Communication method and apparatus, storage medium, and program product

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, a storage medium, and a program product. The method comprises: a network device sends multiple first reference signals to a terminal device; and the terminal device sends first information to the network device, the first information indicating at least one piece of first-type precoding information and at least one piece of second-type precoding information corresponding to at least one first port. Each piece of first-type precoding information in the at least one piece of first-type precoding information is obtained on the basis of at least two first reference signals among multiple first reference signals, and each piece of second-type precoding information in the at least one piece of second-type precoding information is obtained on the basis of one first reference signal among the multiple first reference signals. The terminal device does not need to report precoding information obtained on the basis of each first reference signal, thereby reducing the number of ports corresponding to the second reference signal, shortening the sending period of the second reference signal, alleviating the problem of CSI aging, and improving the accuracy of channel estimation.

Description

Communication methods, devices, storage media and software products

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411552333.5, filed on October 31, 2024, entitled "Communication Method, Apparatus, Storage Medium and Program Product", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

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

[0003] Future communication systems are evolving towards higher frequency bands (such as the U6G band (6GHz upper band, 6GHz upper half band)) and larger bandwidths. Base stations and terminals will adopt massive multi-input multi-output (MIMO) arrays. Considering that hybrid beamforming (HBF) architecture may be used to reduce complexity, and that the number of frequency hopping of the sounding reference signal (SRS) is more in the case of large bandwidth, the channel state information (CSI) acquisition period based on SRS is relatively long, the CSI is severely aged, and the signal-to-noise ratio is greatly reduced, thereby reducing the accuracy of downlink precoding.

[0004] To address the issue of significantly reduced SRS signal-to-noise ratio and its impact on coverage, terminals can transmit pre-coded SRS to measure the uplink channel, thereby improving the SRS SRS ratio. Furthermore, because multipath propagation is more sparse in high-frequency bands, the number of pre-coded SRS ports can be less than the number of antenna ports without losing full-space channel state information. This reduces the number of SRS ports, shortening the SRS transmission cycle and alleviating CSI aging.

[0005] Coherent joint transmission (CJT) refers to a terminal being provided with services by multiple base stations through joint transmission. In CJT mode, assuming the terminal is provided with services by 3 base stations through joint transmission, each base station selects N SRS precodings, corresponding to N SRS ports. Then, the 3 base stations correspond to a total of 3N SRS precodings and 3N SRS ports. The number of SRS ports increases linearly with the number of base stations. When the total number of SRS ports exceeds the number of transmit antennas of the terminal, it is impossible to reduce the number of SRS ports to achieve the effect of shortening the SRS transmission cycle and alleviating CSI aging.

[0006] Therefore, in multi-station transmission mode, how to reduce the number of SRS ports and improve the accuracy of channel estimation is a problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0007] This application provides a communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and program product to reduce the number of SRS ports and improve the accuracy of channel estimation in multi-station transmission mode.

[0008] Firstly, a communication method is provided that can be applied to the terminal device side, such as the terminal device or the communication module in the terminal device, or to the circuit or chip of the terminal device (such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip or system-in-package (SIP) chip containing a modem core). Taking the application of this method to a terminal device as an example.

[0009] In this method, the terminal device receives a plurality of first reference signals and sends first information, wherein the first information indicates at least one first type of precoded information and at least one second type of precoded information corresponding to at least one first port, each of the at least one first type of precoded information being obtained based on at least two of the plurality of first reference signals, each of the at least one second type of precoded information being obtained based on one of the plurality of first reference signals, the at least two first reference signals corresponding to any two of the at least one first type of precoded information are not completely identical, the first reference signals corresponding to any two of the at least one second type of precoded information are different, and the at least one first port is the port corresponding to the second reference signal.

[0010] Using this method, the terminal device does not need to report the precoding information obtained based on each of the multiple first reference signals, which reduces the number of ports corresponding to the second reference signal, shortens the transmission period of the second reference signal, alleviates the problem of channel state information aging, and improves the accuracy of channel estimation.

[0011] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible design, the first information indicates at least one of the following: the number of the first type of precodes, the number of the second type of precodes, the precode weights corresponding to the first type of precodes, and the precode weights corresponding to the second type of precodes.

[0012] By adopting this design and reporting at least one of the above-mentioned pieces of information, network devices can accurately obtain at least one type of first-type precoded information and at least one type of second-type precoded information.

[0013] In conjunction with the first aspect, in another possible design, the first information indicates the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes, including: the first information indicating the sum of the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes; or the first information indicating the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes respectively; or the first information indicating the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes based on at least two first reference signals respectively.

[0014] Using this design, by reporting the sum of the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes, the network device can determine the total number of first-type precodes and second-type precodes based on the number of configured second ports and the sum of the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes; or by reporting the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes separately, the network device can directly determine the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes; or by reporting the number of first-type precodes obtained based on at least two first reference signals and the number of second-type precodes, the network device can determine the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes separately.

[0015] In conjunction with the first aspect, in another possible design, the method further includes: receiving second information, the second information indicating a first precoded reporting type, the first precoded reporting type indicating the reporting of at least one first type of precoded information and at least one second type of precoded information.

[0016] This design defines a new first precoding reporting type for multi-site transmission modes. When the network device's reported content is configured for multi-site precoding reporting, the terminal device needs to report the aforementioned content. By indicating the first precoding reporting type, the network device enables the terminal device to report based on this type, ensuring the accuracy of the reported content.

[0017] In conjunction with the first aspect, in another possible design, the method further includes: receiving third information indicating configuration information of a first reference signal resource set, the first reference signal resource set including a plurality of resources, each of the plurality of resources being used to carry one of the plurality of first reference signals.

[0018] In conjunction with the first aspect, in another possible design, the method further includes: receiving fourth information, the fourth information indicating precoding information corresponding to at least one second port, the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second port being determined based on the first information, the at least one second port being a port corresponding to a second reference signal; and transmitting the second reference signal at the at least one second port based on the fourth information.

[0019] With this design, after receiving the first information, the network device can determine the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port based on the first information, and then indicate the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can send a second reference signal based on the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port.

[0020] In conjunction with the first aspect, in another possible design, the fourth information is used to indicate a first identifier, which is used to identify the at least one first-type pre-coded information and the at least one second-type pre-coded information included in the first information, wherein the fourth information indicates that the pre-coded information corresponding to the at least one second port is obtained based on the at least one first-type pre-coded information and the at least one second-type pre-coded information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0021] With this design, the terminal device can report multiple first information based on the instructions of the network device. Each first information corresponds to a first identifier, which uniquely identifies a reported first information. Thus, when configuring precoding information corresponding to at least one second port, the network device can determine which reported first information is being used for configuration.

[0022] In conjunction with the first aspect, in another possible design, the fourth information is used to indicate whether the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second port is associated with the at least one first type of precoding information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0023] With this design, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port configured in the network device can be associated with at least one first type of precoding information, or it can be not associated with at least one first type of precoding information. Therefore, the fourth information explicitly indicates whether the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port is associated with at least one first type of precoding information corresponding to the first identifier, which is included in the first information identified by the first identifier.

[0024] In conjunction with the first aspect, in another possible design, the first information also indicates the order of the at least one first-type precoded information and the at least one second-type precoded information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0025] With this design, the first information indicates at least one first-type precoded information and at least one second-type precoded information. In addition, the first information may also indicate the order of at least one first-type precoded information and at least one second-type precoded information, so as to facilitate matching when the network device configures the precoded information corresponding to at least one second port.

[0026] In conjunction with the first aspect, in another possible design, when the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port is associated with a set of information of the first type of precoding, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port includes the set of information of the first type of precoding and the information of the at least one second type of precoding. According to the order of at least one first type of precoding and the at least one second type of precoding in the set of information of the first type of precoding indicated by the first information, the at least one second port corresponds sequentially to at least one first type of precoding and the at least one second type of precoding in the set of information of the first type of precoding. The set of information of the first type of precoding is part or all of the information of the at least one first type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier. When the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port is not associated with the information of the at least one first type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port includes the information of the at least one second type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier. According to the order of the information of the at least one second type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier indicated by the first information, the at least one second port corresponds sequentially to the at least one second type of precoding.

[0027] Using this design, network devices can determine the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port based on at least one first type of precoding information and at least one second type of precoding information corresponding to at least one first port reported by terminal devices.

[0028] In conjunction with the first aspect, in another possible design, the first reference signal is a channel state information reference signal, and the second reference signal is a probe reference signal.

[0029] Secondly, a communication method is provided. Exemplarily, the method can be applied to the network device side, such as the network device or the communication module in the network device, or to the circuit or chip of the network device (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core). The above method is exemplified by its application to the network device side.

[0030] In this method, a network device transmits a plurality of first reference signals and receives first information, wherein the first information indicates at least one first type of precoded information and at least one second type of precoded information corresponding to at least one first port, each of the at least one first type of precoded information being obtained based on at least two of the plurality of first reference signals, each of the at least one second type of precoded information being obtained based on one of the plurality of first reference signals, the at least two first reference signals corresponding to any two of the at least one first type of precoded information are not completely identical, the first reference signals corresponding to any two of the at least one second type of precoded information are different, and the at least one first port is the port corresponding to the second reference signal.

