Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a communication method and an apparatus. The method comprises: receiving first indication information, the first indication information being used for indicating N1 common indexes, and the N1 common indexes being used for indicating index values corresponding to projection coefficients reported by terminal devices in a first grid; on the basis of spatial domain basis information and / or frequency domain basis information, determining a first projection coefficient matrix, the first projection coefficient matrix comprising (N2*N3) projection coefficients, and N1 being less than (N2*N3); on the basis of the N1 common indexes and the first projection coefficient matrix, determining projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes in the first projection coefficient matrix; and sending the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes. The present application can indicate the selection of reported projection coefficients, thereby improving the accuracy of channel measurement at a low signal-to-noise ratio, improving the accuracy of channel reconstruction, and further improving user experience.

Description

Communication method and apparatus

[0001] This application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202411384033.0 filed on September 27, 2024, and entitled "Communication method and apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] With the further development of mobile communication technology, the contradiction between the increasing system bandwidth, the increasing number of terminal antennas, the increasing network load, the increasing dimension of wireless channel and the limited pilot measurement resource is increasingly serious, and the wireless channel is difficult to complete high-precision measurement. As a database, the channel map stores the channel characteristics based on the location information. By using the channel map to assist channel measurement, the channel measurement accuracy can be improved under the same overhead with the help of the environment prior information provided by the channel map.

[0004] Currently, the common process of channel map assisted downlink channel measurement is as follows: the network device obtains the space-frequency base of the current terminal device corresponding grid stored in the channel map, and periodically sends the space-frequency base to the terminal device, and periodically sends the pilot signal to the terminal device. The terminal device determines the projection coefficient matrix based on the received space-frequency base and pilot signal, and independently selects the projection coefficient to be reported according to the energy level. Finally, the terminal device reports the selected projection coefficient. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application proposes a communication method and apparatus, which can indicate the selection of the reported projection coefficient, improve the channel measurement accuracy under low signal-to-noise ratio, improve the channel reconstruction accuracy, and improve the user experience.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a terminal device, including can be executed by the terminal device, can be executed by a component (for example, a processor, a chip, a circuit, or a chip system, etc.) in the terminal device, or can be a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the terminal device function, the method includes: receiving first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate N1 common indexes, the N1 common indexes are used to indicate index values corresponding to projection coefficients reported by a terminal device in a first grid, wherein N1 is a positive integer greater than 0; determining a first projection coefficient matrix based on spatial domain basis information and / or frequency domain basis information, the first projection coefficient matrix includes (N2*N3) projection coefficients, the spatial domain basis information is used to indicate characteristics of a channel spatial beam, the frequency domain basis information is used to indicate characteristics of a channel delay, N2 and N3 are positive integers greater than 0, and N1 is less than (N2*N3); determining projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes in the first projection coefficient matrix based on the N1 common indexes and the first projection coefficient matrix; and sending the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes.

[0007] For example, the first grid is used as position information to indicate a certain determined area range, which is determined based on two-dimensional or three-dimensional grid level division of a physical cell.

[0008] For example, the terminal device in the first grid can include all terminal devices in the first grid, and the N1 common indexes are used to indicate index values corresponding to projection coefficients reported by all terminal devices in the first grid.

[0009] In the above method, the terminal device reports the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes by receiving the N1 common indexes. In a low signal-to-noise ratio, the N1 common indexes are provided by channel map information, which has high accuracy. Compared with the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device through self-selection, the interference of the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device through self-selection is effectively avoided in a low signal-to-noise ratio, thereby avoiding the case that the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device through self-selection are inaccurate, improving channel measurement accuracy in a low signal-to-noise ratio, improving channel reconstruction precision, and improving user experience.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the N1 common indexes are determined based on channel map information corresponding to the first grid.

[0011] Exemplarily, the channel map information can indicate the channels in the first grid and corresponding channel features. The channel map construction can be determined based on obtained high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio data. Optionally, the high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio data can be determined by electronic map calculation, or can be determined by power aggregation, or can be determined by obtaining from an operator roadside. Under low signal-to-noise ratio, the N1 common indexes are provided by the channel map information, and the accuracy is high.

[0012] Exemplarily, the N1 common indexes can be stored in the channel map information corresponding to the first grid.

[0013] In the above method, the channel map construction can obtain high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio data, determine the projection coefficient matrix of the channel under high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio state based on the channel features in the channel map information and the high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio data, select the indexes corresponding to the same part of the projection coefficient set with high energy in the projection coefficient matrix of the channel under each high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio state as common indexes, and the projection coefficient corresponding to the common index can better reflect the channel features and the channel state under low signal-to-noise ratio. The terminal device can effectively avoid the phenomenon of inaccurate selection of the projection coefficient under low signal-to-noise ratio by reporting the projection coefficient corresponding to the common index.

[0014] In another possible implementation, the first indication information further includes N4, the N4 representing the number of projection coefficients that need to be reported in the first projection coefficient matrix, wherein N1 is less than N4, and N4 is less than (N2*N3).

[0015] In the above method, the number of projection coefficients reported by the terminal device is used to determine the projection coefficients to be reported other than the projection coefficients corresponding to the common indexes, i.e., the projection coefficients corresponding to the non-common indexes, and the non-common projection coefficients are reported in combination with the projection coefficients corresponding to the common indexes, so that the state of the channel under the current state is more comprehensively reflected.

[0016] In another possible implementation, the method further includes: sorting (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients other than the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes in the first projection coefficient matrix according to the energy of the projection coefficients to determine (N2*N3-N1) sorted projection coefficients; selecting (N4-N1) projection coefficients with high energy from the (N2*N1-N1) sorted projection coefficients; and sending the (N4-N1) projection coefficients and indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients.

[0017] In the method, the (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients in the first projection coefficient matrix except the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes are sorted according to the energy, the (N4-N1) projection coefficients with high energy, i.e., the non-common projection coefficients to be reported, are determined, and compared with reporting all the projection coefficients, since the projection coefficients with high energy correspond to the main components or significant features in the channel, the selection of the partial projection coefficients with high energy for reporting can provide the main information of the channel state while reducing the overhead of the channel state feedback, and transmit as much channel state information as possible under the limited feedback resource.

[0018] In yet another possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving a reference signal; determining the channel state information based on the reference signal; and determining the first projection coefficient matrix based on the spatial domain basis information and / or the frequency domain basis information, including: determining the first projection coefficient matrix based on the spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information, and the channel state information.

[0019] In the method, by the above manner, the complex channel state information can be projected into the spatial domain basis and / or the frequency domain basis space, the key features of the channel state are represented by the projection coefficient matrix, the complex information is represented concisely, the overhead of the channel state feedback is reduced, and the system performance is improved.

[0020] In yet another possible implementation, the first projection coefficient matrix is determined based on the spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information, and the channel state information, including:

[0021] wherein C represents the first projection coefficient matrix, is a conjugate transpose matrix of W f , W f represents the frequency domain basis information, is a conjugate matrix of W s , W s represents the spatial domain basis information, and H represents the channel state information; or

[0022] wherein C represents the first projection coefficient matrix, is a conjugate transpose matrix of U sf , U sf represents the spatial domain basis information and the frequency domain basis information, and H represents the channel state information.

[0023] In the method, by the above manner, the complex channel state information is projected into the spatial domain basis and / or the frequency domain basis space, the features of the channel state are represented more concisely by the projection coefficient matrix, and the efficiency of the channel measurement is improved.

[0024] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a network device, can be executed by the network device, can be executed by a component (for example, a processor, a chip, a circuit, or a chip system, etc.) in the network device, or can be a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the function of the network device, and the method comprises the following steps: sending first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate N1 common indexes, the N1 common indexes are used to indicate index values corresponding to projection coefficients reported by a terminal device in a first grid, N1 is a positive integer greater than 0; receiving projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes, wherein the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes are determined based on the N1 common indexes and a first projection coefficient matrix, the first projection matrix is determined based on spatial domain basis information and / or frequency domain basis information, the first projection coefficient matrix includes (N2*N3) projection coefficients, the spatial domain basis information is used to indicate characteristics of a channel spatial beam, the frequency domain basis information is used to indicate characteristics of a channel delay, N2 and N3 are positive integers greater than 0, and N1 is less than (N2*N3).

[0025] For example, the first grid is used as position information to indicate a certain determined area range, and the certain determined area range is based on two-dimensional or three-dimensional grid-level division of a physical cell.

[0026] For example, the terminal device in the first grid can include all terminal devices in the first grid, and the N1 common indexes are used to indicate index values corresponding to projection coefficients reported by all terminal devices in the first grid.

[0027] In the above method, the network device indicates the terminal device to report projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes by issuing the N1 common indexes. In a low signal-to-noise ratio, the N1 common indexes are provided by channel map information, which has high accuracy. Compared with the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device through self-selection, the interference on the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device through self-selection is effectively avoided in a low signal-to-noise ratio, so as to avoid the case that the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device through self-selection are inaccurate, improve channel measurement accuracy in a low signal-to-noise ratio, improve channel reconstruction precision, and improve user experience.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the method further comprises: receiving the N1 common indexes.

[0029] In another possible implementation, the N1 common indexes are determined based on channel map information corresponding to the first grid.

[0030] Exemplarily, the channel map information can indicate the channels in the first grid and corresponding channel features. The channel map construction can be determined based on obtained high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio data. Optionally, the high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio data can be determined by electronic map calculation, or can be determined by power aggregation, or can be determined by obtaining from an operator roadside. Under low signal-to-noise ratio, the N1 common indexes are provided by the channel map information, and the accuracy is high.

[0031] Exemplarily, the N1 common indexes can be stored in the channel map information corresponding to the first grid.

[0032] In the above method, the channel map construction can obtain high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio data, determine the projection coefficient matrix of the channel under high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio state based on the channel features in the channel map information and the high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio data, select the indexes corresponding to the same part of the projection coefficient set with high energy in the projection coefficient matrix of the channel under each high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio state as the common indexes, and the projection coefficient corresponding to the common index can better reflect the channel features and the channel state under low signal-to-noise ratio. The terminal device can effectively avoid the phenomenon of inaccurate selection of the projection coefficient under low signal-to-noise ratio by reporting the projection coefficient corresponding to the common index.

