Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: a network device sends first information and second information to a terminal device, the first information being used for indicating a plurality of reference signal resources, and the second information being used for indicating that the network device is to receive the plurality of reference signal resources by using a same beam, and / or indicating that the terminal device is to transmit the plurality of reference signal resources by using a different beam; on the basis of the first information and the second information, the terminal device transmits the plurality of reference signal resources by using a different beam; and correspondingly, on the basis of the first information and the second information, the network device receives the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam, the plurality of reference signal resources being used for determining a first beam of the terminal device. Compared with determination of a transmission beam of a terminal device by means of reciprocity between an uplink channel and a downlink channel, the above determined transmission beam of the terminal device is more suitable for an uplink channel environment, thereby improving accuracy.

Description

Communication method and apparatus

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202411346291.X, filed on September 25, 2024, and entitled "A communication method and apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

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

[0004] In the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication technology, higher carrier frequencies are used to achieve wireless communication with larger bandwidth and higher transmission rate. Due to the higher carrier frequency, the wireless signal transmitted by the sending device experiences more severe fading during spatial propagation, resulting in a short signal transmission distance. In order to overcome this problem, high-frequency communication uses analog beam technology to concentrate signal energy in a small angular range, forming a signal similar to a "light beam", thereby improving the transmission distance. Both network devices and terminal devices can use analog beam technology for transmission.

[0005] Currently, one way to determine the sending beam of the terminal device is that the network device sends multiple reference signals to the terminal device using the same beam, the terminal device polls multiple receiving beams to receive the multiple reference signals, and measures the multiple reference signals; the terminal device determines a suitable receiving beam based on the measurement results of the multiple reference signals; and based on the uplink and downlink channel reciprocity, the suitable receiving beam is determined as a suitable sending beam.

[0006] When the environments of the uplink channel and the downlink channel are different, the sending beam of the terminal device determined based on the uplink and downlink channel reciprocity is not the optimal sending beam. Based on this, how to improve the accuracy of determining the sending beam of the terminal device is a problem to be considered. SUMMARY

[0007] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus for improving the accuracy of determining the sending beam of the terminal device.

[0008] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a terminal side, such as a terminal device, or a communication module in the terminal device, or a processor, circuit or chip (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) responsible for communication functions in the terminal device, and can also be a logical node, logical module or software capable of realizing all or part of the terminal functions.

[0009] Taking the application of the method to a terminal device as an example, the method comprises: a terminal device receiving first information and second information; wherein the first information is used to indicate a plurality of reference signal resources; the second information is used to indicate that a network device receives the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam, and / or the second information is used to indicate that the terminal device transmits the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams; and the terminal device transmits the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams based on the first information and the second information, and the plurality of reference signal resources are used to determine a first beam of the terminal device.

[0010] In this design, the network device configures a plurality of reference signal resources for the terminal device through the first information, and implicitly indicates through the second information that these reference signal resources can be used to determine the transmission beam of the terminal device, the terminal device transmits the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams, and the network device receives the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam, and the measurement results of the plurality of reference signal resources can be directly used to determine the transmission beam of the terminal device, which makes the determined transmission beam of the terminal device more suitable for the environment of the uplink channel, and improves the accuracy compared with determining the transmission beam of the terminal device by using the reciprocity of the uplink and downlink channels.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the terminal device can further receive first measurement results of part or all of the plurality of reference signal resources; and determine the first beam based on the first measurement results.

[0012] In this implementation, the terminal device knows the measurement results of the reference signal resources, understands the channel quality corresponding to each beam based on the measurement results, selects a suitable beam, and can accurately use the measurement results of the reference signal resources for subsequent use without needing to ask the network device for the measurement results again.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the terminal device can further receive third information, and the third information is used to indicate a first reference signal resource in the plurality of reference signal resources; and determine the first beam based on the first reference signal resource.

[0014] In this implementation, the network selects a proper first reference signal resource based on measurement results of a plurality of reference signal resources, indicates the first reference signal resource to the terminal device, and the terminal device determines the first beam directly based on the first reference signal resource, without the need of comparison of the measurement results, thereby simplifying the workload of the terminal device.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the transmitting the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams comprises: transmitting the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams on different time domain units.

[0016] In this implementation, the plurality of reference signal resources comprise different time domain units, and interference between the reference signal resources can be avoided.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the transmitting the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams comprises: transmitting the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams on M time domain units; wherein the M is less than K, and the K is the number of the plurality of reference signal resources.

[0018] In this implementation, all or part of the plurality of reference signal resources comprise the same time domain unit, and the time delay of the terminal device polling the transmission beam is reduced.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the plurality of second reference signal resources transmitted on the first time domain unit correspond to different frequency domain units; wherein the first time domain unit belongs to the M time domain units, and the second reference signal resource belongs to the plurality of reference signal resources.

[0020] In a possible implementation, each reference signal resource in the plurality of reference signal resources comprises the same number of resource blocks. In this way, the related parameters of the plurality of reference signal resources are consistent, and the measurement results of the plurality of reference signal resources can be directly compared.

[0021] In a possible implementation, each reference signal resource in the plurality of reference signal resources comprises the same number of ports. In this way, the related parameters of the plurality of reference signal resources are consistent, and the measurement results of the plurality of reference signal resources can be directly compared.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate the plurality of reference signal resources, and specifically comprises: the first information is used to indicate a reference signal resource set, and the reference signal resource set comprises the plurality of reference signal resources.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the terminal device can further receive fourth information, and the fourth information is used to indicate that the plurality of reference signal resources are used for beam management.

[0024] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a network device, a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor, etc.) applied to the network device, a logic node, a logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the network device functions. Taking the method executed by the network device as an example, the method comprises the following steps: the network device sends first information and second information; wherein the first information is used to indicate a plurality of reference signal resources; the second information is used to indicate that the network device receives the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam, and / or the second information is used to indicate that the terminal device sends the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams; the network device receives the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam based on the first information and the second information; and the plurality of reference signal resources are used to determine a first beam of the terminal device.

[0025] In this design, the network device configures a plurality of reference signal resources for the terminal device through the first information, and implicitly indicates that these reference signal resources can be used to determine the transmission beam of the terminal device through the second information. The terminal device sends the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams, and the network device receives the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam. The transmission beam of the terminal device can be directly determined through the measurement results of the plurality of reference signal resources, which makes the determined transmission beam of the terminal device more suitable for the environment of the uplink channel, and improves the accuracy compared with determining the transmission beam of the terminal device by using the reciprocity of the uplink and downlink channels.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the network device measures the plurality of reference signal resources to obtain measurement results of the plurality of reference signal resources; and the network device sends first measurement results of part or all of the plurality of reference signal resources, and the first measurement results are used to determine the first beam.

[0027] In this implementation, the terminal device knows the measurement results of the reference signal resources, understands the channel quality corresponding to each beam based on the measurement results, selects a suitable beam, and can accurately use the measurement results of the reference signal resources for subsequent use without needing to ask the network device for the measurement results again.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the network device measures the plurality of reference signal resources to obtain measurement results; the network device determines a first reference signal resource in the plurality of reference signal resources based on the measurement results; and the network device sends third information, and the third information is used to indicate the first reference signal resource, and the first reference signal resource is used to determine the first beam.

[0029] In this implementation, the network selects a proper first reference signal resource based on measurement results of a plurality of reference signal resources, indicates the first reference signal resource to the terminal device, and the terminal device directly determines the first beam based on the first reference signal resource, without the need of comparison of the measurement results, thereby simplifying the workload of the terminal device.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the receiving the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam includes: receiving the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam on different time domain units.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the receiving the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam includes: receiving the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam on M time domain units; wherein the M is less than K, and the K is the number of the plurality of reference signal resources.

[0032] In this implementation, the plurality of reference signal resources include completely different time domain units, and interference between the reference signal resources can be avoided.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the plurality of second reference signal resources received on the first time domain unit correspond to different frequency domain units; wherein the first time domain unit belongs to the M time domain units, and the second reference signal resource belongs to the plurality of reference signal resources.

[0034] In this implementation, all or part of the plurality of reference signal resources include the same time domain unit, and the time delay of the terminal device polling the transmitted beam is reduced.

[0035] In a possible implementation, each reference signal resource in the plurality of reference signal resources includes the same number of resource blocks; and / or each reference signal resource in the plurality of reference signal resources includes the same number of ports. In this way, the related parameters of the plurality of reference signal resources are consistent, and the measurement results of the plurality of reference signal resources can be directly compared.

[0036] In a possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate the plurality of reference signal resources, specifically including: the first information is used to indicate a reference signal resource set, and the reference signal resource set includes the plurality of reference signal resources.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the network device sends fourth information, and the fourth information is used to indicate that the plurality of reference signal resources are used for beam management.