[0031] Using this method, the terminal device does not need to report the precoding information obtained based on each of the multiple first reference signals, which reduces the number of ports corresponding to the second reference signal, shortens the transmission period of the second reference signal, alleviates the problem of channel state information aging, and improves the accuracy of channel estimation.

[0032] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible design, the first information indicates at least one of the following: the number of the first type of precode, the number of the second type of precode, the precode weight corresponding to the first type of precode, and the precode weight corresponding to the second type of precode.

[0033] In conjunction with the second aspect, in yet another possible design, the first information indicates the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes, including: the first information indicating the sum of the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes; or the first information indicating the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes respectively; or the first information indicating the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes based on at least two first reference signals respectively.

[0034] In conjunction with the second aspect, in yet another possible design, the method further includes: sending second information, the second information indicating a first precoded reporting type, the first precoded reporting type indicating the reporting of at least one first type of precoded information and at least one second type of precoded information.

[0035] In conjunction with the second aspect, in another possible design, the method further includes: sending third information indicating configuration information of a first reference signal resource set, the first reference signal resource set including multiple resources, each of the multiple resources being used to carry one of the multiple first reference signals.

[0036] In conjunction with the second aspect, in another possible design, the method further includes: sending fourth information indicating precoding information corresponding to at least one second port, the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second port being determined based on the first information, the at least one second port being a port corresponding to a second reference signal; and receiving the second reference signal at the at least one second port based on the fourth information.

[0037] In conjunction with the second aspect, in another possible design, the fourth information is used to indicate a first identifier, which is used to identify the at least one first-type precoding information and the at least one second-type precoding information included in the first information. The fourth information indicates that the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second port is obtained based on the at least one first-type precoding information and the at least one second-type precoding information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0038] In conjunction with the second aspect, in another possible design, the fourth information is used to indicate whether the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second port is associated with the at least one first type of precoding information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0039] In conjunction with the second aspect, in yet another possible design, the first information also indicates the order of the at least one first-type precoded information and the at least one second-type precoded information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0040] In conjunction with the second aspect, in another possible design, when the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port is associated with a set of information of the first type of precoding, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port includes the set of information of the first type of precoding and the information of the at least one second type of precoding. According to the order of the at least one first type of precoding and the at least one second type of precoding in the set of information of the first type of precoding indicated by the first information, the at least one second port corresponds sequentially to at least one first type of precoding and the at least one second type of precoding in the set of information of the first type of precoding. The set of information of the first type of precoding is part or all of the information of the at least one first type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier. When the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port is not associated with the information of the at least one first type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port includes the information of the at least one second type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier. According to the order of the at least one second type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier indicated by the first information, the at least one second port corresponds sequentially to the at least one second type of precoding.

[0041] In conjunction with the second aspect, in another possible design, the first reference signal is a channel state information reference signal, and the second reference signal is a probe reference signal.

[0042] Thirdly, a communication device is provided. This communication device can implement the methods in the first aspect, the second aspect, or any one of the designs described above. For example, the communication device can be a chip or a device. The above methods can be implemented through software, hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software.

[0043] In one possible design, the communication device may include a transmitting unit, a receiving unit, and a processing unit. The transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be independent or combined (which may be referred to as a "transmit-receiver unit").

[0044] In the embodiment where the device is used to design the method described in the first aspect or any design of the first aspect, the transceiver unit is used to receive a plurality of first reference signals; the processing unit is used to generate first information, wherein the first information indicates at least one first type precoded information and at least one second type precoded information corresponding to at least one first port, each of the at least one first type precoded information is obtained based on at least two of the plurality of first reference signals, each of the at least one second type precoded information is obtained based on one of the plurality of first reference signals, the at least two first reference signals corresponding to any two of the at least one first type precoded information are not completely identical, the first reference signals corresponding to any two of the at least one second type precoded information are different, and the at least one first port is the port corresponding to the second reference signal; and the transceiver unit is also used to transmit the first information.

[0045] Optionally, the first information indicates at least one of the following: the number of the first type of precoding, the number of the second type of precoding, the precoding weight corresponding to the first type of precoding, and the precoding weight corresponding to the second type of precoding.

[0046] Optionally, the first information indicating the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes includes: the first information indicating the sum of the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes; or the first information indicating the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes respectively; or the first information indicating the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes obtained based on at least two first reference signals respectively.

[0047] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive second information, the second information indicating a first precoded reporting type, the first precoded reporting type indicating the reporting of at least one first type of precoded information and at least one second type of precoded information.

[0048] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive third information, the third information indicating configuration information of a first reference signal resource set, the first reference signal resource set including multiple resources, each of the multiple resources being used to carry one of the multiple first reference signals.

[0049] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive fourth information, the fourth information indicating precoding information corresponding to at least one second port, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port being determined based on the first information, and the at least one second port being a port corresponding to a second reference signal; and the transceiver unit is further configured to transmit the second reference signal at the at least one second port based on the fourth information.

[0050] Optionally, the fourth information is used to indicate a first identifier, which is used to identify the at least one first type of precoding information and the at least one second type of precoding information included in the first information. The fourth information indicates that the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second port is obtained based on the at least one first type of precoding information and the at least one second type of precoding information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0051] Optionally, the fourth information is used to indicate whether the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second port is associated with the at least one first type of precoding information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0052] Optionally, the first information also indicates the order of the at least one first type of precoded information and the at least one second type of precoded information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0053] Optionally, when the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port is associated with a set of information of the first type of precoding, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port includes the set of information of the first type of precoding and the information of the at least one second type of precoding. According to the order of the information of at least one first type of precoding and the information of the at least one second type of precoding in the set of information of the first type of precoding indicated by the first information, the at least one second port corresponds sequentially to at least one first type of precoding and the at least one second type of precoding in the set of information of the first type of precoding. The set of information of the first type of precoding is part or all of the information of the at least one first type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier. When the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port is not associated with the information of the at least one first type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port includes the information of the at least one second type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier. According to the order of the information of the at least one second type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier indicated by the first information, the at least one second port corresponds sequentially to the at least one second type of precoding.

[0054] Optionally, the first reference signal is a channel state information reference signal, and the second reference signal is a probe reference signal.

[0055] Further features and beneficial effects can be found in the relevant description in the first aspect.

[0056] When the device is used to design the method described in the second aspect or any of the designs of the second aspect, the transceiver unit is used to transmit a plurality of first reference signals; and the transceiver unit is also used to receive first information, wherein the first information indicates at least one first type precoded information and at least one second type precoded information corresponding to at least one first port, each of the at least one first type precoded information is obtained based on at least two of the plurality of first reference signals, each of the at least one second type precoded information is obtained based on one of the plurality of first reference signals, the at least two first reference signals corresponding to any two of the at least one first type precoded information are not completely the same, the first reference signals corresponding to any two of the at least one second type precoded information are different, and the at least one first port is the port corresponding to the second reference signal.

[0057] Optionally, the first information indicates at least one of the following: the number of the first type of precoding, the number of the second type of precoding, the precoding weight corresponding to the first type of precoding, and the precoding weight corresponding to the second type of precoding.

[0058] Optionally, the first information indicating the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes includes: the first information indicating the sum of the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes; or the first information indicating the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes respectively; or the first information indicating the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes obtained based on at least two first reference signals respectively.

[0059] Optionally, the processing unit is configured to generate second information, the second information indicating a first precoded reporting type, the first precoded reporting type indicating the reporting of at least one first type of precoded information and at least one second type of precoded information; and the transceiver unit is further configured to transmit the second information.

[0060] Optionally, the processing unit is configured to generate third information, the third information indicating configuration information of a first reference signal resource set, the first reference signal resource set including multiple resources, each of the multiple resources being used to carry one of the multiple first reference signals; and the transceiver unit is further configured to transmit the third information.

[0061] Optionally, the processing unit is configured to generate fourth information, the fourth information indicating precoding information corresponding to at least one second port, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port being determined based on the first information, and the at least one second port being a port corresponding to a second reference signal; the transceiver unit is further configured to transmit the fourth information; and the transceiver unit is further configured to receive the second reference signal at the at least one second port based on the fourth information.

[0062] Optionally, the fourth information is used to indicate a first identifier, which is used to identify the at least one first type of precoding information and the at least one second type of precoding information included in the first information. The fourth information indicates that the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second port is obtained based on the at least one first type of precoding information and the at least one second type of precoding information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0063] Optionally, the fourth information is used to indicate whether the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second port is associated with the at least one first type of precoding information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0064] Optionally, the first information also indicates the order of the at least one first type of precoded information and the at least one second type of precoded information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0065] Optionally, when the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port is associated with a set of information of the first type of precoding, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port includes the set of information of the first type of precoding and the information of the at least one second type of precoding. According to the order of the information of at least one first type of precoding and the information of the at least one second type of precoding in the set of information of the first type of precoding indicated by the first information, the at least one second port corresponds sequentially to at least one first type of precoding and the at least one second type of precoding in the set of information of the first type of precoding. The set of information of the first type of precoding is part or all of the information of the at least one first type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier. When the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port is not associated with the information of the at least one first type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port includes the information of the at least one second type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier. According to the order of the information of the at least one second type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier indicated by the first information, the at least one second port corresponds sequentially to the at least one second type of precoding.

[0066] Optionally, the first reference signal is a channel state information reference signal, and the second reference signal is a probe reference signal.

