the interference parameter includes an SNR, which is estimated according to the first DMRS.

[0014] In another possible implementation, the first reference signal is a first interference measurement reference signal (IMRS), the first IMRS is used for the terminal device to measure the interference parameter between different beams, different IMRSs are sent through different beams and occupy the same time-frequency resource, and the interference parameter includes an INR, which is estimated according to the first IMRS. The IMRSs occupying the same time-frequency resource are more likely to cause inter-beam interference, so that the target terminal device can measure the INR in a situation where interference is more likely to occur. If the interference is still small in this case, the data of the target terminal device can not be precoded. If the measured interference is large, the network device can precode the data of the target terminal device, so as to avoid the influence of large interference on communication efficiency.

[0015] In another possible implementation, the first reference signal includes a first DMRS and a first IMRS, the first IMRS is used for the terminal device to measure the interference parameter between different beams, different IMRSs are sent through different beams and occupy the same time-frequency resource, and the interference parameter includes an SNR and an INR, the SNR is estimated according to the first DMRS, and the INR is estimated according to the first IMRS.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: sending a request message to the network device, the request message being used to request the network device to send the first IMRS. The terminal device can send a request message to the network device according to its own needs, to request the network device to send the first IMRS. For example, the terminal device can send an interference measurement request message to the network device after detecting that its own communication quality has decreased. After receiving the request message for requesting to send the first IMRS, the network device sends the first IMRS to the terminal device.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving IMRS configuration information sent by the network device, the IMRS configuration information being used for the terminal device to receive the first IMRS; and the IMRS configuration information including one or more of the following information: time domain resources of the first IMRS, frequency domain resources of the first IMRS, and a generation sequence used by the first IMRS.

[0018] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a network device, such as a non-ground network device, or a module (for example, a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the network device, or a logic node, a logic module, or software implementing all or part of the network device function, and the present application does not make any limitation.

[0019] For example, the method applied to an access network device includes: sending a first reference signal to a terminal device; receiving a first message sent by the terminal device, the first message being used to indicate an interference parameter and / or precoding indication information; the interference parameter being estimated according to the first reference signal, and the interference parameter being used to represent a channel interference condition between the terminal device and the network device; the precoding indication information being used to indicate whether data sent to the terminal device by the network device is precoded, and the precoding indication information being obtained according to the interference parameter; and determining whether data sent to the terminal device by the network device is precoded according to the first message.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: determining at least one terminal device that needs to be precoded from different terminal devices according to first messages respectively sent by the different terminal devices; and determining a precoding matrix according to the first message respectively sent by the at least one terminal device, the precoding matrix being used to precode data sent to the at least one terminal device.

[0021] In a possible implementation, when the first message comprises the interference parameter, the determining, according to the first message, whether to precode data sent to the terminal device comprises: when the interference parameter is within a first preset range, determining to precode the data sent to the terminal device, and / or when the interference parameter is within a second preset range, determining not to precode the data sent to the terminal device.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the interference parameter comprises a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and / or an interference-to-noise ratio (INR).

[0023] In a possible implementation, the first reference signal is a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS), and the interference parameter comprises an SNR, which is estimated according to the first DMRS.

[0024] In another possible implementation, the first reference signal is a first interference measurement reference signal (IMRS), the first IMRS is used for the terminal device to measure the interference parameter between different beams, different IMRSs are sent through different beams and occupy the same time-frequency resource, and the interference parameter comprises an INR, which is estimated according to the first IMRS.

[0025] In yet another possible implementation, the first reference signal comprises a first DMRS and a first IMRS, the first IMRS is used for the terminal device to measure the interference parameter between different beams, different IMRSs are sent through different beams and occupy the same time-frequency resource, and the interference parameter comprises an SNR and an INR, the SNR is estimated according to the first DMRS, and the INR is estimated according to the first IMRS.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the method further comprises: receiving a request message sent by the terminal device, the request message being used for requesting to send the first IMRS to the terminal device.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the first IMRS is sent through a maximum ratio transmission (MRT) beamformer.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the method further comprises: sending IMRS configuration information, the IMRS configuration information being used for the terminal device to receive the first IMRS, and the IMRS configuration information comprising one or more of the following information: time domain resource of the first IMRS, frequency domain resource of the first IMRS, and generation sequence used by the first IMRS.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the IMRS configuration information can be sent in a broadcast manner.

[0030] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus, which can implement the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The apparatus includes corresponding units or modules for performing the method described above. The units or modules included in the apparatus can be implemented by software and / or hardware. The apparatus may, for example, be a terminal device, a chip, a chip system, a processor, or the like supporting the terminal device to implement the method described above, and can also be a logic node, a logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the terminal device functions.

[0031] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus, which can implement the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. The apparatus includes corresponding units or modules for performing the method described above. The units or modules included in the apparatus can be implemented by software and / or hardware. The apparatus may, for example, be a network device, a chip, a chip system, a processor, or the like supporting the network device to implement the method described above, and can also be a logic node, a logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the network functions.

[0032] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which includes a processor coupled with a memory, the memory being configured to store programs or instructions, when the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the apparatus performs the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0033] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which includes a processor coupled with a memory, the memory being configured to store programs or instructions, when the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the apparatus performs the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0034] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the communication apparatus in the third aspect and the communication apparatus in the fourth aspect.

[0035] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the communication apparatus in the fifth aspect and the communication apparatus in the sixth aspect.

[0036] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, which includes a processor coupled with a memory, the memory being configured to store instructions, when the instructions are executed by the processor, the chip implements the method in the first aspect to the second aspect and any implementation thereof.

[0037] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method according to any one of the first aspect to the second aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0038] In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product containing instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method according to the first aspect to the second aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0039] The technical effects achieved by any one of the second aspect to the eleventh aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof can refer to the technical effect description of any one of the first aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof, and the repeated parts will not be described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0040] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of suppressing in-satellite beam interference according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of precoding part of UEs according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG. 3a, FIG. 3b and FIG. 3c are schematic diagrams of satellite communication application architecture according to embodiments of the present application;

[0043] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of SNR and INR estimation according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] Precoding is a technique that pre-processes signals at the sending end to improve the performance and reliability of communication systems. Precoding can effectively suppress interference in large-scale antenna transmission and improve the peak rate of the link. In large-scale antenna technology, precoding enables parallel transmission of multiple data streams through multi-port transmission, effectively improving spectral efficiency and system capacity. The implementation principle of precoding includes selecting appropriate weight coefficients to linearly combine the transmitted signals to maximize the quality of the received signals at the receiving end. Common precoding methods include singular value decomposition (SVD) precoding, block diagonalization (BD) precoding, zero force (ZF) precoding, signal to leakage and noise ratio (SLNR) precoding, and minimum mean squared error (MMSE) precoding. These methods optimize channel transmission by adjusting the weight matrix and achieve better signal separation at the receiving end, thereby improving the transmission performance of the communication system.