[0033] In another possible implementation, the first indication information further includes N4, the N4 representing the number of projection coefficients that need to be reported in the first projection coefficient matrix, wherein N1 is less than N4, and N4 is less than (N2*N3).

[0034] In the above method, the number of projection coefficients reported by the terminal device is used to determine the projection coefficients other than the projection coefficient corresponding to the common index, i.e., the non-common projection coefficient, and the non-common projection coefficient is reported in combination with the projection coefficient corresponding to the common index, so as to more comprehensively reflect the state of the channel under the current state.

[0035] In another possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving (N4-N1) projection coefficients and indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients, the (N4-N1) projection coefficients being the projection coefficients with high energy in (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients, and the (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients being determined based on sorting the projection coefficients other than the projection coefficient corresponding to the N1 common indexes in the first projection coefficient matrix according to the energy of the projection coefficients.

[0036] In the method, the (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients except the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes in the first projection coefficient matrix are sorted according to the energy, the (N4-N1) projection coefficients with high energy, i.e., the non-common projection coefficients to be reported, are determined, and compared with reporting all the projection coefficients, since the projection coefficients with high energy correspond to the main components or significant features in the channel, the selection of the partial projection coefficients with high energy for reporting can provide the main information of the channel state while reducing the overhead of the channel state feedback, and transmit as much channel state information as possible under the limited feedback resource.

[0037] In yet another possible implementation, the method further includes: transmitting a reference signal used for determining the channel state information; the first projection coefficient matrix is determined based on the spatial domain basis information and / or the frequency domain basis information, including: the first projection coefficient matrix is determined based on the spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information and the channel state information.

[0038] In the method, by the above manner, the complex channel state information can be projected into the spatial domain basis and / or the frequency domain basis space, the key features of the channel state are represented by the projection coefficient matrix, the complex information is simplified, the overhead of the channel state feedback is reduced, and the system performance is improved.

[0039] In yet another possible implementation, the first projection coefficient matrix is determined based on the spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information and the channel state information, including:

[0040] Wherein, C represents the first projection coefficient matrix, is the conjugate transpose matrix of W f , W f represents the frequency domain basis information, is the conjugate matrix of W s , W s represents the spatial domain basis information, and H represents the channel state information; or

[0041] Wherein, C represents the first projection coefficient matrix, is the conjugate transpose matrix of U sf , U sf represents the spatial domain basis information and the frequency domain basis information, and H represents the channel state information.

[0042] In the method, by the above manner, the complex channel state information is projected into the spatial domain basis and / or the frequency domain basis space, the features of the channel state are more simply represented by the projection coefficient matrix, and the efficiency of the channel measurement is improved.

[0043] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a core network device, and includes the following steps: determining N1 common indexes, the N1 common indexes being used to indicate index values corresponding to projection coefficients reported by a terminal device in a first grid, wherein N1 is a positive integer greater than 0; and sending the N1 common indexes.

[0044] For example, the first grid is used as position information to indicate a certain determined area range, and the certain determined area range is based on two-dimensional or three-dimensional grid-level division of a physical cell.

[0045] For example, the terminal device in the first grid can include all terminal devices in the first grid, and the N1 common indexes are used to indicate index values corresponding to projection coefficients reported by all terminal devices in the first grid.

[0046] In the above method, the core network device sends the N1 common indexes to a network device, thereby indicating that the terminal device reports projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes. Compared with the terminal device independently selecting reported projection coefficients, the phenomenon of inaccurate selection of projection coefficients in a low signal-to-noise ratio condition is effectively avoided, the accuracy of channel measurement in a low signal-to-noise ratio condition is improved, the channel reconstruction precision is improved, and user experience is improved.

[0047] In a possible implementation manner, the N1 common indexes are determined based on channel map information corresponding to the first grid.

[0048] For example, the channel map information can indicate channels in the first grid and corresponding channel characteristics. The channel map can be determined based on obtained high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio data when the channel map is constructed. Optionally, the high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio data can be determined by electronic map calculation, or can be determined by power aggregation, or can be determined by acquisition from an operator roadside. In a low signal-to-noise ratio condition, the N1 common indexes are provided by the channel map information, and the accuracy is high.

[0049] For example, the N1 common indexes can be stored in channel map information corresponding to the first grid.

[0050] In the method, the channel map is constructed to obtain data with high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio, the projection coefficient matrix of the channel in a high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio state is determined based on the channel characteristics in the channel map information and the data with high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio, the same part of the projection coefficient set with high energy in the projection coefficient matrix of the channel in each high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio state is selected as the index corresponding to the common index, the projection coefficient corresponding to the common index can better reflect the channel characteristics and the channel state in a low signal-to-noise ratio case, and the core network device sends the N1 common indexes to the network device, so that the terminal device reports the projection coefficient corresponding to the common index, which can effectively avoid the inaccurate selection of the projection coefficient in a low signal-to-noise ratio case.

[0051] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which can be a terminal device, a component (for example, a processor, a chip, a circuit, or a chip system) in the terminal device, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus can include a module or unit or means corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect, which can be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus includes a processing unit and a transceiver unit. The transceiver unit is configured to receive first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate N1 common indexes, the N1 common indexes are used to indicate the index values corresponding to the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device in a first grid, and N1 is a positive integer greater than 0. The processing unit is configured to determine a first projection coefficient matrix, where the first projection matrix is determined based on spatial basis information and / or frequency basis information, the first projection coefficient matrix includes (N2*N3) projection coefficients, the spatial basis information is used to indicate the characteristics of the channel spatial beam, the frequency basis information is used to indicate the characteristics of the channel delay, N2 and N3 are positive integers greater than 0, and N1 is less than (N2*N3). The processing unit is configured to determine the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes in the first projection coefficient matrix, where the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes are determined based on the N1 common indexes and the first projection coefficient matrix. The transceiver unit is configured to send the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the N1 common indexes are determined based on the channel map information corresponding to the first grid.

[0055] In a further possible implementation, the first indication information further comprises N4, the N4 representing a number of projection coefficients in the first projection coefficient matrix that need to be reported, wherein the N1 is less than the N4, and the N4 is less than (N2*N3).

[0056] In a further possible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to determine (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients in the first projection coefficient matrix other than the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common index pairs according to energy levels of the projection coefficients, to determine (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients after sorting; the processing unit is further configured to select (N4-N1) projection coefficients with high energy from the (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients after sorting; and the transceiver is further configured to send the (N4-N1) projection coefficients and indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients.

[0057] In a further possible implementation, the transceiver is further configured to receive a reference signal; the processing unit is further configured to determine channel state information based on the reference signal; and the processing unit is further configured to determine the first projection coefficient matrix based on the spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information, and the channel state information.

[0058] In a further possible implementation, the first projection coefficient matrix is determined based on the spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information, and the channel state information, comprising:

[0059] wherein C represents the first projection coefficient matrix, is a conjugate transpose matrix of W f , W f represents the frequency domain basis information, is a conjugate matrix of W s , W s represents the spatial domain basis information, and H represents the channel state information; or

[0060] wherein C represents the first projection coefficient matrix, is a conjugate transpose matrix of U sf , U sf represents the spatial domain basis information and the frequency domain basis information, and H represents the channel state information.

[0061] As to the technical effects brought by the fourth aspect or possible implementation, reference can be made to the introduction of the technical effects of the first aspect or corresponding implementation.

[0062] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which can be a network device, a component (for example, a processor, a chip, a circuit, or a chip system) in the network device, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the network device functions.

[0063] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus can include a module or unit or means corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the second aspect, which can be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0064] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus includes a processing unit and a transceiver unit, the transceiver unit is configured to send first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate N1 common indexes, the N1 common indexes are used to indicate index values corresponding to projection coefficients reported by a terminal device in a first grid, where N1 is a positive integer greater than 0; and the transceiver unit is configured to receive projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes, the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes are determined based on the N1 common indexes and a first projection coefficient matrix, the first projection matrix is determined based on spatial domain basis information and / or frequency domain basis information, the first projection coefficient matrix includes (N2*N3) projection coefficients, the spatial domain basis information is used to indicate characteristics of a channel spatial beam, the frequency domain basis information is used to indicate characteristics of a channel delay, N2 and N3 are positive integers greater than 0, and N1 is less than (N2*N3).

[0065] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive the N1 common indexes.

[0066] In another possible implementation, the N1 common indexes are determined based on channel map information corresponding to the first grid.

[0067] In another possible implementation, the first indication information further includes N4, the N4 represents a number of projection coefficients that need to be reported in the first projection coefficient matrix, where N1 is less than N4, and N4 is less than (N2*N3).

[0068] In another possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive (N4-N1) projection coefficients and indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients, the (N4-N1) projection coefficients are (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients with high energy, and the (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients are determined based on sorting other projection coefficients in the first projection coefficient matrix except the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes according to energy levels of the projection coefficients.

[0069] In a further possible implementation, the transceiver is further configured to transmit a reference signal, the reference signal being used to determine channel state information; and the first projection coefficient matrix is determined based on the spatial basis information, the frequency basis information, and the channel state information.

[0070] In a further possible implementation, the first projection coefficient matrix is determined based on the spatial basis information, the frequency basis information, and the channel state information, and includes:

[0071] where C represents the first projection coefficient matrix, is a conjugate transpose matrix of W f , W f represents the frequency basis information, is a conjugate matrix of W s , W s represents the spatial basis information, and H represents the channel state information; or

[0072] where C represents the first projection coefficient matrix, is a conjugate transpose matrix of U sf , U sf represents the spatial basis information and the frequency basis information, and H represents the channel state information.

[0073] As to the technical effects brought by the fifth aspect or possible implementation, reference can be made to the introduction of the technical effects of the second aspect or corresponding implementation.

[0074] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which can be a core network device, or a component (for example, a processor, a chip, a circuit, or a chip system, etc.) in the core network device, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the core network device functions.