[0038] In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication apparatus can be the terminal device in the first aspect. The communication apparatus has the functions of the terminal device. The communication apparatus is, for example, a functional module in the terminal device, such as a baseband device or a chip system. Alternatively, the communication apparatus can be the network device in the first aspect. The communication apparatus has the functions of the network device. The communication apparatus is, for example, a functional module in the network device, such as a baseband device or a chip system.

[0039] In an optional implementation, the communication apparatus includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another optional implementation, the communication apparatus includes a processing unit (also referred to as a processing module) and a transceiver unit (also referred to as a transceiver module). The transceiver unit can implement the sending function and the receiving function. When the transceiver unit implements the sending function, it can be referred to as a sending unit (also referred to as a sending module). When the transceiver unit implements the receiving function, it can be referred to as a receiving unit (also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional module, which is referred to as a transceiver unit and can implement the sending function and the receiving function. Alternatively, the sending unit and the receiving unit can be different functional modules, and the transceiver unit refers to these functional modules in general.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes a storage unit (also referred to as a storage module). The processing unit is coupled to the storage unit and executes programs or instructions in the storage unit, so that the communication apparatus can implement the functions of the terminal device in the first aspect or the functions of the network device in the second aspect.

[0041] When the communication apparatus has the functions of the terminal device, the communication apparatus includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit.

[0042] The transceiver unit is configured to receive first information and second information. The first information is used to indicate a plurality of reference signal resources. The second information is used to indicate that the network device receives the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam, and / or the second information is used to indicate that the terminal device transmits the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams, and transmits the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams based on the first information and the second information, the plurality of reference signal resources being used to determine a first beam of the terminal device.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive first measurement results of part or all of the plurality of reference signal resources. The processing unit is configured to determine the first beam based on the first measurement results.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is further configured to receive third information, where the third information is used to indicate a first reference signal resource in the plurality of reference signal resources; and the processor is configured to determine the first beam based on the first reference signal resource.

[0045] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is specifically configured to transmit the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams on different time domain units; or transmit the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams on M time domain units, where M is less than K, and K is the number of the plurality of reference signal resources.

[0046] In a possible implementation, a plurality of second reference signal resources transmitted on a first time domain unit correspond to different frequency domain units, where the first time domain unit belongs to the M time domain units, and the second reference signal resources belong to the plurality of reference signal resources.

[0047] In a possible implementation, each reference signal resource in the plurality of reference signal resources includes the same number of resource blocks; and / or each reference signal resource in the plurality of reference signal resources includes the same number of ports.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate a reference signal resource set, and the reference signal resource set includes the plurality of reference signal resources.

[0049] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is further configured to receive fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the plurality of reference signal resources are used for beam management.

[0050] When the communication apparatus has the function of a network device, the communication apparatus includes a transceiver and a processor.

[0051] The transceiver is configured to transmit first information and second information, where the first information is used to indicate a plurality of reference signal resources; the second information is used to indicate that the network device receives the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam, and / or the second information is used to indicate that the terminal device transmits the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams; and based on the first information and the second information, the network device receives the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam; and the plurality of reference signal resources are used to determine a first beam of the terminal device.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the processor is configured to measure the plurality of reference signal resources to obtain a plurality of reference signal resource measurement results; and the transceiver is further configured to transmit first measurement results of part or all of the plurality of reference signal resources, where the first measurement results are used to determine the first beam.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the processing unit is configured to measure the plurality of reference signal resources to obtain measurement results, and determine a first reference signal resource from the plurality of reference signal resources based on the measurement results; and the transceiver is further configured to send third information, where the third information is used to indicate the first reference signal resource, and the first reference signal resource is used to determine the first beam.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is specifically configured to receive the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam on different time domain units, or receive the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam on M time domain units, where M is less than K, and K is the number of the plurality of reference signal resources.

[0055] In a possible implementation, a plurality of second reference signal resources received on a first time domain unit correspond to different frequency domain units, where the first time domain unit belongs to the M time domain units, and the second reference signal resources belong to the plurality of reference signal resources.

[0056] In a possible implementation, each reference signal resource in the plurality of reference signal resources includes the same number of resource blocks, and / or each reference signal resource in the plurality of reference signal resources includes the same number of ports.

[0057] In a possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate a reference signal resource set, and the reference signal resource set includes the plurality of reference signal resources.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is further configured to send fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the plurality of reference signal resources are used for beam management.

[0059] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes an interface circuit and a processor, and optionally includes a memory. The memory is configured to store computer programs or instructions, and the processor is coupled to the memory and the interface circuit. When the processor reads the computer programs or instructions, the communication apparatus performs the method performed by the terminal device in the first aspect or performs the method performed by the network device in the second aspect. Exemplarily, the interface circuit is configured to receive a signal from another communication apparatus outside the communication apparatus and transmit the signal to the processor, or transmit a signal from the processor to another communication apparatus outside the communication apparatus, and the processor is configured to implement the method performed by the terminal device in the first aspect or implement the method performed by the network device in the second aspect by means of a logic circuit or an execution code instruction.

[0060] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus is a chip or a chip system. The chip system can be composed of the chip, or can include the chip and other discrete devices.

[0061] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, including a processor, and optionally, a memory; the processor and the memory are coupled; the memory is configured to store computer programs or instructions; the processor is configured to execute part or all of the computer programs or instructions in the memory, and when the part or all of the computer programs or instructions are executed, to implement the functions of the terminal device in the first aspect, or to implement the functions of the network device in the second aspect.

[0062] In a possible implementation, the apparatus can further include a transceiver, configured to send signals processed by the processor, or receive signals input to the processor. The transceiver can perform the sending action or the receiving action performed by the terminal device in the first aspect, or by the network device in the second aspect.

[0063] In a possible implementation, the processing unit in the third aspect can be implemented by the processor, the storage unit in the third aspect can be implemented by the memory, and the transceiving unit in the third aspect can be implemented by the transceiver.

[0064] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus is a chip or a chip system. The chip system can be composed of the chip, or can include the chip and other discrete devices.

[0065] In a sixth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, configured to store computer programs or instructions, which when executed, cause the method in any of the aspects to be implemented.

[0066] In a seventh aspect, a chip is provided, including a processor, which when executing computer programs or instructions, is configured to implement the method in any possible implementation of any of the first aspect to the second aspect. Optionally, the chip can further include a memory, and the chip can be composed of the chip, or can include the chip and other discrete devices. The memory is configured to store computer programs or instructions.

[0067] In an eighth aspect, a circuit is provided, configured to execute the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect, and the circuit can include a chip circuit. Optionally, the circuit can be coupled with a memory.

[0068] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product including instructions, which when executed on a computer, cause the method of any of the aspects to be implemented.

[0069] In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, including the terminal device of the first aspect and the network device of the second aspect. For example, the terminal device and the network device can be implemented through the communication apparatus of the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, or the fifth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0070] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of communication between a network device and a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG. 3a is a schematic diagram of an O-RAN system architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG. 3b is a schematic diagram of a network element function division and a protocol layer structure of an O-RAN device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an analog filter according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a flow of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0078] The technical solution of the present application can be applied to various wireless communication systems, which can include but are not limited to the 4th generation (4G) system (also referred to as the long term evolution (LTE) system), the 5th generation (5G) system (also referred to as the new radio (NR) system), or can also be applied to future mobile communication systems, etc., and the specific system is not limited.

[0079] In addition, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a device-to-device (D2D) scenario, such as an NR-D2D scenario, or a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication scenario, such as an NR-V2X scenario. For example, the technical solutions can be applied to the fields of intelligent driving, auxiliary driving, or intelligent networked vehicles. For another example, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to a factory manufacturing scenario.

[0080] In addition, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a device-to-device (D2D) scenario, such as an NR-D2D scenario, or a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication scenario, such as an NR-V2X scenario. For example, the technical solutions can be applied to the fields of intelligent driving, auxiliary driving, or intelligent networked vehicles. For another example, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to a factory manufacturing scenario.

[0081] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system to which the embodiments of the present application are applied. The communication system 1000 shown in FIG. 1 includes a radio access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 further includes an Internet 300. The radio access network 100 can include at least one network device (such as 110a and 110b in FIG. 1), and can further include at least one terminal device (such as 120a-120j in FIG. 1). The terminal device is connected to the network device in a wireless manner, and the network device is connected to the core network 200 in a wireless or wired manner. The core network device and the network device can be independent and different physical devices, or can be a same physical device in which the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the network device are integrated, or can be a physical device in which the functions of part of the core network device and part of the network device are integrated. The terminal device and the terminal device, and the network device and the network device can be connected to each other in a wired or wireless manner. FIG. 1 is only a schematic diagram, and the communication system can further include other network devices, such as a wireless relay device and a wireless backhaul device, which are not shown in FIG. 1.