[0067] In another possible design, the communication device in the third aspect described above includes a processor coupled to a memory; the processor is configured to support the device in performing the corresponding functions in the communication method described above. The memory is coupled to the processor and stores necessary computer programs (or computer-executable instructions) and / or data for the device. Optionally, the communication device may further include a communication interface for supporting communication between the device and other network elements, such as the transmission or reception of data and / or signals. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface. Optionally, the memory may be located internally within the communication device and integrated with the processor; alternatively, it may be located externally to the communication device.

[0068] In another possible design, the communication device in the third aspect described above includes a processor and a transceiver device. The processor is coupled to the transceiver device and is used to execute computer programs or instructions to control the transceiver device to receive and send information. When the processor executes the computer programs or instructions, it is also used to implement the above method through logic circuits or executed code instructions. The transceiver device can be a transceiver, transceiver circuit, or input / output interface, used to receive signals from other communication devices besides the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices besides the communication device. When the communication device is a chip, the transceiver device is a transceiver circuit or an input / output interface.

[0069] When the communication device in the third aspect above is a chip, the transmitting unit can be an output unit, such as an output circuit or a communication interface; the receiving unit can be an input unit, such as an input circuit or a communication interface. When the communication device is a terminal device, the transmitting unit can be a transmitter or a receiver; the receiving unit can be a receiver or a receiver.

[0070] Fourthly, a communication system is provided, the communication system comprising a first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device being configured to implement the method as described in the first aspect or any design of the first aspect, and the second communication device being configured to implement the method as described in the second aspect or any design of the second aspect.

[0071] Fifthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program or instructions thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implement the method as described in the first aspect or any design of the first aspect, or implement the method as described in the second aspect or any design of the second aspect.

[0072] In a sixth aspect, a computer program product is provided that, when executed on a computing device, implements the method as described in the first aspect or any design of the first aspect, or implements the method as described in the second aspect or any design of the second aspect. Attached Figure Description

[0073] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system 1000 used in the embodiments of this application;

[0074] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the process by which network devices in a TDD system obtain channel state information of the downlink channel by estimating the uplink channel.

[0075] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0076] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of communication between TRP and UE in a multi-station transmission mode, as exemplified by an embodiment of this application;

[0077] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0078] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of communication between TRP and UE in another multi-station transmission mode according to an embodiment of this application;

[0079] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0080] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0081] The embodiments of this application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0082] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as 5G communication systems, future communication systems, or multiple converged communication systems, as well as existing communication systems. The application scenarios of the technical solutions provided in this application can include various scenarios, such as machine-to-machine (M2M), macro-micro communication, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (uRLLC), and massive machine-type communication (mMTC). These scenarios may include, but are not limited to, communication scenarios between terminal devices, communication scenarios between network devices, and communication scenarios between network devices and terminal devices. Network devices include both network devices and core network devices. The following descriptions all use the scenario of communication between network devices and terminal devices as examples.

[0083] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes a wireless access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include an Internet 300. The wireless access network 100 may include at least one network device (110a and 110b in Figure 1) and at least one terminal device (120a-120j in Figure 1). The terminal device is wirelessly connected to the network device, and the network device is wirelessly or wiredly connected to the core network. The core network device and the network device may be independent physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the network device may be integrated on the same physical device, or a single physical device may integrate some of the functions of the core network device and some of the functions of the network device. Terminal devices and network devices can be interconnected via wired or wireless means. Figure 1 is only a schematic diagram; the communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 1.

[0084] Optionally, in practical applications, the wireless communication system may include multiple network devices (also known as access network devices) and multiple terminal devices simultaneously. A network device can serve one or more terminal devices simultaneously. A terminal device can also access one or more network devices simultaneously. This application embodiment does not limit the number of terminal devices and network devices included in the wireless communication system.

[0085] In this context, a network device can be an entity on the network side used to transmit or receive signals. A network device can also be an access device that allows terminal devices to wirelessly connect to the wireless communication system; for example, a network device can be a base station. Base stations can broadly encompass various names listed below, or be interchangeable with them, such as: radio access network (RAN) node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation Node B (gNB), access network equipment in open radio access network (O-RAN), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master eNB (MeNB), secondary eNB (SeNB), multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, building baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), centralized unit (CU), and distributed unit (CU). Network equipment includes units (DU), radio units (RU), centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) nodes, centralized unit user plane (CU-UP) nodes, positioning nodes, etc. Base stations can be macro base stations, micro base stations, relay nodes, donor nodes, or similar entities, or combinations thereof. Network equipment can also refer to communication modules, modems, or chips installed within the aforementioned equipment or devices. Network equipment can also be mobile switching centers and equipment that performs base station functions in device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications; network-side equipment in 6G networks; and equipment performing base station functions in future communication systems. Network equipment can support networks using the same or different access technologies.The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the network device.

[0086] Network devices can be fixed or mobile. For example, base stations 110a and 110b are stationary and are responsible for wireless transmission and reception in one or more cells from terminal device 120. The helicopter or drone 120i shown in Figure 1 can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move depending on the location of the mobile base station 120i. In other examples, the helicopter or drone (120i) can be configured as a terminal device communicating with base station 110b.

[0087] In this application, the communication device used to implement the above-mentioned network access functions can be an access network device, a network device with some access network functions, or a device capable of supporting the implementation of access network functions, such as a chip system, hardware circuit, software module, or hardware circuit plus software module. This device can be installed in the access network device or used in conjunction with the access network device. In the method of this application, the example of an access network device being used as the communication device to implement the access network device functions is described.

[0088] A terminal device can be a user-side entity used to receive or transmit signals, such as a mobile phone. Terminal devices can be used to connect people, things, and machines. Terminal devices can communicate with one or more core networks via network devices. Terminal devices include handheld devices with wireless connectivity, other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, or vehicle-mounted devices. Terminal devices can be portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-integrated, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as cellular communication, D2D, V2X, point-to-point (P2P), machine-to-machine (M2M), machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, drones, robots, remote sensing, passive sensing, positioning, navigation and following, autonomous delivery and mobility, etc.Examples of terminal devices include: user equipment (UE) conforming to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard, fixed equipment, mobile equipment, handheld devices, wearable devices, cellular phones, smartphones, session initiated protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, personal computers, smart books, vehicles, satellites, global positioning system (GPS) devices, target-following devices, drones, helicopters, aircraft, ships, remote control devices, smart home devices, industrial equipment, personal communication service (PCS) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless network cameras, tablets, handheld computers, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices such as smartwatches, VR devices, AR devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, terminals in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, wireless terminals in self-driving vehicles, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, and smart city applications. Wireless terminals in various scenarios include smart gas pumps, high-speed rail terminals, and smart home terminals such as smart speakers, smart coffee machines, and smart printers. Terminal devices can be wireless devices in these scenarios or devices installed on wireless devices, such as communication modules, modems, or chips. Terminal devices can also be called terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations (MS), mobile terminals (MT), etc. Terminal devices can also be used in future wireless communication systems. Terminal devices can be used in dedicated network equipment or general-purpose equipment. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies or device forms used in the terminal devices.

[0089] Optionally, the terminal device can be used to act as a base station. For example, the UE can act as a scheduling entity, providing sidelink signaling between UEs in V2X, D2D, or P2P, etc. As shown in Figure 1, cellular phone 120a and car 120b communicate with each other using sidelink signaling. Cellular phone 120a communicates with smart home device 120e without relaying communication signals through base station 110b.

[0090] In this application, the communication device used to implement the functions of the terminal device can be a terminal device, a terminal device having some of the functions of the aforementioned terminal device, or a device capable of supporting the implementation of the functions of the aforementioned terminal device, such as a chip system. This device can be installed in the terminal device or used in conjunction with the terminal device. In this application, the chip system can be composed of chips or include chips and other discrete components. The technical solutions provided in this application are described using the example of a terminal device or UE as the communication device.

[0091] Optionally, wireless communication systems typically consist of cells. Base stations manage the cells and provide communication services to multiple mobile stations (MS) within them. A base station includes a baseband unit (BBU) and a remote radio unit (RRU). The BBU and RRU can be located in different places; for example, the RRU can be deployed remotely to a high-traffic area, while the BBU is located in a central equipment room. Alternatively, the BBU and RRU can be located in the same equipment room. The BBU and RRU can also be different components within the same rack. Optionally, a cell can correspond to one carrier or a member carrier.

[0092] In some deployments, the network devices mentioned in the embodiments of this application may be devices including CU, DU, or CU and DU, or devices with control plane CU nodes (central unit-control plane (CU-CP)) and user plane CU nodes (central unit-user plane (CU-UP)) and DU nodes. For example, the network devices may include gNB-CU-CP, gNB-CU-UP, and gNB-DU.

[0093] In some deployments, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist terminals in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes each implementing some of the base station's functions. For example, RAN nodes can be CUs, DUs, CU-CPs, CU-UPs, or RUs. CUs and DUs can be configured separately or included in the same network element, such as a BBU. RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as RRUs, AAUs, or RRHs.