[0051] In 5G new radio (NR), a 5G base station (gNB) transmits L data streams to multiple UEs in a cell, each data stream corresponding to a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) layer, each PDSCH layer corresponding to a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port, and then the L data streams are first mapped to M channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) ports through an inner-layer digital precoding matrix W PMI , and then the signals on the M CSI-RS ports are mapped to N logical antennas through an outer-layer digital precoding matrix W CSI , and then the signals on the N logical antennas are mapped to multiple physical antennas through an analog precoding matrix W RF . Among them, the calculation of the outer-layer digital precoding matrix W CSI and the analog precoding matrix W CSI depends on the internal implementation of each manufacturer, and the protocol does not make provisions. However, the inner-layer digital precoding matrix W PMIPrecoding Matrix Indicator (PMI) calculation is needed according to UE feedback, which is to pre-process different data streams (or different PDSCH layers or different DMRS ports) so as to eliminate interference between different data streams and improve the rate of UE.

[0052] The gNB sends CSI-RS to the UE, and the UE estimates the channel information of the P CSI-RS gNB of each of the P CSI-RS ports according to the received CSI-RS, and feeds back to the gNB in the form of channel quality indicator (CQI), rank indicator (RI), PMI, etc. Among them, CQI is used to indicate the strength of the channel, which can reflect the quality of the channel; RI is used to indicate the rank of the channel, which can reflect the number of layers or data streams that the current channel can support; PMI is used to indicate the direction information of the channel, which can reflect the channel direction of the P CSI-RS gNB of each of the P CSI-RS ports when transmitting different layers. The CSI codebook can be regarded as a set containing many discrete channel directions, and each element in the set represents a precoding matrix W PMI , the number of rows of the precoding matrix W PMI is P CSI-RS , that is, the number of CSI-RS ports, and the number of columns of the precoding matrix W PMI is N layer , that is, the number of PDSCH layers. PMI indicates the index of a precoding matrix in the CSI codebook; UE feeds back PMI to gNB, which is equivalent to feeding back quantized channel direction information.

[0053] For example, there are 2 CSI-RS ports, that is, {3000, 3001}, and the high-level parameter "codebookType" configured by the gNB to the UE is set to 'typeI-SinglePanel', then the PMI value range is {0, 1, 2, 3}, and the matrix corresponding to different PMI can be shown in Table 5.2.2.2.1-1 in Release 15.

[0054] For example, there are 4 CSI-RS ports {3000, 3001, 3002, 3003}, or 8 CSI-RS ports {3000, 3001, …, 3007}, or 12 CSI-RS ports {3000, 3001, …, 3010, 3011}, or 16 CSI-RS ports {3000, 3001, …, 3014, 3015}, or 24 CSI-RS ports {3000, 3001, …, 3022, 3023}, or 32 CSI-RS ports {3000, 3001, …, 3030, 3031}, and the higher layer parameter “codebookType” configured by gNB for UE is set to ‘typeI-SinglePanel’, each PMI includes 3 codebook indexes i (i.e. corresponding RI value) when the layer number v∈{1, 2, 3, 4} (i.e. corresponding RI value), each PMI includes 4 codebook indexes i 1,1 , i 1,2， i2; when the layer number v∈{2, 3, 4} (i.e. corresponding RI value), each PMI includes 4 codebook indexes i 1,1 , i 1,2 , i 1,3 , i2. Wherein, the composite index value i1 can be defined as:

[0055] When the layer number is 1-8, the corresponding codebook can refer to Table 5.2.2.2.1-5, 5.2.2.2.1-6, 5.2.2.2.1-7, 5.2.2.2.1-8, 5.2.2.2.1-9, 5.2.2.2.1-10, 5.2.2.2.1-11 in 3GPP Release 15 respectively. When the layer number is 2, the mapping from i 1,3 to k1 and k2 can refer to Table 5.2.2.2.1-3 in 3GPP Release 15. When the number of CSI-RS ports P CSI-RS <16, for the case of layer number 3 or 4, the mapping from i 1,3 to k1 and k2 can refer to Table 5.2.2.2.1-4 in 3GPP Release 15. The definition of parameters u m , v l,m , is as follows:

[0056] In satellite communication, the satellite precodes data sent to the UE, which can effectively suppress the interference between beams. But the satellite side precoding needs to invert a matrix, the dimension of the matrix inversion is equal to the number of beams K (i.e. the number of UEs) for which the precoding is performed, and the complexity of the matrix inversion is about O(K 3 ). Obviously, if the data of all UEs is precoded, the complexity of the satellite matrix inversion is very high. The calculation overhead is too large, which means that the requirement for the satellite computing power is also higher, which is not conducive to the wide application of satellite communication.

[0057] In the embodiments of the present application, considering that the users in the satellite coverage area exhibit uneven or clustering characteristics, the satellite can only perform precoding on G (G < K) beams with relatively strong interference, which can reduce the dimension of the matrix inversion, and further reduce the computing complexity of the satellite payload from O(K 3 ) to O(G 3 ). For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2, there are 10 UEs in the satellite coverage area. If the data of all 10 UEs is precoded, the calculation complexity is about O(1000); but among the 10 UEs, UEs 1-4 are relatively close, and the interference they generate is relatively large, so the satellite can precode the data of UEs 1-4 to reduce the interference; while UEs 5-10 are relatively far apart, and the interference they generate is relatively small, so the satellite can not precode the data of UEs 5-10, and the calculation complexity is about O(64). It can be seen that the calculation complexity is significantly reduced.

[0058] Based on the above technical concept, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which can be applied to a satellite communication system, and can reduce the calculation complexity while meeting the demand of suppressing beam interference, thereby reducing the payload and improving user throughput.

[0059] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: a ground communication system, an NTN communication system, such as a satellite communication system. Among them, the satellite communication system can be integrated with a mobile communication system. For example: the mobile communication system can be a 4th generation (4th generation, 4G) communication system (such as a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system), a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (worldwide interoperability for microwave access, WiMAX) communication system, a 5G communication system (such as a new radio (new radio, NR) system), and a future mobile communication system, etc. The mobile communication system can also be a vehicle to everything (vehicle to everything, V2X) system, an internet of things (internet of things, IoT) system, etc.