[0082] The radio access network 100 can be a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) related cellular system, e.g., 4G, 5G, or future mobile communication system, or a WiFi system. The radio access network 100 can also be an open radio access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN). The radio access network 100 can also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0083] The network device is a node in a radio access network (RAN), which can also be referred to as an access network device, and can also be referred to as a RAN node (or device). The network device is used to help the terminal device to implement wireless access. The multiple network devices in the communication system 1000 can be nodes of the same type or nodes of different types.

[0084] In a possible scenario, the network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmitting and receiving point (TRP), a transmitting point (TP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a base station in a future mobile communication system, an access node in a WiFi system, an access point (AP) in a satellite, an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, a network device in a mobile switching center (MSC) non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication system, i.e., can be deployed on a high-altitude platform or a satellite, etc. The network device can be a macro base station (such as 110a in FIG. 1), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in FIG. 1), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. The network device can also be a device that plays a base station function in device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communication, and machine communication. Optionally, the network device can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, the access network device in the V2X technology can be a road side unit (RSU).

[0085] In another possible scenario, a terminal device accesses a network device to perform wireless access. The network device can be a base station, or also be referred to as an access point, or the like. In a network device composed of multiple network devices, different network devices can implement part or all of functions of the network device. For example, the network device can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), and the like. The CU and the DU can be separately configured, or can be included in the same network element, for example, a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, for example, a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna processing unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). It can be understood that the network device can be a CU node, or a DU node, or a device including a CU node and a DU node. In addition, the CU can be divided into network devices in the access network RAN, or the CU can be divided into network devices in the core network CN, which is not limited here.

[0086] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, the CU can also be referred to as O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as O-RU. For the convenience of description, the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU are taken as examples for description in this application. Any one of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0087] A terminal device is a device with wireless transceiving function, which can send signals to a network device or receive signals from a network device. A terminal device includes, but is not limited to, a terminal apparatus, a terminal, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal, etc. A terminal device can be widely applied 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. A terminal device can be specifically a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiving function, a wearable device, a vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, a smart home device, etc. Embodiments of the present application do not limit specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by a terminal device.

[0088] A network device and a terminal device can be fixed in position or movable. A network device and a terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can be deployed on water surface; can also be deployed on an airplane, a balloon and a man-made satellite. Embodiments of the present application do not limit application scenarios of a network device and a terminal device.

[0089] The roles of a network device and a terminal device can be relative. For example, the helicopter or the drone 120i in FIG. 1 can be configured as a mobile network device, which is a network device for terminal devices 120j accessing to the wireless access network 100 through 120i; but for a network device 110a, 120i is a terminal device, i.e., 110a and 120i communicate with each other through a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i can also communicate with each other through an interface protocol between network devices, in which case, 120i is also a network device relative to 110a. Therefore, a network device and a terminal device can be collectively referred to as a communication apparatus, 110a and 110b in FIG. 1 can be referred to as a communication apparatus with network device function, and 120a-120j in FIG. 1 can be referred to as a communication apparatus with terminal device function.

[0090] The network device and the terminal device, the network device and the network device, and the terminal device and the terminal device can communicate through an authorized frequency spectrum, or through an unlicensed frequency spectrum, or through both the authorized frequency spectrum and the unlicensed frequency spectrum; can communicate through a frequency spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), or through a frequency spectrum above 6 GHz, or through both the frequency spectrum below 6 GHz and the frequency spectrum above 6 GHz. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the frequency spectrum used for wireless communication.

[0091] In embodiments of the present application, the functions of the network device can also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the network device, or by a control subsystem containing network device functions. The control subsystem containing network device functions herein can be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal device can also be performed by a module (such as a chip or modem) in the terminal device, or by a device containing terminal device functions.

[0092] The communication between the network device and the terminal device in the communication system shown in FIG. 1 can also be represented in another form, as shown in FIG. 2, the terminal device 10 includes a processor 101, a memory 102, and a transceiver 103; the transceiver 103 includes a transmitter 1031, a receiver 1032, and an antenna 1033. The network device 20 includes a processor 201, a memory 202, and a transceiver 203; the transceiver 203 includes a transmitter 2031, a receiver 2032, and an antenna 2033. The receiver 1032 can be used to receive information from the network device through the antenna 1033, and the transmitter 1031 can be used to send information to the network device 20 through the antenna 1033. The transmitter 2031 can be used to send information to the terminal device 10 through the antenna 2033, and the receiver 2032 can be used to receive information from the terminal device 10 through the antenna 2033.

[0093] FIG. 3a is an example diagram of an O-RAN system applicable to embodiments of the present application. Optionally, the O-RAN system can include other components than those shown in FIG. 3a. A network device can also be referred to as an access network device. As shown in FIG. 3a, an access network device (RAN, which can be an eNB or a gNB or a next generation access network device) communicates with a core network (CN) through a backhaul and communicates with a user equipment (UE) through an air interface. Specifically, a baseband unit (BBU) in the access network device can communicate with the core network through the backhaul, and a radio unit (RU) in the access network device can communicate with at least one UE through the air interface. The BBU can communicate with at least one RU through a front haul, and the BBU and the RU can or can not be co-located. The BBU includes at least one centralized unit (CU) and at least one distributed unit (DU), which can communicate through at least one midhaul.

[0094] FIG. 3b is a network element function division and protocol layer structure diagram of an O-RAN device applicable to embodiments of the present application.

[0095] In some examples, the CU is a logical node that carries the radio resource control (RRC) layer, the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, and other control functions of the access network device. The CU is connected to network nodes such as the core network through some interfaces, which can be E2 interfaces or the like. Optionally, the CU can have part of the functions of the core network. The CU (e.g., the PDCP layer and higher layers) is connected to the DU (e.g., the RLC layer and lower layers) through some interfaces, which can be F1 interfaces or the like. In some examples, these interfaces (e.g., the F1 interface) can provide control plane (C-Plane) and user plane (U-Plane) functions (e.g., interface management, system information management, UE context management, RRC message transmission, etc.). The F1AP is an application protocol for the F1 interface, which defines the signaling procedures of the F1 in some examples. The F1 interface supports the control plane F1-C and the user plane F1-U.

[0096] In some examples, the CU can be split into a CU-CP (control unit-control plane) and a CU-UP (control unit-user plane), where the CU-CP is a logical node carrying the RRC layer and the PDCP-C (control plane part of PDCP) layer, used to implement the control plane function of the CU. The CU-CP can interact with a network element in the core network used to implement the control plane function. The network element in the core network used to implement the control plane function can be an access and mobility function network element, such as an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a 5G system. The AMF network element is used to be responsible for mobility management in a mobile network, such as location updating of a terminal device, registration of the terminal device to a network, handover of the terminal device, and the like. The CU-UP is a logical node carrying the SDAP layer and the PDCP-U (user plane part of PDCP) layer, used to implement the user plane function of the CU. The CU-UP can interact with a network element in the core network used to implement the user plane function. The network element in the core network used to implement the user plane function, for example, a user plane function (UPF) in a 5G system, is used to be responsible for forwarding and receiving data in a terminal device. The above configuration of the CU and the DU is merely an example, and the CU and the DU can be configured to have functions as needed. For example, the CU or the DU can be configured to have functions of more protocol layers, or the CU or the DU can be configured to have partial processing functions of protocol layers. For example, partial functions of the RLC layer and functions of protocol layers above the RLC layer are arranged in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and functions of protocol layers below the RLC layer are arranged in the DU. For another example, the functions of the CU or the DU can be divided according to a service type or other system requirements, for example, according to a delay requirement. Functions that require a processing time to meet a relatively low delay requirement are arranged in the DU, and functions that do not require the processing time to meet the delay requirement are arranged in the CU.

[0097] In some examples, a DU is a logical node that hosts radio link control (RLC) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer / media access control (MAC) layer, higher physical layer (PHY), and other functions. In some examples, a DU can control at least one RU. The DU is connected with the RUs through some interfaces, which can be a fronthaul interface. In some examples, the Higher PHY layer includes parts of the PHY layer processing, such as forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.

[0098] In some examples, an RU is a logical node that hosts low (lower) physical layer (PHY) and radio frequency (RF) processing. In some examples, an RU can be a 3GPP transmission reception point (TRP) or a remote radio head (RRH) or other similar functional entity. In some examples, the Low-PHY includes parts of the PHY processing, such as fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse fast Fourier transformation (IFFT), digital beamforming and filtering, etc. The RU communicates with one or more UEs through a wireless link.