[0075] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus can include a module or unit or means corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the third aspect, which can be a hardware circuit, or software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0076] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus includes a processing unit and a transceiver, the processing unit being configured to determine N1 common indexes, the N1 common indexes being used to indicate index values corresponding to the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device in the first grid, where N1 is a positive integer greater than 0; and the transceiver being configured to transmit the N1 common indexes.

[0077] In a possible implementation, the N1 common indexes are determined based on channel map information corresponding to the first grid.

[0078] As to the technical effects brought by the sixth aspect or possible implementation, refer to the introduction of the technical effects of the third aspect or corresponding implementation.

[0079] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which comprises at least one processor, and the at least one processor invokes a computer program or instruction stored in a memory to execute the method of the first aspect or possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0080] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further comprises a memory and a communication interface. Optionally, the memory and the processor are integrated together.

[0081] In a possible implementation, the memory is located outside the communication apparatus.

[0082] In the eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which comprises at least one processor, and the at least one processor invokes a computer program or instruction stored in a memory to execute the method of the second aspect or possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0083] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further comprises a memory and a communication interface. Optionally, the memory and the processor are integrated together.

[0084] In a possible implementation, the memory is located outside the communication apparatus.

[0085] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which comprises at least one processor, and the at least one processor invokes a computer program or instruction stored in a memory to execute the method of the third aspect or possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0086] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further comprises a memory and a communication interface. Optionally, the memory and the processor are integrated together.

[0087] In a possible implementation, the memory is located outside the communication apparatus.

[0088] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip apparatus, which comprises at least one processor, and the at least one processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction to implement the method of any one of the aspects or possible implementation of any one of the aspects.

[0089] In a possible implementation manner, the input of the chip device corresponds to the receiving operation in any one of the aspects or the possible implementation manners in any one of the aspects, and the output of the chip device corresponds to the sending operation in any one of the aspects or the possible implementation manners in any one of the aspects.

[0090] Optionally, the processor is coupled with the memory through an interface.

[0091] Optionally, the chip device further includes a memory, and the memory stores the computer program or the instruction.

[0092] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip device, including a processor and a memory, and the memory stores a computer program or an instruction.

[0093] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, and the computer program product includes a computer program or an instruction.

[0094] In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, and the communication system includes the device of the seventh aspect, the device of the eighth aspect, and the device of the ninth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0095] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0096] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of signaling interaction according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0097] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0098] FIG. 4 is an example diagram of an ORAN system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0099] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a common architecture of a radio access network chip according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0100] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a channel map;

[0101] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a process of acquiring downlink channel state information;

[0102] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a storage format of a channel map;

[0103] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a map-based deterministic construction of a channel map;

[0104] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a process of channel map-assisted downlink channel measurement;

[0105] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0106] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of another channel map storage format according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0107] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0108] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0109] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a structure of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0110] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, but not all the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, any other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0111] In the present application, the reference to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" means that the specific features, structures or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment are included in one or more embodiments of the present application. Therefore, the statements "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in other some embodiments", "in further some embodiments" and the like appearing in different places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "include", "contain", "have" and their variants mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0112] In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " means "or", for example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in the present application is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can mean that A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. In addition, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or the like means any combination of the items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can mean a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0113] The embodiments of the present application can be applied to wireless communication between communication devices, which can include wireless communication between a network device and a terminal, wireless communication between network devices, and wireless communication between terminals. The communication devices perform wireless communication by using air interface resources, which can include at least one of time domain resources, frequency domain resources, code resources, and space resources. In the embodiments of the present application, the term "wireless communication" can also be referred to as "communication", and the term "communication" can also be described as "data transmission", "information transmission", or "transmission".

[0114] It can be understood that, in the present application, "indication" can include direct indication, indirect indication, display indication, and implicit indication. When it is described that certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0115] In the present application, the information indicated by the indication information is referred to as to-be-indicated information. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the to-be-indicated information, for example, but not limited to, the to-be-indicated information can be directly indicated, such as the to-be-indicated information itself or an index of the to-be-indicated information, or the to-be-indicated information can be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where the other information and the to-be-indicated information have an association relationship. Only a part of the to-be-indicated information can be indicated, and the other part of the to-be-indicated information is known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of a specific information can also be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (for example, a protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent.

[0116] The to-be-indicated information can be sent as a whole, or can be sent separately into multiple sub-information, and the sending period and / or sending occasion of the sub-information can be the same or different. The specific sending method is not limited in the present application. The sending period and / or sending occasion of the sub-information can be pre-defined, for example, pre-defined according to a protocol, or configured by a transmitting end device by sending configuration information to a receiving end device.

[0117] It can be understood that "sending" and "receiving" in the present application represent the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to XX" can be understood as that the destination of the information is XX, which can include direct sending through an air interface, or indirect sending through an air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from YY" can be understood as that the source of the information is YY, which can include direct receiving from YY through an air interface, or indirect receiving from YY through an air interface from other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as "output" of a chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as "input" of a chip interface.

[0118] In other words, the sending and receiving can be between devices, such as between a network device and a terminal device, or can be within a device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within a device, through a bus, a wire or an interface.

[0119] It can be understood that the information can be processed, such as encoding and modulation, between the source and the destination of the information sending, and the destination can understand the effective information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly, and will not be repeated.

[0120] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) related cellular communication system, for example, a 4th generation (4G) communication system, such as a long term evolution (LTE) communication system, and can also be applied to a 5th generation (5G) communication system, such as a 5G new radio (NR) communication system, or to various future communication systems and future communication networks. The method provided by the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to a Bluetooth system, a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a LoRa system or a vehicle-to-vehicle system, a communication system supporting multiple wireless technology fusion, a device-to-device (D2D) system. The method provided by the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to a satellite communication system, which can be integrated with the above communication systems. The wireless communication system involved in the present application also includes but is not limited to: a narrow band-internet of things (NB-IoT) system, a global system for mobile communications (GSM) system, an enhanced data rate for GSM evolution (EDGE) system, a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, a code division multiple access (CDMA2000) system or a time division-synchronization code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) system.

[0121] Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application. The application scenario used in the present application is described by taking the communication system architecture shown in FIG. 1 as an example. The communication system includes a terminal device, a network device, and a core network device. The terminal device can be any one of the terminal devices described below, the network device can be any one of the network devices described below, and the core network device is mainly responsible for access control, registration management, service management, mobility management, and the like of terminal device access to the network. The core network device can include an access and mobility management (AMF) network element and a map management (MMF) network element. Optionally, the MMF network element can also be referred to as a location management (LMF) network element.

[0122] Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a signaling interaction schematic diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2, the core network device includes an AMF network element and an MMF network element, the network device includes a physical layer (PHY) signaling and data interaction module, a medium access control (MAC) signaling interaction module, and a radio resource control (RRC) signaling interaction module, and the terminal device includes a physical layer (PHY) signaling and data interaction module, a medium access control (MAC) signaling interaction module, and a radio resource control (RRC) signaling interaction module. The PHY signaling and data interaction modules in the network device and the terminal device are used to send and receive uplink / downlink control signaling and uplink / downlink data between the two, the MAC signaling interaction modules in the network device and the terminal device are used to send and receive MAC-CE signaling between the two, and the RRC signaling interaction modules in the network device and the terminal device are used to send and receive RRC signaling between the two. The network device communicates with the AMF network element through an NG-C interface, the AMF network element serves as a router for communication between the network device and the MMF network element, the MMF network element completes map construction, and the AMF network element communicates with the MMF network element through an NLs interface. The communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application can be applied in the communication system described in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2.

[0123] When an entity in a certain communication system needs to send transmission direction indication information, another entity needs to receive the indication information, and the transmission direction in a certain time is determined according to the indication information, the communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application can be applied in the communication system.

[0124] Please refer to FIG. 3, which is another schematic diagram of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application. The network device, the core network device and the terminal devices 1-6 form a communication system 1. In the communication system 1, the terminal devices 1-6 can send uplink data to the network device, and the network device directly receives the uplink data from the terminal devices 1-6. The terminal devices 4-6 can also form a communication system 2. In the communication system 2, the network device can send downlink information to the terminal device 5, and the terminal device 5 can send downlink information to the terminal devices 4 and 6. In the communication system, the network device and the core network device can also transmit data. The communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application can be applied in the communication system described in FIG. 3.

[0125] It should be noted that the apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application can be applied to a terminal device, a network device or a core network device. It can be understood that FIG. 1, FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 only shows one possible communication system architecture to which the embodiments of the present application can be applied, and other devices can also be included in the communication system architecture in other possible scenarios.

[0126] (1) terminal device, a kind of entity for receiving or transmitting signal on user side, also can be called user equipment (user equipment, UE), mobile station (mobile station, MS), mobile terminal (mobile terminal, MT) etc., is a kind of equipment to provide voice or data connectivity to user, specifically, including the equipment to provide voice to user, or including the equipment to provide data connectivity to user, or including the equipment to provide voice and data connectivity to user. For example, it can include handheld device with wireless connection function or processing equipment connected to wireless modem. The terminal device can communicate with core network via radio access network (radio access network, RAN), exchange voice or data with RAN, or interact voice and data with RAN. At present, terminal device can be: mobile phone, tablet computer, notebook computer, palm computer, mobile internet device (mobile internet device, MID), wearable device (such as smart watch, smart bracelet, pedometer etc.), device deployed in air with wireless transceiver function (such as balloon), vehicle-mounted device (such as car, bicycle, electric vehicle, aircraft, ship, train, high-speed rail etc.), virtual reality (virtual reality, VR) equipment, augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) equipment, wireless terminal in industrial control, smart home equipment (such as refrigerator, television, air conditioner, electric meter etc.), intelligent robot, workshop equipment, wireless terminal in unmanned driving, wireless terminal in remote surgery, wireless terminal in smart grid, wireless terminal in transport safety, wireless terminal in smart city, or wireless terminal in smart home, flight equipment (such as intelligent robot, hot air balloon, unmanned aerial vehicle, aircraft) etc. Terminal device can also be other terminal function devices, for example, terminal device can also be terminal function device in D2D communication.The terminal device can also include a vehicle to everything (V2X) terminal device, a machine to machine / machine-type communications (M2M / MTC) terminal device, an internet of things (IoT) terminal device, a light terminal device, a reduced capability UE (REDCAP UE), a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote station, an access point (AP), a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a user agent, or a user device, a drone device, etc. For example, it can include a mobile phone (or called "cellular" phone), a computer with a mobile terminal device, a portable, pocket, handheld, built-in computer mobile device, etc. For example, personal communication service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc. It also includes limited devices, such as devices with lower power consumption, or devices with limited storage capacity, or devices with limited computing capacity, etc. For example, it includes information sensing devices such as bar code, radio frequency identification (RFID), sensor, global positioning system (GPS), laser scanner, etc. In this application, the terminal device with wireless transceiver function and the chip that can be provided in the terminal device are collectively referred to as terminal device.