[0094] RAN nodes can support one or more types of fronthaul interfaces, each corresponding to a DU and RU with different functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and RU is a common public radio interface (CPRI), the DU is configured to implement one or more baseband functions, and the RU is configured to implement one or more radio frequency functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and RU is another type of interface, relative to CPRI, some downlink and / or uplink baseband functions, such as, for downlink, precoding, digital beamforming (BF), or one or more of inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) / cyclic prefix addition (CP), are moved from the DU to the RU; and for uplink, one or more of digital beamforming (BF), or fast Fourier transform (IFFT) / cyclic prefix removal (CP), are moved from the DU to the RU. In one possible implementation, the interface can be an enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI). Under the eCPRI architecture, the segmentation between DU and RU differs, corresponding to different categories (Cat) of eCPRI, such as eCPRI Cat A, B, C, D, E, F.

[0095] Taking eCPRI Cat A as an example, for downlink transmission, the DU is configured to implement one or more functions before and after layer mapping (i.e., coding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, and layer mapping), while other functions after layer mapping (e.g., RE mapping, digital beamforming (BF), or one or more functions of inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) / adding cyclic prefix (CP)) are moved to the RU. For uplink transmission, the DU is configured to implement one or more functions before and after de-RE mapping (i.e., decoding, de-rate matching, descrambling, demodulation, inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT), channel equalization, and de-RE mapping), while other functions after de-RE mapping (e.g., digital BF or one or more functions of fast Fourier transform (FFT) / removing CP) are moved to the RU. It is understandable that the functional descriptions of the DU and RU corresponding to various types of eCPRI can be found in the eCPRI protocol, and will not be elaborated here.

[0096] In one possible design, the processing unit in the BBU used to implement baseband functions is called the baseband high (BBH) unit, and the processing unit in the RRU / AAU / RRH used to implement baseband functions is called the baseband low (BBL) unit.

[0097] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules.

[0098] In this embodiment, the apparatus for implementing the functions of a network device can be a network device itself; it can also be an apparatus capable of supporting the network device in implementing those functions, such as a chip system, hardware circuit, software module, or a hardware circuit plus a software module. This apparatus can be installed in the network device or used in conjunction with the network device. In this embodiment, the example of a network device being used to implement the functions of a network device is provided only and does not constitute a limitation on the solutions described in this embodiment.

[0099] It is understood that this application can be applied between network devices and terminal devices.

[0100] Communication between network devices and terminal devices follows a specific protocol layer structure. This protocol layer structure can include a control plane protocol layer structure and a user plane protocol layer structure. For example, the control plane protocol layer structure can include the functions of protocol layers such as the radio resource control (RRC) layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the radio link control (RLC) layer, the medium access control (MAC) layer, and the physical layer. Similarly, the user plane protocol layer structure can include the functions of protocol layers such as the PDCP layer, the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and the physical layer. In one possible implementation, a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer can be included above the PDCP layer.

[0101] Optionally, the protocol layer structure between network devices and terminal devices may also include an artificial intelligence (AI) layer for transmitting data related to AI functions.

[0102] Taking data transmission between network devices and terminal devices as an example, data transmission needs to pass through user plane protocol layers, such as the SDAP layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, and physical layer. The SDAP layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, and physical layer can also be collectively referred to as the access layer. Based on the direction of data transmission, it is divided into sending and receiving; each of these layers is further divided into a sending part and a receiving part. Taking downlink data transmission as an example, after the PDCP layer obtains data from the upper layer, it transmits the data to the RLC layer and MAC layer. The MAC layer then generates a transport block, and finally, it is wirelessly transmitted through the physical layer. Data is encapsulated in corresponding ways at each layer. For example, data received by a layer from the upper layer is considered a Service Data Unit (SDU) of that layer. After encapsulation by that layer, it becomes a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) and is then passed to the next layer.

[0103] For example, the terminal device may also have an application layer and a non-access layer. The application layer can be used to provide services to applications installed on the terminal device. For instance, downlink data received by the terminal device can be sequentially transmitted from the physical layer to the application layer, and then provided to the application by the application layer. Alternatively, the application layer can acquire data generated by the application and sequentially transmit the data to the physical layer for transmission to other communication devices. The non-access layer can be used to forward user data, such as forwarding uplink data received from the application layer to the SDAP layer, or forwarding downlink data received from the SDAP layer to the application layer.

[0104] It should be understood that the number and type of each device in the communication system shown in Figure 1 are for illustrative purposes only, and this application is not limited thereto. In actual applications, the communication system may include more terminal devices, more access network devices, and other network elements, such as core network devices and / or network elements used to implement artificial intelligence functions.

[0105] It is understandable that all or part of the functions implemented by one or more of the terminal devices, access network devices, core network devices, or network elements used to implement artificial intelligence functions can be virtualized, that is, implemented through one or more of dedicated or general-purpose processors and corresponding software modules. Among these, the terminal devices and access network devices involve air interface transmission, and the transmit and receive functions of this interface can be implemented in hardware. Core network devices, such as operation administration and maintenance (OAM) network elements, can also be virtualized. Optionally, one or more of the functions of the virtualized terminal devices, access network devices, core network devices, or network elements used to implement artificial intelligence functions can be implemented by cloud devices, such as cloud devices in over-the-top (OTT) systems.

[0106] In a time-division duplex (TDD) system, uplink and downlink channels transmit signals on different time resources within the same frequency domain. Within a relatively short timeframe (the coherence time of channel propagation), the channel fading experienced by the signals on the uplink and downlink channels can be considered identical, thus exhibiting reciprocity. Network devices can utilize this reciprocity to obtain the channel state information (CSI) of the downlink channel from the uplink sounding reference signal (SRS) channel estimation results, and then perform precoding. Figure 2 illustrates the process by which a network device in a TDD system obtains channel state information (CSI) for the downlink channel based on uplink channel estimation. The process includes the following steps: S201. The network device sends channel estimation configuration information to the UE. This configuration information is used to configure channel estimation and informs the UE of the timing and behavior of SRS pilot measurements; S202. Based on the aforementioned channel estimation configuration information, the UE sends pilot signals (e.g., SRS) to the network device for channel estimation; and S203. The network device measures the pilot signals sent by the UE, recovers the uplink channel through channel estimation, recovers the downlink channel based on reciprocity, and sends data according to the CSI of the downlink channel. The network device determines the precoding of the data transmitted to the UE based on the estimated channel.

[0107] Future communication systems place higher demands on system capacity and spectral efficiency, evolving towards higher frequency bands (such as the U6G band) and larger bandwidths. Massive MIMO technology plays a crucial role in improving system spectral efficiency. In future MIMO systems, both network equipment and user equipment (UE) will employ massive MIMO arrays, considering an HBF architecture to improve spectral efficiency while reducing complexity. However, under this architecture, SRS-based channel estimation suffers from severe performance degradation. The main reasons are as follows: a) Dual-ended HBF requires time-division SRS beam scanning, extending the SRS transmission period and consequently lengthening the period for obtaining channel CSI based on SRS channel estimation, leading to severe CSI aging; b) Under large bandwidth, the number of SRS frequency hopping increases, exacerbating channel aging; c) Severe channel fading at high frequencies significantly reduces the SRS signal-to-noise ratio, impacting SRS channel estimation performance. d) With dual-end massive multi-antenna, the number of supported UEs and UE channels increases, and the number of orthogonal SRS ports required increases. Without increasing the SRS pilot overhead, the SRS transmission period can only be extended, which also extends the period for obtaining channel CSI based on SRS channel estimation. CSI aging is severe, thereby reducing the accuracy of downlink precoding.

[0108] To address the issue of significantly reduced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and impacted coverage caused by SRS, the UE can transmit precoded SRS to measure the uplink channel, thereby improving the SRS signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR). Furthermore, because multipath propagation is more sparse in high-frequency bands, the number of precoded SRS ports can be less than the number of antenna ports without losing full-space channel state information. This reduces the number of SRS ports, shortens the SRS transmission cycle, and alleviates CSI aging.

[0109] CJT transmission refers to a method where the UE is provided by multiple network devices through joint transmission. All participating network devices transmit the same data stream, resulting in coherent superposition of received signals at the UE and coherent cancellation of interference. This effectively improves the SINR of downlink transmission, thereby significantly enhancing network throughput and user experience. In CJT transmission, the multiple network devices providing services to the UE are treated as a virtual large array. Based on the joint channel matrix formed by concatenating the channel matrices from each network device to the UE, joint scheduling and joint transmission weight design are performed to transmit the same data stream, ensuring high SINR for downlink data transmission.

[0110] SRS precoding design is related to channel state information. For example, one SRS precoding design scheme is as follows: the spatial domain statistical feature vector matrix on the UE side. Where H has dimensions N1N2*N3, where N1 is the spatial dimension on the network device side, N2 is the frequency domain dimension, and N3 is the spatial dimension on the UE side; H T Let H denote the transpose of H; E denotes the mean; svd denotes singular value decomposition. The first N statistical eigenvectors V1, V2…V1 in the spatial domain statistical eigenvector matrix are selected. N The SRS precoding on the UE side is recomposed, where N is the number of SRS ports. When the number of N is less than the number of transmit antennas on the UE side, the number of SRS ports can be reduced, thereby shortening the SRS transmission cycle and alleviating CSI aging.

[0111] In CJT transmission mode, adopting the above SRS precoding design scheme will not reduce the number of SRS ports. For example, if the UE is provided by 3 TRPs through joint transmission, and each TRP selects N SRS precodings and corresponding to N SRS ports using the above SRS precoding design scheme, then the 3 TRPs will have a total of 3N SRS precodings and 3N SRS ports. That is, the number of SRS ports increases linearly with the number of TRPs. When the total number of SRS ports exceeds the number of transmit antennas on the UE side, the number of SRS ports cannot be reduced.