[0099] The DU and the RU can be co-located or not co-located. The DU and the RU exchange control plane information and user plane information via a lower-layer split CUS-Plane (LLS-CUS) interface through a fronthaul link. The LLS-CUS can include a LLS-C interface and a LLS-U interface that provide a control plane (C-Plane) and a user plane (U-Plane), respectively. In some examples, the control plane (C-Plane) refers to real-time control between the DU and the RU. The DU and the RU exchange management information via a LLS-M interface of the fronthaul link, and the management plane (M-Plane) refers to non-real-time management operations between the DU and the RU.

[0100] The DU and the RU can cooperate to jointly implement the functions of the PHY layer. One DU can be connected with one or more RUs. The functions of the DU and the RU can be configured in various ways according to design. For example, the DU is configured to implement baseband functions, and the RU is configured to implement radio frequency functions. For another example, the DU is configured to implement high-layer functions in the PHY layer, and the RU is configured to implement low-layer functions in the PHY layer or implement the low-layer functions and radio frequency functions. The high-layer functions in the PHY layer can include a part of functions of the PHY layer that are closer to the MAC layer, and the low-layer functions in the PHY layer can include another part of functions of the PHY layer that are closer to the radio frequency side.

[0101] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), the DU, or the RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an ORAN system, the CU can also be referred to as an open CU (O-CU), the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as an O-RU. For the convenience of description, the CU, the CU-CP, the CU-UP, the DU, and the RU are taken as examples for description in this application.

[0102] The communication system and the service scenario (or the application scenario) described in the embodiments of this application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application. Those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of network architecture and the appearance of new service scenarios (or new application scenarios), the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0103] Currently, one way to determine the transmission beam of the terminal device is that the network device sends multiple reference signals to the terminal device by using the same beam, the terminal device polls multiple reception beams to receive the multiple reference signals, and performs measurement on the multiple reference signals; the terminal device determines a suitable reception beam based on the measurement results of the multiple reference signals; and based on the uplink and downlink channel reciprocity, the suitable reception beam is taken as a suitable transmission beam. When the environments of the uplink channel and the downlink channel are different, the transmission beam of the terminal device determined based on the uplink and downlink channel reciprocity is not the optimal transmission beam.

[0104] Based on this, the present application proposes a communication method. In the method, a network device sends first information and second information to a terminal device, the first information is used to indicate a plurality of reference signal resources, the second information is used to indicate that the network device receives the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam, and / or the terminal device transmits the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams; the terminal device transmits the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams based on the first information and the second information; correspondingly, the network device receives the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam based on the first information and the second information, and the plurality of reference signal resources are used to determine a first beam of the terminal device. The network device configures a plurality of reference signal resources for the terminal device through the first information, and implicitly indicates that these reference signal resources can be used to determine the transmission beam of the terminal device through the second information. The terminal device transmits the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams, the network device receives the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam, and the measurement result of the plurality of reference signal resources can be used to directly determine the transmission beam of the terminal device. Compared with determining the transmission beam of the terminal device by using the reciprocity of the uplink and downlink channels, the determined transmission beam of the terminal device is more suitable for the environment of the uplink channel, and the accuracy is improved.

[0105] The related terms involved in the embodiments of the present application will be explained first. It should be noted that these explanations are to make the embodiments of the present application easier to understand, and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection required by the present application.

[0106] (1) In the communication protocol, the reference signal is configured in the form of a resource. The network device will configure each reference signal in the form of a resource to the terminal device, and one resource is one configuration information unit, which usually includes parameters related to the reference signal, such as the time-frequency resource position of the reference signal, the number of ports, the time domain type (periodic / semi-static / non-periodic), etc.

[0107] “Transmitting a plurality of reference signal resources” and “transmitting a reference signal on a plurality of reference signal resources” can be replaced with each other. “Reference signal” can also be referred to as “measurement signal”. For example, the reference signal (or measurement signal) includes but is not limited to any of the following: demodulation reference signal (downlink control information, DMRS), or channel state information reference signal (channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS), sounding reference signal (sounding reference signal, SRS).

[0108] (2) Beam:

[0109] The beam in the NR protocol can be a spatial domain filter, or a spatial filter, or a spatial domain parameter, a spatial parameter, a spatial domain setting, a spatial setting, or quasi-colocation (QCL) information, QCL assumption, QCL indication, etc. The beam can be indicated by a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state parameter, or a spatial relation parameter. Therefore, in this application, the beam can be replaced by a spatial domain filter, a spatial filter, a spatial domain parameter, a spatial parameter, a spatial domain setting, a spatial setting, QCL information, QCL assumption, QCL indication, TCI-state (including: downlink (DL) TCI-state, uplink (UL) TCI-state), spatial relation, etc. The above terms are also equivalent to each other. The beam can also be replaced by other terms representing the beam, which is not limited in this application.

[0110] The beam for transmitting a signal can be referred to as a transmission beam (Tx beam), or a spatial domain transmission filter, a spatial transmission filter, a spatial domain transmission parameter or a spatial transmission parameter, a spatial domain transmission setting or a spatial transmission setting. In this application, the downlink beam, CSI-RS, TCI State, downlink or joint transmission configuration indication state DLorjointTCI state, synchronization signal block (SSB), tracking reference signal (TRS) can be replaced with each other.

[0111] The beam for receiving a signal can be referred to as a reception beam (Rx beam), a spatial domain reception filter, a spatial reception filter, a spatial domain reception parameter or a spatial reception parameter, a spatial domain reception setting or a spatial reception setting. The uplink transmission beam can be indicated by a spatial relation, an uplink TCI state, or an SRS resource (indicating the transmission beam using the SRS). In this application, the uplink beam, the UL TCI state, the DL or joint TCI state, the SRS, the CSI-RS, the SSB, and the TRS can be replaced with each other.

[0112] The transmission beam can refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space after the signal is transmitted by the antenna, and the reception beam can refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space of the wireless signal received by the antenna.

[0113] Figure 4 introduces a schematic diagram of an analog filter, which has a group of phase shifters. By configuring the phase of the phase shifter, a coefficient corresponding to the phase shifter is generated, and a group of coefficients corresponding to a group of phase shifters. For example, Figure 4 includes three phase shifters, and a group of coefficients can include three coefficients, which are coefficient 1, coefficient 2 and coefficient 3. The input signal of each phase shifter is the same, and the signal generated by the superposition of a group of phases has different signal gains in different directions, thereby forming a beam in space.

[0114] As shown in FIG. 4, the hardware structure of the analog filter includes a baseband, a radio frequency, an analog beam control unit, a phase shifter, an antenna array, and the like. The main feature is that the antenna board has a phase shifter device, and the control unit can generate different sets of coefficients of the analog filter by configuring the phase of each phase shifter, so that when the signal passes through the phase shifter and is emitted from the antenna array, the signal is superimposed with the phase offset corresponding to the phase of the phase shifter, forming the effect of beamforming. In the example of FIG. 4, the antenna board has three phase shifter devices, so a set of coefficients can include three coefficients, namely coefficient 1, coefficient 2, and coefficient 3. The different sets of coefficients generated by the control unit are derived from the analog beam control unit, which can first select a plurality of sets of coefficients of the analog filter and inform the control unit. The analog beam control unit can be deployed on the baseband or be an independent unit.

[0115] (3) TCI-state:

[0116] The network device can generate different beams pointing to different transmission directions. In downlink data transmission, when the network device uses a specific beam to send data to the terminal device, it needs to inform the terminal device of the information of the sending beam it uses, so that the terminal device can use the receiving beam corresponding to the sending beam to receive the data sent by the network device. In the 3GPP R15 / R16 protocol, the network device indicates the relevant information of the sending beam it uses to the terminal device through the TCI field in the downlink control information (DCI). Specifically, the TCI field is 3 bits in size and can specifically represent 8 different field values (codepoints). Each value of the TCI field corresponds to an index of a TCI-state, which can uniquely identify a TCI-state. The TCI-state includes several parameters, through which the relevant information of the sending beam can be determined. The TCI-state is configured by the network device to each terminal device.