[0060] FIG. 3a, FIG. 3b, FIG. 3c exemplarily provide possible application architectures of satellite communication. The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to any network architecture in FIG. 3a, FIG. 3b, FIG. 3c.

[0061] In the architecture shown in FIG. 3a, the base station is deployed on the ground, the satellite is connected to the ground station through the air interface, and the ground station can be connected to the base station through a wireless or wired link. The terminal device on the ground accesses the mobile communication network through the air interface (which can be various types of air interfaces, such as 5G air interface or air interface in future communication system), and the satellite acts as a transmission node to forward the information of the terminal device.

[0062] In the architecture shown in FIG. 3b, the base station is deployed on the satellite, the satellite is connected to the ground station through the air interface, and the ground station can be connected to the core network through a wireless or wired link. The terminal device on the ground communicates with the satellite base station through the air interface, thereby accessing the mobile communication network, and the satellite acts as a base station and can be connected to the ground station through the NG interface; the ground station is connected to the core network through the NG interface, which can be in the form of wireless or wired.

[0063] Compared with the architecture shown in FIG. 3b, the architecture shown in FIG. 3c adds a communication scenario between satellite base stations, specifically, the satellite base stations can communicate through the Xn interface.

[0064] In FIG. 3a-FIG. 3c, the satellite can be a highly elliptical orbiting (HEO) satellite, a GEO satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, and a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite.

[0065] In FIG. 3a-FIG. 3c, the terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver function, which can send signals to the base station or receive signals from the base station. The terminal can also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. The terminal can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, remote medical treatment, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, a smart home device, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the terminal.

[0066] The base station is mainly used to provide wireless access services, schedule wireless resources for accessing terminal devices, provide reliable wireless transmission protocols and data encryption protocols, etc. In the architecture shown in FIG. 3a, the satellite does not have the function of the base station, but realizes the communication between the terminal and the base station through the satellite; in FIG. 3b and FIG. 3c, the satellite is the base station, which has the function of providing wireless access services.

[0067] The core network is mainly used to provide user access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, charging, etc. The core network can be composed of multiple functional units, and can be divided into control plane and data plane functional entities. For example, the core network can include access and mobility management function (AMF), user plane function (UPF), session management function (SMF), etc. Among them, the AMF entity is responsible for user access management, security authentication, and mobility management, etc. The UPF entity is responsible for managing the transmission of user plane data, traffic statistics, etc. The SMF entity is responsible for managing the protocol data unit (PDU) session of the terminal device, etc.

[0068] The ground station is mainly responsible for forwarding signaling and service data between the satellite and the base station, or between the satellite and the core network.

[0069] Air interface: represents the wireless link between the terminal device and the base station.

[0070] Xn interface: represents an interface between satellite base stations, mainly used for signaling interaction such as switching.

[0071] NG interface: represents an interface between a base station and a core network, or an interface between a ground station and a core network, or an interface between a satellite base station and a ground station (at this time, the interface is a wireless link), mainly interacting with NAS signaling of the core network and user service data.

[0072] In addition, due to the increase in the number of communication satellites, there may also be deployment of multi-layer satellites.

[0073] The embodiments of the present application can also be applicable to other communication system architectures, such as air to ground (ATG) communication systems, which include at least one network device and at least one high-altitude terminal. The high-altitude terminal includes, for example, high-altitude aircraft and on-board terminals.

[0074] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. As shown in the figure, the method can include the following steps:

[0075] Step 401: The network device sends a first reference signal to the target terminal device.

[0076] The network device can be a non-terrestrial network device, such as a satellite, a satellite base station, etc. in FIGS. 3a-3c.

[0077] The first reference signal can include a DMRS and / or an interference measurement reference signal (IMRS). When the first reference signal includes a first DMRS and a first IMRS, the network device can send the first DMRS and the first IMRS respectively, and the order of sending is not limited by the embodiments of the present application.

[0078] The first IMRS is used by the target terminal device to measure the interference parameter between different beams. When the network device sends different IMRSs, different IMRSs can be sent through different beams and occupy the same time-frequency resource. IMRSs occupying the same time-frequency resource are more likely to cause interference between beams, so that the target terminal device can measure the interference parameter in a situation where interference is more likely to occur. If the interference is still small in this case, the data of the target terminal device can not be precoded. If the measured interference is large, the network device can precode the data of the target terminal device, thereby avoiding the influence of large interference on communication efficiency. Optionally, different IMRSs can be generated using different or the same generation sequence.

[0079] For example, when the network device transmits DMRS and IMRS to multiple UEs, the network device can transmit DMRS1 and IMRS1 to UE1 through a first beam respectively, transmit DMRS2 and IMRS2 to UE2 through a second beam respectively, and transmit DMRS3 and IMRS3 to UE3 through a third beam respectively. Wherein, IMRS1, IMRS2 and IMRS3 occupy the same time domain resource and the same frequency domain resource; the generation sequence used by IMRS1, IMRS2 and IMRS3 can be the same or different. The time domain resource occupied by DMRS1, DMRS2 and DMRS3 can be the same or different, and the frequency domain resource occupied by DMRS1, DMRS2 and DMRS3 can be the same or different.

[0080] Optionally, the network device can transmit the first IMRS through a maximum ratio transmission (MRT) beamformer. The MRT beamformer can be regarded as a beamforming algorithm with lower complexity and simpler implementation, which helps to reduce the calculation amount of the network device. In addition, the network device can also use other beamformers to transmit the first IMRS to the target terminal device.

[0081] Suppose that the network device transmits IMRS on L data streams, and the L IMRS occupy the same time-frequency resource position (for example, the position of the gray block in FIG. 5), and the generation sequence used by the L data streams is the same (for example, the IMRS is x_IMRS). Denote h k is the downlink equivalent channel of the M CSI-RS ports of the satellite to UE k, w k is the inner-layer digital precoding matrix used by the satellite for UE k, and the UE can estimate the interference between different data streams by using the received IMRS according to the method in FIG. 4.

[0082] In step 402, the target terminal device sends a first message to the network device, and the first message is used to indicate the interference parameter and / or the precoding indication information.

[0083] Wherein, the interference parameter is estimated according to the first reference signal, and is used to represent the channel interference between the target terminal device and the network device. Optionally, the interference parameter can include signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and / or interference noise ratio (INR). When the target terminal device sends the interference parameter to the network device through the first message, the network device can determine whether to precoding the data sent to the target terminal device according to the interference parameter.