[0112] In view of this, this application provides a communication scheme in which the UE receives multiple first reference signals and sends first information to indicate at least one first type of precoded information and at least one second type of precoded information corresponding to at least one first port. Each first type of precoded information is obtained based on at least two of the multiple first reference signals. Thus, the UE does not need to report the precoded information obtained based on each of the multiple first reference signals, which reduces the number of ports corresponding to the second reference signal, shortens the transmission period of the second reference signal, alleviates the problem of channel state information aging, and improves the accuracy of channel estimation.

[0113] Figure 3 shows a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. Exemplarily, the method may include the following steps:

[0114] S301. Multiple stations under the network device (such as TRP1, TRP2...TRPn) send multiple first reference signals (such as first reference signal 1, first reference signal 2...first reference signal n) to the UE.

[0115] Accordingly, the UE receives the multiple first reference signals.

[0116] This embodiment can be applied to multi-station transmission mode (e.g., CJT transmission mode). In multi-station transmission mode, multiple stations under the network device (e.g., TRP1, TRP2...TRPn in Figure 3) send multiple first reference signals (e.g., first reference signal 1, first reference signal 2...first reference signal n) to the UE, where n is a positive integer.

[0117] For example, the nth TRP can be identified by its identity or index. Alternatively, the nth TRP can also be identified by the index of the control resource set (CORESET) pool corresponding to the DCI sent by the TRP. This application does not limit the identification information of the nth TRP.

[0118] For example, the first reference signal may be a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS), etc. This application does not limit the type and number of the first reference signal.

[0119] For example, TRP1, TRP2...TRPn can periodically or based on indication information from the network device send multiple first reference signals to the UE. TRP1, TRP2...TRPn send the first reference signals to the UE together.

[0120] Figure 4 illustrates a communication between a TRP and a UE in a multi-station transmission mode, as exemplified by an embodiment of this application. The first reference signals sent by TRP1 and TRP2 to the UE can be directly transmitted to the UE, or transmitted through reflection or refraction by a scatterer. Similarly, the first reference signals sent by the UE to TRP1 and TRP2 can be directly transmitted to TRP1 and TRP2, or transmitted through reflection or refraction by a scatterer to the TRPs. Depending on the location of TRP1 and TRP2, the scatterer can be an independent scatterer or a common scatterer shared by at least two TRPs. In Figure 4, the first reference signal sent by TRP1 can reach the UE through reflection or refraction by an independent scatterer 41 and a common scatterer 43; the first reference signal sent by TRP2 can reach the UE through reflection or refraction by an independent scatterer 42 and a common scatterer 43.

[0121] S302. The UE sends the first information to the network device.

[0122] Accordingly, the network device receives this first information.

[0123] After receiving multiple first reference signals from multiple stations under the network device, the UE measures the first reference signal sent by each station. Based on the reciprocity of the uplink and downlink channels, it can determine the precoded information corresponding to at least one first port based on the measurement results of the first reference signals. Here, at least one first port is the port corresponding to a second reference signal. This at least one first port is either determined by the UE itself as the port corresponding to the second reference signal, or indicated by the network device, or the number of first ports is the same as the number of transmit antennas configured on the UE side. The UE can send the second reference signal to the network device on at least one first port. For example, the second reference signal can be an SRS (Second Reference Signal), and this application does not limit the type of the second reference signal.

[0124] The precoded information corresponding to at least one first port measured by the UE can be obtained based on the first reference signal reflected or refracted by an independent scatterer through the TRP, and / or based on the first reference signal reflected or refracted by a common scatterer.

[0125] Generally, precodings corresponding to at least one port obtained based on first reference signals from different TRPs received from a common scatterer (the first reference signals sent by different TRPs reach the UE after refraction or reflection by the common scatterer) exhibit strong spatial correlation, while precodings corresponding to at least one port obtained based on first reference signals from different TRPs received from their own independent scatterers (the first reference signals sent by different TRPs reach the UE after refraction or reflection by their own independent scatterers) exhibit weak spatial correlation. For first reference signals from different TRPs received based on a common scatterer (i.e., the UE receives at least two first reference signals from at least two TRPs), the UE can generate a first type of precoding information, which is obtained based on at least two of the multiple first reference signals; for first reference signals from one TRP received based on an independent scatterer (i.e., the UE receives one first reference signal from one TRP), the UE can generate a second type of precoding information, which is obtained based on one of the multiple first reference signals.

[0126] The UE generates at least one type of precoded information based on first reference signals of different TRPs received from different common scatterers; and generates at least one type of precoded information based on first reference signals received from at least one independent scatterer. Wherein, at least two first reference signals corresponding to any two first type precoded pieces of information in the at least one type of precoded information are not completely identical, at least two first reference signals corresponding to any two second type precoded pieces of information in the at least one type of precoded information are different, and at least one first port is the port corresponding to the second reference signal.

[0127] Referring again to Figure 4, assuming there are three first ports, the UE can obtain the precoded information corresponding to the first first port based on the first reference signal received by the common scatterer 43; obtain the precoded information corresponding to the first first port based on the first reference signal received by the independent scatterer 41; and obtain the precoded information corresponding to the second first port based on the first reference signal received by the independent scatterer 42. The precoded information corresponding to the first first port is of type 1; the precoded information corresponding to the second and third first ports is of type 2.

[0128] After generating at least one type of precoded information and at least one type of precoded information, the UE sends first information to the network device. This first information indicates at least one type of precoded information and at least one type of precoded information corresponding to at least one first port. Each of the at least one type of precoded information is obtained based on at least two of a plurality of first reference signals, and each of the at least one type of precoded information is obtained based on one of the plurality of first reference signals.

[0129] According to the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application, the UE does not need to report precoding information obtained based on each of the multiple first reference signals, thereby reducing signaling overhead; and the number of ports corresponding to the precoding information reported by the UE is less than the number of ports configured in the existing multi-station transmission mode, thereby reducing the number of ports corresponding to the second reference signal, which can shorten the transmission period of the second reference signal, alleviate the problem of channel state information aging, and improve the accuracy of channel estimation.

[0130] The above embodiments describe how a UE reports precoding information corresponding to at least one first port in a multi-station transmission mode. The following embodiments, based on the above embodiments, further describe how the network device configures precoding information for at least one second port based on the precoding information reported by the UE:

[0131] Figure 5 shows a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. Exemplarily, the method may include the following steps:

[0132] S501. The network device sends the second information to the UE.

[0133] Accordingly, the UE receives this second information.

[0134] For multi-site transmission mode, this embodiment defines a new SRS precoded reporting type under multi-site conditions. When the network device's reported content is configured for SRS precoded reporting under multi-site conditions, the UE needs to perform CSI reporting for the above-mentioned reported content.

[0135] Therefore, the network device sends a second message to the UE. This second message indicates a first precoding reporting type, which in turn indicates reporting at least one first-type precoding and at least one second-type precoding. That is, unlike the existing multi-site transmission mode mentioned above, where assuming three TRPs are jointly transmitting, the UE does not report 3N SRS precodings.

[0136] S502. The network device sends third information to the UE.

[0137] Accordingly, the UE receives this third information.

[0138] In multi-site transmission mode, the network device can centrally configure the first reference signal resources across multiple sites. Therefore, the network device sends third information to the UE, wherein this third information indicates the configuration information of the first reference signal resource set. This first reference signal resource set includes multiple resources, each of which is used to carry one of the multiple first reference signals.

[0139] S503. Multiple stations under the network device (such as TRP1, TRP2...TRPn) send multiple first reference signals (such as first reference signal 1, first reference signal 2...first reference signal n) to the UE.

[0140] Accordingly, the UE receives the multiple first reference signals.

[0141] The specific implementation of this step can be referred to step S301 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, and will not be repeated here.

[0142] Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of communication between TRP and UE in another multi-station transmission mode according to an embodiment of this application. The first reference signal sent by TRP1 can reach the UE through refraction or reflection by an independent scatterer 64 and / or the common scatterer 61 between TRP1 and TRP2; the first reference signal sent by TRP2 can reach the UE through refraction or reflection by an independent scatterer 65 and / or the common scatterer 61 between TRP1 and TRP2 and / or the common scatterer 62 between TRP2 and TRP3; the first reference signal sent by TRP3 can reach the UE through refraction or reflection by an independent scatterer 66 and / or the common scatterer 62 between TRP2 and TRP3.

[0143] S504. The UE sends the first information to the network device.

[0144] Accordingly, the network device receives this first information.

[0145] Wherein, the first information indicates at least one first type of precoded information and at least one second type of precoded information corresponding to at least one first port. Each first type of precoded information is obtained based on at least two first reference signals among a plurality of first reference signals. Each second type of precoded information is obtained based on one of the plurality of first reference signals. The at least two first reference signals corresponding to any two first type of precoded information are not completely the same. The first reference signals corresponding to any two second type of precoded information are different. At least one first port is the port corresponding to the second reference signal.

[0146] The specific implementation of this step can be referred to step S302 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, and will not be repeated here.