[0117] Each TCI-state includes one own index tci-State id and two QCL-Info. Each QCL-Info includes one cell field and bwp-Id, which respectively represent which bandwidth part (bandwidth part, BWP) of which cell (cell) the TCI-state applies to, that is, different cells or different BWPs of the same cell can configure different QCL-Info. QCL-Info also includes a referenceSignal (reference signal) for indicating which reference signal resource forms a QCL (quasi-co-location) relationship with. In R15 / R16 protocol, the word "beam" generally does not appear directly, and the beam is generally replaced by other terms. For example, in data transmission and channel measurement, the beam is corresponding to the reference signal resource, and one beam corresponds to one reference signal resource. Therefore, here it is said that which reference signal resource forms a QCL relationship, which actually refers to which beam forms a QCL relationship. The QCL relationship refers to two reference signal resources (or two antenna ports, the antenna port and the reference signal resource are also one-to-one corresponding). The specific spatial parameters that are the same depend on the type of the QCL-Info, that is, another field qcl-Type of the QCL-Info. qcl-Type can have four values {typeA, typeB, typeC, typeD}. Take typeD as an example, typeD indicates that two reference signal resources have the same spatial receiving parameter information, that is, two beams have the same receiving beam. The two QCL-Info included in the TCI-state can have at most one TypeD.

[0118] TCI mode: including joint mode and separate mode. The joint mode refers to that the same beam or TCI state is used for uplink transmission and downlink transmission between the TRP (i.e., network device) and the terminal device. The separate mode refers to that different beams or TCI states are used for uplink transmission between the TRP and the terminal device and downlink transmission between the TRP and the terminal device. In this application, the network device can be a TRP or a device containing one or more TRPs. In the joint mode, the TCI state can be referred to as a joint TCI state, which can be used for uplink and downlink transmission. In the separate mode, the TCI state used for downlink transmission can be referred to as a downlink TCI state (dl-TCI-State), and the TCI state used for uplink transmission can be referred to as an uplink TCI state (ul-TCI-State). In this application, if a TCI state is a downlink TCI state or a joint state, the QCL type D reference signal in the TCI state can be understood as the reference signal corresponding to the reference signal resource in the typeD QCL information in the TCI state. The QCL resource in the TCI state can be understood as the reference signal resource in the typeD QCL information in the TCI state. If a TCI state is an uplink TCI state, the reference signal in the TCI state refers to the reference signal configured in the TCI state. For example, the reference signal configured in ssb-Index-r17, csi-RS-Index-r17 or srs-r17 in the structure of the above uplink TCI state. The reference signal can be a CSI-RS, a SRS or an SSB.

[0119] (4) The measurement result of the reference signal resource can be represented by parameters such as reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), etc.

[0120] In order to better introduce the embodiments of the present application, the method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be introduced below in combination with the drawings. In the following, if no special description is made, the steps represented by the dashed lines in the corresponding drawings of each embodiment of the present application are optional steps. It should be noted that the technical details of the plurality of embodiments provided by the present application can be mutually referenced, and each embodiment introduced below can exist independently, and in the absence of logical errors, a plurality of embodiments can also be combined as one embodiment.

[0121] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. In FIG. 5, a terminal device and a network device are taken as an example to illustrate the execution subject of the interaction, but the present application does not limit the execution subject of the interaction. For example, the method executed by the terminal device in FIG. 5 can also be executed by a communication module in the terminal device, or a circuit or chip responsible for communication function in the terminal device; the method executed by the network device in FIG. 5 can also be executed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the network device, or a logic node, a logic module or software realizing all or part of the function of the network device. The communication method provided by the present application can be applied to the O-RAN system as shown in FIG. 3a, and the network device can be replaced by the CU (CU-CP or CU-UP) or DU or RU in the O-RAN system. For specific details, reference can be made to the introduction of the O-RAN system in FIG. 3a. The communication method provided by the present application can be applied to the O-RAN system as shown in FIG. 3b.

[0122] As shown in FIG. 5, the method can include the following steps:

[0123] Step 501: The network device sends first information and second information; correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information and the second information.

[0124] The first information is used to indicate a plurality of reference signal resources. In one possible example, the first information is used to indicate a reference signal resource set, and the reference signal resource set includes a plurality of reference signal resources. Optionally, the maximum number and / or the minimum number of the reference signal resources included in the reference signal resource set can be reported to the network device by the capability of the terminal device, and the number of the plurality of reference signal resources indicated by the first information is greater than or equal to the minimum number and less than or equal to the maximum number.

[0125] The second information is used to indicate that the network device receives the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information by using the same beam, and / or the terminal device transmits the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information by using different beams. Alternatively, the second information is used to indicate that the multiple reference signal resources (or the reference signal resources in the reference signal resource set) are received by using the same spatial domain filtering reception parameter, and / or the multiple reference signal resources (or the reference signal resources in the reference signal resource set) are transmitted by using different spatial domain filtering transmission parameters. Alternatively, the second information is used to indicate that the terminal device can assume that the network device receives the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information by using the same beam. If the second information is used to indicate that the network device receives the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information by using the same beam, it can be implicitly indicated that the terminal device transmits the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information by using different beams. Alternatively, if the second information is used to indicate that the terminal device transmits the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information by using different beams, it can be implicitly indicated that the network device receives the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information by using the same beam.

[0126] In a possible example, the network device sends a first parameter to the terminal device, where the first parameter is used to indicate whether the network device receives the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information by using the same beam, and / or whether the terminal device transmits the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information by using different beams. Alternatively, the first parameter is used to indicate whether the multiple reference signal resources (or the reference signal resources in the reference signal resource set) are received by using the same spatial domain filtering reception parameter, and / or whether the multiple reference signal resources (or the reference signal resources in the reference signal resource set) are transmitted by using different spatial domain filtering transmission parameters.

[0127] For example, the first parameter is a field “repetition”. When the field is set as “on”, it means that: the network device adopts the same beam to receive the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information, and / or the terminal device adopts different beams to transmit the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information; or it means that: the multiple reference signal resources (or the reference signal resources in the reference signal resource set) are received by the same spatial domain filtering reception parameter, and / or the multiple reference signal resources (or the reference signal resources in the reference signal resource set) are transmitted by different spatial domain filtering transmission parameters; or it means that: the terminal device can assume that the network device adopts the same beam (or the same spatial domain filtering parameter) to receive the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information. Then, when the first parameter is set as “on”, the first parameter means the second information. When the field is set as “off”, it means that: the network device adopts different beams to receive the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information; or it means that: the multiple reference signal resources (or the reference signal resources in the reference signal resource set) are received by different spatial domain filtering reception parameters; or it means that: the terminal device cannot assume that the network device adopts the same beam (or the same spatial domain filtering parameter) to receive the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information.

[0128] For another example, the first parameter occupies 1 or more bits, and different cases are indicated by the values of the bits.

[0129] In another possible example, if the network device adopts different beams to receive the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information, or the terminal device cannot assume that the network device adopts the same beam to receive the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information, the network device does not send the related indication information to the terminal device, so that the signaling overhead can be saved.

[0130] The first information and the second information can be carried in one message or in two messages. The first information can be carried in a radio resource control (RRC) configuration message or an RRC reconfiguration message. The second information can also be carried in the RRC configuration message, or the RRC reconfiguration message, or a MAC-control element (CE) (MAC CE), or DCI.

[0131] Further optionally, the network device sends fourth information to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives the fourth information; the fourth information is used to indicate that the multiple reference signal resources are used for beam management, or is used to indicate that the reference signal resource set is used for beam management. For example, the "usage" of the reference signal resource (or the reference signal resource set) is configured as "beamManagement". The terminal device can learn, based on the fourth information, that the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information are used for beam management, and the beam management includes but is not limited to determining the terminal device side transmission beam and / or reception beam.

[0132] Step 502: The terminal device transmits the multiple reference signal resources by using different beams based on the first information and the second information.

[0133] Optionally, the terminal device learns, based on the first information, the multiple reference signal resources, and determines, based on the second information, that the multiple reference signal resources can be transmitted by using different beams.

[0134] The following describes that the terminal device transmits the multiple reference signal resources by using different beams:

[0135] Suppose that the terminal device transmits K reference signal resources, which are reference signal resource 1 to reference signal resource K, and the terminal device side transmission beams also include beam 1 to beam K. The terminal device transmits the reference signal resource 1 by using the beam 1, transmits the reference signal resource 2 by using the beam 2, transmits the reference signal resource 3 by using the beam 3, and so on, until transmits the reference signal resource K by using the beam K, that is, the transmission of the multiple reference signal resources by using different beams is completed.

[0136] Optionally, the first information indicates the multiple reference signal resources, and this process can be understood as that the network device configures the multiple reference signal resources for the terminal device by using a static configuration mode, and the multiple reference signal resources can be used only after being activated. After step 501 and before step 502, the network device can further send indication information to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives the indication information; the indication information is used to indicate that the multiple reference signal resources are activated. The indication information can be carried in the downlink control information (DCI) or the MAC CE signaling. In a possible implementation, the first information indicates N reference signal resources, and subsequently the network device activates K reference signal resources in the N reference signal resources, and the terminal device transmits the K reference signal resources by using different beams. K is an integer greater than 2, and N is an integer greater than or equal to K.