[0084] The precoding indication information is used to indicate whether the network device precodes data sent to the target terminal device, and the precoding indication information is obtained according to the interference parameter. The target terminal device can also estimate the reference signal according to the first reference signal, and decide whether the network device needs to precodes data sent to the target terminal device according to the interference parameter.

[0085] The target terminal device can also send the interference parameter and the precoding indication information to the network device, so that the network device comprehensively judges whether the data sent to the target terminal device needs to be precoded according to the interference parameter and the precoding indication information.

[0086] For example, the first message sent by the target terminal device can be as shown in Table 1(a) or Table 1(b), including DMRS port information, SNR, INR and precoding indication information, wherein "true" means that the data sent to the target terminal device needs to be precoded, and "false" means that the data sent to the target terminal device does not need to be precoded.

[0087] Table 1(a)

[0088] Table 1(b)

[0089] Alternatively, the first message can also be as shown in Table 2, including DMRS port information, SNR and INR, and not including precoding indication information, so that the network device determines whether the data sent to the target terminal device needs to be precoded according to the interference parameter (SNR, INR).

[0090] Table 2

[0091] Alternatively, the first message can also be as shown in Table 3, including DMRS port information and precoding indication information, to indicate whether the network device precodes data sent to the target terminal device.

[0092] Table 3

[0093] In one specific example, when the first reference signal comprises the first DMRS and the interference parameter comprises the SNR, the target terminal device can estimate the SNR according to the first DMRS. In another specific example, when the first reference signal comprises the first IMRS and the interference parameter comprises the INR, the target terminal device can estimate the INR according to the first IMRS. In yet another specific example, the first reference signal comprises the first DMRS and the first IMRS, and the interference parameter comprises the SNR and the INR; the target terminal device can estimate the SNR according to the first DMRS and estimate the INR according to the first IMRS. In still another specific example, when the first reference signal comprises the first DMRS and the interference parameter comprises the SNR and the INR, the target terminal device can estimate the SNR and the INR according to the first DMRS.

[0094] In step 403, the network device determines whether to precode the data sent to the target terminal device according to the first message.

[0095] When the first message comprises the interference parameter, the network device can determine whether to precode the data sent to the target terminal device according to the interference parameter; when the first message comprises the precoding indication information, the network device can directly determine whether to precode the data sent to the target terminal device according to the precoding indication information.

[0096] Optionally, when the first message comprises both the interference parameter and the precoding indication information, the network device can comprehensively determine whether to precode the data sent to the target terminal device according to the interference parameter and the precoding strategy. For example, the result of determining whether to precode the data sent to the target terminal device according to the interference parameter is referred to as a primary decision; then the network device comprehensively judges according to the primary decision and the precoding indication information (i.e., the target terminal device decision) to finally determine whether to precode the data sent to the target terminal device, i.e., to obtain a final decision, and processes the data sent to the target terminal device according to the final decision.

[0097] In one specific example, the network device can be pre-configured with a priority, and the network device comprehensively judges according to the primary decision, the precoding indication information and the priority. For example, the priority of the primary decision is higher than the priority of the target terminal device decision, so that when the primary decision of the network device is inconsistent with the target terminal device decision, the network device can take the primary decision as the final decision; for another example, the priority of precoding is higher than the priority of not precoding, and when the primary decision is inconsistent with the target terminal device decision (the primary decision is to precode while the target terminal device decision is not to precode, or the primary decision is not to precode while the target terminal device decision is to precode), the network device determines to precode the data sent to the target terminal device.

[0098] In a possible implementation, when the first reference signal comprises the first IMRS, the network device can send the IMRS configuration information to the target terminal device before sending the first IMRS to the target terminal device, wherein the IMRS configuration information can comprise one or more of the following information: time domain resource of the first IMRS, frequency domain resource of the first IMRS, and generation sequence used by the first IMRS.

[0099] Optionally, the network device can send the IMRS configuration information to one or more terminal devices including the target terminal device in a broadcast manner. As described above, the first IMRS can occupy the same time-frequency resource as other IMRSs, and then the network device can send the IMRS configuration information to multiple terminal devices in a broadcast manner to save signaling and transmission resources. Alternatively, the network device can also send the IMRS configuration information to the target terminal device individually. For example, there are multiple terminal devices in the coverage area of the network device, but the network device does not need to send the IMRS to each terminal device, in which case the network device can send the IMRS configuration information to only the terminal device that needs to receive the IMRS.

[0100] In addition, the network device can also send the first IMRS to the target terminal device after receiving the request message sent by the target terminal device for requesting to send the first IMRS. For example, the target terminal device can send an interference measurement request message to the network device according to its own needs, for requesting the network device to send the first IMRS to evaluate the interference condition, and the network device sends the first IMRS to the target terminal device after receiving the request message for requesting to send the first IMRS. In the working mode triggered by the target terminal to send the request message to the network device to send the first IMRS, the network device does not send the first IMRS to the target terminal device when no interference measurement request message is received, which can save signaling and transmission resources.

[0101] For example, the target terminal device can send the interference measurement request message to the network device after detecting that the communication quality thereof decreases. For example, the target terminal device can send the interference measurement request message to the network device after detecting that the received signal quality decreases or decreases to a preset threshold. For another example, the target terminal device can send the interference measurement request message to the network device after detecting that the transmission rate decreases or decreases to a preset threshold. The network device can also send the IMRS configuration information to the target terminal device individually after receiving the interference measurement request message sent by the target terminal device.

[0102] Optionally, after step 403, the network device can further determine at least one terminal device requiring precoding, and determine a precoding matrix for precoding data to be sent to the at least one terminal device requiring precoding according to the at least one terminal device requiring precoding. Since the network device determines the precoding matrix in relation to the terminal device requiring precoding, when the terminal device requiring precoding changes, the network device can re-determine the precoding matrix to provide service for the terminal device currently requiring precoding. The network device can determine the terminal device currently requiring precoding based on the determination manner in step 403 according to the first messages sent by the plurality of terminal devices respectively, and determine the corresponding precoding matrix according to the first messages sent by the terminal device requiring precoding.

[0103] In a possible implementation, when the terminal device determines the precoding indication information according to the interference parameter in step 402, if the interference parameter is in a first preset range, the determined precoding indication information is used to instruct the network device to perform precoding on data to be sent to the target terminal device; and / or, if the interference parameter is in a second preset range, the determined precoding indication information is used to instruct the network device not to perform precoding on data to be sent to the target terminal device.