[0147] Wherein, the information of at least one first type of precoding includes precoded information obtained by the UE based on at least two first reference signals from at least two TRPs reflected or refracted by at least one common scatterer (i.e. based on each of the at least two first reference signals); the information of at least one second type of precoding includes precoded information obtained by the UE based on at least one first reference signal from at least one TRP reflected or refracted by at least one independent scatterer.

[0148] For example, the first information indicating at least one first-type precoding information and at least one second-type precoding information corresponding to at least one first port may indicate at least one of the following: the number of first-type precodings, the number of second-type precodings, the precoding weights corresponding to the first-type precodings, and the precoding weights corresponding to the second-type precodings. This allows the network device, upon receiving the first information, to determine the number of first-type precodings and the number of second-type precodings, as well as the precoding weights corresponding to each first-type precoding and each second-type precoding.

[0149] The first information mentioned above indicates the number of the first type of precoding and the number of the second type of precoding, and can be designed in the following ways:

[0150] In one design, the first information indicates the sum of the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes. Using this design, the network device can determine the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes based on the subsequently configured number of second ports and the sum of the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes.

[0151] In another design, the first information indicates the number of first-type precodings and the number of second-type precodings, respectively. Using this design, the network device can directly determine the number of first-type precodings and the number of second-type precodings.

[0152] In another design, the first information indicates the number of first-type precodes and the number of second-type precodes obtained based on at least two first reference signals. As previously described, the UE can obtain at least one first-type precode information based on at least two first reference signals from at least two TRPs reflected or refracted by at least one common scatterer (i.e., based on at least two first reference signals). Each TRP can transmit first reference signals to the UE through the same common scatterer. Based on uplink-downlink reciprocity, at least one first-type precode information can be obtained based on at least two first reference signals reflected or refracted by the same common scatterer. The first information indicates the number of these first-type precodes. For example, referring to the example in Figure 6, the UE can obtain one first-type precode (with index 0) based on the first reference signals reflected or refracted by the common scatterer 61 of TRP1 and TRP2; two first-type precodes (with indices 1 and 2) can be obtained based on the first reference signals reflected or refracted by the common scatterer 62 of TRP2 and TRP3; and zero first-type precodes can be obtained based on the first reference signals reflected or refracted by the common scatterer between TRP1 and TRP3 (the common scatterer between TRP1 and TRP3 is not shown in Figure 6, or it can be assumed that there is no common scatterer between TRP1 and TRP3). Furthermore, the UE can also obtain at least one second-type precode based on the first reference signal refracted or reflected by the independent scatterer corresponding to any TRP. Therefore, the first information also indicates the number of second-type precodes. For example, the UE obtains one second-type precode (indexed as precode 3) based on the first reference signal refracted or reflected by the independent scatterer 64 through TRP1; two second-type precodes (indexed as precode 4 and 5) based on the first reference signal refracted or reflected by the independent scatterer 65 through TRP2; and one second-type precode (indexed as precode 6) based on the first reference signal refracted or reflected by the independent scatterer 66 through TRP3. Therefore, the first information may include the following indication information: (1,2,0,1,2,1), which respectively represent: (the number of first-type precodes obtained based on the first reference signal reflected or refracted by the common scatterer 61 between TRP1 / 2, the number of first-type precodes obtained based on the first reference signal reflected or refracted by the common scatterer 62 between TRP2 / 3, the number of first-type precodes obtained based on the first reference signal reflected or refracted by the common scatterer 64 between TRP1, the number of second-type precodes obtained based on the first reference signal refracted or reflected by the independent scatterer 64 corresponding to TRP1, the number of second-type precodes obtained based on the first reference signal refracted or reflected by the independent scatterer 65 corresponding to TRP2, and the number of second-type precodes obtained based on the first reference signal refracted or reflected by the independent scatterer 66 corresponding to TRP3).Using this design, network devices can determine the number of first-type precodings and the number of second-type precodings, respectively.

[0153] Furthermore, the UE may periodically or based on indication information from the network device to send the first information. For each first information sent, each first information has a first identifier, which is used to uniquely identify a first information, or to uniquely identify at least one first-type precoded information and at least one second-type precoded information indicated (or included) by a first information.

[0154] The aforementioned first information indicates at least one first-type precoded information and at least one second-type precoded information. For ease of subsequent processing, the first information further indicates the order of the at least one first-type precoded information and at least one second-type precoded information corresponding to the first identifier. For example, each first-type precoded information and each second-type precoded information may have a corresponding index. The index corresponding to at least one first-type precoded information and the index corresponding to at least one second-type precoded information may be jointly numbered or independently numbered.

[0155] S505. The network device sends the fourth information to the UE.

[0156] Accordingly, the UE receives this fourth piece of information.

[0157] After receiving the first information, the network device determines precoding information corresponding to at least one second port based on the first information. The second port is the port corresponding to the second reference signal configured by the network device. The number of second ports can be the same as the number of first ports; alternatively, the network device, upon receiving at least one first-type precoding information and at least one second-type precoding information reported by the UE, can determine at least one second port based on some or all of the first-type precoding information and at least one second-type precoding information, or it can determine at least one second port based solely on at least one second-type precoding information. Therefore, the number of second ports can also be different from the number of first ports.

[0158] After determining the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port, the network device sends fourth information to the UE. This fourth information indicates the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port. It should be noted that this fourth information indicates the precoding information used by the UE when sending a second reference signal to a specific TRP; that is, this fourth information is specific to a particular TRP, and each TRP is configured independently.

[0159] As previously mentioned, the UE can send the first information more than once. Each piece of first information has a first identifier, which is used to identify at least one first-type precoded information and at least one second-type precoded information included in the first information. Further, when the network device determines the precoded information corresponding to at least one second port based on the first information, the fourth information is also used to indicate the first identifier. This fourth information indicates that the precoded information corresponding to at least one second port is obtained based on at least one first-type precoded information and at least one second-type precoded information corresponding to the first identifier. That is, it indicates that the precoded information corresponding to at least one second port is obtained based on at least one first-type precoded information and at least one second-type precoded information reported by the UE in a particular instance, or it indicates that the precoded information corresponding to at least one second port is obtained based on at least one first-type precoded information and at least one second-type precoded information in a reported first information.

[0160] When a network device determines precoding information corresponding to at least one second port based on the first information, it may determine the precoding information based on at least one first-type precoding information corresponding to the first identifier, or it may not be based on the at least one first-type precoding information corresponding to the first identifier. Further, the fourth information is used to indicate whether the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port is associated with the at least one first-type precoding information corresponding to the first identifier. For example, if the first information indicates at least one first-type precoding obtained based on a first reference signal reflected or refracted by a common scatterer between TRP1 / 2, when the network device configures precoding information corresponding to at least one second port for TRP1, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port may not be based on the aforementioned at least one first-type precoding; while when configuring precoding information corresponding to at least one second port for TRP2, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port may be based on the aforementioned at least one first-type precoding.

[0161] After determining that the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port is obtained based on at least one first-type precoding information and at least one second-type precoding information corresponding to the first identifier, and whether the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port is associated with the at least one first-type precoding information corresponding to the first identifier, the network device further determines the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port based on the first information, which may include the following two cases:

[0162] In the first scenario, when the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port is associated with a set of information corresponding to a first type of precoding, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port includes a set of information corresponding to a first type of precoding and information corresponding to at least one second type of precoding. Based on the order of the information corresponding to at least one first type of precoding and at least one second type of precoding in the set of information corresponding to a first type of precoding, as indicated by the first information, at least one second port is sequentially mapped to at least one first type of precoding and at least one second type of precoding in the set of information corresponding to a first type of precoding. For example, during this sequential mapping, the index corresponding to at least one first type of precoding in the set of information corresponding to a first type of precoding can be less than the index corresponding to at least one second type of precoding, and at least one second port can also have an index. Therefore, based on the index corresponding to at least one second port and the indices corresponding to the first type and second type of precoding, at least one second port can be sequentially mapped to at least one first type of precoding and at least one second type of precoding in the set of information corresponding to a first type of precoding.

[0163] Since the number of second ports configured by the network device may be the same as or different from the number of first ports determined by the UE itself, the first type of precoding information set can be part or all of the first type of precoding information from at least one first type of precoding information corresponding to the first identifier. For example, if the first information indicates multiple first type of precodings obtained based on a first reference signal reflected or refracted by a common scatterer between TRP1 / 2, when the network device configures precoding information corresponding to at least one second port for TRP1, the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second port can be determined based on part or all of the first type of precoding information from multiple first type of precoding information.

[0164] Referring again to the example in Figure 6, as described above, the UE can obtain one first-type precode (indexed as precode 0) based on the first reference signal reflected or refracted by the common scatterer 61 through TRP1 and TRP2; one second-type precode (indexed as precode 3) based on the first reference signal refracted or reflected by the independent scatterer 64 through TRP1; and two second-type precodes (indexed as precode 4 and 5) based on the first reference signal refracted or reflected by the independent scatterer 65 through TRP2. Assuming the network device configures two second ports (port 0 and port 1) for TRP1, and the aforementioned first-type precode information set includes precode 0, then according to the order of at least one first-type precode and at least one second-type precode in the first-type precode information set indicated by the first information, port 0 is associated with precode 0, and port 1 is associated with precode 3.