[0137] Step 503: The network device receives the multiple reference signal resources by using the same beam based on the first information and the second information.

[0138] The multiple reference signal resources are used to determine a first beam of the terminal device. The first beam is a beam of the terminal device used for uplink transmission, and / or the first beam is a beam of the terminal device used for downlink transmission. Further specifically, the first beam is a beam of the terminal device used for uplink transmission with the network device, and / or the first beam is a beam of the terminal device used for downlink transmission with the network device.

[0139] Optionally, the network device learns the multiple reference signal resources based on the first information, and can determine that the multiple reference signal resources are received by using the same beam based on the second information.

[0140] The following describes that the network device receives the multiple reference signal resources by using the same beam:

[0141] Suppose that the terminal device transmits K reference signal resources, which are reference signal resource 1 to reference signal resource K, and the receiving beams of the network device side include beam 1 to beam 3. One way is that the network device receives any reference signal resource by using one beam. Taking receiving any reference signal resource by using beam 2 as an example for description: the network device receives reference signal resource 1 by using beam 2, receives reference signal resource 2 by using beam 2, receives reference signal resource 3 by using beam 2, and so on until receives reference signal resource K by using beam 2. Another way is that the network device receives any reference signal resource by using multiple beams. Taking receiving any reference signal resource by using beam 1 to beam 3 as an example for description: the network device receives reference signal resource 1 by using beam 1 to beam 3, receives reference signal resource 2 by using beam 1 to beam 3, receives reference signal resource 3 by using beam 1 to beam 3, and so on until receives reference signal resource K by using beam 1 to beam 3. It should be noted that if the network device receives one reference signal resource by using one beam, K measurement results are obtained by measuring the K reference signal resources; if the network device receives one reference signal resource by using three beams, 3K measurement results are obtained by measuring the K reference signal resources.

[0142] In this embodiment, the network device configures the multiple reference signal resources for the terminal device through the first information, and implicitly indicates that the reference signal resources can be used to determine the transmission beam of the terminal device through the second information. The terminal device transmits the multiple reference signal resources by using different beams, the network device receives the multiple reference signal resources by using the same beam, and the transmission beam of the terminal device can be directly determined through the measurement results of the multiple reference signal resources. Compared with determining the transmission beam of the terminal device by using the reciprocity of the uplink and downlink channels, the determined transmission beam of the terminal device is more suitable for the environment of the uplink channel, and the accuracy is improved.

[0143] The following introduces multiple examples of determining the first beam based on multiple reference signal resources;

[0144] Example 1: The network device sends the measurement results of the reference signal resources to the terminal device, and the terminal device determines the first beam based on the received measurement results.

[0145] For example, as shown in FIG. 5, after step 503, step 504a is further included: the network device sends the measurement results of part or all of the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information to the terminal device (for the convenience of description, the measurement results sent by the network device to the terminal device are referred to as first measurement results), and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first measurement results of part or all of the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information, wherein the first measurement results are used to determine the first beam of the terminal device.

[0146] In this example, the terminal device knows the measurement results of the reference signal resources, understands the channel quality corresponding to each beam based on the measurement results, selects a suitable beam, and can accurately use the measurement results of the reference signal resources for subsequent use without needing to ask the network device for the measurement results again.

[0147] For the convenience of description, the following takes the terminal device sending K (K is an integer greater than or equal to 2) reference signal resources to the network device as an example for introduction.

[0148] After step 503, before step 504a, the network device measures the K reference signal resources to obtain the measurement results of the K reference signal resources. After step 504a, the terminal device determines the first beam based on the first measurement results.

[0149] If the network device sends the terminal device the first measurement results of the K reference signal resources (that is, the reference signal resources indicated by the first information), the first measurement results can be arranged in the order in which the network device receives the reference signal resources (that is, in the order in which the terminal device sends the reference signal resources), so that the first measurement results can not need to carry the indexes of the reference signal resources, or do not need to additionally indicate the indexes of the reference signal resources, and the terminal device can also clearly know the measurement results corresponding to each reference signal resource.

[0150] If the network device sends the terminal device the first measurement results of part of the K reference signal resources, the first measurement results include the indexes of the reference signal resources, or additionally indicate the indexes of the reference signal resources, so that the terminal device can know the correspondence between the reference signal resources and the measurement results based on the indexes of the reference signal resources.

[0151] When the network device sends the first measurement results of all or part of the reference signal resources to the terminal device, each first measurement result can be a measured value, or the first measurement result can be indicated in a differential manner. For example, a certain measurement result A (for example, the best measurement result in the first measurement result, or the worst measurement result in the first measurement result, or any measurement result in the first measurement result) is included in the first measurement result, and the values corresponding to the remaining measurement results are represented by the difference from the value corresponding to the measurement result A. For example, the network device sends the measurement results (for example, RSRP) of 3 reference signal resources to the terminal device, and the values corresponding to the 3 measurement results are -50, -80, and -90, respectively. The network device sends the value -50 corresponding to the measurement result and the difference values -30 and -40 to the terminal device, and the value -80 corresponding to the measurement result can be obtained by the difference -30 and the value -50, and the value -90 corresponding to the measurement result can be obtained by the difference -40 and the value -50.

[0152] When the first measurement result is indicated in a differential manner, the first measurement result includes the index of the reference signal resource, or the index of the reference signal resource is additionally indicated, so that the terminal device knows the correspondence between the reference signal resource and the measurement result based on the index of the reference signal resource.

[0153] The network device sends the first measurement results of part of the reference signal resources to the terminal device, and the first measurement results of part of the reference signal resources are described as follows:

[0154] For example, the first measurement results of part of the reference signal resources are measurement results exceeding a set threshold. That is, the network device sends the measurement results exceeding the set threshold to the terminal device.

[0155] For example, the first measurement results of part of the reference signal resources are the best measurement results. That is, the network device sends the best measurement results in the measurement results of the K reference signal resources to the terminal device.

[0156] For example, the first measurement results of part of the reference signal resources are measurement results located in the first f (f is an integer greater than or equal to 2) positions after being sorted in the order from good to bad (or from bad to good). That is, the network device sends the better measurement results in the measurement results of the K reference signal resources to the terminal device.

[0157] The number of measurement results sent by the network device to the terminal device, i.e., the number of sent reference signal resources, can be RRC signaling configured to the terminal device, or can be sent to the terminal device together with the first measurement result. When the first measurement result contains the number Y of sent reference signal resources (Y is an integer greater than or equal to 1), the terminal device can parse the indices of the subsequent Y reference signal resources and / or the measurement results of the Y reference signal resources according to the number Y of reference signal resources.

[0158] The following describes an example in which the terminal device determines the first beam based on the first measurement result:

[0159] If the first measurement result includes the measurement result of one reference signal resource, the beam used by the reference signal resource corresponding to the first measurement result is the first beam. The "beam used by the reference signal resource" refers to the "beam that sends the reference signal resource".

[0160] If the first measurement result includes multiple measurement results, "multiple measurement results" here refers to the measurement results of all or part of the K reference signal resources indicated by the first information, and the following applies:

[0161] For example, the optimal measurement result in the first measurement result is determined, and the beam used by the reference signal resource corresponding to the optimal measurement result is the first beam.

[0162] For another example, the measurement result exceeding a set threshold in the first measurement result is determined, and the beam used by any of the reference signal resources corresponding to the measurement result exceeding the set threshold is the first beam. Alternatively, based on resource scheduling, a suitable reference signal resource is selected from the reference signal resources corresponding to the measurement result exceeding the set threshold, and the beam used by the suitable reference signal resource is the first beam.

[0163] Example 2: The network device indicates the first reference signal resource to the terminal device, and the terminal device determines the first beam based on the first reference signal resource.

[0164] For example, as shown in FIG. 5, after step 503, step 504b is further included: the network device sends third information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the third information; wherein the third information is used to indicate the first reference signal resource in the plurality of reference signal resources, and the first reference signal resource is used to determine the first beam of the terminal device.

[0165] After step 503, before step 504b, the network device measures the K reference signal resources indicated by the first information to obtain measurement results of the K reference signal resources, and determines the first reference signal resource based on the measurement results of the K reference signal resources. After step 504a, the terminal device determines the first beam based on the first reference signal resource.

[0166] The first reference signal resource is one reference signal resource or multiple reference signal resources. Here, the "multiple reference signal resources" refer to part of the K reference signal resources indicated by the first information, rather than the K reference signal resources.

[0167] The following describes an example in which the network determines the first reference signal resource based on the measurement results of the K reference signal resources:

[0168] For example, the reference signal resource with the optimal measurement result is determined as the first reference signal resource.