[0104] As described above, the interference parameter can include SNR and / or INR. When the interference parameter includes SNR and INR, the first preset range can include a first SNR preset range and a first INR preset range corresponding to the SNR and the INR respectively; similarly, the second preset range can also include a second SNR preset range and a second INR preset range corresponding to the SNR and the INR respectively.

[0105] The first preset range and the second preset range can have various forms of expression.

[0106] In one possible design, the first preset range can be represented by a first threshold, and / or the second preset range can be represented by a second threshold. For example, when the interference parameter includes SNR and INR, the first SNR preset range can be an interval range greater than or equal to a first SNR threshold, and the first INR preset range can be an interval range greater than or equal to a first INR threshold. Similarly, the second SNR preset range can be an interval range less than or equal to a second SNR threshold, and the second INR preset range can be an interval range less than or equal to a second INR threshold. The first SNR threshold and the second SNR threshold can be the same or different. If the first SNR threshold and the second SNR threshold are different, the first SNR threshold is greater than the second SNR threshold. The first INR threshold and the second INR threshold can be the same or different. If the first INR threshold and the second INR threshold are different, the first INR threshold is greater than the second INR threshold.

[0107] In another possible design, the first preset range can also be represented by a first threshold and a first difference, and / or the second preset range can be represented by a second threshold and a second difference. For example, when the interference parameter includes SNR and INR, the first SNR preset range can be an interval range greater than or equal to a sum of a first SNR threshold and a first SNR difference; the first INR preset range can be an interval range greater than or equal to a sum of a first INR threshold and a first INR difference. Similarly, the second SNR preset range can be an interval range less than or equal to a difference between a second SNR threshold and a second SNR difference; the second INR preset range can be an interval range less than or equal to a difference between a second INR threshold and a second INR difference. The first SNR threshold and the second SNR threshold can be the same or different. If the first SNR threshold and the second SNR threshold are different, the first SNR threshold is greater than the second SNR threshold. The first INR threshold and the second INR threshold can be the same or different. If the first INR threshold and the second INR threshold are different, the first INR threshold is greater than the second INR threshold. The first SNR difference and the second SNR difference can be the same or different. The first INR difference and the second INR difference can be the same or different.

[0108] In one specific example, the triggering events can be preconfigured according to the first preset range and the second preset range:

[0109] Triggering event Q1: INR - ΔINR1 > INRth1.

[0110] Triggering event Q2: INR + ΔINR2 < INRth2.

[0111] Triggering event D1: SNR - ΔSNR1 > SNRth1.

[0112] Trigger event D2: SNR + ASNR2 < SNRth2.

[0113] wherein INRth1 represents the first INR threshold, INRth2 represents the second INR threshold, INRth1 and INRth2 can be the same or different. INR1 represents the first INR difference, INR2 represents the second INR difference, INR1 and INR2 can be the same or different. SNRth1 represents the first SNR threshold, SNRth2 represents the second SNR threshold, SNRth1 and SNRth2 can be the same or different. SNR1 represents the first SNR difference, SNR2 represents the second SNR difference, SNR1 and SNR2 can be the same or different.

[0114] When the target terminal device determines that the trigger event Q1 and / or the trigger event D1 occurs according to the estimated interference parameter, the target terminal device can determine that the precoding indication information is used to instruct the network device to precode the data sent to the target terminal device. When the target terminal device determines that the trigger event Q2 and / or the trigger event D2 occurs according to the estimated interference parameter, the target terminal device can determine that the precoding indication information is used to instruct the network device not to precode the data sent to the target terminal device.

[0115] In the above communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the network device first sends the first reference signal to the terminal device, so that the terminal device estimates the channel interference between the terminal device and the network device according to the first reference signal, and feeds back the estimation result to the network device, so that the network device determines whether the data of the terminal device needs to be precoded according to the estimation result of the terminal device. Therefore, after adopting the above method, the network device does not need to precode the data of each terminal device, but determines whether each terminal device needs to be precoded according to the channel interference of each terminal device. For the terminal device with smaller interference, pre-coding can not be performed, thereby reducing the number of terminal devices that need to be precoded, and further reducing the complexity of matrix inversion in the process of calculating the precoding matrix by the network device, which is conducive to improving the throughput of the system, reducing the network delay of the terminal device, reducing the requirement for the computing power of the network device, and helping to provide services for more terminal devices.

[0116] In order to more clearly understand the above embodiments of the present application, examples are illustrated below in conjunction with FIGS. 6 to 8. In the specific embodiments shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the network device is taken as a satellite base station for example.

[0117] Referring to FIG. 6, a flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in the figure, the flowchart can include the following steps:

[0118] Step 601, the satellite base station broadcasts IMRS configuration information.

[0119] The IMRS configuration information can include time domain resources, frequency domain resources, time domain generation sequence occupied by the IMRS, etc. Since the IMRS sent by the satellite base station to multiple terminal devices occupies the same time-frequency resources, the broadcast mode can save signaling and transmission resources.

[0120] Correspondingly, the target terminal device receives the IMRS configuration information, and receives the first IMRS according to the IMRS configuration information in the subsequent communication process.

[0121] Step 602, the satellite base station sends the first IMRS to the target terminal device.

[0122] The satellite base station can send the first IMRS on the resource indicated by the IMRS configuration information. The satellite base station can send the first IMRS to the target terminal device through the first beam. The satellite base station can also send IMRS to other terminal devices on the same time-frequency resources through other beams for interference measurement of the target terminal device and other terminal devices.

[0123] Correspondingly, the target terminal device receives the first IMRS according to the IMRS configuration information received.

[0124] Step 603, the satellite base station sends the first DMRS to the target terminal device.

[0125] It should be understood that the satellite base station can also send DMRS configuration information before sending the first DMRS to indicate the time domain resources, frequency domain resources, generation sequence, etc. of the DMRS.

[0126] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the order of the above steps 601-603, for example, the satellite base station can also send the first DMRS first and then send the first IMRS, or the satellite can also send the first DMRS first, then send the IMRS configuration information, and then send the first IMRS.

[0127] Step 604, the target terminal device estimates SNR according to the first DMRS and estimates INR according to the first IMRS.

[0128] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the target terminal device estimates the SNR and the INR according to the first DMRS and the first IMRS after receiving the first DMRS and the first IMRS. In other implementations, the target terminal device can also estimate the INR according to the first IMRS after receiving the first IMRS, estimate the SNR according to the first DMRS after receiving the first DMRS, and does not need to wait until the first DMRS and the first IMRS are both successfully received before estimating the SNR and the INR.