[0165] If the existing precoding reporting and configuration method in the multi-station transmission mode is adopted, the UE does not obtain and report precoding based on the first reference signal reflected or refracted by a common scatterer. For example, for any TRP among TRP1 to TRP3, the UE needs to report N precodings based on the first reference signal refracted or reflected by an independent or common scatterer for each TRP, where N is a positive integer. Therefore, the three TRPs correspond to 3N SRS precodings and 3N SRS ports, requiring the UE to report 3N precodings, resulting in significant signaling overhead for the UE. Furthermore, the network device configures N SRS ports for each TRP, corresponding to the N precodings reported by the UE associated with that TRP, resulting in a total of 3N SRS ports for the three TRPs, without reducing the number of SRS ports.

[0166] In another embodiment, the first information may not indicate the order of at least one first-type precoded information and at least one second-type precoded information. Instead, the reporting order of the precoded information is predefined by the protocol. For example, at least one first-type precoded information is reported first, followed by at least one second-type precoded information. Since the first information indicates the number of first-type precoded information and the number of second-type precoded information, and the indication overhead for each precoded information is fixed, the reporting order of at least one first-type precoded information and at least one second-type precoded information can be clearly determined without the need for the first information to indicate the order, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0167] The second scenario involves situations where the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port is not associated with the information of at least one first-type precoding corresponding to the first identifier. In this case, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port includes the information of at least one second-type precoding corresponding to the first identifier. Based on the order of the information of the at least one second-type precoding corresponding to the first identifier indicated by the first information, at least one second port is sequentially mapped to at least one second-type precoding. For example, during this sequential mapping, at least one second-type precoding has a corresponding index, and at least one second port can also have an index. Therefore, at least one second port can be sequentially mapped to at least one second-type precoding based on the index corresponding to at least one second port and the index corresponding to at least one second-type precoding.

[0168] Referring again to the example in Figure 6, the network device configures two second ports (port 2 and port 3) for TRP2. The aforementioned first type of precoding information set includes 0 first type precoding information. Then, according to the order of at least one second type precoding information indicated by the first information, port 2 is associated with precoding 4, and port 3 is associated with precoding 5.

[0169] For example, the aforementioned fourth information can be carried in any of the following signaling types: RRC signaling, medium access control-control element (MAC-CE). This application does not limit the type of signaling carrying the fourth information.

[0170] S506. The UE sends a second reference signal to the network device at at least one second port based on the fourth information.

[0171] After receiving the fourth information, the UE can precode the second reference signal based on the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port indicated by the fourth information, and then transmit the precoded second reference signal to the network device through at least one second port. By transmitting the precoded second reference signal, the signal-to-noise ratio of the second reference signal can be improved, thereby enhancing communication performance.

[0172] According to a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application, the UE does not need to report precoding information obtained based on each of the multiple first reference signals, thus reducing signaling overhead; and the UE does not need to report precoding information obtained based on each of the multiple first reference signals, thus reducing the number of ports corresponding to the second reference signal, which can shorten the transmission period of the second reference signal, alleviate the problem of channel state information aging, and improve the accuracy of channel estimation; and the network device can configure precoding information corresponding to at least one second port based on the first information reported by the UE.

[0173] In this application, the phrase "sending information to... (e.g., UE)" or the related illustrations in the accompanying drawings can be understood as the destination of the information being the UE. This can include sending information directly or indirectly to the UE. Similarly, "receiving information from... (e.g., UE)" or "receiving information from... (e.g., UE)" or the related illustrations in the accompanying drawings can be understood as the source of the information being the UE. This can include receiving information directly or indirectly from the UE. The information may undergo necessary processing between the source and destination, such as format changes, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be interpreted similarly, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0174] It is understood that this application uses the UE and network device as examples to illustrate the interaction, but this application does not limit the execution subject of the interaction. For example, the UE in the method provided by this application can also be a chip, chip system, or processor applied to the UE, or a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the UE; the network device in the method provided by this application can also be a chip, chip system, or processor applied to the network device, or a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the network device's functions.

[0175] It is understood that, in order to achieve the functions in the above embodiments, the network device and UE include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to perform each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and method steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0176] Figures 7 and 8 are schematic diagrams of possible communication devices provided in the embodiments of this application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the UE or network device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of this application, the communication device can be one of the UEs 120a-120j shown in Figure 1, or it can be the network device 110a or 110b shown in Figure 1, or it can be a module (such as a chip) applied to the UE or network device.

[0177] As shown in Figure 7, the communication device 700 includes a processing unit 710 and a transceiver unit 720. The communication device 700 is used to implement the functions of the UE or network device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 3 and 5 above.

[0178] When the communication device 700 is used to implement the functions of the UE: the transceiver unit 720 is used to implement one or more operations implemented by the UE in steps S301 and S302 of the embodiment shown in FIG3; or, the transceiver unit 720 is used to implement one or more operations implemented by the UE in steps S501 to S506 of the embodiment shown in FIG5.

[0179] When the communication device 700 is used to implement the functions of a network device: the transceiver unit 720 is used to implement one or more operations implemented by the network device in steps S301 and S302 of the embodiment shown in FIG3; or, the transceiver unit 720 is used to implement one or more operations implemented by the network device in steps S501 to S506 of the embodiment shown in FIG5.

[0180] A more detailed description of the processing unit 710 and the transceiver unit 720 can be obtained directly from the relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown in Figures 3 and 5, and will not be repeated here.

[0181] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip applied to the UE, the UE chip implements the functions of the UE in the above method embodiments. The UE chip receives information from other modules in the UE (such as radio frequency modules or antennas), which is sent to the UE by the network device; or, the UE chip sends information to other modules in the UE (such as radio frequency modules or antennas), which is sent to the network device by the UE.

[0182] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip applied to a network device, the network device chip implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. The network device chip receives information from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the network device, which is sent by the UE to the network device; or, the network device chip sends information to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the network device, which is sent by the network device to the UE.

[0183] Furthermore, it should be noted that the aforementioned transceiver unit and / or processing unit can be implemented through virtual modules. For example, the processing unit can be implemented through software functional units or virtual devices, and the transceiver unit can be implemented through software functions or virtual devices. Alternatively, the processing unit or transceiver unit can also be implemented through physical devices. For example, if the device is implemented using a chip / chip circuit, the transceiver unit can be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface, performing input operations (corresponding to the aforementioned receiving operation) and output operations (corresponding to the aforementioned sending operation); the processing unit is an integrated processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit.

[0184] As shown in Figure 8, the communication device 800 includes a processor 810 and may also include an interface circuit 820. The processor 810 and the interface circuit 820 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 820 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 800 may also include a memory 830 (shown as a dashed line in Figure 8) for storing instructions executed by the processor 810, or storing input data required by the processor 810 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 810 executes instructions.

[0185] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the functions of the UE: the interface circuit 820 is used to implement one or more operations implemented by the UE in steps S301 and S302 in the embodiment shown in FIG3; or, the interface circuit 820 is used to implement one or more operations implemented by the UE in steps S501 to S506 in the embodiment shown in FIG5.

[0186] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the functions of a network device: the interface circuit 820 is used to implement one or more operations implemented by the network device in steps S301 and S302 of the embodiment shown in FIG3; or, the interface circuit 820 is used to implement one or more operations implemented by the network device in steps S501 to S506 of the embodiment shown in FIG5.

[0187] A more detailed description of the processor 810 and interface circuit 820 can be obtained directly from the relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown in Figures 3 and 5, and will not be repeated here.

[0188] The module division in this application is illustrative and represents only one logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods are possible. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various examples of this application can be integrated into a single processor, exist as separate physical entities, or be integrated into a single module. The integrated modules described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules.

[0189] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices (PLDs), transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0190] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement the methods described in the above embodiments.

[0191] This application also provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods described in the above embodiments.

[0192] This application also provides a communication system, including the communication device described above.

[0193] This application also provides a circuit coupled to a memory, which is used to perform the methods shown in the above embodiments. This circuit may include a chip circuit.

[0194] When the aforementioned communication device is a module applied to a network device, the network device module implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. The network device module receives information from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) within the network device; this information is sent by the UE to the network device. Alternatively, the network device module sends information to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) within the network device; this information is sent by the network device to the UE. Here, the network device module can be the baseband chip of the network device, or a CU, DU, or other module, or a device under an open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture, such as an open CU, open DU, etc.

[0195] It should be noted that one or more of the above units can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of both. When any of the above units is implemented by software, the software exists as computer program instructions and is stored in memory. The processor can be used to execute the program instructions and implement the above method flow.

[0196] In this application, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, or all or part of the circuitry in the aforementioned devices used to implement the processing functions, capable of implementing or executing the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in this application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the methods disclosed in this application can be directly embodied in the execution of the hardware processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules within the processor.

[0197] When the above units or components are implemented in hardware, the hardware can be any one or any combination of a CPU, microprocessor, digital signal processing (DSP) chip, microcontroller unit (MCU), artificial intelligence processor, ASIC, SoC, FPGA, PLD, application-specific digital circuit, hardware accelerator, or non-integrated discrete device, which can run the necessary software or perform the above method flow independently of software.

[0198] Optionally, embodiments of this application also provide a chip system, including: at least one processor and an interface, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to a memory via the interface, and when the at least one processor executes a computer program or instructions in the memory, the chip system performs the method in any of the above method embodiments. Optionally, the chip system may be composed of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices; embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this.