[0127] It should be noted that the terminal device can be a device or apparatus with a chip, or a device or apparatus integrated with a circuit, or a chip, module or control unit in the above-mentioned device or apparatus, and the specific application is not limited.

[0128] (2) The network device is an entity on the network side for transmitting or receiving signals, and is a device deployed in a wireless access network to provide wireless communication functions for terminal devices. The network device can also be referred to as an access network (RAN) entity, an access node, a network node, or a communication apparatus, etc.

[0129] Specifically, the network device can be an access network device of a third generation partnership project (3GPP) related cellular system. For example, a fourth generation (4G) mobile communication system, or a 5G mobile communication system. The network device can also be an access network device in an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN) or a cloud radio access network (CRAN). Alternatively, the network device can also be an access network device in a communication system obtained by fusing two or more of the above communication systems.

[0130] The network device includes, but is not limited to, an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (for example, a home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a macro base station, a micro base station, a wireless relay node, a donor node, a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP), or a transmission and receiving point (TRP). The network device can also be an access network device in a 5G mobile communication system. For example, a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a new radio (NR) system, a TRP, a TP, or one or a group (including multiple antenna panels) of antenna panels of a base station in a 5G mobile communication system. Alternatively, the network device can also be a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point. For example, a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can be included in the same network element. For example, a BBU. The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit. For example, in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). Alternatively, the network device can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, in V2X technology, the network device can be a road side unit (RSU).

[0131] It should be noted that 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 an open centralized unit (O-CU) or an open CU, the DU can also be referred to as an open distributed unit (O-DU), the centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) can also be referred to as an open centralized unit control plane (O-CU-CP) or an open CU-CP, the centralized unit user plane (CU-UP) can also be referred to as an open centralized unit user plane (O-CU-UP) or an open CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as an open radio unit (O-RU), which is not limited in the present application. Any one of the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU in the present application can be realized by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0132] In some deployments, the CU implements part of the functions of the gNB, and the DU implements part of the functions of the gNB, for example, the CU implements the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, and the DU implements the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer and the physical (PHY) layer. Since the information of the RRC layer will eventually become the information of the PHY layer, or be transformed from the information of the PHY layer, under this architecture, high-layer signaling such as RRC layer signaling or PDCP layer signaling can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or sent by the DU+RU. 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 a network device in the access network RAN, or the CU can be divided into a network device in the core network CN, which is not limited here.

[0133] Please refer to FIG. 4, which is an example diagram of an ORAN system provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4, an access network device communicates with a core network through a backhaul link and communicates with a terminal device through an air interface. Specifically, a baseband unit (BBU) in the access network device communicates with the core network through the backhaul link, and a radio unit (RU) in the access network device communicates with at least one terminal device through the air interface. The BBU communicates with at least one RU through a fronthaul link. The BBU and the RU can be co-located or not co-located. The BBU includes at least one control unit (CU) and at least one distributed unit (DU), which can communicate through at least one midhaul link.

[0134] When the CU implements logical nodes of a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, and other control functions, the CU is connected to network nodes such as a core network through some interfaces, which can be E2 interfaces or the like.

[0135] When the CU has part of the functions of the core network, the CU (e.g., a PDCP layer and higher layers) is connected to a DU (e.g., an RLC layer and lower layers) through some interfaces, which can be F1 interfaces or the like. In some examples, these interfaces (e.g., F1 interfaces) 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.). F1AP is an application protocol of the F1 interface, which defines signaling procedures of the F1 in some examples. The F1 interface supports a control plane F1-C and a user plane F1-U.

[0136] The CU can be split into a CU-CP and a CU-UP, where the CU-CP is a logical node carrying the RRC layer and the PDCP control plane part of PDCP (PDCP-C) layer, used to implement the control plane function of the CU, and the CU-CP can interact with a network element in the core network for implementing the control plane function, which can be an access and mobility function network element, such as an access and mobility management (AMF) network element in a 5G system, which is used to be responsible for mobility management in a mobile network, such as location update of a terminal device, registration network of the terminal device, handover of the terminal device, etc.; the CU-UP is a logical node carrying the SDAP layer and the PDCP user plane part of PDCP (PDCP-U) layer, used to implement the user plane function of the CU, and the CU-UP can interact with a network element in the core network for implementing the user plane function, which can be a user plane function (UPF) network element in a 5G system, which is used to be responsible for forwarding and receiving data in a terminal device.

[0137] The DU is a logical node carrying a radio link control (RLC) layer, a multimedia access control (MAC) layer, a higher physical layer (Higher PHY) layer, and other functions. The DU can control at least one RU, and the DU is connected to the RU through some interfaces, which can be a front-haul interface. The Higher PHY layer includes parts of PHY layer processing, such as forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.

[0138] The RU is a logical node carrying a lower physical layer (Lower PHY) and radio frequency (RF) processing. The 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 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.

[0139] 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 manners 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.

[0140] 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 control, user and synchronization (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.

[0141] The above configurations of the CU and the DU are merely examples, and the CU and the DU can be configured to have functions according to requirements. 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 an RLC layer and functions of protocol layers above the RLC layer are arranged in the CU, and 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 service types or other system requirements, for example, according to time delays. Functions that require to meet a relatively small time delay requirement in processing time are arranged in the DU, and functions that do not require to meet the time delay requirement are arranged in the CU.

[0142] It should be noted that the network device can be the device or apparatus shown in the above examples, or a component (for example, a chip), a module, or a unit in the device or apparatus, and the specific application does not make any limitation.

[0143] Please refer to FIG. 5, which is a schematic diagram of a common architecture of a radio access network (RAN) chip according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 5, the chip architecture is divided into CU, DU and RU. The CU is a platform that performs upper-layer L2 and L3 functions, L2 includes MAC layer, RLC layer and PDCP layer, and L3 includes RRC layer. The Midhaul interface and the Backhaul interface are used to carry traffic between the CU and the DU and between the CU and the core network. The DU performs L1 and part of L2 functions, and the RU performs L1 computation and RF digital part functions. L1 includes the PHY layer. The Fronthaul interface and the Backhaul interface are used to carry traffic between the RU and the DU and between the CU and the DU. The integrated DU includes the functions of the DU and the RU described above.

[0144] The CU / DU hardware includes a chassis platform, a mainboard, peripherals and cooling equipment. The mainboard contains a processing unit, memory, internal I / O interface and external connection port. The hardware accelerator is designed with an interface, and the hardware function components include storage of software, hardware and system debugging interface, and a single-board management controller.

[0145] The DU system is usually implemented using a multi-core processor and one or more hardware accelerators. Part of the DU protocol stack can be implemented in software running on the multi-core processor, and the computation-intensive L1 and L2 functions can be offloaded to a hardware accelerator based on FPGA / GPU; or all L1 functions are offloaded to a hardware accelerator based on FPGA / GPU, while other protocol stack contents are implemented in software running on the processor; or all the protocol stack is implemented in software running on the processor. The hardware accelerator supports interconnection with an x86 or non-x86 processor. Similarly, the accelerator has a multi-channel PCIe interface pointing to the CPU and is externally connected through GbE connection.

[0146] The RU includes three parts: an O-RAN processing unit (OPU), a digital processing unit (DPU) of the O-RU, and an RF processing unit of the O-RU. The OPU receives eCPRI frames from O-RAN fronthaul and performs fronthaul interface, the lowest layer L1 (encoding, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, precoding), synchronization, beamforming, and resource unit mapping. The OPU can be implemented as a CPU, FPGA, or Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). The DPU performs synchronization, DDC (digital down conversion in UL), DUC (digital up conversion in DL), CFR, and DPD to improve power amplifier efficiency by reducing PAPR / ACLR of the RF front end; the DPU can be implemented as an FPGA or an ASIC. The RF processing unit of the O-RU includes a transceiver module, an up / down converter, a power amplifier (PA), a low-noise amplifier (LNA), a Tx / Rx filter. All conversions between the analog domain and the digital domain (digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) and analog-to-digital conversion (ADC)) (for example, frequency conversion using RF, IF, and LO mixing in upconversion and downconversion in RF sampling) are performed within the transceiver module. The physical and logical partitions within the RF processing unit do not require specific boundaries.

[0147] In order to better understand the scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application, the following will first introduce some terms, concepts or processes related to the embodiments of the present application.

[0148] (1) Channel map: defined as a database for storing channel characteristics based on location information, i.e., a grid, which includes grid-related scatterer information, channel statistical covariance matrix, angle spectrum, time delay spectrum, and path loss. Please refer to FIG. 6, which is a schematic diagram of a channel map. The physical cell is divided into two-dimensional or three-dimensional grid levels, and each grid point stores several channel characteristics in the form of a matrix, a vector, or a scalar.

[0149] (2) Space-frequency basis: including basis vectors for describing the spatial (spatial domain) and frequency (frequency domain) characteristics in a wireless communication system. It is a set of basis vectors constructed by jointly considering the propagation characteristics of signals in both spatial and frequency dimensions, used to analyze and describe the space-frequency characteristics of signals in a multi-antenna system (such as a MIMO system), such as a spatial domain basis that can reflect the characteristics of a channel spatial beam, and a frequency domain basis that can reflect the characteristics of a channel time delay.

[0150] (3) Projection coefficient: including the link between the channel state characteristics and a specific basis vector such as a spatial basis and / or a frequency basis, which is a coefficient obtained by projecting the channel state characteristics on a specific basis vector, reflecting the composition or contribution of the channel in the direction of the basis vector, such as the projection coefficient on the frequency basis, which can reflect the characteristics of the channel at different frequencies, and the projection coefficient on the spatial basis, which can reflect the strength of the channel in different antenna array directions in the MIMO system, helping to identify the signal distribution in space.