[0129] Optionally, after estimating the SNR and the INR, the target terminal device can also determine whether the data transmitted to the target terminal device needs to be precoded according to the SNR and the INR. For example, the target terminal device can determine whether the SNR is located in the first SNR preset range, the second SNR preset range, and determine whether the INR is located in the first INR preset range, the second INR preset range according to the values of the SNR and the INR, so as to determine whether the data transmitted to the target terminal device needs to be precoded; or the target terminal device can also determine whether the foregoing trigger events Q1 and D1 occur, or determine whether the foregoing trigger events Q2 and D2 occur according to the values of the SNR and the INR, so as to determine whether the data transmitted to the target terminal device needs to be precoded.

[0130] Step 605, the target terminal device sends a first message to the satellite base station, and the first message includes the SNR and the INR.

[0131] Optionally, if the target terminal device also determines whether the data transmitted to the target terminal device needs to be precoded according to the SNR and the INR, the first message can also include precoding indication information for indicating whether the data transmitted to the target terminal device is precoded. Optionally, the first message can also not include the SNR and the INR, but include the precoding indication information.

[0132] Step 606, the satellite base station determines whether the data transmitted to the target terminal device needs to be precoded according to the first message.

[0133] If the first message includes the SNR and the INR, the satellite base station can determine whether to precode data sent to the target terminal device according to the SNR and the INR. The satellite base station determines in a similar manner to the target terminal device, for example, the satellite base station can determine whether the SNR is in the first SNR preset range, the second SNR preset range, and whether the INR is in the first INR preset range, the second INR preset range according to the values of the SNR and the INR, so as to determine whether the data sent to the target terminal device needs to be precoded; or the target terminal device can also determine whether the foregoing trigger events Q1 and D1 occur, or whether the foregoing trigger events Q2 and D2 occur according to the values of the SNR and the INR, so as to determine whether the data sent to the target terminal device needs to be precoded.

[0134] In addition to determining whether the target terminal device needs to be precoded, the satellite base station can also determine whether other terminal devices need to be precoded according to the first messages fed back by the other terminal devices, and determine the other terminal devices that need to be precoded.

[0135] Step 607: The satellite base station reselects a precoding matrix according to the one or more terminal devices that need to be precoded.

[0136] The foregoing step 607 is an optional step. When the terminal devices that need to be precoded change, the satellite base station can execute the foregoing step 607. If the satellite base station determines that the terminal devices that need to be precoded do not change, the satellite base station can not need to execute the foregoing step 607.

[0137] The terminal devices that need to be precoded change, that is, the number of terminal devices that need to be precoded changes, and the terminal devices that need to be precoded change, for example, the terminal devices that need to be precoded include UE1, UE2, and UE3. The satellite base station determines that the current UE1, UE2, UE3, and UE4 all need to be precoded according to the first messages fed back by the terminal devices, so the satellite base station reselects a precoding matrix; after a period of time, the satellite base station determines that the current UE1, UE2, UE4, and UE5 need to be precoded according to the first messages fed back by the terminal devices, so the satellite base station can also reselect a precoding matrix.

[0138] Referring to FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in the figure, the flow can include the following steps:

[0139] Step 701: A target terminal device sends an interference measurement request to a satellite base station.

[0140] The interference measurement request is used to request the satellite base station to send the IMRS, so that the target terminal device can perform interference measurement according to the IMRS.

[0141] Step 702, the satellite base station sends IMRS configuration information to the target terminal device.

[0142] The IMRS configuration information can include time domain resources, frequency domain resources, time domain generation sequence occupied by the IMRS, etc. Correspondingly, the target terminal device receives the IMRS configuration information, so as to receive the first IMRS according to the IMRS configuration information in the subsequent communication process.

[0143] Step 703, the satellite base station sends the first IMRS to the target terminal device.

[0144] The satellite base station sends the first IMRS on the resource indicated by the IMRS configuration information.

[0145] The satellite base station can send the first IMRS to the target terminal device through the first beam. The satellite base station can also send IMRS to other terminal devices on the same time-frequency resource through other beams, so that the target terminal device and the other terminal devices can perform interference measurement. Correspondingly, the target terminal device receives the first IMRS on the resource indicated by the IMRS configuration according to the IMRS configuration information that has been received.

[0146] Step 704, the satellite base station sends the first DMRS to the target terminal device.

[0147] It should be understood that the satellite base station can also send DMRS configuration information before sending the first DMRS, to indicate the time domain resource, frequency domain resource, generation sequence, etc. of the DMRS.

[0148] The above steps 701 and 702 of the embodiments of the present application do not limit the order of steps 703 and 704, for example, the satellite base station can also send the first DMRS first, and then send the IMRS configuration information and the first IMRS after receiving the interference measurement request; or the satellite base station can also send the IMRS configuration information after receiving the interference measurement request, and then send the first DMRS and the IMRS.

[0149] Step 705, the target terminal device estimates the SNR according to the first DMRS, and estimates the INR according to the first IMRS.

[0150] The target terminal device can estimate the SNR and the INR according to the first DMRS and the first IMRS after receiving the first DMRS and the first IMRS. Alternatively, the target terminal device can estimate the INR according to the first IMRS after receiving the first IMRS, and estimate the SNR according to the first DMRS after receiving the first DMRS, without waiting for the SNR and the INR to be estimated after the first DMRS and the first IMRS are both successfully received.

[0151] Optionally, after the SNR and the INR are estimated, the target terminal device can determine whether the data transmitted to the target terminal device needs to be precoded according to the SNR and the INR. The determination manner can be the same as that in the embodiments shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, which will not be described herein.

[0152] In step 706, the target terminal device transmits a first message to the satellite base station, and the first message includes the SNR and the INR.

[0153] Optionally, if the target terminal device determines whether the data transmitted to the target terminal device needs to be precoded according to the SNR and the INR, the first message can further include precoding indication information for indicating whether the data transmitted to the target terminal device needs to be precoded. Alternatively, the first message can not include the SNR and the INR, but include the precoding indication information.

[0154] In step 707, the satellite base station determines whether the data transmitted to the target terminal device needs to be precoded according to the first message.

[0155] If the first message includes the SNR and the INR, the satellite base station can determine whether the data transmitted to the target terminal device needs to be precoded according to the SNR and the INR. The determination manner of the satellite base station can refer to the determination manner in the embodiments shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, which will not be described herein.

[0156] In addition to determining whether the target terminal device needs to be precoded, the satellite base station can also determine whether other terminal devices need to be precoded according to the first messages fed back by the other terminal devices, and determine the terminal devices that need to be precoded.