[0169] For example, the measurement results of the K reference signal resources are sorted in the order from optimal to poor (or from good to bad), and the reference signal resources corresponding to the measurement results in the first f (f is an integer greater than or equal to 2) positions are determined as the first reference signal resource.

[0170] For example, all or part of the reference signal resources with measurement results exceeding a set threshold are determined as the first reference signal resource.

[0171] For example, any reference signal resource with a measurement result exceeding a set threshold is determined as the first reference signal resource.

[0172] The following describes an example in which the third information indicates the first reference signal resource:

[0173] For example, the third information indicates an index of the first reference signal resource, or a Joint TCI state id or an UL TCI state id. The reference signal resource with QCL-Type of type D in QCL-info in the Joint TCI state corresponding to the Joint TCI state id is the first reference signal resource. The reference signal resource with QCL-Type of type D in QCL-info in the UL TCI state corresponding to the UL TCI state id is the first reference signal resource.

[0174] The following describes an example in which the terminal device determines the first beam based on the first reference signal resource:

[0175] If the first reference signal resource includes one reference signal resource, the beam adopted by the first reference signal resource is the first beam.

[0176] If the first reference signal resource comprises multiple reference signal resources, the multiple reference signal resources herein refer to part of the K reference signal resources indicated by the first information. The beam used by any one of the first reference signal resources is the first beam, or a suitable reference signal resource is selected from the first reference signal resources based on the resource scheduling, and the beam used by the suitable reference signal resource is the first beam.

[0177] In this example, the network selects a suitable first reference signal resource based on the measurement results of the multiple reference signal resources, indicates the first reference signal resource to the terminal device, and the terminal device directly determines the first beam based on the first reference signal resource, without the need for comparison of the measurement results, thereby simplifying the workload of the terminal device.

[0178] The multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information satisfy at least one of the following conditions:

[0179] Condition 1a: The time domain units included in the multiple reference signal resources are completely different (or non-overlapping, non-intersecting).

[0180] In other words, the multiple reference signal resources are transmitted through different time domain units; or in other words, only one reference signal resource is transmitted in one time domain unit; or in other words, the terminal device does not expect multiple reference signal resources (here, the multiple reference signal resources refer to more than two reference signal resources, not the K reference signal resources indicated by the first information) to be transmitted in one time domain unit.

[0181] For example, in step 502, the terminal device transmits the multiple reference signal resources through different beams, specifically: the terminal device transmits the multiple reference signal resources through different beams in different time domain units. In step 503, the network device receives the multiple reference signal resources through the same beam, specifically: the network device receives the multiple reference signal resources through the same beam in different time domain units. The time domain units included in the multiple reference signal resources are completely different, which can avoid interference between the reference signal resources.

[0182] One time domain unit includes one symbol or multiple symbols, for example, the symbol is an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol.

[0183] Further optionally, the time domain interval of any two reference signal resources is greater than or equal to the shortest time for the terminal device to switch beams. The shortest time for the terminal device to switch beams can be symbol level, or millisecond level, or slot level. The shortest time for the terminal device to switch beams belongs to the capability information of the terminal device, which can be informed to the network device by the terminal device.

[0184] Condition 1b: all or part of the K reference signal resources comprise same time domain units and different frequency domain units.

[0185] For example, in step 502, the terminal device transmits the multiple reference signal resources by using different beams, specifically: the terminal device transmits the multiple reference signal resources by using different beams on the M time domain units; wherein, M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, M is less than K, and K is the quantity of the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information. In step 503, the network device receives the multiple reference signal resources by using the same beam, specifically: the network device receives the multiple reference signal resources by using the same beam on the M time domain units. In a specific example, M = K / 2, that is, two reference signal resources are transmitted on one time domain unit.

[0186] In this example, all or part of the multiple reference signal resources comprise same time domain units, which reduces the time delay of the terminal device polling the transmission beam.

[0187] Further optionally, the multiple second reference signal resources transmitted on the first time domain unit correspond to different frequency domain units; wherein, the first time domain unit belongs to the M time domain units, and the second reference signal resource belongs to the multiple reference signal resources indicated by the first information.

[0188] Condition 1a and condition 1b are parallel, that is: when condition 1a is met, condition 1b is not met; when condition 1b is met, condition 1a is not met.

[0189] For example, the K reference signal resources are transmitted through the M time domain units, one time domain unit can transmit at most X (X is an integer greater than or equal to 2) reference signal resources, and the X reference signal resources are frequency-division. X depends on the capability of the terminal device, for example, the terminal device can support at most X transmission beams to transmit simultaneously, then the terminal device can support at most X reference signal resources to transmit simultaneously. In other words, the terminal device does not expect the reference signal resources transmitted on one time domain unit to exceed X. If the terminal device does not support simultaneous transmission, or does not support reference signal resource simultaneous transmission, condition 1a can be met; if the terminal device supports simultaneous transmission and / or supports reference signal resource simultaneous transmission, condition 1b can be met. The terminal device supports simultaneous transmission means that the terminal device has the capability of simultaneous transmission, for example, can simultaneously transmit one or more of the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and the reference signal resource.

[0190] Condition 2: the number of resource blocks included in each of the plurality of reference signal resources is the same.

[0191] Here, the resource block can be a resource block (RB), a resource element (RE), or a resource block group (RBG).

[0192] For example, in step 502, the terminal device transmits the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams, specifically, the terminal device transmits the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams on the same number of resource blocks. In step 503, the network device receives the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam, specifically, the network device receives the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam on the same number of resource blocks. In this way, the related parameters of the plurality of reference signal resources are consistent, and the measurement results of the plurality of reference signal resources can be directly compared.

[0193] Condition 3: the number of ports included in each of the plurality of reference signal resources is the same.

[0194] For example, in step 502, the terminal device transmits the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams, specifically, the terminal device transmits the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams on the same number of ports. In this way, the related parameters of the plurality of reference signal resources are consistent, and the measurement results of the plurality of reference signal resources can be directly compared.

[0195] The plurality of reference signal resources indicated by the first information can simultaneously satisfy the Condition 1a, the Condition 2, and the Condition 3, or satisfy one or more of them. Alternatively, the plurality of reference signal resources indicated by the first information can simultaneously satisfy the Condition 1b, the Condition 2, and the Condition 3, or satisfy one or more of them.

[0196] It can be understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the network device and the terminal device comprise corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for performing various functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and method steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the present application can be realized in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is implemented in hardware or computer software driven hardware depends on the specific application scenarios and design constraints of the technical solutions.

[0197] FIGS. 6 and 7 are structural schematic diagrams of possible communication apparatuses provided by the embodiments of the present application. These communication apparatuses can be used to implement the functions of the network device or the terminal device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments.

[0198] As shown in FIG. 6, the communication apparatus 600 includes a processing unit 610 and a transceiver unit 620.

[0199] For example, the communication apparatus 600 is configured to implement the functions of the network device or the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5. The transceiver unit 620 can perform the receiving actions and the sending actions performed by the network device or the terminal device in the method embodiments. The processing unit 610 can perform the actions performed by the network device or the terminal device in the method embodiments, except for the sending actions and the receiving actions.

[0200] For example, when the communication apparatus 600 is configured to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5, the transceiver unit 620 is configured to send the first information and the second information, receive the reference signal resources, send the first measurement results of part or all of the reference signal resources, and send the third information. The processing unit 610 is configured to generate the first information, the second information, the third information, measure the reference signal resources to obtain the measurement results, and the like.

[0201] For example, when the communication apparatus 600 is configured to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5, the transceiver unit 620 is configured to receive the first information and the second information, send the reference signal resources, receive the first measurement results of part or all of the reference signal resources, and receive the third information.

[0202] The detailed description of the processing unit 610 and the transceiver unit 620 can be directly obtained by referring to the related description in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5, and thus is not described here. The processing unit 610 can be implemented by a processor, and the transceiver unit 620 can be implemented by a transceiver.

[0203] It should be understood that the division of units in the above apparatus is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, all or part of the units can be integrated into one physical entity, or can be physically separated. The units in the apparatus can all be implemented in the form of software invoked by a processing element; or all be implemented in the form of hardware; or part of the units are implemented in the form of software invoked by a processing element, and part of the units are implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit can be a separately established processing element, or can be integrated in a chip of the apparatus, in addition, the unit can also be stored in the form of a program in a memory, and the function of the unit is invoked and executed by a processing element of the apparatus. In addition, all or part of the units can be integrated together, or can be independently implemented. The processing element herein can be a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with a signal processing capability. In the implementation process, each operation of the above method or each unit can be implemented by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processing element, or in the form of software invoked by the processing element.