[0151] In current wireless communication systems, obtaining downlink channel state information (CSI) is an important task, especially in multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) technology. In a MIMO system, the network device can determine the propagation path of the signal in space, i.e., the channel characteristics, according to the CSI, design a better beamforming vector to concentrate the signal energy in the direction of the target user, or when serving multiple users, distinguish the channel characteristics of each user according to the CSI to avoid interference between users, i.e., the network device can obtain channel state adaptive adjustment parameters according to the CSI, and complete the corresponding adjustment through signal precoding to improve signal strength and communication quality and improve user experience.

[0152] In a time division duplex (TDD) system, the network device can obtain the downlink CSI according to the channel reciprocity, i.e., estimate the downlink channel by transmitting uplink SRS pilot data. As the number of users increases and the load continues to increase, the SRS resource is insufficient in a large bandwidth scenario, and the channel aging phenomenon, i.e., the channel state information gradually invalidates or becomes inaccurate over time, is serious.

[0153] In a frequency division duplex (FDD) system, due to the large frequency interval between the uplink and downlink channels, the uplink channel and the downlink channel do not satisfy the direct reciprocity relationship, and the network device cannot use the uplink channel information to make accurate downlink precoding, but needs the terminal device to feed back the downlink channel CSI to the network device. As shown in FIG. 7, the network device first needs to send signaling for channel measurement configuration, informing the terminal device of the time and behavior of channel measurement, then the network device sends pilot for channel measurement to the terminal device, the terminal device measures according to the pilot sent by the network device, calculates the final CSI feedback quantity, and feeds back the downlink CSI to the network device, and finally the network device sends data according to the CSI fed back by the terminal device.

[0154] However, with the further development of mobile communication technology, the contradiction between the increasing bandwidth of communication system, the increasing number of terminal antennas, the increasing load of network, the increasing dimension of wireless channel and the limited pilot measurement resource is increasingly serious, which leads to great challenges for high-precision measurement of wireless channel. Accurate measurement of wireless channel is the cornerstone of mobile communication network research, and is crucial for the design, analysis and optimization of wireless communication network. Channel map can provide prior information of environment and increase the precision of channel measurement under the same pilot overhead. Please refer to FIG. 8, which is a schematic diagram of a channel map storage format. As shown in FIG. 8, the channel map stores the identity document (ID) of each cell where the grid is located, the grid ID, the grid coordinates, the grid associated scatterer ID and the channel characteristics corresponding to the grid, such as the space-frequency base.

[0155] The traditional channel map construction method is to construct a database based on historical data, and to establish the mapping relationship between the location information and the channel characteristics. Considering the limited historical measurement data, the channel characteristics of unknown locations are often completed by interpolation method based on the channel characteristics of known locations, so as to obtain the channel map of the entire cell. With the development of digital twin technology, the channel map can be obtained through channel twin technology, that is, a deterministic channel modeling scheme based on a map. As shown in FIG. 9, by combining the prior environmental map, the reflection, diffraction and scattering characteristics of communication multipath are simulated by using electromagnetic simulation calculation, so as to obtain the deterministic channel for constructing the channel map.

[0156] Please refer to FIG. 10, which is a flowchart of channel map assisted downlink channel measurement. As shown in FIG. 10, the network device obtains the space-frequency base of the grid corresponding to the physical cell where the terminal device is located. The network device downlink long period to the terminal device the space-frequency base of the grid, and downlink short period sparse channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS). After receiving the sparse CSI-RS, the terminal device calculates the projection coefficient and reports it short period, and updates the space-frequency base column index value and reports it long period.

[0157] Taking the above channel map assisted downlink channel measurement as an example, the terminal device calculates corresponding projection coefficients based on the grid-based space-frequency base and the sparse CSI-RS. Since the space-frequency base provided by the channel map is at the grid level, the space-frequency base contains more features, that is, the number of columns of the space-frequency base is large, and the number of projection coefficients obtained by calculation is large. For example, if the number of columns of the space-frequency base is 32 and the number of columns of the frequency domain base is 32, the projection coefficients obtained based on the space-frequency base are 1024. If all the projection coefficients are reported, the reporting amount is large and the resource consumption is large. Therefore, the terminal device selects part of the projection coefficients with high energy for reporting, reduces the reporting amount, and reduces the resource consumption. However, when the channel signal-to-noise ratio is low, the interference received by the projection coefficients selected by the terminal device for reporting is relatively large, thereby causing the accuracy of the projection coefficients selected by the terminal device for reporting according to the energy to be low, and further affecting the reconstruction accuracy of the channel. In order to solve the above problem, the embodiments of the present application propose the following solutions.

[0158] Referring to FIG. 11, FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, which includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0159] Step S1101: The network device sends first indication information.

[0160] For example, the network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device can receive the first indication information from the network device. The first indication information is used to indicate N1 common indexes, the N1 common indexes are used to indicate index values corresponding to the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device in the first grid, and N1 is a positive integer greater than 0. The first grid serves as position information and is used to indicate a certain determined area range, which is determined based on two-dimensional or three-dimensional grid level division of a physical cell.

[0161] Optionally, the terminal devices in the first grid can include all terminal devices in the first grid, and the N1 common indexes are used to indicate index values corresponding to the projection coefficients reported by all terminal devices in the first grid. Optionally, the N1 common indexes in the network device can be sent by a core network device, for example, an MMF network element in the core network device sends the N1 common indexes to the network device. Optionally, the N1 common indexes can be carried in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0162] For example, the N1 common indexes are determined based on channel map information corresponding to the first grid, which can include the following three steps:

[0163] Step 1: Determine the projection coefficient matrix corresponding to the channel in the high signal-to-noise ratio state in the first grid.

[0164] The channel map information can indicate the channels in the first grid and corresponding channel characteristics. The channel map construction can be determined based on the obtained high SINR data.

[0165] For example, the projection coefficient matrix corresponding to the channel in the first grid under the high SINR state is determined based on the channel characteristics corresponding to the channel in the first grid and the high SINR data. Optionally, the high SINR data can be determined by electronic map calculation, or can be determined by power aggregation, or can be determined by obtaining from the operator roadside.

[0166] In an example, the number of channel samples participating in the channel map construction in the first grid is M, which are channel 1, channel 2, …, and channel M, and the M channels correspond to M projection coefficient matrices. Each channel corresponds to a projection coefficient matrix, and each projection coefficient matrix can be determined based on the channel characteristics of the corresponding channel and the high SINR data.

[0167] Step 2: Determine a set of projection coefficients for representing the main features of the channel state based on the projection coefficient matrix corresponding to the channel under the high SINR state.

[0168] Optionally, the projection coefficients included in the projection coefficient matrix corresponding to the channel can be energy-ordered by energy ordering, and the first N projection coefficients with higher energy are selected. Accordingly, the set of projection coefficients for representing the main features of the channel state includes the first N projection coefficients with higher energy selected, wherein N is a positive integer greater than 0.

[0169] In an example, taking one projection coefficient matrix corresponding to one channel as an example, the projection coefficient matrix includes 32*32 projection coefficients, and the 32*32 projection coefficients are energy-ordered by energy ordering, and the first N=32 projection coefficients with higher energy are selected. The 32 projection coefficients form a set of projection coefficients for representing the main features of the channel state.

[0170] Step 3: Determine N1 common indexes based on the set of projection coefficients for representing the main features of the channel state corresponding to each channel in the first grid.

[0171] Optionally, the set of N1 common indexes is the intersection of the sets of indexes corresponding to the sets of projection coefficients corresponding to the channels participating in the construction in the first grid, that is, the intersection of the sets of indexes corresponding to the sets of projection coefficients corresponding to the channels participating in the construction in the first grid includes the N1 common indexes.

[0172] In an example, the number of channel samples participating in the construction of the first grid is M, and M sets of projection coefficients representing the main features of each channel state are determined through step 2, which are projection coefficient set 1, projection coefficient set 2, …, and projection coefficient set M, respectively. Each set of projection coefficients corresponds to an index set, for example, projection coefficient set 1 corresponds to index set A1, projection coefficient set 2 corresponds to index set A2, …, and projection coefficient set M corresponds to index set A M The intersection of the M index sets includes the N1 common indexes, that is, the common index set composed of the N1 common indexes is the intersection of the M index sets, and the intersection of the M index sets can be represented as (A1∩A2∩…∩AM). M ) represents.

[0173] In an example, the N1 common indexes can be stored in the channel map information corresponding to the first grid. Optionally, the channel map corresponding to the first grid can store the energy information of the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes.

[0174] In an example, please refer to FIG. 12, which is a schematic diagram of another channel map storage format provided by the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 12, the channel map information includes the common indexes corresponding to the first grid and the projection coefficient energy corresponding to the common indexes.

[0175] In the above method, the channel map construction can obtain data with high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio, the projection coefficient matrix of the channel in the high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio state is determined based on the channel features in the channel map information and the data with high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio, and the indexes corresponding to the same part of the projection coefficient set with high energy in each channel projection coefficient matrix in the high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio state are selected as the common indexes. The projection coefficients corresponding to the common indexes can better reflect the channel features and the channel state in the case of low signal-to-noise ratio, and the terminal device can effectively avoid the phenomenon of inaccurate selection of projection coefficients in the case of low signal-to-noise ratio by reporting the projection coefficients corresponding to the common indexes.

[0176] In a possible implementation, the first indication information further includes N4, N4 represents the number of projection coefficients that need to be reported in the first projection coefficient matrix, wherein N1 is less than N4, and N4 is less than (N2*N3).

[0177] In an example, the N4 can be carried in the downlink control information (DCI), for example, 5 bits are occupied in the DCI, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to report N4=2 5 =32 projection coefficients in the first projection coefficient matrix.

[0178] In the method, the number of the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device is used to determine the non-common projection coefficients to be reported in addition to the projection coefficients corresponding to the common index, and the non-common projection coefficients are reported in combination with the projection coefficients corresponding to the common index, so that the state of the channel in the current state is more comprehensively reflected.