[0157] In step 708, the satellite reselects a precoding matrix according to the terminal devices that need to be precoded.

[0158] The above step 708 is an optional step. When the terminal devices that need to be precoded change, the satellite base station can execute the above step 708. If the satellite base station determines that the terminal devices that need to be precoded do not change, the satellite base station does not need to execute the above step 708.

[0159] Referring to FIG. 8, a flowchart of another communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application is shown. As shown in the figure, the flowchart can include the following steps:

[0160] Step 801: The satellite base station sends DMRS configuration information to the target terminal device.

[0161] The DMRS configuration information can include time domain resources, frequency domain resources, time domain generation sequence occupied by the DMRS, etc. Accordingly, the target terminal device receives the DMRS configuration information, and then receives the first DMRS according to the DMRS configuration information in the subsequent communication process.

[0162] Step 802: The satellite base station sends the first DMRS to the target terminal device.

[0163] The satellite base station sends the first DMRS on the resource indicated by the DMRS configuration information.

[0164] The satellite base station can send the first DMRS to the target terminal device through the first beam. The satellite base station can also send DMRS to other terminal devices through other beams, and different DMRS can occupy the same or different time-frequency resources. Accordingly, the target terminal device receives the first DMRS on the resource indicated by the DMRS configuration according to the DMRS configuration information that has been received.

[0165] Step 803: The target terminal device estimates the SNR and INR according to the first DMRS.

[0166] In the specific embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the network device only sends the first DMRS for the target terminal device to perform interference measurement, and then the target terminal device estimates the SNR and the INR according to the first DMRS.

[0167] Optionally, after estimating the SNR and the INR, the target terminal device can also determine whether the data sent to the target terminal device needs to be precoded according to the SNR and the INR. The determination method can be the same as that in the embodiments shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, which will not be described here.

[0168] Step 804: The target terminal device sends a first message to the satellite base station, and the first message includes the SNR and the INR.

[0169] Optionally, if the target terminal device also determines whether the data sent to the target terminal device needs to be precoded according to the SNR and the INR, the precoding indication information can also be included in the first message to indicate whether the data sent to the target terminal device needs to be precoded.

[0170] Optionally, the first message can not include the SNR and the INR, but can include the precoding indication information.

[0171] At step 805, the satellite base station determines whether to precode data transmitted to the target terminal device according to the first message.

[0172] If the first message includes the SNR and the INR, the satellite base station can determine whether to precode data transmitted to the target terminal device according to the SNR and the INR. The determination manner of the satellite base station can refer to the determination manners in the embodiments shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, which will not be described herein.

[0173] In addition to determining whether the target terminal device needs to be precoded, the satellite base station can also determine whether other terminal devices need to be precoded according to the first messages fed back by the other terminal devices, and determine the terminal devices that need to be precoded.

[0174] At step 806, the satellite reselects a precoding matrix according to the terminal devices that need to be precoded.

[0175] The above step 806 is an optional step. When the terminal devices that need to be precoded change, the satellite base station can execute the above step 806. If the satellite base station determines that the terminal devices that need to be precoded do not change, the satellite base station can not necessarily execute the above step 806.

[0176] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus includes a processing module 901 and a transceiver module 902. The processing module 901 is configured to process data of the communication apparatus. The transceiver module 902 is configured to receive and transmit contents of the communication apparatus and other units or network elements. It should be understood that the processing module 901 in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component (or referred to as a processing circuit), and the transceiver module 902 can be implemented by a receiver / transmitter or a receiver / transmitter-related circuit component.

[0177] Exemplarily, the communication apparatus can be a communication apparatus device, or a chip applied to the communication apparatus device, or other combination devices, components, etc. having the functions of the communication apparatus device.

[0178] When the communication apparatus is a terminal device, the processing module 901 is configured to receive a first reference signal sent by a network device through the transceiver module 902; send a first message to the network device through the transceiver module 902, the first message being used to indicate an interference parameter and / or precoding indication information; the interference parameter being obtained according to the first reference signal, the interference parameter being used to represent a channel interference condition between the terminal device and the network device; the precoding indication information being used to indicate whether the network device pre-encodes data sent to the terminal device, the precoding indication information being obtained according to the interference parameter.

[0179] In addition, each of the above modules can also be used to support other processes performed by the terminal device in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4-8. The beneficial effects can be referred to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0180] When the communication apparatus is a network device, the processing module 901 is configured to send a first reference signal to a terminal device through the transceiver module 902; receive a first message sent by the terminal device through the transceiver module 902, the first message being used to indicate an interference parameter and / or precoding indication information; the interference parameter being obtained according to the first reference signal, the interference parameter being used to represent a channel interference condition between the terminal device and the network device; the precoding indication information being used to indicate whether the network device pre-encodes data sent to the terminal device, the precoding indication information being obtained according to the interference parameter; and determine whether to pre-encode data sent to the terminal device according to the first message.

[0181] In addition, each of the above modules can also be used to support other processes performed by the network device in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4-8. The beneficial effects can be referred to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0182] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application, which comprises a processor 1001, a communication interface 1002, and further can comprise a memory 1003, a bus 1004. The processor 1001, the communication interface 1002 and the memory 1003 can be connected with each other through the bus 1004; the bus 1004 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The above bus 1004 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus and a control bus, etc. For the convenience of representation, only one line is represented in FIG. 10, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0183] The processor 1001 can be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), or a combination of CPU and NP. The processor can further include a hardware chip. The hardware chip can be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The PLD can be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a Generic Array Logic (GAL), or any combination thereof. The memory 1003 can be a volatile memory or a nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM) used as an external cache.

[0184] The processor 1001 is configured to implement data processing operations of the communication device, and the communication interface 1002 is configured to implement receiving operations and sending operations of the communication device.

[0185] When the communication device is a terminal device, the processor 1001 is configured to receive, by the communication interface 1002, a first reference signal sent by a network device; the communication interface 1002 sends a first message to the network device, the first message being used to indicate an interference parameter and / or precoding indication information; the interference parameter is obtained according to the first reference signal, and the interference parameter is used to represent a channel interference condition between the terminal device and the network device; the precoding indication information is used to indicate whether the network device performs precoding on data sent to the terminal device, and the precoding indication information is obtained according to the interference parameter.