[0199] The memory in this application can also be a circuit or any other device capable of performing storage functions, used to store program instructions and / or data. Memory is any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures, and accessible by a computer, but is not limited thereto. For example, memory can be non-volatile memory, such as digital versatile disc (DVD), hard disk drive (HDD), or solid-state drive (SSD), or it can be volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM).

[0200] It should be understood that in the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " indicates that the objects before and after it are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can represent A or B; where A and B can be singular or plural. Furthermore, in the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" refers to two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple. Additionally, to facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used in the embodiments of this application to distinguish identical or similar items with substantially the same function and effect. Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the terms "first" and "second" do not necessarily imply difference. In this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being better or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner to facilitate understanding.

[0201] It is understood that in this application, "instruction" can include direct instruction, indirect instruction, explicit instruction, and implicit instruction. When describing a certain instruction information to indicate A, it can be understood that the instruction information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A. In this application, the information indicated by the instruction information is called the information to be instructed. In specific implementation, there are many ways to indicate the information to be instructed, such as, but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be instructed, such as the information to be instructed itself or its index, or indirectly indicating the information to be instructed by indicating other information, wherein there is an association between the other information and the information to be instructed. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be instructed, while the other parts of the information to be instructed are known or agreed upon in advance. For example, the instruction of specific information can also be achieved by using the arrangement order of various information in advance (e.g., as specified by a protocol), thereby reducing the instruction overhead to a certain extent. The information to be instructed can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information to be sent separately, and the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be the same or different. This application does not limit the specific sending method. The sending period and / or timing of these sub-information messages can be predefined, for example, according to a protocol, or configured by the transmitting device by sending configuration information to the receiving device.

[0202] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software programs, implementation can be, in whole or in part, in the form of a computer program product. This computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means.

[0203] Although this application has been described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, those skilled in the art, by reviewing the accompanying drawings, disclosure, and appended claims, will understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments in carrying out the claimed application. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple instances. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. While different dependent claims may recite certain measures, this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0204] It is understood that the various numerical designations used in the embodiments of this application are merely for descriptive convenience and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the process numbers described above does not imply the order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

[0205] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of each embodiment have different focuses. For parts not described in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions in other embodiments.

[0206] The components in the device described in this application embodiment can be combined, divided, or removed according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can combine or integrate the different embodiments and features described in this specification.

[0207] In this application, examples may reference each other without logical contradiction. For example, methods and / or terms between method embodiments may reference each other, functions and / or terms between device embodiments may reference each other, and functions and / or terms between device examples and method examples may reference each other.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive multiple first reference signals; Send first information, wherein the first information indicates at least one first type of precoded information and at least one second type of precoded information corresponding to at least one first port, each of the at least one first type of precoded information is obtained based on at least two first reference signals among the plurality of first reference signals, each of the at least one second type of precoded information is obtained based on one of the plurality of first reference signals, the at least two first reference signals corresponding to any two of the at least one first type of precoded information are not completely the same, the first reference signals corresponding to any two of the at least one second type of precoded information are different, and the at least one first port is the port corresponding to the second reference signal.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first information indicates at least one of the following: the number of the first type of precode, the number of the second type of precode, the precode weight corresponding to the first type of precode, and the precode weight corresponding to the second type of precode.

3. The method as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The first information indicates the number of first-type precodings and the number of second-type precodings, including: The first information indicates the sum of the number of the first type of precode and the number of the second type of precode; or The first information indicates the number of the first type of precoding and the number of the second type of precoding, respectively; or The first information indicates the number of first-type precodes obtained based on at least two first reference signals, and the number of second-type precodes.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive second information, the second information indicating a first precoding reporting type, the first precoding reporting type indicating the reporting of at least one first type of precoding information and at least one second type of precoding information.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive third information, the third information indicating configuration information of a first reference signal resource set, the first reference signal resource set including multiple resources, each of the multiple resources being used to carry one of the multiple first reference signals.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive fourth information, the fourth information indicating precoding information corresponding to at least one second port, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port being determined based on the first information, and the at least one second port being the port corresponding to the second reference signal; Based on the fourth information, the second reference signal is transmitted at at least one second port.

7. The method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The fourth information is used to indicate a first identifier, which is used to identify the at least one first type of precoding information and the at least one second type of precoding information included in the first information. The fourth information indicates that the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second port is obtained based on the at least one first type of precoding information and the at least one second type of precoding information corresponding to the first identifier.

8. The method as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The fourth information is used to indicate whether the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second port is associated with the at least one first type of precoding information corresponding to the first identifier.

9. The method as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The first information also indicates the order of the at least one first type of precoded information and the at least one second type of precoded information corresponding to the first identifier.

10. The method as described in claim 9, characterized in that, When the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port is associated with a set of information of the first type of precoding, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port includes the set of information of the first type of precoding and the information of the at least one second type of precoding. According to the order of at least one first type of precoding information and at least one second type of precoding information in the set of information of the first type of precoding indicated by the first information, the at least one second port corresponds to at least one first type of precoding and at least one second type of precoding in the set of information of the first type of precoding in sequence. The set of information of the first type of precoding is part or all of the information of the at least one first type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier. When the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second port is not associated with the information of the at least one first type precoding corresponding to the first identifier, the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second type precoding includes the information of the at least one second type precoding corresponding to the first identifier. According to the order of the information of the at least one second type precoding corresponding to the first identifier indicated by the first information, the at least one second port corresponds to the at least one second type precoding in sequence.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that, The first reference signal is a channel state information reference signal, and the second reference signal is a probe reference signal.

12. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Send multiple first reference signals; Receive first information, wherein the first information indicates at least one first type of precoded information and at least one second type of precoded information corresponding to at least one first port, each of the at least one first type of precoded information is obtained based on at least two first reference signals among the plurality of first reference signals, each of the at least one second type of precoded information is obtained based on one of the plurality of first reference signals, the at least two first reference signals corresponding to any two of the at least one first type of precoded information are not completely the same, the first reference signals corresponding to any two of the at least one second type of precoded information are different, and the at least one first port is the port corresponding to the second reference signal.

13. The method as described in claim 12, characterized in that, The first information indicates at least one of the following: the number of the first type of precode, the number of the second type of precode, the precode weight corresponding to the first type of precode, and the precode weight corresponding to the second type of precode.

14. The method as described in claim 13, characterized in that, The first information indicates the number of first-type precodings and the number of second-type precodings, including: The first information indicates the sum of the number of the first type of precode and the number of the second type of precode; or The first information indicates the number of the first type of precoding and the number of the second type of precoding, respectively; or The first information indicates the number of first-type precodes obtained based on at least two first reference signals, and the number of second-type precodes.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12-14, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second message, the second message indicating a first precoding reporting type, the first precoding reporting type indicating the reporting of at least one first type of precoding information and at least one second type of precoding information.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12-15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a third message, the third message indicating the configuration information of the first reference signal resource set, the first reference signal resource set including multiple resources, each of the multiple resources being used to carry one of the multiple first reference signals.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12-16, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a fourth message, the fourth message indicating precoding information corresponding to at least one second port, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port being determined based on the first message, and the at least one second port being the port corresponding to the second reference signal; Based on the fourth information, the second reference signal is received at at least one second port.

18. The method as described in claim 17, characterized in that, The fourth information is used to indicate a first identifier, which is used to identify the at least one first type of precoding information and the at least one second type of precoding information included in the first information. The fourth information indicates that the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second port is obtained based on the at least one first type of precoding information and the at least one second type of precoding information corresponding to the first identifier.

19. The method as described in claim 18, characterized in that, The fourth information is used to indicate whether the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second port is associated with the at least one first type of precoding information corresponding to the first identifier.

20. The method as described in claim 19, characterized in that, The first information also indicates the order of the at least one first type of precoded information and the at least one second type of precoded information corresponding to the first identifier.

21. The method as described in claim 20, characterized in that, When the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port is associated with a set of information of the first type of precoding, the precoding information corresponding to at least one second port includes the set of information of the first type of precoding and the information of the at least one second type of precoding. According to the order of at least one first type of precoding information and at least one second type of precoding information in the set of information of the first type of precoding indicated by the first information, the at least one second port corresponds to at least one first type of precoding and at least one second type of precoding in the set of information of the first type of precoding in sequence. The set of information of the first type of precoding is part or all of the information of the at least one first type of precoding corresponding to the first identifier. When the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second port is not associated with the information of the at least one first type precoding corresponding to the first identifier, the precoding information corresponding to the at least one second type precoding includes the information of the at least one second type precoding corresponding to the first identifier. According to the order of the information of the at least one second type precoding corresponding to the first identifier indicated by the first information, the at least one second port corresponds to the at least one second type precoding in sequence.

22. The method according to any one of claims 12-21, characterized in that, The first reference signal is a channel state information reference signal, and the second reference signal is a probe reference signal.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes units for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 1-11, or units for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 12-22.

24. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes a processor and an interface circuit. The interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices besides the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices besides the communication device. The processor is used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-11, or to implement the method as described in any one of claims 12-22, through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

25. The communication device according to claim 24, characterized in that, The communication device is a chip.

26. A chip module, characterized in that, It includes a transceiver component and a chip, the chip being used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-11, or to perform the method as described in any one of claims 12-22.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method as described in any one of claims 1-11, or the method as described in any one of claims 12-22.

28. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes relevant program instructions, which, when executed, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-11, or the method as described in any one of claims 12-22.

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