[0179] Step S1102: The terminal device determines a first projection coefficient matrix based on the spatial domain basis information and / or the frequency domain basis information.

[0180] For example, the spatial domain basis information and / or the frequency domain basis information can be sent by the core network device to the network device, and then sent by the network device to the terminal device, and the specific process is as follows: the core network device sends the spatial domain basis information and / or the frequency domain basis information to the network device, correspondingly, the network device receives the spatial domain basis information and / or the frequency domain basis information from the core network device, the network device sends the spatial domain basis information and / or the frequency domain basis information to the terminal device, correspondingly, the terminal device receives the spatial domain basis information and / or the frequency domain basis information from the network device. The spatial domain basis information is used to indicate the characteristics of the channel spatial beam, and the frequency domain basis information is used to indicate the characteristics of the channel delay. Optionally, the spatial domain basis information and / or the frequency domain basis information can be carried in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0181] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device receives a reference signal; and the terminal device determines the channel state information based on the reference signal. The terminal device receives the reference signal from the network device, and correspondingly, the network device sends the reference signal to the terminal device. Optionally, the reference signal can be a CSI-RS.

[0182] The terminal device determines the first projection coefficient matrix based on the spatial domain basis information and / or the frequency domain basis information, which can include determining the first projection coefficient matrix based on the spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information, and the channel state information.

[0183] In the method, by the above method, the complex channel state information can be projected into the spatial domain basis and / or the frequency domain basis space, the key characteristics of the channel state are represented by the projection coefficient matrix, the complex information is simplified, the overhead of the channel state feedback is reduced, and the system performance is improved.

[0184] The terminal device determines the first projection coefficient matrix based on the spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information, and the channel state information, which can include two ways, i.e., way 1 and way 2, and the details are as follows.

[0185] Way 1: The spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information, the channel state information, and the first projection coefficient matrix can satisfy the following relationship, including:

[0186] wherein C denotes the first projection coefficient matrix, is a conjugate transpose matrix of W f , W f denotes frequency domain basis information, is a conjugate matrix of W s , W s denotes spatial domain basis information, and H denotes channel state information.

[0187] Manner 2: The spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information, the channel state information, and the first projection coefficient matrix can satisfy the following relationship, including:

[0188] wherein C denotes the first projection coefficient matrix, is a conjugate transpose matrix of U sf , U sf denotes spatial domain basis information and frequency domain basis information, and H denotes channel state information.

[0189] wherein the first projection coefficient matrix includes (N2*N3) projection coefficients, N2 and N3 are positive integers greater than 0, and N1 is less than (N2*N3).

[0190] In the above method, by the above manner, the complex channel state information is projected into the spatial domain basis and / or the frequency domain basis space, the characteristics of the channel state are more concisely represented by using the projection coefficient matrix, and the efficiency of channel measurement is improved.

[0191] Step S1103: The terminal device determines the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes in the first projection coefficient matrix based on the N1 common indexes and the first projection coefficient matrix. Wherein, the terminal device determines the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes in the first projection coefficient matrix based on the N1 common indexes and the first projection coefficient matrix can include: determining the projection coefficient corresponding to each common index in the N1 common indexes from the first projection coefficient matrix by searching.

[0192] In an example, the first projection coefficient matrix can be B 9×9 As shown in formula (3), the first projection coefficient matrix includes (N 20 *N3) = (9*9) projection coefficients, wherein N2 = 9 and N3 = 9, and the projection coefficients in the first projection coefficient matrix are B 11 , B 12 , …, B 19 , …, B 99 , wherein the projection coefficient is B 11 , and the projection coefficient B 11the 4 common indexes are 11, 22, 32, 42 respectively, and the projection coefficients corresponding to the 4 common indexes in the first projection coefficient matrix are B 11 , B 22 , B 32 , B 42 .

[0193] Step S1104: The terminal device sends the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes.

[0194] For example, the terminal device sends the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes to the network device, and correspondingly, the network device receives the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes from the terminal device.

[0195] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device sorts the (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients in the first projection coefficient matrix except the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes according to the energy of the projection coefficients to determine the (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients after sorting; selecting (N4-N1) projection coefficients with high energy from the (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients after sorting; and the terminal device sends the (N4-N1) projection coefficients and the indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients.

[0196] For example, the terminal device sends the (N4-N1) projection coefficients and the indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients to the network device, and correspondingly, the network device receives the (N4-N1) projection coefficients and the indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients from the terminal device.

[0197] For example, the energy of each projection coefficient can be determined by taking the absolute value, for example, when the projection coefficient is a complex number, the energy of the projection coefficient is determined based on the real part and the imaginary part of the projection coefficient, for example, a projection coefficient is 3+4j, 3 is the real part of the projection coefficient, 4j is the imaginary part of the projection coefficient, and the energy of the projection coefficient is

[0198] In an example, for example, the first projection coefficient matrix is represented by the formula (3), N1=4, the 4 common indexes are 11, 22, 32, 42 respectively, and the projection coefficients corresponding to the 4 common indexes in the first projection coefficient matrix are B 11 , B 22 , B 32 , B 42 The terminal device sorts the projection coefficients in the first projection coefficient matrix except B 11 , B 22 , B 32 , B 42The 77 projection coefficients other than the four projection coefficients are sorted, N4=9, and the terminal device needs to select (N4-N1)=5 projection coefficients with high energy from the sorted 77 projection coefficients. If the first five projection coefficients with high energy in the sorted 77 projection coefficients are B 75 , B 57 , B 26 , B 83 , B 64 , the terminal device sends B 75 , B 57 , B 26 , B 83 , B 64 , and the terminal device sends the five projection coefficients and the corresponding indexes 75, 57, 26, 83, and 64.

[0199] In the above method, the (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients other than the N1 common index corresponding projection coefficients in the first projection coefficient matrix are sorted according to the energy, and the (N4-N1) projection coefficients with high energy, i.e., the non-common projection coefficients to be reported, are determined. Compared with reporting all the projection coefficients, since the projection coefficients with high energy correspond to the main components or significant features in the channel, selecting part of the projection coefficients with high energy to report can provide the main information of the channel state while reducing the overhead of the channel state feedback, and transmit as much channel state information as possible under limited feedback resources.

[0200] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: determining, by the network device, the channel state information based on the N1 common index corresponding projection coefficients, the (N4-N1) projection coefficients, and the indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients.

[0201] In a possible implementation, when the energy information of the N1 common index corresponding projection coefficients is stored in the channel map information, the terminal device sends the N1 common index corresponding projection coefficients, including: the terminal device sends the phase information of the N1 common index corresponding projection coefficients.

[0202] The phase information of the N1 common index corresponding projection coefficients can be determined by the terminal device when measuring the channel. The N1 common index corresponding projection coefficients are determined based on the energy information and the phase information of the N1 common index corresponding projection coefficients.

[0203] In an example, if the channel map information stores the energy information of the projection coefficient 1, the energy of the projection coefficient 1 is 5, the terminal device sends the phase information of the projection coefficient 1 to the network device, the phase of the projection coefficient 1 is π / 3, and the projection coefficient 1 is 3+4j.

[0204] In the method described in FIG. 11, the network device indicates the terminal device to report the projection coefficients corresponding to N1 common indexes by issuing the N1 common indexes. In a low signal-to-noise ratio, the N1 common indexes are provided by a channel map, which has high accuracy. Compared with the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device through self-selection, the interference of the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device through self-selection is effectively avoided in a low signal-to-noise ratio, so as to avoid the case that the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device through self-selection are inaccurate, improve the channel measurement accuracy in a low signal-to-noise ratio, improve the channel reconstruction precision, and improve the user experience.

[0205] Please refer to FIG. 13, which is a schematic diagram of another communication method provided by the embodiment of the application. The method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0206] In step S1301, the core network device sends spatial domain base information and / or frequency domain base information.

[0207] For example, the core network device sends the spatial domain base information and / or the frequency domain base information to the network device, and correspondingly, the network device receives the spatial domain base information and / or the frequency domain base information from the core network device. The spatial domain base information and / or the frequency domain base information are used to indicate the channel characteristics of the channels in the first grid. The spatial domain base information is used to indicate the characteristics of the channel spatial beams, and the frequency domain base information is used to indicate the characteristics of the channel delays. For details, refer to the related description in step S1102.

[0208] In step S1302, the network device sends N4.

[0209] For example, the network device sends N4 to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives N4 from the network device. N4 represents the number of projection coefficients that need to be reported in the first projection coefficient matrix, N1 is less than N4, and N4 is less than (N2*N3). For details, refer to the related description in step S1101.

[0210] In step S1303, the network device sends N1 common indexes, spatial domain base information, and / or frequency domain base information.

[0211] For example, the network device sends N1 common indexes, spatial domain base information, and / or frequency domain base information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives N1 common indexes, spatial domain base information, and / or frequency domain base information from the network device. Optionally, the N1 common indexes in the network device can be sent by the core network device, for example, the MMF network element in the core network device sends N1 common indexes to the network device.

[0212] The N1 common indexes are used to indicate index values corresponding to the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device in the first grid, and N1 is a positive integer greater than 0. For details, refer to the related description in step S1101.

[0213] Step S1304: The network device sends a reference signal.

[0214] For example, the network device sends a reference signal to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the reference signal from the network device. Optionally, the reference signal can be a CSI-RS.

[0215] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: determining, by the terminal device, channel state information based on the reference signal; and determining the first projection coefficient matrix based on the channel state information, the spatial domain basis information, and / or the frequency domain basis information. For details, refer to the related description in step S1102.

[0216] In another possible implementation, the method further includes: determining, by the terminal device, the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes in the first projection coefficient matrix based on the N1 common indexes and the first projection coefficient matrix. For details, refer to the related description in step S1103.

[0217] In another possible implementation, the method further includes: determining, by the terminal device, (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients other than the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes in the first projection coefficient matrix according to the energy of the projection coefficients; and selecting (N4-N1) projection coefficients with high energy from the (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients. For details, refer to the related description in step S1104.