[0186] Furthermore, the various components described above can be used to support other processes in the terminal device described with reference to Figures 4-8. The benefits are as described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0187] When the communication apparatus is a network device, the processor 1001 is configured to send, through the communication interface 1002, a first reference signal to a terminal device; receive, through the communication interface 1002, a first message sent by the terminal device, the first message being used to indicate an interference parameter and / or precoding indication information; the interference parameter is obtained according to the first reference signal, and the interference parameter is used to represent a channel interference condition between the terminal device and the network device; the precoding indication information is used to indicate whether the network device pre-encodes data sent to the terminal device, and the precoding indication information is obtained according to the interference parameter; and determine whether to pre-code data sent to the terminal device according to the first message.

[0188] Furthermore, the various components described above can be used to support other processes in the network device described with reference to Figures 4-8. The benefits are as described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0189] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiment of the present application also provides a computer readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium stores computer readable instructions, when the computer readable instructions run on the computer, the method described in any of the possible implementation manners is executed.

[0190] The embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product containing instructions, when the computer program product runs on the computer, the method embodiment described above is executed.

[0191] The embodiment of the present application provides a chip, comprising: a processor, the processor is coupled with a memory, the memory is used to store instructions, when the instructions are executed by the processor, the chip realizes the method steps executed by any node described above.

[0192] In the description of the embodiment of the present application, the "and / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which means that there are three cases of A alone, A and B together, and B alone. The plurality involved in the present application means two or more than two.

[0193] In addition, it needs to be understood that in the description of the present application, the words "first", "second", and the like, are used only for the purpose of distinguishing the description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor can they be understood as indicating or implying an order. In the description of the present application, the reference to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" means that the specific features, structures or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment are included in one or more embodiments of the present application. Therefore, the statements "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in other some embodiments", "in further some embodiments" and the like appearing in the description are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "include", "contain", "have" and their variants mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0194] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be realized by hardware or by the processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, register, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the base station or the terminal.

[0195] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are performed entirely or partially. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video optical disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both types of storage media.

[0196] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0197] It is understood that the various numerical designations used in the embodiments of this application are merely for descriptive convenience and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the process numbers described above does not imply the order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive the first reference signal sent by the network device; Send a first message to the network device, the first message being used to indicate interference parameters and / or precoding indication information; The interference parameters are estimated based on the first reference signal, and the interference parameters are used to characterize the channel interference between the terminal device and the network device. The precoding indication information is used to indicate whether the network device precodes the data sent to the terminal device, and the precoding indication information is obtained based on the interference parameters.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the interference parameter is within a first preset range, the precoding indication information is used to instruct the network device to precode the data sent to the terminal device; and / or, when the interference parameter is within a second preset range, the precoding indication information is used to instruct the network device not to precode the data sent to the terminal device. The value within the first preset range is greater than the value within the second preset range.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The interference parameters include signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and / or interference-to-noise ratio (INR).

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The first reference signal is the first demodulation reference signal DMRS; The interference parameters include SNR, which is estimated based on the first DMRS.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The first reference signal is the first interference measurement reference signal (IMRS). The first IMRS is used by the terminal device to measure the interference parameters between different beams. Different IMRS are transmitted through different beams and occupy the same time and frequency resources. The interference parameters include INR, which is estimated based on the first IMRS.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The first reference signal includes a first DMRS and a first IMRS. The first IMRS is used by the terminal device to measure the interference parameters between different beams. Different IMRS are transmitted through different beams and occupy the same time and frequency resources. The interference parameters include SNR and INR, wherein the SNR is estimated based on the first DMRS and the INR is estimated based on the first IMRS.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: A request message is sent to the network device, the request message being used to request the network device to send the first IMRS.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5-7, characterized in that, The method further includes: The terminal device receives IMRS configuration information sent by the network device, the IMRS configuration information being used by the terminal device to receive the first IMRS; The IMRS configuration information includes one or more of the following: the time-domain resources of the first IMRS, the frequency-domain resources of the first IMRS, and the generation sequence used by the first IMRS.

9. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Send a first reference signal to the terminal device; The terminal device receives a first message, which indicates interference parameters and / or precoding indication information; the interference parameters are estimated based on the first reference signal. The interference parameters are used to characterize the channel interference between the terminal device and the network device; the precoding indication information is used to indicate whether the network device precodes the data sent to the terminal device, and the precoding indication information is obtained based on the interference parameters. Based on the first message, determine whether to pre-encode the data sent to the terminal device.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Based on the first messages sent by different terminal devices, at least one terminal device among the different terminal devices that needs to be pre-encoded is determined; A precoding matrix is ​​determined based on the first message sent by the at least one terminal device, and the precoding matrix is ​​used to precode the data sent to the at least one terminal device.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, When the first message includes the interference parameters, determining whether to pre-encode the data sent to the terminal device based on the first message includes: When the interference parameter is within a first preset range, it is determined that the data sent to the terminal device will be pre-encoded, and / or when the interference parameter is within a second preset range, it is determined that the data sent to the terminal device will not be pre-encoded.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9-11, characterized in that, The interference parameters include signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and / or interference-to-noise ratio (INR).

13. The method according to any one of claims 9-12, characterized in that, The first reference signal is the first demodulation reference signal DMRS; The interference parameters include SNR, which is estimated based on the first DMRS.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9-12, characterized in that, The first reference signal is the first interference measurement reference signal (IMRS). The first IMRS is used by the terminal device to measure the interference parameters between different beams. Different IMRS are transmitted through different beams and occupy the same time and frequency resources. The interference parameters include INR, which is estimated based on the first IMRS.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9-12, characterized in that, The first reference signal includes a first DMRS and a first IMRS. The first IMRS is used by the terminal device to measure the interference parameters between different beams. Different IMRS are transmitted through different beams and occupy the same time and frequency resources. The interference parameters include SNR and INR, wherein the SNR is estimated based on the first DMRS and the INR is estimated based on the first IMRS.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: The terminal device receives a request message, which requests the sending of the first IMRS to the terminal device.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14-16, characterized in that, The first IMRS is transmitted via a maximum ratio transmission MRT beamformer.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14-17, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send IMRS configuration information, which is used by the terminal device to receive the first IMRS; The IMRS configuration information includes one or more of the following: the time-domain resources of the first IMRS, the frequency-domain resources of the first IMRS, and the generation sequence used by the first IMRS.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The sending of IMRS configuration information includes: Broadcast the IMRS configuration information.

20. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A processor coupled to a memory for storing programs or instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-8.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A processor coupled to a memory for storing programs or instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method as described in any one of claims 9-19.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-19.

23. A computer program product containing instructions, characterized in that, When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-19.

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