[0204] In one example, the units in any of the above apparatuses can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, for example, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more digital singnal processors (DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. For another example, when the units in the apparatus can be implemented in the form of a program invoked by a processing element, the processing element can be a processor, such as a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), or other processors that can invoke programs. For another example, the units can be integrated together to implement a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0205] The above unit for receiving is an interface circuit of the apparatus for receiving signals from other apparatuses. For example, when the apparatus is implemented in the form of a chip, the unit is an interface circuit of the chip for receiving signals from other chips or apparatuses. The above unit for sending is an interface circuit of the apparatus for sending signals to other apparatuses. For example, when the apparatus is implemented in the form of a chip, the unit is an interface circuit of the chip for sending signals to other chips or apparatuses.

[0206] As shown in FIG. 7, the communication apparatus 700 includes a processor 710 and an interface circuit 720. The processor 710 and the interface circuit 720 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 720 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication apparatus 700 can further include a memory 730 for storing instructions executed by the processor 710, or storing input data required by the processor 710 to run instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 710 runs instructions. Sometimes, the interface circuit 720 can also be understood as a part of the processor 710, and the communication apparatus 700 includes the processor 710.

[0207] When the communication apparatus 700 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 5, the processor 710 is configured to implement the functions of the processing unit 610, and the interface circuit 720 is configured to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 620.

[0208] When the communication apparatus is a chip applied to a terminal device, the terminal device chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments. The terminal device chip receives information from a network device, which can be understood as that the information is first received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal device, and then transmitted to the terminal device chip by the modules. The terminal device chip transmits information to the network device, which can be understood as that the information is first transmitted to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal device, and then transmitted to the network device by the modules.

[0209] When the communication apparatus is a chip applied to a network device, the network device chip implements the functions of the network device in the method embodiments. The network device chip receives information from a terminal device, which can be understood as that the information is first received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the network device, and then transmitted to the network device chip by the modules. The network device chip transmits information to the terminal device, which can be understood as that the information is first transmitted to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the network device, and then transmitted to the terminal device by the modules. The network device module here can be a baseband chip of the network device, or a DU or other module, and the DU here can be a DU under the open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture.

[0210] In the present application, entity A sending information to entity B can be A sending directly to B, or A sending indirectly to B through other entities. Similarly, entity B receiving information from entity A can be entity B receiving information sent by entity A directly, or entity B receiving information sent by entity A indirectly through other entities. Here, entity A and B can be network devices or terminal devices, or modules inside network devices or modules inside terminal devices. The sending and receiving of information can be the information interaction between network devices and terminal devices, or the information interaction between two network devices, such as the information interaction between CU and DU, or the information interaction between different modules in one device, such as the information interaction between a terminal device chip and other modules in the terminal device, or the information interaction between a network device chip and other modules in the network device.

[0211] It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0212] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer readable storage medium storing computer programs or instructions, which, when executed by a computer, can cause the computer to perform the above-mentioned communication method. In other words, the computer programs or instructions include the above-mentioned communication method.

[0213] The embodiments of the present application further provide a chip including a processor, which, when executing computer programs or instructions, is configured to implement the above-mentioned communication method. Optionally, the chip can further include a memory, and the chip can be composed of the chip or can include the chip and other discrete devices. The memory is configured to store computer programs or instructions.

[0214] The embodiments of the present application further provide a circuit configured to implement the above-mentioned communication method, and the circuit can include a chip circuit. Optionally, the circuit can be coupled with a memory.

[0215] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, including computer program codes or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, can cause the computer to perform the above-mentioned communication method.

[0216] The embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system, including a terminal device and a network device configured to perform the above-mentioned communication method.

[0217] 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 a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) (also known as a read-only optical disc), 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.

[0218] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When realized by software, all or part of the embodiments can be realized in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are executed. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a first control plane network element, user equipment, or other programmable devices. 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 by wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that integrates one or more available media. The available media can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; and a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state disk. The computer-readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile storage media.

[0219] In various embodiments of the present application, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referred to each other if there is no special description and logical conflict. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0220] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, represents "a singular noun or a plural noun", i.e. "one or more". "At least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. The "and / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, wherein A or B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents that the associated objects before and after it are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B represents A or B. "At least one of the following" or "one or more of the following" and the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b and (or) c, or one or more of a, b and (or) c, represents a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c. Each of a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0221] The ordinal numbers "first", "second", etc. mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish a plurality of objects, and are not used to limit the size, content, order, time sequence, priority or importance of the plurality of objects. Moreover, such names also do not represent the difference in the content, sending / receiving end, sending order, size, application scenario, priority or importance of the two pieces of information. In addition, the numbering of steps in each embodiment introduced in the present application is only for distinguishing different steps, and is not used to limit the order of the steps.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: Comprising: receiving first information and second information; wherein the first information is used to indicate a plurality of reference signal resources; the second information is used to indicate that the network device receives the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam, and / or the second information is used to indicate that the terminal device transmits the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams; based on the first information and the second information, transmitting the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams, the plurality of reference signal resources being used to determine a first beam of a terminal device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, Further comprising: receiving a first measurement result of part or all of the plurality of reference signal resources; determining the first beam based on the first measurement result; Or, receiving third information, the third information being used to indicate a first reference signal resource in the plurality of reference signal resources; determining the first beam based on the first reference signal resource.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein, The transmitting the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams comprises: transmitting the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams on different time domain units; or transmitting the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams on M time domain units; wherein M is less than K, and K is the number of the plurality of reference signal resources.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, A plurality of second reference signal resources transmitted on a first time domain unit correspond to different frequency domain units; wherein the first time domain unit belongs to the M time domain units, and the second reference signal resource belongs to the plurality of reference signal resources.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein Each reference signal resource in the plurality of reference signal resources comprises the same number of resource blocks; and / or each reference signal resource in the plurality of reference signal resources comprises the same number of ports.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein, The first information used to indicate a plurality of reference signal resources specifically comprises: The first information is used to indicate a reference signal resource set, and the reference signal resource set includes the plurality of reference signal resources.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein Further comprising: receiving fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate that the plurality of reference signal resources are used for beam management.

8. A communication method characterized by comprising: Comprising: transmitting first information and second information; wherein the first information is used to indicate a plurality of reference signal resources; the second information is used to indicate that the network device receives the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam, and / or the second information is used to indicate that the terminal device transmits the plurality of reference signal resources by using different beams; based on the first information and the second information, receiving the plurality of reference signal resources by using the same beam; the plurality of reference signal resources being used to determine a first beam of a terminal device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, Further comprising: measuring the plurality of reference signal resources to obtain a plurality of reference signal resource measurement results; transmitting a first measurement result of part or all of the plurality of reference signal resources, the first measurement result being used to determine the first beam; Or, measuring the plurality of reference signal resources to obtain a measurement result; determining a first reference signal resource in the plurality of reference signal resources based on the measurement result; transmit third information, the third information being used for indicating the first reference signal resource, the first reference signal resource being used for determining the first beam.

10. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein, The receiving the multiple reference signal resources by using the same beam comprises: receiving the multiple reference signal resources by using the same beam on different time domain units; or receiving the multiple reference signal resources by using the same beam on M time domain units; wherein the M is less than K, and the K is the number of the multiple reference signal resources.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, The multiple second reference signal resources received on a first time domain unit correspond to different frequency domain units; wherein the first time domain unit belongs to the M time domain units, and the second reference signal resource belongs to the multiple reference signal resources.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that, The multiple reference signal resources each comprise a same number of resource blocks; and / or, the multiple reference signal resources each comprise a same number of ports.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein, The first information is used for indicating the multiple reference signal resources, and specifically comprises: The first information is used for indicating a reference signal resource set, and the reference signal resource set comprises the multiple reference signal resources.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein, Further comprising: transmit fourth information, the fourth information being used for indicating that the multiple reference signal resources are used for beam management.

15. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises a module for performing the method according to any one of claims 1-7 or any one of claims 8-14.

16. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises a processor and a memory; The memory is configured to store computer programs or instructions; The processor is configured to execute part or all of the computer programs or instructions in the memory, and when the part or all of the computer programs or instructions are executed, the processor is configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-7 or any one of claims 8-14.

17. A chip system, characterized by The apparatus comprises a processor coupled with a memory; The memory is configured to store computer programs or instructions; The processor is configured to execute part or all of the computer programs or instructions in the memory, and when the part or all of the computer programs or instructions are executed, the processor is configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-7 or any one of claims 8-14.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or instructions are executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1-7 or any one of claims 8-14 is implemented.

19. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or instructions are run on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1-7 or any one of claims 8-14 is implemented.

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