[0218] Step S1305: The terminal device sends the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes, the (N4-N1) projection coefficients, and the indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients.

[0219] For example, the terminal device sends the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes, the (N4-N1) projection coefficients, and the indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients to the network device, and correspondingly, the network device receives the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes, the (N4-N1) projection coefficients, and the indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients from the terminal device.

[0220] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: determining, by the network device, channel state information based on the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes, the (N4-N1) projection coefficients, and the indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients.

[0221] In the method described in FIG. 13, the network device indicates the terminal device to report the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes by issuing the N1 common indexes, effectively avoiding the case that the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device through self-selection are inaccurate due to relatively large interference, improving the channel measurement accuracy under low signal-to-noise ratio, improving the channel reconstruction accuracy, and improving the user experience.

[0222] The above describes the method of the embodiments of the application in detail. The apparatus of the embodiments of the application is provided below.

[0223] Please refer to FIG. 14, which is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus 1400 provided by the embodiments of the application. The communication apparatus 1400 can include a module or unit or means corresponding to each method / operation / step / action performed by the terminal device, the network device or the core network device in the above method embodiments. The module or unit or means can be a hardware circuit, software or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0224] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus 1400 can include a processing unit 1401 and a transceiver unit 1402, which are specifically as follows.

[0225] The processing unit 1401 is configured to perform data processing. The transceiver unit 1402 can implement corresponding communication functions. The transceiver unit 1402 can also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication module.

[0226] Optionally, the communication apparatus 1400 can further include a storage unit, which can be configured to store instructions and / or data. The processing unit 1401 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage unit, so as to implement the above method embodiments.

[0227] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1402 can include a sending unit and a receiving unit. The sending unit is configured to perform the sending operations in the above method embodiments. The receiving unit is configured to perform the receiving operations in the above method embodiments.

[0228] It should be noted that the communication apparatus 1400 can include the sending unit and not include the receiving unit. Alternatively, the communication apparatus 1400 can include the receiving unit and not include the sending unit. Whether the sending unit and the receiving unit are included in the communication apparatus 1400 can depend on whether the sending action and the receiving action are included in the above scheme performed by the communication apparatus 1400.

[0229] Optionally, the communication apparatus 1400 is configured to perform the actions of the terminal device in the embodiment of Figure 11. Details can be referred to the related description of the embodiment of Figure 11, which will not be repeated here. For example, the communication apparatus 1400 is configured to perform the following scheme: the transceiver 1402 is configured to receive first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate N1 common indexes, the N1 common indexes are used to indicate index values corresponding to the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device in the first grid, where N1 is a positive integer greater than 0; the processing unit 1401 is configured to determine a first projection coefficient matrix, the first projection matrix is determined based on spatial domain basis information and / or frequency domain basis information, the first projection coefficient matrix includes (N2*N3) projection coefficients, the spatial domain basis information is used to indicate the characteristics of the channel spatial beam, the frequency domain basis information is used to indicate the characteristics of the channel delay, N2 and N3 are positive integers greater than 0, and N1 is less than (N2*N3); the processing unit 1401 is configured to determine the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes in the first projection coefficient matrix, the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes are determined based on the N1 common indexes and the first projection coefficient matrix; and the transceiver 1402 is configured to send the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes.

[0230] In a possible implementation, the N1 common indexes are determined based on channel map information corresponding to the first grid.

[0231] In another possible implementation, the first indication information further includes N4, the N4 represents the number of projection coefficients that need to be reported in the first projection coefficient matrix, where N1 is less than N4, and N4 is less than (N2*N3).

[0232] In another possible implementation, the processing unit 1401 is further configured to sort (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients in the first projection coefficient matrix other than the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes according to the energy of the projection coefficients to determine (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients after sorting; the processing unit 1401 is further configured to select (N4-N1) projection coefficients with high energy from the (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients after sorting; and the transceiver 1402 is further configured to send the (N4-N1) projection coefficients and indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients.

[0233] In a further possible implementation, the transceiver 1402 is further configured to receive a reference signal; the processing unit 1401 is further configured to determine channel state information based on the reference signal; and the processing unit 1401 is further configured to determine the first projection coefficient matrix based on the spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information, and the channel state information.

[0234] In a further possible implementation, the first projection coefficient matrix is determined based on the spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information, and the channel state information, including:

[0235] wherein the C represents the first projection coefficient matrix, the is a conjugate transpose matrix of the W f , the W f represents the frequency domain basis information, and the is a conjugate matrix of the W s , the W s represents the spatial domain basis information, and the H represents the channel state information; or

[0236] wherein the C represents the first projection coefficient matrix, the is a conjugate transpose matrix of the U sf , the U sf represents the spatial domain basis information and the frequency domain basis information, and the H represents the channel state information.

[0237] It should be noted that the implementation and advantages of each module can also be referred to the corresponding description of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 11.

[0238] Optionally, the communication apparatus 1400 is configured to perform the actions of the network device in the above-described embodiment shown in FIG. 11. Details can be referred to the above-described embodiment shown in FIG. 11, and will not be repeated here. For example, the communication apparatus 1400 is configured to perform the following scheme: the transceiver 1402 is configured to send first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate N1 common indexes, the N1 common indexes are used to indicate index values corresponding to projection coefficients reported by a terminal device in a first grid, where N1 is a positive integer greater than 0; the transceiver 1402 is configured to receive projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes, the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes are determined based on the N1 common indexes and a first projection coefficient matrix, the first projection matrix is determined based on spatial domain basis information and / or frequency domain basis information, the first projection coefficient matrix includes (N2*N3) projection coefficients, the spatial domain basis information is used to indicate characteristics of a channel spatial beam, the frequency domain basis information is used to indicate characteristics of a channel delay, N2 and N3 are positive integers greater than 0, and N1 is less than (N2*N3).

[0239] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 1402 is further configured to receive the N1 common indexes.

[0240] In another possible implementation, the N1 common indexes are determined based on channel map information corresponding to the first grid.

[0241] In another possible implementation, the first indication information further includes N4, the N4 represents a number of projection coefficients that need to be reported in the first projection coefficient matrix, where N1 is less than N4, and N4 is less than (N2*N3).

[0242] In another possible implementation, the transceiver 1402 is further configured to receive (N4-N1) projection coefficients and indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients, the (N4-N1) projection coefficients are (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients with high energy, and the (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients are determined based on sorting other projection coefficients in the first projection coefficient matrix except the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes according to energy of the projection coefficients.

[0243] In another possible implementation, the transceiver 1402 is further configured to send a reference signal, the reference signal is used to determine channel state information, and the first projection coefficient matrix is determined based on the spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information, and the channel state information.

[0244] In yet another possible implementation, the first projection coefficient matrix is determined based on the spatial basis information, the frequency basis information, and the channel state information, and includes:

[0245] wherein the C represents the first projection coefficient matrix, the is a conjugate transpose matrix of the W f , the W f represents the frequency basis information, and the is a conjugate matrix of the W s , the W s represents the spatial basis information, and the H represents the channel state information; or

[0246] wherein the C represents the first projection coefficient matrix, the is a conjugate transpose matrix of the U sf , the U sf represents the spatial basis information and the frequency basis information, and the H represents the channel state information.

[0247] It should be noted that the implementation and beneficial effects of each module can also be referred to the corresponding description of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 11.

[0248] Optionally, the communication apparatus 1400 is configured to perform the actions performed by the core network device in the embodiments shown in FIG. 11. For details, please refer to the related description in the embodiments shown in FIG. 11, which will not be described here in detail. For example, the communication apparatus 1400 is configured to perform the following scheme: the processing unit 1401 is configured to determine N1 common indexes, the N1 common indexes being used to indicate the index values corresponding to the projection coefficients reported by the terminal device in the first grid, wherein N1 is a positive integer greater than 0; and the transceiver unit 1402 is configured to send the N1 common indexes.

[0249] In a possible implementation, the N1 common indexes are determined based on the channel map information corresponding to the first grid.

[0250] It should be noted that the implementation and beneficial effects of each module can also be referred to the corresponding description of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 11.

[0251] The division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. Another division manner can be used in actual implementation.

[0252] The processing unit 1401 in the above embodiments can be implemented by at least one processor or processor-related circuit. The transceiver unit 1402 can be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuit. The transceiver unit 1402 can also be referred to as a communication module or a communication interface. The storage module can be implemented by at least one memory.

[0253] Please refer to FIG. 15, which is a structural schematic diagram of another communication apparatus 1500 provided by the embodiments of the present application. The communication apparatus 1500 can include a module or unit or means corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions performed by the terminal device, the network device or the core network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments. The module or unit or means can be a hardware circuit, software or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0254] The communication apparatus 1500 includes at least one processor 1501. Optionally, the communication apparatus 1500 further includes a communication interface 1503, and optionally further includes a memory 1502. The processor 1501, the memory 1502 and the communication interface 1503 are connected with each other through a bus 1504. Optionally, the processor 1501 can be integrated with the memory 1502.

[0255] The memory 1502 includes, but is not limited to, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), or a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM). The memory 1502 is used to store relevant computer programs and data. The communication interface 1503 is used to receive and send data.

[0256] The processor 1501 can be one or more central processing units (CPUs). In the case where the processor 1501 is a CPU, the CPU can be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

[0257] The processor 1501 in the communication apparatus 1500 is configured to read the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 1502 to realize the functions of the above-mentioned processing units. The communication interface 1503 in the communication apparatus 1500 is configured to realize the functions of the above-mentioned transceiving units.

[0258] The embodiments of the present application further provide a chip apparatus. The chip apparatus includes at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to execute computer programs or instructions, so that the processor performs the method provided by the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0259] In a possible implementation manner, the input of the chip apparatus corresponds to the receiving operation in any of the above-mentioned embodiments, and the output of the chip apparatus corresponds to the sending operation in any of the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0260] Optionally, the processor is coupled with the memory through an interface.

[0261] Optionally, the chip device further comprises a memory, and the memory stores the computer program or instructions.

[0262] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores the computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions run on the processor, the method executed by the terminal device, the network device or the core network device in the above method embodiments is implemented.

[0263] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, which comprises the computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions run on the processor, the method executed by the terminal device, the network device or the core network device in the above method embodiments is implemented.

[0264] The embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system, which comprises the terminal device in the above embodiments, the network device in the above embodiments and the core network device in the above embodiments. The terminal device is used to execute part or all of the operations executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments, the network device is used to execute part or all of the operations of the network device in the above method embodiments, and the core network device is used to execute part or all of the operations of the core network device in the above method embodiments.

[0265] 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.

[0266] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be realized by hardware or by a 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 CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the base station or the terminal.

[0267] 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 the computer programs or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable apparatus. The computer programs or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer programs or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center through a wired or wireless manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; an optical medium, for example, a digital video disc; or a semiconductor medium, for example, 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.

[0268] 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.

[0269] In the description of the present application, the words "first", "second", "S1101", or "S1102" and the like are only used for the purpose of distinguishing the description and facilitating the context of the writing, and the different order numbers themselves do not have specific technical meanings, cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying the execution order of the operation. The execution order of each process should be determined according to its function and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: receiving first indication information, the first indication information being used for indicating N1 common indexes, the N1 common indexes being used for indicating index values corresponding to projection coefficients reported by a terminal device in a first grid, wherein N1 is a positive integer greater than 0; determining a first projection coefficient matrix based on spatial domain basis information and / or frequency domain basis information, the first projection coefficient matrix comprising (N2*N3) projection coefficients, the spatial domain basis information being used for indicating characteristics of a channel spatial beam, the frequency domain basis information being used for indicating characteristics of a channel delay, N2 and N3 are positive integers greater than 0, and N1 is less than (N2*N3); determining, based on the N1 common indexes and the first projection coefficient matrix, projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes in the first projection coefficient matrix; sending the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The N1 common indexes are determined based on channel map information corresponding to the first grid.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first indication information further comprises N4, N4 representing a number of projection coefficients that need to be reported in the first projection coefficient matrix, wherein N1 is less than N4, and N4 is less than (N2*N3).

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further comprises: sorting (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients other than the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes in the first projection coefficient matrix according to the energy of the projection coefficients to determine (N2*N3-N1) sorted projection coefficients; selecting (N4-N1) projection coefficients with high energy from the (N2*N3-N1) sorted projection coefficients; sending the (N4-N1) projection coefficients and indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving a reference signal; determining channel state information based on the reference signal; The method further comprises: determining the first projection coefficient matrix based on the spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information, and the channel state information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The determining the first projection coefficient matrix based on the spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information and the channel state information comprises: wherein the C denotes the first projection coefficient matrix, the W f the conjugate transpose matrix of W f represents frequency domain basis information, and W s is a conjugate matrix of W s represents spatial basis information, and H represents channel state information; or wherein the C denotes the first projection coefficient matrix, the U sf the conjugate transpose matrix of U sf represents the spatial basis information and the frequency basis information, and H represents channel state information.

7. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: sending first indication information, the first indication information being used for indicating N1 common indexes, the N1 common indexes being used for indicating index values corresponding to projection coefficients reported by a terminal device in a first grid, wherein N1 is a positive integer greater than 0; receiving projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes, the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes being determined based on the N1 common indexes and a first projection coefficient matrix, the first projection matrix being determined based on spatial domain basis information and / or frequency domain basis information, the first projection coefficient matrix comprising (N2*N3) projection coefficients, the spatial domain basis information being used for indicating characteristics of a channel spatial beam, the frequency domain basis information being used for indicating characteristics of a channel delay, N2 and N3 being positive integers greater than 0, and N1 being less than (N2*N3).

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving the N1 common indexes.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, The N1 common indexes are determined based on channel map information corresponding to the first grid.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that, The first indication information further includes N4, the N4 representing a number of projection coefficients that need to be reported in the first projection coefficient matrix, wherein the N1 is less than the N4, and the N4 is less than the (N2*N3).

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: receiving (N4-N1) projection coefficients and indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients, the (N4-N1) projection coefficients being (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients with high energy, the (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients being determined based on sorting of other projection coefficients in the first projection coefficient matrix except for the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes according to energy levels of the projection coefficients.

12. The method according to any one of claims 7-11, characterized in that, The method further includes: sending a reference signal, the reference signal being used to determine channel state information; The first projection coefficient matrix is determined based on spatial domain basis information and / or frequency domain basis information, including: The first projection coefficient matrix is determined based on the spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information, and the channel state information.

13. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 12, characterized in that, The first projection coefficient matrix is determined based on the spatial basis information, the frequency basis information and the channel state information, and includes: wherein the C denotes the first projection coefficient matrix, the W f the conjugate transpose matrix of W f represents frequency domain basis information, and W s is a conjugate matrix of W s represents spatial domain basis information, and H represents channel state information; or wherein the C denotes the first projection coefficient matrix, the U sf the conjugate transpose matrix of U sf represents the spatial basis information and the frequency basis information, and H represents channel state information.

14. A communications device, characterized by including: a processing unit and a transceiver unit, The transceiver unit is configured to receive first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate N1 common indexes, the N1 common indexes being used to indicate index values corresponding to projection coefficients reported by a terminal device in a first grid, wherein the N1 is a positive integer greater than 0. The processing unit is configured to determine a first projection coefficient matrix, the first projection matrix being determined based on spatial domain basis information and / or frequency domain basis information, the first projection coefficient matrix including (N2*N3) projection coefficients, the spatial domain basis information being used to indicate characteristics of a channel spatial beam, the frequency domain basis information being used to indicate characteristics of a channel delay, the N2 and the N3 being positive integers greater than 0, and the N1 being less than the (N2*N3). The processing unit is configured to determine projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes in the first projection coefficient matrix, the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes being determined based on the N1 common indexes and the first projection coefficient matrix. The transceiver unit is configured to send the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein, The N1 common indexes are determined based on channel map information corresponding to the first grid.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 or 15, wherein, The first indication information further includes N4, the N4 representing a number of projection coefficients that need to be reported in the first projection coefficient matrix, wherein the N1 is less than the N4, and the N4 is less than the (N2*N3).

17. The apparatus of any of claims 14-16, wherein The processing unit is further configured to sort (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients in the first projection coefficient matrix except for projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes according to energy levels of the projection coefficients to determine sorted (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients. The processing unit is further configured to select (N4-N1) projection coefficients with high energy from the sorted (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients. The transceiver unit is further configured to send the (N4-N1) projection coefficients and indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients.

18. The apparatus of any one of claims 14-17, wherein, The transceiver unit is further configured to receive a reference signal. The processing unit is further configured to determine channel state information based on the reference signal. The processing unit is further configured to determine the first projection coefficient matrix based on the spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information, and the channel state information.

19. The apparatus of any one of claims 14-18, wherein, The first projection coefficient matrix is determined based on the spatial basis information, the frequency basis information, and the channel state information, and includes: wherein the C denotes the first projection coefficient matrix, the W f the conjugate transpose matrix of W f represents frequency domain basis information, and W s is a conjugate matrix of W s represents spatial domain basis information, and H represents channel state information; or wherein the C denotes the first projection coefficient matrix, the U sf the conjugate transpose matrix of U sf represents the spatial basis information and the frequency basis information, and H represents channel state information.

20. A communications device, characterized by comprising: a processing unit and a transceiver unit, The transceiver unit is configured to send first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate N1 common indexes, the N1 common indexes being used to indicate index values corresponding to projection coefficients reported by a terminal device within a first grid, wherein N1 is a positive integer greater than 0. The transceiver unit is configured to receive projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes, the projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes being determined based on the N1 common indexes and a first projection coefficient matrix, the first projection matrix being determined based on spatial domain basis information and / or frequency domain basis information, the first projection coefficient matrix including (N2*N3) projection coefficients, the spatial domain basis information being used to indicate characteristics of a channel spatial beam, the frequency domain basis information being used to indicate characteristics of a channel delay, N2 and N3 being positive integers greater than 0, and N1 being less than (N2*N3).

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein, The transceiver unit is further configured to receive the N1 common indexes.

22. The apparatus of claim 20 or 21, wherein, The N1 common indexes are determined based on channel map information corresponding to the first grid.

23. The apparatus of any of claims 20-22, wherein, The first indication information further includes N4, the N4 representing a number of projection coefficients that need to be reported in the first projection coefficient matrix, wherein N1 is less than N4, and N4 is less than (N2*N3).

24. The apparatus of any one of claims 20-23, wherein, The transceiver unit is further configured to receive (N4-N1) projection coefficients and indexes corresponding to the (N4-N1) projection coefficients, the (N4-N1) projection coefficients being (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients with high energy, the (N2*N3-N1) projection coefficients being determined based on sorting other projection coefficients in the first projection coefficient matrix except for projection coefficients corresponding to the N1 common indexes according to energy levels of the projection coefficients.

25. The apparatus of any one of claims 20-24, wherein, The transceiver unit is further configured to send a reference signal, the reference signal being used to determine channel state information. The first projection coefficient matrix is determined based on the spatial domain basis information, the frequency domain basis information, and the channel state information.

26. The apparatus of any one of claims 20-25, wherein, The first projection coefficient matrix is determined based on the spatial basis information, the frequency basis information and the channel state information, and includes: wherein the C denotes the first projection coefficient matrix, the W f the conjugate transpose matrix of W f represents the frequency domain basis information, and W s is a conjugate matrix of W s represents spatial basis information, and H represents channel state information; or wherein the C denotes the first projection coefficient matrix, the U sf the conjugate transpose matrix of U sf represents the spatial basis information and the frequency basis information, and H represents channel state information.

27. An information processing apparatus for implementing the method of any one of claims 1-26, comprising: The apparatus comprises a transceiving unit for performing the transceiving operations in the method of any of claims 1-13 and a processing unit for performing the processing operations in the method of any of claims 1-13.

28. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises at least one processor invoking computer programs or instructions to perform the method of any of claims 1-13.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium stores computer programs or instructions which, when run on a processor, implement the method of any of claims 1-13.

30. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises computer programs or instructions which, when run on a computer, implement the method of any of claims 1-13.

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